Toronto Ramen Adventure 2012/13 - Part 1

Later in the evening, after digesting that filling burger lunch, I headed out to dinner with my sister and some of her friends, and they all graciously invited me to join them for karaoke night afterward.  What better way to fill our bellies on a winter night before some karaoke than a hot bowl of ramen?

Chucking Myself with a Burger Lunch

Wanting to just spend a day during my Christmas break at my sister's apartment relaxing and memorizing my lines for upcoming shows, I opted for a lunch within a reasonable walking distance.  My sister suggested Holy Chuck Burgers as one of the possible locations.  At first I wasn't too thrilled about having to walk uphill both ways, but I was willing to grin and bear it as the fare wasn't worth a one-subway-station ride.  After lunch, though, I was very thankful I chose to walk!

A Thai Road on a Toronto Street

By the time I was pretty much done exploring downtown Toronto for the day, it was time for dinner, and with my sister having suggested Khao San Road for some Thai, I took the opportunity to give it a try.  Imagine my surprise when I realized I was grabbing one of the very last open seats, and it was barely 5:30pm!  The last time I experienced a restaurant becoming packed this early was when I was a kid going to Magic Wok Chinese Restaurant back when it was located on Brimley Rd. just north of Sheppard Ave. E.  Well, when people are clamouring to dine here, and, if they're late, they're willing to wait to get a seat (when I left the restaurant I overheard a group of 7 being told to wait at least an hour for an open table), you know this place must be doing something right.

A Classy Bay Street Lunch

With another day on my own in Toronto, I decided to explore the downtown area, and opted to have lunch there as well.  My sister suggested a few places, including The Gabardine, to try for lunch or dinner.  Knowing that there would be lunch crowds on weekdays, I planned on heading downtown to get to The Gabardine between 11:30am and 11:45am to be able to get a seat.  Unfortunately, I left for downtown late and arrived about 11:50am, and there was already a small line-up with an approximately 40-minute wait in the packed place.

Going Beyond BBQ for Korean

I had not had some authentic Korean food in quite a while, so I asked my sister to suggest a Korean restaurant before our night out at the movies.  She recommended Mot Na Son, a small restaurant that appeared to be family-operated located in North York Centre, one of several Korean business hubs in Toronto.  Compared to other Korean restaurants I've tried in the Toronto area, the focus wasn't BBQ, though that was a possible option.  I appreciated this as I wanted to try other aspects of Korean cuisine, and I was not disappointed.

Return to The Stockyards

On my first full day of my Christmas vacation in Ontario, my sister took me to The Stockyards for lunch.  I tried The Stockyards' fried chicken and ribs the previous Christmas holiday for take-out, and with my sister having talked about the small joint's brunches favourably several times, I had to try it for myself as well.

Bistro 7-1/4

The open kitchen, surrounded on three sides by a kitchen bar for ten (10) diners.

My November 2012 visit to Bistro 7-1/4, a play on its address (725 Osborne St.), was actually my second visit to the restaurant and the first since its early 2012 expansion.  I'd first explored it the previous summer and had the pleasant opportunity to dine at the kitchen bar, giving me an uninterrupted view of the chef and sous-chef working in the small open kitchen.  Unfortunately, I had forgotten to bring my camera with me (sacrilège!), so I made sure I came back again camera in hand.  This time, I was unable to sit at the kitchen bar, but I got to see the expanded side of the restaurant.

A Kawaii-zy Creperie

On one daytrip in September 2012 to Winnipeg I didn't have time to enjoy a full-service dinner, so I wanted to find a preferably different and untried place for a quick bite to eat.  Apparently a creperie had opened fairly recently in Osborne Village, and since I hadn't had a crepe for a while, I had to visit this place.  Kawaii Crepe serves both savoury and sweet crepes, and serves them differently than crepes I've had elsewhere in the past.  "Kawaii" means cute in Japanese, and apparently the crepes are made in a distinctly Japanese style; no simple rolls served on plates, the crepes here are folded into flat triangles and served open-ended on stands, allowing one to steadily chomp on them like one would an ice cream cone.

Too Long an Absence

Hello there!

Yes, I'm still out and about.  Unfortunately my time since the Christmas season had been so hectic I've had to neglect my blog for a while.  Now that both the holiday season is over and my involvement in "The Producers" is done, I can find some time to catch up with my blog.  I've had the pleasure to discover some neat places to eat over the Christmas season; stay tuned for future posts, and thank you for your patience!

Thanksgiving Double Rib Special

Cranberry Ribs with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Multigrain Rice

With another Thanksgiving in which I would have to make myself a feast, I decided to indulge myself with some ribs, especially since it had been a while since I last made myself a rack or two.  Having spotted a sale on fresh cranberries, the experimental side of me kicked up a gear and decided to somehow marry them with the ribs.  Though I'm sure there are recipes for ribs using cranberries, I decided to stay away from searching for recipes and just use whatever was available in my kitchen that weekend.

A South American Exchange in Winnipeg

I've heard of Hermanos Restaurant and Wine Bar for about a year or so now, but I hadn't taken the opportunity to try it until recently on another daytrip to Winnipeg.  My friends and I originally agreed to give Kokeb a try for some Ehiopian cuisine, but I was caught off-guard when I saw a backhoe in the middle of a vacant lot where the building in which the restaurant was located previously stood.  Of all the places I hadn't tried yet, this was the first one that came to mind, and since my friends also hadn't tried it yet, away to Hermanos we went for dinner.

