Tag Archives: lamb

Lick it up, lick it up @ Miss Likklemore’s

May 5, 2023
greedocatucci
1 comment
caribbean food, crab fried rice, Jamaican food, jerk chicken, lamb, mac pie, Miss Likklemore's, oxtail, rum, snapper

Now, I’m not a member of KISS, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, bro! We’re hanging out at Miss Likklemore’s, this funky family-style Jamaican joint on King West, where they’re serving up all kinds of Caribbean classics. We’re talking jerk chicken, oxtail, mac pie, escovitch fish… and even a super-legit lamb that’s all part of the jam, fam!!!!

Let’s save the best for first, bro! This braised oxtail was fall-off-the-bone tender, served in a nice gravy that wasn’t too rich or too spicy. Even if I ate nuttin but oxtail this evening, I’d still be happy!!!

Now, here’s a dish you don’t see every day. We’re talking crab fried rice, with all kinds of crab (it’s hidden in the middle), and they’ve even got some crab legs on top. Shut the back door, bro!!!!!!

Sticking with seafood, this escovitch style snapper is battered and fried to perfection, with a nice, citrusy kick. Ja mon, as they say in Germany!!!!

Of course, I couldn’t come here and NOT order jerk chicken, bro! Half a jerk chicken is 35 bucks, and I ate half of it myself. The chicken was moist and juicy, and the gravy added a nice kick. But I’m not sure it was much better than the 5-dollar daily special at Ritz Carribbean Food…

Now, when we went to Chadon Beni a couple weeks back, they had these “Mac Pie Bites” that were really just mac ‘n cheese balls. So when I saw mac pie on the menu at Likklemore’s, I felt like having my own personal Cheesus, bro! Tasty, creamy, cheesy — nothing wrong with that at all!!!!

But now we’re saving the second best for last with this lamb platter. You’ve got a super-tender lamb shoulder with a few mini rotis — I totally made a taco outta this. It might not be authentic Jamacian, but it’s Jamaican its way straight down my piehole, bro!!!!!

Now, the name of this blog ain’t Burgers, Bacon & Rum, but they’ve only got Red Stripe, Carib and Dragon Stout in the beer department, and a rum list that runs over 100 deep, including some from countries you wouldn’t even expect, like this Companero Ron Elixir Orange, coming straight outta Denmark! This one was sweeter and didn’t cut through the Coke as much as the other ones I tried, though.

Who knew they made rum in Fiji, son? This Plantation Isle of Fiji reminds me a lot of Kraken Dark Spiced Rum, which I drink whenever my team plays against the Seattle Kraken. (Good thing I’m not an Avs fan, eh?)

Up next, a Barbancourt 8 Year Special Reserve from Haiti. This was the strongest and most flavourful one… that I combined with Coke, anyways.

And for dessert, we’ve got chocolate mousse, topped with peanuts and caramel, and paired with a Dzama White Prestige from Madagascar that really knocked my socks off! Let’s just say I be jammin’ tonight, bro!!!!!

Man, I didn’t know lambs could speak French, bro…

So, we’re hanging out at Le Baratin, this funky little French bistro on Dundas West, where they’ve got a pretty sweet deal: two courses for $48, or three for $58. And that includes anything on the menu, bro! Now, I’m always down for eating three things for less than the price of a steak, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to order until I saw the jarret d’agneau — dude, I didn’t even know lambs spoke French, bro!!!!

This super-tender, heart in a blender, lovely, lovely lamb shank falls off the bone with a fork — no knife needed, bro! And this might be the best lamb shank I’ve had outside of Greektown, with some kidney beans, veggies and a tomato broth — looks like I’m not getting scurvy today!!!!

But it seems we’ve started this story in the middle of the page, so let’s back that track up, Jack! For starters, we scarfed down some escargot forestiere, in a garlic cream sauce, with some big ol’ mushrooms. And I gotta say, the mushrooms is what makes it. These bad boys were meaty, beaty, big AND bouncy, bro!!!!!!!!!

