Author Archives: markaaronpolger

Coco Banana Fine Carribean and Vegetarian Restaurant

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 1690 Danforth (near Coxwell)
416-406-0534

Wendy and I decided to have a nice affordable lunch one cold and rainy Saturday afternoon in February. We really wanted to head down to Little India but since we were shopping on the Danforth, we thought we’d try out Coco Banana since the sign outside claimed that it was a Carribean and Vegetarian restaurant.

Upon entering, we found ourselves in a homey and comfortable restaurant with colourful original art (for sale!) from Jamaica, Barbados, and even some art looked African in its influence. Coco Banana contains about 10 tables and comprises one large room with a bar at the back with a medley of alcoholic creations. Decor looks like very exotic and charming and very cosy like one’s living room. Reminds me of a family owned establishment like Addis Abbaba on Queen West.

Wendy and I started by looking at the assortment of exotic juices. I ordered Mango Juice($3.69) and Wendy ordered Pineapply soda ($1.50). Coco Banana serves a medly of exotic juices, exotic juice cocktails, and Carribean sodas. Some include Ginger/Pina juice ($3.69), Guava juice ($3.69), Ting – a grapefruit soda ($2), Banana soda ($1.50), and Ginger Soda ($1.50). Some exotic juice cocktails include Guava Mango, Ginger Pineapple, and Mango Carrot (all $2.25).

For our appetizers, we both ordered the vegetarian red pea soup soup. The waiter did not tell us it contained bananas (or plantains). I knew Wendy would be grossed out so she did give me pieces of the bananas in her soup. The idea of bananas in soup may sound gross but it really very good. The banana flavour really meshed well with the soup and the consistency tasted more like a potato. It was super yummy and filling but not that spicy. A definite comfort food for a cold wet rainy day. Other soups include Pumpkin Soup and Congo Pea Soup ($3.50 small, $4.50 large). Other appetizers include Pepper Shrimp, Coconut Shrimp ($7.50), Acra (black eye bean fritters)($3.00), Fried Plantain (5 pcs.)($5.00), Beef Patties, Chicken Patties ($1.25), Patty with Coco Bread ($2.25). Salads include Jerk Chicken Salad ($6), Jerk Shrimp Salad ($9), Creole Salad ($7.50), and Garden Creole Coleslaw ($3.50).

For our entrees, I ordered the veggie roti which contained curries chick peas, potatoes, carrots, and peas. The only problem I had was that the curry sauce was very liquidy and i could not find any chick peas. I would say the roti was delicious but potato-centric. Wendy ordered the Jerk club sandwich and she found it was tasty. It was $5.50 and she would definitely order it again. Coco Banana offers entrees in small and large sizes. Some entrees include traditional Carribean dishes like Jerk Chicken ($6.99, $7.99), Curried Chicken ($6.99, $7.99), Stew Chicken ($5.99, $6.99), Curried Goat ($7.99, $8.99), Oxtail ($8.00, $10.50), Fish Dinner ($7.50, $10.50), Shrimp Cr�ole (with Creole Sauce)($10), Curried Shrimp ($11), Cod Fish Cr�ole Cabaret with salad and plantain ($12), and Red Snapper (with saut�ed cabbage pepper, and carrot) ($10.50)

Vegetarian meals include Veggie Roti with chick peas ($4.99, $5.99), Eggplant Roti ($10.99 large only), La Creole Roti (Avocado, Onion Lettuce, Tomato, Pepper- $4.99 (sm), $5.99 (l)), Sauteed Cabbage, Carrot, Onion ($4.99, $5.99), Vegetarian Platter (Rice and Peas, Acra, Eggplant) ($11.99), Cr�ole Cabaret (Veggie, Fried Eddoes, Plantain & Marinade) ($9.99), Giromont Soup (Squash) ($3.50, $5.50), and Beans or Congo Pea ($3.50, $5.50)

Non veggie Rotis include Curried Chicken, Jerk Chicken, Curried Goat, Stew Chicken, and Curried Shrimp all from $5.99-$8.99. Sandwiches include the Jerk Club and the Stew Chicken Club, both $5.50 . Combos include Jerk / Oxtail Combo ($11.50), the Jerk Chicken or the Stewed Chicken Combo ($11.50), and the Curried Goat or the Curried Chicken Combo ($10.99)

Desserts include Reversed Pineapple Cake ($3.50) and Sweet Potato Pudding ($2.99). Coco Banana also serves a variety of Carribean ice creams (Pistachio, Mango, Coconut, and Soursop, all $2.50). Lastly, they also serves frozen yogourt, smoothies, and milkshakes ($2.00, $3.69)

Although I did like the soup, Wendy was not too impressed. I found the soup hearty, thick, and delicious. Wendy found the soup to be bland and she did not like the banana taste although personally I could not taste any banana. Wendy claimed that you can taste the banana and according to her she thought it was wrong for a soup to have bananas.

