The Tuesday Taste - Red Lobster

 

 

Well everybody's lined up at my house

my house

And Sarah's girlfriend

is working the door

Got everybody's PA in my house

my house

All the robots

descend from the bus 

 

Another Tuesday... another Taste! This one is a bit of an unplanned, unusual one.

See, I keep a list of places I intend to review for these Tuesday articles. Spoiler but, my initial intention for this week was to try Shelby's Shawarma (there's one semi-close to where I play baseball on Saturdays)... but there were some complications (drinking a lot of beer with the people I play baseball with on Saturdays). 

Instead... my mum was in town for a Monday afternoon and proposed she, my dad and myself, meet for lunch at the classic Red Lobster in that atrium on Dundas and Bay street. My mum has a strange thing with places like this: if they offer some kind of "all you can eat" special she is extremely gung-ho about it (Mandarin seems to be another favourite of her's for this reason I suspect).

Anyhow! We three met up for a late lunch, I indeed ordered the 'endless shrimp' special, and now I'm using it as an excuse to review Red Lobster. Why not! Seafood isn't something frequently visited here, in this weird little corner of the internet I call my own... so here's one of the more famous seafood chains in North America. 

Recent times have not been kind to Red Lobster, and the future of the company appears murky to put it politely. However, lets dive into its past rather than speculate about their future. The first one opened in Lakeland, Florida (a familiar town if you watch spring training baseball) in the late 1960s and within a short period of time were bought out by processed food conglomerate General Mills. 

Interestingly, Red Lobster expanded into Canada quite early on and has maintained a steady presence throughout southern Ontario. Not entirely sure if the company's financial woes are affecting their Canadian outposts as well (there are about two dozen operating in Canada, and none east of Quebec) but enough of my endless backstories lets dive into some endless shrimp.

 

The famed Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Well, I guess they're famed I didn't even know they had this name until starting to write this article. 

As far as biscuits go... these are solid. Bit of a cheesy taste, they break apart nicely, are buttery inside and there's a pleasant flavour and texture to them. Good smell too, and the seasoning is on point. We're off to a good start indeed. 

 

 

Back to the lead photograph. For my side I went with french fries and... they're pretty meh and generic. Not particularly crispy, they're your standard frozen fry fare. I ate about half of them and wished I'd gotten mashed potatoes instead. 

I'm hardly gonna hold a grudge against Red Lobster because their fries are barely passable... so lets get into the shrimp. These first two shrimpy items are their shrimp linguini and what they call "Walt's Special" or something... a breaded shrimp that's somewhat thicker than a tempura batter but much less crusty then it indeed looks.

Both are enjoyable dishes. Not the best pasta I've ever encountered (noodles were a little stiff and undercooked) but the flavour of the shrimp mixed with an oily, garlicy sauce is simple but very effective. As for Walter Johnson's breaded shrimp or whatever the hell it's called (Red Lobster's website is not particularly helpful in describing their menu items)... what makes this work truly is how the batter isn't heavy, overtly greasy, or unpleasantly crunchy either. It certainly shines best with the cocktail sauce, no doubt, but it is breaded and fried in just the right way to allow the soft sea saltiness of the shrimp to truly be the star, and that combination of light crunch and tender shrimp is quite delightful. Probably the best thing I tried here.

 

 

How about some garlic fried shrimp? In butter? Look... I'm gonna assume you, dear reader, have read a few of my reviews and thus know my thoughts about buttery, garlicy things and how their mere existence makes our world a significantly better place. These were stupidly delicious and it's not hard to imagine why. If you somehow screw up shrimp, butter and garlic... I don't know what to say.

 

 

Nah, we'll talk more about this one... a sweet and spicy Thai fried shrimp. Some lettuce bits, some well placed green onions, and some lightly crunchy (no tails here) breaded shrimp in sneakily sweet spicy sauce. Honestly... pretty good! The sauce hits with some initial bright red chili heat but its creaminess keeps it from overwhelming the tongue. Meanwhile there's a honey-like sticky sweetness that is consistent throughout. This was a secret winner: it was the last thing I ordered from the 'endless shrimp' options and they kindly let me take half of it to go... even cold after getting home from work this was still quite a tasty snack. 

 

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Overall! As I warned above... this is an unusual review in how both this was genuinely better than expected, and also there isn't a whole lot else I can describe in depth. I didn't anticipate it would be awful, not at all... more average-ish and indeed it ended up being on the higher end of that expectation. 

There's nothing wrong with any of these dishes (okay the fries aren't good but whatever) and not much really exceptional about them either. Not gonna blow your mind, not gonna leave you with a bad taste in your mouth either. Which is my problem: how the heck can I get into depth about a level of food that is both enjoyable yet extremely not memorable? 

That's Red Lobster. Enjoyable yet not memorable. At least, not memorable from a culinary perspective. Seeing your parents for a rare lunch? Both enjoyable and memorable. And eating a ton of shrimp has it's own little joys as well... yeah. There is far, far better seafood to experience and enjoy in this fine city we call Toronto... but Red Lobster tows the line of this middle ground that seems reliably decent. 

 

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Tuesday Tune

Such a catchy song and a funky video as well.

 

 

 That's all for this week! Until next time... stay safe, stay cool and don't spill that mustard.

    

This Week In Pizza: Bar Sugo

 

 

This is an interesting one.

Sugo the restaurant has been around for several years now (I recall an ex telling me how good their lasagna was back in late 2018) and it feels like the whole run of their existence has been crazy lineups and busyness. An instant hit and one that has persisted. I mean, that pesky pandemic probably slowed them up just a little bit... but here in 2024, even with a second location right beside the original, both places are filled with noisy chaos even on a Sunday evening. 

I've still never been to Sugo, but I did try their sister restaurant Conzo's (the previous next door tenant) a couple of times. A dear friend of mine lives/used to live (it's complicated at the moment) very close to there, and me of course being a pizza fiend-I-mean-expert... well you can figure it out. He's a vegetarian however... so we would normally settle upon some kind of mushroom pie to share, which leads into one of the weirder pizzas I've ever had. Settle in for storytime! (yeah yeah I heard that groan).

