Being partial to liquorice, I quite like the Capricorn brand black liquorice from Australia ($5.39 for 700 grams) that has recently become available at my local Costco store on Billy Bishop Way. No artificial flavours or colours (which makes it as healthy as liquorice can possibly be, I suppose). But I'm still nostalgic for, and even more partial, to the boxes of liquorice cigars - doubtless loaded with artificial everything - that my local Costco used to carry at one time. However, I'm aware that some Costcos out there still carry the liquorice pipes. But which Costcos, pray tell? If you know which ones in and around Toronto still stock those wonderful noshes, I'd be eternally grateful if you'd share your knowledge.

Pho Mi Asia, mentioned above, is a good choice. As is a nearby pho joint I've been sampling lately. It's directly across the street from Pho Mi Asia, in a small plaza on the south side of Wilson Ave. just east of Keele St. Called Pho Hoa Binh. Little to choose between the two - mind, Pho Hoa Binh is less hectic. Similar prices. The above-mentioned Churrasqueira Estrela is mainly takeout, though it does do some basic (very basic) table service. Usually quite tasty.

There's nothing fancy at Keele and Wilson - the neighbourhood couldn't support it.

The already-recommended bistro-ish Quince, on Yonge St. just south of Eglinton, is a strong choice. Also, there's no corkage charge for bring-your-own-wine there on Monday and Tuesday. Same deal at Tabule - no corkage charge Monday and Tuesday - where I find the starters, appetizers and salads much more interesting than the main dishes. I was also impressed at a French bistro I tried recently, on Bayview Ave. several blocks south of Eglinton. It's called L'Avenue. A first-rate trout main dish, one of the best I've tasted. Good soups and salads. Local clientele. Well-run, comfortable.

Zee Grill, on Mount Pleasant south of Eglinton, is essentially a fish and seafood house, and a good one. Zucca is one of the better modern Italian joints in town. Both, however, are more expensive than the other choices. With wine, you'll be scraping $175-$200 a couple, all in. Don't know Five Doors North - other than, I'm told, that it's noisy.

To answer Brain of J's query: the third menu, presented on a small upright stand on the table, listed the many, many choices for the all-day breakfast. There are also a couple of daily specials scrawled on a nearby blackboard. So, lots of choice at Pancer's, if chaotically and bewilderingly presented. The menus at Pancer's could use a good editing session. But then, so could a lot of other sloppily-organized menus around town.

Note: the half-pound meat sandwiches at Pancer's at under $9 seem, on the face of it, like much better value than the Ben & Izzy's sandwich, at a reported $10, which, studying the picture on this thread, seems to be somewhere between a mere three and four ounces. Which is not nearly substantial enough for a certified fresser.

Centre Street Deli when I'm up that way - it's a well-run spot, with most deli items nicely done most of the time. But when I don't feel like shlepping that far north from my little hovel in York Mills, I'll settle for Pancer's. At the moment, anyway. I'll have to give the new, presumably-improved Pancer's a couple more workouts to be sure. When I'm downtown, it's Caplansky's - when it's on its game, which, for me, has been most every time. As you can see, I'm a deli whore. When I'm not near the deli I love, I love the deli I'm near.

I think I'll steer clear of B&I's till it sorts out its teething problems - if it ever does. In the meantime, lusting for a pastrami sandwich today, I warily approached Moe Pancer's Deli, just a short drive north up Bathurst St. from B&I's. I say "warily" because, since the Pancer family sold it a year or two ago, the joint took a nosedive. But an old deli hand told me it's back to thrill us again. The plaza it which it resides is as crummy as ever. The ambiance isn't what it was when the Pancers ruled the premises: no delightful tummel. But the pastrami, which was always Pancer's strong point, turns out to be pretty damn good again. You get a quarter pound sandwich for $7.85 (compared to the reported $10 or so at B&I's). You want a half-pound sandwich, which is what I ingested? It's another (mere) 75 cents or so. At least, I THINK it's another 75 cents. Pancer's now has three (3) menus, involving many different permutations and combinations, and you need a couple of contract lawyers and a mathematician at your side to help you figure out which combo offers the best value. For those of us who like a clear, concise menu to consider, it's your standard-issue deli menu overkill. It took me 15 minutes to read through, ponder, ask questions of the server (who admitted that even she gets confused sometimes), then decide. The cabbage borscht is also a winner. Mind, I've yet to try the other meats (smoked meat, baby beef, corned beef and such). And I probably never will, because to me Pancer's stands and falls on its pastrami. And the staff seem to know what they're doing - unlike, what I've read above, that upstart B&I's down the street.

