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Wednesday 23 September 2015
Saturday 5 September 2015
NY Fries - The Breakfast Poutine Wrap
WE'VE MOVED TO WORDPRESS
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
I used to work at Old Navy doing logistics for them. What that meant was I had to wake up at 4:30am to be at work for 6:30am. I had no problem doing this, until I started school again and I was doing that plus going to classes. All of that transformed the way I slept and evidently made me a morning person. Now everyday I usually wake up around 6:30-7am..Naturally. I had to explain that in case you were wondering, "why goes go New York Fries at 8:30 in the morning?" The answer is obviously being me. Especially since there's no Premier League this weekend =(
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
I used to work at Old Navy doing logistics for them. What that meant was I had to wake up at 4:30am to be at work for 6:30am. I had no problem doing this, until I started school again and I was doing that plus going to classes. All of that transformed the way I slept and evidently made me a morning person. Now everyday I usually wake up around 6:30-7am..Naturally. I had to explain that in case you were wondering, "why goes go New York Fries at 8:30 in the morning?" The answer is obviously being me. Especially since there's no Premier League this weekend =(
Now another question you're probably asking yourself is "New York Fries is open that early?" I don't know about their other locations but this one right by St. George and Bloor is. Their whole menu is available to order during these times too.
If you're not feeling a butter chicken poutine or The Works at 8:30am like myself then they have 2 options for you. Their Breakfast "Poutine" Wrap, comes in Veggie & Bacon. Now I put the Poutine in quotations because lately I feel like there's a bit of confusion to be what a Poutine actually is. *cough* Tim Horton's *cough* So if you don't know a Poutine is originally fries, gravy and cheese curds.
That's it. No whip cream or chocolate drizzle. Just those 3.
 |
| Fancy Coffee |
Now the Breakfast Poutine Wrap has only two of those ingredients, the fries and the cheese curds. What it also has is an omelette with onions & peppers; and a couple strips of bacon. All wrapped up in a whole wheat wrap.
Add a coffee and the total came up to price above.
It's wrapped pretty nicely. It didn't unravel when you bite into it, a nice touch. It's good, other than the super thin pieces of bacon, its a pretty good wrap. Even the coffee wasn't bad! Unfortunately where it fails though is the organization of it. The idea of a breakfast Poutine Wrap is, for sure, an awesome idea. But eating this one it didn't seem like a bunch of flavours coming nicely together, instead it felt like you could taste every layer of it. It's not necessarily a bad thing but you can there's something missing that I think could of been a clincher...
The gravy. It's baffling. How can you call something a Poutine when it's missing the one key ingredient that brings the fries and cheese together in harmony? Now how could you add hot gravy without it being messy? You can't but then again, most wraps that I've had often been messy. It's not like you even have to add a lot to it just enough to spread all over the pita. Another thing that was a little off was the cheese curds. On a poutine they make sense, the gravy melts it making it nice and stringy. There's nothing in the wrap that's that hot to make it melt to gooey goodness. I think shredded cheese or even thin slices would of been more appropriate for a wrap, curds are a bit too thick and doesn't scatter as nicely as shredded does. It's also easier to melt as well.
Maybe I'm just over thinking. Maybe I'm being a bit of an asshole. I don't know. It's not like its a terrible wrap or anything. Especially for the price and the size of it. It's a great value, especially if you're doing a walk of shame. But restaurants please, PLEASE if you're going to have your own variant of Poutine, please have a variant of ALL 3 components in it.
Thank you.
7/10
Ian
follow me on instagram or twitter - @darkm4gician
Saturday 22 August 2015
The Rosedale Diner / I Need to Research Better
WE'VE MOVED TO WORDPRESS
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
I woke up around 5 PM after a much needed nap. I haven't been sleeping right all week, the nap was needed but I felt groggy as hell waking up.
I don't know how the idea even came up but originally I wanted to go to a diner, you know a diner that looked like something out of Grease. Those places always had great food at reasonable prices and I always enjoyed the blast of the past theme.
This is the story of how I never got not even remotely close to that.
I guess I'll retrace back to Bloor-Yonge station..
Actually no. Lets go back even before Bloor-Yonge. So I won't lie to you this has been the least I researched a restaurant. On my phone I typed in "Best Toronto Diners", oddly enough I ignored BlogTo and went straight for Yelp, which introduced me to a place called the Coach House just off of Wellesley station. So I thought "sick, lets go."
NOW I got off originally at Bloor-Yonge because I figured I would walk, I enjoy walking quite a bit and the weather downtown was perfect. As I walk down Yonge street and I pass by a couple of restaurants with nice outdoor patios and people acting like badasses smoking shisha. I get more and more excited since I figured this Coach House place would be a 1960s 70s 80s whatever theme diner.
I was wrong.
It looked like a pub and mind you I didn't walk inside but still the outside of it didn't appeal to me at all. So, annoyed, I sat on the steps where the Scotiabank was on Wellesley and pulled out my phone, opened up Google Maps and typed in "Diner near Wellesley Station" After lots of debate and scrolling I found out about the Bloor Street Diner and walked towards Bay and Bloor where it's located. When I turned onto Bay there it was in all it's glory. I walked about halfway and then I froze.
"F*ck"
I completely had forgot to check the price research, since this is Broke and Picky I'd be screwed if it didn't fall in the price range. Honestly I did a pretty crappy search of the price range as well. I went on Google and saw the $$ so I said screw it and sat down again trying to search for another diner.
I ended up finding The Rosedale Diner which was near Summerhill station.
Now lets recap I walked from Bloor Yonge to Yonge Wellesley to Bay Bloor and back to Bloor Yonge to take the subway to Summerhill station. I was hungry and annoyed, but this was all my fault. I should of researched this better.
