Coming Up

Tomorrow I plan to eat a new place that opened across the street from school. It's a chain called Quick Pita that claims to be both Lebanese and to have authentic Philly Cheese Steaks. I'll assume that I am geographically challenged and I just haven't heard of Philly, Lebanon. Maybe it's a suburb of Beirut?

Simon Sushi

I'm a little late in posting this but better late than never. Anyway, Friday the lunch crew went to Simon Sushi on Spadina just south of college. It's the same genre as new gen. I of course had a teriyaki salmon bento box lunch special for 5.99 + tax and tip. At first glance this seemed almost better than new generation because you can get the salmon with the lunch special bento whereas at new gen it's just chicken or beef. I say "seemed" because the salmon was definitely sub-par. New gen's terriyaki salmon is vastly better. It could just be an off day as it was basically just over cooked. The tempura was greasier but it still had a crispness to it that made it quite good

The verdict on this place is that it is moderately tasty. It's a shorter walk than new gen from school so that really is it's major draw and I'll definitely give it another shot.

On a psuedo-related note, shortly after we arrived, an undergrad that I had just been TAing came in and since we had a free seat he sat with his. The kid was suprisingly unannoying. That's right, you heard it hear first, not all U of T undergrads are annoying.

Queen Sushi

Ian and I are still trying to find another New Gen. Queen Sushi is close...except for the service...it was terrrible. Our waitress came to take our order and then found her pen was not working so she ditched us and came back. It wasn't all that difficult, we were only ordering 1 item each. She asked "is that it" multiple times and was pretty rude and rather tough to understand.

The soup and salad came promptly. Both very tasty, dare I say better than the New Gen? Then the waitress, asked "are you done?". I said yes, so she brings us the bill. That's right, we hadn't gotten our bento boxes yet. I meant we were done with the soup/salad dishes. No apologies, only more rudeness from our waitress.

We waited a good 20-30 minutes for our meals. Compare that to 5 minutes @ new gen even on the busiest of nights. Both boxes were very tasty, I got a veggie box with large amounts of VT (very tasty) food for only $7.25. Ian had the Spadina box for a bit more that included lots of fish related items. Also VT from him, except for the california rolls, which he is not a fan of no matter what. Our waitress pretty much deserted us at this point...no more water, no checking on us etc. She was pretty much behind the sushi bar stuffing her face.

I have to point out that it more or less seemed to be our waitress that was terrible. There was this other little girl hustling around and staying on top of things...too bad we didn't get her from the start.

Calabash

I went out for lunch with the work crowd to Calabash, a Caribbean place on Erin Mills just North of QEW. For $5.50 I got a veggie roti which consisted of some potatoe/cabbage/onion curry wrapped tortilla style in a very tasty dough type thing. In general, the rotis were all pretty hot and I would recommend ordering mild unless you like really really really hot food. They had some rice type dishes for a little bit more that also looked good and seemed to be alot of food. The rest of the work crew did not seem very impressed by the Caribbean, so I will warn you that it may not be for everyone. The place is rather small, so not the best for a big crowd on a Friday.

The verdict, in Ian's system, is a G for good. Is you want some in the VT (very tasty) range, make sure to go to the Roti Palace downtown on Bathhurst just off Bloor. For much lower prices, the tastiness factor is much improved. Also recommended are the knock-off caribbean pineapple drinks that are actually manufactured in Brampton or something like that! Ha ha, pretty funny...but tasty. Service is a little spotty in the speed department and they have this older dude that is pretty much the slowest cashier you will ever come across. Not a big deal though as the place isn't all that busy. Sort of gives the place a little character.

Egg salad sandwich

I went to a presentation at lunch on how to use our company's library system and find technical literature. Presentation was ok, lunch was also ok. On Ian's scale of VG, G, NVG I would give it a G. I had egg salad, lettuce, tomatoe on white bread with some cut up veggies.


Sorry my posts are boring :(

Mr Sub

As per my usual tradition, I went to Mr Sub today. Last week due to a change/money/Interac fiasco that cost me 1 dollar I was far too upset to post. I've since calmed down and can accurately reflect on the sub quality. The verdict - Not Very Tasty (NVT). But the price is definitely right. As I've said before, Mr Sub is the low sub place on the sub totem pole (Mr Sub < Subway < Quizno's) but the price makes the decision a non-decision. I had the roast beef toasted with my usual pickles, lettuce and green peppers with a little meatball sauce. I of course have to have it in the small to keep the price reasonable so it really isn't enough food. Unfortunately, it turns out that you can't get the roast beef with the soup special even though it is a classic sub. Just something for all you readers to know!

