It's the most wonderful time of the year. The end of the semester, exams are done. While not truly a foodie joy, it is a joy for millions of students world-wide.
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| Photo via Be Strong and Laugh |
Baldwin street has always been one-of-a-kind. From John's Italian Caffe, Bodega, Vegetarian Haven, Elle M'a Dit and the recently opened Kinton Ramen to stores like Chada Import Gallery, Round Again Records and The Little Video Shop are what make Baldwin street so unique. Which is why when I saw Wild Wing was opening at 1 Baldwin street I was saddened! What?! WILD WING?!? It didn't go with the Baldwin Street vibe, but instead stuck out like a sore thumb!
The food gods must've realized this was going to be a horrible idea. Now, word on the street is that restaurateur Sang Kim has now taken over and will instead open two new restaurants: Yakitori Bar and Seoul Food (which will share the space at 1 Baldwin Street).Their sign reads:
What are we?
"Yaki-Tori- Grilled chicken, is commonly a Japanese type of skewered chicken. The term "yakitori' can also refer to skewered food in general. Kushiyaki (skewer grilled), is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled."
Yaki-Tori Grill Bar
"Don't be misled by the "bar" part. We are not a pub. Yakitori Bar is a grill bar. Our concept is quite simple. Everything we can put on the grill we will, grilled with Asian inspirations. The grill is the stage and we are here to give you that total dining experience."
A grill experience
"We will also be featuring signature yakitori platter by some of Toronto's top chefs. We will reveal who they are on Facebook over the course this project."
Everyone on Baldwin street anxiously awaits the opening of the new restaurant(s). The windows have been covered up with paper and only a question mark on the front door, leaving food lovers like us in suspense!
Check out their blog here
We can't wait to get our grub on here!
Peace and Grub ya'll xoxo
So my friend Katherine, known on the streets
as “Kat the Rat” (another foodie like us) has been bugging me to go to Mother’s Dumplings on Spadina. I was always a little hesitant
to go because dumplings are so easy to make at home, I never saw the appeal of going to eat them at a restaurant.
One night I finally decided to go. It was SO unbelievably good, probably some of the best dumplings I've ever had! And it takes a lot for me to say that.
On the menu, there is a choice of boiled, steamed or fried dumplings. They come with around 10 to 20 pieces per order. We ordered the steamed beef bun, boiled pork and chive dumplings and the pan fried beef and celery dumplings.
The moment I put a dumpling in my mouth...it was an EXPLOSION of amazing! The dumplings were so juicy and delicious. Dip them in a bit of chili, soy sauce and vinegar and you're golden.
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| Pork and chive dumpling |
We also wanted to try a few other things that weren't just "dumplings"... so we also ordered the Steamed beef bun and the Green onion pancake which were both really good! I couldn't finish either because they were just so filling. We also ordered their Hot and sour soup but it was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. The
soup was very watered down and lacked flavour.
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| Green onion pancake |
Dumpling prices range from about $6-$12 depending on the order and cooking method. You can also see the Chinese ladies hand-making the dumplings so you know they're made fresh! Mothers Dumplings is located on 421
Spadina Avenue. It is open seven days a week,
so you can always get your dumpling fix. If you're looking for some Chinese comfort food...this is definitely the place to go!
DIY Dumplings
Just in case you're a poor student (like me) who can't afford to go out for dumplings on the regular you can always make your own dumplings at home! For around $2 in Chinatown you can get a frozen bag of dumplings and boil, steam or fry them yourself. They're almost like the KD version of dumplings...kinda ghetto but still delicious.
Enjoy!! Peace and Grub ya'll!
I suck at keeping up with TV shows. I have a rule that once I've missed more than three episodes of any given program, I refuse to watch the show (I've made an exception for Arrested Development though). With most shows, there's just too much catching up to do, and ain't nobody got time for that. This explains why I have missed out on such cultural television phenoms as:
While all y'all are there tuning in every week, I have found the channel that never lets me down. Good old Food Network [Canada]. Where each episode stands alone, I can tune in anytime I want, and be inspired to eat. So here are the shows I watch while missing all the critically acclaimed ones on other channels (I'm not ashamed):
Forget scripted drama, this show is where it's at. Four chefs are given a basket full of strange ingredients and limited time to make culinary magic. Combine that with sassy judges, and often overconfident chefs you get television gold.
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| Photo via The Film Junkies Pop Culture Blog |
The host of this show has platinum blond spiked hair and speaks in what I like to call a 'perma-scream'. All that aside, this is my late-night hunger TV show of choice. This show makes me want to hop in a car and travel to every greasy burger joint in America.
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| Photo via Duane Burnett |
3. Eat St.
This show is focused on food trucks, and is extremely relevant considering Toronto's emerging food truck scene. It's a great program because it showcases the variety of ethnic food that now has an outlet thanks to food trucks.
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| Photo via Food Network Canada |
4. Nigella Bites
This one is a bit of a throwback, and I'm not sure it's still on air. But Nigella is my kitchen idol, so I'll make an exception.Nigella is so laid back, you actually feel like your just hanging out in her kitchen. I'm sure you can find some episodes on the internet...legally of course :D
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| Photo via Eat Your Books |
5. Come Dine With Me (UK version)
First of all, I'm never a fan of series reboots. Especially Canadian ones because they're usually not very good (see: Canadian Idol). The UK version is amazing, full of laughs, fights, snarky comments and overall good times.
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| Photo via Sabotage Times |
So there you have it, television's best kept secrets, according to me.
Peace and grub y'all,
xx
Have you seen any of these shows? What's your favourite TV show about food?