This was my first time getting off at Summerhill station and I was pretty baffled at how beautiful the area is. A lot of nice niche shops mixed with cool restaurants, the neighbourhood is just outside the city but has a nice quietness that's surprising by Toronto's standards.
I finally get to The Rosedale Diner and it has a nice charm to it. It's not big when it comes to width, but it's somewhat long interior + patio makes it spacious enough. I debate whether or not I want to walk in but the waitress locked eyes with the awkward guy sitting in front of the door (me) and I walk in.
She asks me where I want to sit inside or outside and the inside wasn't busy at all and lucky me I got a beautiful window seat. The view was lovely looking out to the midsized condos, LCBO and these lovely flowers in front. I sit down and she gives me the menu and it's definitely not Broke and Picky prices but forget it I'm already here, I'm enjoying the experience of even being here to begin with. I'll still review. Prices range from $10-17 for starters, $16+ for entrées, yup I realize the blog name is Broke and Picky. Yes, I see the irony of skipping Bloor Street Diner... Plus hey it's nice to treat yourself to a nice meal...right?
Anyway the kind waitress drops off a bottle of rye used as a water pitcher, I can't even lie I was completely fascinated by that bottle, it looked really cool as a water pitcher and I'm quite shocked more restaurants don't do this.
I end up ordering the fish & chips because fish & chips are one of my favourite meals to get. This is the part that really impressed me / freaked me out. The minute I made the order I sat back and looked out the window. I thought to myself that I should be taking pictures or something, you know be a proper blogger and before that train of thought continued going the food was brought to me. Just like that. Must of been 5-7 minutes tops.
The best part the fish was hearing it sizzle. It's been a long time since I had food made THAT fresh for me. I mean shit, I put my ear closer to hear to listen to it sizzle for a bit.
What did the fish and chips come with?
A HUGE fresh, SIZZLING (can you tell I loved that?) piece of haddock.
Crispy skinny fries
Coleslaw
Lemon wedges
The haddock was crispy, so crispy that you heard it crack as soon as you drove the knife through it. I'd be careful, I dug in too quick and forgot that same sizzling noise meant it was hot as hell. I loved how crunchy it was. You know how at other fish and chip places the fish might be a little on the thin side, this was not the case for Rosedale's haddock. It was thick, juicy and full of flavour to the point where I didn't bother squeezing the lemon wedges on it.
The fries were crispy as well. They weren't dry and unlike the other places I had reviewed the fries were actually hot. Maybe I'm over thinking this but like other food duos (I don't know; Hot dogs/KD, Coffee/Donuts, Beer/Wings etc. etc.), I think if the one half fails then the other half doesn't really look as impressive. Does that make sense? Rosedale's fries do the fish justice and they're both awesome together.
The coleslaw, I'm so happy they didn't overdo it with the dressing. Holy crap. Some restaurants drain the coleslaw in dressing, I despite it. Personally, I loved the coleslaw, I loved you can actually taste the cabbage and actually wished I had more. Then I think about the amount of fries that they give and I thought never mind.
Honestly,
This place is fantastic, it was a nice getaway in a part of Toronto I never really got to experience. They're clearly experts in their field, the food is fantastic, the service was fast and great. The waitress BTW I didn't get her name, she was a tall brunette was excellent as well! I have a hard time finding anything wrong about the Rosedale Diner other than the fact they didn't offer enough coleslaw. And that reason right there is bullshit.
I think you should go to The Rosedale Diner if you want to treat yourself to fantastic food or if you need a getaway from a noisy downtown core and relax with a drink in one of the most chill atmospheres I've experienced. A++ on the music selection, the vibes were unreal.
I ended up here on a whim and despite the fact we're a blog about cheap eats, not only do I see myself going back sometime in the future, I strongly recommend The Rosedale Diner to everyone that reads this.
9.5/10
If you're interested in The Rosedale Diner follow them on Instagram!
To my two hardcore fans, I'm sorry that this weekend wasn't cheap.
If you enjoyed this blog please follow me on instagram / twitter @darkm4gician
Share with your friends and/or +1 this on Google+
Peace easy
Ian
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
I woke up around 5 PM after a much needed nap. I haven't been sleeping right all week, the nap was needed but I felt groggy as hell waking up.
I don't know how the idea even came up but originally I wanted to go to a diner, you know a diner that looked like something out of Grease. Those places always had great food at reasonable prices and I always enjoyed the blast of the past theme.
This is the story of how I never got not even remotely close to that.
I guess I'll retrace back to Bloor-Yonge station..
Actually no. Lets go back even before Bloor-Yonge. So I won't lie to you this has been the least I researched a restaurant. On my phone I typed in "Best Toronto Diners", oddly enough I ignored BlogTo and went straight for Yelp, which introduced me to a place called the Coach House just off of Wellesley station. So I thought "sick, lets go."
NOW I got off originally at Bloor-Yonge because I figured I would walk, I enjoy walking quite a bit and the weather downtown was perfect. As I walk down Yonge street and I pass by a couple of restaurants with nice outdoor patios and people acting like badasses smoking shisha. I get more and more excited since I figured this Coach House place would be a 1960s 70s 80s whatever theme diner.
I was wrong.
It looked like a pub and mind you I didn't walk inside but still the outside of it didn't appeal to me at all. So, annoyed, I sat on the steps where the Scotiabank was on Wellesley and pulled out my phone, opened up Google Maps and typed in "Diner near Wellesley Station" After lots of debate and scrolling I found out about the Bloor Street Diner and walked towards Bay and Bloor where it's located. When I turned onto Bay there it was in all it's glory. I walked about halfway and then I froze.
