KHAO SAN ROAD

Khao San Road is Toronto's acclaimed Best Thai Food, featuring real fresh flavours from the streets of Thailand!

This place has been open for a while now, and I realized that I had never blogged about it. A little late to the game on this one,  but with a recent visit I thought this would be a good chance! Who doesn't love looking at pictures of some truly incredible Thai food?!

Open for lunch & dinner and located in Toronto's Entertainment District, Khao San Road is a perfect spot for a flavour filled quick lunch or a fun vibrant dinner. The feeling of the restaurant is not like your typical Thai restaurant! It is fun, lively and ALWAYS packed! A really homy & welcoming spot to be, with great tunes playing all the time.

Featuring a diverse menu Khao San Road has great appetizers for sharing (they are big!) and wonderful curries, noodles, specials and some of the best pad thai I have ever had! I adore pad thai, and if you do too, you know it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find a good pad thai in Toronto! But look no further, if you haven't been then I have answered your prayers, check it out! Featuring two types, Street Style and Chef's Style (Sweet, Sour or Savoury) you can't go wrong!

You must also get the Chai Nom Yen: an infusion of Thai spices and black tea mixed with condensed milk and served over crushed ice, also known as Thai Iced Tea! It is so delicious and refreshing! It is big though, so you could easily share between too because you don't want to fill up before the food from your drink!

Gaeng Massaman (curry) is my other favourite, and a favourite of a good friend who spent a lot of time in Thailand! She informed me that this Massaman is equally as good as the ones she ate while travelling. This dish is, "The only Thai curry with a twist of tamarind, cooked with onions, peanuts, potatoes, and bay leaves, topped with crispy fried shallots." So incredibly tasty!!

Another appetizer I tried were the Gra Bong squash fritters! A really light batter on shredded squash seasoned with ginger, lemongrass and red curry. These were a great start to a meal!

For a wonderful dinner (or lunch!) filled with real Thai food, making you feel like you are in the middle of the road in Bangkok, check out Khao San Road!!!

Khao San Road

326 Adelaide St West

647 352 5773

www.khaosanroad.ca

@khaosanroadTO

photo credit: my own

CATCH

Catch, a new seafood themed restaurant opened early February on St Clair West kitty corner to its sister restaurant The Rushton, and I had the pleasure of going last week!

Lately I have been seafood obsessed! I never used to be one to order fish off a menu, but with this new found love I seem to be ordering it all the time! It's nice to start comparing a different type of food, usually I go for the meats or pasta choices but now I am having so much fun trying out the different fish varieties that menus have to offer. The most popular these days I have found are trout, Arctic char and halibut!


So, I went to Catch, a seafood restaurant with a menu featuring oysters, mussels, scallops, salmon, smelts, char, halibut, tuna belly and sea bream, you really can't go wrong. Catch lived up to every expectation I had for a place specializing in seafood. It's not everyday you find beautiful cooked fish, but everything at Catch was pure perfection. Our waiter was incredibly knowledgeable, sharing interesting facts about many of the menu items. Such as the oysters, which come in three sizes. And the smallest of oysters was one of the only original oysters native to North America. Most other varieties have been brought over and then grown, but the small ones they had at Catch were a true native oyster!


Since living on the East Coast for four years I have become a mussel connoisseur, and I know that mussels are not always delicious or fresh when you aren't on a coast! I'm also not always a fan of the larger mussels as I find they don't always have a nice texture and taste fishier. But the mussels at Catch were nothing like a bad batch of mussels. They were rich and luxurious, cooked to perfection accompanied by tomato, garlic confit, sumac preserved lemon and parsley. 


For my main I had the Arctic Char accompanied with roasted artichokes, Kalamata olives, cherry tomato, and a tarragon buerre blanc. This was truly heavenly! I didn't want it to end! With warm olives and blistered cherry tomatoes and a tarragon beurre blanc, how could I go wrong?!


The other great thing about Catch is that are serving environmentally responsible fish through their partnerships with Oceanwise. They use fish that are line caught, and responsibly farmed and making sure to stay away from products that are endangered or fished by drag nets. 