It actually isn't much of a story. Basically, I called and we agreed on Conzo's special of that particular day: a mushroom and pineapple pizza. That's it that's all... sauce, cheese, mushrooms and pineapple. 

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Side note upon a side note time: I still don't get the extreme hatred 'pineapple on pizza' evokes from so many people. The dislike of it is understandable: personally I can't stand anchovies or any kind of olive on a pizza... that kind of intense saltiness is a complete disqualification. No, what I don't understand is the intense passion with which people despise pineapple... like it's an affront to the very beautiful concept of pizza. Even Gordon Ramsay feels this way! Okay, maybe that isn't surprising. 

But why pineapple? How about sliced apples or pear or figs on a pizza? Those all happen too. I've just never understood the militarism against what, in my view, is a very inoffensive topping (it's also one of the easiest to pick off if you don't like it!)

Alas, perhaps my poorest ever pizza decision does involve pineapple. When I was much, much younger (still living at home) Domino's still had their soil-cheap one topping pickup special and one day I went and got one. For whatever inconceivable reason (maybe I was doing a vegetarian month thing?) I chose pineapple as my one topping... and you know you've made a bizarre choice when the Domino's employees at Sherbourne and Wellesley look at you with skepticism.

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Anyhow I don't need to describe how that 'just pineapple and sauce and cheese' pizza from Domino's tasted (spoiler... not very good). But that was also Domino's (also generally not very good)... Conzo's mushroom and pineapple pizza? Strangely effective and tasty. Mind boggling indeed... the pineapple was unsurprisingly very out of place but the overall strong quality of the pizza made this Frankenstein experiment actually work (unlike the murderous wretched existential crisis I'd initially feared).

This was a few years ago and in that span of time, Conzo's shuttered/reconfigured into what is now Bar Sugo. The difference between 'Sugo' and 'Bar Sugo' is... um... one has "Bar" in the title? Actually, while still never having sat down inside either restaurant, the original Sugo is smaller and more like a classical casual Italian restaurant... whereas 'Bar' Sugo has a few more tables, the inside is wooden paneled and narrow with the bar immediately at the entranceway. 

Bar Sugo also describes itself as a pizzeria ('Sugo' doesn't even offer it) which is why (at long last, sorry) we're here. Checking out Bar Sugo's pizza!

Even though I'd tried Conzo's a few times I never reviewed them (nor can I find a photo I know I took of said pizza). A while back I also saw a post on Reddit mentioning how the new Bar Sugo had changed their dough recipe from the Conzo's one. Good enough reason for me to approach this as something completely new. 

On a fairly cool August Sunday evening (after trying the exceptional and nearby-ish Gram's Pizza), I made my way through the crowded sidewalk of Bloor and Lansdowne (well over a dozen people waiting in line to eat at either Sugo) for a 'to go' pizza.

 

 

One little aspect I found endearing was the choice of names for Bar Sugo's pizzas. Many of them have a Toronto reference to them: their Margherita pie is named for nearby Margueretta Street, another is named Vinny Massimo as a nod to College/Spadina's old pizzeria Massimo's (now Fresca), then you've got 'Vesuvio's' (surely I don't have to explain that reference), 'GiGi' for the infamous Harbord spot (a nice little wink by putting basil on there) and the very pizza you see in the photo above... the 'Bitondo' (again I don't have to explain that one). Somewhat corny? Perhaps, but personally I like the nod to some of the famed pizzas of Toronto past (I guess it would've been logistically tricky/confusing to name a whole pizza 'The Big Slice' but nevertheless).

Bar Sugo's 'Bitondo' pizza is essentially their take on a meat lovers: pepperoni, smoked bacon, and their meatballs subbing in as the ground beef/sausage component. Some shavings of parmesan are also present along the crust but honestly just serve to make the pizza look prettier (although there is a little chunk of parm on the side) while that little packet off in the left corner is filled with basil. Quite wise of them to separate the basil this way for a takeout order, lest it soften/dry out upon the hot fresh pizza and lose its distinct flavour by the time one arrives home/wherever to eat it. 

 

 

On visuals alone... that's a pretty damn good looking pizza. Poofy and cheesy, loaded with deliciously appealing meats, bubbles of char in just the right places. Does it taste as good as it looks?        

Holy pigs flying it sure does. It took about ten minutes to find an adequate place to start eating some of this, so the pie had cooled significantly... but it didn't matter. Even warm-ish, the flavours and texture here were completely on an elite level. 

The sauce... it makes its presence known immediately, like a tomato grenade. Vivid and hearty, like a thick cheesy tomato soup that reminds one of a snow day from school (not that we get a lot of those here in Canada... just climb over that snowbank and don't forget your textbook). One of the best tomato sauces on any pizza I've had in Toronto, it has the perfect level of presence to be wonderful and not obstruct the other flavours. I instantly knew it was fantastic, and I suppose that should be no surprise considering this is a restaurant in such high demand for their pasta dishes.

The cheese isn't quite at that 'geezus this is one of the best pizza sauces ever' standard, but is still excellent. That oily, buttery, specifically full-taste of a legitimate mozzarella is unmistakable... not overly melted but just enough to cover most of the surface of the pie, giving you that precious cheesiness in nearly every bite. 

There's a remarkable and wonderful softness to this pizza, extraordinarily impressive when you consider the crispy meats that adorn the top of it. The base dough melts away in the mouth, while the crust gives significant char flavour yet itself is also deceptively soft and bready. Definitely the kind of crust that gets more chewy rather than crunchy/crumbly once cold (more on that later).

Toppings! Well... it's a lot of meat. Meat! The pepperoni is your classic tiny pepp cups, not super crispy around the edges but very thin and consistent throughout. I've written so many of these reviews that I can only describe what freaking pepperoni tastes like so many times... however you can tell a quality pepp by it's lasting subtlety, rather than a cheap one that gives a salty greasy hit and departs immediately afterward (insert joke here). 

