A Taste of Greece: Olympos Crow-bar

There is a Greek place in my neighbourhood called Olympos Crow-bar that I’ve known of for years but just never went too, mostly because of their short hours.  They are only open Monday to Friday for breakfast and lunch which is generally when I am away from the neighbourhood but not today.  So I took a walk over to check it out.

It’s a small mom and pop place that seems to be run by some older Greek gentlemen or at least I assume they are Greek.  The place has a Greek name and one of the guys was named Jimmy so it seems a safe bet.  Both of them are quite friendly but in what I would call an old man friendly kind of way.  Like if you ask for something they will initially say no but then hand you what you asked for with a half-smile.

I got there at the end of the lunch hour so there were only a couple of tables taken and a few people sitting at the counter on the bar stools.  The menus are all on the wall behind the counter with a few additional items printed on smaller posters on the walls.  I ordered the gyro platter.  It was exactly what I expected it to be and was quite satisfying. 

I’m not sure if it is a regular menu item or a special of the day since it was on one of the small posters that can easily be removed.

Two women sitting at the counter ordered a milkshake.  It looked really big and even they commented on the size.  They seemed to enjoy it.  I’d say if you have a thing for milkshakes it might be worth checking theirs out.

I don’t know how long the place has been there but they clearly have a number of regulars which is always a good sign.  If you like mom and pop restaurants or a greasy spoon then this is definitely worth checking out.  Make sure you bring cash or your debit card.  They don’t take credit cards.

Market Street Catch

We are less than three weeks away from the start of the world cup so it’s time I got back into the swing of things on this blog.

This past weekend I decided to try out a relatively new location in the neighbourhood called Market Street Catch.   It’s located beside St. Lawrence market on the recently revamped Market Street.  There are a number of new restaurants on the street, all with patios.  It will be a great strip this summer for enjoying a meal outside and Market Street generally isn’t that busy unless it’s Saturday.

At this restaurant you are meant to order at the counter from the menu that is posted on the wall.  You then pay for your food and grab a seat.  The thing that always bothers me with this sort of set up is the tipping part.  I’ve always understood the tip to be based on the level of service received.  Here, at the point of paying I would not have received any more service than I would have from a cashier at the grocery store or McDonald's and I don’t tip the cashier at the grocery store or McDonald's so should I really tip here?  After ordering my food and with the credit card machine in my hand, I decided to make a decision on the tip later.

I grabbed a seat and noticed two girls sitting a couple of tables over from me.  They were both busy doing things on their cell phones.  My initial thought was that if they were going to have dinner “alone” they should have just come by themselves.  I then noticed one girl was flipping through a bunch of pictures on her phone.  I assumed they too must be blogging about their food or at least tweeting about it.  They eventually both put their phones down and starting eating.

When my food was ready they called my name but came directly to my table and delivered it.  I had decided to go all out and ordered their grilled seafood platter for one with salad.  There was grilled shrimp, calamari, octopus and swordfish.  It also came with some coleslaw and two sauces.

The first thing I tried was the swordfish.  I don’t know if I have ever had swordfish before but I liked it.  I then tried the octopus.  I definitely don’t eat much octopus so at this point I’m not sure if I’d know the difference between good and bad octopus but this one tasted great to me!  I then tried the shrimp and calamari.  They both tasted a little too much like the grill for my liking so I tried them with the sauces.  One sauce was a chipotle sauce, the other seemed to be a tzatziki sauce.  They were both to my liking and made the shrimp and calamari more enjoyable.  I don’t know what kind of dressing they used on the salad but I really liked it too.

I was about three quarters the way through my meal and starting to feel full when one of the wait staff came by with a fresh plate of food asking if I was Bernice.  I guess the food in front of me wasn’t a good enough sign to indicate that I wasn’t.  The other wait staff that was now clearing the table vacated by the two girls on the cell phones directed her to the correct table.

I finished my meal and dropped a tip in their tip jar before leaving.  I’m hoping to go back again this summer and perhaps have the grilled octopus with salad and just sit and relax on their patio.

A Taste of Spain: Patria

Earlier this year I heard about an "authentic" Spanish tapas place that was going to open named Patria.  Having been to Barcelona last year I was excited by this news.  All the tapa places in Toronto that I've been to are actually serving sharing plates.  The tapa/pintxo (read pincho) restaurants in Barcelona serve individual snack size portions of pretty much everything on the menu.  So if I order "pan con jamon" (bread with ham) I'd get ONE piece of bread with ham on it.  Then I can order 5 or 10 or however many different things and make a meal of it.  Oh and each item costs 1.50 to 3.00 Euros.  I found it to be a perfect way to not stuff myself.

