Tag Archives: Toronto takeout

Sri Lankan spice, and everything nice…

Here in Toronto, you can find food from pretty much every country in the world — except maybe Icelandic rotten shark. And we’ve eaten more different kinds of cuisine than you can count, here on Triple B, but there’s always a first time for something. Like, I’ve never actually had Sri Lankan food before…until now, bro!

So there’s this funky joint just west of Spadina on Queen Street called Saffron Spice Kitchen that’s serving up the most legit Sri Lankan this side of Scarborough. We’re talking all kinds of curries, rotis, lamprais and more — they’ve even got wraps and desserts! But if I’m having Sri Lankan for the first time, then I gotta go with one of their signature dishes… this is their Kawhi kathu roti:

Now, when you hear roti, you probably think bread, right? But the deal with kothu roti is that they chop it all up, and mix it in with the other ingredients — in this case, butter chicken, tikka masala, paneer cheese, eggplant and scrambled eggs.The texture is kinda like a good Christmas turkey stuffing, but with chunks of spicy chicken and other goodies inside. And while Sri Lankan food is notoriously spicy, I wouldn’t say this melted my face off… but I did get a little sweaty from the chicken tikka and the chilies.

Now, you KNOW I love lamb, so when I saw the currried lamb rolls on the menu, I had to get me some! These super-sized spring rolls taste kinda like Dutch bitterballen, packed with chewy lamb and rice… I’ll take 22 to go, bro!!!!!!!!!

Now, that roti was probably enough food for three people — but since my Uber Eats order took over an hour to get here, I was so hungry that I destroyed it in like 15 minutes. (Fortunately, the food was still fairly warm.) And even after all that roti, I still saved some room for dessert…

Little did I know, but Sri Lankan Christmas cake is actually a thing. It’s pretty much your typical Christmas fruitcake, but with a layer of icing sugar on top. Four dollars gets you this little piece, which comes wrapped like a Christmas present and takes about two bites to eat. Never thought I’d say this, but I actually wish I had more fruitcake…

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…

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Crushin’ sandos with a fuckin’ Puppers!

Dude, I see ads on TV for the new season of Letterkenny like 13 times a hockey game, bro! So after binging Season 10 for the third time, I need me a fuckin’ Puppers…

Now, this was not a real beer when the show first aired, but somewhere along the way, Mill St made Puppers Golden Lager happen. You can get ’em at The Beer Store, for $3.15 a can. And it tastes pretty much like what you’d expect some hicks from a small town to drink. I’m not saying it’s Molson Canadian, but it’s definitely Canadian-adjacent, somewhere in between Mill St Organic and Labatt 50. Hmm, I wonder if this beer is organic, too?

Of course, you KNOW I can’t drink Puppers without crushin’ sandos like Reilly and Jonesy, bro! And it turns out that Brick’N’Cheese, this funky French sandwich shop I’ve been meaning to check out for a while, has a 2-for-1 offer on Uber Eats until Jan 30. Now, in France they call these tacos, but they’re actually more like a San Diego style burrito, with fries on the inside… except these bricks are pressed flat and grilled on a sandwich press. Food took almost an hour to arrive, but they were still nice ‘n warm.

Now, you can add veggies or cheeses to your brick, but it’s gonna cost ya extra. So I just went with the classic beef, potatoes and cheese sauce. (I did pay 20 cents more for some Andalouse sauce, which added a nice little tang.) I just wish that Uber Eats would let you get two different sandos with the BOGO deal — that way I couldda gone with one chicken, one beef instead of crushing two beef sandos. You can never have too much beef though, bro!!!

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Braap braap brisket lettuce wraps!!!

So, here’s another Chefdrop meal kit from The Carbon Bar. Beef brisket burnt end ssam lettuce wraps, son! And this one was ridiculously easy to prepare — stick the meat in the oven for 10 min, slice some green onions and halve a lime, and you’re good to go, bro!!!!

Now, I took the meat out after 8 min cuz I had finished preparing everything else. It maybe coulda used a couple more minutes, but once I pulled it apart, it was good to go:

OK, so here’s the game plan. Take a lettuce wrap, and put some kimchi on it. Add a couple pieces of brisket, drizzle some kewpie mayo, and throw down a chicharron. Add some green onions and a bit of lime, and you’re cooking with gas, son!!!

