In the quiet silent seconds I
I turned off the light switch and I
I came down to meet you, in the
half light the moon left while a
cluster of night jars sang some
songs out of tune
Another Tuesday... another Taste. Booooo everything.
But enough about my impatience for this year to eat shit and disappear already (okay, maybe one more time next week)... we're here to explore some interesting food places and ideally share a positive experience about it. Or objectively rip it to shreds, and not with our teeth. This week, we're biting into a curious little Toronto franchise I'm going to call "The Alos" (sounds like a football team).
I may have the details wrong (many were quick to point out my bobbling of Grandma Loves You's original location actually in Rosedale, damn it) but I am fairly certain we can trace the origins of today's review to a restaurant named Alo, which opened near Queen and Spadina almost a decade ago. Alo was (and still is) a very different style of place than Aloette Go: chef Patrick Kriss' concept for Alo is of a multi-course tasting menu with items inspired by fine French bistro cuisine.
The restaurant Alo has been critically acclaimed, with a Michelin Star and being named the best restaurant in Canada four times by publication Canada's 100 Best Restaurants (and still finishing top 3 since falling off the top podium). Alo is also... very very expensive (not the kind of place a humble pizza reviewer like me can just wander into on his own dime) which probably explains why the offshoot Aloette quickly came to be. Whereas Kriss' other offshoot Alobar (again, we gotta call this franchise "The Alos") definitely follows the same fancier fine dining path, Aloette (and its now multiple locations) focuses on more casual fare (diner inspired) that blurs the line between stuffiness and simplicity. Or to put it more succintly... THEY DO BURGERS AND STEAKS AND DINER FOOD STUFF LIKE THAT BUT WITH HIGH QUALITY INGREDIENTS.
I have to admit, I'd heard of Alo and Aloette many years ago... but only learned and realized when settling in to write this piece how many spinoffs and locations of those spinoffs this franchise has. It's kind of hard to keep track of since each one of these have separate websites and Instagram pages. They're all obviously affiliated with each other (the "alo" name, duh) but not directly linked? Kind of like a large family wherein each sibling has their own separate life/family: they're all related to each other of course but are also their own different people too.
Lets meet one of the younger siblings, Aloette Go. This branch of the Alo tree itself has three locations, which for this review I visited the Liberty Village spot on a chilly afternoon.
Liberty Village isn't a part of town I know all that well (east end fella here) but even then I had no idea this little arcade ever existed. I like Liberty Village (kind of like a west end Distillery District without the quaintness or crowded Christmas market) and this is quite a nice touch.
The inside of Aloette Go is very much like a takeout spot (a to "go" place as it were) with only a couple of small tables and a bench where to sit and await your order. You can see they have some desserts available and, surprisingly for such a small space with minimal seating, some beer and wine options.
The menu reflects the general operation of the place: streamlined and minimal. A few different burger options, a fried chicken option, salads, and some variations on fries. One of those variations was indeed a cheese fry option, and if I am anything I am consistent in what appeals to me.
Interestingly (and much appreciated) they packaged the cheese sauce and the dressing in separate containers. A choose your own cheese fries adventure? Don't mind if I do... I'll talk about these toppings first.
The cheese sauce comes hot! It was pretty cold outside when I sat down to eat some of this but it isn't often you see real steam come off a cheese sauce when you pop open the rameken. Texture-wise it's very loose and thin, easy for pouring (probably the idea me thinks). It does congeal once cold, so you definitely want to get at this while it's warm.
Taste-wise... it's a very standard kind of cheddary, Cheese Whiz type of sauce. Not overly sharp (more goopy really) but you can definitely get a nice initial cheesey flavour. Maybe not my personal favourite type of cheese sauce (I like richer, creamier ones) but I can respect the solid quality of this one.
What is considerably more unusual is what you see on the left, a pepperoncini relish... which in of itself is certainly intriguing but more so that in a relish isn't normally something you would associate with as an addition to fries (I may have written about this very thing a couple years back).
Here's how it looks all mixed together (I did some side dipping and sampling before combining). I gotta say... it doesn't totally work. You've got a gloppy cheesy sauce with a bit of a sweet stingy relish on top a much of crinkle fries... they're both nice flavours but it's not really a smooth match. A spicier pepper (and maybe not a relish) I think could work seamlessly. This here is interesting but quasi-awkward in its taste.
