All You Can Eat $9.99

All you can eat sushi has become a staple of the GTA, and why not? Sushi is somewhat light, healthy, and easy to prepare- everyone wins with the high customer turnover and great value. But something that is often overlooked on the Toronto foodie scene is the increasing number of high quality Indian food buffets. I understand why they are overlooked, because I was not always a believer. It took one very hungry (and slightly hungover) morning to get me to the lunch buffet at Everest, and have no regrets.

Indian cuisine usually prices in around the mid-high range, and the menus rarely change between lunch and dinner, so not only was I skeptical about the amount of food I could eat at an Indian buffet, but also of the quality and variety of the food.

My friend and I arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes before it opened, but they still allowed us in and seated us, the buffet was already open so we greedily began. There was a very good variety of both meat and vegetarian dishes. They had jasmine rice, chickpea curry, mutter paneer (chunks of cheese and peas in a curry sauce), two mixed vegetable dishes; One based with potatoes and cauliflower, the other based with zucchini and cabbage. They had both Tandoori and butter chicken, and a goat curry. They also laid out a variety of sauces including raita and mango chutney.

Impressed with the variety, I tried a little bit of everything except for the paneer. I usually try to stay away from the delicious butter chicken because it is full of cream and fat, but after putting just a but of the sauce on my rice I had to go back for more. It was rich with flavor and even had a little spice to it. The chicken both in the curry and tandoori were juicy and tender, and the goat flaked right off the bone and into my mouth.

For those of you who are not gluten free, just the naan bread is worth the trip to Everest. I tried a little nibble and it took more self control than I knew I had not to eat the entire piece. Maybe it's because I haven't had a piece of naan bread (or any bread) for a long time, but I would be willing to make the claim that this is the best naan in Toronto.

The weakest part of the meal was the desert. They had small dough-y looking balls covered in a syrupy substance. I didn't have one, but my friend gave them less than stellar reviews. They did have oranges and melon, and I'm sure we didn't need any more than that after the amount of food we had just eaten.

India is one of the best places to travel for vegetarians, but I've found that a lot of Indian restaurants in Canada lack in variety and creativity in their vegetarian menu items. It was really refreshing to see four different and skillfully done vegetarian dishes in one amazing buffet.

For the price of $9.99 for the lunch buffet, Everest is more than worth it, even if you can't make it back for seconds.

Summerlicious Part 2: Creme Brasserie

"We're going to be late"
"Why is there so much traffic"
"I'm so hungry"
"Why is there so much traffic"

Rachel and I wove in and out of traffic trying to make our reservation at Creme Brasserie in Yorkville. Neither of us had eaten breakfast and were absolutely starving, so it was to our utter relief that we arrived 20 minutes late with no problems getting a table. Thank God for lunchtime sittings. We had both reviewed the menu pretty extensively online and had a pretty good idea of what we wanted but...

Game Changer: They actually outlined the gluten free options on the menu! Foolishly, I stuck with my original choice, not sure what was going to be glutinous in a cold tomato and lump crab soup. This was a choice for which I alone paid the price. The watermelon and feta was gluten free and looked like a fab choice for any future diners wondering.

Before our appetizers arrived they brought some bread and hummus over to the table. Rachel is allergic to sesame seeds and I cannot eat wheat, so we made perfect dining companions; Rachel eating all of the bread, and me shoveling spoonfuls of hummus into my face. I think this may be the best hummus I have had on this continent (sorry, Me Va Me) It had texture to it, and wasn't just a creamy spread like the hummus you get in the grocery store, and it had a hearty helping of garlic and lemon.

For the main I had the Striped Bass which was covered in a garlicy butter sauce and served with asparagus. This choice was Gluten Free, though unfortunately not dairy free adding to the pain already mentioned. I'm not going to go ahead and say it was worth it, but it was some of the best fish I've ever had, and I came from the east coast!

There were no options for gluten free deserts so I just had the berries without the sauce. This was a very small cup of berries, and a pretty boring desert, but probably for the best considering all the butter I had just consumed.

Overall I was impressed with the healthy choices at this restaurant. All of the deserts were fruit based, and most of the appetizers were vegetable based, the mains were chicken, fish and vegetarian options and the portion sizes were representative of healthy serving sizes. The staff were also very concerned with our food allergies, so this is definitely a safe place for the food sensitive diner!