The cold crunch of the kimchi creates quite a contrast with the burnt ends, while the chicharron adds some extra crunch. I don’t always eat this much lettuce, but if you put brisket on top, I could crush this any day of the week!!!

Now, I ran outta chicharones with a handful of wraps to go, and I didn’t even have any kimchi for the last three. But one thing I have no shortage of is that Japanese kewpie mayo. I’m gonna hafta order up some chicken karaage or something to use the rest of it up…

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Pulled pork taco kit for one

Now, right when Lockdown Number Five started and restaurants shut down indoor dining again, I got an email with an offer for Buy One, Get One 50% Off meal kits from The Carbon Bar. I’ve already ordered takeout from them once before, and it was pretty good, so I figured I’d try out their meal kits…even if it meant cooking stuff myself.

First up, we’ve got a pulled pork taco kit that’s meant to serve four, with a dozen tortillas to go around. Looks more like Taco Tuesday for one in Flavourtown, son!!!

As it turns out, preparing this was pretty easy. I just put the pork in a pot with a bit of water, and let it simmer while I cut the cheese and green onions. Then I wrapped the tortillas in paper towels and microwaved them for 30 seconds — which probably wasn’t long enough. And now it’s time to build the tacos, bro!!!

OK, so this is how we do. Throw down some pork, top it with cheese and onions. Then slather on some slaw, spoon on salsa and crema, a couple squeezes of lime, and cilantro on top. Now THAT’s what I call a taco, bro!!!

Now, I gotta say, I *almost* didn’t make it to the finish line. I was getting pretty full after nine, so I went and made the last three tacos at once, using up the rest of the ingredients (except for a bit of salsa) in the process. I was getting pretty uncomfortable on Taco #11…but nobody wants to be the guy who makes 12 tacos and only eats 11, so I powered through and got ‘r done, son!!!!

This footlong turkey & bacon roll is heading straight down my piehole!!!!

Now, I wasn’t planning on ordering takeout for Thanksgiving, especially after riding on the turkey train, but when I heard that The Rabbit Hole, this British pub in the Financial District, was serving up some funky Thanksgiving Day specials, I was all over that like bubble on squeak, mate! Cuz this ain’t your ordinary turkey dinner — we’re talking a footlong turkey & bacon sausage roll, son!!!

Dude, this thing’s so big, they had to cut it in half! We’ve got a nice, flaky pastry, stuffed with ground turkey and little bits of bacon…plus there’s this cranberry HP sauce that’s so outta bounds, I’d put it on a flip-flop!!!

When I decided I was doing Thanksgiving dinner, I had to get a couple brewskis for the occasion. Luckily, my local LCBO had like 5-6 different pumpkin beers in stock, from the likes of Great Lakes, Flying Monkeys and more. But I had to go with The Great Pumpkin by St. Ambroise — just based on the name alone. You can definitely smell the pumpkin when you crack ‘er open and lift up the glass…but it’s actually a pretty smooth, easy-drinking beer.

Of course, even after sucking down that big 12-inch, we’ve still got room for dessert, bro! This O&B Artisan Pumpkin Pie comes with caramel sauce and a pumpkin spice cream, but it’s a little pricey at 10 bucks a slice. I guess I thought I’d be getting a little more pie for my buck here…

But dessert time means it’s time for another beer, bro! And on a shelf full of pumpkin ales, this Tales from the Patch Pumpkin Porter definitely stands out. I can say that it doesn’t really taste like pumpkin pie when you’re drinking it with pumpkin pie, but it still had a nice, rich flavour that goes well with dessert.

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Sicilian meets Hawaiian on this Detroit-style pizza!

Now, we already knew that Pizzeria Libretto was 2 legit 2 quit, so when I heard they were getting into the Detroit-style pizza game, I was all over that like Faygo on a juggalo! This call this one the Siciliana Hawaiiana, and it’s flying straight down my piehole, bro!!!!

