So That’s a Category?

Turns out BlogTO was not content with having a best bakery and a best cafe category, they had to go and add best bakery-cafe. It was a bit confusing when we first got to Sud Forno. There was a sign saying line-up here for paninis but there were no paninis and no employees. It was a cafeteria set-up, wherein you order your food then grab a table. We went in further and found the paninis but still no employees. We wound our way around the counter to the other side to the baked goods and the register.

In addition to a best-of, we also got to cross some of the 1001 foods off our list: prosciutto, mortadella, torta caprese, and sfogiatelle.

The sandwiches were everything you could ask for: fresh delicious bread, great cheese, amazing meat and lettuce (on the mortadella) and baby spinach (on the prosciutto). So simple yet so damn delicious. The cannoli was subpar, the sfogiatelle was an odd pastry filled with a not-sweet-enough cheese. The real winner was the torta caprese: a chocolate cake made with almond flour. So moist, fluffy yet just the right dense, and so chocolatey- all without being heavy.

I’d go back any day for the sandwich. It was a sandwich. Not a panini. They didn’t warm it up.

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TACOS!

It had been so long since I had written my fooding list, I could not for the life of me remember why El Cabalito was listed. The tacos? The tequila? Who can say. After watching Croatia defeat England in World Cup we headed over, a little earlier than our reservation but the place was empty so it didn’t matter.

I went in there with the intention of getting a margarita but who can say no to a mezcal mule?! I ended up having a second drink anyways so I got my margarita fix. Both were delicious. We ordered a plate of nachos with pulled pork and some tacos. Soon after we devoured our chicken and fish tacos we realized we needed more. The taco orders were singles and even with the nachos we needed more food. We ordered the beef brisket, pulled pork and shrimp ones. While Brent and Andrew said the beef one was the best and the chicken one of the worst, I disagreed, stating that it was the reverse in fact. It was clearly: chicken, shrimp, pork, fish, beef. Luckily we left just enough room for a churros ice cream sandwich. I mistakenly tried to eat it with a fork. The drinks were strong and we had arrived at dinner coming from a bar. It was not my fault. The ice cream sandwich was epic.

 

Can’t Say No To That Plan

What plan was it I couldn’t say no to? Walking to Dufferin Mall = exercise and an excuse to stop at Baker Bots for an ice cream sandwich (aka still the best one in the city, no matter what you say, better than Bang Bang!). From there dipping south to Brazil Bakery for the best custard tart in the city… meaning we got to walk back home via anything-but-Bloor. It was the perfect plan. All the moreso given how long it took us to get out of the house, because the bakery is open until midnight.

On the way we passed by a bar advertising two delicious sounding beers: a blueberry sour and a grape vidal sour. We pondered it as we walked to the bakery. How could we say no to that? It was settled. We would stop and have a break, seeing as we were so fast at Dufferin Mall we didn’t really get a break. While we were sitting at The Mutt, resting our barking dogs, we perused the menu. There was a plum sour that just sounded amazing. In fact I took so long drinking my blueberry sour, even with Brent taking the last quarter, that he had time to order the plum sour which was the clear winner of the three.

The custard tart was good. Can’t really go wrong with one. The tart part was a bit tough and chewy but the filling was good. This story turned out to be more about the beer than the tart.

 

Fried Watermelon? Really?

If you had told me that fried watermelon would be the (so far) stand out dish of 2018 I would have thought for sure I was dreaming. Fried? Watermelon? How is that even possible? I still don’t know how it’s done, but I do know that DaiLo (voted one of the top 100 restaurants in Canada 2018) makes a damn good dish of it. That dish alone is reason enough for them to be a top 100 contender. The fried octopus tacos sealed the deal. DaiLo was amazing.

The pork hock was a mild dip. But that was our fault. It was just too fatty for our tastes- even though that is how it is supposed to be. Although the sauce was not that great either. The jellyfish slaw (which I had considered getting as an app) was a knockout though.

Our last dish was the babyback ribs and oh man- they were amazing. It was impossible to compare them to previous ribs we’d had because they were that different. They were topped with a delicious sauce that was unlike anything we had ever tried. We were back in knockout territory. Completing the experience was the old fashioned cocktail I had with a fancy whisky in it. Oh and the service was great.

 

Late-Night-Ish

Now that I work in the west end it made sense to go to Apache Burger for best late night burger– it was relatively close to my work and I finished in the evening. We got there right as the sun was setting, but still for me it felt late-night and by the time we left it was dark out- so it counts.

Second time around, I ordered a double cheeseburger. My complaint last time had been too much bun, not enough meat so it was the logical choice. This time the ratio was on point. BUT that means nothing when the burger itself is bland and not good. In my rankings it was only above Burger Shack and about on par with Holy Chuck, maybe a smidge higher.

I’d rather have Five Guys.

 

I’ll Have the Beouf

madame beouf strong cocktails good burger ok hotdog, cheese fries lies lies lies

It was so long ago now (ok fine, it’s only been a year) since I came up with the alternate fooding list that I can barely rememner why certain restaurants are on the list or what my sources are (North Toronto Post? Toronto Life? Pretty pictures on Instagram?- who can say). One of those was Madame Beouf. This was a summer one so we had to wait for the appropriate weather. I initially thought we would be going on a Saturday when it becomes Madame Beouf and Flea and half the place is a flea market but it didn’t work out that way.

When Brent asked me what the deal was I quickly scramble to google it while pretending I totally knew. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the guy behind Rose & Son et al. was also behind Madame Beouf. Maybe going on a non-flea market day wouldn’t be so bad after all? I mean cocktails on tap sounded great.

I was really sold when I read about the cheese fries and saw a photo: shoe string fries with a house-made cheese sauce! Instead what we got were crinkle-cut fries with melted slices of American cheese (read: it did not stay melted). I was sad. At least I had a fancy-sounding banquet hotdog to cheer me up. It had bacon and cheese- can’t go wrong. The clear knock-out however was the burger. Oh, and those on-tap cocktails? Strong. The hibiscus margarita was amazing, the long island iced tea was just standard. Oh, and nice patio.

 

My Milkshake…

I continue not being a fan of milkshakes. Even though, I am willing to admit that the one from Sweet Jesus, the current best in the city according to BlogTO, was the best one yet. This is probably due to the fact that it was made with soft serve ice cream for which I have a soft spot in my stomach. Why drink your ice cream when you can chomp down on it?!– I say!

Any excuse for soft serve and I am there. Even if I am getting over a bad head cold and ice cream is like the last thing I need. The brownie concoction was particularly palate-pleasing and I did not regret my decision to leave the comforts of home and venture out- even if my head felt like a brick. Sweet Jesus barely swayed me in my milkshake opinion.