P.S. They also have a one-pound version of their meat sandwiches, but anyone foolish enough to order one is looking to be felled by a stroke right then and there.

Pasta Bar reservations are something new? Ever since it opened, I've also always been able to reserve a table at the Pasta Bar. I've even specified the table I preferred, and usually got it.

Here's another vote for Cho Sun OK, in a small strip plaza on the southeast side of Yonge St. at Clark, which is six or seven long blocks north of Steeles Ave. Which means - if you have no car - it'll necessitate a bus ride north after you get off the subway at Finch. I've been going for years, after a tip on this site, and have never been disappointed. A knowledgable, almost-exclusively Korean clientele, who don't mind telling you what they're eating and why it's so good. Though it gets busy at times, things move along nicely, and I've never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes for a table - and often get a table immediately. Outstanding soup/stews and, on hot days, tasty cold arrowroot noodle dishes (I like the icy noodle dish that's topped with spicy sauce). Modest prices, seven good banchan (refilled on request), English spoken, good service. A well-run joint. I've never been to Mot Na Son, which - it seems to me - has a wider-ranging menu than Cho Sun OK, so can't compare the two.

It's always a pleasure to be of service, if possible, to this board's favourite crank.

The broth I had was, I'm confident, beef-based. As are most of the pho on the menu, I suspect. But I note that there are several chicken pho on offer as well, which are surely made with chicken-based broth. And though there's no vegetarian pho on the menu, the owner assured me he would put one together if asked. About MSG, I don't know. MSG doesn't affect me at all. Though a couple of friends, who tipped me off to Hoa Binh in the first place - and who are mildly MSG-sensitive - said they noticed no ill effects. My guess would be Hoa Binh uses a little MSG. Don't they all?

Pho Con Bo? Noted. Thanks for the suggestion. Being a pho whore, I'm easily led astray from my current favourites. If it is indeed much better than Pho Mi Asia, it will be very good indeed. I'll get to it next time I have a hankering for pho. Also in the neighbourhood is, I've noticed, another pho joint, called Pho Hung Long, on Wilson just west of Keele St. (not to be confused with Pho Hung downtown). My (pho) cup runneth over.

Unlike the obsessive Charles Yu, who will travel anywhere in town for a good pho (I swear, the man clearly NEVER eats at home), I'm reluctant to drive more than 20 minutes for a bowl of the stuff. And lately I've been satisfying my pho hunger at Pho Hoa Binh, on Wilson Ave. just east of Keele St. It's almost across the street from the always-busy Pho Mi Asia, another pretty good pho joint. But more to the point, it's just 11 minutes (I timed it) from my lodgings, making it my go-to spot these days in uptown Toronto. Whether it's the best, I knoweth not, but it's good enough for me. Less frenetic than the popular, boisterous Pho Mi Asia, more conducive to quiet reflection on the properties of a decent pho. Solid spring rolls to start (not greasy), then on to a fragrant, flavourful broth with tasty noodles and better-than-average rare beef. You may have to insist they cough up more garnishes - sawtooth and cilantro were MIA at first when I went - but after I jumped up and down, and pouted a little, they've come through with the extras every time since without my asking. The boss always seems to be on hand, making sure everybody's happy. Most accommodating. TV always on in the corner. Easy parking. Downtown, unlike others on this thread, I've never had much luck with Pho Pasteur.

