Googs's Profile
Toronto Life's 25 best burgers
Any list of the top 25 or even top 10 burgers in Toronto that doesn't include Goody's Diner is immediately irrelevant. Suivant!
Scarborough Gems
I'd keep a close eye on The Grid. Not only do they review restaurants that aren't on Ossington, they seem to understand Scarborough as well. Great ethnic food at a low cost in humble settings with tables always available and ample free parking. That just wouldn't go over downtown it would seem judging by the other reviewers.
http://www.thegridto.com/neighbourhoods/scarborough/#sub=places&subValue=0
There's also my own attempt to round up a 2012 selection that resulted in this:
http://g.co/maps/36sx3
from the conversation started here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/833295
There's a new THAI restaurant on the west side of VICTORIA PARK between Eglinton & Lawrence
Whizzed by it so quickly on the way to the bakery that I didn't have a chance to jot down the name. Has anyone tried it yet or am I taking one for the team again?
Lunch / Take-out near Eaton Centre...anything worth having?
I assume you mean at Sliced, yes?
Burgers in Toronto
Whereas Goody's Diner can pull off the stuffed burger every time.
Trans Canada road trip
I haven't (road? taste?) tested it myself, but Ian Brown's "Ian Brown Eats Canada" may be of some help.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/ian-brown-eats-canada/
Lunch / Take-out near Eaton Centre...anything worth having?
Good food, good cause, and low prices complete the trinity.
http://trinitysquarecafe.webs.com/
Burgers in Toronto
It's a debatable point. I'd rather eat a Johnny's dog burger than that Lick's piece of bread inside a bun it's so full of filler. They're both cheap, but if I'm going cheap I better get sleazy food too. Agreed 5 Guys doesn't belong in that sentence though.
Quick and cheap breakfast close to Eaton Centre or the Distillery District?
Morning Glory is definitely good. It does get busy on nice days, though, so the OP may have a wait. Tricky to do in such a wee space. Still, definitely among the best breakfast options near the Distillery.
http://www.toronto.com/article/690946--the-morning-after-brunch-at-morning-glory
Scarborough Gems
Oh my goodness, I've been wondering about The Black Forest. It's been around since I was a little kid. (Well it was a tad to the east before, but then again so was I.) Are you saying it's worth a dinner there? What would you recommend? Cheesecake and steak, sure, but what else?
P.S. Dine at T-Bones at your own risk.
Scarborough Gems
I wish I could say I still loved Tara Inn. I've had many, many Irish breakfasts and almost as many dinners there. The quality of food has gone downhill in the last while and they've moved the menu to the middle of the roadhouse. I'm very sorry to say that I would no longer recommend it. You can't imagine how hard that is for me to say. I have so many fond memories.
St. Lawrence Market - "World's Best Food Market" in National Geographic List -
To each their own. For me, the bifana is already a whole lotta food. I usually only finish half and save the rest. I also like the powerful flavours of the bifana. It's quite the wake up call.
Got a nice piece of tuna, help me sear it properly, please!
Oh no, it's easy to have a warm, but blue centre. I do it all the time. You should give my way a whirl. If you like tuna as much as I, you might surprise yourself.
Got a nice piece of tuna, help me sear it properly, please!
Without a quick finish in the oven you risk having a cold centre. With a thinner piece, your method works fine. The ones I buy are always thick and so require a few minutes in the oven to warm the centre.
If you're treating it like a steak, your finger poke check should tell you how long to leave it in the oven. Sometimes not at all, but mostly a few minutes will put the perfect finish on it. I like my steaks blue and will apply this too when indoor cooking. Of the dozens of sashimi grade tuna I've cooked, I think I've only had an oops maybe 2 or 3 times and generally because I didn't trust my instincts.
BREVILLE COUNTER TOP SMART TOASTER/CONVECTION OVEN
You're going to love it. The day I used the toaster oven to make toast and it actually did it perfectly I think I cried a little. Good at all functions.
Got a nice piece of tuna, help me sear it properly, please!
Oh, no not cast iron pan and all. The heat retention in cast iron would turn it into a tuna chip. I should have written, "finish by transferring tuna from cast iron pan to roasting pan in 200 degree oven."
I guess I don't have the knack for writing a cookbook. I always complain when there's an obvious missing step. Does this explanation make it clear to you now gourmanda?
Quick and cheap breakfast close to Eaton Centre or the Distillery District?
I didn't think Mutual Street Deli was open Sundays. Is it?
Quick and cheap breakfast close to Eaton Centre or the Distillery District?
If quick and cheap are your only criteria, try Times Square on the Esplanade east of Jarvis. Basic greasy spoon breakfasts served exactly that way.