The meal was truly special, and with a small dining room seating I'd say around 35-40, the restaurant was just humming! A definite gem on the St Clair West strip, Catch is not to be missed!!


ps. Order the side of brussel sprouts! Just wonderful!!

774 St Clair Ave West

Tues-Sunday 4pm-Close

416 658 0568

THE BLACK HOOF

If you know Toronto's food scene, you know that The Black Hoof if now one of the best spots in town, loved and adored by the critics. I have been itching to go for months now, but was always nervous to try it on a Friday or Saturday since they don't take reservations! I finally went! With my three classmates from George Brown on a Monday night, at 6pm. By 6:25, the place was almost full - on a MONDAY!

The Black Hoof is cozy on the inside fitting about 25 including bar seats, decorated with dim lighting, rustic wood and tin. The kitchen is open and the smallest I have ever seen. Four of them squeezed into a tiny cube with an old-school electric oven that one would expect to see at a cottage. As someone learning to be a chef, the respect I felt for that team after seeing that was insane!

As the Monday I went was a gorgeous night we decided to sit on the patio that had recently just opened. The patio is constructed of beautiful wood with a large image on a pig on one wall and two chalkboard menus, one for the drinks and one for the wine. We started with the Hoofs creative cocktails, a basil fawlty (gin, orange blossom water, lime, simple syrup and basil), a tequila Maria and two lemon meringue-inspired cocktails sweetened with a lavender simple syrup called lillypies.

We instantly devoured the menu and settled on ten different sharing plates. The Black Hoof is really a place where you go to share food. The dishes are meant for that, as the mains are smaller then one might expect a typical main to be. We started off with house-pickled vegetables, warm marinated olives, a cheese board and of course the famous meat platter. On the meat platter we had a wild selection! Genoa salami, duck proscuitto, fennel salami, sopressata, spicy sausage and horse mortdaella. The meats were arranged carefully on a beautiful wooden plank and served with grainy mustard and lavendar lard. A crazy duo but one that worked very well! The thing I loved most about The Black Hoof was the time they took to make their food pairings perfect. For example on the cheese board, the cheese were paired accordingly with a red current and rosemary jelly, a nutmeg and blueberry jam and a hazelnut and vanilla sauce with a bourbon glaze on the apples. Each component on their own was as lovely as when they were paired with the specific item. The originality behind the flavours at The Black Hoof is sheer culinary genius, as we all agreed at the end of the meal.

 Marinated Olives

 The Cheese Board

The Charcuterie Board

The complexity yet simplicity is apparent in each dish, and with every dish presented on a different type of plate, there was just such excitement when each dish was brought to the table! The real winner of the meal was the fried sweetbreads finished with fiddleheads (in season right now!), sautéed ramps, fingerling potatoes finished with a velvety butter sauce. My other favourite was the  N'Duja and brussel crostini with a parsley pesto, fried parsley and fresh Parmesan (N'Duja is sort of like chorizo in my mind, a bit spicy!) You can tell that the quality of the ingredients used is there, and when we talked with one of the owners, Jen she told us that they are constantly changing the accompaniments of each dish according to the season.

 N'Duja Crostini

 Tongue on Brioche

 Fiddleheads

The concept behind The Black Hoof is meat, taking on the philosophy of snout-to-tail (aka using the whole animal, not just one piece.), where they use different sorts of meat and make the off cuts available to the general public. For example on their menu is horse, beef heart, sweetbreads, cod collar, fois gras, duck liver, tongue and pig belly. What a crazy selection! But they know what they are doing, and their execution is perfect. Never have I tried horse or sweetbreads, but both were extremely pleasurable to eat, something I would have never imagined!

The mood in The Black Hoof was calm but you could just feel all of the love and passion from everyone working there to those eating. The general manager and part owner Jen just finished off our meal perfectly by talking with four star struck chef school students on our way out. I will most definitely be heading back to the Hoof as soon as possible. 

