Food – Page 28 – Tiana Feng

The Porch – A Rooftop Patio

August 10, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

On top of Adelaide Hall and Rock n’ Horse Saloon is a relatively new rooftop patio called The Porch. The place has a lovely unobstructed view of the CN Tower. I was there for a friend’s birthday and ordered a margarita which came in a bucket the size of my head. Considering it was around $10, it was a great value.

The menu features finger foods as well as pub food like burgers and ribs. I ordered the guacamole with corn chips to start ($14).

I also had the Korean Short Ribs ($15) which were served with market greens in a balsamic vinaigrette.

While I think it is a great place for drinks, I think the food is overpriced for what you get as they weren’t anything special. Also worth noting is that if you make a reservation, it doesn’t guarantee a table or your party’s spot in line. The few times I’ve been there, there was no cover, but I could also see this changing if it hasn’t already.

Interesting Food Combinations @ Lisa Marie

August 3, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Named after Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie the Toronto restaurant is owned by the same people behind the Fidel Gastro food truck. The decor includes an Elvis print. We were delighted by the experimental sounding menu. There’s always some sort of weird sounding twist almost as if you were playing the game “which one of these doesn’t belong?”. For example we started with the Pork Belly Chow Mein Pizza ($10 pictured above). The combination of crispy pork belly, king oyster mushrooms, chow mein, sweet and sour sauce on top of a deep fried pizza dough was playful but it actually worked surprisingly well together.

Nash I chose to share the Mac and Cheese, one of the day’s specials ($22). This was no regular Mac and Cheese. Inside the cheese itself was pulled pork and it was also topped with fresh Pico de Gallo (cilantro, tomato, avocado, green onions etc).There were probably a bunch of other ingredients I missed but the waitress did a great job of naming everything and making our jaw drop every time she explained a menu/special item. Despite the seemingly ridiculous sounding combination, this Mac & Cheese was delightful. Every spoonful was like a new adventure. It was also a generous portion that there was enough left over for the next day’s lunch.

The Lazy Sunday

Testa Dura

Another thing that can’t be ignored is their fabulously witty drink menu. Nash had The Lazy Sunday comprised of Hendricks gin, sunflower sprout lemonade and Jack Rudy Small Batch tonic. It had enough alcohol that if you had too many, you’d probably need to take an actual lazy Sunday. I had the Testa Dura (means “stubborn” in Italian). In it was Tromba tequila, Asperol, fresh lime and limonata. It was tart and refreshing at the same time. All the drinks will definitely give you your moneys worth in alcohol.

This photo looks a little funny, but it’s their play of Elvis in a Jar ($6). The jar consisted of maple/rum fried french toast, bacon, peanut butter marscapone, flambéed bananas topped with a big piece of crispy bacon. In a nutshell it was heaven and even though we were so stuffed from the rest of the meal this jar was definitely licked clean.

We were happy with the entire experience from the creative food to the friendly waitress who was very knowledgeable on all the dishes. At the end our bill came in a random cassette!

Bird’s Nests and Things @ Farmhouse Tavern

July 27, 2014July 27, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

It’s rare that we have time to have brunch, so when we do we go all out. After a lovely meal at Farmer’s Daughter, we thought visiting the parent restaurant Farmhouse Tavern was a must.

Like their name would imply, the restaurant serves up farm fresh food. I ordered their take on a Bird’s Nest, which was a poached egg over squash than the traditional bread. It was served with fresh vegetables such as asparagus and greens. I can’t remember entirely but I can remember that it was the best brunch I had ever eaten.

Nash had the Eggs Benedict with Gravlax and kale. Gravlax sounds like it could be a gross laxative, but it’s actually a Nordic cured salmon. The hollandaise sauce was seriously to die for. It was the perfect texture and flavour.

To wash it all down we had their Farmhouse Smoked Caesar which was topped with an oyster and asparagus. It had a unique flavour from caper berries. Their glasses informed us of different Canadian cities and I almost considered taking the Fredericton mug for my best friend.

If you’re ever in the mood to go on an indulgent brunch, Farmhouse Tavern is seriously the place to be!

The Few Delicious Things at TIME Fest

July 20, 2014July 20, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews, StreetLeave a Comment

TIME Festival took place yesterday and compared to the last few music festivals at Fort York, there was a severe lack of food choices. This led to long lines during meal times but I did manage to eat a few things.

The only literal food truck was Rancho Relaxo’s serving up tacos and Mexican food. I had the fish tacos. The fried fish was nice and crunchy and it wasn’t too heavy.

