I found something better chips. FRIES?! Or at least this tastes eerily (or close enough) like fries. They are even crispy like all the time and perfectly salted. They are somewhat hard to find and seem to be out of stock a lot at the Asian grocery store. I must stock cabinets full of these.
Tag: fries
Crazy Poutines @ Poutineville
We were super excited to see Poutineville in Toronto. We’ve already visited a bunch of times, so I decided to hold on posting this until we tried a variety of things off their menu. The first one I tried was the Pizza Poutine (pictured above). Melted cheese and pepperoni were baked on top of fries, gravy, curds, green onions and bacon. It was a pizza and poutine lover’s heaven. The portion was obviously large enough to feed two. The owner even joked around and said he wouldn’t charge us if I could finish it.
Nash’s first poutine was The Dragon which had spicy chicken wings and peppers.
The most indulgent poutine was the Lamb & Feta poutine with brie. It was heavenly.
Nash also had this Nacho Cheese poutine. Not the most appetizing presentation but we can assure you that if you are a nacho lover you’d enjoy this!
These fried pickles aren’t poutine but paired well with the tangy sauce it was served with.
What we found interesting is that the gravy tasted slightly different in each poutine. We also didn’t find it as heavy as other places like Smokes or Poutinis and did not get sick of eating after a few bites (which tends to happen a lot for poutines).
Figgy Pudding
Citrus Perplexity
Poutina Margarita
Long Island Iced Tea
The Toronto menu is a lot different than what is posted on their website (which is based on their Montreal location. We’re also lucky to have mixologist Nishantha Nepulangoda create a crazy cocktail menu. Their twist on a margarita has: Vazadores Tequila, Cointreau, Amaretto, Orgeat syrup, lime juice, Angostura and fig juice. I can’t remember what was in some of the other ones, they are just so complex!
We’ll definitely be back soon to eat the rest of the poutines and make our way through more cocktails!
Truffle Mac & Cheese @ The Crest
Before going to The Crest, I accidentally Googled the menu for the Crest Gastropub in Columbus Ohio and did not notice until we actually got to restaurant. Luckily, the Crest on St. Clair West was a pleasant surprise and one of my new favourite discoveries. The 6-cheese Truffle Mac ($8) heavenly. It was so simple, yet complex and I would return for this item alone. It’s definitely the best Mac & Cheese I’ve ever tasted (and I’ve had some with bacon).
I also had an order of Sweet Potato Chips ($6) that was served with Maple Aioli. They were thin and lovely. Definitely better than chips with normal potatoes.
To sip on, I had the Crest Lemonade ($9) which consisted of vodka, cucumber, basil and lemonade. It was very refreshing and I liked the addition of basil.
Nash ordered one of the day’s special, a Steak Sandwich with a side of fries. It was very flavourful and the portion was generous.
I’m definitely glad we went here, even if it was sort of by accident! This menu turned out to be way better than the accidental restaurant we looked up. Don’t be intimidated by the fancy sign outside. It’s definitely worth walking in.
Burgers & Fries @ This End Up
We were in the Dundas West area for a party so we stopped by This End Up for dinner. A reservation is recommended. We didn’t have one and walked in randomly but luckily there was space at the bar. The space is relatively small and everywhere else was already reserved (Note: It was a Saturday).
I ordered the Chutney Burger ($14 pictured above) which had pork belly, cheddar, tomato and apple chutney, umami mayo and arugala. It was definitely one of the messier burgers I’ve eaten but it was totally worth the sticky hands. The chutney was flavourful and the burger cooked to a tender medium. The fries were so addictive that I finished them regardless of feeling full after the burger.
Nash went for the simpler Better Mac ($14) which was 2 ground patties, lettuce, cheddar cheese, pickles, onions and a special sauce. He ate it in minutes so I assume it was delicious.
We will definitely be back again when we’re in less of a rush to try some of their cocktails and other menu items.
Birthday Dinner @ Union Social Eatery
For my birthday, I hit up Union Social Eatery at their Mississauga location with my family and Nash. We ordered a little bit of everything from the menu.
As a starter Nash had the Killer Soup ($4.95). The type of soup varies every day and his was a Potato Bacon. He said it was okay, but it had corn which was unexpected and less creamy than he thought it would be.
These Parmesan Truffle Fries ($7.84) were very flavourful and addictive. The truffle flavour was only from the oil but that didn’t stop me from eating them all.
The Korean Short Rib Tacos ($9.96) melted in my mouth.
The House Braised Short Rib Firecracker was crunchy and served with a sweet chilli sauce.
Since it was my birthday I thought I’d try the Social Punch which was made with Amaretto, Southern Comfort, orange, cranberry and pineapple juice. It was so delicious I drank it before our food came.
My sister’s main was the Thai Red Curry Bowl ($13.96).
