Toronto - Yum!

There are many reasons to love Canada. If you are a faithful reader, you know about the pancakes in Elmira and our favourite bakery, Hot Oven.  You know about the good people of Gander and the good people of our neighbourhood.  You know that even though it is cold and the winters are long, we go skiing and play and now the flowers just may make an appearance in our yard.

But we did not know how good the eating was when we moved here.

Dear reader, let me just say, yum, yum, yum.  I don't even know where to begin to take people, and we are still trying out new places in our neighborhood! These are not fancy places; most are within walking distance and many only have 10 or so tables.  Let's just recap our last few meals of dining out, shall we?

Lahore Tikka House - This is on Gerrard St., a street famous for its Indo-Pak cuisine and stores.  A colleague of J's gave us this suggestion, so we took J's mom there.  It is always fun to take your mother-in-law to eat in a double-wide trailer with plastic chairs and loud Pakistani music blasting.  Fortunately, she is adventurous and the food was amazing.  It was spicier than we are used to, but our previous forays into Indian cuisine had served us well and we were able to try some familiar dishes and some new ones, including Kashmir tea. It was pink (saffron) and served with almonds, pistachios and sugar.

The service was super friendly, even bringing out a special dish for the kids as well.  I can't say E loved the food, so we followed it up with a visit to a dessert parlor in Greektown, a short drive away.  E and S loved Lahore Tikka House for the the Backyardigans playing in the washrooms. Why the Backyardigans was playing there, I don't know. Next time, though, only J will take them as it was only playing in the women's washrooms.

Henry VIII Alehouse - A local pub that has more than 100 single malt scotches in house (and within staggering walking distance from our house), they also have lovely food.  We went there for brunch, and J had a traditional English breakfast with baked beans, broiled tomatoes and sausages, which he loves, and I had a Croque Monsieur (breakfast grilled ham and cheese) that made me understand why Toronto is also called Hogtown. They have Single Malt Scotch tasting nights, and they also have a lovely chicken and chutney sandwich on naan.  

Kingsway Fish and Chips - Those of you who know me know that I am not a fish eater.  I eat fish under duress oftentimes and have learned to endure it, but I don't really seek it out.  Not anymore.  At Kingsway, I even ignore the chips.  Everything is hand cut downstairs - S made friends with Dave, who was there this weekend - including the chips, and fried in house.  I know that you don't necessarily want fried fish every day, but boy, when you do, you want well-made fish that is fried well with oil that is changed regularly and a light, crisp batter.  Again, not E and S's favourite, though they do have things for them if they were inclined to eat things other than fish. But why bother?

1800 Degrees - I will not recap this entire dinner except to say that J had lobster poutine.  He is obsessed with poutine, a dish that consists of fries, gravy and cheese curds.  This was better, apparently.

This does not include our various Thai restaurants, including our favourite, the Spoon and Fork, where E and S eat us under the table, the various Middle Eastern restaurants, or the various take out places, where one can pick up something to eat at home.  We really have only found a few average restaurants, and maybe one that was actively terrible.  

Lest we forget, there is always the rotisserie channel to get us hungry.  Yes, there really is a rotisserie channel.  You know how, during the holiday season, there is a Yule Log channel? Well, here, always, you can choose between aquarium, fireplace or sunset, and now, just in case you were interested, you can also watch chickens cooking.