Monthly Archives: October 2022

Pulling apart an Oktoberfest ham hock @ Liberty Commons

Now, over in Germany, they actually celebrate Oktoberfest in September. But over at Liberty Commons, the funky Big Rock brewpub in Liberty Village, they’re serving up Oktoberfest specials right up until Halloween, like a proper pretzel, Canadian currywurst and a Bavarian corn dog — not to mention this oversized pork popsicle in Flavourtown, the Oktoberfest ham hock for two:

Now, I don’t know why, but the taste of this pork reminded me of Swiss Chalet chicken. (Hey, it’s the other white meat, bro!) Skin was nice ‘n crispy, and the meat was pretty tender. Plus, you’ve got a whole army of sides like sauerkraut, fries, pickles, chicharones — fried crispy pork skin — and baked beans, bro!

Dude, even the baked beans have pork in them — cuz there ain’t no party like a pork hock party!!!!!!!

Now, just so we’re clear, there ain’t no more meat here — what’s left on the bone are the fatty bits that you can’t even bite into. They might call this is a meal for two, but it’s just another light snack in Flavourtown, son!!!!!!

Big Rock’s signature beer happens to be a kristallweizen, but at Liberty Commons, they’re serving up nanobrews that you probably can’t find anywhere else — like this German lager, which tastes a lot better than the two-dollar Lowenbrau tallboys I snuck into a Ramnstein concert in my lederhosen, bro!!!!!!!!!!

Dude, this is Korean like you’ve never see-an!

Now, you KNOW we’re hardcore carnivores right here on Triple B — but we’re actually not the biggest Korean BBQ fans. (Unless maybe they cook it for you, then it’s a different story, morning glory!) But man, gimme Korean fried chicken and rice hotdogs any day… They’re ain’t fancy, but they shure is tasty, son!!!

Let’s just say that’s a world away from a 6-course tasting menu. But here at Orote, this funky little joint just a couple blocks from Bloor and Dufferin, they’re serving up a prix fixe menu of Korean-infused flavours — and unlike Don Alfonso, it won’t break the bank, bro!

We’re starting off with some jeon, a mung bean pancake. Basically like a latke — I can’t believe it’s not potato!!!

This pumpkin tart is creamy on the outside, crunchy on the inside. Consider my bouche amused.

This lobster skewer is soooo outta bounds, bro! Four tasty chunks of super succulent lobster meat — can’t go wrong with that!

Raw fish is not really my thing, but this yellowtail was pretty tasty. I could do without the gritty greens, though.

Scallops with ginger, mustard greens, eggplant — nice combinations of flavours. Scallop is super-tender and the eggplant and ginger kicks it up a notch.

Branzino with roasted cabbage and kimchi — this fish just melts in your mouth, bro! Cabbage adds a nice crunch… it’s like Korea meets Germany. Whaaaa????

They call this Rice & Chan, and it’s like a Korean kitchen sink in Flavourtown! You’ve got barley tea infused rice, miso soup, kalbi beef, kimchi and pickles, turnip, daikon, kale and potato salad… And this is all one course, bro!!! Beef is super tender, clam adds a nice bite to the miso, kimchi has a good kick. Even the cauliflower rice doesn’t suck!!!!

Dessert is a black sesame rice cake with roasted rice ice cream and miso caramel sauce. Basically ice cold vanilla ice cream on top of rice. Don’t knock it till ya try it, eh?

And they’ve also got some pretty decent beer here, like La Bretteuse, a strong wild beer from Trou du Diable in Quebec. They age it 18 months in pinot noir and zinfandel barrels — basically, it’s the closest thing to wine I’ll ever drink!!!!!!

Slaying a rack of lamb and a whole chicken @ Soluna

So, we’re hanging out at Soluna, this funky joint that just opened up on Queen Street a few months back. Their menu has a little bit of everything — tapas, seafood, salad…even a 42 oz tomahawk steak. You can also choose between a half rack and a full rack of lamb, and a half rack or a full Piri Piri chicken. So I was like, how about both, bro???

Lamb was nicely grilled, more of a Greek style, with a side of chunky tzatziki that also goes great with potatoes.

The chicken was all chopped up, and completely deboned, so it’s hard to tell if it’s a whole chicken — but there was plenty to go around. A little bit of kick but not too spicy, while the mango habanero salsa kicks it up a notch.

On the side, I went with roasted potatoes and wild mushrooms. Nothing wrong with the taters, but the shrooms are what makes it. You’ve got a tender, juicy variety of shiitake, cremini, oyster and king oyster mushrooms — just look at that bad boy, bro!!!!

And while I might have had room for dessert after polishing that all off, we were cutting it so close to our 2-hour time limit that they didn’t even offer to serve it. Now that’s a sad trombone solo in Flavourtown!!!!!

