ministerofkebab's Profile
Looking for an Art Deco venue for a cocktail reception for around 150 people in or around Toronto.
totally agree, had an event at the Carlu last year, beautiful space, great staff and 150 is a good number for that space, perhaps a little low, but it is configurable.
WANTED! Indian Curry recommendation anyone?
better off with banjara, the host, everest......there used to be Dehu Sahars Biryani house which was good...now runs a place called Debu's on mount pleasant, haven't tried it but his old place was superb...link below.
http://www.debusaha.com/.
New burger joint opening at Jones and Gerrard
The mysterious Gerrard and Jones "gourmet" burger joint...
Intrigued....after my original cynical missive about the plethora of "gourmet" burger joints sparked a positively tea-partyish backlash from the good denizens of jones and gerrard..
i have been afraid to ask....but now i will ...
So...is it any good, is it even open, are its toppings fresh, plentiful, suitably organic and locally sourced ? are its buns freshly baked and simultaneously crisp on the outside yet springy in the middle, is the aioli homemade and its mustard artisanal and french ? Can i get a burger topped with hand-crafted cheddar made by nuns from quebec and crispy bacon from a former lawyer who now raises pork in southwestern ontario...
Please share...
ps
Seems to be taking longer than the Lahore Tikka House renovations.
I trust after all this time we will getting reports of hand reared calves, massaged personally by the owner for 12 months before being hand ground into perfectly hand formed patties...with only the finest sea salt as seasoning....
or perhaps not.
Updates welcomed.
B
Harbour Island
Am going next week.., for the third time....anything new ? Landing ? Sip Sip, Dunmore Deli, Acquapasta.....any new tips anyone cares to share ?
New burger joint opening at Jones and Gerrard
err..apparently not. though i take nothing away from your desire for decent burgers or even food on that strip.
New burger joint opening at Jones and Gerrard
Oh q'uelle surprise !
Another gourmet burger joint. whoo hoo....8 thousand nine hundred and sixteen and counting. Bring on the toppings. Is it just me or is this gourmet burger thing just going a bit over the top...it;s reminding me of the great sushi explosion of years gone by....
Madras Masala ?? next to Banjara....
Noticed fast progress on what seems to be a new south indian place right next to Banjara at Bloor just west of Christie. Old place next door closed a couple of weeks ago and something of a colour-coded reno seems to be underway....the sign on the door says south indian specialties...Hmm anyone know anything, judging by the fact that the new place is also Orange....that perhaps there is a north/south indian collaboration going on here....good south indian delivery perchance !!
Anyone have any info....have tried looking for an existing madras masala, for which this might be a next venture downtown ( a la on the north indian front the migration of DHABA from the boons).....Anyone know anything....better be good to match my old fave south india dosa mahal....though i confess the latter lacks ambience and delivery...and this is close.....mmmm....chants of UTTAPAM, UTTAPAM...ring in my ears, cos i'm funny like that.
Early morning soccer in a pub?
Yep...the Duke of gloucester is the genuine thing...a cultural treasure, i swear..the decor hasn't changed for thirty years..its grungy...GREAT jukebox, really good beer...and the rest...what....you want edible ? THe duke is the pace for soccer, though eat something like a bacon sandwich....but NOT NOT the steak and kidney pie with"flaky" crust - its like armour plating for a LAV,
El jacalito - review
El Jacalito on Bloor around dufferin appears from the many times i have walked past, to be a small hole in the wall take-out place. Guess I was wrong. A sunday stroll down there on this the first moderately sunny and not snowing day for a while....and...
Well...quite impressed. It is much bigger than it appears and kinda homey - its definitely a local hangout, mexican families, extended and otherwise, couples and soccer watching tables of guys...mexican league soccer on four t.v.s. Certainly it has more atmosphere than mexictaco and even ...dare i say it...the crowd favorite...el trompo of kensington...
So onto food.. sunday has barbacoa...( also available by the kilo)...this sunday lamb..so i had three lamb tacos, nice smoky meat on corn tortilla, tender and tasty - salsas were a cilantro/green chile and a spicier red chile salsa. (next time i must ask for more picante...cos the picante wasn't picante enough !)
Partner had one of the many all day day brekkies - huevos revueltos with chilaquiles...( pretty good) Queso fundido...standard fare...but what is there to get wrong ! Guacamole with nice homemade nachos..but, the standout fave were the Churros HMMMMM MMM - divine, superb, excellent freshly made and crispy on the outside....soft on the inside churros...simply wonderful. usually a breakfast food...but here served as a desert...exquisite, actually better than i have had from my fave place in puebla.
Decent menu...cochinita pibil and pozole included.... so definitely worth a stop...and appreaciate any feedback on other items here.
A Year of Chow - Your 2007 Picks
Indeed. Banjara...had great meals at Canoe, JK, and elsewhere. Though the best thing that happened day to day foodie wise was Banjara got back into the game...after a bit off a rough spot, through fall and winter it has been consistently really really good and occasionally great. so count that as another vote for BANJARA, the closest thing to really good indian without the drive to brampton !
Best Indian restaurant toronto suggestions??
Banjara....went through a touch of a rough patch there a few months back but ate there this week and have had take out a few times recently and yep...mmm mm...they've found their game. Superb butter chicken, saag is excellent - fresh tasting and spicy, their bharta is excellent and nicely smokey and silky as it whould be. Yup Banjara for me.
Though i do have a soft spot for lahore tikka house on gerrard, if only because of the humour and atmos of that bizarre place and the worlds longest running renovation job!
Grappa Ristorante on College...anyone been recently ?
dear cheesymama...
Thanks so much for this...sounds like we live parallel lives, ditto on going there with partner long before being wed and kids ! Can't believe they've actually updated the dining room..what ! no more cheesy murals of peasants picking grapes ....I kinda liked those...oh well. Glad to hear the service is till great. I still remember teddy who was superb.