"F*ck"
I completely had forgot to check the price research, since this is Broke and Picky I'd be screwed if it didn't fall in the price range. Honestly I did a pretty crappy search of the price range as well. I went on Google and saw the $$ so I said screw it and sat down again trying to search for another diner.
I ended up finding The Rosedale Diner which was near Summerhill station.
Now lets recap I walked from Bloor Yonge to Yonge Wellesley to Bay Bloor and back to Bloor Yonge to take the subway to Summerhill station. I was hungry and annoyed, but this was all my fault. I should of researched this better.
This was my first time getting off at Summerhill station and I was pretty baffled at how beautiful the area is. A lot of nice niche shops mixed with cool restaurants, the neighbourhood is just outside the city but has a nice quietness that's surprising by Toronto's standards.
I finally get to The Rosedale Diner and it has a nice charm to it. It's not big when it comes to width, but it's somewhat long interior + patio makes it spacious enough. I debate whether or not I want to walk in but the waitress locked eyes with the awkward guy sitting in front of the door (me) and I walk in.
She asks me where I want to sit inside or outside and the inside wasn't busy at all and lucky me I got a beautiful window seat. The view was lovely looking out to the midsized condos, LCBO and these lovely flowers in front. I sit down and she gives me the menu and it's definitely not Broke and Picky prices but forget it I'm already here, I'm enjoying the experience of even being here to begin with. I'll still review. Prices range from $10-17 for starters, $16+ for entrées, yup I realize the blog name is Broke and Picky. Yes, I see the irony of skipping Bloor Street Diner... Plus hey it's nice to treat yourself to a nice meal...right?
Anyway the kind waitress drops off a bottle of rye used as a water pitcher, I can't even lie I was completely fascinated by that bottle, it looked really cool as a water pitcher and I'm quite shocked more restaurants don't do this.
I end up ordering the fish & chips because fish & chips are one of my favourite meals to get. This is the part that really impressed me / freaked me out. The minute I made the order I sat back and looked out the window. I thought to myself that I should be taking pictures or something, you know be a proper blogger and before that train of thought continued going the food was brought to me. Just like that. Must of been 5-7 minutes tops.
 |
| Sorry about the blur, my phone camera is garbage. |
What did the fish and chips come with?
A HUGE fresh, SIZZLING (can you tell I loved that?) piece of haddock.
Crispy skinny fries
Coleslaw
Lemon wedges
The haddock was crispy, so crispy that you heard it crack as soon as you drove the knife through it. I'd be careful, I dug in too quick and forgot that same sizzling noise meant it was hot as hell. I loved how crunchy it was. You know how at other fish and chip places the fish might be a little on the thin side, this was not the case for Rosedale's haddock. It was thick, juicy and full of flavour to the point where I didn't bother squeezing the lemon wedges on it.
The fries were crispy as well. They weren't dry and unlike the other places I had reviewed the fries were actually hot. Maybe I'm over thinking this but like other food duos (I don't know; Hot dogs/KD, Coffee/Donuts, Beer/Wings etc. etc.), I think if the one half fails then the other half doesn't really look as impressive. Does that make sense? Rosedale's fries do the fish justice and they're both awesome together.
The coleslaw, I'm so happy they didn't overdo it with the dressing. Holy crap. Some restaurants drain the coleslaw in dressing, I despite it. Personally, I loved the coleslaw, I loved you can actually taste the cabbage and actually wished I had more. Then I think about the amount of fries that they give and I thought never mind.
Honestly,
I think you should go to The Rosedale Diner if you want to treat yourself to fantastic food or if you need a getaway from a noisy downtown core and relax with a drink in one of the most chill atmospheres I've experienced. A++ on the music selection, the vibes were unreal.
I ended up here on a whim and despite the fact we're a blog about cheap eats, not only do I see myself going back sometime in the future, I strongly recommend The Rosedale Diner to everyone that reads this.
9.5/10
If you're interested in The Rosedale Diner follow them on Instagram!
To my two hardcore fans, I'm sorry that this weekend wasn't cheap.
If you enjoyed this blog please follow me on instagram / twitter @darkm4gician
Share with your friends and/or +1 this on Google+
Peace easy
Ian
Saturday 8 August 2015
Greek Fest
WE'VE MOVED TO WORDPRESS
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
First of all, lets take a moment to remember rapper Meek Mill.
Last week he got bodied by a singing dude...
Yeah lets not get into it.
Toronto, the city of festivals.
This weekend Toronto hosts two cultural festivals:
Jerk Fest & The Taste of Danforth
I wrote a post about how out of touch I am from my Trini roots last week so you can only guess which festival I went.
I'm blessed to be already familiar with the Danforth area since I attended Centennial College's Story Arts Centre to do my post grad. Oddly enough, a lot of the restaurants I usually do go to were on Pape Ave. just off of the Danforth. A restaurant named Burger World stole my heart so a lot of the time I went there for lunch or dinner during the year.
This is my 2nd year returning to Taste on the Danforth and again I had a blast. The abundance of food made it difficult to chose from, the music through the difference sections were alright and of course the women were beautiful. The vibes were on point and surprisingly I just let myself wonder, usually I plan where I want to go and what I want to try. At that moment I just wanted to act like a tourist and wander in awe.
So lets retrace from when I got off of Broadview station, I thought I was being smart and telling myself "I'll get off at Broadview and that way I won't have to deal with the ass load of people getting off the train at Pape." Stupid me didn't really the Fest started at Broadview. Oh well. After slowly walking up the stairs uncomfortably close to an old man's ass crack. I walk out the doors and the sound is already booming. I walk onto Broadview and the first stand I see, of course, is free info about Jesus Christ. No thanks, that's what I have my Grandmother for. Next. Free Iced Tea from Nestea? Dope. It was like a blueberry green tea flavour you might of seen it before.
