Tag Archives: dessert

65-dollar, 66% buffet brunch on Mother’s Day

Now, we may have been raised by wolves in the wilds of Alberta, but that doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate Mother’s Day on Triple B — especially when there’s a buffet involved. We’re hanging out at Dia, this funky joint on the second floor of the new Canopy by Hilton at Bloor and Sherbourne, where they’re serving up a $65 Mother’s Day brunch that’s not quite a full buffet, but pretty close.

Y’see, while they have a buffet-style spread for starters and desserts, you order your entrees a la carte from their Mother’s Day menu… which means you only get to pick just one. But there is plenty of food to go around for starters, though:

What we’ve got here is garden breakfast pizza, bacon breakfast pizza, a bacon & marscapone shooter, marble cheddar, hummus + goat cheese, Greek pasta salad, Virginia ham, sopressata and some bread for hummus dipping. I deliberately avoided adding any veggies to this plate, but there are some onions, peppers and mushrooms on the pizza, so that counts. The bacon breakfast pizza was TheBomb.ca, but the hummus on fresh bread was actually the best thing on this plate, bro!!!!!

Now, there were six main courses to choose from, but you KNOW I went with the prime rib roast — dude, this is body by prime rib roast! But while I was expecting some freshly carved prime rib, Toronto Beach Club style, this piece of meat clearly came out of the kitchen. It wasn’t bad, but it was only the third best prime rib I’ve had in the past six weeks. At least the carrots and asparagus helped me not die of scurvy this week, so there’s that…

But you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert — and I grabbed one of almost everything on the dessert table, bro! We’re talkin’ strawberry chocolate truffles, strawberry trifle, vanilla crème brûlée, chocolate explosion brownie AND pecan pie… oh my! Now, we don’t normally trifle with trifle on Triple B, but I gotta say, this trifle was quite tasty. You’ve got strawberry jam topped with whipped cream, topped with shortcake, more whipped cream, and a couple strawberry slices on top. It’s like a festival of funk in Flavourtown!!!!!!!

Easter feaster buffet @ HOTHOUSE Cafe

April 9, 2023
greedocatucci
1 comment
AYCE, buffet, caesar, dessert, Easter buffet, Hothouse, Hothouse Cafe

Now, we don’t really celebrate Easter on Triple B (I just wait for all the chocolates to go on sale next week, bro!) but when we heard that HOTHOUSE, this funky joint on Church Street, just an Easter egg toss from St. Lawrence Market, was serving up an AYCE Easter buffet for 40 bucks plus tax, you KNOW I’ll be there with bunny ears on, bro! And let’s just say I made sure I got my money’s worth…

Plate 1: Salmon Wellington, penne, chicken leg, cold mussels, coleslaw, olives, apple turnover

My first go-round wasn’t very well thought out — I pretty much just grabbed stuff at random. I think the best thing on this plate was the salmon, which was perfectly hot and flaky.

Plate 2: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles

Plate 2 was all about breakfast, boo! They were all outta French toast when I came around, so instead I went with waffles, which they were cranking out at the waffle iron all day, so they were pretty hot and tasty. Bacon was basically the opposite of crispy, super undercooked. Maybe the best thing on this plate were the sausages, which tasted amazing by comparison.

Plate 3: roast beef, lamb, jerk chicken, cheese capellini, roast potatoes, potato salad

Plate 3 is when I hit up the carving station, where they were serving up both lamb AND roast beef — the beef was super tender and juicy, too! We’ve also got two kinds of potatoes — roasted AND salad — some white-guy-spicy jerk chicken, and an underrated scene-stealer with these cheese capellini. What’s the difference between capellini and tortellini? Beats me-linni!!!!

Plate 4: Omelette with bacon, mushrooms, green onion, tomato with side of bacon and potatoes

The omelette station is super-efficient, with two omeletteers working three burners each — that’s six in total — so I didn’t have to wait in line. I added some more potatoes and not-very-good bacon to this plate, cuz even if the bacon’s not very good, I mean, it’s still got bacon in it, right?