 

The guy was nice but he oversold all of the food. He was not honest about the variety of vegetarian food. He said the soup was fantastic and the portion size was decent but we found the soup lacking. The roti was good but not fantastic. I did find many vegetarian options and I would go back to try out new items since I think the veggie roti just did not do it for me. In sum, Wendy and I would go back but we won’t go out of our way. Service was friendly and cheerful. Food was served quickly.

Old Nick [Mark Aaron]

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123 Danforth Ave,
416-461-5546

Conveniently situated along the Danforth near Broadview, the Old Nick is a pub that serves pub fare and beer but on the weekend they supposedly serve on the best brunches in Toronto with a supplemental menu of organic options. Decor is nothing to cry home about, with that typical “pub” motif, stained varnished wood tables, a large bar, and hardwood floors, The Old Nick does not remind me of a place where I would brunch on the weekend but we figured we would try this place out since we heard from Now Magazine that it was voted one of the best brunch places in Toronto.

Aaron and I met up with his friends Brad and Steven and we all entered the empty place on a quiet Sunday at 1:00pm. We all started with drinks. Brad and Steven ordered fresh orange juice and they commented that it was good but not “freshly squeezed”. I ordered a freshly squeezed Diet Coke and I think Aaron had a coffee. Unfortunately, they DO NOT have espresso drinks, so a minor drawback for the Old Nick, but, afterall, it is a pub, right?

Most of the menu contains egg dishes, hence I felt that this place was slightly egg-centric. I would have prefered other options. I did see on the non-organic menu some non-egg options like pancakes and French toast with fresh fruit, as well as waffles with fresh fruit and whipped cream. I was looking for some healthier options but the rest of the menu contained mostly egg dishes. I was happy to see that egg dishes came with spelt toast and organic homefries.
The organic menu for January 8, 2006 contained items such as Divine Decadence (3 egg omelete stuffed with portobello mushrooms, gorganzola cheese, organic homefries, organic greens, and organic toast $12), Yawn and Stretch (omelete stuffed with organic spinach, roasted red peppers, feta, with organic homefries, organic greens, and organic toast $12),That’s Amore (Eggs benny with parma prosciutto, shaved parmesan cheese, organic greens, organic potatoes, and organic toast $13), and Oh My Goodness (French toast with organic apple walnut bread, with blueberries, raspberries, and cream, served with organic maple syrup $12).
For my meal, I ordered the Mexican egg white omelete ($8.95) with spring greens in a
yummy ginger viniagrette. The egg white omelete came with a 3 cheese blend and spicy
salsa with a lot of cilantro. It was extremely delicious, fresh, not greasy, and flavourful.

Steven ordered the Well Hung (3 eggs any style, organic lamb or organic chorizo spicy 4 pepper sausage, organic toast, organic greens, and organic homefries- $15). He thought that the salad dressing was tasty and it was great to have salad and the organic homefries which were pretty tasty too. He thought that they could have brought the food out a little hotter then it came. He also had the chorizo sausage which was good, but it didn’t blow him away as a great sausage. It wasn’t as spicy as he thought it would be. The spelt toast was very hearty and grainy. Steven liked the idea of a set menu and also the weekly special menu. That way you are not stuck getting the same thing over and over if you are a
returning customer.