I did some research on Patria and tried to figure out if it was going to have the authentic Spanish tapas experience I was looking for.  After doing some digging it seems the authentic part was going to be the ingredients.  So I decided to prepare myself for disappointment on the experience side but still wanted to check out the food.

Finding Patria can be a little tricky.  It's on King street but it's entrance is just down a laneway.  The best way to find it is to locate the big yellow doors of Weslodge and go to the laneway just beside it on the West side.  It took me a while to figure out where it was while it was still under construction and I didn't notice any improved signage when I went, although I wasn't looking for it anymore.

So last week on Tuesday, after having a frustrating day at work, knowing that Patria had been open for a week and a half and that I hadn't been anywhere near the place, I decided I had to go.  I went for a stroll down to King West straight from work.  When I arrived it seemed that I was the first patron.  Everyone there appeared to be staff, including the people in the second level dining space that seemed engaged in a meeting.

The menu had a number of sharing plates listed so I decided to make a meal of them.  I immediately let the waitress make some suggestions so I didn't spend too much time dwelling on the details of each dish.  I was about to order three sharing plates when the waitress suggested that I order a starter so I wouldn't be sitting there waiting for the food to come out, so I took her advice.

I ordered the pan con jamon.  There were two of them.  The bread was toasted with a light layer of crushed tomatoes that was topped with Spanish prosciutto.  It was good.  Too bad the lighting at my table wasn't.  I think I got the only table by the window that had an orange light shining in from the outside.  Sorry.  I wish I would have had my better camera with me rather than just the camera on my phone.

Just as I finished my starter one of my sharing plates came out; patatas bravas.  This was potato that had been cubed and cooked and topped with some spicy tomato and a fried egg.  My waitress suggested that I cut through the yolk and let the flavours blend.  I really liked this and I have to admit that there were some flavour combinations happening in the dish that I had never had before.

As I ate my patatas bravas my second sharing plate came out; bacon wrapped dates.  I don't recall what the menu said but the date seemed to be stuffed with both a piece of cheese and a special kind of pepper that was all wrapped with a piece of bacon.  The first bite seemed like the date just melted in my mouth.  The second bite started to bite back.  The pepper had a bit of kick but not too much. I don't recall the last time I had a stuffed date and/or bacon wrapped date but this was definitely the best one I've ever had. (Again, sorry for the picture.)

Although my desire for the authentic Spanish tapas experience was dashed, the food more than made up for it.  The service was much faster than the waitress suggested it would be too.  I hope to go back soon.  A couple other sharing plates had caught my attention so I must go back and try them.  I'm going to keep looking for the authentic Spanish tapa/pintxo experience in Toronto though.

A Taste of Italy: Pizzeria Libretto

I've been to Pizzeria Libretto twice now. Both visits were a while ago which makes this post overdue. Luckily I made some notes after each visit.

The initial drive to go to Libretto was that everyone kept talking about it. Also, since I had been to Queen Margherita's Pizza (view my post) which is often spoken of in the same breath as Libretto, I figured I had to go.

The one thing I always heard about were the wait times to get into Libretto so I wanted to try and go at a time I thought would be quieter. The first time I went was on Tuesday right at noon and it was delightfully quiet. I took a seat at the front window so as to give my something to look at while I ate, as in people watch. The man that greeted me noticed that I might need something to occupy myself with and offered me a paper. It's not that often that restaurant staff seem to think of this for single patrons so I was impressed with the service right away.

I ordered the mushroom pizza so that I could try to compare with my Queen Margherita's Pizza experience. There was plenty of flavour in Libretto's pizza. There was also plenty of garlic. I actually took some of it off since I'm overly conscientious about my breath. I definitely enjoyed the pizza and I thought it may have had a little more flavour the Queen Margherita's. This pizza also suffered from tip sag, not that I personally care but some other people obviously do. I do care about thin crust pizzas and it was nice and thin, just the way I like it.

The second time I went to Libretto I got to try 4 pizzas since there were 4 of us sharing. The thing I was most impressed with on that visit was actually the arugula and pear salad. It was really good. I might just go back and have more of that. The wait staff was also good on the second visit and offered lots of advice as we enquired about items on the menu. On that visit I went on a Monday evening at 5:30 and there was no line. Perhaps the hype is starting to die down or perhaps the beginning of the week is the best time to go to avoid a crowd.

Overall I like the place. It's a little out of the way for me to get to though. Their new location on the Danforth isn't any better for me.

Brick Street Bakery

There is a bakery in the distillery district that I've walked past many times and that on a nice summer day is packed with people trying to place their orders.  I had always assumed that it was just baked goods because whenever I poked my head in and could see the display case I only saw desserts and breads.  I never spotted any other menu.  Turns out the menu is posted on a chalkboard on the side wall on the right. 