Eating, like, a horse @ La Palette

Now, you’ll find no shortage of funky French food in Toronto — Jules Bistro, Le Select, Le Papillon, Maison Close, Maison Selby, Cafe La Gaffe… just to name a few. But we’ve found this one place on Queen St West that’s pulled ahead of the competition by a nose. La Palette is not just serving up your everyday steak frites, y’see, they’ve got a secret ingredient — it’s horse, of course!!!!

Now, people mighta been pissed when they found horse meat at Burger King about 10 years ago… but if it tasted like this, they’d really have nothing to complain about. This horse tenderloin was nice ‘n tender, melts in your mouth and nicely seasoned. They say on the menu they can only cook it rare — mine came out more medium rare, which is how I like my steak anyways.

Put it this way: I would not say neigh to eating horse again!!!!

But you KNOW we can’t go to a French joint and NOT have escargot — that’s a major no-no, bro! And these were some of the most tender snails I’ve ever had, served up with plenty of garlic butter, and topped with chives and chopped peanuts. Man, I’ve never seen nuts served with this dish before. It’s pretty nuts… and nuts is good!

But you KNOW I’m still hungry like a horse after all that horse meat, so I’ve definitely still got room for dessert. And while they might have 4-5 desserts to choose from, ya know what they say — it’s gotta be crème brûlée. La Palette really nailed this dish, with the hard, crunchy crust and creamy inside. But it has gotta be the smallest crème brûlée I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty sure I’ve had ramekins of ketchup that were bigger than this! (To be fair, it’s only 5 bucks, so there’s that.)

And yes, I am that guy who goes to a French bistro and asks what beers they have on tap. Well, I asked if they had Kronenbourg — and they actually didn’t, but steered me to this Czechvar Dark Lager instead. A couple of these, and we’re back in the saddle again, Aer-bro-smith!!!!

Proceeds the chicken… Nazareth!!!

Now, we’re no strangers to hot chicken here on Triple B. So when I heard that The Haifa Room, this funky Israeli joint at Dundas and Ossington, was serving up a Middle Eastern take on Nashville hot chicken, with a nod to my favourite 63-minute song, you KNOW I had to check it out — right after I help myself to some hummus.

Now, because two dips are better than one, we’re doubling down with some labneh and chef’s hummus. Man, this hummus is a real humdinger, topped with peaches and pistachios. And it tastes even better on top of a schnitzel pita!

That’s right, they take hot, fresh pita bread, cover it in batter, and deep-fry it. Dude, I’m pretty sure I’d eat a schnitzel flip-flop…so you KNOW I’m all over this, bro!!!!!

But that’s not the only fried thing on the menu, son! We’re taking Nazareth Hot Chicken, topped with harissa and served on some sumac yogurt. Now, since this is sorta like a Middle Eastern take on Nashville hot chicken, I was scared it would be spicy — but if anything, it’s actually more temperature hot, coming straight outta the fryer. I could kill like an 8 piece dinner of these, bro…

Of course, then I wouldn’t have room for the main event, and you definitely wanna leave room for lamb! This is some of the most tender lamb I’ve ever tasted. You can cut it with a fork AND it melts in your mouth! I also ordered a side of roasted potatoes…but had I known it came with radishes, which had a bit of a potatoey texture, then I might not have needed the spuds. That didn’t stop me from completely clearing all the plates, though!!!!

Washed all this good stuff down with a couple of Burdock NULAs, a dry-hopped orange & grapefruit sour. Man, this tastes more like fruit salad than a beer… Yummy yummy!!!!

13 glasses of craft beer @ C’est What Fall Festival

Patio season is almost officially over, but we’re getting in one last beer festival before the season ends. We’re hanging out at the C’est What Beer Garden where for 20 bucks, you get 10 sample tickets at their Fall Festival of Craft Breweries. Or, if you happen to know someone who can’t use all 10, you might end up with a couple more… 😉

Little Beasts Tea & Bullshit Belgian Blonde 5.5%
Time to spill the tea, bro! This malty, malty Bosstone had a slight hit of sweetness, but not a ton of taste.

Chronicle Ales from the Crypt 5.5%
This ruby red ale is sour like a saison with some nice fruit punch flavour.

Titled Glass Gorgeous Peach Hefeweizen 5%
Maybe more banana but still a little peachy. Not too shabby.

Town Fresh Pots Coffee Stout 6.5%
This pretty much tastes like coffee. And at 6.5% it’ll wake you up!!!!

Town Washer Toss Lime Lager 4.6%
Almost like a saison or a Corona with lime. Tony Romo would love it!

Chronicle Lon Lon Vanilla Milkshake IPA 6%
Very hazy and hoppy with a slight vanilla aftertaste. I could drink at least 3 more of these…

C’est What Hemp Haze APA 5%
Not hoppy, but more of a funky taste. More of a English style pale ale than American.

