Sometimes you just need a break from sandwiches, burgers, and salads, especially when you have had a run of rather ordinary incarnations of same. For a change, we opted for okonomi yaki.
Okonomi is often referred to as a Japanese pancake. Made with both eggs and flour, water or dashi, okonomi represents the marriage between a pancake and an omelette. Sweet potato and/or cabbage is usually grated into the batter which then has meats, fish or vegetables added to the mix or scattered over the top.In the versions we sampled, the pork and shrimp were folded in--Osaka style. Each was covered in otafuku aka okonomi sauce with a bullseye of mayo in the centre. The sauce tasted like a mix of hoisin and catsup--a melange of unidentifable sweet, sour, and salty flavours. Sometimes, the salt overwhelms all else but this time it was in balance. We preferred the pork version. The shrimp was both little strong-tasting and too lumpy for thethin pancake/omlette which was tender in both. Though green onions are often a feature there were none that we could identify but the shreds of cabbage added a nice crunch. On the side, we had an order of edamame for an extra blast of nutrition.
It was not haute luncheon fare but was a pleasant diversion from our regular fare.
Price: $17.91 for two plus a side order of edamame.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Centro Has A New Chef
Centro Restaurant has a new executive chef, Jason Carter, who worked with Susur Lee for 10 years. I went to Centro to see what Chef Carter is presently doing and asked the chef to create a special menu to surprise my guests and I.
We began with dollops of caviar on egg cream atop a rye bread tuile, dusted with maltodextrin-vinegar powder. The soft, sensuous combination of the briny caviar and cream were a nice contrast with the crispy tuile. The tuile's rye flavour topped with the tart powder nicely enhanced the taste of the caviar.
Our following course, torchon of foie gras, was rolled in malt flakes and plated with raw marcona almonds, pitted halves of bing cherry and finished with a cherry-scented red wine gastrique. The crunchy texture and flavour of the almonds were a flattering combination with the fois gras. The tart cherry gastrique and the intense fruit flavour of the cherries brought out the rich taste of the fois gras, further enhancing our experience with this course.
Next came striped bass basted with sun dried tomato, on top of a green garlic puree and squid ink linguine, all topped with fresh peas and pea shoots. With this dish, the green garlic puree, fresh peas and especially the very sweet pea shoots, worked so well with the flavour of the fish. However, the bland squid ink lingine, although presented well, lent nothing to the flavours of this dish.
A summer truffle salad on crunchy, shredded phyllo, followed. The range of ingredients consisted of miner’s lettuce, shaved pieces of heirloom carrots, dandelion hearts, shredded cucumber and the seedy gelatinous tart cores of heirloom tomatos, all finished with a truffle, caper, shallot and white wine vinaigrette. What a fabulous presentation and what a range of wonderful contrasts of flavours and textures!! This salad was an experience!
We were then presented with a spring lamb shank on Sardinian pastini with a sweet tomato-cured chili jam. I loved this presentation as well. The tender, slow cooked shank and pastini were pleasing and the chili jam had a nice bight that worked well with the mellow lamb flavour.
But we were surprised by more!! A whole rib steak topped with smoked veal marrow, British Columbia Chanterelless, black morel mushrooms and fingerling potatoes. Now, this final course was too much, even for the trenchermen!! However, I had to taste the elements. The steak was slightly overdone for me as I would have preferred rare to medium rare and my steak was cooked almost medium. However, the flavours of the beef with the chanterelles and morels was wonderful. And, I could never turn down smoked veal marrow, although I would have preferred a stronger smoke flavour.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Friday Lunch from Burrito Boyz
Posted by Jennifer
There was something quite charming, if not just a little frightening, about standing in a lineup at the old tiny, subterranean location of Burrito Boyz. There was a real sense of community of being in it together - in that long, chaotic lineup waiting for something that was reasonably inexpensive and darn tasty.
Now there are more, larger locations - some of them in the 905 and 519 area codes! The burritos still come loaded - really loaded: beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, green pepper, salsa, guacamole, burrito sauce, sour cream, jalapenos and, if desired, hot sauce. We order chicken with everything, and fish minus the sour cream and hot sauce - both on white tortillas. Though still satisfying, the filling in the chicken burrito seemed a little mushier, a little less fresh tasting than the way we remember from the past. We were not impressed by the fish at all. Again maybe memory fails, but we did not remember breading on the fish (haddock, but halibut and shrimp are also available) previously. Also, it had a very strong flavor. Perhaps it was just a not so subtle way of saying fish shouldn't be a burrito filling.