Brad and Aaron both ordered the Razzle Dazzle (eggs benny with guacamole and cheddar cheese chunks- $13). He
thought it tasted REALLY good — perhaps a bit greasy, but with all that cheese
it was hard for it not to be (it was definitely a “two-Lactaid pill” breakfast!). He also found that his meal did come out “luke-warm” — he thought it could have been served hotter. The portion was pretty big (he thought there were 3 eggs — most places serving eggs benny only give you two eggs). The “organic potatoes” were pretty good as well. Brad did not recall them
being oily or greasy, which was his main complaint with breakfast potatoes. Accepts all cards. Open for Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4 pm, bar open daily 11am to 2am. Secluded outdoor patio seats 40

Easy [Mark Aaron]

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 1645 Queen Street West
phone number: 416-537-4893

On Sunday January 7th, 2006 my friend Daniel moved into his new condo at Queen and Bathurst. After a 3 hour move, we all decided to celebrate with brunch in funky Parkdale. We were going to go to Mitzi’s but the lineup was crazy as hell. Pathetic how on Sunday afternoon it is almost impossible to compete for a brunch table. This is not New York City but I wish I lived there sometimes. Sunday afternoon Torontonians go brunch crazy and flock from their boring suburban haven to places where they would never roam during the week, like Parkdale, Queen East, or Queen West. Even a friend of mine and her hubby live in Woodbridge and they consider it an outing to venture to the Danforth for a nice Greek meal. I will never move to the suburbs for fear that Parkdale and The Danforth will be considered special outings. I want access to these funky urban neighbourhoods and I am happy I live downtown. I do enjoy going from time to time to the suburbs (i.e. the COSTCO at Dufferin and Wilson) but the suburbs are my outing.

After Mitzi’s rejected us, I begged the crew to try Easy since Aaron had gone there and he loved it. Easy is a small and funky brunch place/diner in Parkdale at Queen and Roncesvalles. Easy is named the 1960’s movie Easy Rider. Decor looks like the diner from Happy Days with 1950’s and 1960’s movie posters and images of a rugged diner with the theme of motorcycles, toughness, and testosterone. Easy is pretty small, with old 1950’s style diner tables and booths huddled very close together. Specializes in brunch items like eggs, omeletes, and extra large and thick smoothies (try the chocolate peanut butter smoothie) and the mango smoothie looks smashing. They also serve many other brunch items like burritos with salad. I ordered the tostadas (deep fried corn tortilla) with black beans, salsa, and veggies. Daniel had the breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs and bacon and veggies with a side order of salad. Paulo had the eggs overeasy with bacon, sausage, homefries, side order of salad, and toast, and Rob had the omelete with home fries, side order of salad, bacon or sausage, anf toast. . I would have preferred a veggie burrito with black beans and veggies, but oh well, people make mistakes. They also have my signature brunch dish (that i try to avoid) organic granola with fruit and yogourt. They also serve massively thick and large mango smoothies as well as their classic peanut butter and chocolate “to die for” smoothies which I chose not to have (Daniel was treating us for brunch and smoothies were almost $5). They only accept cash (like Mitzi’s), which sucks the bag. Expect a 15-20 minute lineup on the weekend

Addis Ababa Restaurant

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1184 Queen Street West 
(416) 538-0059

Located right on Queen Street near the Gladstone hotel in Parkdale, Addis Ababa is a popular and crowded place where yuppies, intellectuals, students, and artsy folk gather to dine on delicious and savoury Ethiopian cuisine. Spread across an open concept dining hall this dimly lit place plays traditional music and has a touch of traditional art on the walls. Not kitschy and overdone but very tasteful in decor.

The menu is simple and only 2 pages. One page are the vegetarian dishes and the other page meat dishes. All dishes are served with injera, traditonal Ethiopian flatbread. I ordered a personal combo dish for one with an assortment of items like Shiro Wat (roasted spiced ground peas in a Berber red pepper sauce), Yekik Wat (boiled split peas in Ethiopian style mild sauce), Yatakilt Wat (steamed cabbage and veggies with garlic and ginder), Gomman Wat (spinach with garlic and ginger), Fasolia (green beans satueed with garlic, onion, baby carrots, tomatoes, and ginger), Beets (beets and potatoes with onion, garlic, and ginger, Misr (black lentil sauce with onions, garlic, and ginger). All veggie dishes are $7.00 and $8.00 each

I ended up ordering the combo dish since it was a good price ($11.50) and you can a taste of every veggie dish on the menu. The combo dish only gave me “sampler” size of all of these dishes but I always pick this one because I love all of the dishes. I cannot decide which is my favourite, maybe the Shiro Wat but it’s difficult for me to decide since they’re all so good. I find most Ethiopian dishes highly spicy and I know there is a lot of garlic and ginger in the dishes. I find the dishes possess the flavour and texture of an Indian curry but i could be wrong.Ethiopian food is a dream come true for both vegetarian and meat eaters alike.