Plate 5: bread pudding, caramel square, white chocolate chip cookie, two kinds of chocolate cake

Dessert was a lavish affair, with about twice as much stuff to choose from as what you see here. (I did not have room for Second Dessert, but I did grab two plates, so there’s that.) I think the cake on the right was gluten-free aka flourless chocolate cake — it wasn’t bad, but not as moist as the one on the left.

And yes, all the grub you see above only cost me 40 bucks — but the deals don’t end there, bro! They were also serving up two caesars for 10 bucks, son! Now, I dunno if you could get only one caesar for five bucks, or if you had to order two for the discount to kick in…but dude, when you can get two of anything for 10 bucks, you order two. That’s like the seventeenth rule of Flavourtown, bro!!!!!!!

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.

Seafood Tower of Power @ The Chase!!!

Now, you don’t really see a lotta seafood towers on Triple B. I mean, most places that serve seafood towers are steakhouses…and whenever I’m at a steakhouse, I’m eating steak and taking names, son! But now we’re hanging out at The Chase, this funky seafood joint just offa Yonge St, and this place specializes in seafood, so that means it’s gotta be good right?

And here on Triple B, it’s always go big or go home. So when there are three different seafood towers to choose from, we had to go for the biggest, baddest one of them all. They called this the Diamond, and it’s like a double black diamond skiing straight down my lobster hole. You KNOW the picture’s only begun, bro!!!!!!!!

This Tower of Power in Flavourtown comes with everything you see here — times five. You’ve got a B-52 chilled rock lobster, snow crab legs, shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon, yellowfin tuna sashimi, rock shrimp salad and an east coast/west coast oyster rivalry going on (I liked the ones from PEI). About the only thing missing are some scallops…

…which is why I made them my main meal. This might be the purdiest plate of scallops I’ve ever seen, served with roasted sunchokes and crispy chicken skin — dude, the crispy chicken skin is what makes it! But the scallops are cooked perfectly, buttery soft and tender. Now, if they could just put these on the new Double Diamond tower next time we swing by, that would be perfection on a platter, bro!!!!

Now, this Nordic pale ale doesn’t hail from Scandinavia — it’s coming straight outta Ottawa, which is probably close enough in wintertime. Whitewater Brewing’s North Meets South is hoppy, juicy, but not too heavy, at just 4.6%. Dude, this beer checks Bud Light into the boards and gives it a facewash, bro!!!!!!!!!!

But even after all those crustaceans back there, we’ve still got room for dessert. And when it comes to dessert, whenever I see something called Chocolate on the dessert menu, it’s guaranteed to be heading straight down my piehole. This one was a little too funky to be considered funkalicious, though. You’ve got a dark chocolate tart with pistachios, cream and mint, and then there’s a scoop of blood orange sorbet on the side. Hey, I like Terry’s Chocolate Orange as much as the next fat guy, but this dish just didn’t do it for me. I shouldda gone with the sticky toffee pudding instead… 😦

Eating all the non-spicy things @ Mimi Chinese

Dude, Mimi Chinese has been known as one of the fanciest, funkiest Chinese food places in the city ever since it opened — they’re pretty fly for a white guy, bro! And while my philosophy on food is sharing means you couldn’t finish it yourself, and you weren’t trying hard enough… when it comes to Chinese, you’re really supposed to order more than one thing. I mean, that’s why they put the spinning wheel in the middle of the table, right?

Now, Mimi’s menu has all sorts of spicy Sichuan dishes that would send this white guy straight to the Poo Ping Palace, so we’re gonna avoid the $110 Chef’s Menu that gives you a little bit of everything, and stick to the non-spicy stuff. But that still gives you plenty of options here — and you end up spending a lot less per person in the process!

