The Rosedale Diner / I Need to Research Better

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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.

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

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Peace easy

Ian

Greek Fest

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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

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

Carl's Jr. - Bienvenue au Canada - Part 2: Did someone say Crisscut?

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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:

• Two Freshly-Prepared Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders
• Two Bacon Strips
• Swiss Cheese
• Tomato
• Lettuce 
• Ranch Dressing

Sounds like a salad in burger form. Tasted like one too. The sandwich itself is messy. They overload the ranch dressing and it really has a strong presence within the sandwich. Another surprise to me is that the lettuce and tomato were tasty, crunchy( the lettuce) and moist - fresh veggies on a burger. In fact I don't ever think going in to eat a burger/chicken burger I think, "I hope the veggies are fresh" but at Carl's they are and refreshing to see shout out to the lettuce not being shredded! I hate that stringy BS. The chicken itself is crispy however near the end the ranch soaks through and makes it softer, the bun gets a little moist as well. Again it's still a great sandwich. The worst part, in my opinion, is the swiss cheese. I wish it was melted over the chicken or the bun. Overtime it doesn't really melt over which is odd because swiss usually melts relatively easy,

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

"You live in the hood" - No.. I don't. - Weston Road feature.

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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

This is NOT a review. More like an introduction to a special or feature i'll be working on. Feel free to skip this if you were hoping to read a review.

I was walking home from Shoppers Drug Mart and I got to the corner of Lawrence West and Weston Road when a cop was just standing there.

"How are you today sir?" he asked me kindly in a non-carding sort of way.
"I'm great." I paused slightly. I was talking to an officer and the whole situation slightly confused me but I went on,
"What about you?"
"I'm great as well, thanks for asking." The crossing light turned on by this point and as I started to walk he joined me.

"So the reason I'm here is because we're just doing checks on the neighborhood." the friendly officer says as we get to the other side of the street.

He begins to tell me stories about how the area was.
1 cop got shot in the face just a little bit further past where my building is
2 guys died from getting shot from street dancing - at a bar near my place that's exactly what he said.

Old stories aside I felt odd because the next words that came out of my mouth were,

"I actually feel safe here."

I love Weston Road. It has its oddballs, and a weird mix of Somalians and Gypsys but at the end of the day Weston Road wasn't really like how it was back in the day. I'd argue now that every area whether it be Toronto, Brampton, Whitby, all the way to North Bay has it's set of weird but  somewhat lovable fucks. 

It's just a bunch of people who are just trying to survive the screwface city. I'll always believe that. It's the reason why i'll always have such a deep seeded respect for the Weston area.

Fun Fact: i've had friends who come over from Brampton, Vaughan and different parts of Toronto and tell me things like 

"This area is pretty underrated." 

to 

"It's areas like these that make me feel privileged that I live in my area." 

Right? but like I said I love Weston. 

There's a reason why I love it more than anything though... THE FOOD. 

COME ON this is a food blog of COURSE this was going to lead back to food in some sort of way. 

It just so happens Weston Road has fantastic places to go eat.

So over the next couple of days/weeks or so I'll be reviewing 3 different places..

All Weston. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to show you my "hood" 

IVS.