Tag Archives: chocolate cake

BIG APPLE BITES: This steakhouse has been serving up mutton chops since the days when men had mutton chops…

We’re hanging out at Keens Steakhouse, an NYC institution going back to the 80’s — the 1880s, bro! This place is super old school with wood panels and floors, waiters in bow ties and vests, and they’re serving up big old cuts of meat like back in the old days.

Starting off with a Twice Baked Vermont Blue Cheese Puff, served on a bed of hollandaise. It’s sorta like a soufflé, with a slightly eggy taste — the blue cheese is not as strong as I would have expected here.

Now, I definitely don’t eat mutton every day… but if all mutton tastes this good, then I wish I could! Super-tender, texture like a ribeye steak, the meat doesn’t need much help to come off the bone. And cutting it up is half the fun, son — I think I did a pretty good job:

No meat left behind, bro!!!

But of course we’ve still got room for dessert! This Lady M Chocolate Cake has layers and layers of chocolate, with chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache and chocolate sponge cake. You KNOW I need you now, bro!!!! (Oh wait, that’s Lady A…)

This place even has its own signature beer, Keens IPA. Very smooth and drinkable, not too heavy on the hops. Goes great with mutton chops!

Crab cakes, nduja and clams — oh my!!!

Now, I don’t always eat seafood, but when I do, you KNOW it’s gotta be funkalicious, bro! So we’re hanging out at Pink Sky, this funky seafood joint on King West, where I had a legit lobster mac ‘n cheese last year. But if there’s one thing I learned from the last time we were here, it’s that eating only one thing isn’t gonna be enough food for me. So that’s why I made sure to order at least three things this time around…

We’re starting off with a couple crab cakes, coming in hot ‘n crispy, straight outta fryer, on a whole bed of tartar sauce. These crab boys weren’t as good as the ones down the street, but they’re still pretty tasty.

But now it’s time for the main event. We’re talkin’ steamed clams in a spicy broth with couscous, nduja sausage and a peck of piquillo peppers. Now, the first few clams up top weren’t very spicy, but once you get into that broth, with a few little bites of nduja, it really kicks things up a notch!!!!

But you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert — and with just four things on the dessert menu, it’s basically a no-brainer. We’re going with the chocolate olive oil cake, with toasted almond ice cream. Now, I couldn’t tell that there was olive oil in here, but the cake was nice ‘n moist, with plenty of chocolate to go around. If I could get that in King’s Cake size, that would be amazeballs, bro!!!!

Clappin’ veal cheeks @ Tutti Matti!!!

Last Friday, in the middle of a major snowstorm, I made my way over to Tutti Matti, this funky Italian joint on Adelaide that’s been serving up classic Tuscan cuisine for the past 20 years. Turns out it was the last day they were open before the holidays — they’re now closed until January 13. And dude, this is body by Italian food, so you KNOW I had to stop by, no matter how bad it was outside!!!!!

Dude, this is definitely not my first porchetta sandwich…but it might be my first open-faced one. You’ve got some nice, slow-roasted piggy with arugula (or rocket, as they say across the pond) and deep-fried shallots on a big toasted piece of bread. Pork is super-tender, bread is nice ‘n crunchy — but the deep-fried shallots is what makes it!!!!!!!

But you KNOW we’re just getting started, son! These veal cheeks were on special, so you might not even see ’em come January. But man, that beef was super fall-apart tender, served in au jus on a bed of creamy polenta with some crunchy croutons — hey, you gotta use up that bread before it goes bad, bro!!!!

Another cool thing about this place is that all their beer (except for Peroni) comes from GoodLot, this funky little organic craft brewery in Caledon. I had never even heard of GoodLot before, so I asked to see all their wares. I passed on the Philsner and the Mellow Gold, but I can tell you that the Bighead Amber and Farmstead Ale were both quite tasty — I’ll hafta look for ’em in the LCBO sometime.

But you know we’ve still got room for dessert, right? Their chocolate torte hit the spot, nice and rich with a scoop of caramel gelato on top. Dude, you could put that gelato on a snow boot, and it would still taste good!!!!!!!

Who needs Christmas turkey when you can have deep-fried duck???

Now, I know I’ve said this before — I am not a big fan of turkey, unless it’s Texas-style BBQ turkey, or maybe a turducken. But I didn’t see any place serving up turducken this year, so instead we’re heading to Louix Louis, this funky joint at the top of the St. Regis hotel, for a Christmas day brunch. They aren’t serving turkey here, either… but when I saw the Duck & Waffle, with deep-fried duck legs, I mean, who even needs turkey, right???