Round 1 is all about seafood, with scallops, seabream and shrimp toast (oh my!) along with some pork and scallion dumplings, just to switch things up a bit. The standout has gotta be the shrimp toast, though — you’ve got some greasy greasy frybread stuffed with big chunks of shrimp, topped with sesame seeds and served with a side of hot mustard (I stayed away from the hot stuff).

But now we’re about to kick it up a notch with char siu pork, stuffed chicken wings and a four-foot belt noodle, which they cut into pieces at the table. The noodle wasn’t spicy, but the the chili oil on top made my tongue tingle (in a good way). And man, if they ever had 25 cent wing night, I’d be there all night long for those wings stuffed with rice and mushrooms, son!!!!

This Greatest Hits album in Flavourtown keeps going with some black pepper beef, braised eggplant with garlic sauce (Yu Xiang Qie Zi) and a Supreme Fried Rice that’s packing shrimp, scallops, eggs and Chinese sausage. But the star of the show has gotta be the beef, bro! You’ve got an 18 oz boneless ribeye, chopped up into little pieces, cooked in black pepper sauce and topped with onions. This dish alone will cost ya a cool hundred, but split six ways, it’s only $16.34. 😉

But you KNOW the Triple B Road Krew has always got room for dessert, bro! And we’re ordering everything on the dessert menu — mango pudding, steamed cake with custard and black sesame ice cream. Now, none of these desserts would go in my all-time top 10, but when you pour the custard onto the cake, then I eat them both up!!!!!!!!!

These fguys also own Sunnys Chinese in Kensington Market, and how’s this for cold tea? Their Sunny G ginger sour is perfect with Chinese food — light, tart and refreshing. The ginger is definitely there, but unlike when you accidentally eat a whole piece of ginger in a beef hot pot, it’s not overpowering at all. Now put that in your lunchbox and drink it, son!!!!!!

Big portions of pork and potatoes at a small plates place!

Now, if I told you there’s a joint called Henry’s on Queen West, you might think it’s a funky dive bar — or maybe even a plumbing company. But it’s actually this nice little wine bar that doesn’t even serve beer… although the plumbing in their bathroom is pretty nice. And when it comes to food, they’re all about the small plates. I mean, this is a little dish called Bubba’s Hot Fried Chicken:

And hey, there’s nothing wrong with this — except for the fact you only get two small pieces of chicken. Nice ‘n crunchy with a bit of a kick, not nearly Nashville hot, but slightly more than sports bar spicy. Dude, I could eat a whole basket of these, and still have room for dessert! Luckily, there are a couple of dishes here that’ll feed 2-3 people… or just one hungry citizen of Flavourtown. Here’s how you hack the menu:

Say hello to my not-so-little friend, Pastrami Spiced Pork Chop. This may not taste just like Katz’s Deli, but the pork is nice ‘n tender, and they give you about a dozen pieces, so there’s plenty to go around.

We’re pairing the pork with a side of Ontario smashed potatoes — I would smash these all day, bros! Taters are hot and crispy, swimming in hot sauce and sabayon (don’t call it hollandaise, son!) Who needs fries when you’ve got these bad boys????

Now, speaking of menu hacks… When they told me the pork was served in a dark lager sauce, I was like “Dude, you’ve got beer in the pork, but none in the fridge!?” Well, they did not have any in the fridge, but they found this Czechvar Dark Lager in the cellar, and since it wasn’t very cold, they put it in an ice bucket, which really did the trick. You KNOW there’s somethin’ ’bout a beer sittin’ on ice after a long hard day makes it taste just right, bro!!!!!!!!!!!

But even after scarfing down the biggest meal in Henry’s history, we’ve still got room for dessert. And since there’s no secret King’s Cake on the menu, we ordered both the desserts they’ve got, cuz they’re still pretty small. Like this ube cream puff, topped with toasted coconut. It’s like Profiteroles Gone Wild in Flavourtown!!!!

