Monthly Archives: January 2020

Fried green tomato BLT @ Weslodge

Dude, the BLT is pretty much the greatest non-burger sandwich of all time. But since my favourite bacon joint shut down a little while back, I was having trouble finding a place that really kicks it up a notch. So when I heard that Weslodge, this wild wild King Street West saloon was putting fried green tomatoes in their BLT, you KNOW I had to come check it out!!!

As you can see, there’s a lot more going on here than just bacon, lettuce and tomato. You’ve got all of the above, plus pimento cheese on the bottom and bacon jam on top — man, I’d put that shit on everything! But it looks like there was only one sad little tomato per side, and even the bacon wasn’t even enough to cut through that pimento…oh, and did I mention this dish also comes with a side of soup?

Yeah, I don’t think I’d order the soup on its own, or even with this dish, if it wasn’t on the menu as “Tomato Soup & Fried Green Tomato BLT.” Neither smooth nor chunky, it was more than a little lumpy — I couldda used some of that tomato in the sando though, bro!!!!

Brunchin’ on chicken ‘n waffles @ Union Chicken

Now, I’m no stranger to chicken and waffles, son! Let’s see, I’ve had ’em German style, in a purple sandwich at a night market… I’ve even had ’em in Texas (where everyone’s a millionaire, Su-bro-tramp!) But I heard that at Union Chicken, this underground chicken joint inside Union Station, they’ve serving up such a funky bunch that it’s only available for brunch! Check out these good vibrations, bro!!!

OK, so first of all, there is not one, not two, not three, but four pieces of boneless fried chicken completely covering up that waffle, bro! Chicken is super-crunchy, straight from the deep-fryer, with a sweet maple-honey syrup and some sour cream on top. Dude, there was so much food here that I didn’t even need to eat dinner! (I still did, but I didn’t need to…)

Now, chicken isn’t the only brunch special they’ve got at this place — they’re also serving up six-dollar Caesars! Nice, medium-spicy, with both lemon and lime wedges, and a couple string beans…so I get at least two servings of veggies this week!!!

Haggis four ways on Robbie Burns Day!!!

Now, I’m not Scottish or anything…but I did see Braveheart last night, bro! And since today is Robbie Burns Day, that means it’s time to address some haggis, laddie! Over at Mackenzie House, this historic building and museum just a caber toss away from Yonge and Dundas, they’re serving up not one, not two, not three, but four different kinds of haggis, complete with kilts and bagpipes!!!

We’re starting off with the OG haggis, sheep’s heart, lungs and stomach, mixed with oats, salt ‘n pepper on top of a digestive biscuit. Good, hearty texture, with a nice richness to it, and actually a fair bit of spice… Please sir, cannae have some more???

This haggis tart will keek stah mah hah, bro! Rich and meaty sheep in a mini pastry with a sliver of onion on top? Shut the back door!!!!

Now, I almost didn’t wanna try the vegan haggis…but I also didn’t wanna be the guy who only ate three haggises when he couldda had four. This dish is mostly made of lentils, and tastes sorta like a stew without the broth — puff, puff, pass!!!

Of course, because you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert…it’s time for some dessert haggis, bro! OK, so it’s basically a chocolate brownie with some nuts, which kinda looks like haggis…but there’s no dirty deeds done with sheep here!!!

Eggy Hammy Cheesy @ Over Easy!

Now, I don’t always eat breakfast, and when I do…there’s usually bacon involved. But not today, bro! We’re hanging out at Over Easy, this funky breakfast and brunch joint inside the Hotel Victoria on Yonge St, just a slap shot away from the Hockey Hall of Fame, where they’re serving up this crazy take on eggs benny, The Eggy Hammy Cheesy:

OK, now let’s break it down. What you’ve got here is a toasted English muffin, topped with baked ham, a three-cheese sauce, melted cheddar and some sunny side ups, with a little dijon in there for that extra kick. Served with a whole handful of home fries — dude, this is body by home fries!!!

Now, I don’t always drink beer for breakfast, so when I heard that this place was making its own lemonade AND iced tea, I’m like, let’s do both, bro! This here’s an Arnold Palmer, and it’s a hole in one in Flavourtown! And at $3.99, the price definitely isn’t wrong, Bob…

Badass Bison Chateaubriand @ Reign

So, a couple months back, we went to Reign, this classy new joint in the Fairmont Royal York, where I had a wild boar chop that was too legit to quit. But when I saw the menu, I knew I’d be back to tame an even bigger beast — the Bison Chateaubriand!

Dude, this is Wild Game Gone Wild in Flavourtown! Bison is nice and tender, cooked medium rare like a good steak — this don’t need no Bearnaise sauce, bro! Comes with potatoes au gratin and some market veggies, but we ordered a couple more sides, for this plate of perfection:

Now, you might want to pair this fine dinner with a nice wine…but this ain’t Burgers, Bacon and Chardonnay, bro!!!

Instead, we’re going with the closest thing to wine that’s still beer, a White Lies from Blood Brothers. This sour ale is fermented with wine grapes and dry-hopped with German hops, so it’s really got the best of both worlds.

Now, after splitting that bison three ways, you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert. But it turns out they completely switched up their dessert menu since the last time we were here — no more chocolate tart or chocolate mousse, so we gotta go with the next best thing… rum!!!

This little cream puff is soaked in raisins and rum, with a side of rum-soaked raisins. I don’t always eat fruit, but if you soak it in rum, then sign me up, son!!!!!!

It’s a sour… It’s a stout… No, it’s both, bro!!!!