I recall Marcel, an old-pro restaurateur with a distinct French accent, from both the above-mentioned French bistros. The restos he oversaw and/or managed were always well-run and delivered solid value - at least at first. Then prices inevitably spiralled upward and Marcel moved on. Last I saw him was when he headed the front of the house at Steakfrites, a pretty good French bistro that opened several years ago on Yonge St. north of Lawrence Ave. Indeed, I'm pretty sure that's him in the photo on the Steakfrites website. But he seemed to disappear, once again, a year or two ago, and I was told by the staff at Steakfrites that he had health problems. I haven't been back to Steakfrites for quite awhile, so I don't know if he's back in action there - or elsewhere.

Memo to sspector: I drove by Moe Pancer's, on Bathurst St., this evening about 8 p.m., and it sure looked open to me. And a friend of mine, a Pancers regular, told me the other night that he'd had a pastrami sandwich there recently, and he thought it was a first-rate nosh. Just like it was in the days when an actual Pancer was running it. All of which encourages me to give it another shot shortly, despite that crummy plaza it's situated in.

I'd also be intrigued to learn what became of her regular Saturday reviews. You didn't have to agree with her restaurant assessments to enjoy her entertainingly idiosyncratic style. She writes well, and she knows food (her book, Last Chance To Eat, is, in my view, first-rate). But she's been absent for months. I suspect she's a victim of downsizing at the money-losing National Post. Alas.

Given his track record on this board, the OP knows his Middle East nosh quite well. So with his eight-month-old review of Ba-Li above in mind, I tippy-toed into this Dr. Laffa copycat resto a few nights ago - and found it not nearly as good as Toronto's original laffa house. It was certainly serviceable, as the noisy full house attested. But Dr. Laffa, to my mind, beats it by a wide margin in almost every category. For comparison's sake, I ordered exactly the same items as I'd had at Dr. Laffa a few weeks previously. Dr Laffa's soups are more flavourful (a big improvement from its early days), its hummus had more fresh and tasty zing, its sabich sandwich in a laffa much, much zestier. My friend, an Israeli, also didn't find the food up to much (mind, he doesn't care for Dr. Laffa either, crank that he is), but then, Israelis are always moaning about how many light years better (and cheaper) the nosh is in Tel Aviv - and they're probably right. Though Ba-Li's menu insists its laffas are freshly baked, it certainly didn't taste like it. Dr. Laffa, with its dedicated laffa oven, does it infinitely better. Still, my friend and I sampled just the first part of the menu -soups, salads, starters, sandwiches and such. Most of the other tables were digging into the main course entrees, and seemed to be enjoying them. Lame French fries, though. Service was overwhelmed by the crowd, unlike Dr. Laffa, where staffing levels - and food quality - have improved over the past six months. Menu and prices are pretty much the same at both places, with Ba-Li a buck or two less for some dishes. Up against Dr. Laffa, the only thing Ba-Li has going for it, in my view: a licence. Though I'd give it another try sometime, when Dr. Laffa is mobbed, as it invariably is nowadays. It's only a 10-minute drive away from Dr. Laffa.

I've bought fresh-squeezed blood orange juice at Pusateri's on Avenue Rd. (just north of Lawrence Ave.). Though it's not always available at the juicing bar. I'd phone in advance to make sure it's there.

As Davwud points out, it is only a short drive further north from Centre Street Deli to Pancer's (newish) Deli at Dufferin and Major Mac, but a guy has to to draw a line in the sand somewhere. By the time I've shlepped from York Mills and Yonge St. north to Centre Street, a tortuous 30-45-minute drive, and found a parking spot in that jammed Centre Street Deli lot (not always a given), I have no wish to travel a minute more. So Dufferin and Major Mac remains back country to me, though probably not to someone in Aurora. I'm always astounded at Davwud's assiduous ability to get from his north-of-Toronto lodgings to here, there and everywhere around Toronto and environs, in search of decent nosh. A true over-the-top Chowhound. I usually tend to poop out after about 20 minutes on the road.

