Monthly Archives: July 2003

St. Lawrence Market

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Having benefited from working downtown for several years, I had the luxury of trying many different foodstuffs in the downtown core. One of the regular places I visited was the Toronto landmark St. Lawrence Market. The Market is renowned for the “Peameal Bacon Sandwich”. I’ve tried this once and did not particulary enjoy it’s plain, salty taste; so do not expect to see any reviews of the varying degrees of this sandwich below.

Usually bustling with tourists and downtown jobbers over lunch, St. Lawrence Market offers a wide variety of independently owned, fresh and almost homecooked food. Here is a sampling of some of my favourites:

Mustacio’s

My favourite, if not most fattening delight, is surely the famous veal sandwich restaurant located right beside the stairs on the lower level of the Market. Standing in the long but fast moving line, one should decide quickly on their order lest they be berated by one of the quick talking and acting servers. I usually fully load my sandwich with fried onions, mushrooms, hot peppers, tomato sauce, and, if that doesn’t sound like the end of a 30 waist, I top it off with my favourite part: a fried piece of eggplant. This is one of the better veal sandwiches in the city, and is comparable to the best: California Sandwiches. (See review of California Sandwiches).

Dina’s Deli

If you have a craving for some homecooked baklava or stuffed pepper this is the place to go. This friendly, family-owned counter located towards the northern side of the first floor of the market has fresh, eastern-european cuisine that smells and tastes like it was just cooked in your bubby’s (grandmother) kitchen. Breaded chicken breasts, roast chicken stuffed with rice, latkes with fried onions and sour cream, and moussaka are some of the favourites here. Prices are extremely reasonable.

Churrasco of St. Lawrence

While this version of the Portuguese style of churassco chicken does not compare to the St. Clair and Christie original, it still offers up several different good chickeny meals that are sure to fill your stomach and leave you satisified. For a quick and tasty lunch, the chicken on a bun sandwich is a tasty delight. Be aware, if you are eating with someone else, you only need to order one fries due to the borderline obscene portions that are provided. Churassco is located on the upper level just as you enter the northern, west doors.

Carousel Bakery

For a healthy, but tasty alternative check out Carousel Bakery, located on the upper level’s west side. If I am feeling particulary fat, I will check out the house salad which comes either with chicken, tomatoes, and cucumbers or in greek style. I usually substitute the cream dressing in the chicken salad for the oil and vinegar which comes with the greek salad. Carousel also offers delicious pre-made sandwiches including a roasted vegetable sandwich on foccacia. And yes, if you must know, Carousel also is renown for the Peameal bacon sandwich.

Yiannis Kitchen

The greek style restaurant on the lower level directly south of Mustacio’s has friendly staff and good gyro and souvlaki sandwiches. The sandwiches come with either a simple salad or fries. The sides aren’t so great but the actual sandwiches come stuffed and will drip all over you if you are not careful! Be sure to ask to add some chipotle or other hot sauce to your sandwich if you like it spicy.

Kei

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936 Queen Street West
ph: 416-534-7449

Up until about two years ago, I could not stand ALL Asian food. Chinese, Japanese, Thai and the like just made my stomach turn. On my return back to Toronto after Unversity, something changed. My tastes, as well as my stomach, metastisized in new directions. These days, I cannot have enough Asian food. If someone wants to go for Sushi, I am usually more than game.

One of the more rare types of South Eastern Asian food is Malaysian. The only restaurant I know that identifies as Malaysian is Kei on Queen West, kitty corner from the Mental Health Hospital.

Kei is laid back, casual and delicate. Both times I’ve been there I ordered the exact same thing. Taro chips, tuna and curry rolls to share as an appetizer and “Mom’s Special” for my main course. This dish is essentially chicken and goose liver sausage interspersed in a finely, shaped heap of rice. A side for the dish is another oddity: a carrot crepe. Kei also serves a fine variation on the Lychee martini with what I believe is called Dragon Fruit.

My only complaint about Kei is the limited menu. Nonetheless, the tasty food and mellow atmosphere warrant repeat visits

Late night Pizza

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Late Night Pizza

 

One of my favourite pastimes is to disregard all of the self-imposed dietary restrictions I place on myself during the day, and indulge in a late night pizza snack following a debaucherous night of drinking. My favourite city to do this in is Montreal , as that city boasts a plethora of extremely cheap ($1 or less!) pizza joints that satisfy those late night desires. My favourite jaunt was definitely 1+1 (or what I referred to as Une plus Une) on St. Laurent just south of Avenue des Pins which served up a tasty slice for $1 plus tax.

