A Taste of Brunch: Origin

It always seemed to me that there weren't a lot of breakfast places in Toronto but the problem was that I was never really looking for them. In April there was a feature in Now magazine reviewing around 100 places in the city. I then started to pay more attention to weekend brunch spots. There were little signs decorating the windows of restaurants advertising brunch and food displays that passersby would pause to salivate over.

Origin is a restaurant I regularly pass by and they have often had brunch advertized on the weekends. I've read a number of reviews on Origin and each of them mentioned the deviled eggs. This piqued my curiosity.

I'd say they lived up to expectations. The presentation was fantastic, the bacon was crisp and the little crispy rice balls were intriguing.

I also ordered the Ranchero eggs. It was love at first bite. My initial fork full had plantain, salsa and egg on it. I didn't initially realize that the ingredients between the plantain and the eggs were not layered but sectioned off and almost finished the salsa before I had dug into the beans. The entire thing was delicious. I've never had this type of dish before.

I enjoyed the brunch so much that when it came time for dinner my lack of desire to cook resulted in me returning to Origin for my second meal of the day.

I had already decided to order the duck wrap and was placing the menu back on the table when the woman at the table next to me leaned over and suggested, I order the duck wrap. She pointed to her empty plate and said it was delicious.

The woman was right. It was delicious. There was a bit of crunch in the dish and I'm not sure if it was coming from the meat or from a crumb mixture that was sprinkled on it. There was also a bit of heat but only someone that barely eats spicy food would be apt to notice. I love cilantro and enjoy hoisin sauce and could taste those ingredients as well.

I watched some of the dishes be served at the other tables. One of the dishes that caught my attention was a beet salad. The greens were nicely arranged on the plate with a large perfectly round beet perched in the center.

I love the creativity in presentation at this place and I love the flavour and textures the food has. This place is now on my favourites list. I'm not sure why it wasn't on it sooner.

A Taste of Japan

I went to the Okonomi House this week. I figured I'd probably get some sushi but there wasn't any sushi on the menu. Before going there I googled okonomi and discovered it was some sort of Japanese pancake so I figured since I was in the Okonomi House, I'd better try it. I order a pork okonomiyaki. I wasn't sure how big it would be so I didn't order anything with it.

It seemed more like an omelette than pancake. It had various ingredients including cabbage and ground pork in it. They don't appear to have a website and there was no take out menu to reconfirm all the ingredients but it was pretty good. The sauce on top was kind of sweet like a BBQ sauce. The only thing I would have done differently is that I would have ordered something to go with it. It's not enough for a meal.

The Bowery

Colborne Street is an interesting street that I don't appreciate enough. There are a few restaurants on it that I've never really checked out. I've only recently gone into P.J. O'Brien and loved it. There is a Thai place and Colborne Lane, both of which I've been meaning to try. Tom Jones Steakhouse is there too along with Pat Quinn Lounge. The most recent addition is The Bowery. I noticed the signage going up a few of weeks ago. Instead of procrastinating I took the first opportunity to go there with a good friend.

I made a reservation anticipating the usual large crowds that tend to show up at most new restaurants in Toronto. On their second Saturday of operation at 6PM, it was rather quiet. It did get busier as we progressed through our meal but I was a little surprised it wasn't busier. Then again, Colborne street doesn't get heavy foot traffic and I only noticed it because I was bored with my usual route to the subway and switched it up for a couple of days.

All of the Bowery's menus are presented on clipboards which vary according to the size of the menu you are examining. This seems like a smart idea to me given that a lot of people tend to turn paper menus into placemats. The next person then gets a deformed menu in the areas where condensation collected from the drink that was placed on it.

Yes, I have been the recipient of a number of such menus.

I think I was in the mood for something with mushrooms and as a result I ordered their ricotta gnocchi which was also topped with asparagus. It was delicious!

My friend ordered the strip loin and spaetzle. I don't think I had ever heard of spaetzle before. German's have some unique culinary items. It's too bad that Germans don't open more restaurants here so that we could experience more of their traditional dishes.

I normally don't bother with dessert but we had some time to kill before heading off to a friend's party, so I made an exception. I ordered the rhubarb tatin and I am super glad we decided to have dessert. It had a shortbread base layered with a rhubarb filling then a poached apple slice with a sugar sauce on top and a small scoop of sorbet beside it. Super good!

My friend had the chocolate brownie. That looked very good as well.

The prices might have been a touch higher than what they needed to be but good food like that is worth it.