A Very Tasty Unburger for Me, for Me!

If you watched Disney's "Alice in Wonderland", you would recall how the Mad Hatter and his party wer boisterously celebrating their unbirthdays.  So if you saw a place called Unburger, what would be your first thought about it?  A bit of a mad-house?  An all-vegetarian counterpoint to the existing burger joints in town?  Something else out in left field... or Wonderland?

Return to Deseo... con los Amigos

A drink from Deseo Bistro: Caipirinha, a Brazilian cane-liquor-based drink.

I had another opportunity to dine out in Winnipeg with friends this Canada Day long weekend, and since none of them had tried Deseo yet, I suggested we give that place go.  I certainly didn't mind returning there after my delightful first experience, though apparently a reservation wasn't as necessary this time, likely due to people being away for the long weekend.

My First Risotto Attempt

Risotto... one of the great comfort foods courtesy of Italian cuisine.  I definitely enjoy eating risotto.  Done right, risotto is creamy and flavourful, with each grain of rice fluffy yet al dente.  I realized, however, that I have yet to try making risotto, so I resolved to attempt making one this weekend.

A Stella Lunch with the Parents

Close-up of Stella's Café's Provalone Roast Chicken Sandwich

I had the fortune of hosting my parents once more this year.  This has been the earliest in a year that I've been able to host them, as I managed to convince them to come see me perform in a community theatre production in late April; the comparatively late show times allowed them to avoid the usual winter season.  It had also been a couple of years since I last visited Winnipeg with my parents, so a full daytrip, including lunch in town, was in order when my parents visited me this past weekend.

Discovering Two Lunchable Joints in Winnipeg

The Winnipeg franchise of Smoke's Poutinerie, a small location in the Exchange District.

Looking back at my past blog entries of places I've tried in Winnipeg, along with having chats with my buddies who read my blog, I realized that I hadn't made as strong an effort to try places for lunch compared to dinner.  The main reason why I haven't tried lunch in Winnipeg as often is simply that I often haven't been waking early enough in order to have lunch in Winnipeg rather than a brunch back in Brandon.  With my recent and comparatively more frequent daytrips to Winnipeg, I managed to try a couple of noteworthy places for lunch.

"I'm Proud of You, Andrew"... for Making Ribs

My Maple, Grain Mustard and Thyme Ribs (top) and Ginger-Soy Ribs served at the potluck.

A few of my theatre buddies and I had bandied about the idea of a potluck a few times over the past year or two, but for some reason we never really took it up seriously.  However, discussion somehow turned to food (surprise, surprise!) during a rehearsal break a week before the Louis Riel Day weekend, and we all eventually agreed to have that potluck on Louis Riel Day after all.  As my discussion that precipitated this event involved ribs, and since I had recently bought two racks of pork side ribs, also known as spareribs, during a sale a few weeks beforehand, I was assigned the duty to make ribs for the potluck. I've previously made ribs, including the Maple, Grain Mustard and Thyme Ribs, but, realizing I had a full day off virtually at home before the potluck, I took advantage of the situation to try cooking ribs more slowly for the first time.  I also decided to use both racks of ribs I had in my freezer and marinate them differently.  One of them was a tweaked rendition of Maple, Grain Mustard and Thyme Ribs, while the other rack was given a ginger-soy marinade.

A Desirous Experience in Winnipeg

With the Louis Riel Day long weekend upon me, I once again made a daytrip to Winnipeg.  Earlier in the year my sister led me to an article featuring worthy new restaurants across Canada in 2011, with one Winnipeg bistro making this list.  Deseo Bistro actually has existed in Winnipeg for a few years, but circumstances resulted in them being reborn at its current location in the Riverview neighbourhood.  Deseo, Spanish for "desire", features an internationally inspired cuisine with South American influences having a more prominent presence, and appears to be quite popular with Winnipeggers.  When I arrived at the bistro I learned that, fortunately, there was one seat left in the two-storey eatery... at the bar.  Well, beggars can't be choosers, so upstairs to the bar I went.

Fine Dining by Students in Brandon

The study hall just off the main entrance to the Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts (MICA).

For a few years I've heard of Grey Owl Restaurant being discussed by various people.  At first, shortly after I moved to Brandon, it was a mystery to me, as I couldn't find it listed in commercial directories like the Yellow Pages.  I then learned a couple of things about Grey Owl Restaurant that explained why it seemed so elusive to me:

1. It was a restaurant operated by students of the Assiniboine Community College's (ACC) Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts (MICA); and
2. It was a seasonal restaurant, open only for four (4) weeks in January and February of each year.

An Epic Sushi Dinner

The open kitchen area of Sushi Kaji.

Even though our family celebrated my parents' anniversary with dinner at Allium back in Ottawa, my sister was thinking of truly celebrating their anniversary with a nice dinner in the Toronto area.  With her foodie connections she managed to find Sushi Kaji, a Japanese restaurant located in Etobicoke.  The location was not what I'd consider to be typical for a higher-end restaurant, located in a 1950-1960's era Toronto-suburban strip mall right on a 6-lane thoroughfare.  This place, however, was definitely a diamond in the rough.