And as my classmate, friend and fellow blogger Carl put it, The Black Hoof - "Where capicollo, chorizo and prosciutto happily clog the menu and your arteries."



photo credit: carl and his cool iphone

AGAVE Y AGUACATE

A newly opened hole in the wall in Toronto's Kensington Market, Agave & Aguacate has become my newest Mexican obsession! Run by Chef Francisco Alejandri, a former Stratford Chef School grad, this Mexican stall you could almost call it (as it is in a store with about four other vendors selling their own specialties) focuses on "Fresh Mexican take-out with quality in mind." Featuring the "tostada", Agave & Aguacate is quickly making a name for themselves, being named a daily lunch pick by the Toronto Life. A tostada is a dish where the base is a toasted form to hold the meal. In this case Alejandri's tostada is a fried tortilla so that it puffs up and is light crispy and airy.

He has two different options, the ting tostada and the green tostada. The ting tostada which was written about in the Toronto Life (which both friends I went with had!) was topped with chipotle chicken, creamy avocado, some Mexican crema fresca and slivered red onions lightly marinated in lime juice and salt.

Of course I had to go for the one that included guacamole, hence the green tostada. Expecting the guacamole to already be made, I was over the moon when Alejandri began to make it fresh by hand with ripe green avocados, lime juice, salt and some jalepeno. Super simple, incredibly flavourful. It was then topped with a large slice of queso fresco (a Mexican cheese, quite mild), some cream (much like sour cream) and a whole plum tomato that was sliced so perfectly and delicatley you would think his hands were that of a surgeon! The tomato was seasoned with just a little bit of salt and then the whole tostada was topped with guajillo - a type of dried chili pepper.

The day I went was also miserably cold and rainy and the pinto bean soup option just jumped off the blackboard at me! I love pinto beans, and with some toasted tortilla strips and a little queso fresco in the bottom, this soup could not have been more warming or delicious. A great start as I stood watching Alejandri make our tostada's! And finally for dessert - (this meal seriously came to a total of 15$ for the three items!) Lime Charlotte, a decadent lime cake that when served is drizzled with fresh lime juice, lime zest and a splash of good quality olive oil. The cake was extremley moist and the cream held so well with the lime flavouring. Needless to say, the three of us were extremley impressed. Alejnadri's skills are sensational, my eyes were glued to the precision, speed and perfectness of the food he prepared! I one day hope to have skills like that!

For an amazing Mexican fresh lunch or light dinner I urge you to try Agave & Agucate!

Agave y Aguacate, 214 Augusta Ave. (look for El Gordo Fine Foods), 647-208-3091.

LOVE FOR FABBRICA

Tonight my dad and I were picking up my brother from a hockey practice out at the 401 & Kennedy, so for dinner we wanted something closer to the 401, without sacrificing taste however! Automatically we thought of Fabbrica, Mark McEwan's newest restaurant to the McEwan chain.

Fabbrica is located at the Shops at Don Mills, but surprisingly received quite some negative criticisms at first, making me a little bit more hesitant than normal. But boy was I wrong, it completely surpassed all of my expectations. Fabbrica was the perfect spot for a cozy Sunday wintry night dinner. We walked in early, around 6:15 and there were a few tables here and there, but by the time we left at 7:30 it was completely packed with a lineup to get in! Talk about a perfect neighbourhood spot.

Fabbrica is authentic Italian cuisine, sourcing products from Italy with iconic Italian style decor! Very chic and very cool to say the least with a beautiful wood-burning brick pizza oven from Naples. Traditional for the perfect Neopolitan pizza, with a temperature of 900 degrees the pizzas are done in a rapid 90 seconds!

To start we shared a salad, which in my opinion was the star of the show. A roasted yellow and purple beet salad with arugula, prosciutto, toasted pistachios and goat cheese in a light simple olive oil dressing. From there we moved onto the home made pasta dishes. The Casserace pasta (rapini, chilies and house made pork sausage) for me and the Papardelle pasta for my dad (braised shortrib, tomato and basil). We decided we couldn't pass up the pizza so we decided to try the Capicollo (mozzarella, hot capicollo, basil and tomato) pizza with hopes of bringing the leftovers to my little brother (That definitely didn't happen! lol).

The meal was truly great, Italian is my favourite and nothing beats a good home cooked feel Italian meal. This is exactly what Fabbrica was. With a vibrant and exciting decor and a view of their house curing room and pizza oven, Fabbrica is the perfect spot for a Sunday meal, date night, a large group of family or friends or to introduce those to Toronto's great culinary scene! And with complimentary parking on a snowy night, what could be better?!