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this pizza, which is a turbo-charged Meat Lover's don't forget... is how barely salty it is overall. The smokiness of the crispy bacon strips hide whatever saltiness may or not be there, and is another excellent topping in it's own right. Meanwhile the bits of meatball... very tender and juicy, no hard exterior crust from the oven, and you get a good taste of a bread/egg/meat blend. Simple, yet very delicious. I can see why people order this as its own dish. 

 

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Overall! I don't think it's going to be any surprise when I strongly recommend the pizza at Bar Sugo, which I most certainly am doing. 

There is a singular flaw, however, that must be mentioned: the reheat test. Strangely, the toaster oven (on a little baking sheet) worked much better than the low heat frying pan method. For whatever reason, the pan dried the slice out considerably, the biggest casualty being the crust which became pretty tough and chewy (still good with some hummus though). The toaster oven made the slice a bit gooier and floppier, losing the cooked base benefit of the pan but the slice overall was much softer and required less work from my teeth. Sadly, neither method could rejuvenate this pizza's greatest asset: that wondrous tomato sauce. So excellent and present when fresh, but dried and invisible on any reheat. Tragic indeed.

Regardless of that, Bar Sugo is a better pizza than I remember Conzo's being (which was still extremely good). It's basically the same pizza just notably better around the margins, while the sauce is an absolute home run... and it is good to not have to eat a vegetarian pizza for a change. 

You can see how ridiculously busy they get by that photo (8:30pm on a Sunday!) and they don't take reservations except for large groups... so trying them is either a "plan well ahead and still be prepared to wait outside", or know somebody who lives closeby and take a pizza over to their house. Or eat it on a random park bench at Dundas West and Brock Avenue... we all have our own ways.

This is one of Toronto's best pizzas, full stop. Gotta be Top 15, I'm thinking... even the reheat disappointment can't deny them a worthy 'A-' grade from me. There are better ones for sure... but not many and in this elite company the nuances become very subjective.

 

 

The Tuesday Taste - Slayer Burger

 

 

Soon it will be too late

Bobbing for apples can wait

I know you're used to

16 or more

Sorry we only have 8

 

Another Tuesday... another Taste!

We've done a lot of cheeseburgers here in the third edition/incarnation of the TT... and some darn good ones. Whether it be the sheer greasy wonderfulness of Harry's, the simple precision of Friday Burger Co, the satisfying BBQness of Montana's (indeed a mighty fine burger), or an American classic (grilled onions, pickles and smashed beef) emulated brilliantly via Burger Drops. 

Forget my 'Taco Month' thingy I attempted to make a thing (damn tricky thingys)... summer 2024 has apparently been the year I review exceptional Toronto burgers. Montana's is seriously the one out of place among those four... and it was still pretty good! Those other three though... goddamn. 

No pressure, Slayer Burger, but also... PRESSURE! The burger quality bar(TM) at this point in time is seriously raised. These aren't the old days where I hadn't yet reviewed Burger King and so kinda had to... only to struggle to invent anything positive to say about a Whopper. A current Whopper compared to any of these 2024 burgers we've had on the TT... it's like comparing a freshly made beautiful pasta dish (noodles pressed and made fresh the same day) to eating Kraft Dinner with a side of store brand ketchup as the singular addition, and the macaroni was boiled far too long. 

Slayer Burger is a mini-Toronto burger chain that (seems?) to have set their roots in 2020, now with three locations at the moment (and possibly still a food truck): one in Midtown Toronto on Yonge Street, one up in the fringes of northern East York near O'Connor and St. Clair Avenue, and one on the corner of Lewis Street and Queen East, a good outfield throw away from the Riverside hub of Broadview/Queen. You can guess which one this reviewer Beaches cat visited.

If you were thinking "Hey, Slayer is also the name of a famous hard metal band. I wonder if there's any connection?" Well if so, all those years of headbanging have rattled your brain juices around for good! Slayer Burger is indeed a reference to the legendary thrash metal group, and they've leaned into the heavy rock aesthetically as well.

 

 

Objectively, you can't deny that's a pretty rocking mural of guitarist Jeff Hanneman. Here's the artist's website, Medeio, including video of him starting it from scratch. 

I could chat about hard rock forever, but lets push aside the dressings for now and jump into Slayer Burger's menu. Slayer appear to be a type of hamburger hybrid: offering both a smash style patty and a more traditional grilled one. As mentioned above, this accidentally has become the summer of smash burgers in these parts, and so I went for their signature Slayer Burger Smash. With a side of regular fries of course (they also offer truffle fries, which was incredibly tempting but this was going over budget already). 

 

 

The Slayer Smash! A very straightforward affair: burger patty, melted cheddar cheese, bacon, caramelized onions and Slayer Sauce, all on a sesame seed bun. 

This sesame seed bun (strange to start there I know) is something I found most curious, in a good way. Hero Burger likewise uses sesame seed buns for their burgers, and I think as such that's the place Slayer reminded me the most of. The beef however is where they take different paths, since Hero is exclusively a grilled, thicker and more firm patty than this. Hero did attempt to jump in on the smash burger craze for a brief time, with pretty meh/okay-ish results. 

Back to Slayer... I have to mention how wonderful this burger smells. I mean, it takes impressive skill to screw up a bacon cheeseburger (and yet it happens so often)... but this Slayer burger, um... slays (groan) with its scent. An instant whiff of sweet onions and freshly fried bacon? Your mouth might already just be watering by the mere thought of it. 

 

 

Diving deeper, the burger itself has the tender juiciness of your typical smash offering, only without the greasier edges (or greasiness in general). It breaks apart pretty easily once you're halfway in, but it also maintains that juiciness start to finish. Very consistent texture and flavour, and both those things linger nicely after each chomp. Even those last bites, the meat cold and the bacon a little tougher... the burger remained extremely tasty. There's a general BBQ smokiness throughout a lot of the flavour (mostly the bacon) that is prominent but never completely takes over. 

In my mind, the caramelized onions are really this burger's secret weapon. While neither the beef patty or the bacon are aggressively salty, the sharp sweetness (you really taste the brown sugar) of these onions give this burger another dimension that both balances out the other elements and adds a pleasant flavour in its own right. It elevates this Slayer burger from pretty good to another, more memorable, level. 