The prices for the sandwiches seemed a little high given they don't come with anything, but the day I finally decided to try one I discovered the price posted included the tax.  I also discovered the sandwiches were quite big. 

I ordered the coronation chicken sandwich.  It is chicken mixed with a curried mayo, apricot pieces, almond pieces and topped with granny smith apple slices and lettuce.  Since they are a bakery, I am assuming they baked the bread themselves.  It was very good and very fresh.  The sandwich was very big for me.  I only at half of it while relaxing at one of their tables outside.  I wrapped the other half up in the wax paper the sandwich had come in and took it home.  I don't know if you can order a half sandwich but if it's possible I'll be doing that next time.

One thing to note.  There was a sign by the cash register that said "Cash Only" and it seemed to be stuck on top of another sign that said no credit cards.  So if you are going to try it out, arrive with cash.

Just looking at the Brick Street Bakery website I notice they have a location in FCP (First Canadian Place) that  I've also walked past many times.  Might have to go there for a work lunch sometime soon.

Miller Tavern

I went to Miller Tavern last week.  It's relatively new and located South of the Gardiner on Bay.  It looks like a slightly upscale restaurant online based on the pictures and menu.  The restaurant itself seems to be in a L shape with the bar at the main entrance with dining space where all the action seems to be and a quieter dining area around the corner.  There did seem to be another room at the very back, perhaps for private functions or large parties.  The bar side wasn't very busy when I got there but for whatever reason I got seated on the quieter side.  When my friend joined me he pointed out the comic strip style of art work (which is not present in their online photographs).  We found it an odd choice.

Given that we were sitting in the quieter section there wasn't too much to report on other than the food.  I ordered the seafood pad thai.  The flavour was good but there was one thing I was disappointed with, the tiny scallops.  I was hoping for some nice sized scallops when I ordered the meal.  I don't think you could get scallops any smaller.  Overall the dish was still good but I would be inclined to order something else the next time just because I know I'd be disappointed with the scallops again.

I ordered one drink while I was there.  I can't remember exactly what was in it other than tequila and St-Germain liqueur.  That thing seemed pretty potent.  I was feeling intoxicated for a while after I got home which I was not expecting.  Good thing I'm a happy drunk!

My friend ordered the lobster and seafood gratin.  He said it was really good and "the gratin was flavourful and satisfying".  He called it good comfort food.  The scallops were the same size as the ones I had though.

When we were leaving the place the bar side was very busy and full of men. I knew I should have sat on that side!

A Taste of the Sea at Buster's Sea Cove

It took me a while to warm up to St. Lawrence Market to buy food from and even longer to buy a ready to eat meal.  I'm actually still warming up to the restaurant part of the market and today was a day to give it another go.  At the South end of the main floor are quite a few seafood vendors and nestled in the back corner is a seafood restaurant, Buster's Sea Cove.  I decided to give it a try.

There isn't a lot of space to order or eat.  It's one of those places that you can easily wonder how to find the end of the line if they get busy.  Thankfully they actually had a guy outside the booth assisting with the line and submitting your order while you wait to get to the cashier.  Once you've paid you just listen for your number to be called then try to find somewhere to sit.  There are only a few tables available.  The rest of the seating are bar stools.  I found a stool at the counter and tried to get comfortable which is hard when there is no place to put your jacket. My seat was the empty stool in the picture below.

I had ordered the grilled salmon with salad.  I was a little surprised by the long skinny piece of salmon I got but it was a decent thickness so I'm hoping that the looks were deceiving.  There was no arguing that it had fantastic flavour.  I really liked it.  The coleslaw and salad with house dressing were both good as well.  I can't remember the last time I order a salmon salad (which was basically what that was) but the next time I see someone eating one at a restaurant I will have to take note of the salmon portion size to see how it compares.

 

While I was eating, the guy that was assisting the line was occasionally submitting orders.  Since I was seated right at the counter I could hear everything loud and clear and it kind of made me feel like I was at a fun fair.  You know, those guys that have the microphones and speakers in their game booths announcing things and trying to draw a crowd.  That sort of thing.

One other  thing that I noticed was their bottles of vinegar.  They use spray bottles.  I don't recall if I have ever seen that before but either way I liked the idea.  It makes it so much easier to get your fries and fish covered in the vinegar rather than ending up with a pool of vinegar at the bottom of the food container.

I may want to go back sometime and try their grilled calamari.  I heard a number of people ordering that, however, I just noticed they have clam strips on the menu.  I haven't had those in ages!  I'll probably go back and get some of those. (In case you are wondering, those are curly fries and onion rings listed under the cups on the menu below.)