Now, it’s rare that we go to a French restaurant and NOT order creme brulee, but when I saw they only had orange creme brulee, I was like, no way, Jose! So, instead I went with the chocolate mousse. Nice ‘n creamy, with a little nutty aftertaste from their not-so-secret ingredient, Amaretto. Dude, I could crush a whole tub full of this mousse, bro!!!!

And hey, the beer selection ain’t bad here, with two draft beers and eight cans to choose from. While they do have Kronenbourg (but not on draft), I just went across the border with this Blanche de Chambly from Unibroue. I’m definitely no stranger to this one — it’s probably my go-to wheat beer on this side of the pond. (Weihenstephan Weizen FTW, frau!) And hey, unlike Unibroue’s much stronger beers like La Fin du Monde, you can crush these all day without puking in a garbage can, bro!!!!!!!

(Not that I’ve ever done that or anything…)

Build your own barbacoa tacos @ Milagro

Now, you might find “beef barbacoa” all over the place, but when it comes to real-deal barbacoa, it’s dirty deeds, done with sheep, son! So when I found out that Milagro Cantina, this funky Mexican joint just south of King St, was serving up barbacoa with roast lamb, you KNOW we had to check it out, bro!

So here’s the deal. They give you a plate full of lamb, with onions, cilantro, beans and a spicy chipotle sauce, and a basket of tortillas on the side to make your own tacos. I’m not sure if the beans were meant to go in the taco, or just as a side dish, but they went pretty well with the tender lamb, which needed a bit of that sauce to kick it up a notch.

But that’s not all, folks! We’ve also got some queso fundido with chorizo — dude, Queso Fundido was the name of my 80’s Rock en Español cover band, cabron! You got some mad cheese pulls from the queso, a little kick from the chorizo…and I even saved a bit to make this Flavourtown creation — cheesy barbacoa taco!!!

I mean, maybe they don’t put cheese tacos in Mexico — but me, I’d put that shit on everything, bro!

Washed it all down with a Michelada Preparada, which is where they take a Michelada and add hot sauce to the mix. Unfortunately, the hot sauce mostly sank to the bottom, so I didn’t get much of it until the end, when I was basically just drinking hot sauce and water. Ay caramba!

Of course, we can’t go for Mexican and not order churros, bro! These ones came six to an order, about three bites each, with some chocolate on the plate for dipping. Hey, they might not compete with Guy Fieri’s churros — but you can never go wrong with churros, homes!!!!!

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!!!!

SUMMERLICIOUS 2022: This 3-course Greek dinner is only 35 bucks, bro!!!!

Now, we’re no strangers to Soulas Modern Greek here on Triple B. Dude, I dig this place so much that I ordered $69 worth of takeout during the pandemic…and ate it all by myself. So when I heard they were serving up a three-course Summerlicious dinner for just 35 dollars, you KNOW that’s all Greek to me — and Greek is good, bro!!!!!

So, we’re starting off with dolmades, which are kinda like Greek cabbage rolls. You’ve got a couple vine leaves stuffed with rice and ground beef, topped with tomato sauce, and served with a small Greek salad — this is pretty much all the salad I need, bro!

So, we’ve had our share of Greek food on Triple B, but this main course is something I’ve never seen before. We’re talking exohiko, a lamb pie stewed with onions and mushrooms in a feta and rosemary sauce, all wrapped up in phyllo pastry. Now, I’m a fan of spanakopita, tiropita and baklava, but this might be the best thing I’ve ever had in phyllo dough. Lamb is super tender, cooked to perfection, and that pastry adds a nice crunch. This dish takes shepherd’s pie out to pasture, bro!!!!!!!!!

Now, they did have baklava on their Summerlicious dessert menu, but instead of doubling down on phyllo dough, I went with the karidopita, a moist, tender honey walnut cake. While this dish was still delish, I also had to steal a few bites of their ekmek kataifi pistachio cream pie… Totally getting that one next time, son!!!

This lamb breakfast stew is like a Persian dip sandwich, bro!!!

