GoodGravy's Profile
Suggestions for Grand Island?
We'll be there this weekend and are in need of dinner and breakfast places. Searching for "Grand Island" didn't yield anything useful.
Food Trucks' Food
So I just tried the lobster roll from Buster's truck on Queen & Jarvis. Their menu was limited to the Maine style lobster roll ($13), fish tacos ($4 ea), and tilapia sandwich ($10). Canned sodas are $2.
The lobster roll came w/ a pickle spear and bag of Miss Vicki's chips. If there was any butter on the roll, I couldn't taste it, see it or smell it. My hands were also butter free. As for tarragon, maybe they didn't bother w/ this batch. The lobster tasted fine and wasn't mayonnaised to death, but there wasn't a whole lot of lobster to begin with. It took about 4 bites to eat the whole thing. In fact, my first thought upon opening the box was, "That's it?!?" Even the pickle spear was only 1/8 of a whole pickle. It's definitely not good value for money.
tl;dr: Tiny. Expensive. Taste's ok.
Filipino restaurants.
I went to Lamesa today. We had the 5 course tasting menu. Per our waitress, the menu changes daily, but they always offer a 5 course tasting menu that includes an amuse bouche, appetizer, mid-meal course, entree and dessert. You can also order a la carte.
Today, our amuse was arroz caldo served on Chinese soup spoons and topped w/ a sprig of green onion. The arroz caldo was creamy with good chicken and ginger flavor.
Our appetizers were talong quiche and lamb kare kare pot pie. The eggplant quiche was tasty and well executed, but it won't satisfy your craving for char grilled eggplant dipped in vinegar & garlic, nor should it. It's a dish that can stand on its own.
The lamb kare kare pot pie smelled and tasted of tender lamb seasoned with fish paste. This isn't a gamey lamb, but kare kare is normally beef bits cooked in a peanut sauce. This version lacked the smooth peanut sauce which would've been a good counterpoint to the fish paste and provided the sauce usually associated with pot pies. The crust itself wasn't flaky and tender, but it wasn't terrible either. I liked the dish, but I wouldn't call it kare kare.
The mid-meal course was fried lumpia w/ garlic vinegar. It was a crunchy, veggie filled bite that wiped the palate for:
Pork longanisa on garlic fried rice and fried eggs, and beef tapa on garlic fried rice and eggs (longsilog and tapsilog).
Lately, Filipino longanisa just seems sugary sweet. Lamesa's version wasn't sugary sweet which was good. It had good pork flavor, just a little sweet and still savory. But don't worry, you'll still have longanisa burps later. The beef tapa was tender and cooked medium. WHAT?!? Beef tapa is usually drier and chewier. This was the exact opposite. It was tender and juicy while tasting just like beef tapa with a nice char grilled flavor to it.
For dessert, we had pandesal bread pudding and taho. The bread pudding was dressed w/ Carnation creme anglaise and dulce de leche. This was a very good, sweet way to end the meal. The taho was dense and creamy and served in a pool of caramel syrup and topped w/ tapioca pearls. I mistook it for flan at first and after tasting it, it reminded me of flan. It really is sweet and creamy goodness.
Burger's Priest vs. Holy Chuck vs. Stockyards
I'll lick the juices from my arm
and ignore the wail of the car alarm
The burger's cheesy, the fries have salt
now all I need's a chocolate malt
Burger's Priest vs. Holy Chuck vs. Stockyards
I've eaten BP burgers in the car, on the hood of the car, while walking to the theater across the street, while standing in front of the theater across the street and even inside when they still had some stools by the wall. These are juicy, drippy burgers and they won't last a long trip home. Better to start eating them as soon as you get them.
Burger's Priest vs. Holy Chuck vs. Stockyards
I did try Food Cabbie's Italian beef sandwich. I was hesitant since I'd read he's from San Diego and not Chicago, but I figured WTH, how bad could it be. So I ordered it dipped. It wasn't as messy as the ones I'd had in Chicago, but was still tasty and required many napkins. I'm wondering if his specialty is Chicago style foods.
The patty melt sounds good. I might have to try that next time.
Burger's Priest vs. Holy Chuck vs. Stockyards
I tried one of the Food Cabbie's burger specials a few weeks ago and found it was overwhelmed by the bun, and nothing particularly special. Plus I don't usually like a lot of condiments on my burger. If I had to rate it, I'd say it was the best burger from a food truck I've ever had in Toronto. It's also the only burger from a food truck in Toronto I've ever had. If I rated it against all other burgers from trucks I've had anywhere, it'd be dead last.
