Another Tuesday... another Taste. Seeing as yesterday was an objectively terrible day for anybody who isn't an extremely rich white person... the timing of this review isn't stellar. I'm upset and scared too, trust me, but please take my hand for a moment and follow me down this diversion of humour and culinary insight. They can bruise our spirit, but never our imagination.... so join me on a trip through the latter my dear friends.
We're doing something a little different this Tuesday around the week: whereas these reviews are usually either fast food joints or take-out spots that may or may not have seating inside... this time you're getting an actual sit-down restaurant experience, and one of Toronto's very finest Italian restaurants at that. Hello sir, can you please hand me that piano?
Piano Piano now have four locations in the GTA (three in Toronto, one in Oakville), a fifth location currently in the works for Leslieville, a few additional affiliated sister restaurants around the city, plus a successful frozen pizza enterprise you can find in several grocery stories. Needless to say, global pizza dominance appears to be the plan (their owner even jokingly suggests so).
Indeed, Piano Piano has been serving critically acclaimed Italian fare essentially since the doors opened at their original spot on Harbord Street in early 2016. Head chef/co-owner Victor Barry initially worked his way up from pastry chef to running the kitchen and owning the previous restaurant in the space, Splendido, which was a far more intimate and fancier upscale (expensive) style of dining. After half a decade of that, Barry surprisingly closed Splendido and quickly replaced it with his new concept: the more accessibly casual and pizza focused Piano Piano.
Now, I have a bit of a story with Piano Piano (please please, I can hear those groans in the back) so buckle up and settle in for this ride into the Wayback Machine. Autumn of 2019 was when I was doing my Second Great Pizza Quest... which was also not a great period for me mentally. I'd promised an old friend (and occasional pizza trying associate) we would go together sometime to try Piano Piano since they were so highly regarded (the Harbord one at the time was still their only location).
Instead... sigh. Some random dreary weekday I had a two hour break between a double shift, and in my awkward sadness I thought: "F*k it. I'm gonna have some drinks, sneak on the Spadina streetcar up to Harbord and get one of their pizzas as takeout and head back to work".
What a great plan! I showed up to make my order at Harbord Piano Piano already half in the bag (probably hadn't eaten anything but cashews all day) and mistimed things so badly I was semi-late coming back for my second shift (with no opportunity to eat the damn pizza). Naturally, my friend was not pleased at this clueless impulsive decision on my part... both in that I'd reneged on our agreement and also I'd been in no real condition to appreciate this damn pizza (let the record show her derision was mostly the former).
Hell, even my photo of it sucked:
The only positive thing to come out of this story, aside from my vague drunken recollection of the pizza being pretty good... was the knowledge that Piano Piano actually don't cut their pizzas for you, which six years later is still true.
Back once more into a gloomy November 2019 afternoon... sitting on a crowded rush hour Spadina streetcar, reeking of vodka seltzers, clumsily fumbling with my hands to rip apart this high quality pizza so as to just stuff a slice in my mouth before another work shift of soul-shattering awkwardness. 2019! That second half was rough, my friends. Little did I know what still lay ahead the next year.
Well... it took a little over five years but I finally came through on my deal with that same old friend. Calling it a draw would be generous to me, but nevertheless! One (very cold) Thursday afternoon when her daughter was napping, we met up and checked out the Piano Piano location on Colborne Street.
Colborne Street itself is an odd little side laneway tucked between King and Wellington that you could walk by dozens of times and so easily miss... yet has multiple well known restaurants along its short block including favored pub of the suits, P.J. O'Brien's.
My dear friend informed me, as we were about to enter, that the interior design of Piano Colborne was quite distinctive. She wasn't kidding... this was like stepping inside the board game Clue: you're in the Parlour trying to find the rope Colonel Mustard used for the murder. Frilly lamps, velvet booths, a checkered marble floor, comfortably dim lighting... it really is like walking into an upper-society murder mystery from the 1930s. And I haven't even mentioned the downstairs.
Normally I do these reviews solo (insert loneliness comment here, I've heard em all) but it is exceptionally refreshing to not just have another perspective on the food, but just another eye or ear on the entire experience... such as Piano Piano Colborne's very late-90s R&B playlist, which was seriously on point.
This place is such a clash of styles that with good tunes, friendly vibes and terrific attentive service... makes it work. But enough window dressing, here's the grub.
Piano Piano has a mighty fine lunch prix fixe option: a half portion of any appetizer, any full pizza on their menu, plus a dessert... all for 36 bucks (36 is definitely a great number, for the maybe dozen of you who get that joke).
Considering each of their pizzas are already 26 bucks... it's a swell deal. My charming accomplice ordered the burrata as her appetizer, while I went for the calamari you see above. While the deep fried squid was a half portion, I don't think that dip was. There are also some deep fried artichokes in there... I never liked artichokes but it had been over a decade since I tried one... maybe after hundreds of reviews my tastes had evolved? Took a bite... nope! Still not a fan. Blech! Artichokes stink.
The calamari itself... a very light, tempura-like breading. Minimal seasoning beyond pepper, and that's all it needs. I want more! Why are those stupid artichokes in the way? I rarely eat seafood, but I know bad calamari would likely be overly rubbery and dry. Not this. You still have that rubbery texture but there's a pleasant softness to it, a subtle juiciness that is lightly flavourful and playfully salty without being watery. The breading is quite simple, just a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning, not heavy on the bread aspect. Very delicious... I love calamari but rarely eat it because it's both expensive and just not the kind of thing you make at home very often.
As for the dip... bit of a sweet chili meets garlic mayo type of concoction. Best of both worlds. I'd buy it if it was sold in a grocery store.
This was my friend's burrata. Can't say I've encountered plump grapes with a sprinkle of parmesan on them before. Simple, elegant, looks good on the Gram (like and follow lolz) but most importantly it tastes excellent. Burrata is such a strange cheese experience: it's simultaneously cold, watery, basically an orb of solidified cheese slime... yet still a decadent treat with a texture that pairs exceptionally well with crunchy bread, or spread over a pizza. I'm curious how a simple little ball of cheese unlocks so much...
Pizza time. Welcome to my home ballpark. As I said a thousand years ago earlier in this review, my singular experience with Piano Piano's pizza was being drunk and in a rush to get back to work on a crowded streetcar at 4:30 in the afternoon (ah, memories...) Now, we can do this for real. Hey, they gave me scissors to cut the pizza properly! I ain't dropping the fly ball this time.
