Tag Archives: toronto food

I must say, The Burger Press is pretty impressive…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

I noticed this place had a “Grand Opening” sign out front when I whizzed past it on the Bathurst streetcar last nite, and since I happened to be in the area again today, I decided to stop in and check it out.  Located right next door to the CB2 furniture store that used to be The Big Bop, The Burger Press occupies a small storefront in a larger industrial building.  Believe me when I say it’s pretty small.  The restaurant’s seating capacity is a whopping four people, although you could fit a couple more onto the bench out front.  And I gotta say, the decor is pretty classy, as well.  Basically, they took a buncha snotty bumper stickers and put ‘em up on the white walls.  The one up top here is my favourite:

While it’s only a one-man operation behind the counter, that dude’s definitely got a good thing going.  Y’see, what makes this place unique is that instead of pre-formed burgers, they have containers of ground beef behind the counter, with interesting components pressed into the meat.  For instance, I went with the El Press-idente, which had a nice kick from the jalapeno and habanero peppers mixed in.  Basically, you decide what size you want your burger to be (minimum 4 ounces), and they grab a slab of beef, weigh it, then press it into a patty with some fancy machine.  You then choose your toppings once it comes off the grill (I went with the standard lettuce/tomato/onions/pickles as well as some salsa and banana peppers for a little more heat), while all burgers come with a side of oven-fresh potato wedges and some tzatziki dipping sauce.  The end result looks something like this:

While I was impressed by their small-scale meaty magic, one has to wonder if such an establishment can succeed with all the gourmet burgers being served in this city (case in point: Burger Week).  Also, while that location would’ve been pretty hot about five years ago, it’s no longer the hippest part of town; there’s no denying that being next to a furniture store as opposed to a massive concert hall cuts down on the potential late-nite crowd.  That said, I wish them well.  While I went with a mere six-ounce burger this time around, I’m inclined to see how much beef they can pound into a patty for me next time.  Though if I do opt for a 20-ounce Frankenburger (they charge by the oz, BTW), I’ll hafta make sure not to make it a Press-idente.  That wouldn’t feel so good the next morning, if ya know what I mean…

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GUILTY PLEASURES: Shawarma

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Although not uniquely a Torontonian culinary specialty (I’m told that Ottawa and Montreal have their fair share of shawarma shops), it’s safe to say that I never would’ve tasted shawarma had I not moved here.  It’s definitely not something you see a lot of in Calgary, especially not in the Northwest part of town where I grew up.  Alas, I discovered the Middle-Eastern staple in my college days due to an abundance of shawarmarias (for lack of a better term) downtown, particularly on Yonge St–and one in particular whose clever marketing caught my hungry eyes.

I’m pretty sure that the location now known as Lebanon Express used to be called something else back in the day–in fact, it seems to me that the spot has changed ownership a couple times.  But while the former name escapes me, I do remember the writing on the window advertising two shawarma sammies for six bucks.  I used to walk by the place all the time en route to get groceries, when on one fateful evening, I decided that even though I wasn’t sure what a shawarma was, two sandwiches for six dollars seemed like a pretty sweet deal.  I then ordered a pair of stuffed pitas filled with sliced beef and exotic toppings like tahini, hummus and and picked turnips, not knowing what everything was at first, but not afraid to try it.  Soon, it became a staple in my diet.  If you still don’t know what I’m talking about–you’re obviously not from around here–it’s sort of like a Middle-Eastern burrito, and looks a little something like this:

I must say that I’ve mostly moved on from the sandwich variety to the shawarma plate when a couple years ago when I realized that you could get a great big helping of food for a reasonable price at most shawarma shops in the city.  A plate usually comes with shawarma meat (I mostly go for beef), rice, potatoes, tabbouleh (parsley salad) and pita bread–which can often make or break the dish–and generally costs about 10-12 dollars (including a bottled drink).  According to The Dish, it also contains 1,307 calories, 64 grams of fat and 2,369 mg of sodium.  Yummy!

Unfortunately, on a return trip to where it all began last summer, I was disappointed in Lebanon Express’ shawarma plate.  For one, they had no beef roasting on the spit, and their chicken was hard and crusty, to say nothing of the service behind the counter.  Mind you, it was 11:45, before the big lunchtime rush, but that’s still no excuse.

