Tag Archives: IPA

Mac Daddy lobster mac and cheese @ Pink Sky

Now, in my books, mac and cheese is more of a side dish, not a full meal. But when I heard that Pink Sky, this funky seafood joint on King West, was serving up a lobster mac and cheese with a full lobster inside, you KNOW I had to check it out, bro!!!!
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I gotta say, this was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. But while the dish wasn’t exactly huge, it actually had some of the biggest noodles I’ve ever seen in a mac and cheese. I mean normally, I can get 4-5 macaroni noodles in every bite, but this rigatoni was so massive that I had to cut each individual noodle in half, bro! Throw in some big chunks of lobster and a nice, creamy cheese sauce, and I’m not complaining — even though I could probably eat at least two of these.
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While you won’t find any craft beer here, they do have Hop Valley Bubble Stash IPA on tap. I hadn’t even heard of this beer until I found it at the Scotiabank Arena a year or two ago (apparently it’s brewed by Creemore), but I gotta say, for an IPA, it checks all the boxes. It could even give Goose Island IPA a run for its money as my new favourite macrobrew! Just stay away from the Goose Green Line APA, though… I learned that in Chicago, bro!!!!!!!

PATIO BEERS: It’s like the fruit salad of beers, bro!!!

Patio season has gone on about a month longer than expected, but I think we’re heading into the last week now. So we’re hanging out at Thirsty And Miserable, this funky little Kensington Market dive where they’ve got punk rock on the stereo and craft beer on tap…as well as in cans. Even during the pandemic, they’re still a cash-only bar — that’s how punk rock they are, bro! And they’re serving up some beers that are pretty outta bounds, like this renegade of funk in Flavourtown that’s literally called It’s a Trap…

This funky collaboration from Indie Alehouse and Dominion City is packing so much fruit, it might actually be healthy for you. We’re talking grapes, lime, pineapple and millions of peaches, peaches for me in a sour beer that comes in at 5.2%. I gotta say, what I taste most is the pineapple, though…

Now, I don’t always drink pineapple, but if you put it in a beer, I think I’ll have another one. This Big Sky pineapple gose from Town Brewing is even more sour than its predecessor…it gives ya a nice pucker!!!

And while this Kiwi IPA from Badlands Brewing does have fruit in its name, don’t judge a beer by its cover, bro! It’s actually called that cuz it’s got three different kinds of hops from New Zealand — Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka, and Motueka… but also gooseberry, lime, tropical fruit and dank berries. It’s definitely more hoppy than fruity, though!

This bar’s alright, if you like IPAs…

Now, unlike my brother from another mother Guy Fieri, we don’t have Dives in our name on Triple B. But that doesn’t mean we only frequent the most upstanding drinking establishments — sometimes, we just want a good, cheap beer in a funky joint with punk rock on the stereo, like Bryden’s on Bloor St or Squirly’s on Queen West. So when I heard about this place called Wasted Youth Bar, just a drunken stumble from Ossington Station, it seemed like my kinda place. And with 6-dollar beers on “Fucked Up Fridays,” well, I just might have a couple… 😉

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We’re starting off with Canuck, a Canadian classic and one of my favourite IPAs. I know they’ve got other beers — more on that in a minute — but when I think of Great Lakes Brewery, this is the first one that comes to mind.

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But now we’re about to funk it up a notch with a Miami Weiss white pale ale from Great Lakes. Dunno the IBUs on this one, but it’s definitely hoppier than its Canuck counterpart. And I’d kinda like to see what it looks like in a glass…but this joint ain’t classy enough for glasses, bro!!!!!

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Speaking of funky, this Burst New England Pale Ale fits the bill. It’s a lot lighter at 4.5% and less hoppy, making it highly crushable. I could probably pound at least seven of these…

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Now, they’ve only got two things on the food menu at Wasted Youth: hot dogs and nacho chips. (No, not nachos, just the chips.) And while those are a few of my favourite things, I just needed something more substantial after slaying seven IPAs. Good thing they let you order takeout from other places. In my drunken stupor, I Ubered up this chicken souvlaki from a nearby joint called East Coast Donair & Grill. Was it the best souvlaki I’ve ever had? No, not really. But I was drunk and hungry, and it got the job done…

Oh, and I paired it with one of the three beers currently on tap — People’s Pint Italian Pilsner. I guess you could say I needed a break from IPAs. 😛

These deep-fried lamb balls are magically delicious!!!