St. Lawrence Market - "World's Best Food Market" in National Geographic List -
IMO, the chicken w/ rice & potatoes at Churasco is way better than the bifana. It's a lot more food though.
Where to find Ube, purple yam
It's worth exploring if you like Filipino bbq (Ihawan), bakery (Krystals), some other random Filipino restos, plus the other ethnic foods and stores that line Roosevelt Ave (lots of South American). It's also easy to just walk along Roosevelt, then get back on the subway to head back to Manhattan since the subway runs along Roosevelt. There's other Filipino markets in Queens, but Phil-Am's right off the subway and fairly close to the city.
Chances are you should be able to find what you're looking for in Chinatown, but if not, Queens isn't that far away.
Where to find Ube, purple yam
If you have time, you can take the #7 train to 69th St. & Roosevelt Ave. in Queens and go to Phil-Am grocery on 70th & Roosevelt. You should be able to find some of the ube products you're looking for.
Food Trucks' Food
So they use the real split top roll, not a hot dog bun? That, plus the toasting and butter elevates it somehow.
Food Trucks' Food
I threw together a list on twitter of some of the Toronto food trucks plus some not food trucks. Feel free to check it out. Caplanskys and the others announce their locations and specials on Twitter and their fb pages. The list is called "TO Food Trucks".
Food Trucks' Food
I saw that massive mess at the Bay Adelaide Center last week and went to Queen & Dalhousie instead where there were no lines for Caplanskys and the Food Cabbie. Toasted Tangerine hangs out at Queen & Jarvis once a week too so I've been to all 3.
Keep in mind there's no place to sit and eat there so I brought my food back to the office. I'm guessing using the cars in the lot as a makeshift table is frowned upon in Toronto.
Food Cabbie: Hit and miss. So far, all I've tried are the specials. The Chicago Italian Beef sandwich was good and filling. The Mexican torta was spicy and messy, but needed something to cool it off, either avocado or pico de gallo. The special burger was decent sized, but overwhelmed by the massive bun. The taste of most things is fine. It's not gourmet, but more like good diner food.
Toasted Tangerine: They're more upscale gourmet. I've only had the chicken and pepper bacon club, but it was good w/ the only misfire being the honey mustard being too intrusive and not providing the right counterpoint to the pepperiness of the bacon. I had to wait 15-20 min so be prepared for the maddening crowd.
Caplanskys: I've had the smoked meat sandwich, the smoked meat poutine and the beef bacon donut holes. I liked it all. Solid, no frills, tasty. It's smoked meat so don't expect a transcendent experience despite the hype.
I eat from food trucks all the time in NYC so it's fun to try the Toronto trucks and see the crowd they bring out. I'm trying to decide between a bunch of trucks now serving Korean, arepas, pizza, halal, Greek, Mexican, etc. But, don't settle for mediocre. Push them to be worth your time and money or you'll end up w/ dreck on wheels. And push the city to create laws that accommodate rather than stifle. You don't want another a la cart disaster.
Beef Ribs dinner at All Star Wings - HUGE, HUGE RIP-OFF!!!!!!!! AVOID!!!!!!!
The House Salad is a pile of plain ol' lettuce? That's pretty awful. A meal like that reminds me of Leo Getz' rant about how they f*ck you at the drive through in Lethal Weapon 2.
Brunch Suggestions To Impress New York Guests
I left full so either they upped the portion sizes or you have a bottomless pit for a stomach. As for service, it was attentive. No long waits for ordering, drinks or food delivery. It wasn't rushed either, but one thing was like NYC: the wait. We showed up around 2:30 on a Sunday and still waited about 30 minutes. Luckily, it was unseasonably warm for March. Food was solid. Not amazing, not terrible, but I'd put it above average.
Brunch Suggestions To Impress New York Guests
School Bakery in Liberty Village does brunch 7 days a week now. It's not mind blowing, but it's solid and in an interesting neighborhood.
Best burrito in the city...