Toronto has it’s own calibre of late night pizza joints that offer a far greater variety than their Montreal counterparts if not nearly as reasonably priced. Let me say upfront ,so you understand my tastes, that for these late night ventures my ultimate slice of pizza consists simply of pepperoni and cheese with my own generous additional sprinkling of hot red pepper flakes:

Amato’s

For a little while I was on a big Amato’s kick. With several locations around the city (St. Clair West, Yonge just south of College, Queen West and College West) Amato’s really caters to the downtown crowd. With a huge variety of slices Amatos definitely covers the gambit as far as tastes are concerned. And the pizza is pretty tasty too. However at $3+ a slice this “snack” turns more into the second dinner I shouldn’t be eating at 2 a.m. just before bed.

Cora

Located at Harbord and Spadina, Cora Pizza was one of the first “underground” restaurants I was exposed to as a teenager. University of Toronto students would boast about being the only ones in the city to know about this fabulous spot. That feeling holds as you enter and notice the display of photos of seemingly regular customers adorning the wall. The pizza itself is ok but too doughy for my liking. Haven’t been here much lately as it is too far north for my post-drinking downtown crawls.

Pizza Pizza

Isn’t this the McDonald’s of pizza? Why even review this generic, ghastly decorated joint? Well, I admit it. Pizza Pizza is one of my guilty pleasures of an already guilty pleasure! Like I said, my favourite slice is the simple pepperoni with tons of hot pepper flakes and in-store Pizza Pizza is still one of the best for it. Though I enjoy the slice, the garlic dipping sauce is one of the most nauseating things I have ever smelled or eaten.

John’s Classic

Located at the corner of College and Clinton, John’s is the closest to what I’ve been looking for since returning from University in Montreal. It also helps that it is a 3 minute walk from my apartment (much like 1+1 was in Montreal). With a limited variety of slices, John’s serves up a nice thin crusted pizza with all the right trimmings. I have twice been here where I was offered a second slice absolutely free. The pizza itself is quite tasty and is the perfect size to fill your aching belly before drifting off into sweet, sweet, drunken sleep.

Reviewed by Aaron

Tryst Cafe

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2197 Queen E
(416) 693-5775

Right in the heart of the Beaches, the storefront resembles a simple bubble tea shop but when you go inside, it is a great place for cheap, fast, fresh Asian fare. The owners work there, a friendly couple who display their menu flat on the table by the cash. You can order directly from the cash, as the place is really casual. It’s really hot in the summer so be warned.

There are only 5 booths with two oversize TV’s, giving this place a very casual place to just have a quick meal or a bubble tea. Most of the meals are light and mostly contain loads of stir fried veggies, with tofu, chicken, or beef. The menu is flexible and the owners are the ones working behind the counter so they seem to care about their customers. The ambiance is a bit on the kitscy side with bright yellow seats and bright yellow and blue walls. Although not pleasant to the eye, the food makes up for the poor taste in decor. Warning: In the summer, the place is quite stuffy and hot, thus the backdoor of the cafe is left open for air to circulate. Food is often between $7.00- $10.00. Expect a bubble tea to be between $4.00 and $5.00. There is often a communication gap between what you order and the price. Noodle dishes are more expensive than rice dishes. The daily special include rice only and are $4.95-$5.95. I order the same dish every time, stir fried veggies with tofu, without rice or noodle for $9.25 including all taxes.

Reviewed by Mark

Shahi Karahi

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Shahi Karahi
3630 Lawrence Avenue East
(416) 431-8989‎

1891 EGLINTON AVE E
(416) 751-5111‎

Indian Buffets are a real gamble. The three I have eaten at do not rank high on my list of favourite restaurants. Shahi Karahi is one of the worst.

Located in a cheesy, strip mall at the corner of Warden and Eglinton, Shahi Karahi is at least run by genuine Indians who attempt to please the customer with friendly service. However, a bad meal is a bad meal. Cheap, brown and soggy chicken comprise the butter chicken dish while the samasos are greasy and untasty.

The selection is unvaried and the restaurant resembles more of a cafeteria than a place to dine.