Back to the bun! It's like Wings' "Back To The Egg", except better (I'm guessing maybe one out of every potential three hundred people reading this will get that joke). A short point about the bun I only realized while finishing the burger: there's a butteryness that reminded me of a biscuit, except without the crunchy exterior. Bit of sweetness as well, the kind you get in a potato bun (Slayer do offer potato buns for their other burgers, not sure if the sesame seed ones are). 

 

 

How about them fries? Seems like every time I go review one of these smashy smash burger joints, crinkle cut fries are always tagging along for the ride. 

Simplicity is the game here. These are good fries: consistently crispy, not much seasoning at all (just a bit of salt) and the portion (this was an individual side order, I don't do combos) was huge. Not much else to say... very enjoyable and the leftovers held up okay on a reheat. 

There's also a dip they threw in (you can see it in the lead photo) which your standard "chipotle mayo" type of thing. More smokiness to it than heat, solid creaminess, and a bit of a citrus sting to it. A quality dip that won't blow you away (very light).

 

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Overall! I was most impressed by the continuous taste throughout Slayer Burger's offerings... it is always a good sign when a mix of flavours pleasantly stay on the tongue a solid moment afterwards. 

It's a tower of a task to completely reinvent a bacon cheeseburger, so instead of turning a wheel into a hexagon Slayer simply makes a high quality one with some little details to make it their own. I don't quite think I liked this as much as Burger Drops or Friday (and certainly not Harry's) but Slayer was extremely good nonetheless and I would recommend checking them out. 

Just another very good small-ish local burger chain that sure kicks the heck out of your super-gigantic fast food burger options. If I'd tried Slayer two years ago, back when I was reviewing the likes of Burger King, McDonald's and such... this probably would've completely blown my mind by comparison. As is... mighty damn rocking fine in its own right and filling too.

 

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Burnt Ends

Been writing other review-y things! Checked out another little Toronto restaurant chain, Mercatto, and tried their pizza again (who is at all surprised). Also wrote up a new Toronto pizza slice joint in the west end, Gram's, which I really really enjoyed (spoiler, but go read the review anyhow!). And finally, in the final gasps of 'Taco Month' I checked out Dirty Birrias here in the Beaches. 

Plenty more to come! Maybe even something(s) that aren't food related (gee it has been a while). 

 

Tuesday Tune

It would've been so easy to put a Slayer song here. So obvious! Alas... I um... don't really know Slayer at all.

Devil horns revoked, indeed.

Instead you're getting the opposite of that... 1970s Yacht Rock! Okay, calling Steely Dan "Yacht Rock" is a seriously inaccurate assessment. Okay... yeah fine they kinda are (Michael McDonald was in the freaking band for a while fer-cryin-outloud) but there's a lot more to the songcraft and Donald Fagen's storytelling and lyricism than just your generic "soft rock blandness". I don't care much for the likes of Christopher Cross or Doobie Brothers among others, but I've loved Steely Dan essentially my entire life so damnit I'll perish upon this very short hill. 

Here's a song from 'Katy Lied', their fourth album (and one I don't even like all that much!). But it's a great tune... light-hearted and softly groovy in tone, but with a weird and very creepy lyrical underbelly that makes Steely Dan so clever and different, he says while digging into that hill (dig up, stupid!). 

That's all for this week! Until next time... you know the drill. Stay safe, stay cool and don't spill that mustard. 

              

          

This Week In Pizza: Gram's Pizza

 

 

In the span of trying... geez, at this point close to 175 different pizza joints in Toronto... well I've unsurprisingly exhausted anything remotely near my east end abode. 

As such, when I have a free afternoon/evening dedicated to trying a new place, there's an certain element of adventure to it, an excuse to explore an unfamiliar part of town. There's a reason I've always called these Pizza 'Quests' after all... the considerable travel required to get to a lot of these spots cannot be understated. After half an hour on any streetcar, bus or subway train here in Toronto... you're likely in a fairly different neighbourhood of the city (also counterpoint: yeah insert your TTC joke here). 

Still, tethered to the whims of public transit or not... once you're out the door and on the road... adventure! Gram's Pizza is (what a spoiler) nowhere near my house. Instead, they're located just off the western end of Dupont Street, very close to the GO Train tracks (and the Western Railpath trail that runs alongside it). 

As I type these words (in mid-August 2024) just ten days ago I'd never even heard of Gram's Pizza. A buddy from baseball with whom I chat considerably about pizza  (I'll come to Georgetown one day soon and finally try Sadboy, I swear) messaged me one evening, explaining a friend of his was raving about some pizza place named "Gram's". While a definite "I trust this dude's taste" was a factor in trying Gram's so quickly... mostly you had me at 'pizza'. But also... you had me at pizza.  

The timing worked out to try them by that Sunday. A long-ish subway ride and short bike ride later, I'd reached Dupont and Edwin. The quaintness of this stretch of Dupont is something I'd entirely forgotten: lots of little shops and storefronts, brick buildings with old weather worn paint, the intersections with  traffic lights have an unusual calmness... there's really a "main street in a small town" vibe to it all. At least if you don't go under the GO bridge and end up at the cursed Annette/Dundas/Dupont/Old Weston interchange of madness. 

After almost biking the wrong way and backtracking past the original Mattachioni (a damn good one), I found Gram's Pizza on the very same street I'd traveled northward on: Edwin Avenue, a couple doors north of Dupont. How'd I miss that?

 

 

I guess from a distance I thought it was a yard sale instead of a pizza joint? Neighbours offering piano lessons? Or running a small bookstore? Or... just about anything you can imagine? I mean that last bit within reason of course... although if "Gram's Pizza" ended up being just a front for "Gram's Mega Super Space Jetpacks" that would objectively be pretty cool.     

Can I mention the quaintness again? Gram's Pizza (space jetbacks or no) is a front row example of somebody deciding to turn their driveway into a patio, I absolutely love it. The plant boxes give the patio a cozier sense of enclosure as well, like sitting on a front porch that's extremely close to a sidewalk. Aside from a persistent bee (bastard) this was a very welcoming outdoor area to sit for a pizza slice.