And I will say I quite like the relish as it's own thing. I'd love this on a chicken sandwich or a hot dog. It's a light sweetness that lingers just a bit longer because of the relishy sting.
Quickly on the fries: another place doing the crinkle-cut thing. Not much in the way of seasoning, good enjoyable light crisp texture which disappears once the fries go cold (these fries really aren't salvageable once cold... they're quite thick and go totally numb). Overall... decent but nothing special. Told you I'd be quick.
One suspects Aloette Go is more known for their burgers than their french fries anyhow (the burgers are probably the entire reason this off-shoot exists at all). There are a few intriguing options (the "Go Burger" especially) but I went for the namesake: this is the Aloette Burger.
What we have here is a 4oz beef patty, shredded lettuce, a "dijonnayaisse" (gee wonder what that's a combination of), some pickled onions (seen below the patty) and a slice of griddled emmental cheese... a type of cheese I did not even know existed (similar to Swiss cheese, apparently).
This is quite a different type of burger than the many smash burgers I've reviewed this year. It doesn't have that type of greasiness or it's crunchy edges, rather this is a thicker patty where the evenly cooked meat within is the primary attraction. At Medium-Well to boot, you're really relying on some good quality beef and preparation to pull this off.
Gotta say... very tasty burger! They pull it off. Not really a particularly juicy or fatty burger, but it has enough pockets of that to keep the texture from becoming too dry. There's a consistent grill and beef flavour throughout (almost like a nicely seared steak) and it lasts on the tongue quite pleasantly. For comparison's sake, imagine if Harvey's was several times better (and with less of that overbearing grill taste).
The toppings work well too. The griddled emmental cheese, like I said, is a new one for me, and it fits in here really well. There's some firmness on the griddled side, while the rest is deliciously gooey and creamy. Dijon and mayo together is a good choice here also, giving you that saucy creaminess with the slight punch of dijon. As for the rest... pickled onions give a bit of sweetness (they're more a cross between pickled and fried) and the bun has that perfect firm softness to keep it all mostly together but be squishable on each bite as well.
Just a very well constructed cheeseburger, with a very interesting use of a less common cheese.
Bonus cocktail review?
Now I swear I didn't actually plan it this way... I was stopping at the liquor store in Liberty Village on my way to St. Catharines, not even sure I was going to try Aloette Go at all (my stomach has been a mess for weeks) and I saw this gin fizz can that looked kind of interesting. Well, turns out Aloette makes their own canned cocktails (I think I knew this but forgot) and halfway through writing this review I realized I'd also purchased one. I didn't do this on purpose, for real!
Nevertheless I shall use my bartending expertise for good instead of money and review it. This is Aloette's take on a gin fizz, a classic gin cocktail which is very easy to make (you just need soda water lime, mint and cucumber... and a pinch of vanilla if you're thinking super fancy).
I like that it isn't too aggressively sweet/sugary (a problem I find with many of these canned cocktails) and the mix of mint and cucumber is quite even on the tongue. Maybe a bit of the lime on the aftertaste? You don't get much of a typical bitter dry gin flavour either (a taste I like, loving gin, but isn't for everyone) and honestly you could tell people this was a vodka cocktail (there is vodka in the ingredients) and they wouldn't doubt it.
Conclusion... not bad. I could see myself drinking one in those wonderful warmer months and being quite refreshed. I think I'd like a bit more of the mint, personally, but this isn't a mojito and the best attribute of this cocktail is its balance.
----
Overall... would I recommend Aloette Go... would I, could I, should I...
I think yes I would, but only the burger. The cheese fries, while entirely decent, didn't make a very lasting impression and once they were cold it was all over. But the burger is indeed worth the trip and is a nice different change of pace from the many smash burgers now populating Toronto's burger scene. Definitely can envision myself going back to try their Go Burger, which is a more straight-forward classic cheeseburger than the fancier Aloette Burger which I sampled here. Decent prices too.
Tuesday Tune
Just a gorgeous song.
That's all for this Christmas Eve Edition of the Taste! Hope you're all spending time with your loved ones and eating some good food this holiday season, or at least persevering through the feats of strength this Festivus season. Until next week, stay safe, stay warm and don't spill that mustard.
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