I'll "Tell You" About Another Taste of Italy: Dimmi

This week I had supper at Dimmi Bar and Trattoria.  They have a small patio out front that they seem to have made the most of filling it with an arrangement of tables for two that can easily be converted into tables of 4 or 6. It's a great patio for people watching with the constant flow of traffic along Cumberland and from the side alley from Yorkville.  The two men sitting two tables away from me certainly enjoyed the view, stopping their conversation to ogle a blonde bimbo with a very short skirt as she passed by.  The patio is also good for car watching.  You get almost every kind of car going down the street from the clunkers to luxury cars.  There were the lower end BMWs, Audis and Mercedes to the high end Porsches, Bentleys and Ferraris.  I'm sure many other luxury cars make an appearance on Cumberland but those were the ones I saw while I was there.

For supper I ordered the "Fettucine Alla Riviera", a seafood fettuccine in a tomato sauce.  The waitress delivered a basket of bread while I waited for my food with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.  There was way too much bread for me and I kind of felt bad for wasting it. My pasta arrived and smelled excellent.  On tasting it, all the seafood seemed very fresh.  I liked it.  I didn't use my good camera to take the picture even though I had it on me.  I didn't want to be one of the people that everyone was watching.  The waitress also put some parmesan on it before I took the picture so I tried to mix it in a bit so it wouldn't just look white in the picture.

Their patio is great in the evening for people like me since it sits in the shade of the building.  It also has a retractable awing which was extended when I first got there.  They retracted it before I left and seemed to turn on some water misters just as I was leaving.  I took a stroll down the side alley that so many people were traveling through and discovered a side patio to the restaurant.  It's narrow and can only accommodate a few tables for two but away from the street traffic in case you don't like car watching. ;)

The one thing about eating on the patio is that you never actually see the inside of the restaurant unless you take a washroom break.  There could be a whole different dynamic to the dining experience inside.  I guess I'll have to go back another time and check it out.

Side Note:  If the online dictionary is correct dimmi means "tell me", hence the title of this article.

The New Yorker

I went in the completely opposite food direction this past week. Instead of organic vegan food I went for mounds of meat at The New Yorker Deli on Bay street. I quite like reuben sandwiches so that's what I ordered. The options for sides included latkes so I got some of those too.

As I waited for my food I observed that the handful of patrons were all seniors. The only person remotely close to my age was the waitress that looked like she was working her summer job dressed in the clothes that she purchased on her student salary.

I noticed that food for the other patrons was coming from the font counter while my food seemed to come from the back kitchen. I didn't pay too much attention but I'm going to guess that the deep fryer or grill for the latkes was in the back. I don't know much about latkes but as far as a potato concoction goes, they were good. The reuben was pretty good too but I definitely like the Corned Beef House better, but I also like the Corned Beef House better than Schwartz's in Montreal and the Carnegie Deli in New York so the New Yorker is competing against some giants here.


There wasn't much else happening at the place while I was there. I could comment on the New York inspired interior but the link I provided above shows that.

So here's a little something I saw at the Bay Adelaide Centre courtyard. It was like a mini cirque de soleil, but not. (it's a low resolution video)

Where's The Beef?

I went Southeast of Yonge and Bloor this week. I had noticed an organic restaurant, Camros Organic Eatery, and thought I would give it a try. I examined their online menu and halfway through I wondered "where's the beef?!". Turns out the place is also vegetarian, vegan to be precise. The vegan part seems a little more important than the organic part. I think I would have put vegan in the name instead. I did some more reading of their menu and discovered that it's also Persian. Hmmm, the "Camros Organic, Vegan, Persian Eatery". Okay maybe that's a mouthful.

I ordered the 3 item combo and selected the green patty, millet salad and tomato fennel soup. As I examined my tray of food I felt a little sceptical about my restaurant selection. I sampled a piece of my green patty. I was delighted! The patty was made with potato, rice, dill, cilantro, turmeric and a few other ingredients. The dill was the first flavour I tasted and I love dill! This thing was a hit in my book.

I then tried the millet salad. I was again delighted! It was made with millet, chickpeas, red onion, green onion, parsley and a few other ingredients, then topped with a dressing. I chose zesty lemon dressing. I think a lot of the flavour came from the dressing. Another hit!


Then it was time to try the tomato fennel soup. It was pretty good. Not as good as the other two things but certainly nothing to complain about.


I was in and out of the place in less than 20 minutes. I still felt a little hungry after I left but they say it takes 20 minutes for your body to register the food in your stomach. I don't think I felt hungry at all for the rest of the night but I do think that most people would need to order the 4 item combo.

In planning to return, I asked the staff about the availability of the millet salad and green patties. Their menu is on a two week rotation, which means I would have to show up two weeks later if I wanted to eat these particular items again.

I give the place two thumbs up and hope that the rest of the items on their menu are as delicious. Based on other reviews I have read I suspect they are.