Helina's Profile
Starbucks Scone
Interesting discussion about industrial bakeries. Thanks all. Meantime, I may have answered part of my own question. Seems Hershey's makes cinnamon chips! Who knew? Now, where to find them.
Starbucks Scone
Ooh La La, the café on the main floor of the CBC Building at Wellington and John carries a really delicious butterscotch scone if you're ever near there. But it just doesn't match that cinnamon one, sigh. I will try the Vanilla Bean when I see one at my next trip to Starbucks. Thanks.
Starbucks Scone
So, they used to have this wonderful cinnamon chip scone. It was the main reason -- often the only reason -- I would go to Starbucks. Then about two years ago they didn't have it anymore. One "barrista" told me they'd changed bakeries here in Toronto. Lately, though, I am craving that scone. Any ideas? Somewhere else that has them? A recipe perhaps? Thanks!
Batifole service
Went to Batifole last Thursday night. Very good food. Very uneven service. It was packed, but just the same, the wine our friends ordered as an aperitif took forty-five minutes to arrive and the waiter didn't show up to take our orders til ten minutes after that. I appreciate not being rushed but it's nice to have more than a glass of water for most of the first hour. Service did improve after that. Rock fish and lobster soup was a bit strongly flavoured -- fishy and grainy -- but the portabello soup was wonderful and the John Dory perfect. Husband liked the snails and loved the cassoulet. Lemon crepe and creme brule excellent. At least we left in a good mood!
Baby-friendly in East End?
I've mentioned it before but Green Eggplant on Queen, east of Woodbine is very kid-friendly. Special kids meals (NOT the usual chicken fingers). Also a nice, casual place for a grown-up drink. But it can get busy.
Pape/Danforth
Try Mocha Mocha's Vegetarian Club Sandwich. Really yummy with lots of avocado. I also love their Brown Rice Salad, which is both huge and delicious. I haven't been in a while. Think I'll go tomorrow.
Pommegranate Molasses-Where to Buy it?
No, I do not have shares in Arz Bakery. Seems I keep mentioning the place. But I buy pomagranate molasses there. Agree Paula Wolfert great. I also make a recipe from Nigella Lawson's The Way to Eat which is described as a Lebanese mousakka. A colleague says it's authentic, the way her mother make it. Sometimes I sprinkle pomagranate seeds on top and add a bit of honey to the recipe. It's very good over rice.
Chocolate covered halva
If you have to come further south, try the Arz Bakery on Lawrence Avenue East (between Pharmacy and Warden). Maybe call first but they're tops in middle eastern sweets.
A lump of coal for Old Scott House
Christmas Day Dinner. Two families mourning the losses of loved ones decided this was the year to go out for the holiday meal. My 83 year old aunt suggests The Old Scott House in Scarborough. Having taken her there for a holiday meal some years back, we agree. The price is reasonable and while the menu is hardly inspiring, it is traditional and much like what many people eat on Christmas. We booked a table for ten a month in advance. On December 23, the restaurant calls to confirm the reservation. The woman on the line is very pleasant. We feel this will work out nicely. Then we arrive promptly at 5:55 for our 6pm reservation. The lobby is in chaos, absolutely packed with buzzing patrons and they are not smiling. Turns out they are running behind. WAY behind. People have been waiting an hour to be seated. Larger parties are waiting longer than others. There are many elderly people huddled in this crowd, a few of whom are having trouble standing. No one on staff offers chairs to them so families are forced to find them a place to perch. The young woman at the desk is looking wilted and under seige in her Santa Claus hat and for good reason. People grow angry, she grows defensive. When people ask where the manager is, she says "I wish I knew." Another staffer shows up. I ask why we have been waiting an hour, telling her I am angry they overbooked. She denies overbooking. Says they allowed 2 hours per table for dinner. Two hours max. It's not their fault people aren't vacating the tables. I remain polite though I am furious. I tell the woman in the Santa hat that this is not fair to her either. Fifteen minutes later, we are guided upstairs through a corridor piled with dishes to a table for ten in a nice cozy room. It is 7:15 pm, 75 minutes after our reservation, and there is a group of seventeen people downstairs still waiting for their 5:30 table. They would not have fit our table for ten in the small upstairs room. At this point, the wait staff takes over and the service is good. The food varies depending on what is ordered. Most in our party are happy with their meal and determined not to fume about the wait because it is, after all, Christmas. What a nightmare. Needless to say, we will not be returning.
where to find thin rice paper/wafer paper?