Taking an interior picture didn't feel right, so you'll have to take my word that the inside of Gram's Pizza is very much like a garage converted into a takeout pizza joint. You've got semi-low ceilings, the ordering counter precisely squeezed in right by the entrance... I didn't see it but hell, if there wasn't a tool table lingering in the back I'm sure there was one not long ago.

The whole feel of the place really is a Do-It-Yourself masterclass, a true "screw it, lets start making pizzas out of the garage" and it's endlessly charming. The menu on the wall is written in sharpie marker upon the bottoms of brown cardboard pizza boxes... it's that kind of place, and I'm not really sure I've ever been to a pizza place quite like this one before anyhow.   

 

   

How about some pizza? As well as full pies, Gram's offers slices (bless them) at five bucks each, which is really quite reasonable compared with other joints (for example: the ten dollar slices at the offensively underwhelming District Pizza). 

The two slices you see above are, their vodka sauce slice on the left, their spicy soppressata on the right, and a dip of their spicy(!) garlic in the middle. I chomped into the vodka slice first, so we'll start there.

 

 

I've said many times over the years that when it comes to styles of pizzas: I'm not picky. There really isn't one type I prefer over any other, whether it be deep dish, Detroit, wood fired, New York, classic tavern style, whatever you want to call Afro's etc (it deserves its own category). If it's done well, send it express mail to my mouth hole. 

The reason I mention this is because the New York style (which Gram's is) seems to be the most widely accessible style (at least here in Canada/US, doubt that statement would fly in Italy). I've sung my praises of Descendant endlessly but I also understand that particular composition, the thick rectangular thing that looks more like a giant (delicious) brick than a pizza... might not be for everyone. Conversely, I've met a lot of people where the New York type of slice is their absolute go-to favourite. Different tastes! It makes food conversations fun (sure beats the hell out of arguing politics...)

So Gram's is a pizza in the New York style: thin, lightly crisp bottom, but the cheese has to be gooey and plentiful. Do they pull it off? Answer: damn right they do. That base crispness is completely irresistible, a perfect dual texture with the melty cheese and solid amount of sauce within. That sauce, the vodka sauce, is also quite tasty: not overly creamy or oniony, really more in the middle with a sweeter onion hint than a typical vodka sauce. 

This was probably the slice I appreciated the most of the two, mostly because I'm endlessly impressed by any place that can make such a simple slice never become boring as you eat it. It's just cheese and vodka sauce... and it needs nothing else. As tasty on the last bite as on the first. Excellent. 

While we're here, lets talk the spicy garlic dip. Spice and garlic? Together at last in dip form? Obviously I could not resist. I will say though I didn't get much of the garlic in here, but the spice element was quite different. Instead of your typical chili pepper heat, this was more like earthier spices you'd find in Middle Eastern cuisines... a black peppery sharpness rather than actual heat (although some of that does creep in). I did like it! Definitely not what I expected.

 

 

Door number two! The spicy soppressata slice. You've got your salami, jalapenos (look pickled to me) some caramelized onions and your standard tomato sauce base. 

You get a lot of the same crispness as you do the vodka slice, although this one is much floppier (there's more stuff on it). That stuff (the toppings) might just be the weak link. They're good, don't get me wrong... but compared to the base elements (texture, cheese, sauce) they don't quite match up to that exceptional level. The soppressata is very thinly sliced sure, but I don't get much of its presence in this slice. Not really a strong distinct flavour even when you get a sizeable bit of it... fairly ordinary. 

The caramelized onions are very nice though: subtly sweet, flat and moist (I hate using that word to positively describe food... 'moist' never sounds like a good thing but it is here, honestly). The jalapenos by themselves aren't particularly dangerous but their effect throughout the slice (the spicy pickled oils) is noticeable and gives the affair some nice zing.

There is a ringer in the midst, however, and it's the tomato sauce. Absolutely delightful: there's a warm, softness to this sauce, vivid without being assertive or domineering. And it lingers wonderfully after every bite... despite being in that middle between earthy and sweet, it really stands out as an excellent tomato sauce. 

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Overall! This place is seriously exceptional (my friend's friend was indeed right to rave about them). DYI charm can only carry you so far if you don't quite know what you're doing... but Gram's definitely hits the bulleye with anything you'd expect out of a NYC style slice. The crisp thinness, the flop, the cheesy presence (not too much either, juuust the perfect amount)... it's all great. 

The only weakness was the salami on the salami slice, which is unfortunate because being just 'okay' stands out on a pizza of this genuinely high quality. That won't stop me from strongly recommending them: go out to Dupont and Edwin (it's semi-close to Dundas West station, and like a block away from the most insane intersection in Toronto) and give em a try. 

Really damn good, and the experience of eating much of this on their front patio made this east-ender feel like a local of the area. There was a friendly barking dog! A huge church directly across the street! When a pie is this good and the adventure of going there is nearly as memorable... Gram's Pizza gets a firm 'A--' from me. A new favourite I'll be suggesting to many people, and on quality/merit alone I'd say a Top 20 overall in Toronto. 

                       

This Week In Pizza: Cantina Mercatto

 

 

Ah, the humble mushroom pizza. Simple, yet refined and elegant. 

Mercatto is a small chain of restaurants here in Toronto that offer elevated Italian fare, ranging from your appetizer staples like arancini and prosciutto/cheese plates, to mains like pasta and, of course, pizza. 

This was not my first experience with the Mercatto chain: back in 2019 during the First Great Pizza Quest, I stopped by the now departed one (Mercatto Locale) on Bay Street. They made a positive impression (ranking 38th on my 2022 list) but what stood out most of all was the Happy Hour Negroni that they poured from a tap. I'd never even really liked Negronis up to that point (now I think they're delicious) and this particular one just hit the spot in that particular moment. 

Mercatto Locale may no longer exist (likely a casualty of the pandemic times) but a reunion with some awesome folks I haven't seen in quite some time found me at sister restaurant Cantina Mercatto, located near Wellington and Yonge (right across the street from a place I used to work!). 