We also had a cheese quesadilla. The overgenerous application of veggies somewhat detracted from the perfectly melted cheese, but the quesadilla fan enjoyed it anyway.
While not exactly as remembered, this was still a decent and very filling lunch at a good price.
Price: $21.24 for two burritos and a quesadilla.
Photos by Gina
There was something quite charming, if not just a little frightening, about standing in a lineup at the old tiny, subterranean location of Burrito Boyz. There was a real sense of community of being in it together - in that long, chaotic lineup waiting for something that was reasonably inexpensive and darn tasty.
Chicken
Now there are more, larger locations - some of them in the 905 and 519 area codes! The burritos still come loaded - really loaded: beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, green pepper, salsa, guacamole, burrito sauce, sour cream, jalapenos and, if desired, hot sauce. We order chicken with everything, and fish minus the sour cream and hot sauce - both on white tortillas. Though still satisfying, the filling in the chicken burrito seemed a little mushier, a little less fresh tasting than the way we remember from the past. We were not impressed by the fish at all. Again maybe memory fails, but we did not remember breading on the fish (haddock, but halibut and shrimp are also available) previously. Also, it had a very strong flavor. Perhaps it was just a not so subtle way of saying fish shouldn't be a burrito filling.
Haddock (foreground), Quesadilla (back)
We also had a cheese quesadilla. The overgenerous application of veggies somewhat detracted from the perfectly melted cheese, but the quesadilla fan enjoyed it anyway.
While not exactly as remembered, this was still a decent and very filling lunch at a good price.
Price: $21.24 for two burritos and a quesadilla.
Photos by Gina
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
To Market, To Market
The intoxicating scent of newly picked strawberries hung over the market at Sick Kid's this morning. Both O.K. Farms and Andrews Scenic Acres who were not there for the first market two weeks ago were back with loads of berries. O.K. also had tiny, tight heads of new garlic. There were still potted herbs--strawberries, too--at the Bosco/Sweetiebelle stall. At the other end of the market, Carroll Collins had sweet little carrots, both red and golden beets, along with a wide range of herbs. If all goes well, the Collins will come to our market day on Saturday.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday Lunch (Weekend Editions) from Patachou
Posted by Jennifer
A Rosedale institution, Patachou, most noted for its pastries, is a popular lunch/brunch stop. On a warm, sunny day, gazpacho seems like the right way to start our lunch. At first glance, it looks as though this soup has nothing but tomatoes. A quick stir reveals vegetable bits so tiny as to be unidentifiable. The aroma is like freshly processed silage. On the tongue, only pepper and garlic register.
The over-processing, so obvious in the soup, continues in the Szechuan chicken sandwich - in which the chicken has been diced too finely. Slices, rather than these teeny cubes, might have had a better chance of staying inside the mini-baguette. Again, like the soup, pepper initially overwhelms everything in its path. After a few more bites one can also detect some sesame. However, the fine quality of the baguette saves the sandwich from disaster.
Since it is rhubarb season, we share a rhubarb and strawberry tart. Sticky with apricot glaze--on both top and bottom, its pastry is somewhat soggy but the filling offers good strawberry-rhubarb flavor in a nicely eggy cream.
The pain au chocolat also fails to impress. Its bready interior and lack of flaky shards on the exterior somehow defeat the buttery richness and decent chocolate. If only we had an oven at hand, a short blast of heat would probably restore some flakiness and further enhance the flavor.
Price: $23.96 for soup, sandwich, one tart, and two pain au chocolat.
Photos by Gina.
A Rosedale institution, Patachou, most noted for its pastries, is a popular lunch/brunch stop. On a warm, sunny day, gazpacho seems like the right way to start our lunch. At first glance, it looks as though this soup has nothing but tomatoes. A quick stir reveals vegetable bits so tiny as to be unidentifiable. The aroma is like freshly processed silage. On the tongue, only pepper and garlic register.
The over-processing, so obvious in the soup, continues in the Szechuan chicken sandwich - in which the chicken has been diced too finely. Slices, rather than these teeny cubes, might have had a better chance of staying inside the mini-baguette. Again, like the soup, pepper initially overwhelms everything in its path. After a few more bites one can also detect some sesame. However, the fine quality of the baguette saves the sandwich from disaster.