I continue walking down the Danforth moving my way through drones of people either A. in bunches of groups looking at each other and not in front or B. staring down at their phone walking aimlessly (I was guilty of this sometimes) or both. There's booth after booth of food, shops, dessert, you name it. I finally end up at the TD just past Chester St. to take out some cash. After that I decide lets get into the food.
I got kind of pissed about this but it's completely understandable. The biggest lines I encountered were for free stuff and famous Greek Cuisine restaurant Messini Authentic Gyros. Messini is famous for their crispy fries with their gyros that come in the choice of lamb, chicken or pork. I've had one before during the semester and they are SO flippin good. Deep down, I wish I just lined up, I wasn't going anywhere but alas stubborn me settled for the place beside them.
I ended up getting the Pork Gyro and I got it in 5 seconds of paying for it. It was pre made :( *sigh*
They even tapped it after wrapping it. Jesus Christ. Unwrapping it the fries were soaked because of the tzatziki(did I spell that right?).
I didn't even recognize that there were even fries until I looked up-close. Biting into it, the fries were soft. Microwave soft. I'll give them credit the lukewarm pork and tzatziki sauce were alright but it's whatever. I won't even rate it, just wait for Messini, get it fresh. Mind you, I'm sure if it weren't a festival and you went to the restaurant beside Messini and ordered it would be made fresh and would be delicious. Jeez, why does everything with the word Messi in it have to be amazing?
I continued to stick around and take in the festival, poking around shops like the Used CD storeand then an Used book store - where I found House of Leaves for $9 bucks! Thank you Re: Reading.
I started looking for a booth where I could get some dessert but I stuck to one of my true favourites.
Caffe Demetre
The birthday, anniversary, first, 2nd, or 3rd after movie date dessert restaurant.
Usually Demetres has complex dessert options, so complex that customers are banned from taking pics of the menu. The Festival Demetres kept it simple. A single scoop of ice cream (Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry or White Chocolate Silk) inside a waffle cone...that wasn't really a waffle cone since they put it in a cup. They were also selling floats.
I ended up going for the white chocolate silk since it was different from the usual flavours that everyone has grown to know and love. The white chocolate has a tint that resembles French Vanilla. After finding a place to sit down I dig in and my God. The ice cream is beautifully thick, so thick that when you dig the spoon in and raise it up the ice cream tears apart like if it were gum or something similar. So thick that when you finally have it dancing off your tongue it slowly melts unlike many soft serve ice cream I've been used to having the past couple of months.
The waffle around it is brittle. It cracked way too easily. So brittle I just broke it apart and threw it in the ice cream and enjoy the crunchy element the "cone" added to the ice cream. I haven't been to Demetre's in a couple of years but despite it's simplicity it was a convincing argument to go back. 8/10
I spent $5 for the gyro
$3.50 for the ice cream.
Broke & Picky Approved
Annie, if you're reading this. Please Please let me review your cupcakes!!!
IVS
if you enjoyed reading this follow me on instagram or twitter - @darkm4gician
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
First of all, lets take a moment to remember rapper Meek Mill.
Last week he got bodied by a singing dude...
Yeah lets not get into it.
Toronto, the city of festivals.
This weekend Toronto hosts two cultural festivals:
Jerk Fest & The Taste of Danforth
I wrote a post about how out of touch I am from my Trini roots last week so you can only guess which festival I went.
I'm blessed to be already familiar with the Danforth area since I attended Centennial College's Story Arts Centre to do my post grad. Oddly enough, a lot of the restaurants I usually do go to were on Pape Ave. just off of the Danforth. A restaurant named Burger World stole my heart so a lot of the time I went there for lunch or dinner during the year.
This is my 2nd year returning to Taste on the Danforth and again I had a blast. The abundance of food made it difficult to chose from, the music through the difference sections were alright and of course the women were beautiful. The vibes were on point and surprisingly I just let myself wonder, usually I plan where I want to go and what I want to try. At that moment I just wanted to act like a tourist and wander in awe.
So lets retrace from when I got off of Broadview station, I thought I was being smart and telling myself "I'll get off at Broadview and that way I won't have to deal with the ass load of people getting off the train at Pape." Stupid me didn't really the Fest started at Broadview. Oh well. After slowly walking up the stairs uncomfortably close to an old man's ass crack. I walk out the doors and the sound is already booming. I walk onto Broadview and the first stand I see, of course, is free info about Jesus Christ. No thanks, that's what I have my Grandmother for. Next. Free Iced Tea from Nestea? Dope. It was like a blueberry green tea flavour you might of seen it before.
I continue walking down the Danforth moving my way through drones of people either A. in bunches of groups looking at each other and not in front or B. staring down at their phone walking aimlessly (I was guilty of this sometimes) or both. There's booth after booth of food, shops, dessert, you name it. I finally end up at the TD just past Chester St. to take out some cash. After that I decide lets get into the food.
I got kind of pissed about this but it's completely understandable. The biggest lines I encountered were for free stuff and famous Greek Cuisine restaurant Messini Authentic Gyros. Messini is famous for their crispy fries with their gyros that come in the choice of lamb, chicken or pork. I've had one before during the semester and they are SO flippin good. Deep down, I wish I just lined up, I wasn't going anywhere but alas stubborn me settled for the place beside them.
 |
| Place where I got the Gyro instead of Messini |
They even tapped it after wrapping it. Jesus Christ. Unwrapping it the fries were soaked because of the tzatziki(did I spell that right?).
