Tag Archives: chocolate brownie

You’re gonna be jelly of this beef tagliatelle…

Now, beef tenderloin on pasta is not something you see every day. I mean, chicken, seafood, or maybe spaghetti and meatballs… but I had never heard of any place pairing beef tenderloin with pasta before. So, we’re hanging out at 12 Tables, this cozy, family-run Italian joint at Ave & Lav (that’s Avenue and Lawrence, bro!), where they’re serving up this tasty tagliatelle in truffle sauce — and it comes with either chicken or beef, so you KNOW we went with beef, bro!!!!!!

This dish is super creamy, and you do get a nice hint of truffle at the end. But I wouldn’t have known this was tenderloin if they didn’t tell me. The meat is tasty, but just doesn’t taste like the cream of the crop. I would still order this again, though…

But because we’re all about meat and potatoes here on Triple B, we also ordered some gnocchi, with a creamy Gorgonzola sauce. And these gnocchi were the highlight of the night — soft and pillowy, with that sauce adding a nice little kick at the end. Man, if they ever had All You Can Eat Gnocchi Night, I would be here with flip-flops on, bro!!!!!

But of course, we’ve still got room for dessert. Now, you won’t find tiramisu, panna cotta or cannoli on the dessert menu here — but they do have this dark chocolate brownie, and that’s alright with me.

Pairing Belgian beer with Atlantic seafood @ Pearl Diver

Now, I don’t usually think seafood when I think of Belgium — hey, the country is surrounded by land on three sides. But at Pearl Diver, this funky little seafood joint on Adelaide, they’re importing Belgian beers from across the pond to go along with some off-the-hook seafood dishes…so naturally, I had to try two or three.

We’re actually starting off with a beer that’s not Belgian, though. I’m a pretty big fan of Blanche de Chambly, a Belgian-style wheat beer from Unibroue in Quebec, so when I heard they had a blueberry version, Blanche de Chambly Bluet, I totally had to check it out! It’s more tart than fruity, but still not too strong — it definitely tastes more like beer than fruit punch, which is a good thing.

We’re pairing that with the one-two punch of scallops and pork belly, along with some asparagus, almonds and a green, minty sauce. The menu says these come three to an order, but they actually gave me four…not that I’m complaining!

But now we’re heading across the pond with Saison Dupont, a blonde ale straight outta the farmhouse. Unlike most saisons you see over here, this isn’t a sour beer, but rich and malty at 6.5% — which is actually kinda light for a Belgian.

For the main course, we’re going with Atlantic cod with grilled zucchini, potatoes, avocado and pineapple salsa, along with some sort of spicy donkey sauce at the bottom. Fish was cooked perfectly, zucchini added a nice touch…but this dish was actually quite spicy. Guess I’m gonna need another beer, bro!!!

This Westmalle Trappist Tripel kicks things up a couple notches at a hearty 9.5%. It’s got a strong flavour that’s literally bananas — and bananas is good! I think I’m gonna need some dessert with this one, though…

Their chocolate brownie seems pretty tiny, but it’s also quite tasty. You’ve got nice bites of chocolate, along with some raspberries, blackberries and a white chocolate sauce. Doesn’t quite soak up the booze when you’re drinking Belgian tripels, though. I guess that’s what the sticky toffee pudding is on the menu for…

Iberico Pork Secreto: It’s like a pork secret handshake in Flavourtown…

Normally, when I go to a fancy steakhouse like Vela, this new funky joint on Portland Street, I’m probablt gonna order the steak. But it turns out this place doesn’t have any steaks bigger than 12 ounces — which is literally a light snack in Flavourtown — so when I saw Iberico Pork Secreto on the menu, I kinda wanted in on the secret:

Now, it may be a mystery as to what part of the pig pork secreto comes from — somewhere between the neck and the shoulder, apparently — but its taste is pretty outta bounds. It’s kinda like a cross between boneless ribs and a nice ribeye steak, grilled up steakhouse style with a hearty romesco sauce and a whole lotta shishito peppers, blistered on the grill for that extra smoky kick. Man, there were almost more peppers than pieces of meat…but I still ate everything but the stems, son!!!!

Speaking of stems, this meal started off with an order of crispy maitake mushrooms, deep-fried to perfection with a chipotle ranch dip… Dude, I would put that on a flip-flop, and I’m not even wearing flip-flops!!!!

We washed it all down with some Ransack the Universe, a heavy (6.8%), hoppy (85 IBUs) IPA from my homeboys at Collective Arts. Man, that might be some of the best artwork I’ve ever seen on a beer can…

And you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert, bro! This brownie stack was absolutely delectable, with a double dose of brownies topped with salted caramel, candied pecans and a scoop of cocoa sorbet. This honestly might be the best dessert I’ve had in 2021 — dude, it’s like the KFC Double Down of desserts, bro!!!!!!1!!!