Buon appetito!

To learn more and check out their menus visit: http://www.fabbrica.ca/


photo credit: fabbrica & google images

TORONTO'S BEST WINTER COCKTAILS

 I just adore Toronto Life's daily dish! Their blog is so great and always up to date with the interesting finds in Toronto. This week it is "Core-Warming Winter Cocktails." I don't usually use a full article from Toronto Life, but I thought this one was really cool and would be fun to share.

"Interesting" drinks are popping up all over the city these days, not only are different menus becoming important but the drinks list that comes along with it is getting equally as playful! Fun drinks are all the rage, whether it is alcoholic or not, a drink is becoming another star in the food show!

Here are some of Toronto's hottest new drinks for the winter! Another drink that I think could be added to the list is Campagnolo's caesar, whose ingredients include cilantro and chili-infused vodka!

Have you tried any of them?!

Hot Buttered Rum
The perfect après-ski (or après–afternoon of shopping): Sailor Jerry spiced rum and compound butter (cinnamon, clove, brown sugar, lemon zest and butter) steeped in hot water. $12. Sidecar, 577 College St., 416-536-7000.

My Darling Clementine
House-made gingerbread syrup lends a subtle molasses flavour to this mimosa-esque mix of prosecco, Grand Marnier and fresh-squeezed clementine juice. $14. Ruby Watchco, 730 Queen St. E., 416-465-0100.

Winter Jacket Fellow
A soothing mash-up of two traditional cold-weather treats—mulled wine and hot apple cider—ups the ante with a dose of Zubrówka bison grass vodka. $9. Brockton General, 1321 Dundas St. W., 647-342-6104.

S’mores Hot Chocolate
Nutty Frangelico and Navan fortify a serving of Soma’s sinful malted milk hot chocolate. Topped with a melty house-made marshmallow and a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs, it’s tastier (and tidier) than its campfire namesake. $10. Luma, TIFF Bell Lightbox, 330 King St. W., 647-288-4715.

So Martini
Caffeine fiends can get their fix with a potent combination of vanilla vodka, Baileys, Chambord and a kick of espresso. $11. Table 17, 782 Queen St. E., 416-519-1851.

Parkdale Bake
A maple, baked butternut squash and sage syrup forms the savoury centrepiece of this gentlemanly blend of Maker’s Mark and sweet
vermouth. A crisped sage leaf adds an earthy embellishment. $10. Local Kitchen, 1710 Queen St. W., 416-534-6700.

Blitzen
A bracing mix of muddled lime, lemon-ginger syrup, Johnnie Walker Red Label and prosecco is garnished with cranberries, a rosemary sprig and powdered sugar for a pretty twist on the whiskey sour. $12. Grace, 503 College St., 416-944-8884.

Spanish Flip
Forgo the calorie-dense cream of eggnog, and indulge in a frothy concoction of Pedro Ximénez sherry, egg yolk, spice syrup (cinnamon, allspice, clove), lemon juice and nutmeg. $11. The Drake, 1150 Queen St. W., 416-531-5042.

photo credit: courtesy of Toronto Life Daily Dish

HOOF CAFE

There have been so many wonderful articles written about the Hoof Cafe - that those of you who know it, know that every word of praise is true. For those of you who don't, let me introduce you to the Hoof Cafe, sister restaurant to The Black Hoof (Toronto's famous charcuterie restaurant making headlines left right and center)! I recently had the luxury of visiting this cafe prior to its closing on February 28th! (So for those of you who haven't gone, you MUST get there! But be prepared to wait! The line up last weekend was an hour long!) I went last Friday for brunch with my friend, fellow blogger and George Brown classmate Carl! We had been dying to go, and knew we had to get there before it was gone forever.

The place is perfect, if I could one day own a spot like that my life would be complete. About 30 seats, with 12 of them being at the bar, the space is bright, lovely and oh so cafe like. With a beautiful rustic bar, a neat aluminum ceiling and big windows along the front wall, you just feel like you are in a dream cafe. The most perfect spot for brunch, I can't believe I only got there once!