I didn't even recognize that there were even fries until I looked up-close. Biting into it, the fries were soft. Microwave soft. I'll give them credit the lukewarm pork and tzatziki sauce were alright but it's whatever. I won't even rate it, just wait for Messini, get it fresh. Mind you, I'm sure if it weren't a festival and you went to the restaurant beside Messini and ordered it would be made fresh and would be delicious. Jeez, why does everything with the word Messi in it have to be amazing?
I continued to stick around and take in the festival, poking around shops like the Used CD storeand then an Used book store - where I found House of Leaves for $9 bucks! Thank you Re: Reading.
I started looking for a booth where I could get some dessert but I stuck to one of my true favourites.
Caffe Demetre
The birthday, anniversary, first, 2nd, or 3rd after movie date dessert restaurant.
Usually Demetres has complex dessert options, so complex that customers are banned from taking pics of the menu. The Festival Demetres kept it simple. A single scoop of ice cream (Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry or White Chocolate Silk) inside a waffle cone...that wasn't really a waffle cone since they put it in a cup. They were also selling floats.
I ended up going for the white chocolate silk since it was different from the usual flavours that everyone has grown to know and love. The white chocolate has a tint that resembles French Vanilla. After finding a place to sit down I dig in and my God. The ice cream is beautifully thick, so thick that when you dig the spoon in and raise it up the ice cream tears apart like if it were gum or something similar. So thick that when you finally have it dancing off your tongue it slowly melts unlike many soft serve ice cream I've been used to having the past couple of months.
The waffle around it is brittle. It cracked way too easily. So brittle I just broke it apart and threw it in the ice cream and enjoy the crunchy element the "cone" added to the ice cream. I haven't been to Demetre's in a couple of years but despite it's simplicity it was a convincing argument to go back. 8/10
I spent $5 for the gyro
$3.50 for the ice cream.
Broke & Picky Approved
Annie, if you're reading this. Please Please let me review your cupcakes!!!
IVS
if you enjoyed reading this follow me on instagram or twitter - @darkm4gician
Sunday 2 August 2015
Randy's Take Out / I'm Not a Very Good Trini
WE'VE MOVED TO WORDPRESS
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
So just putting this out there.
Due to contrary belief (mostly from the people on Weston Rd) I'm not Somalian or Ethiopian.
I'm Trini.
However I'm not a very good Trinidadian
I don't eat things like oxtail or goat
I can't stand the heat
I'm not much of a beach person
and I cannot absolutely stand soca music.
To be entirely honest I debate whether or not I'd actually go back to Trinidad..a lot.
Soca or chutney or any music related to Trinidad, I just can't listen to it.
Maybe it was all those car rides with my mom blasting it that made me loathe it so much, maybe it's the overly happiness in the track that I find annoying or maybe it's the constant JUMP N WAVE JUMP N WAVE. Nope.
I don't think in my 24 years of living and 6 times to Trinidad I've actively tried looking for Soca.
My parents love it. Ask anyone of my cousins they'll tell you.
Me, whatsoever, not so much.
It was Caribbana weekend and I was going to go to the parade. Despite my distaste for most things related to Trinidad. I didn't. Not surprising I know. My mom went before me and actually called me and she said,
"Don't go." Hm.. really?
"Why not?" I ask her.
"You won't like it."
So there I was wondering what to do with my day. I didn't think I was going to do a review it kind of just happened when, for some reason, I googled: "Best patties in Toronto" and of course the lovely BlogTO popped up and the first name I saw was Randy's. Knowing this blog is called Broke and Picky I knew I couldn't just do a review on something like dhalpuri, so what's something that's Caribbean that everyone loves? Patties.
Randy's didn't sound familiar at first but it was only when I actually went to the place and saw the line that went through the door that it started ringing bells. I've definitely had these patties before and it was this box that made me definitely remember.
Forgive me for the lack of pictures of the actual place which is situated on Eglinton West and Oakwood. As soon as I got there the line was already forming. Surprisingly though they were quick at cash handling orders like it's nothing. Despite the fact I was standing outside the door I was already at the front in around 5 minutes. You better decide what you want to order right away.
I ended up getting
1. Beef
1. Chicken
1. Grace Kola Champagne
Before I got to the front I heard a guy ask for a mild beef patty, the cashier replied they only do spicy patties. Truly Caribbean.
There's no where to sit in the place, hence why I figured they called it "Randy's Takeout." I ended up taking my food and sitting on a bench right across from a beauty store claiming to get Brazilian like hair. Right.
That's what it looks like. Unless you've never seen a patty before then there it is it looks alike to 90% of all the other patties out there.
I took a small bite because on the store menu it said "be careful filling is extremely hot." but then I didn't see taste anything other than the pastry. It was really good. It wasn't as flaky as others that I've had meaning less of a mess on your pants. OH now that I just remembered I found it odd they didn't have coco bread on the store menu. Maybe I missed it? it's odd since coco bread and patties make the perfect pair!
That patty I ended up biting into first ended up being the chicken patty.
Were you expecting the chicken to be shredded like a pulled pork in a bun? Not here. Unlike the beef patty, the chicken looks like it's been curried and then spread onto the patty. The curry (which I think it is) isn't as overbearing as it is if you were to get it in a roti. It was pretty delicious. I don't get the opportunity to go for a chicken patty often but I think when the option arises I'll start doing that. The chicken filling wasn't AS spicy as I was expecting since the cashier said they don't do mild. If you're a big chicken fan you won't go wrong with a chicken patty.
Now onto the beef.
The beef patty was oddly flakier than the chicken one. The beef inside was more moist and had a bit of a spicy kick to it (even the weak stomach people like myself can handle it well). It was a seriously kick ass patty. Beef was cheaper than the chicken and veggie options and it was filled with more beef so much so that if you hold it to tight this will happen.