C’est What Oktoberfest Kolsch 5.5%
Nice and crisp but with a very interesting slightly bitter aftertaste that I can’t quite place. (Hey, it’s my eighth beer of the day, bro…)

Titled Glass Hip Hop Anonymous hazy IPA 6%
Pretty classic IPA. Nice hoppy flavour. Nothing wrong with that at all!

Little Beasts Wait So Long Tropical Stout 7.5%
Not so much tropical, but definitely tastes like a stout.

Little Beasts Saehrimnir Grisette 4.5%
Nice, light slightly fruity beer

Town Little Buddy DIPA 8.8%
Hoppy, hazy and deceptively strong — doesn’t taste any stronger than the 6% IPAs.

Town Snicklefritz IPA 6.2%
Another hazy IPA that does what it says on the label. What’s up with that name, though?

And because we’re not drinking on an empty stomach, we’ve got a baked pretzel and homemade beet, onion and tarragon sausage. Pretzel is buttery and crispy(!?) while the sausage has a nice meaty chew and a few crunchy bites of onion.

Storming the all-palace meal @ Prime Seafood Palace

Duuuude, ever since my main man Matty Matheson opened Prime Seafood Palace, this funky joint so outta bounds it doesn’t have a sign on the door and you gotta go around the courtyard to get in, I have wanted to go here — and last night, the wait was finally over, bro!!!!! And you KNOW that here on Triple B, we’re not about to eat a small dog or a medium dog meal… we’re going right for the big dog, with every single one of this palace’s signature dishes, son!!!!!!!!!

That means we’re starting out with some Palace Bacon. It’s not every day that I eat bacon as an appetizer, but when I do, you KNOW it’s gonna be a good day, bro!!!!!!!!!

But the hits keep comin’ and they don’t stop comin’, back to the rule and you hit the ground runnin, Guy Fieri wannabe my lover! We’re talking Palace Cut Prime Rib, 20 ounces of the thickest, tenderest, most delicious slab of beef this body has ever known! Dude, I even ate all the fatty bits — this is body by fatty bits!!!!!!!!!!

We’re pairing that with a side of Palace Potatoes, 27 layers of deep-fried tater goodness, crispy on the outside, soft and chewy in the middle. Come and get you some, son!!!!!!!

Now, I don’t normally put sauce on steak — and trust me, this prime cut does NOT need it — but it wouldn’t be an all-palace meal without some of their signature Palace Sauce. It’s kinda like HP Sauce, but then they kick it up a notch with some horseradish — I can go for that, Hall and Bro-ates!!!!

Now, they don’t call this Prime Pudding, and that’s a big-time missed branding opportunity, if you ask me. Still, you KNOW we gotta have Yorkshire Pudding with prime rib, bro — and this one gets the job done, son!!!!

And we don’t drink champagne in this palace, bro! Their beer list is pretty small, but they’ve got a couple interesting ones, like this Long Lunch Pale Ale from True History. This beer tastes a lot like Blood Light — the champagne of light IPAs — so there’s nothing wrong with that at all!

But I prefer this Matron Fine Beer, Bobo Farmhouse Wheat. Another super-light one, it’s got a slight aftertaste of bananas — and bananas is good!!!!

3 strips of bacon, 6 potatoes, 20 ounces of prime rib, one Yorkshire pudding, 3.5 beers and half a ramekin of Palace Sauce later…. and you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert, bro!

Dude, this place puts the cake in steakhouse!!!! This ain’t no dairy-free, flourless, semifreddo lava cake, son — this is the real-deal Big Kahuna! Best chocolate cake I’ve had since Wildfire Steakhouse in 2018…and unlike Wildfire Steakhouse, this place is still servin’ it up and throwin’ it down, Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown! Man, when you’ve got a place that has not only the best prime rib but also the best chocolate cake of my life, dude, they’re gonna hafta start charging me rent, one $300 all-palace meal at a time!!!! 😉

Getting stuffed like a turkey at this Thanksgiving buffet, bro!

Now, the last time the Jays made the playoffs (in a non-COVID-shortened season), we headed out to the Old Mill Inn for a righteous Thanksgiving spread. Well, the less we say about the Jays the better — but at least the buffet is back, and you KNOW we’re going back for seconds, thirds and fourths, son!!!!

This first plate is breakfast bar meets salad bar, with some eggs, bacon, roast potatoes, salami, coleslaw and German potato salad. Dude, that German salad is potatoes — and potatoes is good!!!!

Next up, we’ve got turkey and stuffing, alongside eggs benny, calamari, butternut squash ravioli…and goat curry. I gotta say, the turkey was pretty good, but that goat curry is what makes it!!!!!!!!