Build your own steak dinner @ The Shore Club

Now, I’ve had a lotta great steaks all over this city, but I had never been to The Shore Club, this fancy steakhouse next to The Ritz-Carlton on Wellington. You KNOW this is body by steak bro, so I had to check it out…even if I had just destroyed a giant steak the other night!

Now, the deal at this place is they’ve got a buncha different cuts of meat — striploin, filet mignon, rib steak, short rib and bone-in ribeye, then you can choose to add seafood, like shrimp, lobster, scallops or crab legs. They also have five different sauces and butters, for that extra kick. Plus, there’s no less than 12 different sides to choose from, son!

Me, I went with an 18 oz rib steak, instead of the 24, but I added scallops and a Bearnaise sauce, plus steakhouse fries and wild mushrooms. Now, this wasn’t quite as good as the steak I had the other night — which is one of my top five steak dishes ever — and I think I’ve even had a better rib steak at Barberian’s, at Morton’s and maybe even Ruth Chris. But the scallops were super-tasty, nicely seared, and melt-in-your-mouth tender. This is the perfect bite, right here:

Oh, and word to the wild mushrooms, which were sauteed in garlic and herb butter. Wild mushrooms could not drag me away from you, Mick Bro-gger!!!!

Of course, even after eating all that steak back there, you KNOW I still had room for dessert. Dude, that was more like a steak snack in Flavourtown, bro!!!

Man, this Old-Fashioned Chocolate Brownie had pretty much everything I want in a dessert. You’ve got marshmallows, pecans, chocolate sauce AND caramel, with a scoop of ice cream on top??? Shut the front, back and side doors, son!!!!

BBQ beef ribs and beers… Oh my!

Now that we’ve reached a point where restaurants have reopened for indoor dining, it’s time for me to check out some funky joints that don’t have a patio. Like C’est What, one of the OG craft brewpubs in the city, at the corner of Front and Church. This place is soooo underground, it’s literally in a basement, bro! And they’re serving up all kinds of local craft beer, along with comfort food classics like poutine, mac ‘ n cheese, and these bad-to-the-bone BBQ beef ribs:

Now, these ribs were boiled, not smoked, but the meat was still pretty tender. Sauce had a pretty decent kick, especially when you dipped the meat in the extra sauce on the side. Coleslaw and hash-brown potatoes aren’t things I would normally eat with BBQ, but they got the job done. After a few beers, I definitely couldn’t complain!!!

And speaking of beers, we’re starting off with a Hopping Mad IPA from Granite Brewery. This copper cask beer had a nice punch, at 60 IBU, without being too puckery, and was still very crushable at 6%.

Speaking of IPAs, this Surround Sound DIPA from Collective Arts kicks it up a notch with Azacca, Amarillo and Comet hops, coming in at 8.2%. Definitely a lot more juicy and citrusy, if you’re into that!

But now we’re getting into the darker stuff, with a Long Shadow stout from Fairweather Brewing. They brew this one with coconut, vanilla and coffee, giving it a similar chocolately taste to Granville Island’s Lions Winter Ale, a personal favourite…although it’s not quite as rich. Would definitely try this again, though!

Speaking of dessert beers, this home-brewed C’est What Mocha Porter is a pretty decent one to curl up in front of a fireplace with. Plus, they donate one dollar from every pint to feminism, so I did my good deed for the day, son!!!

Even after that four-course liquid dinner, you KNOW I’ve still got room for dessert, bro! This chocolate hazelnut brownie, with ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry on top really hits the spot!!!

WINTERLICIOUS 2020: PB&J Bacon Burger @ Liberty Commons

So, Winterlicious ended yesterday…but we’re saving the best for last, bro! We’re hanging out at Liberty Commons, this funky craft brewpub in Liberty Village, which is serving up the one dish I’ve been waiting all Winterlicious for — the PB&J Bacon Burger! But you know the drill, we always start off with an appetizer, so say hello to some smoked meat jelly:

Now, this dish was pretty far outta bounds. It’s kinda like a pate or a terrine, but made with beef brisket, pickled mushrooms, some rosemary and thyme. And these little crostinis were so teeny-weeny that you couldn’t really put anything on them. Epic fail whale!

But hey, the burger more than made up for any smoked meat mishaps. You’ve got a nice, thick patty, topped with super-thick maple bacon. You definitely get the crunchy nuttiness of the peanut butter, but I didn’t really taste the green tomato jam. On the other hand, they put a lotta gooey, chewy bananas on here — and bananas are good!!!