The “other” side of the menu offers cooked beef, chicken, and lamb dishes as well as kifto (steak tartar). Meta dishes are between $7.50-$11.00 each. Faline and Daniel ordered kifto (steak tartar) topped with hot pepper sauce, chopped collared greens (spinach) , and home made cheese for 2 people ($14.00 each). They loved it.

Other meat dishes include Alitcha Wat (lean beef in a mild curry sauce), Doro Alitcha (chicken marinated in a light sauce with garlic, ginger, tumeric, and butter), Sauteed Chicken Breast (with rosemary, onions, tomatoes, and butter), Doro Wat (tender chicken marinated in Berber red pepper sauce topped with a hard boled egg), Key Wat (strips of Canadian beef braised Ethiopian style in a red pepper sauce), Tibs (cubes of Canadian Beef fried with onions, garlic, rosemary, and other herbs with hot peppers), and Lamb (cubes of Canadian Lamb fried with onions, garlic, rosemary, and other exotic herbs and topped with hot peppers).

For every dish, we are served this sourdough flatbread called Injera where the savoury dishes lay atop. The best part of devouring Ethiopian food is the lack of cutlery. We literally scoop the various dishes with pieces of injera. Think of the injera as both the dipping bread and the utensil at the same time. It’s great when the food stains and drenches the injera, then we eat the moist dough off the circular aluminum dish. I prefered not mixing the meat and veggie dishes so I asked for my own plate for my veggie dishes.

For dessert, we all ordered deep-fried bananas with honey and sesame seeds ($3.50 each) The dish was delicious and it certainly did not taste oily or greasy. We also shared a pot of traditional Ethiopian coffee ($5.00 each). The tradition when serving Ethiopian coffee is to serve it in a clay kettle with incense. The coffee is thick and has a muddy look to it. It’s quite strong in flavour but as soon as I added sugar, I was a happy camper.

Our bill came out to over $80.00 for 3 people, including our mains, 3 desserts ($10-$12), soft drinks ($2 each), and traditional Ethiopian coffee for 3 ($15). Although it was expensive i would definitely go back, despite the very casual restaurant environment, I could not help but notice the clientele had the edge of “I’m too cool for you”. A very slight artsy-fartsy yuppie Parkdale pretentiousness. It did not bother me that much but you could feel the vibe of the Parkdale artists who have that very slight attitude and edge to them. Partially cool and partially pretentious.

Large tables can accomodate big groups at Addis Ababa. A great place to bring a date or bring a large groups of friends. One page of many veggie options, including many bean and vegetable dishes. Expect live entertainment (there’s a piano at the back of the restaurant) on Friday and Saturday. Open Tuesday to Sunday 5:00pm-1:00am. Accepts all cards.

Full Moon Vegetarian Restaurant

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638 Dundas Street West
(416) 203-1210

Tammy and I went to a new vegan restaurant (just opened in July 2005)
called Full Moon at Dundas near Bathurst, right next to Cafe 668 and
Buddhas Vegetarian Restaurant. Serving all vegan fare Asian style, this
place is large, bright, open, and very casual. Decor is not trendy,
yuppified, and not cheesy either. Very casual and almost “diner-like” with
big bright windows, large tables and paper menu to take home. Tammy
and I started with green tea and some soft drinks. For an appetizer, i
had the small size sweet corn and mushroom soup (trying to stay away
from soy for a while) and it was delicious and only $3.99. Size was
perfect and the soup was thick, sweet, and had a nice mix of 2 types of
mushroom, white and shitaki. For my main, i ordered the braised mushrooms
and bok choi which was simply delicious. The dish was not too greasy
and had a nice light sauce and the braised mushrooms were absolutely
excellent. Tammy ordered vegetable spring rolls and her main consisted of
mock beef with sauteed vegetables and Udon noodles.

For dessert, we shared a taro balls
covered in a rice glaze and topped with a sugary syrup. Looked like
Greek deep-fried “dough” balls filled with syrup. Indian food also has
these deep-fried “dough” balls that are syrupy sweet.