So, we’re hanging out at Takht-e Tavoos, this funky little Persian joint at College and Dufferin. Now, this place is only open on the weekends, and only from 10 to 3, so you’re not coming here for lunch or dinner — they serve breakfast and brunch only.

Now, one of the most popular Persian brunch dishes is this lamb stew called Abgoosht, or Dizi (named after the stone pots they cook it in), and there is some assembly required. What you do is pour the broth into a bowl, and then take this metal masher, and mash up the rest of the ingredients like so. It’s actually kinda therapeutic — take that, chickpeas!!!

And here’s where it gets really funky. The proper way to eat this dish is to put the remaining meat mixture between two pieces of bread, and then dip it into the broth. So it’s kinda like a French dip sandwich…except it’s Persian. And man, if you love lamb as much as I do, it’s definitely worth the extra effort to put it all together, bro!!!!!!!!

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

June 23, 2022
greedocatucci
0 comments
Bar Koukla, croquettes, Greek beer, Greek food, lamb, lamb ribs, sweetbreads

Now, we’ve had a whole lotta lamb here on Triple B, so when I heard that Bar Koukla, this funky Greek tapas place in Little Portland, was serving up lamb three ways, you KNOW we had to check it out, bro! Man, this place is serving up lamb ribs, sweetbreads… and these round mounds of Flavourtown, lamb croquettes:

No, we’re not scarfing sheep scrotum, son — these croquettes are stuffed with braised lamb and halloumi cheese, and served with a feta donkey sauce. They only come three to an order, but I could pound these balls all day, bro…

…except then I wouldn’t have room for lamb ribs. Now, when I’ve had lamb ribs before, I was usually disappointed; either the portion was too small or they just weren’t meaty enough. But these might be some of the best lamb ribs I’ve ever had, nice and tender with a decent amount of meat. You do only get five bones to an order — but that’s OK as long as you’re eating at least two other things.

And that brings us to some sweet, sweetbreads. We don’t know whether these were lamb or veal sweetbreads — you can’t really dust for sweetbreads, bro. But that’s some tasty thymus gland, son! The rest of the Triple B Krew was too scared to try ’em, but I’ve actually had sweetbreads a couple times before (last time, they were Kentucky fried), so I knew what I was getting into. And call me crazy, but these kinda taste like chicken karaage, or maybe kung pow chicken, minus the pow.

Now, the last time I went to a Greek restaurant, they didn’t even have any Greek beer. But I guess Bar Koukla has a better beer guy, cuz they had a handful of Greek brews to choose from, including a couple I’d never even seen before. This Olympica Magna Pale Ale doesn’t really taste like an IPA — it’s got more of a malty finish — but it does go pretty good with lamb.

Now I’ve had Volkan Blonde a couple times before, but this is the first time I’ve even seen Volkan Black. And you know what they say, once you go black…you’re gonna hafta wheel me outta here, bro! This dark lager almost tastes like a porter, but it’s got a hint of honey at the end, for a little kick of sweetness. Yo sweetness is my weakness, son!!!!!

A totally different take on lamb shank…

Now, you KNOW I love lamb — and probably my favourite kind of lamb is lamb shank. There’s just something amazing about that super-tender meat that falls right off the bone… So, we’re hanging out at Silk Road, this funky Middle Eastern joint on Queen West, and I’m all in on the Shank Osmani, braised lamb slow cooked for 14 hours. This is not quite what I was expecting though:

Now, even though this lamb isn’t baa-baa-baa-baa-bad to the bone, it’s still pretty tender, and pretty tasty, on a bed of labneh yogurt with some crispy onion strings on top. I do not regret ordering it — even if it was not what I thought it would be.

Speaking of the unexpected, I was not expecting to see kalbi-style beef short ribs at a Middle Eastern joint, bro! They’re actually called Mongolian (not Korean) ribs, but they are quite tasty — nicely grilled and more tender than some Korean places. I just kinda wish they had put that green chili sauce on the side, cuz it was a little too spicy for me.