Now, for dessert we’ve got this chocolate brownie sundae: soft-serve ice cream, whipped cream, peanuts, sprinkles and brownie bites — nothing wrong with that at all! Well, the soft-serve was maybe a little too melty a little too quickly…I didn’t wanna get brain freeze, bro!!!

WINTERLICIOUS 2020: Patchy tandoori pizza @ Bannock

I’m Greedo Catucci, and this is 2020. We’re talking Winterlicious, the annual extravaganza where restaurants ALL OVER this city are serving up three-course meals for some pretty sweet deals! We’re starting off at Bannock, this funky joint on Bay St, where you can get an appetizer, dinner AND dessert for just 33 bucks, bro!!!

First up, we’ve got some deep-fried mac ‘n cheese. Dude, this is body by deep-fried mac ‘n cheese!!! These golden yellow bricks are on a road to my mouth, with chunks of cheddar and some smoked ham hock thrown in, for that extra kick. There’s a little cup of ketchup on the side, but they couldda used a little more seasoning, though…

And now it’s time for the main event — tandoori chicken pizza! Dude, this is body by pizza, so when I see it on the menu for Winterlicous, you KNOW I’m gonna hafta order it. (Last year, I even ate two pizzas at Piano Piano, bro!) This slice is covered in chunks of chicken, Indian yogurt and mozzarella, with a few pieces of cilantro. While the ingredients were all pretty good, they don’t quite come together cuz I can’t really get ’em all in one bite…

Of course, you KNOW we still had room for dessert — and this dessert was definitely the best part of the whole meal! You’ve got a rich ‘n creamy chocolate brownie, with sponge toffee, powdered sugar and mixed berries…nothing wrong with that at all! Man, I would even pay 33 bucks for three of these. But then, I’d probably still have room for pizza!!!!

Prime rib AND lobster — just 15 bucks, bro!!!!!

So, we’re hanging out at Woodbine Casino, this funky gambling joint up in Rexdale, where every Thursday and Friday they’re serving up prime rib and two lobster tails for just 15 bucks! With a deal like that, you KNOW how I’m gonna be spending my Friday night, son!!!

Now, I asked for my meat medium-rare (which is the second rule of Flavourtown), and it mighta been a bit overdone. But you still got the nice tenderness, the juices, just the right amount of fat, with plenty of horseradish to go around — I totally put too much on this bite though, bro!!!

Now, the lobster was pretty small — they cut each tail in half, so you get four pieces all about this size. It’s also grilled, not boiled, so the meat kinda sticks to the shell. And they don’t give you no lobster fork, neither…so it takes a bit of work. But once you put that buttery, buttery meat to your mouth, it’s soooo worth it!!!

Now, you don’t just get steak and lobster for 15 bucks — it comes with mashed potatoes, green beans, zucchinis, and this crazy side dish: half a tomato, topped with bread crumbs. I never wouldda thought to eat tomato with prime rib (or lobster) before…but hey, it actually kinda works?

Of course, even after polishing off that low-priced plate of perfection, I still had room for dessert. Now, this chocolate brownie was hard as a rock — I could barely break it with a spoon, bro!!! Definitely needed to defrost it a bit longer…but the chocolate per bite ratio was about right!

I should mention that to get this awesome deal, you gotta get a rewards card — otherwise, it’s like 27 dollars. But membership is free, and they also give you five bucks to play the slots. On my very first spin, I hit the big jackpot…

WINNER, WINNER, SWISS CHALET DINNER!!!!

Steakin’ and bacon @ STK (Winterlicious 2019)

Now, I only made it out to one funky joint for Winterlicious this year, cuz I was somewhere on a beach, Dierks Bro-ntly! But I figured if I was only gonna do one place for Winterlicious, it was gonna be this funky steakhouse right in the heart of Yorkville. We’re gettin’ some, gettin’ some at STK, son!

Now, when I heard this joint was serving up double-smoked Applewood bacon as an appetizer, you KNOW I was all over that like fat on pork, bro! This steak-sized piece of back bacon totally reeks of unctuousness, with a balsamic BBQ sauce, holy shiitake shrooms and some red hot chili peppers, for that extra kick. Give it away, give it away, give it away now!!!!

Of course, we’re still saving room for the main event. This 8 oz strip was definitely on the well-done side of medium rare, but it still had some nice juices, with mashed potatoes, black trumpet mushrooms, and onions two ways–agrodolce and crispy-fried. Dude, this is body by agrodolce, bro!!!

Now, this chocolate brownie was pretty outta bounds. You’ve got rich, moist chocolate, dulce de leche ice cream, dehydrated raspberries and a maple bourbon sauce??? Shut the front, back and side doors, son!!!!

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