I just found my favorite burrito in Toronto at Carnicero's in SLM. The big pot of slow cooked chili w/ big chunks of beef and not a bean in sight drew me in. Had it on a spinach tortilla w/ cheese, sour cream and chimichurri. The only thing I would've added is the pico de gallo that I noticed after it was put on the grill. The chili was nicely spiced between mild and medium and would've been fine on it's own in a bowl. The chimichurri added some herbaceousness and the pico de gallo would've added some bite. The spicing isn't such that you'd need the sour cream to cool things off. Notice I didn't mention rice or beans. There wasn't any. Just a burrito stuffed w/ meaty chili and accessorized w/ cheese, sour cream and chimichurri. So there ya go, my vote for best burrito in the city is served at a butcher counter in SLM.
Where's the best fried chicken in the GTA ?
Thanks LTL, I'll have to try out the wings and full chicken parts and see if they'll satisfy my Bon Chon cravings.
Where's the best fried chicken in the GTA ?
I looked it up in Yelp to add to my bookmarks and it came up w/ an address near Yonge & Bloor? Is it the same owners or different owners w/ the same name?
Where's the best fried chicken in the GTA ?
Stockyards was the best I've had in Toronto. Harlem and the Counter (now The Tompson) didn't do it for me. Harlem was jerk seasoned and slightly sweet while the Counter's had no flavor at all. Popeye's is Popeye's so usually no surprises about what you get. Haven't tried Church's up here, but if they're like Church's in the states, they're usually good for salty fried goodness.
Billy Bishop Layover
Not true. Chicago has the Cubs and Toronto has the Leafs. That's another similarity.
Late to the game, but somewhat close to the airport is Liberty Village which is a cool little neighborhood that's explorable by foot. Grab a Bixi bike from the corner of Bathurst & Queens Quay and it's a 10 minute ride to Liberty Village.
Anyone else get lunch from Kim's Aunt on 46th?
Now that the weather's getting nicer, I can take the long walk to the Kim's Aunt for fried shrimp and a fruit smoothie from one of the carts nearby. As for the quality of the fish, who cares? It's $5 and deep fried.
Best Burger - Walking distance from Entertainment District
BQM has diff kinds of grinds, some of which they'll cook medium rare, and some they won't so it depends. As for rare, just talk 'em up, show them your DL so they know you're not from the health dept., and maybe they'll slip you a rare burger.
Best Burger - Walking distance from Entertainment District
Not great, but BQM Diner on Queen W. is my pick over Grindhouse. And Big Smoke on King W. near Bathurst over both of them.
Just ordered a dozen glory hole doughnuts
So I finally managed to snag some Glory Hole donuts. I picked up the chicken n waffles, puddin' and coconut cream. I found the donuts to be greasier than normal. Even Tiny Tom's donuts which you can see are fried in front of you, aren't as greasy. I split a coconut cream and puddin' w/ my wife. The coconut cream was tasty, but not as good as the Doughnut Plant's coconut cream which is a donut I would eat everyday if I could. The pudding in the puddin' donut wasn't as creamy as it should be and tasted just ok. I wouldn't want to eat the pudding on its own because the taste and texture were both odd. After eating a half of each, both are just weighing my stomach down like greasy lead. My wife's opinion was, "They're ok." As for the chicken n waffles, I'll update this thread later after I go to the gym and work off the first 2 donuts.
Update: The chicken n waffles donut is novel, but also just a one time experience for me. My curiosity about Glory Hole donuts is satisfied. I wouldn't go out of my way to get any and I'll be avoiding Thor Espresso Bar in the future since the first time I went, I got a mouthful of grounds and the second time, I got a tummy ache.
La Promenade des Anglais - Dinner Report
The Trofie's tomato, olive, caper sauce is pretty strong so I wouldn't say it's Nicoise salad w/ pasta. The canned tuna belly is only 2-3 thin slices.
The brandade crostini and prosciutto & clam croquettes are winners. I'd be happy to sit at the bar and just eat those, and maybe the braised rabbit w/ pacchero.
The Construction Site - Grilled Cheese
Did The Grilled Cheese in Kensington Market close?
Willing to make time to try NYC's BEST Southern Fried Chicken - But Where??!!
I would split them into 3 groups and send them all to get enough fried chicken for a taste test.
Street Food, Little Italy and China town
For street food, check out midtownlunch.com's twitter tracker. It shows where many trucks and some of the better carts are at any given time of the day.
The best Schnitzel
I went here for lunch and felt like taking a nap halfway through the sandwich. It's a huge sandwich too and if you're in the area and want something fried w/ ham, bacon, cheese, fried onions, bacon, etc. on it, this is the place to go. And in the middle of the day, the area's not that sketchy.