Since it is rhubarb season, we share a rhubarb and strawberry tart. Sticky with apricot glaze--on both top and bottom, its pastry is somewhat soggy but the filling offers good strawberry-rhubarb flavor in a nicely eggy cream.
The pain au chocolat also fails to impress. Its bready interior and lack of flaky shards on the exterior somehow defeat the buttery richness and decent chocolate. If only we had an oven at hand, a short blast of heat would probably restore some flakiness and further enhance the flavor.
Price: $23.96 for soup, sandwich, one tart, and two pain au chocolat.
Photos by Gina.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
To Market, To Market
I'm like the Four Tops--I can't help myself. Once the farmers' markets open for the season I just can't help dashing from one to another.
Sorauren was one of the first to re-open outside. I missed the first week but got there the following Monday when my first purchase was the De la Terre sourdough that I have pined for since last fall. The Singhs from Brampton had only a few bags of salad greens now but eagerly announced that they have several varieties of beets, carrots, and if I remember correctly, 34 types of potatoes planted. There is great news from Field Sparrow Farm. As long as the new baby is not early, the Bakkers will bring their beef to our June 19th market day.
Gardeners should visit both the Sorauren and Riverdale markets to find herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Two of the best vendors are Match Box at Sorauren and Urban Harvest, at Riverdale and several other markets. Each sells both seed and seedlings.
A new feature at Riverdale is made-on-the-spot French fries. One of the young cooks from JK at the Gardiner is frying them up, tossing them with herbed salt, then selling them in paper cones for $4.00. If so inclined you can embellish them with a squirt of lemon mayo. So sublime we had to have a second order.
While I failed to see any rhubarb at Sorauren, several booths at Riverdale had it. In my kitchen, Rolling Hills Organics rhubarb morphed into rhubarb and lemon cream tart, a recipe from Tamasin Day Lewis's Art of the Tart. Scrumptious!
Rolling Hills is also selling Dexter beef. This Irish breed is rare in Canada. Although the ground beef and tiny strip loins were rather average, a rib eye was spectacular--juicy, beefy with a complex sweet finish. All three browned beautifully.
Gardeners should visit both the Sorauren and Riverdale markets to find herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Two of the best vendors are Match Box at Sorauren and Urban Harvest, at Riverdale and several other markets. Each sells both seed and seedlings.
A new feature at Riverdale is made-on-the-spot French fries. One of the young cooks from JK at the Gardiner is frying them up, tossing them with herbed salt, then selling them in paper cones for $4.00. If so inclined you can embellish them with a squirt of lemon mayo. So sublime we had to have a second order.
While I failed to see any rhubarb at Sorauren, several booths at Riverdale had it. In my kitchen, Rolling Hills Organics rhubarb morphed into rhubarb and lemon cream tart, a recipe from Tamasin Day Lewis's Art of the Tart. Scrumptious!
Rolling Hills is also selling Dexter beef. This Irish breed is rare in Canada. Although the ground beef and tiny strip loins were rather average, a rib eye was spectacular--juicy, beefy with a complex sweet finish. All three browned beautifully.
To Market, To Market
The MyMarket locations began last week. I visited two-- Sick Kids and Borden Street. Each was a few vendors short of a full market. As berries and other fruits ripen, we hope that Andrews Scenic Acres, O.K. Farms, and Bizjak Farm will reappear. Haystrom which has good tomatoes and potatoes may be a little later in joining the lineup.
Once again, she who hesitated lost. I spotted baby beets at Collins booth but they were gone when I went back to buy them. Fortunately, I was luckier next day at Borden. Well, luckier in some ways: I got my beets but also got sopping wet in the downpour that greeted the first day of this market.
Only Bosco/Sweetiebelle had plants on offer. Their pots of eggplant looked particularly healthy.
Ruth Klahsen and the Monforte Dairy(www.monfortdairy.com) are back! Alas, there is no creme fraiche yet but a good selection of cheese and yogurt. It is still possible to join in the CSA project --cheese for you, a new dairy for them.
Once again, she who hesitated lost. I spotted baby beets at Collins booth but they were gone when I went back to buy them. Fortunately, I was luckier next day at Borden. Well, luckier in some ways: I got my beets but also got sopping wet in the downpour that greeted the first day of this market.