Back at the beginning of First Lockdown, I ordered a whole Pekin duck from R&D…and ate it all myself. Dude, that duck was delicious! So now that they’re open for indoor dining again, we decided to stop by for another funky dish — how bout some deep-fried lamb balls, bro???

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Now, I know what you’re thinking…but we’re NOT nibbling on nutsacks here. These lamb croquettes are stuffed with braised lamb shank, potatoes and onions, served in a sea of lamb curry with some donkey sauce on the side. Dude, you KNOW I love lamb bro, and these tender little flavour nuggets just melt in my mouth!!!

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But now it’s time for the main event: chicken fried karaage style with a seaweed donkey sauce and a some lemon on the side. Man, this chicken was juicy, crispy…and coming in so hot I burned the back of my mouth, bro! And for 22 dollars, you get more than enough to share — unless you’re the type of person who eats a whole Pekin duck to themself. 😉

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And since the name of this blog isn’t Chicken, Croquettes & Coca-Cola, we’re washing this down with a Fountain Green IPA from Furnace Room Brewery in downtown Georgetown. First time I’ve ever heard of this beer, or even this brewery, but it checks all the boxes than an IPA should, so it’s all good in the Flavourhood!!!!

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Nashville hot shrimp sandwich with PEI lobster poutine

I don’t normally eat spicy food… but I’ve been to Nashville a couple times, and I’ve had the second-best hot chicken in town, along with a couple other places. So here we are, in Second Lockdown, and I’m missing the Music City. Now, some of the best hot chicken in Toronto is too far away to deliver, so when I saw that Coast, this funky seafood popup kitchen, was serving up a Nashville hot shrimp sandwich, I figured that might still hit the spot. And this place is actually so close to me that my food arrived in less than 30 min — beat that, Domino’s!!!

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Now, they don’t let you choose your heat level, so you know we’re not in Nashville here, but I gotta say, this sammy is still sneaky spicy. Like, at first it didn’t seem too hot, but the heat sorta builds up and then sticks around. It’s maybe only a 1 or a 2 on the Nashville scale…but that’s all I can really handle, anyways!

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I was a bit bummed out by the tragic poutine I had the other day, so I also decided to order some lobster fries. This PEI lobster poutine was a little light on the gravy and heavy on the herbs — the chives really give this dish a big boost. And while the fries were on the thin side, the combo of fries, real-deal cheese curds and big ol’ chunks of lobster all go together quite nicely.

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This Baldwin Street Fisheye IPA from Kensington Brewing Co. also pairs quite well with some spicy seafood. It’s hoppy, but not too bitter, strong (6.5%), but not too overpowering…and it’s even got some fishies on the label, bro!!!!

Who needs democracy when we’re in a Beerocracy?

Now, I’ve never lived in a dictatorship…but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Dude, you’ve gotta be drunk to buy some of the stuff that these politicians come up with — I mean, whoever thought that Buck a Beer was a good idea??? Good thing that at Beerocracy, this funky craft beer bar on College, you won’t find any PC Brand, Barley Days or Cool Beer on the menu…

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We’re starting off on the lighter side with some Yacht Rock, a sessionable sour beer from Stone City Brewing. This gose goes down easy, at 4.4%, and comes with a hit of pink rock salt. Now, pink rock might not be punk rock, but it’s still heavier than Seals & Crofts, bro!!!

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But now we’re getting a whole lot heavier with Rainbow in the Dark, a winter rye IPA named after my third-favourite Dio song. This brew comes in at an evil 6.66%, and tastes so good, I’d even pay to drink a hologram of it… OK, maybe not.

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Now, I have heard a lot aboot Canadian Breakfast Stout, but being that it’s brewed by Founders in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and our local politicians have decided that we can only buy beer from two places, I have never had a chance to taste it until now. This super-strong (11.7%) bourbon barrel stout tasted a lot like the Trou de Diable I had at Beerbistro, but it’s even more potent… it’s so strong that they only serve it in a 12 oz glass. But that doesn’t mean you can order just one — this is a Beerocracy, after all. 😉

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