Full Moon
serves Asian vegan fare. Many large tables, not jam packed like Cafe 668
(next door) or “cracktown decor like Buddhas Vegetarian Restaurant.
Simply a nice humble, non-trendy, non pretentious, no bullshit, non cheesy
establishment. Bill came to $25.00 for two people including main,
drink, dessert, and appetizer. Menu features over 80 items written in both
English and Chinese. Most dishes include mock meat, mock fish, or bean
curd (tofu). Open Sun-Thurs 11 to 9:30pm, Fri and Sat 11-10:30pm. Accepts all cards. Liquor license (large bar with an assortment of beer but no wine).

LIVE [Mark Aaron]

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264 Dupont, at Spadina
416-515-2002

 

LIVE is a raw, organic vegan restaurant and is located at Spadina and Dupont in the “upper” Annex. About two months ago, Aaron and I heard about LIVE from a review in Now

magazine (see )and we thought it would be great to have brunch there.

href=”http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2005-08-11/goods_foodfeature.php”>review

Unfortunately, this review was a teaser (and inaccurate) since LIVE does not serve brunch at all (or as

of yet). In addition, they are closed Sundays so when we went there to enjoy our first experience at

LIVE, we were disappointed to find that LIVE was closed.

With much anticipation, I decided to plan a get together with Aaron, Wendy, her boyfriend Brandon, and two other friends to have dinner at LIVE. I like LIVE’s philosophy. I think the ideology of LIVE is that

food should be eaten in the most natural form- raw and unprocessed.

LIVE’s review claims

Reservations are recommended so I called to make reservations but to my disappointment, LIVE does not

accept reservations. Either the journalist who wrote the article was on crack or LIVE really

misrepresented themselves. LIVE is closed on Sundays but the NOW review claims it is opended for Sunday

brunch. There is no Sunday brunch at LIVE.

We planned for a Friday evening dinner at 7:00pm. The staff at LIVE could not make a reservation but

they did “take note” that they would be expecting 6 people for dinner. I prepared to leave at 4pm to be

in Kitchener for 5pm to meet my lift who would take me close to downtown. To my dismay, she had a flat

tire and we had to stop by several places in Kitchener to fix the tire. We finally found Wal-Mart

(since all small auto-shops were closed) so Wal-Mart saved the day!

I finally got into Toronto at

8:30pm instead of my 7:00pm time frame. Having known that LIVE closes at 10pm, I knew that calling each

of my friends on their cells phones and notifying them of my delay would allow them some more time to

relax at home before venturing off into the cold December air on that Friday night.

When I finally arrived, I was greeted by my possee. LIVE’s colour scheme is lime green and bright

orange with green grass “peel and stick” floor tiles and the whole decor looks lively and bright like a

children’s playroom in neon colours. There are only about 10 tables and they are not packed in tightly

like most Toronto restaurants. Decor does not have any wood or metal but a lot of bright plastic and

thin tables and chairs, patio style. Decor is very funky and hip, different than Fressen which emulates

a tropical rain forest in an ultra modern hip and cool yuppie setting. LIVE looks less slick and

polished and more like Juice for Life.

I started with a tall smoothie (raw cacao, dates, figs, walnuts or pecans, almond milk) for $5.25 and a warm borscht (beet and carrot soup) ($6.25) with an order of raw multigrain manna bread with a sunflower seed pate ($1.00)

which tasted like a cream cheese dip. LIVE mostly serves raw food and some items are “gently

cooked”. It is important to remove all of your visual interpretations of items like pizza, pasta, cream cheese, and eggs because LIVE re-defines the possibilities of what pasta can be if made “raw” and “vegan”. Quite creative on the part of the cook. I had to remove my traditional image of what a pizza should look like, what

cheese or eggs or lasagna or any pasta dish resembles since I know that LIVE serves very little “cooked” items.

We all decided to order the combo plate ($13.50) since we would be able to get a taste of

everything. The combo plate include canneloni (thinly sliced zucchini) with ricotta cheese (cashew puree), raw pizza crust (multigrain manna) with a medley of toppings, including fresh cilantro, tostitas (Mexican pizza type dish) with many veggie toppings, a nice cheesy dip (sunflower
seed pate), and a large salads of organic greens in a ginger viniagrette.