Only Bosco/Sweetiebelle had plants on offer. Their pots of eggplant looked particularly healthy.
Ruth Klahsen and the Monforte Dairy(www.monfortdairy.com) are back! Alas, there is no creme fraiche yet but a good selection of cheese and yogurt. It is still possible to join in the CSA project --cheese for you, a new dairy for them.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Friday Lunch from Longo's
Posted by Jennifer
Cruising through the new Bloor Street East Longo's, we noticed a salad bar and better yet, a pizza oven going full blast. Always eager for new lunchtime possibilities, we were drawn by the idea of freshly baked pizza with an interesting salad on the side.
There was a large gap between eye and palate appeal. Everything thing looked good. Once bitten into, this food quickly lost its charm. Sold by weight, our large salad comprised three selections: Singapore noodles, traditional Greek, and two small slices of salmon. The acrid burn of commercial curry powder overwhelmed the flaccid noodles, flecks of what might once have been carrot, bits of onion, and a chunk of chicken (we do mean one chunk of chicken). The Greek salad, the best of the lot, was nonetheless waterlogged. Though plentiful, the two varieties of olives tasted the same, neither with any subtlety. The salmon, although it appeared to be peppered and had grill marks, offered only a stronger than expected fishiness and little else. To add insult to injury, it was overcooked.
Atop the thin crusted pizza, the cheese was gilded but very rubbery. Under it, the tomato sauce had the unmistakable acidity of an over-processed commercial product. Though thin, the crust managed to be doughy. Despite the fiery oven, this pie cooled quickly on the short haul back to the store.
A bottle of Santa Cruz lemonade, purchased on special, was a bit sweet but still the most acceptable of our purchases.
This disappointing lunch could best be described as an industrial sheep in artisan clothing.
Price: $18.74 for a large salad, a 10" pizza and a 947 ml bottle of lemonade.
(Photos by Gina.)
Cruising through the new Bloor Street East Longo's, we noticed a salad bar and better yet, a pizza oven going full blast. Always eager for new lunchtime possibilities, we were drawn by the idea of freshly baked pizza with an interesting salad on the side.
There was a large gap between eye and palate appeal. Everything thing looked good. Once bitten into, this food quickly lost its charm. Sold by weight, our large salad comprised three selections: Singapore noodles, traditional Greek, and two small slices of salmon. The acrid burn of commercial curry powder overwhelmed the flaccid noodles, flecks of what might once have been carrot, bits of onion, and a chunk of chicken (we do mean one chunk of chicken). The Greek salad, the best of the lot, was nonetheless waterlogged. Though plentiful, the two varieties of olives tasted the same, neither with any subtlety. The salmon, although it appeared to be peppered and had grill marks, offered only a stronger than expected fishiness and little else. To add insult to injury, it was overcooked.
Atop the thin crusted pizza, the cheese was gilded but very rubbery. Under it, the tomato sauce had the unmistakable acidity of an over-processed commercial product. Though thin, the crust managed to be doughy. Despite the fiery oven, this pie cooled quickly on the short haul back to the store.
This disappointing lunch could best be described as an industrial sheep in artisan clothing.
Price: $18.74 for a large salad, a 10" pizza and a 947 ml bottle of lemonade.
(Photos by Gina.)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Event Photos: Ted Reader's Burgers!
Post and Photos by Gina
We thought we'd share some pictures from Ted Reader's grill-tastic appearance at the store a few weeks ago. He was here in promotion of his newest book Napoleon's Everyday Gourmet Burgers ($27.95 - and yes, we still have some signed copies!), and was grilling up a storm on his HUGE rig.
We thought we'd share some pictures from Ted Reader's grill-tastic appearance at the store a few weeks ago. He was here in promotion of his newest book Napoleon's Everyday Gourmet Burgers ($27.95 - and yes, we still have some signed copies!), and was grilling up a storm on his HUGE rig.
Three grill rig with a built in smoker!
King of the 'Q
Mini Carolina Pulled-Pork Burgers with Mustard Slaw
Here is Ted's lovely and talented assistant planking some mini Super Thick and Cheesy Burgers (my fave for the day!)
One last shot of the whole monster grill.
PS- We're raffling off a portable Napoleon Gas Grill in the store - come in soon to enter!
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