We were a large-ish table (about eight of us) and started the evening with a round of cocktails. Remembering my previous Mercatto experience, I had to try their white peach Negroni: gin, peach schnapps, white vermouth, with a mint leaf and raspberry as garnish. Pretty tasty, in a dangerous (I could drink several of these they're so smooth) way.

Believe it or not I wasn't certain I would actually get a pizza (been there done that), but none of their pasta dishes appealed to me this particular day so... once again living up to my reputation was the play. As said in the intro, this is their mushroom pie: cremini mushrooms, a besciamella sauce base (bechamel, yes I had to look it up), shavings of grana padano, fontina as the primary cheese, and some thyme because there's always time for thyme (it is on my side, yes it is). 

Really, there isn't a whole lot I can truly dive into here. Is it a good pizza? Certainly. Among Toronto's very best? Nope. Quite a few storeys below that CN Tower-like benchmark. 

The next question, naturally, is what puts Mercatto in this middle ground of goodness. For me, the flavour is excellent but repetitive. This would be a fantastic pizza to share with a couple friends, each of you eating a single slice. Taking it on solo... around the halfway point you've become too accustomed to the pleasant taste and there isn't a lingering 'X' factor to jazz up any random bite. 

It's consistently mushrooms and rich melted cheese, which is delicious indeed but boring after two whole slices of it, and there isn't anything else really happening. Dollops of blue cheese (like Libretto does with their mushroom pie), or roasted garlic... as I often say with pizzas in this particular grade range: you're in the front lawn of the elite, but just missing a couple key elements to get up to the front door. 

Mercatto did offer a little side of their chili oil, which did help spice up the pie a little. The crust was also pretty ordinary for a wood-fired offering: semi-dry and extremely dusty, although with good char and crunch in spots. 

For as limited as it is (two dimensional thinking), this is still a quality pizza. Cremini mushrooms are always a winner via their natural juiciness, the softer fontina cheese subs in for the mozzarella expertly (and is plentiful), the sharpness of shaved grana padano just makes too much sense with earthy mushrooms and a well melted cheese, and the richness of the besciamella isn't distinctive on its own but definitely bleeds into the overall creamy richness of this pie. 

This all really works well, and another positive is how terrific it still was on the reheat test... not losing much or any of the precious moisture (definitely a pan on low heat for this type of pizza). 

 

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Cantina Mercatto and the Mercattos in general are a quality Italian restaurant brand. Casual fine dining, to use a common term. The type of place fancy enough to have a considerable wine list, the servers wear dress shirts and replace your cutlery after the first course... but also not so snobby that you can show up in a Beck T-shirt and not feel like they're looking at you as a hobo. It appeals to both the Bay Street suit business lunch and an artsy group of friends out for something sleek. And the food is reliably good.

'Reliably good' is a positive thing, but here in my realm (the Pizza Realm) it's not gonna get you close to the top. The elevated price (this pie was 25) throws off the balance somewhat as well (there are better spots of equal sleekness where a pie like this would be 19-22). As such... I can't really recommend it unless like me you just happen to be going there for a social occasion. The quality is there without question, but there isn't enough else going on conceptually. A great first taste pizza, with diminishing returns.

Still, objectively this is probably a high 'B' from me... and adding in some other factors (the overall experience, the tasty white Negroni) I'll throw it into the low 'B+' range, probably placing it on the fringes of the Top 50 in Toronto, which might be generous. Good pizza! But there are so many better ones that is is hardly a 'gotta try it'. Go with a group and have a fun time being with cool people.  

                 

The Tuesday Taste - Leslie's Sandwich Room

 

 

Lime and limpid green

a second scene

A fight between the blue

you once knew

Floating down, the sound resounds

around the icy waters

underground

 

Another Tuesday... another Taste! Yes! We're back for another run of food trying fun. The whole 'July Taco Month' concept didn't progress as smoothly as hoped... although I did get to eat quite a few tacos so... obviously an overall success.

Regardless! There will be a few more taco reviews in the future (two places in particular) but lets get back to reviewing other things. Like sandwiches? Blimey! Where on Earth would I find a place that offers such a rare, niche item? Hmmmm... wait, I've got it! How about a place... that has 'Sandwich' literally (actually literally) in their name. Brilliant! Yeah, you've wasted a minute of your life reading my silly buildup here but if it makes you feel any better... I wasted five minutes of mine writing it. 

How about some substance of the backstory variety. Leslie's Sandwich Room (located in Leslieville, they offer sandwiches and it is indeed a room) opened up just off the corner of Queen Street East and Heward, a block southeast of Carlaw Avenue. The address is 969 Queen Street East, a large red brick building on a south-east corner with a varied history of tenants in that ground-level spot. Before a sandwich room, there was a samosa place apparently very eager to announce they were coming soon (unfortunately this was 2020-21, an era not fertile for optimism). 

Checking old Google Map street photos (seriously recommend this, some go back almost two decades and it's a trip)... before the doomed samosas 969 Queen East appeared to have been a longtime shop for toddler/baby accessories. Maybe this might be yawn-inducing to some readers and I apologize somewhat, but personally my memory is really wonky (I'll remember a pizza from 2018 but forget my co-workers names several times). I love the kind of stuff where you remember what once was previously in an exact location... can you blame me? I went to high school near Yonge and Bloor here in Toronto and that intersection in its current form makes me feel like my parachute just accidentally landed in a totally different city.     

Back on topic. The owners of Leslie's Sandwich Room appear to have all worked together for quite some time (Toronto Life gets into slightly more detail about it, slightly) and I have to say the idea of one of the owners of a restaurant actually living upstairs, coming down occasionally to raid the cookie stash... truly and absolutely delightful. 

How about me? Obviously I don't tell enough of my stories on here, obviously. Fine twist my arm... well Leslie's Sandwich Room first came to my attention on Reddit (possibly a comment on my Lambo's review) and I was immediately intrigued as I'd never even heard of this sandwich, in Leslie's room-I mean Leslieville! 