Despite my madness in that incomprehensible moment, I still recognized Piano Piano as a terrific pizza. Five years later with a sober mind? Honestly... nothing has really changed. This is a really freaking good pizza. I went for 'The Chatham '62' with Canadian Bacon, 'Nduja, pineapple and pickled jalapeno... whereas my excellent associate in pizza went for their mushroom pizza 'The Fun Guy'.
Now full disclosure: I don't think this is the best pizza in Toronto, as many other folks I've encountered will argue. My greatest compliment I can give this, is that: I can understand the argument even if I think there are at least half a dozen others that are at least in this elite company... and ones that I prefer over this. That aside, this pizza rocks. It is really damn good, and lets break down why and how.
The crust is quite light and airy, which again I recognize as high quality execution and texture... but not quite my favourite. Nevertheless, you can see the char bubbles and the balance between that flavour and a very subtle sourdough baked bread is endlessly enjoyable. Baked at just the right point where the char is notable but not in the spotlight.
For me, where this pizza really shines are the toppings. The Canadian Bacon is more like a diced up pork belly... layers of tender pork with a juicy slab of fattiness between, all with vivid pork and subtly salty flavour. Truly exceptional. The pickled jalapenos... there aren't many of them but they're plump and waiting like a bomb for your mouth. Take a bite of them, they explode with sneaky spice and sting... like a heat ambush waiting for unsuspecting taste buds.
Yeah there's pineapple on here and (controversy) I like pineapple on pizza! (sue me). On that front I must say: you can really tell the difference on a pizza between canned pineapple bits (swimming in sugary water) and legitimately freshly sliced pineapple from the fruit itself. None of that artificial sugar bleeds into the sauce, this pineapple is legit, semi-soft and just a side piece not the headliner. It's not much of a presence on this pizza because that's exactly how fresh pineapple is: an occasional sting of juicy sweetness and in minimal doses none of that harsh texture on your gums.
Lets go into the tomato sauce. It's... a little too much on the sweet tomato side for me. Objectively as a pizza sauce, it's truly fantastic... vivid and full of real lasting flavour... smooth and tomatoey (it's a word now damn it). Personally, I lean towards an earthier type of sauce and with the sweetness of the pineapple already baked into this... this slightly too sweet (for me) tomato sauce is this pizza's only true weakness. If you can even call it that... this sauce has a wonderful lasting flavour that only the best tomatoes (San Marzano) can provide. It's a beautiful taste but not my particular affinity towards beauty, if that makes sense.
How about the mushroom pizza? We traded slices and so this little 'Fun Guy' slice... hoo boy. Look up decadent in the dictionary, this photo should appear... assuming dictionaries even exist anymore you Zoomers. Where's a cloud I can yell at?
The Fun Guy pizza is so loaded with rich and heavy flavours, it's like being seduced by something you know is very bad for you... but you don't care because in the moment it's such a wonderful feeling. Oh whoops, that was the Star Trek fanfic I wrote, how'd that get in here? Right, anyway.
The mushrooms are quite large and plump on here, revealing a wonderful juiciness on each bite. Meanwhile the combination of cheeses... it's the kind of thing you want to eat slowly (and I'm a notoriously slow eater). Something this rich yet layered with soft texture... frankly what makes Piano Piano so good is how these tastes take their time revealing themselves. None of this is a wham-bam-thank-you-mam... there's a lot going on here and even cold these flavours hold that dynamic.
Dessert! I got their swirl soft serve (the other option was a tiramisu). Real ice cream, even in soft serve format... has such a distinctive tell to it. There's a fullness in the flavour (rather than fleeting emptiness), a flavour that slowly builds rather than being so immediate, a specific type of creaminess I can't really describe that lingers in your mouth. I'm more a vanilla guy (shut up I hear those jokes) but chocolate merged with vanilla is such a wonderful combination, no matter what Homer Simpson thinks (he's right about ditching the strawberry though).
What a treat. There's an odd slight grittiness within this ice cream I really appreciate, like you know for sure they've made this in house (or have imported it from somewhere closeby). Cheap ice cream gives you that initial creamy sweet rush you're looking for, but fades within seconds. This here... marvelous in how it shakes your hand rather than shake your shoulders. Incredible! I loved it. An exceptionally nice end to a terrific meal.
Overall! Look, Piano Piano and it's off-shoots are considered among the best restaurants in the entire city, and who am I to disagree? I'd disagree if I legitimately disagreed, but I disagree with even that attempt at a disagreeable digression.
Enough silliness. Yes! Piano Piano is really damn good, and I recommend checking them out at whatever location is closest to you. I haven't even mentioned their menus yet... they're like something you'd see in the 1930's brandished by a child on the street shouting "extra! extra! Read all about it!" Such a strange but enchanting vibe in this place... (also a shoutout to our server who was incredibly sweet and on the ball).
Piano Piano makes very very good pizza... but the time has come to explain why I'm giving them a grade a tiny bit below the true elite pizza I've had. To put it simply... I wasn't completely blown away 100 percent. More like 90 percent. There was never a "holy cow wow" moment in here, rather this was a slow methodical breakdown of the precise elements that make a pizza exceptional. It's almost like an academic approach to pizza and hey at this point I'm a valedictorian within this... Piano Piano really nail the basics and the details, but it's just a little bit short of the goalpost.
As far as excitement? I'd happily try Piano Piano again but there are a few places ahead of them I'd be more eager to revisit. But not many: seriously this is real damn good. Both pizzas (the mushroom and mine) were marvelous in their own ways, and Piano Piano deserves a solid 'A-' grade from me. Good enough for the Top 15, probably higher. I strongly recommend that lunch special as well.
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Mr. Baseball
David Lynch
Man. I don't even know where to begin with this one, and maybe I shouldn't even try to. The works of this fella transcend time, ponder the nature of what is art, disrupt the concept of any common narrative... all while winking at you behind the emotionless void. What a unique cat, endlessly charming and insightful towards the process of finding creative ideas... whether you adore his work or find it 'weird for the sake of weird' it is undeniable he was one of a kind. A true artist happy to share his secrets, but never gladly willing to compromise his vision. Nobody like him.
How about some funny and insightful Lynch interviews or cameos? Here are three.
His story about potentially directing Return of The Jedi is a good one:
Or how ideas come into your conciousness:
It comes on like a TV in your mind...
Again, one of a kind:
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Tuesday Tune
Eight years ago we tried to say this isn't normal...
...now clearly it is normal, which is much much scarier.
All I wanna say is, to my Jan 20 optimistic friends... seriously be careful what you wish for, and pay attention. Seriously.
Anyhow. Great pizza! Great company! Stay safe stay warm and most of all, don't spill that mustard.