As barneyvernon has attested, the crummy little strip plaza where Moe Pancer's is housed is indeed an eyesore. Trash-strewn. Tight parking in front. Expect to be dinged. The rear parking lot is also trashy, chaotic, often blocked, problematic. Which may be part of the reason I haven't been there in more than a year, though I was a regular for 30-35 years before the change in ownership. It's kinda depressing to drive by it nowadays, in a plaza that takes the word "dingy" to a whole new level. I suppose I miss the ebullient atmosphere of the place when there was always a Pancer on the premises: Moe, then Stan, then Lorne, with Wilf cutting the meat. Atmosphere is important to a deli. In my view, it even makes the food taste better. Certainly, the guy in charge of the place immediately after the change in ownership was - how to put it? - not particularly charming. A few visits under the deadening sway of the new regime turned me off. And I won't be back till someone I know who knows deli food tells me the nosh is as good as ever. Good deli nosh forgives everything. I'm doubtful about Moe Pancer's renaissance, though I hope the place manages to reinvent itself. It's just a 10-minute drive from my humble abode, and central Toronto needs a good deli (note: the bleak Katz's, on Dufferin south of the 401, isn't it). Perhaps the still-unborn Ben and Izzy's, just south of Moe Pancer's on Bathurst St., will actually open, as promised these many moons, but....well, we shall see. In the meantime, I must make do with occasional forays south to Caplansky's or north to Centre Street Deli. The newish northern outpost of Pancer's Deli, up in the back country of Dufferin and Major Mac, is too damn far to go for a pastrami sandwich. (I've heard that Lorne is no longer involved in that joint either, though I don't know that for sure.)

I'm intrigued by Cat123's experience of crummy bar seating at Frank's Kitchen. It seems as if Frank's added the two bar seats - where none existed before - to take advantage of its growing popularity. Can't say I blame the place, but it's definitely not nice to customers. When you're popping $200 a couple, you expect a little comfort. Though I notice a number of joints have the habit of adding inconvenient seating where none existed before. There's a new table for two at Congee Queen that you'll never get me to go to - it's like sitting in the middle of a traffic island. And a good Italian resto in my part of town, the bowling-alley-shaped Trio, on Yonge St. north of Lawrence, recently tried adding a whole row of tables for two. It didn't go over well. Everyone was bumping into everyone else. Though when I peeked in the window last night - on my way to a more intelligently spaced resto further up the block - I noticed that that row of tables had been removed. I suppose customers - other than me - bitched long and hard.

Mind, if I was paying $200 a couple at Frank's, I'd insist on a real table. Or hie myself immediately to The Pasta Bar at Scaramouche.

Home of Hot Taste. It's In an almost-all-Asian plaza on Yonge St. north of Steeles Ave. I resisted stepping in to this joint for several years because the outside front looked so tacky/crummy/down at the heels. Then one night, encouraged by a Chowhound tip, I warily tippy-toed in. Not surprisingly, it was kinda tacky inside as well. And bleak. And dark enough to make the menu hard to read. But, I discovered, some damn good Korean-style fried chicken. And cheap beer. And good service. And a lively crowd. Had a helluva time. Been back several times since. Would go back more often except that my arteries can stand only so much fried chicken.

I'm unclear if you'll have the use of a car once you return to Yonge and Sheppard from your adventures in downtown Toronto. But I'm guessing that you will, and that you'd prefer something going north from Sheppard along Yonge. In which case, the aforementioned Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu might be a good choice among the many Korean joints along that northward route. Short, simple menu of tasty Korean soup/stews at modest prices. But often, depending upon the time of day, devilishly hard to find a legal parking spot around there. If that concerns you, there's another pretty good Korean place on Yonge St., at Clark (southeast side), several blocks north of Steeles Ave. It's called Cho Sun OK, in a small plaza with its own parking lot. Similar menu, somewhat more interesting. Better free banchan (side dishes) than Buk Chang Dong to go with the flavourful soup/stews on offer, only a tad more expensive, English spoken in case you need help with the menu items. Three of you should get out for about $30, and you'll be well fed. (I like No. 3 on the menu, shredded beef brisket stew with scallions in a spicy broth. Dee-lish.)