Chilled tomato, lump crab and avocado soup

Summerlicious Begins

Well, it began 11 days ago but today was my first summerlicious meal! We went to Wildfire Wine Bar and Steakhouse at Yonge and Lawrence. I have heard mixed reviews of Wildfire, but my parents are known to never pass up a good steak, so we gave it a go. The greeter happily opened the door for us and was wearing a lovely full length dress as she showed us to our table.

I had peaked at the menu online a few times already, so I knew what decisions lay before me, but I still had a tough time. I finally decided on the escargot, the salmon (in a steak house, I know) and the flourless chocolate torte cake (gluten free diners rejoice!). One of the hard things about summerlicious is most restaurants are not willing to make substitutions for dishes so it can be hard for the allergic/sensitive diner. However, Wildfire asked about allergies on the phone when I called to make the reservation, and while some of their dishes aren't guaranteed to be uncontaminated (with gluten) they checked all of the ingredients for me. I am lucky to be not as sensitive as others, so a bit of gluten in a sauce or on a utensil will not upset me too much, so those with more sensitivity make sure to let them know ahead of time!

I have only had escargot once before, so I am no expert, but this was by far my favourite part of the meal. Covered in garlic butter, they were nice, warm, chewy and flavourful. I love sauteed mushrooms and I kind of think of escargot as super mushrooms (perhaps giving offense to the culinary world), I would go back here just for another round of this dish...and maybe a glass of wine during one of their happy hours.

For some reason the main dish is never as exciting as the appetizer or desert, but the salmon was cooked superbly, and the bean and corn salsa was nice (though I'm not sure what qualifies it as salsa as it was just beans and corn on top of the fish). The grilled vegetables had a nice smokey flavour to them. My only complaint was the rice pilaf that was a little dry and bland.

The desert was my easiest course to choose, because there was only one flourless option. Even before going gluten free I was a lover of a good torte cake. This one was drizzled with chocolate and raspberry sauce, and tasted like light and silky goodness. They also used dark chocolate which means much less dairy and much more deliciousness.

I love going to summerlicious at lunchtime, because it is always a treat to have a nice long relaxing lunch in the middle of the day, and as another bonus the food is just as good but $10-$15 cheaper! Enjoy, and let me know what some of your summerlicious favs are!

Gluten Free: With Some Difficulty

Dairy Free: With more difficulty and only if you are willing to skip desert

Nut Free: Yes!

Almond Dream Yogurt

Yogurt, filled with pro-biotics, calcium, fruits and low fats is a healthy eaters delight. It used to be a staple food in my diet, and probably the dairy product I miss the most (let's just not tell anyone I still eat the occassional piece of brie cheese). This evening I stumbled across almond dream non dairy yogurt and decided to give it a try, almond milk is the only type of dairy free milk I find bearable anyways so why not yogurt?

It was love at first spoon. While it is still no creamy cow's or Greek yogurt, it is as close as I have ever come. It has that distinct yogurty after taste, and while the texture is a little thicker than most yogurts it didn't feel weird in the mouth.

I tried the vanilla flavour, and dutifully scrapped every last bit of yogurt off the sides, happy to be united with one of my favourite treats. I will be heading back to the store tomorrow to stock up and see what other flavours they have.

I was giddy with excitement and wanted to immediately share this with you all, so go forth and try it!

A Moveable Feast

While brains fulfill the nutritional needs of zombies and other such creatures, the brain also needs to be nourished and fed. However, the brain is not the mouth, and it cannot eat such foods as a rare runny steak, a juicy strawberry or a grilled swordfish. A brain eats through intellectual nourishment, from the (dreaded) television, movies, and books.

When the brain loves food, (it can enjoy knowing of it even if it cannot crush the meat with it's teeth or savour spiciness on its tongue) many hours can be consumed reading and watching about ways to better satisfy those delightful sense organs. However, while some of my friends can watch the food network for hours on end, my desire is not so much to know how food is made, but to feel the food in my inner being. Stories of food are what I love.