I have nothing bad to say about it really, It's a good patty.
What I do have to diss is this garbage:
Grace soda.
The one thing about Trinidad I won't ever forget is how f-n good their soft drinks (what they call pop) was.
My 3 favourites that I think EVERYONE should go for are: Peardrax, Solo, Apple J and the list goes on and on.
But this. I don't know. It had too much of a syrup taste. It didn't taste as carbonated as it should be. I just wasn't impressed especially because I knew how great the others are.
Price
$5.11 for everything I got. Broke and Picky approved.
Beef is about 30 cents cheaper than the chicken and veggie options as stated earlier.
Beef is $1.10
Chicken/Veggie $1.48
Overall
Check out Randy's, Grab a box of patties, they're baked fresh then you can freeze them for later use.
The patties are awesome and if you're ever craving a quick snack or something that can be used as an entrée while you add fries or salad to it then you're set.
Avoid Grace soda however. Buy a peardrax for me, chill it and sip slowwwwww.
Patties 8/10
To my Trini people, don't be offended. Still got mad love for you.
Sweet, SWEET TNT OHH HOW I LUV UP MY COUNTRY.
I'll stop.
follow me on instagram and/or twitter -@darkm4gician
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
So just putting this out there.
Due to contrary belief (mostly from the people on Weston Rd) I'm not Somalian or Ethiopian.
I'm Trini.
However I'm not a very good Trinidadian
I don't eat things like oxtail or goat
I can't stand the heat
I'm not much of a beach person
and I cannot absolutely stand soca music.
To be entirely honest I debate whether or not I'd actually go back to Trinidad..a lot.
Soca or chutney or any music related to Trinidad, I just can't listen to it.
Maybe it was all those car rides with my mom blasting it that made me loathe it so much, maybe it's the overly happiness in the track that I find annoying or maybe it's the constant JUMP N WAVE JUMP N WAVE. Nope.
I don't think in my 24 years of living and 6 times to Trinidad I've actively tried looking for Soca.
My parents love it. Ask anyone of my cousins they'll tell you.
Me, whatsoever, not so much.
It was Caribbana weekend and I was going to go to the parade. Despite my distaste for most things related to Trinidad. I didn't. Not surprising I know. My mom went before me and actually called me and she said,
"Don't go." Hm.. really?
"Why not?" I ask her.
"You won't like it."
So there I was wondering what to do with my day. I didn't think I was going to do a review it kind of just happened when, for some reason, I googled: "Best patties in Toronto" and of course the lovely BlogTO popped up and the first name I saw was Randy's. Knowing this blog is called Broke and Picky I knew I couldn't just do a review on something like dhalpuri, so what's something that's Caribbean that everyone loves? Patties.
Randy's didn't sound familiar at first but it was only when I actually went to the place and saw the line that went through the door that it started ringing bells. I've definitely had these patties before and it was this box that made me definitely remember.
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| Source for pic: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1847505663/box_pattern.gif
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I ended up getting
1. Beef
1. Chicken
1. Grace Kola Champagne
Before I got to the front I heard a guy ask for a mild beef patty, the cashier replied they only do spicy patties. Truly Caribbean.
There's no where to sit in the place, hence why I figured they called it "Randy's Takeout." I ended up taking my food and sitting on a bench right across from a beauty store claiming to get Brazilian like hair. Right.
That patty I ended up biting into first ended up being the chicken patty.
Now onto the beef.
I have nothing bad to say about it really, It's a good patty.
What I do have to diss is this garbage:
Grace soda.
The one thing about Trinidad I won't ever forget is how f-n good their soft drinks (what they call pop) was.
My 3 favourites that I think EVERYONE should go for are: Peardrax, Solo, Apple J and the list goes on and on.
But this. I don't know. It had too much of a syrup taste. It didn't taste as carbonated as it should be. I just wasn't impressed especially because I knew how great the others are.
Price
$5.11 for everything I got. Broke and Picky approved.
Beef is about 30 cents cheaper than the chicken and veggie options as stated earlier.
Beef is $1.10
Chicken/Veggie $1.48
Overall
Check out Randy's, Grab a box of patties, they're baked fresh then you can freeze them for later use.
The patties are awesome and if you're ever craving a quick snack or something that can be used as an entrée while you add fries or salad to it then you're set.
Avoid Grace soda however. Buy a peardrax for me, chill it and sip slowwwwww.
Patties 8/10
To my Trini people, don't be offended. Still got mad love for you.
Sweet, SWEET TNT OHH HOW I LUV UP MY COUNTRY.
I'll stop.
follow me on instagram and/or twitter -
Sunday 26 July 2015
Carl's Jr. - Bienvenue au Canada - Part 2: Did someone say Crisscut?
WE'VE MOVED TO WORDPRESS
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
In case you missed it I went to Carl's Jr. on a Tuesday once. It was pretty great.
I went back on the Friday.
Where do I start?
First of all the city is poppin. The city has been poppin.
Pan Am has some negatives but the positives completely outweigh them. I've never seen the city this lively before and it's welcomed. Sucks it's all ending soon but it was a fantastic experience to walk around and see so many people at places like Nathan Phillips and the entertainment zone at Queensquay. Didn't get a chance to check out some games but that's alright!
Who know who's probably proud to be in Toronto?
Carl's Jr.
First a $2 milkshake
Now an entrée.