A few people ordered the Steak and Sushi which was a cute take on surf and turf. The steak was cooked in a Korean beef sauce and sliced and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The shrimp in the sushi was fried and it had a nice crunch.
Nash had the Korean Swordfish Steak ($18.98) served with veggies. I’ve never had swordfish before and I enjoyed that it wasn’t fishy tasting.
I ordered the Steak Frites ($19.73) but since I ordered truffle fries as an appetizer, I replaced it with a Candy House Salad. The steak was very juicy and flavourful. The Candy House salad was sweet and there were mini surprises of figs, mango, walnuts and more in every bite.
All the food was beautiful and delightful and I would definitely recommend it for a nice night out.
Burgers and Truffle Fries @ Holy Chuck
Last year, for Nash’s birthday, I started the tradition of taking him to a ridiculous burger joint. We do burgers all year, when they’re in the vicinity of where we happen to be but on birthdays we’ll actually travel for the next wacky thing. Anyway, this year we ended up at Holy Chuck at St. Clair Station.
Their menu has a variety of interesting creations. Nash ordered The Village Cow ($12.99), which had two patties and seared, melted kefalotiri cheese, red onions and greek olive oil. We’ve never heard of that cheese before, but it was deliciously fried and creamy. He also had a side of fries which came in a generous portion.
I went for the Le Croissant Du Paysan ($12.99), which was egg, pancetta, fries and burger on flakey croissants. The croissants were soft and sweet. Altogether the burger was like a very complete breakfast.
Ok time for the star of the show! Since it was his birthday, I totally splurged on the Black Truffle Fries. Real truffles were always a thing I dreamt about after watching too much Food Network but Holy Cow had actual shavings on their fries (and one of their burgers that we didn’t order)! There was also a nice aged cheese on the fries but we were more intrigued by the unique wood-like taste of truffle. It was really addictive. To top it off, it was also served with a truffle mayo. So much truffle, but so much delicious. These are fries I’m still thinking of a few days later.
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Bison Burgers @ W Burger Bar
I’m always up for trying burger places I haven’t been. I spotted W Burger Bar outside College station so me and Nash hit it up while we were in the area. The interior design was pretty fancy and I was actually surprised to find that the burgers were quite affordable. The menu contained bison, kobe beef, lamb, chicken and more. Both of us got bison burgers but added our own toppings. My burger had chipotle ketchup, bacon and sauteed onions. Nash added a portobello mushroom and monterey jack. I enjoyed my bison burger, it was nice and meaty and the ketchup was a nice pairing.
As a side, we shared an order of 1/2 sweet, 1/2 regular fries. I love that they had that as an option! It’s a great compromise for those that can’t decide and they gave us a decent amount for $3.50.
Watch my vlog for the day:
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.
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
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.
Our Quest to The Burgernator
Nested in the boutiques of Kensington Market is recently owned burgery The Burgernator. The eatery had black walls that were decorated with a Terminator / RPG quest theme.
The washroom played along with a sign that says “Duty Calls” and a Burger Manifesto took up one wall.
The menu was also inscribed on the wall with action packed burger names.
I ordered the Atomic Burger which had a deep fried herb crusted cheese, tomato, lettuce and sun dried tomato aiole on top of a patty of freshly ground beef. This was the first time I had a burger with a slice of fried cheese and the herbs added to the batter was definitely a lovely touch. The sun dried tomato aiole balanced the heaviness with something light. There was a bit of greasiness created by the fried cheese so this burger can get quite messy.
Nash had the Asta La Vista, Birdie which had guacamole, jalapenos and jack cheese on a chicken breast. The peppers gave it a nice kick.
We’ll definitely destroy one of the other burgers when we find ourselves in the area again.
Two Bite Saloon
Last month, before the holiday me and Nash ventured into the newly opened Two Bite Saloon at Bloor and Shaw. We popped in right at opening hour at 5pm and the whole dinner we were the only people eating besides a few sketchy looking people having drinks at the bar. This was a bit strange considering it was just right before the holidays and Blogto and TheStar had written about the place the month prior.
As an appetizer, I had the Kale Salad ($5). I had previously not tried kale (I thought it was just a hype vegetable), but I enjoyed the “salad” which was very rich in flavours because of some smoke-ham and Parmesan cheese. I actually loved the addition of smokeyness to what people have been calling the new hype healthy veggie.
For my main dish I had the Ribs ($17). The ribs were smoked and drenched with a very tasty barbecue sauce. It was served with lightly seasoned fries and a buttermilk slaw. I didn’t care much for the slaw as I found it too creamy, but I happily ate the fries.
Nash had five of the sliders ($14 I think). He had two pulled pork, two pemeal bacon and I forgot what the last was. They were a bit bigger than the food truck sliders we had tried previously and 5 was pretty filling.
It was a bit pricey but we enjoyed our meal. We’ll probably return one day to splurge on some of their interesting cocktails!
Tiana Feng 