Ate My Way Through the Harbourfront Centre

Pigeons Having A Conversation
Two pigeons having a conversation at Union Station

To celebrate Canada’s birth I headed down to the Harbourfront Centre, mainly to eat bacon.
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For $7, Barque Smokehouse offered a plate of bacon samplers. There was a mini smoked pork belly with pineapple skewer, peameal bacon taco, a smoked tofu with lettuce, bacon wrapped sausage, nachos and lastly a root beer float with candied bacon. To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed. It was too bite size to really give you a bacony kick. I think I would have preferred to pay more to have a full-sized version of each of these things made in less of a rush.

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Does anybody else find this sign hilarious?

Luckily, there was plenty to eat at The Harbourfront Centre. There were many vendors around and some worldly offerings at the World Cafe. Maybe since it was Canada’s Day, two corners were occupied by our country.
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Beaver Tail!

A beaver tail felt like an obvious choice considering it was Canada’s birthday. In case my American readers don’t know, it is deep fried dough (sort of like a churro or fountain cake) in the shape of a beaver tail and served with a variety of yummy toppings. They are usually quite rare in city and are mainly found out East or at ski resorts. Anyway we chose a light offering of apple cinnamon.

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Does not actually contain any Kool-Aid

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To wash it down, I had a fruity alcoholic drink called Krazy Kool-Aid. It was sweet and refreshing despite not having any actual Kool-Aid. We enjoyed some tunes from The Toronto Mambo Project as we enjoyed our drinks.

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IMG_8814We returned a little later to the World Cafe to sample the other Canadian offering Portobello Burger which had various vegetarian dishes on the menu. We ordered the Tasty Tacos and the Portobello Burger. The tacos had black beans & garbanzo beans, sauteed in onions and cooked in a tomato sauce. It was served in hard corn tostados with a traditional Mexican salsa and topped off with an old cheddar cheese. The cilantro was generous and even though it was a hard shell taco, it wasn’t messy at all. The portobello burger was served on a whole grain Ciabatta bun. It contained chipotle mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, sweet red peppers, and goat cheese melted into a portobello mushroom cap. For a vegetarian burger, we ate it before remembering to take a photo of it.

When we were not eating, we explored some of what Harbourfront Centre had to offer. We were quite entertained by some hilarious karaoke rap. I totally should have busted out some Eminem but I thought that was not clean enough for the diverse audience. We ventured into the buildings to see what was in them and discovered an Architectural gallery as well as another with Inuit art. At Paws Way they celebrated Canada’s Day with a presentation of Canadian dogs and cats. Here are some random photos:
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Harbourfront Centre’s fireworks had happened on Sunday so I headed home to see some with dad at Mississauga Celebration Square.

Fireworks @ Celebration Square

Fireworks @ Celebration Square

 

 

Jerk Pulled Pork @ Barton Snacks

I didn’t really post anything last week because I was at NXNE. It was pretty hectic and even meals proved cumbersome unless they were quick and on the go. I was in the Queen West area on Thursday and wasn’t feeling Poutini’s so opted for something different. I ended up in Barton Snacks!
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Inside they had desserts like ice cream as well as savoury foods in the forms of sandwiches, tacos and hot dogs. I asked the people what they would recommend for a hungry person with no limitations and they suggested the jerk pulled pork sandwich.

I have never had jerk anything besides chicken before and I found this an interesting twist. It was very flavourful and a spicey! I also enjoyed the coco bread it was served in. It was not heavy, but enough to keep all the ingredients from falling apart.

In writing this post, I discovered there is another Barton Snacks in the Annex. Since I’m always in that area, it definitely warrants a visit.
Barton Snacks on Urbanspoon

Burger Day @ Wychwood Barns

IMG_2189Burger Week was last week and 64 restaurants around town put a special $5 on their menu. Yesterday, all these places gathered together at Artscape Wychwood Barns for Burger Day. Slider versions of the participating restaurants’ $5 burger were served all-you-can eat style.