I bought mine at Loblaws. Asian food aisle.
Preserved Lemons - Where in Downtown TO?
I bought a jar at Arz on Lawrence at Warden on the weekend. Sorry, I know that's not downtown, but it's a great store for Middle Eastern goodies. Also, I used the vegetable tagine recipe on the Chow recipe board and it was really good.
Gingerbread Houses (best place) ?
Loblaws definitely has 90 minute do-it-yourself Gingerbread classes at their Victoria Park Market store and maybe some other spots, but they may be full. A friend just gave us a kit she bought at Costco for me to put together with my four year old. The one we got last year (different store) was inedible, but that wasn't the point. My daughter and I had a messy blast putting it together and making it look as tacky as possible. I know you're seeking ready-made, but the kids might enjoy the experience (the parents might not feel the same about the clean-up).
Chinese Buffet Recommendations
We like the Imperial Buffet on Eglinton Avenue, just west of Warden (near the big movie theatre at Eglinton Common). It IS really westernized Chinese food, but we don't go there for authenticity, just a fresh, fattening feast now and again.
Dosa's and South Indian Food - where?
Sometimes if I'm in a hurry, I just get a takeout Dosa from the Motimahal -- on the same strip as Udupi Palace but much more basic (the Indo-Canadian friend who first took me there calls it MacCurry's). I get the Masala Dosa (or Dosa Masala?) which is mostly potato. They serve it with a thin but super-spicy dal. I'm never sure if that's meant for dipping or eating separately, but I always enjoy it with tears streaming down my cheeks from the heat.
Spanish Ingredients in Toronto
I made paella for a crowd on the weekend. I usually buy the rice for it from the guy at St. Lawrence Market mentioned above -- Rube's. But they were out. The woman told me they weren't expecting a new shipment for a few weeks. Very frustrating as I didn't have time to shop around. I used arborio, which I've done in a pinch before, but it takes longer to cook and usually has me timing the seafood wrong. Ugh.
Lasagna - Vegetarian or Beef
Friends who live in Riverdale have served us the Veggie lasagne from Dash Kitchen, a catering shop on the north side of Danforth around Chester. I know they are pricey but it was very good.
popsicle moulds
There's a store on Danforth Avenue near Pape called iQ living. I just looked it up: 542 Danforth. I was in there a few weeks back and they had some really cool popsicle molds, all kinds of interesting shapes. They were probably pricey (I didn't look) but nice. We bought some at Ikea earlier in the summer... not sure they still have them.
Jean's Thai Kitchen BACK?
We ate there for the first time a few weeks ago on a Saturday night, with friends who used to patronize the family's previous restaurant and who love the new place too. We had a very good meal. I am a non-meat eater but love seafood (a pescatarian) and the others were ominvores. Lovely spring rolls and a very good mango salad to start. The pad thai had a very nice flavour, almost slightly smokey, and I didn't feel it missed the fish sauce. I could live without the mock shrimp and chicken, and would have preferred it just with straight tofu and veg (as my friend said, "Don't mock me"). We also had a dish of fairly conventional green curry vegetables and several bowls each of coconut rice and brown rice. But the real standouts were the Ginger-Chile Eggplant -- it's not on the menu, but was apparently on the menu at the old place, so our friends asked for it (no problem) -- and a wonderful dish of okra in tamarind sauce. All consumed with ginger green tea. No room for dessert. And yes, our friends said it was the same family. A man named Harry brought our tea.
Meat Samosas - NO VEG PLEASE!
Sultan of Samosas on O'Connor Drive at Sunrise (between St. Clair and Vic Park). They have about ten or twelve varieties including beef and chicken. They're smaller than most but really good. I usually also buy a nice spicy pakora to munch on the way home.
Old Style (60’s) Diners In TO?
The Bus Terminal Restaurant on Danforth at Coxwell. It's architecture is original and the decor has been revamped to make it even more "fifties-style."(I was told it was done for a movie and the owner decided to keep it.) I have friends who eat breakfast there every weekend. Personally I find it ordinary and over-priced, and the home fries are inedible. But it sure has the atmosphere I think you're looking for.
