Who Likes Haggis?

Yesterday (September 27, 2012) was the day where I finally get to dine on Scotland's favourite dish, Haggis. For those that don't know what is haggis, "Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours" (According to Wikipedia). Well folks, doesn't that sound delicious? Don't let the description fool you, it is actually quite good.

The eatery that served me such fine delicacies was on the edge of little Italy (near College and Ossington) and was called "The Caledonian." The Caledonian is a Scottish pub and is one of the nicer pubs I've been to with a great patio and a nicely decorated interior. The night I was there, the lights were turned down low and the tables had one tea light lit, which really set the mood for a perfect date night with your significant other. The patio is also much bigger then you would expect it to be and is well lit and heated for their patron's comfort.

Being a Scottish pub, The Caledonian had a wide variety of scotch, whiskeys and scottish beers. Some of the wait staff are even scottish and speak with the heavy scottish accent that we all know and love. The Caledonian makes a serious effort with a lot of little touches that really makes your night of drinking or your meal that much more enjoyable.

The first dish of the night that me and my dining partner hard was the taste of Scotland. The taste of Scotland is appetizer meant for sharing that consisted of a sausage roll, haggis fritters, and a scotched egg.

The sausage roll was quite tasty, the pastry was flaky and the sausage was nicely seasoned and salty making it a great package. The haggis fritter was definitely weird, I wonder who thought of taking haggis and covering it in batter and then deep frying it because i would like to tell him "Good Job." The best way I could describe it would be a corn dog made out of seasoned ground beef. This however does not do it justice because it was definitely a much richer flavour then simple ground beef. Most people are a little perturbed at the thought of eating haggis but if you don't think about what you're eating and just eat you'll be pleasantly surprised.  Last but not least we end the dish with a scotched egg. The scotched egg was nothing special, it was pretty ordinary and in my opinion a little over fried.

Now on to the mains ... Apparently on this night it was pie night because me and my dining partner both decided to order pies, one steak pie and one fish pie.

(Steak Pie and Mashed Potatoes)

The steak pie came with an order of mashed potatoes and arrived to the table piping hot. The pie crust was not as flaky as I would have like it to be but it still complimented the filling. The pie also contained big chunks of tender steak and was cooked in what I guess was a red wine gravy. I wasn't too sure if I enjoyed the sauce with the meat but the more i kept eating the more I grew to love it. The mashed potatoes were really nice because they actually mashed the potatoes with the skin on which i think adds a subtle texture. Overall the dish was good but I think a little too much because this was quite a heavy dish.

(Fish Pie and Salad)

My dining partner decided she would have their daily special, which was the fish pie. The first thing that stuck out when the dish was served was the large amount of cheese on top of the pie. The pile of melted cheese really took away from the dish and should've just had a little drizzle of cheese. once you dig into the pie, an abundance of seafood awaits you. There was fish, shrimp and even lobster waiting for you beneath the mashed potatoes. This all sounds great but this pie also had the same problem as the first one. The seafood tasted great but the cream sauce and the dish was just way too heavy. My dining partner could barely eat half.

I know some of the food I've talked about didn't sound too flattering but I would still eat here again. The service was superb and the other items on the menu piqued my interest enough for me to come back. I might even bring my friends next time and try their fine selection of scotches. This is a fine establishment, which I will keep in the back of my mind when I'm in the area and I'm looking for a bit to eat or a good time.

For more information:
The Caledonian

Fine Grub @ Frank's Kitchen

Little Italy (the one around college and not the one on St. Clair) has a multitude of different restaurants, which range from expensive to your typical sandwich shop. Don't let the name of the area fool you either because you can find just about anything on this stretch of Toronto, you can go out and eat mexican, middle eastern or even sushi. Today I will be spinning the tale about my experience at one of these eateries, Frank's Kitchen.

The space at Frank's Kitchen is not the largest but is definitely comforting and inviting. The space is not very wide but is definitely much longer then what you would expect. The walls are exposed brick, which give's the eatery a rustic feel. The rest of the restaurant is fairly simple and had nicely finished wooden tables and chairs scattered around the restaurant. The environment itself gave off the vibe of attending a nice dinner party at a good friends home.... a friend named Frank apparently.