Best butter chicken in the Toronto area
Agree absolutely, there were some hiccups there for a while, but BANJARA have got their shit together and the food is back to being superb, had the butter chicken last night and it is silky, well spiced and delicious. Banjara is back in the game.
Grappa Ristorante on College...anyone been recently ?
Have been a long time fan of this place,,,but juggling kids, work, moving house etc haven't been for a long while. I remember it as a place with a great wine list and very good traditional italian fare in a fairly relaxed atmos...interested in any recent visits/reviews as i am planning a very special dinner there soon....any recent highs/lows ?
The dish on Foxley
Thanks for this so far.....re: kids...intent is they are at home snuggly looked after reading their books happily and drifiting off quietly to sleep...in joy and harmony with the babysitter. After eating their carrot sticks and spinach salads and sitting in a circle "using their words" to resolve understandable differences they may have.
Anyone actually been to foxley recently ? any standouts and.....when does it open..as I have no doubt we'll have to do a mad dash to get to springsteen.
The dish on Foxley
Contempating an early dinner out before a concert in a few weeks. With 2 youno kids we don't dine out as in the old days. Can any one provide details on Foxley? It will be a low key birthday celebration. Any thoughts? We're also thinking of Jaimie Kennedy Wine Bar, Torito, perhaps Gamelle. All suggestions welcome.
New Authentic Mexican food on Bloor (wed only)
Excellent news... i live quite close to the concorrd Connnncord or concord or however they are choosing to spell it today ( a long history of bad spelling at that place) ...am very interested in this....if you go again next weds post a menu ...will defintely check this out.....its so very toronto this, an old fashioned italian/portugese coffee bar morphing into serving authentic mexican on wednesday nights, while it also advertising reggae gigs with jamaican food....located on a strip that houses little ethiopia - with the nuance in place between those who advertise as serving eritrean or ethiopian...opposite a greek working mens club...love that strip...its messy hodge podge city - including the only nicaraguan restaurant that i know in the city.
Jaaadu
Err wrong on many points....Perhaps if your family is indian and you're referring to eating at someones home in india...after having worked in India over a number of years i can safely say that the great places are limited, the average places below what you can get on gerrard...etc and as for them all tasting the same. Helloooo...Indian food is exceedingly regional while we tend to get a certain northern indian sameness in some places...the fact is that there is a fairly rich diversity and no...a south indian dosa place does not taste the same as a gujarati vegetarian place run by jains or a dosa place run by tamils...
Best Risotto in TO??
Grappa on college. Very old school, great wine list and damn good risotto....often a special if itsn't on the main menu,,
Banjara (Bloor near Christie)?
Just got delivery from them....Beef Madras,butter chicken, palak paneer, channa and naan. Happy to report that seems to have been changes in the kitchen,,,saag/palak paneer was delicious, good dose of ginger and the paneer wasn't the slightest bit rubbery. Butter chicken ...divine - nice dose of cardamon...not the like the horrid campbells soup yuck at bombay palace,,rice...nice toothsome basmati. Delivery was quick and Naan was fresh from the tandoor. Very good..actually as i was hungry ...excellent... i think the trick with this place is don't order/go on friday or saturday night..midweek the food is way better.
Very best Indian
Host - if the person is on the more conservative side and likes tablecloths and service....book a private dining room, food is good to very good - but not great. Nice ambience though. If they are more open to ahem "adventure" then Lahore tikka house...its the worlds longest running renovation experiment - has a kind of off-the-wall eccentric charm and the food is pretty good. A safe bet is Debu Sahars Biryani House on wellesley. Food is better than Khama and Dhaba - and setting is pretty pleasant. So there are three for you.
What happened to Banjara Indian restuarant
happy to report the naan is now back to normal - hot crispy yet chewy fresh out of the tandoor. Also live nearby and it is great for delivery - vindaloo is excellent, tandoori chicken is very good and love the butter chicken.
Escape from Kidsworld Missisauga ! help
Dear Chowhounders,
Please find enclosed a desperate plea. This saturday, due to a painful and gut-wrenching compromise we will be shuttling oldest daughter to a birthday party at a place called kidsworld in missisagua. Somewhere near the airport according to googlemaps. If there is any upside to this at all, it may lie in the faint hope clause.....he said hopefully "perhaps we could find some great indian nearby" ......met with sceptical looks from the significant other....having done a quick googlemaps - appears my choices are limited to MAMA MIAs bad italian, Tims and some other donut places...errr bit of a fix here...help appreciated.
So...here is todays chow challenge. What foodie gems are within striking (aka cab distance) of Kidsworld Missisauga (aka middle of nowhere near the airport)..err and INDIAN would be great but hey...when escaping from kidsworld...we'd be up for anything apart from tims and crappy italian. Googlemaps to the rescue.
any ...and i mean ANY help very much appreciated.
Johny Banana - disappointed
What is authentic to the zona rosa of mexico city has more in common with the authentic of yorkville...and is an abomination to someone outside of the gilded set from tampico or morelia, or dolores hidalgo... so quit chasing the "authentic" snark....is it a) good b) has it been dumbed down and rendered boring
Erin ,Georgetown, Acton ??? - foodie thoughts ?
I go riding out this way, erin, georgetown, acton - this sort of nexus. Wondering what foodie gems lurk out this way. Found a very nice bakery in georgetown...but wondering what foodie destinations might be nearby and worth a visit. Love great Indian ..but somehow I'm guessing not on ??
Great Indian Food in TO
Check out Debu Sahars Biryani House...opposite wellesley subway. Excellent, a little pricier but the food is superb...in my humble opinion best higher end indian in the city by far.