Kid Tolerant Restaurants in Toronto
Varied menu. Not Thai, though the name might suggest it is. I suspect the cooks are Greek. Mainly pastas, grilled salmon, chicken dishes.
Kid Tolerant Restaurants in Toronto
If you end up in the Beach neighbourhood, Green Eggplant is great for kids (on Queen about three blocks west of Woodbine). Their kid's entrees are $5 and include a beautifully cooked boneless chicken breast with garlic smashed potatoes. They're so good, my 4 year old ignores the fact the skins are smashed into them. The grown-up food is not high end but it's good and the drinks are reasonable (okay wine list and martinis for $6). It can be busy and there are usually lots of families with kids.
Starbuck's Ice Coffee
I saw them at Costco recently, maybe a month ago. I think they were in packs of twelve or sixteen.
Best Hummus/Baba Ghanouj
Arz Bakery on Lawrence west of Warden. Both hummus and baba ganouche really good, as is their labneh (sp?), which is thick yogurt with garlic and mint. The first two items are in the fridge, the latter you get at their deli counter. Also the BEST pita to go with them, usually still warm in the bag.
Chinese Bakery in TO that sells steamed buns?
I still like the Yung Sing Bakery on Baldwin, north side near McCaul. Busy at lunch time (lots of hospital workers) and cheap. Lots of variety.
Bad night at Coco Lezzone
I wish I'd read some of the historical posts about this place before we dropped in there last week. I'm still shaking my head over the experience. It was Thursday night and the place was bustling. We were heartily welcomed at the door and ushered to a table near the front. Ordered wine. Asked for water. "Mineral water?" we were asked. "No, just tap water," I said. "Ah, tap water." (Sound familiar... this was exactly as things unfolded in someone else's post on this place.) We decided to share an appetizer and ordere the eggplant parmesan. Fairly quickly a plate arrived with eggplant in the centre and other veggies around. We began to dismantle it but I noticed no sign of "parmesan" so I called a waiter over (not ours who cannot be found) and asked if this was what we'd ordered. He said it wasn't, and they'd correct it. Took the plate away. A few minutes later another eggplant dish arrives piled high with cheese (different waiter). We split it in two and start eating. We're chatting away and enjoying our wine when it occurs to me we are eating chevre and there's no parmesan in sight. A moment later, our original waiter appears with our eggplant parmesan. He says, scoldingly, that we're eating the eggplant and goat cheese, do we still want the parmesan? "Well, that's what we ordered," I say. We eat it. At this point, thoughts of dessert are out the window. We're getting full. My lobster ravioli arrives, so smothered in spicy tomato sauce (a nice sauce) that the taste of lobster is obliterated. My husband enjoys his veal. In the middle of eating our mains, the waiter asks if we're enjoying them, and proceeds to tell us that the whole appetizer mixup is costing him $20 because it comes out of his own pocket. "I'm sorry to hear it," I say. A few minutes later, they pour the wrong wine into my glass -- some from the bottle belonging to the neighbouring table rather than our own. The couple at the next table laugh along with us at the ongoing mixups. I'm steamed. My sympathetic husband leaves an over-generous tip to make up for some of the waiter's loss. We won't be back.
Gelato in East Toronto (Scarborough)
I second Ed's in the east part of the beach, on Queen.
Green Eggplant in the Beach
I've had two of their pastas (with seafood) and they were quite good. The Portabello veggie burger was nice (vegetarian) though not exceptional. My aunt really loves their planked salmon and my husband had a good steak one night.
Samosa
Fourth the Sultan.
And if you want to take a bag home (say for a party), they will deep-fry them for you before freezing them so you can put them in the oven to reheat. You just have to call in advance.
Beach Eats: Let's Be Honest
I'm usually a lurker but thought I'd post today. We've lived in the Beach for four years now and usually leave the neighbourhood to "dine" because we agree there's not much that's good. We do patronize The Goof a lot. Lately we have gone to Green Eggplant a number of times. With that name, you'd think it was Thai, but it's not. Varied menu: pasta, fish, burgers. Good value for money with decent wine by the glass. Also very kid-friendly. They have a $5 special for children that's really good (for example, a nicely cooked chicken breast with yummy mashed potatoes). The desserts leave something to be desired but the atmosphere is pleasant, though go late if you want to avoid children.
