Barque Smokehouse

Barque Smokehouse
299 Roncesvalles Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M6R 2M3
416-532-7700
barque.ca/

For my birthday this year, we went to Barque Smokehouse for dinner.  The place is on the small side so we waited for about 1.5 hour before we were seated at the bar. They offer complimentary popcorn with two different BBQ sauce for dipping and house-made sparkling water.  Awesome bonus! After reading the menu, we ordered the Sampler for Two and chose brisket, beef ribs, and sweet heat baby back ribs for our meats and chose crushed potatoes, Barque Caesar salad, and mixed green salad for our sides. The great thing about this place is their sides change regularly to match the seasons. One time we went in the summer there are BBQ corn and asparagus as sides. 

Sampler For Two ($42)
Choose 3 Meats and 3 Sides
Meats:
Brisket, 2 Beef Ribs, 2 Merguez Sausages, 2 Competition Chicken Thighs, 1/2 Rack Baby Back Ribs (sweet heat or dry rub).
Sides:
Fries, Sautéed Garlic Kale, Mixed Greens Salad, Sage & Smoked Provalone Pasta, Barque Caesar Salad, Crushed Potatoes, Pickled Vegetables.

Crushed Potatoes - rich, creamy, flavorful garlic mashed potato topped with some fried onions and green onions.

Barque Caesar Salad - candied smoked bacon, house-made croutons, fresh Parmesan, and lettuce. The candied bacon is the star!

Mixed Green Salad - mixed greens with hazelnut and pears in a vinaigrette dressing

Beef Ribs - savory rub with a sweet glaze, slow cooked to perfection

Sweet Heat Baby Back Ribs - slow smoked in a sweet and spicy rub

Brisket - slow cooked and then sliced to 0.5cm thickness. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of this one but there were 4-5 slices of brisket as lengthy as the baby backs

Cookies & Gelato ($8) for dessert - house-made vanilla, cappucinno, and pumpkin spice gelato with freshly baked cookies. Yummy gooodness!

Overall Impression:
Very impressed by the heart of serving food from Barque, everything is house-made and slow cooked, with menu adapting to the changing seasons! Definately my favourite restaurant thus far!

Khao San Road

Since the close down of our favourite Thai restaurant - Buon Thai - in downtown Edmonton, I have been craving good quality Thai food for a long time.  Khao San Road of Toronto have highly regarded reviews on multiple sites.  So we decide to give it a try.  First of Khao San Road does not take any reservations,  so you will have to get in line and leave your phone number.  We went on a Thursday night and waited for about 40-50 minutes since 5:30pm. Even waiting outside, you can smell the aroma of the Thai spices making you hungrier as you wait.  Khao San Road has two menus - a regular menu and a vegan friendly menu.  Great news for vegans!  With our research on reviews, we decided to order three dishes (extra to take home) ;)  We ordered Khao Soi, Chef's special Pad Thai, and a yellow curry.  I was most impressed by Khao Soi - it has tender beef brisket pieces egg noodles in a curry based soup.  The Chef's special Pad Thai was a bit too flavorful for me, a bit too tangy for my liking.  My friend Ply, who is Thai, did mention Thai people love the combination of sour and spicy and sweet.  And finally we had the yellow curry with beef with coconut rice.  The yellow curry was really nice - soft potatoes and tender beef slices... but since the base is very similar to Khao Soi I get the two flavours mixed up.  Khao San Road also have Panang, Red, and Green curries to pick from.  I like how they allow you to pick any protein you want for you curry.  You can choose from tofu, beef, chicken or pork, or with a dollar extra with shrimp.  Other items we would like to try are the Squash Fritters (Gra Bong) and Garlic Deep Fried Tofu.  Portion of food is a bit smaller than normal restaurants.  I would say the portion is enough for a single girl's meal, but small for a boy's appetite.  One other thing I didn't like is that the seats are bar stools, and there is no place to put your jacket, makes it uncomfortable to sit for very long.  Despite this, I think their flavors are authentic Thai cuisine and I would come back.