Veggie Cookbooks

As many people know, I am obsessed with Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks and have a pretty solid fleet. Last year, Ian and I went to the actual restaurant in Ithica New York and now I cook with my very cool Moosewood Apron. Anyway, if you are looking for a good veggie cookbook, try their "New Classics". The other books are ok too, but I find the New Classics to be the best.

Last weekend, I purchased "Vegetarian Planet". It was quite cheap and so far it's 50:50 for tastiness. I made some spring rolls last night that were really good, with the peanut sauce just ok. It looks like there's a fair bit of good stuff in there and I'm making some crispy noodles with eggplant and some weird kind of coleslaw.

Anyway, sorry for the boring post. Ian and I are trying to stay healthy and become rich, thus less emphasis on eating out. Maybe I should turn this blog into a recipe/cook at home type blog? Does our very limited blog readership have any opinions on this?

Montana's

Ian and I went to see the Mississauga Ice Dogs (OHL) team in action playing the Soo Greyhounds. Good time all around. Ian took the go train from downtown and I picked him up at Cooksville. He was not pleased at all by the Go train, but maybe he can discuss in another post.

We went for dinner at Montana's on Hurontario and I had my usual cheese nachos and Ian wasn't super hungry so he went for some fish and chips. Montana's is always pretty decent, prices are ok and if you are feeling like some Canadian style food and happen to be in the burbs it is definately the place to go.

Janice's super duper hummus recipe

I use chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) in quite a few of the things I cook and if I have leftovers I make some very tasty hummus. I have included a recipe...sorry no amounts, you'll have to use your own judgement!

Canned or very well cooked/soft chickpeas
Tahini (sesame seed paste). You can use PB but it won't turn out to be very hummus-like. About 10:1 with the chickpeas
Raw garlic. More if you want tastiness, less if you don't want to repel co-workers the next day
Splash of olive oil.
OJ (fresh squeezed is best). Not too much to start, can add more later if hummud is too thick.
Pinch of cumin + coriander
Bit of salt

Optional: I sometimes put in a splash of soy sauce for some extra flavor and color. I especially like to add if I am taking the hummus to work and I omit garlic. Same deal for turmeric, a bit of extra flavor and color for the no garlic version.

Put everything in blender or food processor and go crazy until very smooth. Can add some of your chickpea cooking liquid until you get the right conistency. A higher fat version would be to add some olive oil.

Serve on the always tasty PITA BREAK or with some raw veggies. Mmmm....hummus. We sadly do not have a microwave at work so this is some good stuff to bring in for lunch if I don't want to buy from our overpriced caf.

PS. Maybe Ian will have something more exciting to post when he gets home. I think he went out for lunch today! Yeah!

Pita Break

I first discovered the Pita while living in Sudbury where I used to shop at a place called Smith's Whole food market. The Pita Break people started off as a small restaurant on Yonge Street and have now expanded into a mass maker of yummy pita's for Ontario.

They have all sorts, whole wheat, multigrain, white, garlic, rye, breakfast (apple/cinammon, muesli etc) in both mini and full sizes. They are much better than normal pitas and are thicker, more breadlike, and just all around extremely when toasted.

Ian eats an apple cinammon for breakfast toasted on the foreman with some chocolate chips melted in for good measure. I also eat the same variety but with PB and jam or honey for breakfast. For dinner, I usually don't eat, but Ian is quite into the large size multigrain with his meal stuffed in there.

To top it off, they even ocassionally include a fun newletter written by the pita break family owners and have some tasty recipes for middle eastern type foods.

Anyway, try the Pita, you won't be disappointed. One more tip, they do not have any preservatives, so make sure to put in the freezer before the expiry date and then you can toast to make them tasty again. Mmmm pita.

Anywho, sorry for the boring post. For dinner, Ian had some pasta with homemade meaty sauce and I had leftover veggie paella (that turned out more like a risotto).

New Generation

Oh new gen, how we love you. You never dissapoint no matter what. Lunch, dinner, early, late, hungry, not so hungry...if only you were open for breakfast. Oh new gen, why won't you open for some breakfast...and maybe open up a second location, preferably in our new building with vacant store area???