OK, now let’s break it down. Waffles were thick, but not very fluffy. Even with the syrup, they didn’t get very soft, so instead of piling the duck on top, I had to put it on the side, like so. But the deep-fried duck was legit, nice n’ chewy with a crispy breading, and that blueberry compote kicked it up a notch!

But hey, because calories don’t count on Christmas Day, we also ordered some steak ‘n eggs, son! Steak was on the rare side of medium rare (not a bad thing), and the eggs were pretty decent, although I didn’t see any of the shaved truffles they mentioned on the menu. Guess it must not be truffle season?

Washed it down with “The Original Bloody Mary” which is supposed to be a St. Regis specialty — this drink was actually invented at a St. Regis in NYC, back in the day. But man, I gotta say, I didn’t taste or feel the vodka in this one. I mean, I wanna get drunk, bro, not dip my french fries in it!!!!!!!

Speaking of St. Regis specialties… you KNOW I saved room for a slice of King’s Cake, bro! Dude, this 13-layer chocolate cake is thicker than Lizzo and J.Lo combined — I ate most of it, but I’ve still got pretty much an entire Prime Seafood Palace-sized piece of cake leftover for tomorrow…

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!!!! 😉

It’s a cheese pie and a spinach pie, all rolled into one…

Now, we’re no strangers to Greek food here on Triple B. So when we heard this funky joint called Petros82 opened up in the Entertainment District, right where Montecito used to be, you KNOW we had to check it out, bro!

This place has a massive menu full of Greek comfort food classics, but one thing that caught my eye was the spanakotiropita. Now, I’ve had spanakopita and I’ve had tiropita before, but I’ve never seen both of them in the same pie, son!

This dish is coming in hot and flaky, and it really tastes like equal parts cheese and spinach. The cheese is what makes it, though!

But you KNOW that’s not all, bro! Coming up next, we’ve got a fried seafood medley of crispy calamari and tender, crunchy shrimp. I could eat that all day and all of the night!!!!!

And now it’s time for another Greek god in Flavourtown — we’re talkin moussaka, son! Calling it Greek lasagna does not do this dish justice. You’ve got some cheesy mashed potatoes, tender veggies and some tasty, delicious braised lamb. Shut the front, back and side doors!!!

Another thing that’s on point about this place is they’re serving up some Greek craft beers that I’ve never even seen before, like this Salonika Honey Pilsner. Nice, malty taste with just a little sweetness from the honey — I think somebody musta shook the bottle though.

So instead of another one of those, I went with a Skinipa Lady. This is tangy like a saison, but still pretty strong at 5.5%. I like this a lot more than the first beer…

But of course, we’ve still got room for dessert. This chocolate torta comes complete with a pistachio crust, chocolate drizzle and a variety of fresh berries. The only thing that’s bad about this is it’s way too small!!!!!

SUMMERLICIOUS 2022: Super-legit lamb @ The Rabbit Hole

Summerlicious is coming to an end this weekend, but we are going out with a bang, bro! We’re hanging out at The Rabbit Hole, this classy British-style pub in the Financial District, where they’re serving up a 55-dollar dinner menu that has a few of my favourite things — or at least one of them, anyways.

But first, we’re starting off with some soused mackerel. I thought that might mean this fish was soaked in booze, but the only liquid on this place seems like it might be residue from the pickled veggies, or something. This dish didn’t really blow me away — it’s basically just cold fish with a few veggies and a piece of bread. But hey, at least it’s not salad?

But now we’re about to kick it up, oh, about 6 or 7 notches with the main course. We’re talking a perfectly-cooked lamb sirloin served in date sauce, with a variety of veggies — oh, and it even comes with a haggis croquette:

Dude, haggis croquette was my nickname at the College of Piping, bro!!!!

Now, you know the drill — Summerlicious always comes with dessert! And I gotta go with the flourless chocolate cake. It’s dense and rich like a chocolate bar, topped with meringue, a couple raspberries, and a raspberry sauce underneath. Nothing wrong with that at all!!!!

Of course, I’m not gonna go to a pub and drink a glass of water, mate! So we’re British-ing it up with this Collingwood Kingpost English pale ale. This is not like an IPA you get in the USA — it’s a little more malty, and not quite as bitter. A few of these will getcha more soused than a mackerel though, bro!!!!