OK, now let’s break it down. We’ve got a three-cheese blend here — both kinds of mozzarella, aged AND fresh, along with some smoked scamorza, for that extra little kick. Then, they put down bacon AND prosciutto, along with pineapple, jalapenos, and top it off with some pesto. Dude, this was the most outta bounds Hawaiian pizza we’ve had here on Triple B — and trust me, we’ve had more than a few…

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: I’m living on Chinese duck…

Man, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Lai Wah Heen, the fancy Chinese place inside the Doubletree Hotel. It’s known as one of the top dim sum joints downtown, and they’re even serving up a real-deal, nine-course meal, but you can’t really do dim sum on a patio, bro — they don’t even do outdoor dining at all. But they do have a pretty extensive takeout menu, so before the DoorDash Premium Restaurant discount ran out (it ended yesterday), I figured I’d head on over for some grab-and-go stir-fried BBQ duckling:

Now, the menu said this duck was BBQed, but you couldn’t really tell — the meat has the same texture as beef or chicken after it’s been cooked in the wok. You’ve also got a few veggies here, like carrot, onion and bell peppers, along with some ginger…but what makes it is the sticky rice.

Sticky rice is definitely one of my favourite dim sum dishes, so when I saw it on the takeout menu, I knew I had to take some home. Instead of one big lotus leaf, they actually give you two smaller portions, each wrapped in a leaf, with pieces of pork, mushroom and sausage inside. It’s not quite the same as getting it off a dim sum cart, but until we move into Phase 6 or 7, or whenever they actually allow indoor dim sum dining, I can live with this for now. Patience, young grasshopper, eh?

Speaking of which, I used one of those funky “30% off orders of $50 or more” discounts from Uber Eats to pick up a buncha Big Rock beers straight from the brewery. So if you notice a lot more Big Rock in my future blog posts, that would be why. Plus, you can’t go wrong with Grasshopper, which was probably the first craft beer I’d ever had, back in the day… Who needs Bud Light when you can have Big Rock and sunshine, Darius Bro-ker???

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: $30 steak dinner, delivered!!!

Over a year ago, when the pandemic was still young, I ordered a $200 steak dinner for delivery from the now-closed Jacobs & Co. This was the very first time that Uber Eats was giving out codes for 25% off, so I got them to take 50 bucks off my bill — which is probably why their promotions are more like like “30% off orders over $50, but save no more than $20” now.

Speaking of promotions, we’re now in the last days of DoorDash’s Toronto Premium Restaurants, so when I saw that Hy’s Steakhouse was one of the places taking 7 bucks off orders of $30 or more, I figured their $32 steak sandwich would fit the bill:

Now, for 32 bucks, you’re not expecting filet mignon — but this was still a pretty decent piece of meat. Cooked to an even medium rare, with a light sear, and a bit of peppercorn atop a toasted baguette. Would have been nice if they had taken off the gristly bit at the end, but otherwise, I’m not complaining.

Fries had a good thickness, and were nicely seasoned. The mini glass bottle of Heinz ketchup was a nice touch, even if I had to scrape out every last little bit — and still needed some more ketchup after that.

Now, when I ordered from Jacobs, I paired my steak dinner with a nice, fancy stout. Well, this beer is also a stout — although you wouldn’t know from looking at it. Big Rock Brewery’s Mindbender white stout might not be as rich as a Guinness, but it has enough of that cocoa-y, coffee taste to make you do a double take. Also, at 4.4%, it’s not much stronger than a Guinness — which means you could probably drink it for breakfast?

TORONTO’S TOP TAKEOUT: Super-crunchy chicken lunchy!!!

Now, we first ordered delivery from Eataly in the early days of the pandemic, picking up a pizza that looks like an Italian flag. But since they’re part of the Toronto Premium Restaurants deal on DoorDash that’s going on until the end of the month, I figured I’d try them again, but with more feeling. Say ciao to my little amico, pollo alla milanese!!!

Talk about a winner, winner, chicken lunch!!! Super crispy, crunchy breading, but still juicy on the inside, with a nice hit of citrus from the lemon, chunks of parmigiano reggiano, and a side salad…hey, it came with the order. While it’s a decent-sized portion for lunch, I’d probably still be hungry if I had it for dinner; plus, at 25 bucks, it’s a bit pricey — although taking $7 off with DoorDash took some of the sting away.

But I was still a few dollars short of 30, so it’s a good thing they sell their own branded beer, bro! This La Volpe dark lagered ale, brewed by Indie Ale House, has a nice, rich flavour… but at 4.5%, you’re practically drinking water. I could slam, like, diciotto of these, bambino!!!

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