The food like the space is just to die for! No wonder they have received non-stop praise! Based around a meat-based theme restaurant, Hoof Cafe offers the neatest combination's! French toast with Foie Gras for brunch, oh la la! I had the "Suckling Benny" (Eggs Benedict with some suckling braised pig underneath) and a side of their hay ham with a lovely streak of Dijon mustard on the plate! When we walked in the door we saw a beautiful lemon meringue tart on display. The look of it alone had Carl and I knowing it could not be passed up! It was the most light & refreshing dessert to end a delectable brunch! (Thanks to the tart Meyer lemons and the fresh mint sprig)

For more on Hoof Cafe and The Black Hoof visit : http://theblackhoof.com/food/

Please please please! I beg you to try this brunch spot (or even for dinner too) before it is gone. It truly is one of Toronto's bests! Now for my next adventure... THE BLACK HOOF!

photo credits: my own

PRAISE FOR TORONTO'S THE BLACK HOOF

The Black Hoof (and Hoof Cafe) of Toronto are turning into the trendy spots to go for meats - serving up rarely seen items like HORSE and other great meats including, prosciutto, jamon iberico, charcuterie, pork, duck, pork belly, bone marrow and fois gras!

Recently Gordon Ramsey dined there and in an interview with Food Network about new trends, praised the restaurant for their ability to use a unique ingredient, and make it wonderful!

For more on The Black Hoof visit:  http://theblackhoof.com/

BUCA BUCA BUCA!

 I am just beyond excited to post about BUCA Restaurant in Toronto! I have been DYING to go here and my I was finally dazzled by all that BUCA has to offer!

A new addition to Toronto's restaurant scene, and voted one of EnRoute's top 10 new restaurants in Canada, BUCA has taken Toronto by storm - booked solid! I luckily squeezed in last Thursday with over a week's notice for a reservation! Someone must be doing something right!

BUCA is just off King St. (at Portland Ave) down a little alleyway in a historic building's old boiler room. The space is incredibly cool, fitting right into the King St. vibe! Old wooden tables, a glass wine cellar, open concept kitchen, brick walls and hanging lumieres give the space a beautiful rustic feel. We were seated right in front of the fabulous wine cellar and our server was just excellent. The speed of the service was impeccable, and a relaxing 2 hour dinner just somehow flew by!

Before we even opened the menu for the food we saw the "date stamp," it has each day in order to incorporate the daily specials into the menu! Very cool. The menu is edgy Italian. The usual meats and cheeses to start, very simple fresh salads, an array of pastas, meat and fish and then some great "bianca" (white) & "al pomodoro" (red sauce) pizzas (which have little silver scissors to cut it up)!

To start, charcuterie of course! Three meats, three cheeses. Some of the best pairings I have had. Each meat and cheese is paired with an accompaniment, and the detail that went into each of those pairings is truly incredible. The taleggio cheese was the star of the show for me!

Another must have to start - the "nodini" - warm bread knots with olive oil, garlic, rosemary and sea salt. I could have popped those little knots all night! 

To balance out the heavy meats and cheeses, the ever refreshing "arance e ravanelli" - naval and blood orange salad with heirloom radish, red onion, 30-year vinegar, olive oil and basil. This salad was a perfect combination of sweet, sour, and texture. A little crunch from the radish, just lovely!

Before heading to BUCA I had read quite a few reviews just to get a sense of what the best main dishes were and the duck ragu kept popping up everywhere! However the minute I opened the menu my heart was stolen by the "mezze lune" pasta - sugar pumpkin filled pasta with taleggio fonduta, pregiato truffle and toasted pumpkin seeds. Pure bliss. What an incredible winter dish, from the pumpkin to the creamy taleggio sauce, topped with what else? TRUFFLES! By I convinced my date to go for the "bigoli" - hand cranked duck egg pasta with duck ragu, mascarpone and basil. This was a serious meat sauce, for all you general meat sauce lovers out there, this once TAKES the cake! (Also voted best pasta dish in Toronto by Toronto Life!!) Such a light pasta, and the mascarpone cheese is so light as it is that the dish just felt like it was floating on air!