The meal was very colourful,

full of amazing aromas, texture, and flavour. I felt light and healthy and i knew i was eating high

quality food. Bread was bursting with many grains and I could not believe it was not baked. I felt so much energy after finishing my meal. I felt full in a healthy way, not “gut

rot” like at an Indian buffet or a Chinese buffet. I had a pleasant feeling of satisfaction since the food I ate was extremely tasty, healthy, low in fat and grease, and because it was organic, it did not contain hormones, pesticides, anti-biotics, or any other toxins. Of course

organic food is not as attractive as “mainstream” food. Portions are always smaller and prices are higher but taste is always 100 times better. The food’s flavour was heightened due to how “raw” it was. Cooked food loses some taste and nutrients, thus its nutritional value becomes depleted. When I used to make stir fries for myself, my friend Wendy used to tell me how I cooked “the shit” out of my vegetables. Dishes were flavourful, aromatic, and had texture.

For dessert i ordered the raw chocolate fudge banana coconut

cream pie. It was composed of a dollop of raw cacao chocolate fudge (dairy free) and the pie was

comprised of a flourless banana coconut puree that was shaped like a cake. I love banana and coconut

and chocolate and the dish was sweet but not sickening sweet. The cake was heavy on the banana flavour

and i did taste the coconut “meat” part very much. ($6.00)

On my second visit to LIVE, i ordered a nice vegan minestrone soup with raw manna bread. In addition i ordered the linguini (made of shredded zucchini) topped with a cold marinara and pesto sauce. It was accompanied with a delicious salad of spring greens. Don’t get me wrong, the food at LIVE was delicious but after my second visit i was getting frustrated with having my mains served with 90% salad and 10% actual meal. I felt ripped off. I was told to always choose the combo meal but even if I opted for that option, most of my meal would still be salad.

In general, my experience at LIVE was very good. With good friends enjoying a high quality healthy meal. The only

drawback was I felt it was too expensive for my budget and the portions were too small. I know that organic food is not as large or attractive but i left LIVE hungry on both visits. I would definitely not go back, unless it was for special occasions. Menu changes every 2 weeks. LIVE also features a full range of vegan and

raw cookies, pies, and cakes, and other squares change daily. Smoothies are a bit watery but are very flavourful and fresh. You can select any kind of “milk” for the smoothies (soy, rice, almond). An interesting observation from my dinner companions was that there was very little soy products.

Our complete meal including tax and tip for soup, smoothie, our main dish, and dessert was $37 per

person (a bit ridiculous for vegan fare). Does not serve brunch to date (Dec

2005). Average main is $10-$12. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm. Closed Sunday and

Monday. Does not take reservations. Cool washrooms in the basement with slogans like Supercucumbers,

Monster Tomatoes, Mega Grapes. How can I eat this food? Maybe this food will eat us ( some type of

slogan written on the walls!). Very pro-environment, with natural products and all organic ingredients. Very cosy

and calm atmosphere. Very enthusiastic and energetic staff. Accepts
all cards except American Express.

Toba [Mark Aaron]

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243 King East
416-367-8622

URL: www.toba.ca

To summarize Toba would be simply “lovely”. Set in the St. Lawrence market area on King and Sherbourne,

Toba is a cute and unassuming place that serves an elegant brunch with a small and diverse menu. Quality

is high, presentation is beautiful and artistic and decor is minimalistic with funky art on the walls,

representations of working women in the 1970’s- Andy Warhol style. Brunch prices are between $10-$15 per

person. Drink prices are kind of steep but service, food, and whole brunch experience is just so

lovely.

Some stars and funky fixtures hang on the walls, almost looks like a kid’s bedroom surround the place.

Toba has a clean, slick look, very similar to Verveine.

For our brunch, we were served by a very friendly waiter and we started with plain lattes, extra hot,

and served in tall glasses ($5). Toba serves up some daily baked good (scones, muffins, pastries)-

$2.75 as well as mimosas and other “brunch” alcoholic beverages. Aaron started with the vegetarian

poached eggs with 2 eggs over chipotle brioche with grilled tomato, spinach, old cheddar with a