Best Cheesecake in Toronto/Scarborough/York Region
If I were looking for cheesecake in Scarborough, I'd be calling the Italian bakeries. Now I make my own so I've never bought one from them. I'm hoping others might share their opinions.
http://www.calabriabakery.ca/
http://francescabakery.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lamannas-Bakery/129928707038659
If they don't do decorations, a quick trip to Bulk Barn will solve that for you.
Got a nice piece of tuna, help me sear it properly, please!
I'm probably too late since I imagine you bought it to cook the same day. In any case...
As others have said, please don't freeze that gorgeous piece of sashimi grade tuna. You'll lose too much if you do.
In terms of cooking, treat the tuna ex-ACT-ly the same way you treat your steak. No one can give you the precise length of time it should be on the grill or grill pan without knowing how thick it is and how you like your steak. Here are some basic steps I do.
- Remove the tuna from your fridge about an hour before it's going to hit the pan. You'll avoid uneven cooking and a cold centre.
- Season it as you like, but be careful of using liquids for seasoning. They can and will overtake the tuna's delicate flesh in mere moments. Better to use liquids (soy sauce, whatever) at the moment the pairing will be hitting your mouth.
- Coat your cast iron grill pan with low smoke oil (I use peanut) and take her up to high
- Grill per side as you would steak. I generally have them cut it about 1.5" thick so I go 2 min per side.
- Finish in a 200 degree oven for about 5-10 min again depending on thickness in order to warm, but not cook the centre. If you've done it right, it should still be vibrantly pink in the middle and lightly warm.
- I don't slice before I serve. I plate it just like a steak.
I have pork loin chops and I have apple butter. Now what?
Thanks everyone and especially thanks greygarious and goodhealthgourmet. I knew my concept had a missing element. Panko was it. I took all suggestions into consideration and the result was incredibly rewarding.
I made a fresh batch of the bbq rub from Weber's Real Grilling to which I always add a bit of granulated garlic. I rubbed the chops and put them in the fridge to marinate for about 4 hours (a/k/a all the time I had). I removed them from the fridge to allow them to warm at the same time that I started boiling the potatoes for mashing with the remaining bbq rub. The chops were then seared in a cast iron grill pan 2 minutes a side (they were thick). Once removed from the pan, I applied a light coating of apple butter using a butter knife and a dusting of panko. Note to self: use tinfoil in the bottom of the pan next time for the panko droppings. Into the 350 oven they went for 15 minutes.
What came out was, in Beau's opinion though he HAS to be nice to me, the best pork chops ever. From my end, I'd say the effort:reward ratio was definitely in my favour.
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
You're in brunch, not breakfast, territory. If brunch suggestions help, you might consider strolling down Mt Pleasant south of Eglinton once the weather's nice. Here's Simple Bistro's brunch menu. There are more places that you can find in the area with your feet and your nose. If MP & Eg suggestions are useful to you, perhaps others can suggest more.
http://www.simplebistro.com/Home_files/Brunch%20Menu%20-%20March%202012%20w%20Logo.pdf
The best chocolate chip cookie in Toronto?
In my mind, it comes down to two categories with chocolate chip cookies. Decadently rich and chockablock with chips or simple homestyle that you or your mom might make. For the latter, I quite like Montmartre Bakery's cookies. They're lightly sweet, cookie crisp, and just the other side of enough chocolate to make them fun. I've no opinon on the decadent kind since they aren't really my bag.
I have pork loin chops and I have apple butter. Now what?
Bingo greygarious! That appeals to my savoury side. Have you done this? Does the panko crust manage to contain the apple butter?
I have pork loin chops and I have apple butter. Now what?
I understand. Can't figure out why they don't call it apple jam . Mine has zero fat and zero salt, all carbs & sugar. That's why I was considering just using it as a coating before popping the chops into the oven. Further condensing a light layer of the "butter" might be all the kick it needs.
I have pork loin chops and I have apple butter. Now what?
That's kinda what I thought.
I was also thinking about those exact same ingredients for either a sauce or marinade. I still think I'd like to sneak some thyme in there. Have you ever tried that?
I want the pork to be the star and the apple butter simply to accentuate the pork. Any thoughts on that?
I have pork loin chops and I have apple butter. Now what?
I'm not really sure that apple butter and apple sauce are interchangeable. Do you find it so todao?
romantic breakfast/brunch
Romance is usually helped along quite a bit when the restaurant in question is hand-holding, walking distance from home. Is there a preferred neighbourhood rrecchia?
I have pork loin chops and I have apple butter. Now what?
I've considered rubbing with salt & pepper, searing the pork on a grill pan, and then smearing them with apple butter before finishing in the oven. I've considered turning the apple butter into a marinade with some help from some ice apple cider, garlic, thyme, and maybe a clove or two.
What would you do?