IMG_2179The event started at 11am, but we didn’t arrive until 1:30. A few of the vendors had already given out all their burgers. If Soup Stock last year taught me anything, long lines don’t necessarily mean the best product. This pushed us to try some less buzzed places with shorter lines.

IMG_2181We pounced on Emma’s Country Kitchen’s line because it was short. This was a vegan burger but it was a nice light start. The crispy corn and chickpea fritter was actually very good! I could eat 10 of these.

IMG_2183IMG_2193Hey Meatball‘s slider was like a mini version of their sandwich with their signature tomato jam.

This juicy burger from Habits Gastropub looks pretty plain photo-wise but it had the best flavour. It was stuffed with short ribs and cheddar. The citrus beet-relish was my favourite part.

IMG_2191Gameday served up a classic tasting burger. I think mine was missing teh chimichurri.

IMG_2196IMG_2200New food start-up Bold Creations was the best finding of the day. Their burger was made with Boerewors a South-African sausage. Oh and there was also brie, and goat cheese. And a sauce with a kick. Definitely the flavour punch of the day.

IMG_2201Greasy spoon The Lakeview‘s slider had some crunchy onions.

IMG_2205I love The Works but I thought their (more half burger) slider was lacking the excitement that is usually found in the restaurant’s menu of 72 burgers.

IMG_2206IMG_2212IMG_2209Slider Revolution provided an Asian twist on our bunned friend and the other had a semi-sweet bacon jam.

IMG_2216We accidentally stood in Beer Bistro‘s line for fries that came in a generous portion (for free).

IMG_2218IMG_2221Utopia Cafe had a lovely Italian sausage and beef patty. It was juicy and had a spicey ketchup.

burgerStockyards had by far the longest line yesterday. Coincidentally we actually went to the actual restaurant on Friday to grab the full burger. It was so packed we had to sneak our burger to the McDonalds across the street to eat it. It was definitely worth the trip for their delicious chicken-fried-steak burger.

Next year I’m definitely going to try to get there close to opening hour!

Teppanyaki @ Iron Chef

dinner6Last night, our family celebrated my parent’s Anniversary at Iron Chef Steakhouse in Mississauga. Dad’s always looking for a good Teppanyaki place in the suburbs so we thought we’d give them a try.

dinner5As a starter, we had this sashimi platter ($7) with a selection of salmon, tuna, octopus. It was very fresh.
dinner4We each had our own entree off the Teppanyaki menu. They were all served with rice, salad (with Thousand Island dressing) and miso soup.

The chef fired up all our dishes (quite literally) performing tricks with knives. I didn’t see the salt and pepper toss that I’d seen previously at other similar establishments.
dinner7To add some humour to the cooking, the onion volcano fire was put out with this little thing (which I hope contains only water).

dinner1I ordered the Filet Mignon and it was seasoned with butter. The meat was very tender and melt in your mouth. The portions were quite generous totally 8oz no matter what you ordered (well 10oz if you had chicken). Dad had scallops and it still came in 8ozs which is usually rare for seafood. It was a little bit pricier than other Teppanyaki restaurants but the portions are definitely more worth it. Here you are paying more for the food than the show.
dinner2The meal ended with some complimentary icecream.

Overall I enjoyed the food at Iron Chef. However I want to make some comments about the service. I found our waiter to be very rushed. She had warned us that there were was a major reservation at 8:30, which was no big deal considering we got there at 7pm. The whole process of ordering, cleaning plates, asking about dessert and handing the bill seemed very rushed. The food and the chefs are excellent but I recommend a reservation if you plan on having dinner here in the future.
Iron Chef Japanese Steak House Asian Cuisine‎ on Urbanspoon

The Tulip


We were down by the Woodbine beach area for Victoria’s Day and decided to hit up some local eats. There was too long of a line for fast things and ended up in a diner called The Tulip. The menu was reasonably priced.

I ordered the 2-piece fish and chips and Nash had the chicken parmesan sandwich. Some random buttered bread was served as we waited for our food. The service was very nice. The food portions were gigantic. However, I found my fish and chips to lack seasoning. There wasn’t really any salt on the fries, so I seasoned it myself at the table. My stomach was also iffy after which was horrible since we were hanging by the beach for the rest of the night.