Hollandaise sauce ($11). The dish came out looking gorgeous, colourful, with texture, freshness, and

everything looked attractive to the eye. I ordered the French toast (4 triangular wedges) in a pecan

maple sauce with caramelized pears topped with maple syrup ($10.50). The dish was spectacular. Other

dishes include typical brunch fare: granola + fruit + yogourt ($5), Blueberry pancakes with fresh fruit

and whipped cream ($9.75), Hang over helper (scrambled eggs chorizo, green pepper, old cheddar, served

with organic greens, home fries, and toast ($11), the “traditional” breakfast (2 eggs any style with

choice of bacon, sausage or peameal bacon with home fries, organic greens, and toast) $10, poached eggs

with peameal bacon, Hollandaise sauce, and organic greens ($11), Duck Crepes (Wendy friendly)- with

Peking duck, carrot, apple, cabbage, hoisin sauce, and gruyere ($12), a crab melt (crab salad with gruyere and bacon on a baked angel biscuit($11), Corned beef hash (corned beef with shredded potato, caramelized onion, red peppers, with 2 baked eggs, Holandaise sauce, chipotle puree, organic greens, and toast ($13), and finally Steak and eggs with Hollandaise sauce, home fries and organic greens ($15). Toba serves a different “tart of the day” with organic greens and home fries for $10 and the omelete of the day is served with organic greens, home fries and toast is $11.

Toba is not hip and cool like Auntie’s and Uncles but it’s chiche and classy. I would definitely recommend this place for brunch-goers. Extra friendly service with high quality food, beautiful decor, and great ambiance. Great to bring a date. Seats about 15 tables. Serves Italian fare at night for dinner. Accepts all cards. Liquor license

Grapefruit Moon

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968 Bathurst Street
(416) 534-9056

Following the renovation completed at Grapefruit Moon by Food TV’s Restaurant Makeover in 2003/2004 a media battle erupted between the owner and the show. The owner, Sandy , was upset how the once cozy, familiar space was transformed into a trendy, cold room that lacked the charm of the previous incarnation. Her requests to keep the aura of the original place were ignored as the show painted over the exposed brick wall with a metallic silver and the new equipment was not ready by the completion date. Changes to the menu were disregarded, even though the airing of the show pointed to a lack of competency and vision from the young “chef”. While the controversy may have been played up in the local rags and on the Internet; Grapefruit Moon made the most of the situation and continued to pull in the hordes for their famous brunch as well as dinner.

Since the renovation, I have been back for both dinner and brunch. My dinner experience there definitely exposed the changes in a negative light as I found the environment chilly and the food bland. This may have been due to the wintry, sludgy weather but my recent brunch return was a vast improvement. The metallic sheen of the walls was covered by an array of lovely framed art while the sun streamed through the front to keep the place bright and warm. An eclectic mix of old and new music germinated from a computer behind the counter to keep the place cozy and lively. We took a seat on some stools and were immediately greeted with a warm reception from our waiter behind the counter while being presented with our coffees.

Apparently, the hip thing to do at Grapefruit Moon is to substitute sugar for honey when sweetening coffee. I tried this and was deliciously surprised by the results. Scanning the menu, I decided on what was probably the least healthy item I could find. The rarebit breakfast consisted of poached eggs heaped on two pieces of multigrain toast with peameal bacon and topped with a gooey layer of cheddar cheese sauce. I couldn’t tell if the cheddar cheese sauce consisted of melted Kraft singles but whatever it was oozed well with the rest. Unfortunately, the side of home fries was missing that crunchy element of superior variations but mixing it with the cheese and some hot sauce souped it up enough.

Grapefruit Moon has always struck me as a place that tends to distinguish itself apart from the rest of Toronto’s brunch spots. Not quite downtown, yet still vibing with the laid back attitudes of a “Saving Grace”, Grapefruit Moon’s presence is a fixture in the Annex. TV screwups or not, the changes at Grapefruit Moon may have temporarily strained the casual feel of the restaurant but has certainly not had a negative impact on business.

Ruchi Indian Cuisine

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649 Yonge St.
(416) 926-0953

 

Wendy and I decided to try another Indian restaurant in the downtown core right before our 9:10pm show of Everything Is Illuminated, the movie adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel of the same name. I had only partially read Foer’s novel so i thought i would cheat and see the movie. We had decided to go to a nice Indian meal somewhere on Yonge street and we knew that there were many options. We chose Ruchi, partially because of the glowing reviews posted on the wall (from EYE or NOW magazine) and it was closeby.

