TasteBud.ca

OverDraught Pub

I've always liked pubs  But for drinks, not for food, because food is not usually very good at pubs.

The OverDraught Pub (156 Front Street West) may be the exception.  It is located in the basement underneath Joe Badali's and I think they are owned by same company.

All wasn't perfect though.  The pitcher of Keith's we ordered arrives with warm steins, so the beer isn't as cold as I would like.  I end up asking for a glass of water so that I can transfer some ice into my beer. 

It turns out that our server is new, but she is exceedingly nice.  I order the Crab Cakes ($7.95) and Joe orders the French Onion Soup ($6.95) and Caesar Salad ($3.95). 

The crab cakes are listed as an appetizer, but with three big patties, it is big enough for a meal.  They have a nice little kick to them.  The breading is crisp and the inside of the cakes are tender.

Joe's soup had a warm blanket of cheese covering the bowl and the soup itself was full of flavour, with chunks of bread soaking up all the goodness.  Even though it was Joe's, I probably ended up having half the bowl.  I haven't had a french onion soup this good in a very long time.

Parting thoughts: Very good crab cakes and a classic and excellent french onion soup.

Spring Roll's GO! for Delivery

Bless Joe; I had a rough day and he suggested that we order in for Springs Rolls delivery (416-365-7566, $15 for downtown delivery.  See their website for specifics on areas).  There's a number of franchise locations around the city now.

I'm not a big fan of their noodle dishes, but their rice dishes, which are more Vietnamese inspired, are quite tasty.  We both get the Chicken & Pork Chop with Rice ($8.45).  I also order Har Gow (shrimp dumplings, $3.50 for four pieces), and they are good as well.

The meats are juicy and tasty.  The portions are big and we always have leftovers.

Parting thoughts: Good in a pinch.  Too bad more Vietnamese places don't deliver.

Triumphant Return to the Garden Restaurant

I've been craving the comfort foods lately and my idea of comfort food is: Yes, the noodle soup.

I ended up getting an x-ray the other day because of a cough I've had for a few week's now.  As I was waiting my turn, all I could think about was lunch. 

When I was much, much younger (high school), I used to go to a restaurant on Dundas Street called the Garden Restaurant.  I've been back less frequently in the last few years, but I haven't been since they moved a few doors down from its original location.

It's upstairs now.  A big box of a room with clusters of tables.  It's very old-school looking, like it's been like that for decades.  But I think it's only been a couple of years since it's opened at the new address.

I also learn that it's actually called Spadina Garden Restaurant (114 Dundas Street West near Bay St.)  Who knew?  But thank goodness some things haven't changed.

Some faces of the servers look familiar and I also remember having the wonton noodle soup there years ago.  Generous, delicious and CHEAP.  Something like $4.  Can't go wrong with that.

Instead of the wonton noodle, I decide to go a bit more deluxe and order the BBQ pork, duck, and chicken noodle soup.  It doesn't disappoint.

A nice big bowl shows up with plenty of the BBQ goodies and full of noodles.  It's one of those meals where time seems to stand still as I continually eat mouthful after mouthful.  It is so flavourful and delicious and all for $5.50.

Parting Thoughts: Keep the Garden on the radar.

A Surprise for Me at Globe - Part 2

I left off previously at appetizers at our wonderful, but marathon of dinners at Globe Bistro.  The first part of the evening is posted here. 

We were buzzing right along on our wine and ordered a second bottle.  Very nice.

There were a number of entrees on the menu which piqued my interest: Berkshire Pork Loin ($25) and the Cumbrae's Beef Onglet ($21 - smoked veal tongue!).

But because I rarely have lamb and only when I go out, I decide on the chef's daily creation: Rack of Lamb ($36).  I had a rather interesting upbringing in part because my father did stuff like give me lessons on how to properly eat rack of lamb.  Those lessons were my father's way of making sure that I'd never feel intimidated in any dining situation.  Awww those long-lost years of my youth.  But those lessons do come in handy at dinners like this.

The lamb is divine.  It is amazingly melt-in-your-mouth tender.  The sides accompany the lamb beautifully, but for one exception.  There's a root vegetable, the name of which I can't remember, which tastes like a cross between a parsnip and a pear.  It had a very unique flavour to it, but one I don't think worked well with the lamb.  Apart from that, excellent.

Akiko ordered the Oven Roasted Black Cod ($26), which I had also considered ordering.   It could possibly be a Japanese thing, but I absolutely love black cod.  It's a tender fish likely due to its oiliness.  I miss my mom's miso marinated black cod.  But Akiko finds her order too buttery.  It probably doesn't help that it's already quite oily to begin with.

Eva ordered the Butter Poached Yarmouth Lobster ($38).  Genius name for a lobster dish.   I didn't have a taste, but it looks to be delicious.  Eva raves about it.  And I realize now that I should've taken her up on her offer for a bite.  That wine must've affected me more than I thought.

After our entrees were cleared, we were treated to a dessert sampler.  Akiko's brother, Scott, works at Globe and we later found out that the desserts were on the house!   There were three selections.   But none of them really memorable because without a picture to jog my memory, I can't remember what we had.  Bad Mio!

It's almost understandable though since we eventually end up closing the place down, past 2am.  I'm old now, I don't stay out that late.  My body probably shut down sometime in the middle of eating my lamb.  However tired I may have been by the end of the night, it was truly a special evening with wonderful friends and I enjoyed the chance to try this new up and coming resto.  I'm grateful for all the good things in my life.

Crush for Lunch

Ron and I went to Crush Wine Bar (455 King Street West, just west of Spadina) for lunch last week.