We're back talking about the Star Wars trio of trilogies! We've already gotten the very, very worst movie out of the way (a film so remarkably horrible it had to stand alone) and so now lets tackle what are (in my opinion) the three worst actual films within the three trilogies.
#9. Episode II - Attack of The Clones (2002)
For sure, I could swap Phantom Menace into this lowest non-Holiday Special slot and most folks would probably be fine with that. These two movies are equally terrible, but where Phantom Menace is a bewildering, nonsensical and ridiculously convoluted film to sit through... Attack of the Clones was a much more painful experience when I re-watched it.
The Yoda versus Count Dooku fight is the only somewhat redeeming audience pleasing moment, which naturally is in the last ten minutes of this two-plus hour feature. I suppose Obi-Wan investigating the clones has some suspense and mystery to it as well... but it falls completely apart because you can't really follow along how or why any of this is happening. Most of the bad Star Wars movies have the same problem of trying to jam too much stuff into the plot (just wait until we get to Episode IX) leaving no time for the story to actually explain these important elements. All you're left with are disjointed action scenes, flash over substance.
The two hours of this film feels like centuries longer to sit through than actual time suggests, the biggest reason for that? the love story. Oh dear gawd... that Cringe Hall of Fame love story.
The Anakin/Padme thing is one of the worst romances ever captured on film: it's so absurdly tepid, overblown by melodramatic musical cues (at least John Williams tried to breathe some life into this corpse...) and so impressively unconvincing emotionally that the viewer is likely to find the dated CGI more lifelike.
It's hard to blame the actors (Natalie Portman is clearly capable of far better work) but both her and Hayden Christensen are just unbelievably awful in this. Their chemistry is so awkward, their feelings so blandly expressed that a dollar store daytime soap opera is Oscar material by comparison. Seriously, you're just groaning and praying an action scene interrupts it. Just astonishing how unbelievably bad these scenes are. Imagine giving character lines to a computer program and asking it to emote without context... and of course George Lucas is so renowned for how compelling his dialogue always is... yeesh.
Speaking of the CGI... twenty years have not been kind to these visuals. The over-indulgence of blue/green screen plunders the story of any realism (as much realism as a Sci-Fi fantasy film about magic can begin with). You are constantly aware you're watching a movie, not beholding an exciting universe sweeping you away with wonder. The suspension of disbelief is suspended the moment these Jedi knuckleheads start jumping from hovercar to hovercar.
The biggest problem with the prequel films (among many problems) is how little you care about the characters. Most scenes with dialogue act as simple painfully dry exposition devoid of any life or care for character development. More accurately, they're tedious slogs to get the plot from action moment to action moment, while two actors walk in front of an obvious computer generated background.
With Clones specifically, there's so much junk happening that it's easy to forget how the key point of this plot doesn't even make sense: why was this clone army being developed secretly? And by who? Dooku? But the clones are on the Republic's side? How does this affect the overall situation? It's not like the opposing side (the Trade Federation?) is explained to be slowly moving in and conquering the Republic. Aren't they just separatists? What is the actual threat? Why does this break out in a huge war that results in Chancellor Palpatine being granted absolute power? And if this was his plan all along... why wouldn't he just use his clone army right away to take over, like he does in the next film? Ugh... what a showy waste of time.
A genuinely dreadful film, where the non romance scenes trick you by seeming of a greater quality than they actually are... which is true since they such a welcome reprieve from Anakin and Padme saying the same stupid thing over and over again. It's a forbidden love no one can know about... OKAY GOT IT! At least the Holiday Special has occasional parts so weird they actually amuse you, this here is like waiting in the dentist's office.
#8. Episode I -- The Phantom Menace (1999)
An incomprehensible mess amidst a franchise filled with incomprehensible messes. Unlike Episode II, which takes it's time diving into awfulness... Phantom Menace hits you over the skull instantly with how little sense it makes. Then Jar Jar Binks shows up... and you immediately wish for a quick painless death.
This is only slightly better than Attack of The Clones in my eyes, but the distinction is akin to comparing flattened turds on the sidewalk. What elevates this slightly for me are some enjoyable touches that only really bad high budget films possess, and also that there isn't an obnoxiously uninteresting love plot wedged into most of the middle of this. Jar Jar Binks is unbelievably insufferable (who let Lucas think this was a good idea, seriously) and the fact they keep dragging kid Anakin around from war zone to war zone is completely baffling from a common sense perspective... the bit of him at the end "accidentally" flying the space fighter and destroying a ship is so terrible and ridiculous I almost admire it for being so stupid. This is why I felt considerably less pain watching this compared to Clones. More severe confusion and boredom than actual agony.
First off, after re-watching all three of the prequels after well over a decade... I had never noticed before how much George Lucas fell in love with the slide-wipe. I'm no film-maker (at least not a very good one) but to explain if you don't know the lingo: a "wipe" is a transition effect from one scene to another (as opposed to just a hard cut, which is probably the most common transition in film or television). But, for whatever reason... Lucas chose to use this specific wipe where the old scene slides off to the right while the next scene takes its place. It's an adventure tale with magic and spaceships, sure, but the constant use of the effect just becomes comical when you see it several times in the span of a couple minutes. Phantom Menace jumps around from location to location so much (one of its biggest story problems) and has so many short scenes of barely relevant exposition (which is delivered so flatly your mind just kinda shuts off) and without fail that slide wipe will appear every damn time. It's almost cute if you're not taking anything in the movie seriously... and why would you? This story is nonsense.
Beyond the ridiculous, there really isn't a whole lot of fun to be had watching this. Jar Jar Binks is a character so aggressively grating and insulting to the audience I could be convinced Lucas was deliberately trolling Star Wars fandom. The climax of the film is beyond stupid: young Anakin single-handedly turning the tide of the battle by blowing up a shield generator, or a robot control unit thing? Who knows! Meanwhile three other things are also happening and the story cuts between them so haphazardly it's impossible to decipher the stakes, what exactly is happening or what any of this really means. Oh, the Queen is captured? But there's still a battle outside? Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have to fight Darth Maul because... lightsabers?
Like Attack of The Clones, it's such a directing misstep or oversight how little you care about these undeveloped characters. Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson (who has next to nothing to do here)... these are all great actors but their lines are delivered with such little energy or personality you'd think these were their non-union robot replacements. Darth Maul, visually, is a darn cool villain... but he's only on screen for five minutes of the damn movie! Does he even have a line of dialogue? Who cares about this underdeveloped evil character we never see! What was his goal exactly? Random terrorizing? What is the point of him even existing?