Don't know Congee Time. And not aware of any dim sum or other Chinese for dinner up that way unless you're prepared to veer off Yonge St. some distance.

I see horseradish cheddar all the time at Chris' cheesemongers, on the west side of the south St. Lawrence Market building. It's usually in Chris' front showcase, along with a number of other house cheddars.

I remember Switzer's on Spadina quite fondly, though I preferred Shopsy's across the street. My favourite delis nowadays are Centre Street Deli up north and Caplansky's down south. Yitz's is quite acceptable, Katz's not so much. I don't get to Pancer's on Bathurst St. that much anymore since the Pancer family sold it a while back. Something seems to be missing there, though I can't articulate what (possibly the ebullient presence of a Pancer). United Bakery, at Bathurst and Lawrence, is okay (especially the soups), though it doesn't do deli meats. For a pretty good matzoh ball soup, I like the aforementioned Steeles Deli, near Yonge and Steeles - though Steeles Deli is more of a Jewish-style diner (with some deli-style sandwiches on offer) than a classic Jewish deli. As for Ben and Izzy's, should it ever open (as promised), well, we shall see...

Since Thai Plate, on Bathurst St. north of Lawrence Ave.) went belly up some months ago, I've been casting about for a replacement in north Toronto that doesn't take me more than 20 minutes from my humble lodgings near Yonge and York Mills. Now, thanks to an offhand tip on another thread on this board, I think I've found it: Kinnaree, in a small strip plaza on Ellesmere Rd. just east of Victoria Park Ave. I don't know how it compares to Khao San Road or Sukhothai, the two downtown Thai shrines, having never noshed at those exalted places. And it's no match for the range of menu and deft execution of Lotus of Siam, in Las Vegas, long regarded as the best Thai in North America, where I invariably get to when I'm in that town. But as a suburban Thai joint in Toronto, Kinnaree is pretty damn good. The menu is similarly comprehensive to the late Thai Plate's, as are the prices (about $5 for soups, $8 for salads, $9-$11 for most mains). Portions are substantial (two light eaters could easily share a main, for example). And everything has, as noted above on another post, a depth of flavour, unmatched by many of the uptown Thai spots I've tried. I was with a friend who'd just come off a two-week cycling (and overeating) tour of Thailand. And after getting over his disappointment at there not being Khao Soi on the menu - a difficult dish to replicate well in Canada - he dived right in and pronounced everything else he ate reasonably close to what he'd browsed on in the restos, markets, alleyways and street stalls of Thailand. We shared soups, a first-rate mango salad, a pad thai and a chicken mussaman (and a couple of Thai beers), and left (with a doggie bag) well fed, content, and feeling that all's right with the world. Clean room, nice decor, good service, a modest bill. Not much action in the dining room for a Thursday night, but a steady stream of takeout. Next time I get the urge, I'll be back to give the rest of the menu a workout. To whoever tipped me off to this joint, much thanks.

I wouldn't dismiss the Mandarin chain, or similar Asian-style buffets, too quickly. Though there's a definite Asian-style slant to them, a diner can do quite nicely picking and choosing from among the non-Asian offerings. An elderly cousin of mine, who also doesn't particularly care for Chinese dishes, is partial to Dragon Pearl, a large buffet slightly upscale from the Mandarin chain. (It's on York Mills Rd. between Leslie and Don Mills Rd.) She goes for the salad bar, then moves on to the section that features freshly-carved roast beef (tasty), mashed potatoes and other traditional non-Asian buffet dishes. Finally, for dessert, she dives into the fruit platters, pastries, and maybe some ice cream. A zesty appetite for an 83-year-old. Never touches the Asian dishes, though some are pretty good (for a buffet), as I've discovered. I'm sure the Mandarin chain has similar non-Asian dishes on offer for picky buffet browsers. After all, the whole point of a buffet is to cast a wide net for diners of all descriptions. There's a 20% seniors discount at most of these places.

