Cafe Polonez, Toronto

This Polish resto has been around for YEARS, but, I have not been for YEARS, so revisited.

How to begin!

Very good beef tripe soup.

Polish sausage topped with fried onions and served with crispy crunch fries dusted with bread crumbs, grainy mustards and garnishes.

Pork schnitzel with a wonderful horseradish laced beet root salad, good sauerkraut, dilled potatoes and cole slaw

Potato dumplings (made with raw potatoes) filled with pork, topped with goulash sauce and sided with carrots. This serving was made for one but serves 3!!

Enoteca Maialino Restaurant, Toronto

The warm and friendly attitude one experiences in this small, charming restaurant puts one in a pleasant frame of mind to enjoy the good food. We ordered drinks and wine and we were presented with their complementary salumi board with 2 types, one spicy and a bit gamey and one mild,  and a cheese board with toasts and a blood orange, onion compote. Reviewing the menu I found a strong Sicilian cultural influence.

Pane and panelle, Sicilian bread with sesame seeds, filled with thin, very mild tasting chick pea fritters (no photo).
Pane "Ca meusa", Sicilian bread filled with sauteed veal spleen and cacio cavallo cheese, a very earthy form of palate pleasing comfort food.

Porchetta, sliced, slow roasted pork with aromatic fresh herbs served with toasts topped with peperonata and lentils and another with sweet caramelized onions. This was another wonderful, earthy dish. The incredibly tender, juicy pork was so well complemented by the roast peppers and sweet onions.

Carpaccio polpo, slow cooked octopus, frise salad, celery and black olives, olive oil and piano frillo particella. This was the one dish that fell short for me. It tasted a bit too "fishy" and my experience with raw and partially cooked octopus is a bit sweeter flavour.

Fettuccini cinghiale and tartufo, fresh house made pasta with wild boar ragu, grated pecorino umbro and fresh, highly aromatic shaved black Umbrian truffle. Great concept dish, terrific pasta, but small there were only "occasional" bits of the boar with no perceived sauce extracted from the boar, making for inadequate boar flavour, though great truffle flavour. I still enjoyed this dish because the pasta and truffle combination was so good.

Ravioli alla Norma, eggplant and aged, baked Italian ricotta cheese filled, house made pasta with a tomato sauce of pachino cherry tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes. A sensationally good tomato sauce, so simple and so full of flavour, combined with terrific pasta.

Mezzalune di zucca, delicious, cinnamon and nutmeg flavoured, pumpkin filled, house made pasta with mascarpone sauce. A truly delicious dish.

Wonderfully crunchy canoli with a seductive caramel coffee sauce.

Panna cotta, with a perfectly pleasing jello-like jiggly texture and bright fruit flavours on the plate. A very satisfying conclusion to a very good meal.

Barque Restaurant at Night

We began with a terrific, juicy miami ribs starter with a very tasty bbq sauce

Then, brisket arrived, presented in a cast iron skillet, not too smoky but with a solid beefy flavour and quite tender. The brisket was very good but I might have preferred a little more smoky flavour.

I had a combination platter. The chicken thigh had a nice smoky flavour, a very good caramelized BBQ sauce but the meat was a bit dry. The beef rib was nicely smoky and tender. The very good smoky pork ribs had a wonderful sauce with good texture but the meat was slightly dry. Cuban corn had terrific flavour but would have had better flavour and texture if it was regional and in season.

Very tasty, house seasoned fries with citron aioli.

The caesar salad  was unremarkable.

Dessert, I know, I know!! .....I just couldn't wait before I took my photo. This was a great pecan pie and sided with terrific Greg's roasted marshmallow ice cream, a very good combination.

The big problem if you come to Barque at night. They are very busy and despite highly competent servers, the orders come very slowly. I suggest that one should order starters like the miami ribs, because the mains could take 1 hour to come....no exaggeration.....but worth it!