We've been going to Crush since it opened a few years ago, and Ron has since befriended the owner there and if I feel like a regular of any restaurant in this city, it's Crush. 

We were both feeling under the weather and Ron wanted a soup.  I'm not a fan of the soups at Crush.  They lack flavour and depth, as if they are made without a soup stock.  He said that he's not feeling hungry, so he started with some oysters (I got two!).  For some reason, I'm on a bit of an oyster kick lately.  Mmmmmm.... oysters....

Oyster Boy's finest oysters $3 each.

After his oysters, Ron finished off with a white bean soup.  And as we had thought it might be, the soup was bland.

And I ended up with the breaded veal which came with an interesting salad on top; with pieces of deep fried artichoke hearts which were too crisp and tough.  The sharp tips would jab the inside of my mouth and I had to spit them out.  There were also some thinly sliced and grilled lemons with THE PEEL ON mixed in with the salad.  Was I supposed to eat that? 

The flavour again is lacking and if it wasn't for the balsamic soaked tomatoes with the salad, it wouldn't have tasted like anything at all.  On the plus side, it is a generous serving of veal, so I was able to give a chunk to Ron after he was done his soup.

Veal Schnitzel, $18

Ron very diplomatically mentioned the bland soup to the owner and he said that something will be done about it.  However, my comments on the veal went without too much concern. 

Crush is a beautiful space, but the less-than-stellar food has been an issue for about six months now.  I hope they are able to bring back some of the flavours soon.

A Surprise for Me at Globe - Part 1

I'm currently a bit behind due to a crappy cough that's been hanging around for the last couple of weeks.  I hope to be back in tiptop blogging shape very soon!

I've also wanted to give this post the proper attention it deserves because I had a very special evening last Saturday at Globe Bistro.  Originally, I had thought that Akiko and I were going out for dinner.  But to my surprise, she had secretly contacted a few of my friends to celebrate my recent change in marital status (now married).  I was quite overwhelmed by it all.  And truly, the best way to celebrate anything is with good food.

Globe is a refreshing entrance to the dining options on the Danforth.  The area has a lot of casual dining offerings, but nothing with as interesting and upscale a menu or decor as Globe.  It is a building that has housed a number of businesses in the past few years, most recently Cafe Brussel.  It's a massive space and I seem to remember a dance floor and pool tables.  Mary remembers the same but also a big patio area.  We tried to recall some names, but no dice.  Thankfully, I'm a Googlin' fool and I was able to find out that the space also formerly housed Ballroom on the Danforth and before that, Panama Jack's.

We decide on a bottle of Gerwurtraminer to keep it light with a hint of sweetness.  There were two on the wine list and I had thought that I ordered the less expensive of the two, but the bill later revealed that was not the case.  Damn me for not checking more closely!  But a very nice bottle of wine, nonetheless.

The menu is very eclectic.  And the simple, mostly text website doesn't really do the restaurant justice.  It has much more of a mood than the website implies.  The food offerings range from the Dungeness Crab Empanada ($12)...

...to Lobster George's Oysters (half dozen - $12).

We all agreed that our appetizers were not stellar.  Mary had a salad that she said was a little dry.  But better things were to come... in Part 2.

Healthy Food Court Option: Sushi Q

Last Friday night, Joe and I went to the Eaton Centre looking for a Wii.  Although we figured that our search would be fruitless, we tried nonetheless.

And as we suspected, after hitting five stores, we were empty-handed and... very hungry.

Our usual go-to at the Eaton Centre is the food court on the south end, closer to Queen St.  Joe usually goes for KFC, but he opted for a  burger.  And my usual pick is Sushi Q... especially since after a certain time at night, they offer a 30% discount.

This time I was pleased to learn that they've started offering more selections with brown rice.  It's not the greatest sushi, nor particularly authentic, but with a discount and a healthier brown rice option, it can surely be a lot worse!

TasteBud.ca

I am very excited to announce that I have secured the URL address: TasteBud.ca for my little labour of love.

Tell one, tell all!  I welcome all comments, suggestions and recommendations on all things food and this site, as well.

My goal is to share and grow my love of food with anyone who is interested.  I'm one step closer with the birth of this site.

If You Like Butter Tarts...

As we were leaving HAL Burger the other day at lunch, Ron asked casually, "Do you like butter tarts?"

Hell ya.  He of all people should know by now that anything with the word "butter" in it is a definite winner in my books.

The butter tarts are on display behind the bar area in what looks like large muffin pans.  They look homemade and not exactly like your average tart, specifically because the shell looks to be handmade.

I started to get a little impatient waiting for the tart to get to our table, but I soon find out why.

The butter tart arrives warm.  And before we dig in, there is some talk about art directing the shot of the tart.

Once we get the pictures out of the way, I get a bite and it's totally decadent.  I think the whole tart is made of pure butter... maybe some flour and shortening in the shell and the tiniest bit of sugar... but mostly butter.  One tart is really enough to share, especially after the heavy burgers.  But a definite must-have.

Ace of Cakes on the Food Network

It's been a while since I've watched the Food Network, but when I tuned in today, I was treated to a marathon of a pretty cool show called Ace of Cakes.

It's essentially a reality show about the day in the life of a cake shop called Charm City Cakes in Baltimore run by an eccentric cake maker, Duff Goldman, his company, friends and clients.

The cakes themselves don't look that great to eat, but they are definite masterpieces, marvels to look at and the folks on the show are fun to watch while they take their sweet business seriously.

As far as I'm concerned, any show about cake gets my vote.

Tune in Fridays at 10pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 1am on Food Network Canada.

Photo courtesy of About.com