The death of Qui Gon Jinn is a perfect litmus test of Menace's exceptional failure: does anyone remember anything he says in the entire film? Any iconic scene or character trait? Wait I've got one... he dies! I'm not even gonna start with the Midichlorian stuff... just impressive what a strikeout this film was and still is... and I don't even mind the pod-racing sequence either (though it's way way too damn long).
#7. Episode IX -- The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
It's MacGuffin: The Movie!
There's certainly a big step up in quality from the bottom two on this list to #7, but I'm not giving Episode IX any genuine praise by that compliment. Nor do I want to... I do not like this film one bit.
It's a show of intense spectacle lacking the barest minimum of substance. The fact I have one of the bloody prequels above it on my list shows how little I enjoyed Rise of Skywalker even when I saw it on the big screen, which is the only way such a flashy, pandering spectacle could possibly be enjoyed. This is a terrible story... super charged with empty visual calories.
In some ways, this is actually my least favourite Star Wars movie and one of the worst films I've ever seen in a theatre. Visually it looks great: it's full of action, interesting locations and has some genuinely good character moments (which alone makes it far better than Menace or Clones). As a story though it lacks any kind of logic, acceptable structure, or anything resembling sense. As some have commented, it's more like a season of a television show crammed desperately into a film... and suffers badly because of that desperate need to be so epic. There's too damn much happening... characters that appear for just a scene or two and do basically nothing... wiping C3PO's memory for no reason... they ride horses on top of a freaking spaceship? What the hell is going on here?
My biggest issue with the Sequel Trilogy, beyond the diminishing returns, was how poorly all of this seems to have been planned out. Last Jedi has some serious critical problems but at least Rian Johnson did a few interesting things with it. Interesting doesn't always mean good, though that film appeared to have a somewhat specific tone and direction in place, even if a lot of it falls apart.
Rise of Skywalker however is just a complete mess, but WHO CARES BECAUSE EXPLOSIONS AND OH GOD PALPATINE IS BACK AND THERE ARE A ZILLION STAR DESTROYERS WITH DEATH STAR WEAPONS AND REI IS TEMPTED BY THE DARK SIDE AND THERE'S LANDO AHHHHHHHHHH NERDGASM!!!
I hate this movie. There's a difference between giving the audience what they want (an exciting and satisfying conclusion) and just cynically pandering to the point where it is clear you just don't respect the watcher's intelligence. This film crumbles under any level of scrutiny. Like, how the hell did Palpatine create a secret fleet of the most powerful planet destroying ships to ever exist with almost nobody else around? Did he conjure them out of his hood? How did he survive the Death Star explosion in Return of the Jedi in the first place? Why can't this awful movie stay on one goddamn planet for more than three goddamn seconds? How many more pointless characters who do almost nothing are going to be introduced before this mess finally ends? No time to explain any of this here's Lando!
People who defend this movie will point to the character moments, and to be fair those are the only redeemable parts of this whole wretched affair. The Rei/Kylo stuff is genuinely good (probably the only arc these sequel films remotely have), Poe Dameron is still rougeish and Finn is still charming, despite the shoehorning into this Palpatine is always fun ("I'm so evil and I love it! Wuahahah"), Kylo Ren talking with force ghost father Han Solo is a solid scene (how is that possib... whatever who cares) and unlike the Prequels you do feel something about these new characters.
If anything the biggest weakness of these sequel films are how little these movies are about this next generation of heroes and villains, the old ones overshadowing them at every turn almost. They still have enough of a presence to have an impact on you... which makes it all the more a shame that this final story for them is so cheaply contrived. They really had a chance to make these films special in their own unique way but an actual A-to-B-to-C plan just wasn't there.
Case and point: the ending to Rei's storyline flat out sucks, full stop. Hell, the whole ending of the film sucks. Why is Rei a Skywalker now? Why is she choosing some kind of hermit life? Was there any previous indication or moment that implied this was what she wanted once the conflict was over? No... they just thought it would be touching and cool if she said "I'm Rei Skywalker" to end the film... because the film is called "Rise of Skywalker" (for some reason I still don't understand) and... I guess that's powerful and touching even though it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever?
It's easy to get washed up in the spectacle of a movie like this: so much is happening at once that your brain doesn't have time to process it because MORE STUFF IS ALREADY HAPPENING OMG! Such a story that skips anything related to structure or plot logic in favour of just soliciting a reaction ("feels" as it were) isn't a good story. Are any of these moments truly memorable or iconic? It's been five years after all. Compare it with the Nolan Batman films: still quotable, visually distinct (they've aged well) and unforgettable in their strong sense of style and substance. Rise of Skywalker? Uhhh... shrug? Ian McDiarmid is always great as Emperor Palpatine? This is what happens when you try for iconic moments without anything firm behind them... you get a brief hollow reaction that doesn't last or resonate.
Anyhow. Yeah this movie sucks. It isn't as unbelievable in its badness as those (two) Prequels, but man at least those were interesting to watch again. Revisiting Rise of Skywalker again would just give me a headache. Forgettable nonsense. A shame the 'Sequel Trilogy' sputtered out its considerable potential with this dismally soulless finale.
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Next time we'll get into the middle three of the list... a trio of films in the trilogy that, while very flawed, at least possess some re-watch curiousity and value (unlike the dreck you see here). Until next time....
Another one of those places that if you Google them, the search engine gets confused and gives you false information. In this case, the actual name of the place! (It's "CiCi's" not "CiCi's Pizza & Wings")*. Not only that, but the Google description seems to think they are the Toronto location of American pizza chain Cicis (known for their pizza buffets)... a company which it turns out doesn't even have a location north of Naperville, Illinois (they're scattered throughout a bunch of states but appear to generally be a Texas/Carolinas chain). This is why you just can't take information at face value, especially in the internet age my friends.
(*okay, so while their website just says "CiCi's Pizza" their Instagram does the "& Wings" part. I'm so confused and whatever I'm gonna go with the website and their actual sign on this one)
Perhaps if I ever make it to the American far south (it's gonna be at least four years) I'll try this Cicis chain that has so thoroughly tricked Google. For now, we're staying closer to home and diving into a place that's been a regular staple in Parkdale for over fifteen years.
The CiCi's Pizza story traces back to Minh Huynh, a Vietnamese immigrant who first arrived in Toronto in the 1980s after a regime change his home country (I'm sure you've all heard of that particular conflict). Minh worked a variety of jobs (one was delivering pizzas in fact) and around 2008 saw an old Parkdale pizzeria on the corner of Callender and Queen Street West was up for sale. He and his wife Kim Le bought the place, learned some of the recipes from the previous owners and kept it going.