Naturally, it took me many months to get around to it because... I'm good at this I swear. But! An old wonderful friend of mine happened to be house-sitting in the Carlaw/Queen area and often works from home anyhow... lets do lunch! So we did, on an on/off drizzly Tuesday, head on inside. 

 

 

Stealth bad angle photo! Ugh damnit.

Apparently there was some turbulence when I shot this. Hopefully, it still conveys how the inside of Leslie's Sandwich Room really has a cafe feel. I think it's the specific kind of lighting and the glass display at the counter where you order. 

That glass display indeed is where the main attractions, the sandwiches, are... pre-made rather than constructed to order... which gave me an uneasy first impression. It's the pizza slice rule: oftentimes you pick the freshest looking one rather than the one you really want. With pizza slices you can see disgusting dryness immediately... but sandwiches? Much trickier. I had to hold my discretion tight and stick with my plan. 

My dear friendo got the La Morta sandwich (mortadella) with a side of their in-house salt/pepper and vinegar kettle chips. In my mind I think I'd confused Leslie's with another place and had just assumed the 'chip' side of the combo was a bag of Miss Vickies... and so didn't order a combo for myself. Whoops. Hey I've never claimed to be an expert at this food reviewing stuff... merely diligent.

Anyhow, I went in pretty confident I would get their La Boeuf sandwich... which is what I did.

 

 

According to le menu: roast beef, sharp (white) cheddar, crispy shallots, a horseradish rose marie sauce, on a focaccia bun. 

According to this reviewer: uh yeah this is a really impressive sandwich. It's extremely compact and loaded with all of those delightful ingredients mentioned above. Sneakily filling as well: neither my friend or I had eaten all day going in (this was about 2:30 in the afternoon) and both of us left the second half of our respective sandwiches aside for a midnight snack.

Seeing as the sandwich is essentially named "beef", lets start with that. Texture and flavour-wise, this reminds of ordering a nice prime rib roast from a steakhouse. Not quite as bloody/oozing juices as that might be, but this is probably on the lower side of 'Medium' on the scale. It has that consistency.

And... it's quite delicious: tender, chewy at points but in a good savory way, and the roast beef flavour is simply all roast and beef (avoiding that somewhat oniony taste you often get with deli sliced roast beef). You can tell they roast this in house: ditch the bread and eat this beef with just some mashed potatoes and a dollop of horseradish... still amazing. For a cut of beef that isn't particularly fatty either, this has a wonderfully accessible texture that lingers just long enough to avoid becoming gummy and tasteless in the mouth. Really well done. 

The supporting elements do wonders as well. The white cheddar is the dry, thin crumbling kind... extremely sharp on the initial taste, a perfect compliment to a juicy beef cut sandwich. 

As for the horseradish rose marie... well going in I didn't know what a rose marie sauce was. However when eating this sandwich, I felt like this spread was like a secret sauce you'd find on a classic American cheeseburger... with a sweet pickled taste to the mayo (like a Thousand Islands dressing).  Well... wouldn't you know a 'Rose Marie' sauce is a sister sauce to a Thousand Islands, the difference being the type of pepper used. Honestly, I thought I was way out to left field with that interpretation until I looked it up. 

I confess, I was hoping for more of a horseradishy (it's a word now damnit), nasal clearer with the sauce... instead this does taste more like a mayo-meets-ketchup-meets-relish. It still works, adding some cream and sweetness to what would otherwise be a fairly dry sandwich. A little unique horseradish kick, even in a minor mayo dose, would've been marvelous though. 

 

 

Lets wrap things up by talking about the bread and the chips briefly. I'd also mention the crispy shallots, but my thoughts on putting tiny crispy things in warm sandwiches have been driven beneath the subway far too many times... and so here I go saying it again: it never works as well as intended because you lose the key crispiness element within the enclosed residual warmth of the sandwich. It happens here, at Leslie's, too.

That focaccia bread though... yowza. I'm used to exceptional-level focaccia having some garlic or olive oil or some flavour element baked into it, simply to enhance the sheer awesomeness that already exists.

Here? Good enough for a solo career. Unbelievably soft, fresh, squeezeable yet firm (insert joke here)... just fabulous. No harsh edges despite the circular sandwich shape (or the reheat), nothing close to harsh crustiness (not even as a midnight snack)... just consistently pillowy throughout. According to the Toronto Life article I linked above, they bake their bread with a touch of honey just to give a tiny hint of sweetness. Gotta say I missed that but regardless... this is beyond exceptional as far as buns go. Incredible stuff. 

And the kettle chips! I mean, unless they're overly stale it's hard to mess up a kettle potato chip. These ones nail the crunchiness, and get just enough of the salt/pepper and vinegar hint so as to not overwhelm the taste of the chip. 

 

---

 

Overall! The prices are hefty indeed (really the only weakness I could find) but then when you see the high quality and considerable care that go into these (also hefty) sandwiches... you're definitely getting something great for what you're paying for.

Definitely a highly recommended from me, and my friend (her La Morta also looked positively delicious). Like a few other Leslieville restaurants/cafes they are strictly a lunch spot, closing at 6pm most days, so this isn't the kind of thing you're hitting up after a few drinks at the bar (as perfect as a fantastic giant sandwich would be in that situation). Regardless, they are seriously worth a visit (I'm tempted to go back for the tuna tartare sandwich myself). Spend an afternoon in Leslieville (which is fun of its own accord) and check this out.

 

Tuesday Tune

 

While it isn't their first ever song (I'm guessing Arnold Layne/See Emily Play came out before as a single) this is the very first track on their very first album, and it holds up as both a wicked tune of its era and the beginning of a wild musical journey that this band would go on. Flicker flicker flicker bam, pow. 

 

 

That's all for this week! There are some pizza reviews forthcoming so keep an eye out for those, but until then... stay safe, stay cool, eat some good food and don't spill that mustard.

 

                     

The Taco Taste - Dirty Birrias

 

 

Calling sister midnight

you've got me reaching for the moon

Calling sister midnight

you've got me playing the fool

Taco time! Staying in the east end, actually barely a block from the sublime Holi Taco and a likewise new addition to the east Queen Street East food scene... we've got Dirty Birrias! 