Last night the Girls and Grub crew decided to head down to 416 Snack Bar for drinks and grub. Even with the severe weather warnings, nothing could get between us girls and food (not even Hurricane Sandy). The streets were dead but the place was surprisingly packed for a Monday night, so we ended up having to share a table with two other people (which we didn’t mind). Snack Bar food is served tapas style and has been cutlery-free since 2011, but I think using your hands is the best way to grub anyway!
First up on the list was:
1. Korean fried chicken - $5
Four pieces of delicious crispy fried chicken in a sweet and
spicy sauce topped with sesame seeds, green onions and a hint of ginger. A
definite MUST have at Snack Bar!
2. Scotch egg benny- $5
One soft-boiled egg sliced in two with a crispy
deep-fried sausage breading on the outside. The egg was delicious and melted in your mouth with every bite. Both the egg yolk and the Hollandaise sauce on top dripped with ooey-gooey deliciousness!
3. Steamed bun- Pork $5
Seared pork belly, cilantro,
cucumber, sweet sauce (Hoisin) in a soft steamed bun. Insanely good!! It almost
reminded me of Peking duck a bit…except this version did not have the same crispiness.
4. Trini doubles- $3- Curried chickpeas between two warm pieces of flat bread, topped with tamarind sauce. Not the most amazing double I’ve ever had, but you gotta give them points for trying.
4. Trini doubles- $3- Curried chickpeas between two warm pieces of flat bread, topped with tamarind sauce. Not the most amazing double I’ve ever had, but you gotta give them points for trying.
5. Oysters- 3 for $7- 6 for $13
Personally I think that you can
never go wrong with Oysters, the more oysters the better! They went down so
easily that we even got another round!
6. Reuben- $7
Probably one of my favorite dishes at 416 Snack Bar, the mini Reubz comes stuffed with corned beef, sauerkraut and a cheesy sauce. The bread was crispy and the sandwich was absolutely lush. Every bite of the Reuben is juicy and very flavorful!
Probably one of my favorite dishes at 416 Snack Bar, the mini Reubz comes stuffed with corned beef, sauerkraut and a cheesy sauce. The bread was crispy and the sandwich was absolutely lush. Every bite of the Reuben is juicy and very flavorful!
7. Typical Greek salad - $4
The name says it all, however it does come interestingly enough, served on two lettuce leaves for easy nomnomz. It was actually really refreshing to have after all the meat dishes we devoured. And we devoured a lot...
8. Cantonese shumai - $4
Two small pork dumplings
that were O.K… they weren’t the best dumplings I’ve ever had. To be honest, they were a
bit pricey for something you can get cheaper in Chinatown.
9. Special thing
Snack bar always has a “special thing” that they change from time to time so last night they had: seared pork tongue in pork cheek. Sounds super weird at first, but it was surprisingly VERY tasty, served on a piece of crostini and topped with a sweet and sour relish.
10. Eggplant sangwich- $5
A delicious eggplant sangwich with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella and what tasted like a battered eggplant ? This one was a bit of a blur because we inhaled it and at this point had a lot of drinks in us...but from what I remember I would get it again! Great vegetarian dish!
Snack bar always has a “special thing” that they change from time to time so last night they had: seared pork tongue in pork cheek. Sounds super weird at first, but it was surprisingly VERY tasty, served on a piece of crostini and topped with a sweet and sour relish.
10. Eggplant sangwich- $5
A delicious eggplant sangwich with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella and what tasted like a battered eggplant ? This one was a bit of a blur because we inhaled it and at this point had a lot of drinks in us...but from what I remember I would get it again! Great vegetarian dish!
416 Snack Bar is located at 181 Bathurst Street
just north of Queen. The place is very trendy with a super chill ambiance
and is always filled with hipsters. Snack Bar mostly has a younger crowd ages
20-40 (not recommended for families). The servers are great, very knowledgeable
and helpful. Another great thing about Snack Bar is that all taxes are included
in the prices listed above, so it makes things a lot easier when figuring out
the bill. They accept credit, debit and of course…cold hard cash!
Things to keep in mind:
The bar is first come, first serve so make
sure to go earlier if you’re with a larger group because seating is limited
and you may have to end up sharing a table. Another tip is to go in even
numbers because most dishes are easier to split in twos.
Overall, 416 Snack Bar is awesome and I definitely recommend
going! What’s your favorite dish? Tell us what you think!
Peace and grub y’all! xox <3
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| Photo via Yelp |
On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, I kissed my student diet goodbye [temporarily], thanks to Lee's Thai Spring Roll. Located just west of Eighth St. on Lake Shore Blvd W. Lee's specializes in authentic Thai and Malaysian cuisine with an affordable menu, where most entrees go for around $12. If you pay cash on pick-up orders, you receive a 10 per cent discount, which works wonders for those of us on student budgets (or if you're an extreme couponer)
I kept it simple and went for the regular Pad Thai ($10.75), which came loaded with tofu, sprouts, lemon, chicken, shrimp and probably the kitchen sink if it could fit in the small takeout container. You definitely get your money's worth, no skimpy portions. But the real reason I had to run to my laptop and write this is because the Pad Thai was delicious. Seriously. Also, apologies for the somewhat ambiguous photo, but I was just too hungry to get my Instagram on.
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I'm tempted to say "it was like a warm hug on a cold day". But before I get anymore corny, just hop on the 510 Queen streetcar (westbound) and get some for yourself, or I may just eat it all.
Peace and grub y'all!
What's your favourite place for Pad Thai? Where is your favourite 'hidden gem' restaurant?
Located at 431 College Street, Sneaky Dee's is part music venue, part Tex-Mex restaurant, and all-around hang out spot. It also happened to be chosen location for our first annual Monday night post-lecture dinner(Nam and I are both public relations students, along with two others who joined us).
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