When in 2016 the couple felt it was time to retire, they passed the business down to their daughter, Diana Huynh. It was Diana's idea, once taking over, to modernize the image of the place and create a social media presence... even commissioning a local artist to redesign their now quite distinctive logo and store front. This proved such a success that the business was even able to survive both having to leave their original location on the corner (they moved a few doors east) and that whole pandemic thing... although from what we've seen a year or so later it does seem pizza restaurants were an economy quite immune to the nastiness of Covid-19.
The whole story is quite charming and the Toronto Star did a nice piece on CiCi's and Diana Huynh about two years ago that goes into a little more detail than I can here. Regardless, this is an extremely well known pizza joint in Parkdale that I somehow had yet to review or even try. Why was that?
Funny enough... during my first Pizza Quest in 2019 (when I thought this mission would stop at 50... hoo boy there was an off bet) I was on this exact same block of west Parkdale to try Amico's (now closed forever). While waiting for my Amico's pie (they were good but hardly the cat's meow so many people insisted they were) I noticed this other distinctive pizza place on the corner with a green exterior and striking logo. I was very tempted to try them too, even peeked in the window... but I think I had to get back to work or catch a rocket to Mars or something. These pre-pandemic memories are hazy don't you know.
I was pleased to see, now in a different place, CiCi's kept that distinct shade of green. It really pops among both the older buildings of Parkdale and on a drab cold winter afternoon where anything colourful feels especially muted.
As you can see, this is a small space with the only three stools and a counter by the front window for seating (and realistically, you're not gonna see three strangers cram in there. It's that tight).
CiCi's does slices, which is good! Alas... I must've arrived at a strange time in the day since the only slice that looked appealing was their Meat Lovers. I know they have a menu of specialty pizzas that offer a bit more variety (much of it spicy) than what I saw here in slice form: a pepperoni, a veggie, a Hawaiian and a deluxe. In retrospect I could've gone into that deeper menu, but I also wanted to try the wings and besides from a reviewing perspective a large fresh slice will usually tell you everything you need to know.
Like a 1930's bank robber I got my loot and didn't shtick around, see? It was freaking cold and a streetcar going directly back towards my east end home was approaching. Nice to see you again Parkdale, even if it was only for like maybe fifteen minutes.
Lets go chicken wings! First off, CiCi's prices are impressively affordable. Twelve bucks for ten wings, in this economy, is an absolute steal (not to mention they threw in an eleventh wing for me). I like spice but didn't want to be both freezing on the outside while burning on the inside... so I went for their hot flavour rather than anything in the "suicide" level.
For a relatively "cheap" chicken wing, these are acceptably decent. I didn't get a lot of any kind of real hotness within the flavour, more of that classic vinegary "Frank's-like" sauce you find at hole-in-the-walls (think cheap wing nights at cheaper pubs).
The chicken itself... a couple of the wings were pretty chewy and dry but otherwise these were pretty solid. Good texture, not overly chewy or tough, the meat slips off the bone nicely, well fried and decent crispiness on the outside. Considering the price this is a positive outcome, though I would prefer a more interesting sauce. You barely get any of that flavour as it is, and it's about as bland a "hot" sauce as it gets. Still quality as far as an affordable chicken wing goes.
Regardless, we're here to talk pie, the main attraction. This is a slice of their meat lovers and... you know I'm not really a fan of meat lovers pizzas in general. At least, not anymore (teenage me would find these words blasphemous). It's just too much... these concoctions are always super salty and heavy, the overall flavour oozing a singular "meat" dimension... almost every pizza joint, fancy or otherwise, offers a variation of this and I rarely ever consider it.
That said, lets discuss this pizza concoction I hate! Seriously though, diving into CiCi's pizza, as a pizza... there are a few elements I quite like and a couple that are pretty uninteresting to me. The toppings? Very generic. You've got bacon crumble on here (speaking of salty) those classic little greasy sausage balls with fennel seeds inside them (Pizza Nova uses those too) and basically a dictionary version of "this is pepperoni". None of this is truly bad, don't mistake me (none of it is stale or dry, fortunately) but after trying like 170 pizza joints I've encountered this same recipe so much I was hoping for something a bit less mainstream.
The toppings are by far this pizza's biggest weakness, because the rest? Enjoyable and quite charming. It's a cheesy and saucy slice, which wins points automatically, and has a nice delicate crispiness on the bottom... giving each bite a terrific texture via its mix of crisp and gooey sauciness. A pleasant slice to eat, even once cooled off... which alone is deserving of praise.
There's nothing really exceptional about the basic elements (dough, cheese, sauce) but they do work together in a nice harmony and are well balanced. Actually, scratch that. There is one thing about this pizza I really like a lot. So... I've noticed that cheaper type pizzas (not calling CiCi's this, it's just an example) tend to overload on the cheese or the dough, or (in the case of Domino's) everything, and you're stuck guzzling their awful sugary sweet tomato sauce. My point is that: bad pizzas will most often have that imbalance. Heavy cheese so the oil and grease distracts you from the blandness (Pizza Hut) or they're heavily bready because nothing else on the pizza tastes like anything (Pizza Pizza).
CiCi's Pizza has that precious balance... and also I really like their tomato sauce. It's a sweeter sauce but not fleeting, plus there's a serious garlic hint in there. Tiny little bits of garlic within the sauce itself (I'm certain of it) stewed in so that the pungency of the garlic is lessened and spread out. This is a little touch but little touches can make all the difference.
Overall! Quality-wise, I can't put CiCi's in the category of "you gotta try this!". From a completely objective perspective, it's a good but not exceptional pizza.
However, if I were a Queen West fella instead of a Queen East one... I suspect CiCi's would be an occasional visit for me. The Charm-o-Meter(patent pending) is off the charts with this place, and it's a genuinely enjoyable pizza! They're a considerable notch or two above your average pizza chain, impressive considering they're using the same toppings but I digress! The sauce is garlicky and wonderful, the light crunch to the slice is so comforting, not particularly oily either considering there is a lot of cheese... CiCi's does way more things right than wrong.
I'd be curious to go back (in non-review mode) and order one of their specialty pizzas to see how those look. Like I said, not a pizza joint you absolutely have to try, but they're in that zone of "I'm glad a place like this exists because they're simple and good".
On their window they have a note from Streets of Toronto proclaiming they're one of "Toronto's Top 100 Pizzas." I would have to agree, although they probably end up somewhere between 90-100 in my rankings. A spirited 'B-' is my score. Definitely would go back.
