Tag Archives: schnitzel

GRAND REOPENING: This eggplant schnitzel shook me all night long!!!

Finally… in-person dining has come back to Toronto!!! Now, we missed the two-week window when patios were allowed to open back in March (it wasn’t really patio weather, anyways), so this is the first time we’re actually eating at a restaurant since November 2020. Reunited and it feels so good, Peaches & Bro!!!

First night out on a patio in over six months, so you know we want something real-deal, something super-legit — like Middle Eastern vegetarian food. Say what now??? While it might not be the first thing that comes to mind (and trust me, I AM going for a steak and/or burger tomorrow), I gotta say that Shook, this funky little joint on Portland, just south of King Street, really knocks it outta the park!

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First, we’re starting off with the ultimate Middle Eastern vegan dish, falafel. These goodness gracious great balls of flavour are surprisingly spicy — I think there’s some zhug sauce on there or something. But the creamy tahini and pickled onions balance things out quite nicely. Dude, I could slam, like, 17 of these, bro!!!!

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But now it’s time for the main event, so let’s get ready to rumble! On the menu, they call this eggplant schnitzel, but it’s almost more like eggplant parmesan, topped with tomatoes, basil and buffalo sold-jah mozzarella. And dude, that breading is fantastic! Nice and crispy, soaks up the cheese and the sauce. I almost forgot I was eating veggies! Like seriously, I would put this right up there with the bone-in veal parm from Piano Piano — and that was really, really good!!!

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But the hits keep coming, and they don’t stop coming, Smash Mouth lookalike bro!!! For dessert, we’ve got this tasty gianduja chocolate mousse, with hits of hazelnut and passionfruit, served underneath a deconstructed bakalava crust. I dunno whose job it was to scrape all the crust offa those baklavas, but that man is a hero in my book!!!

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And now, the question you’ve all been waiting for, “What’s your first patio beer of the year, bro???” Well, Shook only has six beers to choose from, and two of them are Coors or Miller. So instead, I opted for this Boundless IPA from Creemore. Not too bitter, not too hoppy, but just right. I think I’ll have another (two or three)…

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Hungarian and Thai food, at the same time, dude!!!

The great thing about Toronto is that you can find pretty much any kind of food on earth, and it’s all right here, right now in T-Dot-O. There’s even some pretty crazy mash-ups, like Rasta Pasta, this funky Jamaican/Italian joint in Kensington Market. But just a couple blocks away, in the same damn hood, there’s another joint serving up an even crazier cuisine combination — Hungary Thai Bar & Eatery. Who knew that you’d even want Hungarian and Thai food at the same time, dude???

Now, when I saw this place, I knew I had to try a bit of both. And it turns out they’ve got a Thai & Hungarian Combo for 2 that comes with everything you see above — schnitzel, spring rolls, cabbage rolls and enough pad thai to feed at least two people on its own. Of course, since we’re still in Second Lockdown, there was no second person to share this with…but when has that ever stopped me, bro!!!!!!!!!!??????????

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Now, I’ll admit I’m kinda glad this combo only came with one massive chicken schnitzel instead of two. Don’t get me wrong, I have done two schnitz at the same time before, but let’s just say I didn’t feel like a million bucks afterwards. Plus, this schnitzel platter also comes with soft, roasted potatoes and a pile of bitter, peppery coleslaw, so it’s not like there isn’t enough food here…

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Cabbage rolls almost never look pretty in a picture, and these ones were no exception. The combo comes with one roll per hypothetical person, topped with sour cream and paprika and served with a side of hot sauerkraut, in case you didn’t get your monthly serving of cabbage from the coleslaw already.

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Spring rolls are four to an order, and they’re pretty much what you’d expect, although the shell was a little softer and not as crunchy as your typical Chinese takeout. After polishing off these bad boys, I actually dropped the bean sprouts on top of my pad thai to make sure there was no food left behind, bro!

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Now, this almost seemed like a bottomless bowl of pad thai, bro. I mean, even after I ate everything else, it felt like I had barely put a dent in this dish. But the noodles were nice ‘n chewy, with that tangy tamarind taste. They give you the choice of chicken, shrimp or tofu… but I asked for shrimp and still got chicken. Maybe there were all outta shrimp, Bro Supply???

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Of course, you know this had to happen — when I ordered this combo, I had to get some schnitzel and pad thai in the same bite, bro! And actually, this combo kinda works, with the crunchy, breaded chicken offsetting the soft, chewy noodles. I mean, if schnitzel with noodles is one of Kelly Clarkson’s favorite things, then I guess that’s good enough for me…

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Now, what beer goes with both Hungarian and Thai food, you might ask? Well, this Cuvée 800 from the Belgian monks at Val-Dieu would probably do the trick. This banana-y Belgian ale meshes well with both the lemon juice squeezed on the schnitzel and the citrusy notes of pad thai noodles, without being too heavy at 5.5%. Hey bro, I don’t want no heavy beer when I kinda need to save room for food…

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And yes, I did devour every last bite, bro! I was feeling a little uncomfortable after all those oodles of noodles, but it’s still just another dinner for one in Flavourtown, son!!!!!!

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Schnitzel and salad(!) from a German-style pub

Lately, it’s gotten harder to find some real-deal schnitzel in this city. Schnitzel Queen shut down a few months back, and so did Schnitzel Hub in Midtown. But when I heard that the Town Crier Pub on John St. was serving up all kinds of German and Belgian food, you KNOW I had to check it out, bro!!!

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This here’s the Jagermeister Peppercorn Pork Schnitzel, which is pretty much what the name says, topped with a Jagermeister peppercorn sauce, and served with fries and coleslaw. Now, this dish did get a little soggy in delivery, but the pork was still pretty tasty…and with the fries and slaw on the side, it’s a pretty decent-sized meal.

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But that doesn’t mean I didn’t eat a whole ‘nother meal, at exactly the same time. When I saw the Munich sausage salad on the menu, I thought I’d just be getting a couple sausages with some onions and pickles, which would make for a nice side dish. But instead, it’s pretty much a meal-sized Cobb salad, complete with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and hard-boiled eggs. I really didn’t need to eat this at the same time as the schnitzel… but you KNOW I still did, bro!!!

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Now, you can’t wash down German food with like a Canada Dry — I’m pretty sure that goes against the Bavarian Purity Laws, or something. So instead, we’re chugging this local craft beer that pairs pretty much perfectly:

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Divercity is a German-style Helles Lager brewed in Toronto by Lost Craft, with a nice crisp finish that almost makes me forget I’m eating salad. Apparently, you can’t find it in stores anymore, but I was able to order it from Fresh, a vegan joint that’s selling four packs of local craft beer for 15 bucks via DoorDash….which makes it the best thing I’ve ever ordered from a vegan restaurant, son!!!

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