The Main Menu screens (the middle two) focus on the burgers. To the right of that is the Chicken + Fish menu and to the right of that is the desserts + sides menu. Then off to the side to which I think they didn't care if anyone sees it or not was a small fridge and a sticker that said, "Try our salads!" You'll probably miss it if you go into Carls and that's okay. Their 1/2 and 1/3 burger options won't even make you think of ordering a salad. A more comprehensive dessert menu is at the Milkshake bar. I was SERIOUSLY going into Carl's Jr. thinking burger. burger. char-grilled beef patty. burger. then I saw the Bacon Swiss Crispy Hand Breaded Chicken Tender Sandwich. Yes that's the full name. I go up to the cashier and I look at the menu one more time and I could swear that I changed my order midsentence to the Bacon Swiss.
"Hey, can i get the Sup....Bacon Swiss?"
"So Bacon Swiss?"
*Sigh* "Yes..Bacon Swiss"
I pay for my order and she hands me my cup and this.
My eyes must of been too focused on the menu to realize this when I was lining up but they give out numbers with your order. So if you're either doing take-out or dining in they'll call your number and/or come find you. So you could order your food sit wherever and wait comfortably.
The one thing that really makes me happy is this.
Canada Dry Ginger Ale on tap. Damn. You don't see that often. I don't drink as much pop as I used to anymore but Ginger Ale is still one of my favourites so I doubt I'd give it up. Kudos Carl! The only way you could really top this is if you get a Coke freestyle machine.
After grabbing my Ginger ale and sitting down I look around and take in the setting. People for take-out are standing around on their phones or talking to others while waiting. The people who dined in dug in like they never seen food before. I never saw one disappointed face, good sign that the food isn't bad. Another thing you'll notice are the servers walking around aimlessly with either a bag or tray with food trying to match food to owner. I kind of felt bad for them because they had to hunt down the owner. The awesome thing about it was customers were actually helping the servers match the number with the food. I watched CP24 for a couple of minutes before I heard a woman say,
"19? Over there!"
The server brings my food and here it is after a customer points me out.
The burger was way smaller than I expected it to be. I think the McChicken might be a bit larger but Carl's chicken is thicker and more crispy. I know you see those fries ;) we'll get to those later.
The Bacon Swiss Crispy contains:
Now lets talk about the fries. Crisscut fries.
The picture doesn't do it justice. I'll just cut to the chase. The next time I go to Carl's Jr. I'm getting a poutine with crisscut fries replacing the regular ones. The crispiness combined with the fact that they were piping hot (temperature wise, not spicy) made it just absolutely delicious. One of my favourite fries I've ever had from a fast food establishment.
Price wise
"It's gonna get messy."
Oh. I should of read the receipt before I ate. It all makes sense now.
The price is alright. Nothing too extravagant. This is a place you may get excited to get coupons from. Next time I go if I don't get the poutine for some reason, I'll probably get one of the burgers and maybe the price tag would make a bit more sense.
Overall
I think you should go try Carl's Jr. at least try it once.
Whether it be the burgers, chicken, fish or desserts they know damn well how to make em and make em well.
The service is excellent btw. Great job Queen West!
I look forward to going back sometime.
8.5/10
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
In case you missed it I went to Carl's Jr. on a Tuesday once. It was pretty great.
I went back on the Friday.
Where do I start?
First of all the city is poppin. The city has been poppin.
Pan Am has some negatives but the positives completely outweigh them. I've never seen the city this lively before and it's welcomed. Sucks it's all ending soon but it was a fantastic experience to walk around and see so many people at places like Nathan Phillips and the entertainment zone at Queensquay. Didn't get a chance to check out some games but that's alright!
Who know who's probably proud to be in Toronto?
Carl's Jr.
First a $2 milkshake
Now an entrée.
The Main Menu screens (the middle two) focus on the burgers. To the right of that is the Chicken + Fish menu and to the right of that is the desserts + sides menu. Then off to the side to which I think they didn't care if anyone sees it or not was a small fridge and a sticker that said, "Try our salads!" You'll probably miss it if you go into Carls and that's okay. Their 1/2 and 1/3 burger options won't even make you think of ordering a salad. A more comprehensive dessert menu is at the Milkshake bar. I was SERIOUSLY going into Carl's Jr. thinking burger. burger. char-grilled beef patty. burger. then I saw the Bacon Swiss Crispy Hand Breaded Chicken Tender Sandwich. Yes that's the full name. I go up to the cashier and I look at the menu one more time and I could swear that I changed my order midsentence to the Bacon Swiss.
"Hey, can i get the Sup....Bacon Swiss?"
"So Bacon Swiss?"
*Sigh* "Yes..Bacon Swiss"
I pay for my order and she hands me my cup and this.
The one thing that really makes me happy is this.
Canada Dry Ginger Ale on tap. Damn. You don't see that often. I don't drink as much pop as I used to anymore but Ginger Ale is still one of my favourites so I doubt I'd give it up. Kudos Carl! The only way you could really top this is if you get a Coke freestyle machine.
After grabbing my Ginger ale and sitting down I look around and take in the setting. People for take-out are standing around on their phones or talking to others while waiting. The people who dined in dug in like they never seen food before. I never saw one disappointed face, good sign that the food isn't bad. Another thing you'll notice are the servers walking around aimlessly with either a bag or tray with food trying to match food to owner. I kind of felt bad for them because they had to hunt down the owner. The awesome thing about it was customers were actually helping the servers match the number with the food. I watched CP24 for a couple of minutes before I heard a woman say,
"19? Over there!"
The server brings my food and here it is after a customer points me out.
The burger was way smaller than I expected it to be. I think the McChicken might be a bit larger but Carl's chicken is thicker and more crispy. I know you see those fries ;) we'll get to those later.