Another Tuesday.... another Taste! This week we're bringing the funk (and no I will not ask anyone to Do the Funky Chicken, despite the title of this review)
After a more American style, buttermilk fried chicken last week with local spot Birdies... this time we're checking out an enormous chicken chain from South Korea (possibly the largest there) that just a few months ago opened its first ever Canadian location here in downtown Toronto. It's BHC Chicken!
The backstory of BHC (which stands for/translates as "Better Happier Choice") was rather hard to find and mostly consists of large food companies eventually being bought out by even larger food companies. It would seem the original concept opened up in Goyang City sometime in the late 1990s (Goyang seems to be Seoul's Hamilton, if you're geographically curious) and quickly grew under various corporate umbrellas, thus why some sources have them being established in 2004 while others say 2013.
Frankly this is all very uninteresting so instead I'm going to talk about The Well for a bit.
The Well! What is this "The Well" might you ask? Well... sit down and I'll tell you. It's quite a bit similar to the Chefs Assembly Hall (where I previously checked out Grandma Loves You), like a more polished and sleek mall food court with public seating, only focused more on hip local restaurants than your grimier fast food chains. Plus, they're licensed. Unlike Chef's Assembly, The Well has a bunch of other retail shops on ground level but this is a food review so who cares about that.
This was my first time really exploring the downstairs section of The Well (it's only been open for a little over a year) where most of the food joints are, and I must say I found it quite charming. To use another comparison, it's a lot like the Food Building at the CNE during the Ex: just so many various cuisine options that half the fun is just wandering around and checking out what each of these stalls are about.
There's a bit more down here than just a sea of intriguing food options. A giant plush Mario for instance (how the heck do you win that thing? Or even get it out of the machine? How did it get in the machine in the first place?). Or, a confusing colour-coded map that looks straight out of a late 90s video game (Doom, anybody?). Something for everyone!
Anyhow, I greatly enjoyed wandering around this place (was even tempted to play the Pac-Man arcade game while I waited for my order) but now lets move on to tackling some Better Healthier Choice chicken.
Back in the first run of the Tuesday reviews I checked out a place called Pelicana Chicken, which like BHC is an enormously popular fried chicken chain in South Korea. Pelicana did not enjoy particular success in Toronto, as their spot at Charles and Yonge has shuttered sometime in the past two-ish years since I reviewed them (a notoriously cursed location strikes again). Unfortunate as I recall quite liking them and the price was extremely affordable.
BHC does things a little differently than Pelicana did, which was more of your straight-forward "bone-in pieces and tenders" type spot. Instead, BHC forgoes those huge bone-in white or dark meat pieces for three options: tenders, wings, or boneless pieces of dark meat chicken. Also appreciated: they don't overwhelm you with a thousand different sauce options. Seriously. There's a chicken wing place just up the street from me I'm curious to try, but then I see eight different sauce categories each with like twenty different options... most with names that reveal absolutely nothing about what they actually taste like! Is this a Pokemon-like "gotta taste em all!" kind of ploy? Nobody is ever going to do that... I'm busy enough trying to sample every pizza ever as it is...
I'm no expert on Korean cuisine (quite the opposite) and my knowledge doesn't extend far beyond "I'm going to mispronounce whatever this is". Thankfully, BHC Toronto is polite enough to help a dum dum like me along and describe what exactly each of their options are.
For their chicken there are really just six choices: Matcho-King (an aged soy-based sauce), Gold-King (soy with honey), the Bburinkle (dry dusted with a cheese seasoning), Sweet and Spicy, a classic dry rub option and then a spicy dry rub. I don't much care for soy sauce and the sweet and spicy didn't sound too interesting... so I went for the Bburinkle ten boneless dark meat pieces. Side-wise, I was curious about their fries but... fried cheese balls are just too unusually tempting to resist.
And here you have it (plus a side of their sweet and spicy sauce because I was curious, just not enough to have my chicken drenched in it).
I'll admit, BHC offers quite a bit more than just fried things and a little nagging voice in the back of my head was saying: "why not go fully authentic and get one of those dishes instead?" You know, like their Tteokbokki, Chagyechi, or really go all out for the Dakbokkeumtang? Again, without looking them up I have no freaking clue what any of those dishes are... but it's giving my spell checker a total panic attack so hey at least I'm amusing myself here.
Besides, BHC is best known as a super popular 'fried chicken spot' in South Korea, so trying that headline item seems the most prudent choice for this review. If I'd gone totally rogue and gotten some rice and a poutine, I'd sort of be missing the point somewhat me thinks.
Cheese balls! These were genuinely unlike anything I've had... really ever. I was thrown off considerably. When checking their menu online beforehand, I was surprised to see these described as one might describe a dessert. Cheese for dessert? In my Western world type of thinking, cheesy things are almost always part of an appetizer, with the exception of cheesecake which I don't think completely counts here.
After now eating these... I totally get it. This is a dessert item. It's because of the exterior: this isn't your crispy/crunchy arancini or mozzarella stick type of crust... it's way more like a firm but crunchy doughnut. They look a lot like Timbits but have more of a solid shell rather than any squish to them.
They're also freaking delicious, and very very heavy. I could only eat one of these at a time before needing a temporary reprieve... it's a condensed fried dairy overload.
There's a sweetness in here that makes it work as a dessert. Not the kind of dessert you wanna eat if you're already full, heck no... but I get it. The fried coating, aside from being light yet crispy, has that kind of sugar you kind on certain kinds of doughnuts. Bringing it back to my CNE food comparisons... these are a lot like Tiny Tom Donuts hollowed out and jammed with soft gooey cheese.
The cheese itself... quite milky, melts extremely well (the texture of these things is obviously crucial) and indeed there's so much of it you're getting a lot of sugary crunch and gooey cheese on every bite (for the love of your heart, take your time on these little artery grenades). Once cold, you lose a lot of that cheese magic when it solidifies (becoming pleasant squishy soft cheese, but it's not the same).
However... pop them in the toaster oven on low heat... you get most of the magic back. These were extremely tasty, although even a small order is best not eaten alone.
Onto the main attraction, the fried chicken.
Initially, upon seeing how small these pieces are, I was worried. Twenty bucks for ten of these? I mean, they're not much larger than chicken nuggets...
Fortunately, the bargain value of these bite-size pieces is offset by... well there being probably more like fourteen or fifteen of these in this box instead of ten. All is forgiven.