We’ve also got this chocolate tart with hazelnut and passionfruit. Now this dessert was more like chocolate mousse in a half shell — while the malted chocolate mousse I had the other day was really just a chocolate bar. So I guess if I want chocolate cake in Toronto these days, I gotta order a chocolate cream pie to get it or something???

I’m impressed with this iberico pork presa!

Now, we’re all about dat piggy on Triple B, so it’s rare that there’s a pork product we haven’t had yet. Last year, we learned the pork secret handshake of Iberico pork secreto, but it turns out there’s more than one way to skin an Iberian pig. And at Lapinou, this funky French nouveau joint on King West, they’re serving up a different kind of Iberico — this is Iberico pork presa:

I definitely had to look this up, but it turns out that Iberico pork presa is the juiciest and most flavourful part, attached to the shoulder, while pork secreto is the end of the flank, next to the headboard of the spine. Well, the Spanish butcher shop I got that info from ain’t lying — this pork is very juicy and flavourful, with a texture like a ribeye steak, cooked to a nice medium rare. It comes with a whole buncha Swiss chard, which is braised until tender. But just like at Vela, where the pork secreto was hidden by a heap of shishito peppers, the green-stuff-to-meat ratio was a little too high over here…

Mind you, I did eat a little more meat to help balance things out. This beef tartare is seasoned with green peppercorns, chives and an anchovy sauce — the peppercorns give it a nice little kick. I could maybe have used one more piece of toast to go with all that meat… but man, you could serve that beef tartare on a flip-flop, and it would still taste good!!!!!

Now, they’re definitely more about wine than beer here, but they did have a couple Blood Brothers brews on tap, including this Inner Eye Pale Ale. Man, this tastes so much like Blood Light that I feel they almost served me that beer instead (I think that’s what it said on my bill, anyways), but in any case, I can’t complain about this slightly citrusy, not too hoppy APA.

Now, if I do have one complaint, it’s that the portions were pretty small. I definitely still had room for dessert… and of the three items on the dessert menu, Chocolate was the obvious choice. They described this one as tasting like a chocolate orange, and they weren’t kidding — the orange zest really cuts through the mix. They also added some sesame seeds for a grainy texture, which made things a little more interesting. Hey, I’ll take this over panna cotta any day!!!!!

Say hello to my Brother from Another Mother!!!!

Now, I don’t always eat sushi, so when I do, you KNOW it’s gotta be funkalicious to the max. We’re hanging out at Akira Back, this funky joint in the Bisha Hotel, where they’re serving up these crazy sushi rolls with names like Hot Mess, Pop Rockin and Show Me the Roll. But when I saw this renegade of funk called Brother from Another Mother, you know I was buying a one-way ticket straight to Downtown Flavourtown, son!!!!!!!!

Dude, this bad boy is so outta bounds, where do I even begin, bro? You’ve got two kinds of eel — unagi AND anago, with some crunchy cucumber, and then they put foie gras on top????? However you say shut the back door in Japanese, that door is definitely shutting!!!!

But you know we’re just getting this party started, bro! Up next, we’ve got wagyu short rib, marinated for 48 hours, so it’s nice ‘n tender, heart in a blender, watch it spin round to a beautiful oblivion… This dish has got a rendez-vous with my piehole in like 2 seconds!!!

We’re pairing that with a side of king crab fried rice. Now, I gotta say, the rice-to-beef ratio is pretty high — I was expecting a lot more than four little chunks of beef here. But you could pair this rice with a side of flip-flop, and it would still taste good!

But of course, we’re still got room for dessert. And now it’s time to make like Roger Waters and have a cigar. This AB Cigar is sorta like a Drumstick without a cone — you’ve got miso caramel ice cream in a chocolate shell with all kinds of cocoa nubs for that extra little kick. You KNOW ‘sticks are unbelievable, bro!!!!!!!!

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
0 comments
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.

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