Barque, Take 2, Lunch at the Source

After reading about takeout Barque, I decided to go to the source. I was hoping for more than sandwiches, but that's it, that's lunch. For those of you hoping for bbq'd sliced brisket or bbq'd chicken or ribs or pulled lamb, those are dinner items only.


First I must declare that the Barque sandwiches are worth going out of their way for and it is quite a bit off the beaten path.


The brisket sandwich was very good and very enjoyable. Mildly smoky and slightly dry beef was well lubricated with fried onions and a tangy red cabbage slaw, all in a very good bun, delightfully crispy on the top. If I was served sliced brisket that had just been smoked like that, I may not have rated it well as an item to be eaten on it's own, as I prefer more smoke in a slightly fattier cut. But, I will hold judgement until I return for dinner. 

The bbq'd chicken sandwich was equally very good. Mildly smoky pulled chicken topped with candied smoked bacon, romaine lettuce and aoli with a bit of a bite, all on a very good crispy topped bun. The overall effect of the smoked bacon and smoky chicken satisfied my appetite for smoky flavours. The aioli provided a very flavourful bight and just the right counterpoint for this delicious sandwich.

In addition to the very enjoyable fillings for these sandwiches I must congratulate the chef on choosing such a highly satisfying bun, they hold up well and have a very pleasant crunchy skin on their tops.


I did not order the french fries!

Friday Lunch from Barque

Despite its location way north of the Mason-Dixon Line, Toronto just cannot stop its desire to be abarbecue capital .  One of the newest entries in the drive to create a barbecue restaurant on every block in the city, Barque, on Roncesvalles, is also one of the most subtle barbecue joints.

After a few too many soggy fries and smushed rolls, in theory, we think we should be seeking our lunches a little closer to home.In practice, we just cannot resist the call of whatever is new, no matter where it is.  Hence, Designated Courier is off on another subway/streetcar ride. And yes, the fries suffered...again. However, his quarry, a Barque brisket sandwich and a smoked trout sandwich, were well worth the miles travelled.

Smoked Trout Sandwich with Avocado, Olives and Arugula

The trout is barely smoked so that the flavour of the fish rather than of the smoke is foremost while the flesh maintains a rosy hue.  The tomato, arugula, olive and avocado are perfect accompaniments  , enhancing the flavour while also providing colour contrast.

Smoked Brisket Sandwich with Crispy Fried Onions and Pickled Red Cabbage

If your barbecue pleasure resides in gooey sauces and crunchy charred bits, this brisket sandwich is not for you.Again the smokiness is barely there. The meat is paired with  lightly dressed red cabbage for crunch.

The buns Barque uses for its sandwiches are excellent. With a chewy crust, they have enough body to contain their fillings--and to travel well.  Also, there is no breaking of teeth on an over baked crust!

French Fries and Coconut-Corn Soup (Bacon not visible)

Arugula and Shaved Fennel Salad, Orange Segments, Citrus Vinaigrette

The sides are as good as the sandwiches.  The coconut corn soup should not be missed.  A green-flecked sweet and suave puree, it will yield up the surprise of bacon in the last spoonful.  A salad of shaved fennel and orange is a refreshing companion to the sandwiches.  Although Older Eater is usually not fond of fennel, here the anisey flavor is not so apparent.  A little sprinkle of Maldon salt for added texture would have made a good thing even better. Two small samples of barbecue sauce also come with the sandwiches.  One is a typical dark and smokey rendition while the lighter hued sauce is a spicy mustard version.

Whoever worked out  the menu at Barque either has an inherently fine palate or is extremely thoughtful about pairing ingredients. Each element on the plate worked with the others to create a harmonious whole.  Not only is this rare in barbecue restaurants, it is seen less frequently in fine dining establishments than one expect.  So Barque, long may you run.


Price: Two sandwiches, salad and fries(bonus soup) cost $27.17

Location:  299 Roncesvalles

 Phone: (416) 532-7700