Small Town Food Co. ran a food stand with skewers for $6. The first of which I had was a watermelon and pork belly. I loved the sweetness of both the sauce and the watermelon together. Unfortunately, I only got one skewer at the time of my order but my friends ended up receiving two with theirs.

I returned to try the yakitori chicken and corn dog skewers later. The chicken was nicely seasoned and the corn dog had a lovely banana-like breading.

Next up was a corn dog with everything on it at Kungfu Dawg. It was messy but totally worth it.

Also from Kungfu Dawg were these home made ketchup chips. They were sweet, crunchy and very addictive.

Ice Lyte served up electrolyte freezies. They had a apple-pineapple flavour. The vendors explained that it was a special type of Ethiopian fruit.

TIME Festival banned water bottles (opened or not) and there was a lack of water-refilling station. Thankfully instead of buying the $4 water, people could also get free iced-tea from Nestea. They were testing out new flavours which included honey ginseng, mango and a half and half lemon tea.

There was only one other stand there that sold food but none of the options seemed intriguing enough. To future food festivals: make sure there are enough food choices for everyone’s needs!

A Food Tour of the Toronto Urban Roots Festival 2014

July 12, 2014July 13, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews, StreetLeave a Comment

Last year, I made an effort to highlight the food at Toronto Urban Roots Festival so I thought I’d do it again. The vendors were a bit different from last year’s but again featured mom and pop restaurants. Regrettably, I didn’t take not of the first vendor I went to, and they are not on the list of vendors on TURF’s website. I did get these delicious Kalbi-style ribs with grilled pineapple.

I also had this mushroom, spinach and cheese tapioca pancake from somewhere I don’t remember the name of (sorry for the total fail). I enjoyed the filling, but I wasn’t really a fan of the pancake itself. It was a little bit dry and I wasn’t a fan of the texture. I did have a friend with celiac, and she was very appreciative that there was this food option at a music festival though.

Steel Cut Coffee

Last year, Manual Labour coffee made me the best iced coffee I had ever tasted. However, the duo that originally ran it are off in Australia and sold the truck to Detour. Anyways, my caffeine cravings TURF weekend were satisfied by another mobile coffee truck Steel Cut Coffee. What was more amazing is that they had cookies and DONUTS. I had the Cookies and Cream and Captain Crunch donut and I haven’t stopped thinking about them ever since.

Greek On Wheels
All the way from Ottawa, Greek on Wheels was present to provide a variety of greek items including this shwarma. Warning: You might drip tzatziki on nearby audience members.

Bunz

Themes of “messy” and “delicious” were on the signage of Bunz. Nash and I shared the beef tacos and pulled pork buns. Both were flavourful and not as messy as we thought. The dough of the “buns” were soft and sweet like the asian ones.

Flying Chestnut Kitchen
By far my favourite discovery of the weekend was Eugenia, ON’s Flying Chestnut Kitchen. They served Indian Tacos which were chili beans, corn, lettuce, sour cream and more on top of fried dough. It’s definitely not what I thought a taco would be, but it was amazing. I washed it down with a sweet and refreshing strawberry lemonade.

Two Bite Saloon
I’ve been to the Two Bite Saloon restaurant before but at TURF they offered sliders that I didn’t originally have. My favourite was the spicy bacon wrapped sausage.

Bar Neon

June 28, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Bar Neon is a comfy tapas place on Bloor between Dufferin and Lansdowne. We walked in not knowing what to expect prior to the visit. I ordered a fruity drink (forgot what was in it) and Nash had an Old Fashioned.

The first item I ordered was the Fried Calamari ($8), which came in a generous portion and was nicely seasoned.

I also had the Lamb Chop. It was tender and delicious, I just wished there was more of it!

Nash had a classic burger and feta fries which were very addictive.

Bar Neon’s food was tasty, just keep in mind that it is a tapas restaurant so most of the dishes are small. The atmosphere is very laid-back and easygoing and they also have a big projector playing the World Cup games!

The Steady Cafe & Bar

June 22, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

We were having dinner with a vegan, so we decided to look up a place that served both meat and vegan options. Toronto has a variety of creative options, so I figured that it wouldn’t be a bad idea and we ended up at The Steady. There were a lot of gluten free options, but I wish there was the option to have ALL THE GLUTEN. For instance, the fish tacos ($7) I ordered, came out a weird unappetizing cardboard colour. The shell itself was hard and dry. It was unfortunate because the fish inside it was actually quite good.
Thankfully, I also ordered the Tequila Pine Burgerette ($7) with tequila glazed pineapple, apple slaw, and spicy mayo. It was tasty but I wished it was more than just a burgerette.

