Lobster, Lobster, and more Lobster

Lobsters are always considered to be one of the super elite foods that people eat at very haughty type restaurants, which is funny considering at one point in time lobsters were considered peasant food. On a very very chilly night in January I decided to visit Rock Lobster Food Co. to feast on delicious lobster and other creatures from the sea.

You may have heard of Rock Lobster Food Co. as they specialize in seafood and have made quite the effort in promoting their wares at a lot of food events in Toronto. Rock Lobster Food Co. Even has multiple locations; one located on the Ossignton strip between Dundas and Queen, and one around Queen and Bathurst (their step to ruling the Toronto seafood scene). For this entry I'll be talking about my visit to the Queen and Bathurst location.

The Rock Lobster Food Co. located on Queen and Bathurst is the newest addition to their empire and currently occupy the former neighbourhood favourite "Shanghai Cowgirl." When you first walk into the restaurant you feel like you've walked into an eloquent fish market (similar to Rodney's, if you've ever been there). There is fresh seafood right at the bar and the place brightly lit through out the restaurant.

On this cold winter night I decided to start my meal with one of Rock Lobster Food Company' s daily specials. Deep fried okra stuffed with shrimp, rolled in cornmeal and served with a donair sauce. I wasn't expecting a mountain of food but when it arrived to the table I was a little surprised at the diminutive size. However I can't be too upset about the portion size considering that it was only 6 dollars (when was the last time an appetizer in Toronto cost 6 dollars?) The okra halves were nicely fried and held a nice shrimp surprise in the middle. The donair sauce was something I've never seen before, which I discovered to be sweet and sour (upon further research, I discovered donair sauce is just condensed milk, vinegar and garlic) and complimented the tiny morsels nicely.

 For the main event of the evening, I feasted upon Rock Lobster Food Company's Lobster burger. This delicious creation is essentially a surf and turf between a burger bun. The burger patty was juicy and cooked to a beautiful medium (which is what all burgers should be cooked to). Now to make a good thing even better, the restaurant decided to top my burger with delicious lobster meat. At first I thought the taste of the lobster would be totally lost because of the beef's strong taste, but I was wrong. As I chomped into the burger and savoured my food, I could distinctly taste the lobster along with the beef. I thought the beef was still had a stronger taste than the lobster but both proteins did compliment each other really well.

Rock Lobster Food Company on Queen and Bathurst was unexpectedly good. I had my reservation because I thought the food was going to be too expensive and not live up to hype that Rock Lobster Food Company was building around their brand. The food was priced right and they were really really creative with their offerings. I personally can't wait to go back and bring my partner in crime.

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Rock Lobster Food Company

Home of The Brave (no witty title needed)

One of the newest locations in Toronto that is starting to create a little bit of a buzz is a little spot located above Lou Dawgs called "Home of The Brave." I did have a few expectations of the place and I can safely say after my visit that it does exceed my expectations and does live up to its hype.

One of the first things you'll notice is the speak easy vibe that seems to surround the place. One of main eye catching pieces that I think most people will notice is the beautiful bar that sits at the front of this fine establishment; it is big and combines a western theme with the style of a prohibition bar. The space itself is not that big but is quite long and has quite a few booths spread through out the place, which indicates that this would be a great place for a few friends to enjoy some great food and drinks.

"Home of The Brave" lives up to its speak easy vibe by offering a nice variety of cocktails that are carefully crafted by their expert mixologist. On my visit I ordered their Bourbon and Beer, which does sound quite boozy but I can assure you the name is quite deceiving. Bourbon and beer actually consists of bourbon (of course), vanilla, femet (no idea what this is) , and root beer. This was one of the best concoctions that I have ever had. The cocktail wasn't overly sweet but was refreshing and i could pick up all of the flavours of the different ingredients (which is how a good cocktail should be.)

Looking over the menu you can immediately see that "Home of the Brave" focuses on home style comfort food with a twist; tater tots, and boloney sandwiches. For my dining pleasure on this visit I ordered one of their daily specials (and one of their best sellers) the chicken and waffles. This southern US dish was served with a savoury herbed waffle topped with crispy spicy fried pieces of chicken .......... (lost my train of thought for a moment).  The pieces of chicken were quite tender and when combined with with the savoury waffle and hot sauce honey..... well you just booked yourself a one way ticket to "flavour town" (yes i know a Guy Fieri reference.)

My culinary Side kick ordered on this visit another one of their best sellers, the Kentucky Fried Chicken Hand shake sandwich. This was quite the massive sandwich; the sandwich contained a massive seasoned and deep fried chicken quarter which was 90% deboned. Why was it 90% deboned? because they left the end with the chicken feet still attached to the chicken quarter, hence chicken "hand shake." I though this was quite amusing, unlike my slightly disturbed dining companion. After I helped my partner surgically remove the extremity from her sandwich, she dug in. This sandwich again displayed the virtuoso skill that seems to be working the deep fryer. The sandwich was seasoned like a piece of KFC chicken and was crunchy without being too oily. This was definitely a sandwich that surpasses one that could be offered by the original colonel.

I really enjoyed the vibe of "Home of The Brave," which created a nice dark ambient environment that wasn't too loud for me to enjoy. The home style food was a really big hit with me and always surprised me with their twist on things. I definitely want to head back and try their other menu items and bring my friends for a great night out on the town.

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Home of The Brave