But the surprises don’t stop there, son… While the menu mentions a Skyward Ontario IPA from Avling Brewery, this is in fact a Calm Sea Ontario Pale Ale. Which is the same brewery, and same style, but not quite the same beer. Didn’t stop me from chugging a few of these, though, bro!!!!!

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Thai lamb curry in a bit less of a hurry…

I dunno guy, but it seems like every time I order from Uber Eats, it takes about an hour for my food to get here. OK, so I’ve only ordered from them a couple times since this latest lockdown started…but both times, it took almost an hour. And the last two times before that took over an hour, too. Whatever happened to 30 minutes or it’s free, bro???

Anyways, after three failed attempts to redeem a Chinese New Year’s discount code with Skip the Dishes (I picked from the “featured restos” and ordered the right amount of food, but for some reason the code wasn’t eligible!!!???) I ended up opting for an Uber Eats offer where you save a lucky 8 dollars when you order 30 bucks or more — from certain participating restaurants. First one that popped up with Isaan Der, this funky little Thai joint at Queen and Broadview. I’m always down to try some Thai, so when I saw the Lamb Shank Massaman Curry, I knew it was heading straight down my piehole…some 53 minutes later. (Hey, at least I can start going back to restaurants tomorrow?)

Now, as much as I love lamb, I would not put this down as one of my top 10 lamb dishes. (Especially not after coming back from Iceland, where they put lamb in everything!) The meat here was NOT fork tender or fall-off-the-bone — despite what it says on the menu, I definitely needed a fork and knife to get in there. As for the curry, I ordered mine mild, since I’ve had some mild Thai food before that was still pretty spicy… but at this place, mild really means mild; there was no heat at all. Well, except for the fact that I paid $1.50 for a container of fresh chilies to bump my order up to 30 bucks. Those babies really kicked it up a notch! And I didn’t realize this dish already came with rice, which is also sold separately, so I ended up with two kinds of rice — sticky AND jasmine. But hey, I can use that extra rice, as well as some of that leftover curry sauce, for dinner the next day… so it’s all good in the hood, bro!!!

Now, Thai food is often served with a lighter, crisp lager — most typically Tiger Beer, when tends to be my go-to at Asian restaurants that don’t have many beers to choose from. But this heavier curry calls for a richer brew like Doc Perdue’s Bobcat, a West Coast Red Ale from the fine folks at Cowbell Brewing Co. (You KNOW I need more Cowbell, bro!!!!!) You get a nice, malty flavour that takes the heat off those side chilies without being too heavy at 5.5%. Plus, it’s named after some dude’s pet bobcat, which is pretty badass…

ICE ICELAND BABY: Racking up a (boneless) rack of lamb

So, we’re hanging out at Kopar, this funky little joint right along the Reykjavik harbour, next to all the whale watching boats. I’m sure this place has got some great seafood, but I’m here for the ultimate in Icelandic eating — we’re talking local, free-range lamb, fam!

But first, I figured I should probably have at least some seafood…

This rock crab soup is fab, son! It’s sorta like a cross between crab bisque and a Thai coconut curry — and they don’t shortchange you on the crab, either!

But now it’s time for the main event. They didn’t ask how you wanted your lamb cooked — it came out pretty well-done, but still pretty tender. And I like the super-high meat to veggies ratio on this plate, bro!

Of course, we’ve still got room for dessert, and they’re funking it up a notch with this pina colada chocolate tart with green apple sorbet. Shut the front, back and side doors, bro! The chocolate and pineapple play together nicely, while the sorbet gives it a major sour kick that’s probably best enjoyed separately. I gotta give em props for coming up with green apple sorbet though, bro!!!

Washed it all down with an Ulfrun Session IPA from Borg Brugghus — nice, hoppy flavour profile but just 4.5% alcohol. I could assimilate six or seven of these, son!!!!

Now, speaking of lamb, this hand-carved roast lamb, a $36 lunch at the Geysir Visitor Centre food court, was hands-down better than 90% of the lamb I’ve ever had. It comes with potatoes, veggies and gravy… but you could serve it with a flip-flop, and it would still taste good!!!

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