They say you should write the book (or blog) that you would want to read, but unfortunately for me the book I want to read has already been written: Lonley Planet's A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Adventures From Around the World. Thanks for stealing my idea, Lonely Planet. But never fear, I am not one to hold a grudge or pine away the hours thinking about the millions I could have made compiling a book of short stories about memorable food experiences.

I first picked up the book about a year and a half ago, before my obsession with food adventure had begun, but I did want to travel and it seemed like a fun concept, but not worth the $16.99. Luckily I had a wonderful boyfriend at the time who noticed my snooping and got it for me for my birthday a couple months later. I was excited and delighted but still it sat on my shelf for months, being brushed aside by such classical authors as Dickens, Austen, and Rowling. Finally I took a vacation with my family, and threw the book in my bag, excited to read a book on travel while traveling (I really enjoy it when my life is like the books and movies I am reading/watching).  I began A Moveable Feast by flipping to the stories in locations that are on my 'to visit' list, but within two days I had read the whole thing front to back. The stories range from top class dining with A Pilgrimage to El Bulli, To rare and strange cultural food experiences (like a fresh mango in the African desert, or Bat testicles...). The various authors weave tales of food that in the end somehow manage not to be so much about food, but about the way food and mealtime can act as a bridge between cultures or lead to the creation of lifelong friendships.

The most disappointing part of the book is that so many of the stories are highly personal and achieved somehow through luck and journalistic cunning, so many of the experiences could not be recreated on my own travels. At least I can always live vicariously through the stories in this book whenever my brain is feeling a little munchy.

You can also find the e-book version here

Poutine Wars: Ottawa vs. Halifax

I have eaten my fair share of Poutine. While all of them have had their charms, we can't all be winners in this world. So in honour of Canada Day, I bring you my first in a possible series of Poutine Face Offs: Ottawa vs. Halifax.

Poutine was created in our very own Quebec, but it has quickly spread to the surrounding provinces and has become perfected in its own right in the Maritimes and Ontario (who knows what they've got cookin out west). Living in Halifax for six years, I have tried many of the late night poutine options, and debated their merits in my head and with many of my friends. Every time, the fight for the best poutine comes down to Willy`s vs. Alexandra``s. The first battle:

Runner Up:

Alexandra's:

With late-(ish) night delivery, and cheap foods Alexandra's is a long time favourite with students. The poutine uses a mushroom gravy and shredded mozzarella cheese (not the squeaky kind). Despite this handicap, Alexandra's still brews up a top contender. While the service is sometimes slow the poutine is pretty reliable and tastes mm mm good. 

Winner:

Willy's: 

I can't imagine my life before I discovered Willies just two years ago. While it is tragic that I went an entire four years in that city before discovering this magical little place, it is understandable given that it is a small hole in the wall (literally) next to three other pizza places on pizza corner, and only open after dinner. I have been informed that they have recently expanded their menu to include different types of poutines and burgers, and are now open several days a week for lunch, but back when I lived there, there were three things on the menu: fries, poutine or burger. And no one ever gets the burger. Willy's uses a great vegetarian gravy, and real squeaky cheese, but I think the most important thing that sets Willy's apart from the rest are the french fries. Even just with ketchup these are amazing, Willy`s knows how to stick to the basics. 

Which brings us to our main battle...

Willy's Vs. Elgin Street Diner

Elgin Street Diner: 

I had just eaten a poutine from Smoke's (which did not even make it into this competition) the night before, so I had planned to get a salad when we stopped in to the Elgin Street Diner (which I was told was traditional Ottawa cuisine), but they had an exciting looking poutine menu that I could not resist. I ordered the smoked meat poutine because it sounded very Quebecois (or Montrealian) and this was the closest I was going to get to poutine in Quebec. 

A monsterous plate of poutine was placed in front of me, and I almost ate it all. The fries were thinner than willies but still a very good contender, and they use squeaky cheese! The menu didn't specify what kind of gravy was used, but it tasted heavy and beefy to me. I``m usually a fan of a lighter vegetarian gravy but this was too amazing. Despite still feeling incredibly full from the night before, I got just several bites away from completion. I left the diner feeling a little sick, but with no regrets.

As much as I love Willy`s and feel a great loyalty to Halifax, I think that the ESD is going to take the poutine crown.

Our grand winner is the Elgin Street Diner!

smoked meat poutine