Tag Archives: oxtail

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

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!!!!

miss_likklemores_braised_oxtail (2)

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!!!

miss_likklemores_crab_xo (1)

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!!!!!!

miss_likklemores_escovitch_snapper (2)

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!!!!

miss_likklemores_jerk_chicken (2)

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…

miss_likklemores_mac_pie (5)

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!!!!

miss_likklemores_lamb_platter (3)

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!!!!!

companero_ron_elixir_orange (denmark) (2)

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.

plantation_isle_of_fiji (5)

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?)

barbancourt_8_year (haiti) (4)

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

chocolate_mousse+dzama_white (3)

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!!!!!

Pai Northern Thai’s taking it to Midtown Flavourtown!!!

Now, Pai Northern Thai Kitchen is already known as one of the best Thai restaurants in Toronto. I’ve had green curry beef here that was too legit to quit, and ordered some takeout where they probably got the spice level wrong. So when I heard they opened a second location in Midtown, just a coconut’s throw from Yonge & Eglinton, you KNOW I had to check it out, bro!!!!

pai_garlic_shrimp (5)

The Uptown menu looks to be about the same as the OG location, so I figured I’d order a couple things I haven’t tried before, starting with these kung tawt garlic shrimp. These super-crispy bad boys go down smooth with a little spicy-sour tamarind sauce on the side. Man, if these shrimp were endless, Red Lobster would be outta business, bro!!!!

pai_oxtail_curry (30)

But now it’s time for a different type of beef curry — we be jammin’ this oxtail down me piehole, mon! Meat is super-tender, sauce adds a nice little kick, but you gotta watch out for all them little bones, bro…

autpop_session_sour (9)

Now, they don’t have as much craft beer here as their downtown joint (from what I remember), but man, whenever I see Blood Brothers on a beer list, I pretty much have to order it. This is the latest installment in their Autopop series, a session sour with cherries. Not gonna lie, I thought I was ordering the Autopop Cherry Cola sour, which I’ve had a couple times before, but this light ‘n tangy fruit punch does go pretty good with Thai food, though.

black_hand_stout (6)

But now we’re kicking it up a couple notches with a Black Hand Stout. This rich, dark beer is sorta like Guinness on steroids, coming in strong at 7%…which means instead of slamming six beers, I might only have five.

TORONTO’S TOP TAKOUT: Takin’ and bakin’ some real-deal Jamaican!!!

Now, I’ve never been to Patois before… but I did have their Jamaican patty double-down sammy at Union Market a few years back, so I knew their food’s legit. And when I found out they were delivering care packages of heat-‘n-eat Jamaican classics, you KNOW I had to get in on that, bro!

Now, their half pack was meant for two people, but if you’re stuck in self-isolation, there’s probably enough food here for two full meals — in fact, that’s just what I did.

patois_jerk_chicken (6)

So, we’re starting off with a Jamaican takeout classic — jerk chicken with rice and peas and coleslaw. And lemme tell ya, there was more than enough coleslaw for two people here! Now, the chicken leg was alright ‘n all, but when I bit into the breast, that’s when the magic happened…

patois_jerk_chicken (14)

Dude, this breast is the best! The meat was super tender and juicy, the skin gets a little extra char from being reheated in the oven, and there’s a little bit of spice, but not too overpowering. Of course, I washed it all down with a Jamaican ginger beer…

patois_ginger_beer (6)

And even after slaughtering a half-chicken, rice and peas, and at least a pound of crunchy coleslaw, you KNOW I still had room for dessert, bro!!!!

rum_cake_tiramisu (16)

Now, I’m guessing they don’t chow down on this dish in Trenchtown — but it doesn’t get much more Toronto than rum cake tiramisu! You’ve got cocoa, you’ve got marscapone…but instead of ladyfingers, it’s a real-deal Carribean rum cake underneath! I’ve had rum cake from the Bahamas, and this one was definitely on point!!!

patois_oxtail (3)

Now, since we went with the Jamaican classic dinner on Friday, tonight was more of a buffet of flavours from the rest of the delivery order. You’ve got stewed oxtail in a rich gravy, a couple itty bitty beef patties, Trinidadian-style mac pie, a side of plantain chips with garlic sauce…oh and some kimchi brussels sprouts. Yeah, I dunno how those got here, either.

patois_oxtail (5)

Now, even though I probably needed to reheat it longer than they suggested, the oxtail meat still came right off the bone — these are like little baby beef ribs in Flavourtown! The patties were nice ‘n hot after 15 min in the oven, the plantain chips with the garlic sauce was a nice, tasty snack and that mac pie, man…I wish I could have mac ‘n cheese shaped into a pie with every meal — there’s nothing wrong with that at all!

On the other hand, I wasn’t as much a fan of the kimchi brussels sprouts, a dish served cold like revenge. Now, I don’t mind kimchi with Korean BBQ, but the bitterness kinda clashed with the oxtail gravy and everything else — one of these tings was not like the other, mon!

Oh, and speaking of Ting…

patois_pink_ting (3)

This Jamaican 7-Up goes pretty good with spicy food — although the only thing that was really spicy about tonight’s meal was the pineapple scotch bonnet sauce on the side. (I still got a bunch of it left to make some hot wings, or something…) For an extra 25 bucks, Patois will add a six-pack of Red Stripe to your order, but I gotta say, I’m glad I stuck with the Jamaican soda. Yeah, we be jammin!

Blog at WordPress.com.