Leaping lizards... I was in Lindsay!

Treated to a fun day frolicking on the farm, fantastic friends witnessed a trail-blazing tractor ride by yours truly (FYI: Paco was rough through the deep snow patches).  The House and Home magazine worthy farmhouse has been renovated into a charming and cheerful abode of wit and sarcastic good cheer.  On the menu was a beet, orange and red onion salad, goat cheese, bread and Fakes, a rich and textured lentil soup by our host.  Deeply delish!  Here's a link to one version of the Lentil Soup and cheers to Prosecco and good friends!  Thanks for a great day.  http://greekfood.about.com/od/soupsstews/r/fakessoupa.htm

Old friends and Oysters at The Auld Spot

I'm currently typing this review to Arcade Fire in the background as they just won the Grammy for Album of the Year... vas-y Montreal!  Give it up Lauren!  My conoisseur of all things oyster, we met at The Auld Spot for a few pints to rehash romance gone awry ironically over one of the world's greatest aphrodisiacs: oysters.  Lauren picked the east coast Raspberry points as we soaked them in lemon and freshly grated horseradish with a dash of tabasco of course.  The aftertaste is sweet and fresh and lent itself nicely to the contrast of our next order of heavily seasoned hand-cut fries.  At $2.50 an oyster, for a dozen we ended up grazing gourmet a la neighbourhood gastro pub.  Many other shmancy offerings include musself in white wine sauce and specials of sweet potato croquettes.  Cheers to a great girls night as  We're Ready To Start the week....

Raspberry Point Oysters.. mmmmmmm

Hand-cut Fries... mmmmmm

Gandhi goodness.,...




Inside the Butter Chicken Roti

"BUTTER CHICKEN IN A ROTI?!"  These were the words that escaped my lips as Bella Regazza and Hot Tamale explained Gandhi's concept.  We passed it along the way to Bella's house along Queen West between Bathurst and Portland.  A small diner-should-be take-out place that can house 15 people at its maximum, Gandhi is reminiscent of the many ethnic gems in Scarborough with a twist.  The hipster crowd is in full force and its owner should install a revolving door into the simple fluorescent-lit dining space warmed by a portable heater with the consistent flow of people trickling in and out.  Don't let the surroundings fool you: the roti's are a nod to naan brimming full of familiar Indian vegetarian and flavourful and familiar Indian meat dishes  Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka, etc...   This is as authentic as it comes, these are no "blue menu"-sauced dishes, with your choice of medium or hot flavour with accompanying desserts: gulab jamun being my favourite.  We feasted on the Buter Chicken (11.95) and the Saag Paneer (9.95) with gulab jamun (2.95) ordered at the counter and then served to our table.  Wash it down with some Frooty Mango drink ($5.00 for a container that drinks 2) in styrofoam cups and you can't go wrong!  We couldn't finish and had enough to last for lunch the next day.  One roti is enough to share between two, although if you're hungry and craving Indian food... eat it up!  Just like a friend said, "The food is just as good when heated in the microwave the next day..." Gandhi, I'm a believer!



Our Gandhian Feast





Inside the Saag Paneer Roti





In the Gandhi realm





Thirst-Quenching Frooti Mango Drink



The Main Man

IT'S WINTERLICIOUS TIME BABYYYYYY!

In response to the SARS outbreak back in November 2002 that lasted its way to June of 2003, the City of Toronto launched Summerlicious, an inviting appeal to tourists to try out the city's finest restaurants for a cheap prix fixe rate.  With roaring success, Winterlicious was added towards the end of January and the beginning of February to continue its appeal.  Let's face it, Torontonians love their food, spoiled as we are to have a world cuisine at our doorsteps (or the street corner).  So, ladies and gentlemen and food lovers itching to see what goes on in those coat and tie-laden covens, gear up and make your reservations for this year's Winterlicious which runs January 28-February 10.  Check out the link here: City of Toronto Winterlicious  Bon Appetit!

It was more than Okay at Okay Okay diner...