When we walked in we noticed it was brightly coloured in rich royal blue and copper reds. There is an elevation at the doorway so be careful not to trip while walking in. This narrow restaurant has less than 10 tables but the restaurant goes far back with 3 tables alongside one wall at the front and a few tables on the other side separated by brown coloured transparent curtains. There is a nice bar at back where they serve a variety of beers but I did not see a wine selection. Wendy and I started with veggie pekoras (deep fried onions in a chickpea batter- YUMM). It was served with a mint coriander sauce and a liquidy tamarind sauce ($3.95). For our mains, Wendy ordered the butter chicken ($7.95) and it came to us in a rich red colour. Wendy found the dish to be too sweet and did not have very much chicken and she said it reminded her of Campbell’s Cream of Tomato soup mix. She was not that happy with her choice. I did notice the sweet aroma and i found it odd that it was so red. I chose the saag paneer (spinach and cottage cheese curry) which i found to be super yummy and it has a certain zing to it. We ordered both our dishes medium but we chould choose mild, medium, hot, or the cliche Indian hot. We both ordered Naan bread. I ordered aloo naan and Wendy ordered the regular Naan. For our beverages Wendy ordered sweet Lassi which was a plain yogourt but heavily sweetened (YUM) and i ordered the typical Mango Lassi which was even sweeter ($3.75). They came in tall glasses and unfortunately were not thick enough for my liking but i was somewhat satisfied.

I noticed the menu to have your typical North Indian dishes (chicken, beef, fish curries, aloo gobi, chana masala, butter chicken, tandoori chicken, samosa, pekoras, lassis, the typical dishes you’d expect in an Indian restaurant.).

Service was fairly fast and our waitress was nice, attentive, calm, and friendly. Wendy and I would definitely try this place again, despite her obvious disappointment. She did not expect her butter chicken to taste like Campbell’s Tomato soup mix and she did not expect there to be as much as sauce. She only found 4 pieces of chicken (breast, thank goodness!).

Open 7 days per week. Mon-Fri 11:30 am – 10:30 pm, Sat 3:00 pm – 10:30 pm, and Sun 4:00 pm -10:30 pm . Accepts all cards. Liquor license. Very narrow inside with not many seats but very cosy and comfortable. Lighting is quite bright. Beautiful colour scheme or rich royal blue ceilings and walls and reddish/copper walls. Non-kitschy Indian decor.

Eggstasy

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1255 Bay St.
Phone: 416 964 2333

please note the change of spelling from the former Eggstacy (Church and Carleton) to Eggstasy (Bay and Yorkville)

Eggstacy’s original incarnation at Church and Carlton was great. While it may not have been the best brunch in the city: the huge portions, campy menu item names, flirtatious waiters (see original review) and generally fun and carefree attitude made it a helluva good and filling place to be. Recently, the owners of Eggstacy split up, with the original location changing its name to “Daybreak” and brand new Eggstacy opening up on Bay St. directly adjacent to Yorkville.

Curious to see what the changes were, I sauntered (yes walked) over on a gray Sunday morning and met Mark for a socially acceptable 11:15am brunch. First off, the place was packed with a generally upscale, good looking yet not particularly “hip” crowd?.. well it is Yorkville you have to remember. After a brief wait, we were seated right next to another couple finishing their own meal. The d飯r of the restaurant was sharp and clean yet didn’t particularly hold much interest nor carry a feeling of the hominess that my favourite brunch places do.

While the ambiance had dramatically changed from the original Eggstacy, the menu, from what I can recall, was almost exactly the same. The camp names of the large variety of omelets and frittatas like “The Forest Hill” (smoked salmon, capers, onions etc…) remained as did the portions. Well at least for my meal. While Mark substituted the accompanying toast, potatoes (choice of fries, hash browns or mashed), and two pancakes (this is correct: all three of these items come with any omelet that is ordered) for a side salad. My portion ended up being about 2-3 times the size of his. So a note for those on a carb-lite diet: don’t eat here!

My “Capn’ Crunch” omelet consisting of gooey cheddar, peameal bacon and? another ingredient that I can’t remember was average as was the accompanying aforementioned items. Despite this mediocrity, taken together you can’t really go wrong at brunch with that much food on your plate. Free refills of coffee and pop doesn’t hurt either. Both the hostess and our waitress were cheerful and attentive, answering Mark’s requisite thousand questions with glam and gusto.

While the new Eggstacy has lost much of the charm the old venue had, it still cranks out a massive plate of food that will keep you going right through to dinner.