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Of course, you can’t throw a stone on Yonge Street between Queen and Bloor without hitting a shawarma shop, and I’ve been to just about all of them.  One place I hadn’t tried until last week, however, was Paramount, which opened its doors just south of Dundas about a year and a half ago.  How I missed this place before is beyond me (though it must be said that, generally speaking, the best eats on Yonge are found north of the Eaton Centre).  Their plates featured freshly-grilled meat with pickles and beets, tabbouleh and a choice of rice or french fries for fat fucks like me.  But their true coup de grace was the pita bread, baked so fresh that steam would rise when you pulled it apart.  Oh man…  One bite and I could see why this place gets packed at lunchtime!  On the other hand, the tabbouleh was pretty bland, pretty much just chopped parsley, but tis only a minor complaint.

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There are also no less than a handful of shawarma shops near my current digs in The Annex, between Bathurst and Spadina on Bloor Street.  Let’s see, there’s Laila, Ali Baba’s, Ghazale, Sarah’s… and that one just west of Spadina whose name escapes me at the moment.  Actually, Laila just shut down, which saddens me somewhat as it was my personal favourite.  Sure, the decor was definitely dated, but they had the best plates in my books because they actually grilled their meat right when you ordered it, instead of hacking it off the spit and heating in in the microwave, as some other places have been known to do.  Mind you, they didn’t used to grill it until they got a “Conditional Pass” on a food safety inspection a couple years back, but I digress.  The place is currently up for lease at 40 bucks per square foot, and apparently there’s no shortage of potential tenants.  Oh well, maybe it’s time I finally tried that place just west of Spadina…

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Although I’ve never been, the Me Va Me Express on Steeles Ave in Thornhill makes a shawarma on a baguette that’s reportedly as big as a grown man’s forearm, and a shawarma pita that “closely resembles the size of a five-year-old boy’s head,” which contains more calories than two KFC Double Downs.  Man, I’m getting hungry just reading the (lack of) nutritional content on this thing.  I just need to find a(nother) reason to head up to Thornhill!

The food at Real Sports? Not that great…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Yesterday, I succeeded in my quest to watch the big game on the biggest of screens, securing a spot at the bar in front of the two-story TV at Real Sports shortly before 3 pm, where I would spend the next seven hours stretching my neck on Sunday.  By limiting myself to one beer an hour, I was able to remain among the living–while limiting the damage to my wallet.  Sadly, I also sampled a couple dishes of the much-hyped cuisine, and found myself disappointed.

Now for the record, I did not have one of their specialty burgers or signature chicken wings.  Frankly, I just wasn’t in the mood.  I just bought two boxes of Olymel wings at half price from the grocery store, so I knew I’d be eating a lotta wings this week anyways.  (Did I mention the Flames play four times between now and Saturday?)  Nor did I order the 67-ounce steak.  What with my excessive alcohol consumption, I just knew that it wouldn’t end well.  Maybe next time…

So, what did I eat?  Poutine and nachos, two greasy bar staples that aren’t always a guaranteed home run.  And in this case, Real Sports came up short like Tom Brady with 57 seconds on the clock last nite, heh heh.

I started with the poutine, which was said to contain real Quebec cheese curds and also boasted the lowest price of any appetizer on the menu.  Let me say that those curds died a horrible death before making their way to my spot the bar.  By the time I got ‘em, they weren’t curds, but rather amorphous blobs of melted cheese, losing both their shape and texture.  For all I know, it could’ve just been melted mozzarella.  And then there’s the thick, brown, lumpy gravy that looked and tasted like something from KFC.  Mind you, the Colonel at least knows to keep his curds intact.  (I can vouch for this from experience.)

Not feeling sufficiently sufficed, I later ordered some nachos, which came in two sizes: personal and party.  I was told that the latter could feed three people, and since I only count for a man and a half on a good day, I opted for the smaller serving.  I will say that it was the right size for one person, although your regular-sized nacho plate at most bars tends to be a bit bigger–and no less expensive.  These chips were covered in baked, hardened cheese, largely-sliced jalapenos–and nothing else.  No green peppers, no tomatoes, nada.  (You can add chicken or guacamole, but it’ll cost extra.)  And though it’s a pretty common beef with most bars, they also didn’t provide nearly enough sour cream or salsa, which was basically bruschetta.  They should’ve put those diced tomatoes on the chips and given me some real picante, IMO.