The Bacon Swiss Crispy contains:
- Two Freshly-Prepared Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders
- Two Bacon Strips
- Swiss Cheese
- Tomato
- Lettuce
- Ranch Dressing
Now lets talk about the
The picture doesn't do it justice. I'll just cut to the chase. The next time I go to Carl's Jr. I'm getting a poutine with crisscut fries replacing the regular ones. The crispiness combined with the fact that they were piping hot (temperature wise, not spicy) made it just absolutely delicious. One of my favourite fries I've ever had from a fast food establishment.
Price wise
"It's gonna get messy."
Oh. I should of read the receipt before I ate. It all makes sense now.
The price is alright. Nothing too extravagant. This is a place you may get excited to get coupons from. Next time I go if I don't get the poutine for some reason, I'll probably get one of the burgers and maybe the price tag would make a bit more sense.
Overall
I think you should go try Carl's Jr. at least try it once.
Whether it be the burgers, chicken, fish or desserts they know damn well how to make em and make em well.
The service is excellent btw. Great job Queen West!
I look forward to going back sometime.
8.5/10
Saturday 25 July 2015
Carl's Jr.: Bienvenue au Canada - Toonie Tuesday - Shake, shake, shake Pt.1
WE'VE MOVED TO WORDPRESS
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
The United States of America is an incredibly special place when it comes to food.
Fast food in particular.
I'm not even talking about the fast food restaurants that's already present in Canada like the Wendy's, Burger Kings and McDonalds.
I'm talking about the ones you can only see through commericals. My personal favourite American restaurant legend is Checkers. Wow. I just Googled "Checkers" and the first thing that came up wasn't the game, it was the restaurant. God bless America people! Anyway Checkers has this one fish burger that has double the flakey filet. Lord help me. I gotta hit up the states soon.
'Murican companies like to come over to Canada and see if Canadians can be big shoppers like the Americans are. This can go over well with places like McDonalds, KFC and 1000s of others stores and restaurants OR they can go terribly wrong. Like Target or K-Mart (remember them?!).
The first time I walked inside I was pretty amazed. It has such a beautiful layout. Normally I find fast food places a drag to eat at , which i get, youre going for a fast meal not a fancy dinner. However Carl's Jr. looks like a place I could actually chill and eat my meal comfortably. Which is what I did on the 2nd time but more about that later.
Carl's Jr. has a pub feel to it. A pub with a bar filled with ice cream and milkshakes instead of alcohol. Totally acceptable substitute.
Overall
To be honest I don't know if I would either. Wait. How much was it full priced? Oh wow, I didn't even check. . I'll get back to you on that.
All of the posts are now on going to be on WORDPRESS! This blog will be deleted in a couple of weeks be sure to follow the new Broke and Picky! - brokeandpicky.wordpress.com
The United States of America is an incredibly special place when it comes to food.
Fast food in particular.
I'm not even talking about the fast food restaurants that's already present in Canada like the Wendy's, Burger Kings and McDonalds.
I'm talking about the ones you can only see through commericals. My personal favourite American restaurant legend is Checkers. Wow. I just Googled "Checkers" and the first thing that came up wasn't the game, it was the restaurant. God bless America people! Anyway Checkers has this one fish burger that has double the flakey filet. Lord help me. I gotta hit up the states soon.
'Murican companies like to come over to Canada and see if Canadians can be big shoppers like the Americans are. This can go over well with places like McDonalds, KFC and 1000s of others stores and restaurants OR they can go terribly wrong. Like Target or K-Mart (remember them?!).
To be fair I have no idea when Carl's Jr. even opened up in it's nice location on Queen West towards Spadina. It just happened to be there when I was walking around in the area couple weeks ago.
I ended up going twice this week and I don't regret it at all.
Carl's Jr. has a pub feel to it. A pub with a bar filled with ice cream and milkshakes instead of alcohol. Totally acceptable substitute.
The first time I went was for their Toonie Tuesday Milkshake special. To my honest surprise it was actually $2.05 which is amazing. I haven't had a Real toonie Tuesday where I actually paid a toonie and change in a long time. So you go to the front cashier pay your $2.05 then head on over to the milkshake bar is actually proper. I enjoy that the desserts are sbarrate from the grease.
I ended up getting a Oreo Milkshake but other flavours that are apart of this deal are:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Strawberry
Your typical classic Napoleon flavours but again for $2 I find it hard to complain about a lack of variety.
The barista (for lack of a better milkshake maker term) scoops in a crap ton of Oreo into the cup with ice cream and milk. Blends it to perfection then tops it with whip cream.
This is what it looks like.
It was love at first sip. The broke ass in me was thrilled but as soon as that first sip hit my tongue. It was love. The thickness wasn't overly thick or it wasnt hard to drink. It flowed nice and slowly. Tasted like Oreo without the crumbs. To think of it they were still there however its not as evident as it is the Oreo Iced Cap. If I had to reduce it all to one word I'd say smooth. So smooth that you forget that there's whip cream until it hits your straw and you start tasting whip cream. The whipped cream even after sitting on top of the milkshake still reminded thick and easy to drink as well. But one can only take so much whipped cream, you know.
Overall
I was pretty impressed with the Carl Jr's milkshakes. Creamy, smooth and has the type of flavour that makes you savour every last drop of it.
My friend Amelia made up a good point though, "I don't know if I'd buy this at full price."
To be honest I don't know if I would either. Wait. How much was it full priced? Oh wow, I didn't even check. . I'll get back to you on that.
9/10 on a Tuesday. 8.5/10 other days.
.....
Can you tell that I pull these ratings out of my ass? No? Okay. Good.
Stay tuned for part 2 when I actually review an entrée item.
Ian
p.s. to the Google+ users - Thank you for +1-ing these blogs. I truly, truly appreciate it.
to everyone else - step your sharing game up.
Please and thank you.
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