Frank's Kitchen is a place that is suitable for almost everyone. You could head over after work and relax and have a few cocktails or you could even have a nice meal with your family. On my dining adventure I was wined and dined by my lady friend and I was quickly swept off my feet from the dinning experience and the ambiance.

The food itself definitely well thought out and carefully crafted for the dinners. I have yet to sample their entire menu but from the courses I did have, I was quite tempted to go back and order their entire menu.

The very first thing that was brought out for my dining companion and I was a basket of tasty tasty bread.

The bread is made in house and was accompanied by scratch made butter, hummus and pureed Olives. I cannot recall the the type of bread I had but I do remember that it was moist and full of flavour. The bread also serves as a great vehicle to help carry the delicious flavours of the hummus, pureed Olives and even the butter. I was even tempted to make a meal of just the bread because it was just that good.

Following the bread was a complimentary amuse bush, which was a small risotto and a cucumber soup.

The risotto balls were soft and were complimented well with vegetables that it was resting on. The cucumber soup I did not really enjoy because I personally don't like cucumber that much but it did help cleanse my mouth and prepare for the next courses.

Next came the appetizers. For our appetizers we ordered the oysters rockefeller and the seafood cocktail.

The seafood cocktail was presented beautiful on block of ice with embedded seaweed. A really nice touch was to wrap the lemon around with cheese cloth to stop the seeds from dropping onto the seafood when you squeezed the lemon. The sea food cocktail consisted of shrimp, crab and pieces of lobster and it tasted fresh and was light, it was definitely a great choice for an appetizer.

The oysters rockefeller was definitely a stark contrast to the seafood cocktail. This appetizer was loaded with cheese, bacon and butter.....mmmmm.... yes, all the good stuff in life that we are not suppose to eat in large quantities (oh yes, I forgot that there was also spinach). This was the first time I had oysters rockefeller and it was definitely a great first impression. The oysters were a great one bite appetizer that was smooth and exploded with flavour in your mouth. Just remembering the cheese, bacon and oyster combination in my mouth still makes my mouth water.......

Free cheers for another complimentary course (the palette cleanser).

Frank's Kitchen provided us with a small citrus sorbet to prepare us for our entrees. This was a nice addition to the meal, the citrus taste was pleasant and very settle. This was delicately done to ready our taste buds.

For my entree I decided to have what I thought be the richest tasting dish on the menu, venison wrapped in foie gras and if this dish wasn't rich enough, they shaved a black truffle on top it!

Nothing says tasty like wrapping a fine cut of meat with some buttery tasting foie gras. The meat was cooked very nicely and was very tender. Eating a piece of venison and foie gras together is a whole different taste experience that I've never had. I had the buttery and savoury taste from the foie gras and the the gamey tender taste of the meat all coming to together in my mouth, which put me into state of taste euphoria .........

My dining companion had one of her favourite foods, lobster, a butter poached lobster to be precise.

This was actually a whole lobster de-shelled, poached in butter and served with greens and peas. This dish was definitely all about the lobster, the elements on the plate didn't muddle the flavours of the lobster but only enhanced the taste. Again Frank's Kitchen expertly cooks the lobster to taste fresh and light. Oh, forgot to mention that the lobster is also swimming in a shallow pool of butter and I'm sure everyone knows that "butter makes things taste better" (a little Paula Deen wisdom)

After all that, Frank's Kitchen still provides a special service to their diners by giving them a chocolate truffle to finish up you meal.

This was a nice ending to our meal because it showed how much they cared and thought about their diners.

After eating all that great food I definitely had to take a nap.

This place has become one of my favourite places to dine and all because of one meal. The service was fantastic, the ambiance was nice, and the food was great. I think Frank's Kitchen Mastered the trifecta.