On the plus side, I gotta say that watching sports on that giant screen is quite something, even when you gotta tilt your head back to follow the action.  I caught the fourth quarter of the Raptors-Heat game once I arrived, and when Lebron went in for a breakaway dunk, it looked simply spectacular–to say nothing of Manningham’s catch in the big game.  Let’s just say I knew he was in bounds long before the ref came out of the replay booth.  But the dining experience left a lot to be desired.  Although I feel a little bad for the constant wave of bar girls, who provided me with a steady stream of alcohol throughout the evening, I left a less-than-respectable tip cuz in the end, the food just wasn’t worth it.

(I do plan on coming back to tackle that steak sometime, though.  It better be Alberta beef, baby!)

Loblaws scores with its new Maple Leaf Gardens location!

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Today I braved the first snowfall of the season to check out the new Loblaws, which opened today in the building formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens.  I used to live a block from what was for years an empty shell, so I was curious to see what they’d done to the place.

I understand that there was a massive lineup this morning, when they were giving out gift cards, with lotsa local media on hand.  Although it wasn’t nearly as long at 11:45, I did have to wait in line a couple minutes before entering.  Not that I had a lotta trouble circulating once inside—this store is massive!

Of course, all the main draws are right near the entrance: the hot food counter, the sushi station, the deli and the bakery.  I came here for lunch, and got an orange-brazed beef rib with roast potatoes and sweet potatoes.  There is some seating in the middle, tables with photos, ticket stubs and news clippings from various concerts at MLG, from Elvis to the Beatles to Nirvana.  As for the food, well, it was no longer warm by the time it got to my mouth, but 10 bucks for a meal and a drink isn’t too bad.  Maybe next time I’ll try the chicken.

I wandered around for a bit, picking up a few items on sale, and sampling cheese, bread and chocolate along the way.  Unfortunately, they ran out of burger samples by the time I got to the front of the line.  Some suits with their Blackberries were willing to wait around for the next batch, but not me.

The complex includes a second floor with an LCBO, Joe Fresh and a PC Cooking School.  As you take the escalator up there, you can’t help notice the big blue maple leaf made outta seats from the old Garden.  I gotta say, I like what they did with the place.  If I still lived in the area, I’d surely shop there.

URBAN EATERY ODYSSEY: Top 10 Restaurants

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Having made my way through the massive Urban Eatery, I thought I’d take a look back at some of the places worth revisiting.  Here are what I would consider to be the top 10 stops in the cavernous food court:

10. Mucho Burrito: On a scale from one to 10, I’d give this place 15.  Fifteen inches of extra-large burrito, that is!

9. Szechuan Express: Seemed to be the best of the “pick two/three items” Chinese food stalls.  Then again, I couldn’t remember what I ordered without looking it up–haven’t been there since October 4th!

8. Crêpe de licious: I like how they added the space between de and licious to make it seem French.  That said, they kinda half-assed it.  Shoulda called the place Crêpe dé licieuse if they wanted to go the full nine yards (although the accent aigu kinda ruins the joke…)

7. Fast Fresh Foods: This place makes a mean sandwich.  It’s also the only stall whose UK ownership left a strange, cryptic comment on my review…

6. Liberty Noodle: Probably the best of the stir-fry shops.  And while they supposedly serve sushi, it seems their sushi chef doesn’t start until after lunch.  (I guess the man needs to eat, too!)

5. Villa Madina: For the best shawarma in the Urban Eatery, Villa Madina wins by default.  Which isn’t to say it’s not good–just that it’s the only place that serves shawarma in the Urban Eatery.

4. Aroma Cafe: Funny, I used to live down the street from one of these places, but it took them opening in the Urban Eatery for me to actually go there.  Yeah, I guess I missed out.

3. Big Smoke Burger: I gotta say, it was a real toss-up for the number two spot.  Although Big Smoke lost out, my mouth still wins!