Ian went crazy and had Take box with lots of "goodness" (direct quote from Ian) with lots of salmon related items, both cooked and uncooked. Good value at $11. I had the Yasai veggie sushi set A and it was alright, but I will definately go back to my Yasai bento box next time. Included the usual soup, salad, ice cream and Ian got some rice, tempura (including shrimp) with a spring roll and gyoza dumpling things. Mmmmm deep fried fun!

Cora's

Ian and I met up with my friends Robyn and Stephen for some brunch at Cora's downtown. Ian and I live a mere 2 minutes from the place but have never been due to the usually very long line-up outside. We arrived at 11 today and got in right away much to our surprise. Ian and I were thinking that Cora's was a independent TO thing, but Robyn and Stephen, who are from Montreal, said they know it is the "Chez Cora" chain on restaurants.

The menu was pretty extensive, lots of waffles, pancakes, crepes etc and the selection was rather overwhelming. Ian got some chocolate, banana waffle type item and I had an apple caramel crepe. They were both pretty good, but rather expensive at $9 each with no sides whatsover. The verdit, good but pricey and we will probably stay home and make some equally tasty home-made waffles instead!

Naz's Falafel Place or something

I'd been meaning to hit this place on John St for a while. Finally today I was walking by at lunch time and decided to go in. My first thought was that they had very poor pricing strategies! The chicken sharwma was $4.50 That extra 50 cents makes the sandwich 90 cents more expensive. As to the actual food quality, it was OK. The vegetables didn't seem that fresh and there wasn't the hummus or tabouli that I've come to expect in Sharwma's. The verdict, this place was not as good as Sarah's Sharwma on Bloor.

Foggy Dew

I went for some brunch today with some friends. It's on King west of bathurst. The place was a cute pub withs some decent food. I had french toast with some weird banana type topping for $6.95. Seemed a bit overpriced since I could have made the equivalent for about $1 at home. Anyway, if you are into brunch go to Fressen (in the area, on Queen) or try making something at home. If you are into pubs or drinking, try the Foggy Dew.

Nachos @ Home

Ian and I have sunk to a new level of cheapness. We were on our way out for some beer and nachos for dinner on Saturday night and Ian pointed out that we should go to Loblaw's and make them at home.

We used the following ingredients: tortillas, tex mex cheese mix, red peppers, red onion, cilantro, PC refried low fat beans, picked jalepeno peppers. Had some lakeport honey lager to wash it down. Overall pretty tasty and probably less $$ than going out. Definately was less if you include the beer in the whole price. Ian bought a PC chocolate fudge cheesecake too which was also pretty tasty although I thought a bit expensive. Although, a single desert at at restaurant might cost $7 and we got the whole cheesecake for that price.

Swiss Chalet

As always on Friday I was late for lunch due to work. The plan was Swiss Chalet so the others ordered and picked up family packs. Unfortunately, everything was pretty picked over by the time I got there. Definitely the source of much bitterness but it's not really the swiss's fault.

Neverthesless the limited amount of chicken I got was OK. I couldn't enjoy the chalet sauce to it's fullest though because I was fearful there may have been double dipping. No one likes that. The fries were subpar but that was a time issue and again not the fault of the chalet. Lunch for 6 bucks did make me happy

Tasty Thai

Went out with the work crew to Tasty Thai for a birthday lunch. As before, it was ok tastiness and value for my $. I had the tofu green curry with 2 spring rolls, rice and some cole-slaw type salad.

Ian had some swiss chalet for lunch so our vast readership now has something to look forward to! I had swiss a few times when I used to work in a plant in Sudbury and we would order OT meals. They have a decent veggie stir-fry (although it's 80% corn) as well as a somewhat dry veggie burger. Basically don't go here except for chicken related items. Fried mushrooms and fries are somewhat tasty for the un-healthful vegetarian.

On an unrelated note, I cooked some potatoe-squash curry with brown rice and all sorts of cilantro, raisins, chutney and cashew sides. Ian has a large piece of salmon and added some cottage cheese to the mix. I had a medium size plate, but Ian kept eating and eating, it was quite the site to see. I don't understand how he is soo skinny. Then he made a mix of raisin bran, chocolate chips and yogurt a mere hour later. Then he wanted to make popcorn but I nixed it.