My Food Bucket List: The First Entry

I've eaten a lot of things over the years there are so many restaurants and creations out there that I still haven't crammed into my food hole. So this will be the beginning of my bucket list of things and places I would like to eat.


Dr. Augusta's Samitorium

The invention of the sandwich is so simple, but the variations that so many different restaurants have has always astounded me. Dr. Augusta's Samitorium is the new kid on the block (Opened September 2012) that has just set up shop on the edge of the Kensington market. This shop assembles their sandwiches from fresh made bread from Blackbird Baking co.  and meats from the local meat shop,  Sanagan's Meat Locker. The one unique thing about this sandwich shop is that they serve freshly made Soda. Dr, Augusta's Samitorium actually makes your soda right in front of you using a 100 year old recipe. I'm kind of a sugar junkie who loved drinking soda growing up so when i heard that i could get freshly made root beer and ginger ale I nearly jumped into my car, left work, and drove over.


For more information:
Dr. Augusta's Samitorium Web site

Kangaroo any one?

Have you ever said to yourself that you wanted kangaroo or to eat a rabbit sausage? well, i don't know about everyone else but I have and my prayers have been answered. At WVRST anyone can sample the wide selection of cased meats that they offer. There is such an eclectic mix of sausages that there is also something for everyone. To the uninspired and non adventurous types there are different bratwursts filled with different kinds of farm animals and for the those seeking something they've never had before they can feast on such delicacies as the previously mention kangaroo or the beloved Guinea fowl or if you are in the fine dining mood you could always order foie gras sausage (pinky up everyone).

The great people at WVRST have also apparently mastered the craft of making a good french fry (or should I say Belgium fry). I dare the french fry connoisseurs out there to sample their decadent duck fat fries and tell me they are not life changing (well maybe not life changing but they are tasty). There is something about using another animals fat to cook my food that excites that primitive beast inside of me. The fries get even better because the fries also come with their in house sauces, which are either tomato based or mayonnaise based. My personal favourite is the WVRST sauce,  because it taste good and it has also been my theory that the sauce that tastes the best is the one that named after the restaurant.

I've never been to Germany but the best way that I can describe WVRST's atmosphere is what i imagine a Germany beer hall must feel like. There are nice long tables that run through the restaurant where people of all shapes, sizes and species gather for some good old fashioned communal dinning. Some people feel awkward when sitting down to communal dinning but if you loosen up you can meet the most interesting kinds of people and hear the funniest or most entertaining stories (just hope you don't run into the bad kind of interesting, ei. teenage movie axe murderer). During the day, a couple could enjoy the well lit spacious environment to themselves and make puppy dog eyes to each other but when the lights go out the space becomes loud and boisterous as if you were drinking beers in a friend's basement. The people start filling up the long tables and the music is turned up to many decibals higher to a level that is just below intolerable. It no longer becomes a date spot but a place where friends can gather together to drink a beer or catch the leaf game (apparently they show hockey too!).

New comers may be a little confused about how to order food but not to worry, I will inform you so you will not starve to death. I made the mistake of sitting down at a table and waited for a server to take my order and feeling helpless when it the servers were ignoring me. It would eventually dawn on me that I needed to line up at a register and place my order and take a number like at a deli counter or butcher shop. Once you have your number, you can sit down and a server, which I know now is actually not a server but runner, will bring out your food and libations. On a side note, you should still tip your runner because they bring out your food and clean up the mess you are bound to leave behind.

I'll make it known now, I love beer and WVRST has a really great selection of beer which elevates my feeling of like to love for WVRST. WVRST carries a wide selection of craft beers and an assortment of international beers. One thing that WVRST has that make my inner alcoholic happy is the fact that some of the beers come in one litre steins. They also want you to know the quality, and care they put into every glasses by letting you know when they clean the beer tap lines so that every pint is tasty and crisp.

WVRST also a variety events such as industry nights (YAY for cheap beer), live DJ's, beer tasting classes and brewery nights. The are some many events that could appeal to just about everyone that you should drop in and just find out what might be going on this week.

I thought i would finish this post up with a picture of my meal in all of its glory.