But speaking of IPAs, we’re kicking it local with a Viaduct IPA from Danforth Brewery. Let’s just say it tastes a lot better than water from under the bridge!!!!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner @ Taverne Bernhardt’s

Now, we don’t always eat chicken on Triple B — gimme steak any day of the week, son! — but when I heard about Taverne Bernhardt’s, this cozy little joint on Dovercourt serving up chicken so legit it landed in the Top 30 of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, then you KNOW I’m there with a beret on, bro!!!!

They do have some sides and starters, and maybe another main dish or two, but the star of the show is definitely the rotisserie chicken. You can either get a half chicken or full chicken dinner, which comes with pickles, slaw, a dinner roll and your choice of fries or potatoes. I guess a full chicken could probably feed up to 4 people (maybe more if you order some starters), but the half chicken dinner is a nice meal for one in Flavourtown:

Dude, this chicken is like Swiss Chalet on steroids, bro! Moist, tender, juicy, it goes great smothered in gravy. And the band’s all here — breast, leg, drumstick, wing — I just can’t stop eating this, son!!!!

Oh, and while I’m told the potatoes are pretty good, I still say you gotta get the fries. Some of the crispiest, beefiest french-fried potaters I’ve ever had. You don’t even need ketchup, and I always eat ketchup with fries, son!!!!

Now, there may be a handful of beers on the menu (which isn’t available online), but last night, they only had two.

We’re starting off with a Matron Summery Landbier, which I believe might be brewed exclusively for Bernie’s (as the cool kids call it). This beer is so light, it’s actually under 4%, and while it does have more flavour than Molson Canadian…I’m pretty sure the dishwater at Taverne Bernhardt’s tastes better than Canadian, too. 😛

The other beer they weren’t sold out of was True History’s Just a Pils, which is pretty much exactly what it says on the can. It doesn’t go too bad with some rotisserie chicken, though…

And when it comes to dessert, there are only two options — cake OR ice cream. Since you can’t combine em, I gotta go with the chocolate cake, topped with hazelnuts and cherries. This is so rich ‘n decadent that I wouldn’t even know it was flourless if it didn’t say so on the menu. Man, this might be the best gluten-free thing I’ve ever eaten, bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chowing down on Wynona’s big brown branzino, bro!

Man, I remember back in the day when all you had to eat around Gerrard Square was McDonald’s. But since then, a buncha funky joints opened up in a neighbourhood sometimes known as Gerrones, and just a couple blocks away, across from a new condo under construction, you’ve got Wynona, this cozy little place serving up seafood and Italian comfort food. I mean, it’s not every day you get gabagool on the menu, bro!!!!

This Italian cured pork product (known as Capocollo to people who’s never watched The Sopranos) is drizzled with honey and topped with a shredded cow’s milk cheddar, along with a couple banana peppers for that added bada bing. But you KNOW this is just an appetizer in Flavourtown…

While the menu here changes weekly, there’s a good chance they’ve got branzino, a grilled European sea bass served with brown butter, olives and capers. Take me to the river, bro!!!!

And what better beer to wash this down than Marco Polo, an Italian-style pilsner from Indie Alehouse? These guys run the bottle shop at Eataly, so you know they know Italian — and the crispness of this one is definitely on point.

Of course, we’ve still got room for dessert, and you’ve got two choices here, creme caramel or chocolate cake. That’s basically a no-brainer in Flavourtown, bro! They kick this cake up a notch with chocolate pastry cream, sour cherries and a dollop of whipped cream — you KNOW they whip it good, De-bro!!!!

Who needs ribeye steak when you can have ribeye bison?

So a little while back, I had some bison meatballs at the Drake Hotel. And they were tasty, but kinda small, and I was like, man I wish I had a bigger bison. So when I heard that Sassafraz, this upscale funky joint in Yorkville, was serving up a 12 oz Alberta bison ribeye, I was all over that like a Buffalo soldier, bro!!!

Meat was nice n tender, perfect medium rare. Came with a few little mushrooms, a bit of onion and some kale. But when they asked if I wanted to add Parmesan truffle fries, I was like “Dude, does a bear shit in Schitt’s Creek, bro???”

These taters were nice n crispy, more cheese than truffle. I like that they came with both mayo and ketchup, so you can grab a bit of both…

Of course, you KNOW I still had room for dessert, son! This flourless chocolate cake was a cross between a chocolate bar and a turtle pie, with blueberry compote and a scoop of ice cream. I would eat that off a snow boot, son!!!!

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