Mars

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2363 Yonge
Toronto (416) 322-7111

Located right in the heart of Yonge and Eglinton (Eligible) this small diner serves traditional diner food (hamburgers, fries, chicken, sandwiches, milkshakes) with friendly staff and a nice host with a great smile. There are many brunch specials and they seem to have a diverse selection of food for our different tastes. Thank God they cater to vegetarians and non vegetarians. Nice comfortable soft seating, and the coffee was hot and fresh. I had a baked apple plate with granola, fruit, yogourt, and a low fat muffin. They serve egg white omeletes which are really good for the health conscious and they also serve greasy, traditional dishes. The ambiance is family friendly, casual, and laid back. Prices are between $8.00 to $10.00 for brunch and lunch and $10.00-$15.00 for dinner.

Karas

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2024 Queen E
(416) 699-6314

Located in the heart of the Beaches, this place was packed for brunch. Has a beautiful front terrace, especially nice for people watching in the summer. Food is quite reasonable (under $10.00) and some cases under $7.00. I had an egg white spinach omelete with brown toast. Service is prompt and my friends and father all enjoyed their meal. The only drawback is that staff are pushy and the overall ambiance is a “rushed” environment where staff are nervous wrecks. Overall, the food and decor was very Greek and lineups were minimal.

Famous Indian Cuisine, The

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1437 Gerrard Street East
416 – 406 – 4511

I’d expect a restaurant in Little India to be genuine but boy was I disappointed. We ordered the buffet and there were three vegetarian items; aloo gobi (potato and caluliflower curry), channa (chick pea curry), and a cabbage curry. The Aloo Gobi mostly consisted of potato with very little cauliflower. The food was bland, overcooked, and greasy. They lay under heat lamps and the food was not really hot but lukewarm. I was disappointed. My friend had a red coloured chicken (tandoori chicken?) and butter chicken which looked really fatty and greasy. The food looked like it had been sitting there for hours. I am sorry to say this but I do not think I’ll go back there again. The dessert bar consisted of jello, soggy fruit salad, and melted orange and rainbow ice cream which lacked flavour and tasted stale and old. Considering this restaurant was in the middle of Little India, I had higher expectations. The buffet was $9.95 and it came with unlimited entrees and a dessert. Drinks were extra. Decor was very nice inside with about ten tables, all in one room

Niji Sushi

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Niji Sushi
1095 Ellesmere Road
(416) 755-3335‎

My quest to discover new and interesting restaurants in Toronto knows no bounds. It will even bring me as far as Scarberia! Well, it also helps that I work there (unfortunately).

Niji Sushi is located in a little plaza at the corner of Midland and Ellesmere (!!). For those that don’t venture much north of Bloor or farther east than the DVP, Ellesmere is the street that York Mills turns into and Midland is a few blocks east of Warden (come on you see the stop on the subway).

This narrow restaurant serves up several tasty looking lunch combinations. The one platter I tried was actually called “Lunch Combination” and came complete with tempura (sweet potato, onion, shrimp), 6 sushi rolls (tuna, squid, salmon), glass noodles, plain rice, and a cucumber/radish salad. If that wasn’t enough, the meal started with cold noodles (served in ice), miso soup, seaweed in a spicy reddish sauce, and fried tofu. All of this for only $11.95! After the meal we were even provided with two nicely cut oranges which were served as an aparatif (I think) or maybe it was just desert.

If you are visiting the Scarborough Bluffs for the weekend or for some other reason find yourself in Scarborough (God knows why) make sure to stop by Niji.

Niagara St. Café

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Niagara St. Café
416-703-4222
167 Niagara

 

This cozy little café is located south of an interesting looking Buddhist Temple just below King St. The outdoor patio was full so we had a seat inside where we waited, and waited, for our food.

Yes, it took quite a while for our meal to arrive but when it did most of the annoyance of the wait was quickly diminished. It was obvious that a lot of effort and love was put into this food. I had the “Eggs Natalie” which consisted of fluffy eggs with spinach served on a delicious warm biscuit with a side of small, crispy potatoes. I think I’m missing an ingredient but it was very well made even if it lacked an eclectic array of tastes. My partner in brunch had one of the specials of French toast covered in sweet, dripping raspberries and similar fruits. There was also a sweet, eggy looking sauce, which I do not know the name of but was also quite delicious. She was duly impressed.

I will probably not have anywhere to visit immediately afterwards the next time I visit Niagara St. Café. I would also choose something different from the wide selection of natural and organic foods on the plentiful menu.