Besides, the chicken is really tasty. It's all dark meat so you're getting those fattier bits, but they must trim some of that off before frying because you never get any real bite that's just pure greasy grizzle. You get chicken in every bite and the light breading holds it quite tightly, no pockets of just air.
Speaking of that breading... it's fascinating. The opposite of your heavy North American fried chicken super crunch, hell these are softer and more squeezable than the cheese balls. A very light batter but still crispy layer, with some crunchier parts on the edges... which on it's own as a plain fried flavour would be plenty tasty.
However, the addition of that Bburinkle seasoning... essentially a dusting of a cheese powder and some subtle herbs... really elevates this. Almost like they fresh out of the fryer tossed these babies in Cheetos dust (geez I'm just full of analogies this week)... except imagine a more refined, less bold but more lingering type of cheesy dust. And one that cakes your fingers but doesn't turn them completely Trump orange after two bites.
The chicken inside... tastes like good dark meat chicken, like a good bite out of a tender nicely fried drumstick. The sensation of eating dark meat without thinking of bones in the back of my mind... a sensation I'll never adjust to... but regardless it's juicy without being obnoxiously oily or greasy. BHC has somehow disguised fried dark chicken bits as a somewhat light snack... that's tricky to do.
Oh right, the sweet and spicy side sauce! Quickly... lots of sweet, like a syrupy taste and consistency, though it never becomes too much. A lot like a Thai Chili sauce. I don't get a lot of spice here though. A tingle in the front of the mouth is really all you get, otherwise this is more like a bolder and more peppery sweet and sour type of sauce.
As a dip? Quite enjoyable: there's some lasting flavour and it adds an extra sweet something to the unsauced cheese dusted chicken pieces. Fine as a sauce, but as a spice it's not anything to write across the Pacific pond about... which is probably by design. A very accessible "spicy" option for the masses.
Overall! Yeah I'd go back. I'd like to try some of their spicier chicken options as I think this particular kind of fried chicken (softer and lighter) could be quite interesting with some genuine powerful heat.
The one caveat I will use, however: BHC Chicken is really a place best enjoyed with multiple people. Take it from me, somebody who has ventured out to like hundreds of places now by myself to review things... which sounds awful lonely when described like that... um right! No, BHC's menu is really full of items that truly lend themselves to a sharing experience. A few orders of the chicken in different configurations (spicier wings, soy tenders for instance) and a bunch of sides or the directly Korean dishes for the table to share. BHC Toronto seems to recognize this too, as their location within the Well has plentiful seating within their spot (unlike many of the smaller stalls) and dedicated servers for those tables.
Regardless, my personal experience was a positive one. Terrific chicken, and those cheese balls are still confusing the heck out of me. A fried cheese dessert? Am I Elvis? Some wild stuff. One final thing I will say about those cheese balls... they would pair exceptionally well with some kind of berry jam. There's already the sugar sweetness on the outside of it, but there's so much cheese... a vibrant fruity jam like that I think could cut through that heaviness and be some wonderful stuff.
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Peepers
Somebody made a supercut of one of my favourite sitcoms, re-edited so as to describe every Radiohead album. Extremely funny if you're a big fan of both of these things (which I am):
Tuesday Tune
Give it up for the Godfather himself, the incomparable... JB.
That's all for this week! We will be back next time with another review, possibly maybe even a non-fried chicken one? Or who knows... maybe 2025 is just going to be the year of nothing but fried chicken reviews. That's it, I'm rebranding the weekly reviews as "The Tuesday Tender" or "The Finger Lickin' Taste". Consider that a 'nugget' to chew on...
...okay I'll stop now. Until next time! Stay safe, stay warm out there and most of all... don't spill that mustard.
Another Tuesday... another Taste! This week, bird is indeed the word. Birdies, that is.
The Gerrard East/Coxwell area is a sneakily under-the-radar-interesting portion in the east side of this massive metropolis we call Toronto. Aside from Gerrard Street changing into Eastwood Avenue for no reason (while Gerrard starts again eastward a block north... hilarious!) this area is loaded with tantalizing food options and little bars, not to mention being on the outskirts of Little India which in itself is a totally different and dynamic thing.
You've got Mattachioni's east location here, Harry's Charbroiled, Godspeed Brewery (with Wvrst running the kitchen), the Two Headed Dog pub (solid wings), Leela Indian Food Bar, Good Behaviour just a few blocks west... and these are just the ones I've tried. There are so many other restaurants or takeout spots to explore within a ten minute walk in this part of town, and that's without mentioning the New Town Family Restaurant which I believe has closed permanently now (I went with my cousin about ten years ago for brunch... pretty decent and very cheap). Almost all of these places (aside from New Town) have only sprouted in the past five-to-seven years. Harry's, for instance, took over the space of an old Coffee Time location (which I think we can all safely call a win).
We can also put Birdies (no apostrophe) Fried Chicken on the list of destinations here in this compelling corner of T.O.
The origin of Birdies goes back to the Fully Loaded food truck started by partners Kevin Green and Amanda Louie in 2015. I never tried the food truck which is a shame, as Fully Loaded offered some unique items... their stuffed chicken wings perhaps their most famous innovation.
In 2020 they decided to open a stationary location in the very area I just spent a couple paragraphs rambling abou-I-mean-describing. Problem was... 2020 was not a great time for a new food venture (or anything) trying to find it's footing. Despite having the space secured for a significant period they waited until 2021 to fully open, and even then only as a pure takeout joint.
It's a small space regardless (they'd taken over from a tiny pizza spot) and even now in early 2025 there are no tables... just a counter along the front window with four stools. I'm not one to dawdle in a place I'm intending to review (especially on a Sunday where I'm the only one in there) so I grabbed my order from the extremely pleasant cashier and headed to a nearby park on Coxwell to sample this chicken creation.
Doubling down on the lead photo! Credit to that excellent, handsome and (hey ladies) very available photographer...
Whereas the Fully Loaded food truck had quite an extensive menu of creations from Banh Mi chicken sandwiches to tofu options to kimchi fries to chicken and waffles... Birdies menu is by design stripped down to the basics. Two sandwiches ("OG" or Nashville spicy), various quantities of their chicken tenders, fries, side slaw, and milkshakes. Maybe I'm missing a thing or two but not much more than that.
I wanted to sample their spice but not on the chicken sandwich itself... fortunately Birdies has a option of putting their Nashville hot stuff into their french fries for minimal charge (if any). Quite clever indeed. What you see in this repetitive photo is their regular "OG" (Anunoby?) fried chicken sandwich and those very Nashville spiced fries.