The others at the table tried the Portobello Pot Pie ($7), sweet potato skins and tostadas. The pot pie wasn’t worth the price as it was puny and contained what looked like frozen vegetables. My friends thought the tostadas were much better than my tacos (and were also gluten free). The loaded baked potato skin was less a skin and more of a baked sweet potato with beans.

There are a lot of great restaurants for vegan/vegetarian eats in Toronto but this is one that I don’t think I will be coming back to.

Fried Shrimp and Friendship @ Farmer’s Daughter

June 14, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

Farmer’s Daughter near Junction may be one of my favourite new eats. The seafood restaurant is the “daughter” of Farmhouse Tavern which is located right across the street. I haven’t actually been to the tavern yet, but I’m sure that will change soon! The daughter restaurant is still fairly new and open only for brunch and dinner on certain days.

The slogan “Fried shrimp and friendship” is plastered on their signage outside and on a neon sign inside. Obviously, we had to try the fried shrimp ($9). I totally felt where their slogan came from. The shrimp was so good I wanted to hog them to myself, but I love Nash enough that I would share. You would only share these shrimp with a good friend.

The Heart N Soul ($12) was a beautiful beef tartare with salsa verde served on a beef bone with goat cheese, an egg and more.

The Octopus ($20) had a squid ink vinaigrette, sunchokes, a creamy sauce and more. There was a lovely crunch paired with tender octopus. I loved that the ink wasn’t just for aesthetic but a part of the complex flavours.

I had an (alcoholic) drink but I forgot what it was. It was a rather tasty cocktail that I believe was apple tinged.

Since dinner was amazing, we couldn’t resist finding out what the $6 desserts where. There were two that night and we ordered BOTH because YOLO. Anyways, the first was an icecream sandwich made out of ginger cookies and chocolate mousse icecream.

The second was a homemade lemon rhubarb twinkie with homemade marshmallow. Let’s just say we were very glad to have ordered both desserts.

We hope Farmer’s Daughter changes their menu up once in a while (there menu was relatively small) but I can’t wait to come back for brunch and see what else they have to offer.

I Went on a Food Field Trip

June 12, 2014June 12, 2014Food, Snacks, Street1 Comment

Last week I attended Field Trip Music Festival for both days and since I wasn’t shooting it, I got to enjoy the music and of course, eat my way around. Here are some photos (from my camera and phone) of most of the things I tried.

Reuben Sandwich and Fried Mac n’ Cheese Balls from Food Dudes.

Seared Ahi Tuna and Octopus tacos from Buster’s Sea Cove.

A popsicle from Augie’s Ice Pops.

5 Cheese + Mushroom and Butter Chicken Hot Bunzz

Iced Coffee from Detour Coffee, which used to be the Manual Labour Coffee truck!

Fusion Pierogis from Saucy Pierogi.

Margherita Pizza from Bread Heads

“The Canadian” meat pie from Kanga

Mojito gelato fom Boreal Gelato

Bubble Cake with Icecream from Penny Lou Lou

In conclusion, the food was delicious and oh yeah, there was some awesome music too but I’ll talk about that somewhere else.

Rose City Kitchen

June 1, 2014June 1, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Easy lunch breaks and pre-concert hunger brought me into Queen West’s Rose City Kitchen a couple of times. The snack bar serves fresh sandwiches served in a half-cut pita bread. It is recommended that you get more than one each time if you are hungry, or at least one of the available sides. Sandwiches are only $5 each, so ordering multiple won’t hurt the wallet too much. Pictured above is the Greek sandwich with chicken. The ingredients include tzatziki, cucumber, red onions, tomatoes, lettuce, oregano, garlic oil and haloumi cheese. It was very flavourful and I loved the haloumi. Everything tastes very fresh as it’s all made to order. Be prepared to wait at least 10 minutes for food though, so it doesn’t work well if you are looking for something super quick.

Sorry for the ugly photo, but this was the Egyptian I ordered one day for lunch take out. In it was eggplant, red onions, chickpeas, dates, cabbage, lemon juice and garlic oil. Of the two sandwiches I’ve tried so far, I enjoyed the flavour combination of this the most.

Just because sandwiches are the main focus, doesn’t mean their sides weren’t worth trying. These home fries were crispy and generously seasoned. It is guaranteed that if you eat one, you will be addicted!