Tulip on Urbanspoon

Bacon Crackers from Fita Spreadz

baconWhile I was grocery shopping with Mom at the Asian grocery store, I came across these Fita Spreadz crackers from the Philippines. These were borderline weird but as a bacon lover I just had to try them.

bacon2They were individually packaged so you could have some on-the-go like the people in their commercials.

bacon3They looked a lot like giant ritz bits sandwiches and the aroma of bacon was enough to get Teddy wanting some too. The verdict: they weren’t as weird as I’d expected. They were creamy like cheese cracker sandwiches but saltier.

The downside was that it left an after taste that was kind of like when you eat a package of dried Mr. Noodles. Fita Spreadz also comes in a spicy tuna flavour, but that seems even more frightening than bacon.

Pho @ The Guava Hamilton

I spent some time this week in Hamilton visiting grandma. Me and my sister Livia decided to head to find some Pho in the area and found The Guava. Inside it looked like it had been recently renovated.
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We shared an order of shrimp summer rolls. Presentation wise they were very beautiful but the giant lettuce was a bit impractical. When you finished the roll you’d be left with a chunk of lettuce.
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We both had different vermicelli. I ordered the shredded pork and Livia chose chicken. The portion sizes were generous and the fish sauce was flavourful. The pork itself was flavourful and the vegetables well pickled.

The prices were a bit more expensive than similar restaurants in Toronto, but the quality of the food was great.
GUAVA Vietnamese-Thai Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Lunch @ Northwood

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Yesterday I was at the Exclaim! office helping out and for lunch I was looking for something sandwich-y. I remembered Northwood opened up close-by. I went in and asked if they served food. Although they didn’t have a formal menu yet, they gave some sandwich suggestions.

northwood3I had a turkey sandwich with a mini edamame salad. It was only around $5 ish. I enjoyed the light seasoning on the beans. The sandwich had an interesting dijon mustard, cheese and lettuce.

northwoodIt’s a cafe, so I had to buy some coffee. I had a mocha.

I heard Northwood is also a great night-time hangout with cocktails and draft beer. It’s hard to believe this cozy little new place used to be a dingy Chinese restaurant.

Northwood on Urbanspoon

Frankie’s Burgers

I saw Frankie’s on Restaurant Makeover but I didn’t know it was right at Queen and Ossington (an intersection I frequent). The new signage bravely deems it “World’s Best Burgers” and as a burger lover, I had to try it.

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I had the Smokin’ Hot Honey with a side of fries. It had jalapenos, crunchy onions jalapehno havarti, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and smoke mayo. It was pretty much the meat lovers type of burger. My favourite part of it was probably the sweet BBQ sauce. The fries were homemade with sea salt. The portion sizes were very generous

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Nash had the Aristotle burger which was a lot like a Greek salad on a burger. His sweet potato fries came with BBQ sauce.

While the burgers were pretty good I don’t know if I’d consider them the “World’s Best”. They’re not particularly unique or special but they definitely don’t disappoint.

Frankie's Bar & Cafe on Urbanspoon

Tacos and Nachos @ La Burrita

La Burrita took over the spot near Christie station that used to house an Ethiopian restaurant. While it is only a block a way from our beloved Tacos El Asador, La Burrita does a more Mexican style of taco. There is even a huger variety of meat fillings you can choose from and at $2.90 the price is low enough to keep coming back to try them all.
taco2I had a Shrimp Taco and a Fish Taco. Both were battered really nicely with avocado and salsa fresca. It was moist and full of flavour that you didn’t need to ask for any additional salsa or hot sauce. Unlike some other places, there wasn’t any offered.
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Nash had the Chorizo and Chipotle Pork tacos. Both had rice, cheese, green sauce, sour cream and salsa. The chorizo was better than Al Asador’s because it was really moist.
taco1For some reason we couldn’t resist trying the nachos. They were a lot lighter than the usual nachos, mostly because we didn’t expect to finish them but we did. I enjoyed the freshness of the salsa verde with the fresca.
La Burrita on Urbanspoon