To finish it up dessert of course. There was no way I was skipping dessert after a meal like that. I was so conflicted as to what to get - so I had to ask the waiter to weigh in, and the dessert of choice - panna cotta! Goat yogurt and vanilla panna cotta with red wine poached pear granita and concord grape "mosto cotto" served with an orange and semolina biscotti. What a mouthful in itself! I have to say the biscotti were quite dry but the panna cotta was the most creamy dessert I think I have ever had. It was perfectly smooth, chilled and with a crunch cool flavoured granita on top, the combo was a smash success! (Note: granita is a frozen Italian ice dessert)

The meal finally ended, much to my dismay, I could have stayed there all night. But BUCA fully lives up to the expectation. Rob Gentile has done a wonderful job with the place, with his training from mentor Mark McEwan fairing him well. So for all you Italian lovers wanting real, fresh, simple yet complex Italian food, this is the place for you. A great spot for parties and groups, BUCA should be at the top of your restaurant list! BUON APPETITO!

photo credit: my own and google images

TASTES OF TOMORROW

I have officially started day one of my Culinary Management program at the George Brown Chef School!

One of the perks of starting here was learning about the student run Tastes of Tomorrow program.The program is run by the students at the Chef school and the club is funded by the membership fees and admissions at all the events! Fees are $35 per school year, or $10 at the door. Membership and attendance to all the events are open to anyone!

The three main components of the club are, "Education, Networking and Social Awareness."

Education

• Invite Toronto’s best chefs and culinary experts to offer their personal and professional stories and demonstrate their talents
• Organize culinary related fieldtrips

Networking

• Develop the skills necessary to establish professional relationships of the highest standard
• Hold symposiums where students can be inspired by the influential leaders of our community
• Collaborate with already existing Associations and work towards common goals

Social Awareness

• Promote awareness around such issues as food sustainability, food history and diversity
• Showcase conscientious local producers who’s businesses are helping to promote social change
• Come together to help people in our community in need, using food as our vehicle to communicate our support
  

This coming Thursday, one of the culinary wizard in the Toronto food scene - Rob Gentile of BUCA Restaurant will be the featured guest at Tastes of Tomorrow! Rob is one of Toronto's most talked about chefs right now, after training under his mentor Mark McEwan, Rob's restaurant BUCA has skyrocketed to the top restaurant lists in the city and country! Interested in attending? RSVP to tastes@georgebrown.ca ... After just eating at BUCA last week and having enjoyed one of the best meals of my life - I could not be more excited for this event! 

For more on upcoming events visit: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=11307262142

photo credit: taste of tomorrow & mcleans.ca

PORCHETTA & CO.

Twitter sometimes really is just the best, because it is through people you are following that you discover really cool new places - and for me, this was Porchetta & Co. I started following them before they had opened, and have been waiting patiently for the opening to try out their mouthwatering porchetta sandwiches! With the business of the Christmas season finally over, I just got there yesterday, and I am so happy that I did. I ended up going on a solo mission after my orientation for George Brown Chef School but after raving to my friends for the past day, I think there will be many more visits to come!

The place is small and specializes stricly in porchetta based sandwiches. They have a porchetta plate, soups, delicious sides and great sauce&toppings for the super simple yet flavour filled sandwich.

Simple and real food, former Canoe and Drake Hotel chef Nick auf der Mauer knows what he is doing. Focusing on one exciting ingredient keeps it simple yet fabulous. The porchetta filling is a trio of tender pork shoulder, salty prosciutto and fatty cured belly. You could literally hear the crack from the crispy exterior being broken as the sandwich was being made. Talk about one small little noise knowing how to excite someone for the delicious lunch to come!

 

The sandwhich I ended up getting was topped with rapini and their truffle sauce. Truffles, me? Duh! But there are so many other great topping combinations that I will be sure to try!

Porchetta & Co. is a real shop doing what they know best - porchetta. There is a lot of love and soul in the place, you just feel it the minute you walk in!

All you meat lovers head on over to Dundas West for a truly new sandwich experience. Keep up the amazing work!!

Porchetta & Co.

825 Dundas Street West

Toronto, ON

(647)352-6611

photo credit: porchetto&co twitter/facebook and my own images