Eggs Benedict on Hashbrowns... who woulda' thunk?  Hidden in Leslieville, Okay Okay diner (the cute little sign says Okay 2 like in math Okay squared, ha!)  can be discovered at 1128 Queen St. E.  The brunch fare is inventive and tasty and available every day of the week with Perfect Pancakes and Elvis French Toast (banana and peanut butter.. mmmmm)  Surrounded by Sexy Maman and The Baby Mama we dined in the sun and chatted a storm.  Our server was pleasant and super kind with the water and the baby in tow and our meal came promptly.  I found the hashbrown served as a nice crunch to the perfectly poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.  Although other reviews condemn the use of the No Frills fried hashbrown variety, I find it a refreshing twist and cutely creative.  Hipsters Queen Street over fawn at this place for its retro restored vibe and fun atmosphere.  This is not a "come as you are casual because I don't give a damn" pretentious outfit as unfortunately some places are becoming.  This is a "come as casual and we'll serve some decent food" outfit... sounds super okay to me.

Eggs Benedict with Spinach (around 10)  mmmmmm....

Relaxed and refreshed at Rosewater...

The Rosewater Supper Club has been this personal elusive dining experience that I've always wanted to savour, yet woe is me, oh teacher salary that can only afford fine dining with "icious" as its suffix... I did a little stint (nothing illegal, relax) and received a gift certificate to dine at this fare establishment, with Heather in tow whose brainchild this blog is, we entered the Rosewater tucked in on 19 Toronto Street at King and Victoria.

Large water features and an intimately cushioned bar area seduces you with its elegant and contemporary vibe that continues on into the large dining hall with cathedral height ceilings. If you look up you can see a sculpted and decorated mount illuminated by a suspended half-domed marble based lit from the bottom. Amidst the backdrop of a golden mural of an Asian-inspired peacock, the finely dressed diners are seated on dark periwinkle wood chairs and matching tables. Large silver booths, resembling giant headboards seem to denote booth seating and spotted the far walls.

French Onion Soup and Brie Fondue (yes, it is very large...excellent) (12)

Fresh tomatoes and a generous dollop of buffalo mozarella. (16)

JP our fantastic server, attentive and helpful at the ready guided us through the menu as we decided to start on the French Onion Soup with Brie Fondue, served separately and poured to the side with veal pieces in a veal broth. The onions were sweet and perfectly textured against the cream of the brie and the gruyere broiled on top. As Heather put it, it's "French Onion Stew", rich, earthy and homey. I had a refreshing heirloom tomato salad with buffalo mozarella. Fresh, fresh, fresh! The hint of salt really brought out the taste of the subtle white goodness.

Cornish hen on grilled vegetables and rich goat cheese gnocchi with mysterious plate licking dark sauce. (25)

Seared salmon on grilled vegetables and potato rosti with mysterious plate licking white sauce. (28)

The mains were cornish hen on goat cheese gnocchi in this mysterious sauce that if socially permissible in such an establishment, Heather would have surely licked the plate clean as I looked forward to the seared salmon with prosciutto threads on potato and onion rosti and grilled vegetables in yet another mysterious lighter sauce. Although the prosciutto went missing, yes, like Heather, licking the plate was not optional. Damn.

Dessert art..... gorgeously gorging on this two seconds after this shot was taken. (all desserts 9)

To finish the feast we settled on a Molten Tower cake made from scratch and baked upon request with a waiting time of 17-20 minutes, (seventeen minutes? so precise... a Big Mac comes onto my cafeteria tray in about 3) Served with a dollop of fresh sweet cream, berries, cut oranges and a mysterious orange berry that only appears at these ritzy places (reminiscent of ornaments on wreaths made at Lewiscraft) we were uber satisfied as this supper was succulent, sweet and full of sassy conversation and a sweet and daring surprise on a receipt at the end!

Oh la la!  Bon appetit!

Urbanspoon Rocks!

Many thanks to those who have been reading the blog as of late. Please feel free to post comments, critiques, thoughts, funny moments or jokes. They are always more than welcome, from one food lover to another xp You are more than welcome to contact me at: imgutom@gmail.com

Take care and happy eating!