Now, I’ve had more than a few stouts in my time — from a Canadian Breakfast Stout to a black currant ice cream stout for dessert. But this beer, right here is definitely kicking it up a notch. They call it Black Sow’r Stout, from Oast House Brewers out on Niagara-on-the-Lake, and I’ve never had a stout like this before…

Now, this may look like your average, run-of-the-mill dark beer, but here’s where things get ridiculous. They put lactic acid bacteria in the kettle to give it that tart, funky tangyness of a gose…but you’ve still got the roast, smokey, chocolatey taste at the end. I don’t know how they do it, but they sure do it good — I’ve got the choo-choo-train, bro!!!

Lamb shank with a side of mac ‘n cheese, son!!!

Now, when the weather outside is frightful, I like to chow down on some go-to comfort food. You KNOW that I love lamb even more than Steve Carell, and mac ‘n cheese is probably my favourite side dish… So, we’re hanging out at The Queen and Beaver, this friendly neighbourhood English pub just offa Yonge St, and I’m like, why not do both???

Now I’ve ordered lamb shank many times, many ways…but I don’t think I’ve seen it served with mashed squash before — it’s like culinary baby food in Flavourtown! And they’ve also got a whole lotta lentils, which is like the most green stuff I ate all month… But you KNOW the best side dish is yet to come, bro!!!!

Now, I wouldn’t consider mac ‘n cheese to be your typical British pub food…but this British pub does a pretty decent take. Mac is nice ‘n creamy, with a crunchy breadcrumb crust — it’s a real culinary tongue-twister in Flavourtown!!!!

Now, after tearing through that culinary mac-stravaganza, I actually wasn’t gonna order dessert…but then they sold me on the sticky toffee pudding. Their version uses molasses instead of caramel, for that extra richness — and there’s plenty of extra sauce. I’d put that on a flip-flop!!!!

Eating all the dumplings @ Kiin

So, we’re hanging out at Kiin, this funky little Thai joint in the Entertainment District. Now, you won’t find any pad thai or satay skewers at this place — they specialize in Royal Thai cuisine, the kind of food that’s fit for a king (just don’t say anything bad about him on Facebook, bro!)

But, even if I won’t get 35 years in the slammer for giving this place a bad review, I gotta say, it was one of the best meals I’ve had in a little while! We’re starting things off with their famous Roy Thai dumplings, a little four-pack of flavour nuggets in Flavourtown:

Everybody Miang Kung tonight! This first dumpling packs shallots, ginger, coconut, peanuts, red chili and tamarind sauce into a betel leaf, then sticks a shrimp on top!!!

This Mha Hor dumpling tasted kinda like a mini little Eat-More bar! It’s a combination of sweet pickled turnip, peanuts, coriander and red chili served on top of a pineapple — you could put this on a pizza, and it would still taste good!!!! 😛

The Chor Ladda was definitely the purdiest of the bunch, but also maybe the least tasty. This vegan, gluten-free nugget packs peanuts, onions, pickled radish and coconut into a jasmine-rice-flour dumpling. You definitely get the texture of the peanuts and coconut, but this dish is definitely not Flavourtown!!!

Let me see that Thoong Thong… We’re saving the best for last with this Thoong Thong dumpling, stuffed with chicken, shrimp and chives in a wonton wrap, with a garlic plum sauce, served on top of a cucumber — dude, I could polish off a whole rack of these babies!!!

But you KNOW we didn’t just come here to eat dumplings, bro!!! This beef short rib is TheBomb.th — super-tender, fall-off-the-bone beef served in a tasty coconut curry. Man, I could take a bath in that sauce, son!!!!

Of course, even after licking that bowl clean, I’ve still got room for dessert — dessert roti, actually! This crunchy Thai flatbread is drenched with condensed milk for a nice sweetness. I probably didn’t need to eat, like, five of these, though…

Dry-rub ribs ‘n saucy brisket @ Stack

So, we’re hanging out at Stack, this funky BBQ joint on Yonge St, just a little north of Lawrence. A few years back, I had a bitchin’ grilled cheese bacon cheeseburger here…but it’s no longer on the menu, so this time, I’m gonna try some BBQ instead — starting with the Memphis dry ribs:

Now, these babies are nicely smoked, with a good crust and a pink smoke ring on the meat — and I really dig the chipotle dip that comes with. I mean, I normally wouldn’t dip ribs in something, but this sauce is the boss, hoss!!!

Speaking of sauce, though… I am really not a fan of sauce on beef brisket. If I had known the meat on their brisket plate was covered in sauce, I’d probably ask ’em to hold off. Plus, the brisket was thinly sliced, and it seemed like the coleslaw-to-meat ratio was pretty much 2-to-1 — that’s a whole lotta slaw, son!!!

Next time, I would try their brisket on top of a burger, though…

Slammin’ a 20 oz ribeye @ Sofia!!!

Now, I wouldn’t normally order steak at an Italian restaurant, but a couple weeks back, I had some legit steak ‘n eggs at Sofia, this funky Italian joint in Yorkville, so you KNOW I had to come back for their 20 oz ribeye, bro!!!

Here’s the beef, bro! This steak isn’t just legit, it’s too legit to quit! You’ve got a perfectly cooked medium-rare, nicely seasoned with a little pistachio salsa verde, a side of baby onions, and some red hot cherry peppers. Now, I also paid extra for some oyster mushrooms — dude, this is body by oyster mushrooms!!!

Turns out, they were supposed to be a family-style side dish…that’s a whole lotta mushrooms, son!!!

Washed it all down with this gangster cocktail — the Godfather II. Kinda tastes like a Negroni, but it’s got a lot more ingredients, with single malt whiskey, vermouth, a couple Italian liqueurs and some Green Chartreuse, for that extra kick. It’s like an offer you can’t refuse in Flavourtown!!!!

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