First question: what the hell is a birria? At least, I certainly had to look it up (laugh away at my expense). According to my trusted sources (Googling it on the internet) 'birria' is a meaty stew, with origins being goat based but beef, being cheaper and more plentiful, eventually nudged its way into the description as well. I'm learnding!

How did Dirty Birrias find their way to the corner of Queen East and Coxwell here in Toronto? Great question... and the internets are stingy with the answer. Instead, lets further discuss what birria is! Here (at Dirty Birrias), they use it as a consomee served on the side (as an extra charge or included with a box of three tacos) giving the option of either pouring it into the taco or merely dunking it (I attempted both).

Straight off the bat, like watching Aaron Judge strike a baseball (you can tell I was watching a bit of Jays/Yankees this weekend)... Dirty Birrias does not really need this birria. It's a nice touch (this very thin side stew that is far more like a broth than a dip) but with the particular composition of these tacos? More liquid is the last thing you need, because they are both extremely greasy and the meat within is quite moist. It doesn't entirely match up, especially a beef consomee (the one I got) with the fish taco. 

I'll dive into my overall conclusions at the end, as usual. For now, here are the tacos individually:

 

 
Three tacos! A beef, a pork, and the one you see most in focus: the fish taco. Also... cheese! Yep, Dirty Birrias offer a queso version/addition of every taco on their menu, and unfortunately the kind fellow at the counter misheard me and assumed I wanted queso on all three (rather than just the beef one). It certainly explains the slight extra charge.

So... these tacos are essentially a fiesta of deep fried decadence stuffed with cheese. The crunchiness is delightful, and by far the best part of the experience (aside from the pleasant pair of employees operating the place, and the quirky decor of checkered floors and painted mural upon a brick wall). Beyond that, however... is where things drift away from marvelous into... not that.

This fish taco is a good example. It's a minced fish not a battered fried fillet one, a curious choice that can work if the flavour or seasoning or texture is compelling. This here, while serviceable, misses the mark. Certainly not overly watery or dry... and even if the cheese weren't cramping it's style (seriously, cheese in this kind of taco really does not work)... it's a very okay-ish fish taste, crumbly texture, with very little distinction. 

There is a delicate feel to it, which is good... not overly salty either. Totally fine, but it is begging so hard for some kind of texture or zip (diced pepper! garlic! coleslaw!) that simply isn't there. There is an extreme amount of cilantro at least? I'm generally neutral-to-positive when it comes to cilantro and this generous amount is pushing it even for me. 

Calling it a generic taco is too mean, as I trust this was made in house... good generic? Nah, that's too kind. It's hard to describe... something entirely okay but with so little dimension to it. 

The tasty crunch and oil of the thick taco shells are doing the heavy lifting. 

 

 

The beef taco! Yeah, it's a beef taco. Shredded, not ground, as the photo shows. Also on the chewier side, and (shocker, since I got the beef consume as the side) is the taco that works best with its own juices avec herbs stewing in as well.

And, that's all I've got. Seriously. A moderately crunchy, tasty, greasy-as-fuck beef taco. The fried shells dominate this so much that...

I wasn't even sure if this one or the previous one was the beef, or if this was the pork. And to throw you all off again... this isn't even pork it's lamb! Look... I'm far from flawless with these reviews but if I can't even remember the difference between your items (and actually have to check my in-moment notes just to recall what I actually ate, seeing as pork is obviously much different than lamb)... best case scenario you made a very minor impression. 

The lamb itself is adequate. You get that typical peppery taste inherent with lamb, which is good... but beyond that it is so similar in taste and texture to the beef that... well I'm honestly only guessing that this picture above is indeed the lamb taco and the previous one is the beef. I'm about 90 percent sure... but doesn't that say something anyhow? 

Into the sauces before we leave. The green salsa is... a complete non factor. Such a slight flavour it barely exists. The consomme in the middle... watery thin but still quite beefy, with a herbal hint to it. Solid amount of flavour there. On a drier, non-fried shell (also full of unwanted cheese, a rare kind of cheese indeed) it would be a delightful drizzle. Thumbs up, it's good on its own. These just aren't the right tacos for it.

As for the red sauce... bit anti-climatic. This spice was apparently so intense, I was warned by the kind gentleman running the counter: "it's really spicy! Don't try it unless you're careful.!"... a caution that was similarly echoed to a wide-eyed couple that walked in while I was leaving. 

I've been around some hot sauce in my day... mostly recent days... and this is far from too much. It has some juice, but to the point of alerting every customer? Seems both gimmicky and also a disservice to an otherwise quality spicy sauce.

As a hot sauce it's quite nice: there's a smokiness to it that is subtle and sadly fleeting... a bit of heat on the tounge but little build up, little excitement. Suggesting more than it has, heat-wise. But, that grounded taste really makes it work. 

Hot? Sure: the smoke makes it interesting and the sting is moderate... a good hot sauce that isn't your typical punch... but come on. Warning everybody who comes in how on fire this is? This is a lava you made? Sweet, I kinda get it... proud of a pretty unusual hot sauce (thumbs up it is good)... but also, trying too hard to maybe validate it where it can speak for itself in a different way.

 

 

Overall. Look, the tone of this review is probably harsher than intended. Dirty Birrias is absolutely fine... but I don't really like it either. 

It's a one trick donkey: those fried taco shells are indeed excellent and wonderfully greasy. But the rest of it (the ambitiously misplaced cheese and forgettable beef and lamb) simply isn't up to any taste test. In quality it's so unremarkable I (again) could not recall what I ordered for this review, or which photo was which. "Meh" is so perfectly emblematic of this particular weakness.

I would not recommend them. Dirty Birrias is an entirely okayish, decent pit-stop for a greasy fried crunchy taco. Nothing specifically they're doing wrong, not really...  (aside from the heavy cheese in the base of the queso taco)... but beyond legit friendliness there's nothing in what I sampled/experienced that would compel me to go back. 

 

Taco Tune

 

 

That's all for this time. Until the next one!