Travelling Mini post #5 Toronto

I've been away for the better part of a month and need home for a rest. But since it will probably be a week or two before I get back into things in my home kitchen, I figured I would post a few places of note during my travels.

Toronto (where I did most of my food exploration on the trip)

Combine - 162 Danforth Ave, Toronto 

Little place in Greek Town that specializes in fish taco's. 

The food was great, the company was even better, the Malbec was terrible and the service was shit.

Since it was a busy night I'll give the service a free-pass and then it works out better because I can write that Meatloaf said two out of three ain't bad.

Picnic wine bar - 747 Queen St. East, Toronto

Unfortunately I don't have a picture for this place but I felt it was worth mentioning. We went for a couple glasses of wine (had a good intro to Valpolicella Ripasso) and the table we joined had ordered the Pic Nic Pate: a plate of olives tossed in olive oil and cumin, some nice crusty bread and a liver pate made in house.

I could taste hints of mild citrus in the pate that someone more experienced than I would probably say is an indication of what type of grain/grass/feed the animals fed on. If variety is the spice of life and Charcuterie can capture the terroir of the region (as it seems), then my new obsession will be a rewarding one.

I wish I had more time to spend here chatting with the guys/girls in the back. Thems the breaks. Moving on.


Marben's - 488 Wellington St. West, Toronto


This place is up there in the best dinning out experiences in my life. It was a fun, and unique experience with a great philosophy in the kitchen: Using great ingredients, in good balance, not confusing things, and flawless execution.

I had

• Phil's Beet and Endive Salad (Candied walnuts, watercress, goat's cheese yogurt, apples and oranges and of course, beets and endive). 
• Denise's Lamb leg (Lamb Belly confit, leg of lamb, ragu and polenta milled in house.)

The salad was beautiful, and has inspired me to add beets to the easy to make weekly rotation but any excitement I had about it was gone the moment the lamb belly confit was put in front of me. It inspired me to introduce the concept of confit in a future at home post.

Confit cheat sheet: Poaching a part of an animal in fat (usually from duck or goose fat, and sometimes its own) and then allowing the fat to cool, solidify around it, and act as a preserver by cutting off moisture and unwelcome intruders from the evil world we live.

I know it sounds kind of gross, but it was nothing short of decadent.

I have a pic for this somewhere but can't find it. Will post it when I do.

The place also butchers its beef in house and will cater portion sizes to be able to feed a whole table which they call the Cote de boeuf.

Anyways, the place prefers that everyone at the table orders several dishes to share which are served as soon as they are ready instead of sitting in the warmers until all dishes are done. It makes for a casual dinning experience, and less stress in the kitchen, which in my opinion, helps keep the dinning area stress-free as well.

A+ in my books.

Off the Hook - 749 Broadview, Toronto 

Rhi loves fish n chips but unfortunately has a gluten allergy, so when we heard that there was a place in Toronto that served up gluten free fish n chips, we made it a priority to check it out.

We had (all gluten free)

• Fish n Chips (swordfish and onion rings) with tartar sauce.
• Calamari
• Poutine

I know, that last one looks gross, but it was sooooo good.

The place also served up 3 types of draft beer. All local Ontario Micro Breweries which rotate - kind of a keep it local and reward the 'lil' guys over the other Ontario beer giants. They also sold Nickel Brook gluten free beer, which to be honest, was my favorite of the 3 types of beer we had at the table.

I wish I had more time to explore the culinary scene in Toronto because its really taking off. These are just a few places of note that I recommend checking out. Especially Marben's and Off the Hook for all you gluten-free'ers.

- Maciej