Starting with the fries. Objectively as french fries... pretty good! You taste the potato, they're lightly crispy in spots but never over-cooked at all (a couple limper under-cooked ones maybe, but just a couple) and the general texture is exactly what you want it to be in a fry. When they've gone cold fast because you're eating outside and it's -3 in early January... and they're still good? On the spectrum of french fries this is definitely comfortably on the "quality" side.
As for the spice... you can probably tell by the photo that Birdies doesn't mess around. This isn't your typical fast-food chain "light sprinkle of flavourless dust" onto these fries... I mean look! They're freaking red! These babies were tossed fresh from the fryer in big bowl full of these spices and it is practically infused into the fries.
I like it. But hoo boy... you get a lot of this Nashville spice and if you're not a heat kinda person, this could be too much for ya. It's initially a salty sweet kind of spice, but it sneaks up on you to really attack the front of your mouth and plant a flag. At it's full might you get some earthy peppers on the tongue and as somebody who quite likes spicy food, the heat is never overwhelming but is definitely a presence. Quality french fries with some punch? Thumbs up.
Knowing what I know now (say that ten times fast) getting the spice onto the fries instead of the sandwich was a good call. It's a really nice heat, but it is strong enough flavour-wise to obscure the other elements within this sandwich... at least for a first-timer like myself trying to experience the full scope.
It's a simply constructed fried chicken sandwich. Lots of lettuce, there are pickles in there somewhere I swear, a house sauce, and a big old slab of breaded bird. Like Birdies simplified menu... if you're making something of an exceptional quality you can keep it straight forward and succeed... rather than the opposite of getting lost down a rabbit hole of left field quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness.
Simplicity is a virtue indeed, but it doesn't excuse something bland, uninteresting and uninspired (like Tim Horton's pizza). That's it right there: if you keep things simple, you have to make those simple elements really jump, pop, and be vivid and memorable. This is true in food or art, or really anything.
My musings upon the concept of simplicity now complete, cards on the table now. This Birdies chicken sandwich...
...was totally f*king incredible.
Like... one of the best chicken sandwiches I've ever had in my entire life. Probably the best I've ever reviewed as well... PG Clucks was a delicious treat and deserves praise, but this? Clucks didn't blow me away the same way this did.
Lets break it down. Why is it so good? Lots and lots of reasons. Reason one! You get a ton of freaking chicken here. This photo is no lie. This ain't your crummy-ass McChicken where the bun takes up three quarters of the sammy. Here, above you dear reader, is a real goddamn chicken sandwich... the way it was meant to be. This is art.
Reason two! Speaking of McDonald's, there's a serious Big Mac influence within the construction of this sandwich. The buns are lightly toasted and have that same buttery taste and initial feel, you've got tons of lettuce in here, and the "Truck Sauce" really strikes me as similar to McD's infamous Secret Sauce... that vaguely sweet and relishy mayo concoction. Birdies does it better (gee what a shock) as their Truck Sauce has so much more vibrant presence, subtle sweetness and lasting taste to it. I despise McDonald's food because I find it so boring... it'll always taste precisely like McDonald's and personally I just don't like that particular flavour that oozes out of everything they offer. It fades so quickly, even their Secret Sauce... whereas Birdies' flavours linger in your mouth like meeting a new friend you never knew you had and you're getting to know each other over a couple beers.
Reason three! The chicken itself is sublime. I suspected near the end that these where actually two fried chicken breasts atop one another... which I'm still not completely sure of but there was some definite physical separation of two chickens in those final few bites. Regardless, the chicken itself is so dang tender and consistent throughout I wondered if they use a mallet beforehand, like one does with a veal cutlet for schnitzel. Each bite is so precisely delicious... that perfect line of juicy without being greasy or watery or too heavy on the stomach whatsoever. Perfect.
Reason four! The breading. Birdies uses a buttermilk brine that the chicken rests in for half a day or so... I could taste a bit of that sourness within the breading (like a creamy sourness) and it is a nice additional layer to everything else happening here. I'm no buttermilk expert (except for pancakes) so perhaps there is more to this that I'm missing. Anyhow, I enjoyed it as a nice touch in the aftertaste.
Reason five (the last one I swear): just how well this all works together. That faint mayo/relish sweetness of the Truck Sauce lingering on each bite, lots of (fresh) lettuce, the chicken has good crunch yet never in any bite tastes or feels stale or dry... the light buttery toasted bun... none of this is crazy or fancy ingredient-wise but it's just executed so well that it's obvious this is a place that both knows exactly what they're doing and takes the little flavour details seriously.
Overall! This is legitimately one of the very best things I've had on the Tuesday review, and I strongly recommend taking a trip to check them out if you can. The entire experience was nearly flawless... only some asshole on an e-bike going full speed on a crowded Coxwell sidewalk disrupted any full enjoyment I encountered here.
(Seriously though... what the F* is up with these e-bike fuckers going full speed on sidewalks? You're in a hurry I get it, good luck to you there... but you are operating a motorized vehicle that at top speed can be ticketed for speeding in residential zones... get the fuck off the sidewalk you pricks! Nobody is impressed by your ability to swerve around pedestrians at 30km/h when we're scared of being run over! I see these assholes doing this when there are bike lanes just a foot away for F*s sake... Get on the fucking road!)
Anyway! (had to get that off my chest). Birdies is truly exceptional if you're seeking a fried chicken sandwich fix. There isn't really anything they do that hasn't been done before... like I said they've stripped down their menu to focus on the basics... and they totally nail it. I will definitely go back again quite soon (glad they're in the east end heh heh heh) to see how their spicier sandwich compares to this one. If you haven't been, definitely check them out. Again, every bite of that sandwich was like a pocket of happiness.
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Tuesday Tune
One of my favourite outros to any rock/indie song... when those drums really kick in it's like hypnotic to me. Like if later Beatles tripped out more but it was a mellow trip out. The rest of the tune is also pretty good too, and this artist is so interesting in how he (Kevin Parker) just records every instrument himself for the studio recordings (he'll tour with a band, obviously). His drum sound/tone is just so so good... plus since Birdies is this freaking good they've earned one of my favourite musical things...
Right. Here's the song.
That's all for this week! Geez... one of the best reviews ever on this page? Hard act to follow. Nevertheless there are plenty of other places waiting to be experienced, plenty of pleasant surprises to be encountered. Wow... I sound so positively optimistic... this isn't on brand for me at all... you can tell how much I loved this sandwich! Therein lies the power of food, my friends.
Anyhow... you know the drill... until next week stay safe, stay warm and most of all don't spill that mustard.