But you KNOW we can’t go to a buffet without hitting up the carving station — this is body by roast beef, bro! Meat is nice ‘n tender, with some mashed potatoes, mussels, shrimp, and this funky yam salad with walnuts… I’d put that on a flip-flop!!!!!

Of couse, we gotta save room for dessert — especially since they brought back the chocolate fountain, son!

We’ve got chocolate mousse, pecan pie, cheesecake, a chocolate brownie and some chocolate-dipped strawberries. Dude, I’d take the Old Mill’s dessert spread over Caesar’s Palace any day, bro!!!!!!

Can we have short ribs for breakfast, mommy dear, mommy dear?

October 8, 2022
greedocatucci
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beef short ribs, brain tonic, breakfast, brunch, dessert, Kost

Now, it’s been a while since we’ve been to brunch on Triple B. But now we’re hanging out at Kost, this funky joint up on the 44th floor of the Bisha Hotel, where they’re serving up brunch on the weekends alongside a really nice view of the city, going all the way out to Mississauga. And when it comes to the brunch menu, we ain’t ordering avocado toast or a smoothie bowl — nah, we’re talkin’ Kost Eggs on Rib Hash, with beef short ribs, potatoes, peppers and home fries. Oh, and I paid 8 bucks for a side of bacon, which I added overtop of this dish. First rule of Flavourtown is always add bacon, bro!!!!!!!!!!

Now, the portion was quite petite for such a manly meal, but this dish was still nice ‘n meaty, with a good runny egg and some nicely cooked potatoes. Plus, that pepper bacon kicks it up about three notches. I would wear that as a flip-flop, bro!!!!!!!!

But since that was a pretty small portion, we’ve still got room for dessert — that’s right, we’re having dessert at brunch, bro! They call this one Super Rocher, and it’s pretty fantabulous. You’ve got dark chocolate mousse with a chocolate crust, hazelnut icing, chocolate crumbles and hazelnuts. I would eat this three meals a day, bro!!!!!!!!!!!

And while it may be 5 o’clock somewhere, Alan Jack-son, we’re actually not drinking something cold and strong just yet. They call this Brain Tonic, and it’s not even a cocktail — it’s a juice blend of apple, lemon, maple syrup, ginseng, filtered water and “blue majik”… whatever that is. I dunno guy, but it just tastes like lemonade to me.

$400 steak dinner (in person) @ Jacobs & Co.

Back in the middle of the first lockdown, in 2020, one of the highlights of my life was when I ordered a $200 steak dinner and saved $50 on Uber Eats from Jacobs and Co, this fancy steakhouse just offa King Street West. And lemme tell ya bro, that was one of the best steak dinners I’ve ever had!!!

Well, now that things are pretty much back to normal, we’re heading over to Jacobs in person for the first time. And let’s just say I wish I was getting 25% off… cuz we’re blowin’ high dough, bro!!!!!!

When we went to Hy’s Steakhouse last year, we got the Caesar salad served tableside. And when I heard that Jacobs was doing the same thing, you KNOW I gotta get it.

Dude, this salad is enough to feed a family of four, bro! There’s a whole buncha crunchy croutons, nice big chunks of real bacon, and they even put a couple anchovies on top, to make this a balanced breakfast in Flavourtown!

We’re pairing that with beef tartare, served raw and chewy with some lettuce and crostini. Gotta love a place where you can get beef as an appetizer AND the main course, bro!!!!

Speaking of the main course, we’ve got 14 ounces of U.S. Wagyu ribeye steak, cooked to a nice medium rare. This steak is so money that even the chunks of fat taste good, bro! And when you put a bit of that blue cheese butter on top, it just kicks it up another notch…

On the side, we’ve got a creamy, cheesy potato gratin paired with a sticky mushroom risotto. Not quite as tasty as the sautéed mushrooms from my takeout order, but we’ll still take it…

Now, while the wine list is literally 90 pages, Jacobs has only got 4 beers to choose from — Asahi, Inniss & Gunn, Leffe Brune and a Vermont Blond session IPA from Burdock. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which one I went for. This Blond is nice ‘n hoppy, but super-crushable at 4.4%. Let’s just say I had at least 3 of these — still a lot cheaper than a bottle of wine, though!!!

Not gonna lie, I was getting pretty, pretty full at this point. But you KNOW I can’t not eat chocolate cake, bro! This flourless chocolate cake comes with mint chocolate chip ice cream and a chocolate chip cookie on top — it’s like a chocolatey three-way in Flavourtown!

Now, as you might imagine, this mighty, mighty feast did not come cheap — the steak alone cost me $250! And after tax and tip, we’re looking at $400-plus…but I gotta say, it was money well spent. Dude, I’ll take a great steak over the tasting menu at Don Alfonso any day of the week, and twice on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!

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