Not quite at the SW corner of Bathurst and Steeles, though. Kiva's is in south side strip plaza on Steeles Ave. W., one block west of Bathurst St. Easy access to the plaza, if you're travelling west along Steeles, because there's a light at that corner.

The OP is clearly a discriminating delivery-pizza enthusiast - with a penchant for traditional pie treatments. I'm not sure our tastes are similar, but let me offer some suggestions. The aforementioned Paesano's seems right up his/her alley. I'm not sure if they deliver, though. No matter. Pizzas are best right out of the oven, and if you don't want to eat in, picking up the pie yourself, then rushing it home, is next best. In which case, try the pizzas at Trio, a superior Italian resto with a wood-burning oven, on Yonge St. several blocks north of Lawrence. It often offers every one of the pizzas on its dining room menu at a flat $10 (some are $15 when eaten in the resto). But you have to pick the pizza up yourself. Inexplicably, Trio has TWO websites, each somewhat different, only one of which promotes the $10 deal. Go figure.

I'll also throw in the name of Paese, a first-rate Italian resto on Bathurst St. just north of Wilson Ave. I've only had its pizzas in the dining room of late, but I used to pick them up myself in years past. Pizzas average about $15, if I recall correctly, which is a tad high for personal-pizza takeout but average when dining in situ. No delivery that I'm aware of. Not exactly the traditional pizzas the OP lusts after, but pretty good nonetheless.

I agree with most of the others that the chains in North York are mostly a washout. Acceptable enough when you're desperate for pizza, but no match for a good, one-of-a-kind stand-alone pizza house.

Ah yes, What a Bagel!, and one of the better outposts of that chain. I'd forgotten about that place in my earlier post. Just a few steps from the Longo's supermarket. Tasty bagels, because they're invariably fresh-baked. An ideal quick, inexpensive lunch on a bagel - I'm partial to the cream cheese filling.

Didn't know about Shirini Sara, though. I must inspect those cream puffs.

I'm not a burger guy, but the above-mentioned branch of Five Guys - in the same plaza as Galleria Supermarket - gets high marks from those I know who ARE burger guys. Kinda expensive, though.

Also in that plaza is Dragon Pearl, a huge buffet (if buffets are your thing) and a good one, as buffets go - one with an Asian slant. Once you get the hang of it - many many choices, some better than others - you can do quite well in there. Well-run. It's $13 (a.k.a. $12.99), if I recall, for lunch (20% off for seniors) - much better value than Five Guys. Wider range of dishes at dinner.

I also like Congee Queen, a good mid-level Chinese choice. Good lunch deals include a first-rate hot and sour soup. And the mid-level Sun Star, on Finch between Bayview and Leslie, with a slightly more sophisticated menu - and, in my view, a more knowledgeable clientele - than Congee Queen. Both are solid, though. I've never much cared for the above-mentioned Hot Spicy Spicy - in the all-Asian plaza at Finch and Leslie - and I ordinarily like most things spicy. Maybe I've just picked the wrong dishes, and can't be bothered with even more visits trying to identify the right ones. A kinda bleak space.

If you venture into Bayview Village (Bayview and Sheppard) for lunch, your best bet is the chained Aroma Cafe, with good sandwiches, soups and coffee. A tad overpriced, but then, so are all the other eateries in that upscale mall. Have to make back the high rent, I guess.

Thanks for the tips. I know Harlem's version - "fairly decent" is an accurate description of its jambalaya. But the other nominations are new to me, and intriguing enough to be worth a try. Never heard of New Orleans or Billy Jack's, and know Hot House Cafe only by its rep, which is solid for a joint with a vast menu. I'll be touching down at all three within the next few months - or as long as my zest for jambalaya remains. The best I've tasted in the past year was at Black Beans in Port Hope, Ont., when I happened to be out that way. But I have no urge to drive an hour and change in lousy weather for a repeat visit at that worthy place. I'll stick with the three GTA suggestions posted here. Though further nominations are welcome, naturally.