2. Rare: When I die, I hope I end up in a place that offers a wide variety of roast beef sandwiches.  Mind you, there is such a place.  It’s called Alberta, and I left there in 2005… ;)

1. Jimmy the Greek: Though the lamb wasn’t as good the second time around (yes, I’ve already been back!), I will always remember the way it tasted the first time.  Love at first bite…

So there you go.  If you don’t plan on visiting all 27 stalls at the Urban Eatery, try to check out these ones, at least.

URBAN EATERY ODYSSEY: Week Six Recap

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Today, I reached the end of my journey, having traversed the Urban Eatery from one end to the other.  I had originally said that I could probably go a full month without eating at the same place twice; it ended up being 26 days, spread over six weeks–since I don’t eat at mall food courts on weekends.  I plan on putting together a Top Ten list tomorrow, but in the meantime…

On Monday I ate at McDonald’s, where apparently the McRib isn’t back if you’re in Canada.  Tis a shame I couldn’t wash it down with a Shamrock Shake, either.

Aroma Cafe not only smells good, but it tastes even better!

You know what I wondered on Wednesday?  Whether Sushi-Q has to pay royalties to John Fogerty…

Today I had the lamb again at Jimmy the Greek.  It wasn’t quite as good as last time; clearly, it had spent more time out of the oven and behind the counter before making its way into my mouth.  Still a pretty solid deal for $8.99, though.

URBAN EATERY ODYSSEY Day 26: Sushi-Q

Posted by gruesomegreg on

It only seemed fitting to end my journey right where it began—or close enough, anyways.  My first week at the Urban Eatery, I ate at Akashiro, the sit-down Japanese restaurant, so this time I just grabbed some sushi at Sushi-Q.

I had what was called a Dynamite Roll, which was shrimp, cucumber, and seaweed sushi topped with an orange hot sauce, along with a bowl of miso soup.  Considering that it hardly seemed like a lot of food, it was surprisingly filling.

And thus marks the end of my adventure.  I will have to come up with a Top 10 list or something in a day or two.

URBAN EATERY ODYSSEY Day 25: Aroma Cafe

Posted by gruesomegreg on

I used to live right down the street from an Aroma in the Annex (and no, I’m not talking about the smell coming from that parkette behind the subway station), though I had never been.  I suppose I’m not much of a coffee drinker.

That said, this place offers several options for breakfast and lunch, as well.  I had the steak sandwich, with steaming-hot thin slices of beef topped with onions, red peppers and cheese between two larges slices of fresh bread.  I also had a raspberry iced tea, which was quite tasty.  Maybe next time, I’ll try the coffee…

URBAN EATERY ODYSSEY Day 24: McDonald’s

Posted by gruesomegreg on

This new-age, modern-day Micky D’s features black granite countertops, leather stools, a self-service drink machine—which is great, since they always add too much ice at these places—and digital video display screens, reminding you of the content of their 100 per cent pure Canadian soap, erm, beef.  Located right by the south entrance to the Urban Eatery, this is certainly prime real estate.

Not that the food’s any different, mind you.  The Southwest Chicken sandwich, which remains one of the more edible menu items, tastes pretty much the same here as anywhere else, though they slathered it with a bit too much “special sauce” this time around.  Service was as fast as ever, and aside from the décor, there was little difference between this and any other McDonald’s.

Then again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  I shudder to think what the Golden Arches would do with upscale menu items like steak or salmon.  Alas, it’s probably best to stick with the status quo here…

URBAN EATERY ODYSSEY: Week Five Recap

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Week Five is my second-last week in the food court.  In fact, were it not for the Thanksgiving holiday, I could’ve been done by now.  In any case, I’ll hafta come up with some full recap/ranking/top 10 list or something once I reach the end of my journey by the middle of next week.

On Monday, I had Crepe de licious, which isn’t just for dessert anymore(!)

My mouth nearly exploded eating the roast lamb at Jimmy the Greek.  Best food court meal ever.  I’m fucking serious!

Jugo Juice does not a meal make, though I could probably live off of gelato if I had to.

Finally, Thai Express prepared my pad thai so quickly that they forgot to add the vegetables.  Even if I am a meatatarian, I coulda used some broccoli or something…

(It all ends next Wednesday, folks!)