Khao San Road
326 Adelaide West
Entertainment District
Toronto, ON
http://www.khaosanroad.ca/

Khao Soi ($14)
Egg noodles in a coconut milk enriched curry, garnished with crispy noodles, green onion, coriander and lime. Choice of Chicken ($13) or beef brisket ($14).

Chef's Special Pad Thai (Sam Roas) ($15)
Three flavours style - sweet, sour, and savory. Topped with home roasted peanuts, dried chillies, and freshly squeezed lime juice for that extra kick.

Gaeng Graree (Yellow Curry with Beef) ($13)
A thicken curry dish that has more tumeric than other Thai curries. Choice of tofu, chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp (add $1).

Braised Atlantic Salmon Steak

This dish was inspired by the absolutely delicious black cod I had at Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant in New York City. I had ordered the bento lunch box which includes: salad, miso soup, 3 pieces of nigiri, 3 pieces of maki, 3 pieces of tempura in a cheese sauce, a choice of braised black cod or grilled wagyu beef, and seasonal fruit panna cotta (mango with fresh berries was our flavour) for $24US dollars. My bf had the wagyu beef and I had the black cod. After he tried a bit of my black cod, he keeps asking for seconds! So we decide to look up the recipe and try making it ourselves. However, it was difficult to find fresh nice black cod in Canada. So we tried it with Atlantic salmon steaks and it works just as beautifully! Here it is!

Ingredients

• 0.5 cups sake
• 2 slices of fresh ginger
• 2 Atlantic salmon steak with skin on
• 0.4 cups sugar
• 0.25 cup soy sauce
• 0.25 teaspoons tamari (we bought the kikkoman brand ones)
• 1 tablespoons mirin (we bought the kikkoman brand ones)

Preparation

1. Grill the ginger and fish steak skin side down in a large, deep skillet. After a minute, rotate the fish to grill all sides a minute each. Pour in the sake and  cover and cook over high heat for 3 minutes. Add the sugar and cook over medium-high heat for three more minutes.

2. Pour the soy sauce and tamari over the fish fillets. Cook over medium-high heat, covered, for five minutes. Add the mirin and cook for three minutes longer. Be careful not to burn the fish; glaze the fillets by repeatedly pouring the thickened sauce over them while cooking.

3. With a slotted spatula, carefully transfer the black cod fillets to a platter. Check the fish to make sure it has no residual bones hidden in it.

4. If the braising liquid is not thick enough, keep cooking it over high heat until it becomes caramelized.

5. Garnish the cod with the julienned scallion and ginger and sprigs of kinome, and drizzle with the braising liquid.

Source: Modified from Iron Chef Morimoto's Braised Black Cod recipe in The New Art of Japanese Cooking

Magnolia Bakery

Magnolia Bakery is famous for their cupcakes and Depression era icebox cakes in New York City.  Apparently they are considered the first to start the cupcake craze in the 1990s.  In fact this bakery is so famous that it is featured in Saturday Night Live, Sex and the City, and the Devils Wears Prada to name a few.  Now Magnolia Bakery has 7 locations in USA and 4 locations internationally, in addition to the online shop that has nation wide shipping.     

During our NYC trip, we actually heard about Magnolia Bakery on TV one night.  And coincidentally we walked by the bakery on our way back to the hotel from Rockefeller Center that night, and saw every single person in front of us walked into the shop.  So we looked at the name of the store and realized IT IS Magnolia!  So we walked in to order a quick snack.  We were actually very lucky to got to the bakery just 30 minutes before closing.  Most of the goodies are sold out by this time, otherwise I would definitely order a few cupcakes and some cheesecakes.  Also for future reference, their Banana Pudding (layers of vanilla wafers, fresh banana, and creamy vanilla pudding) is famous!  We ordered a slice of red velvet cake and a large hot chocolate.  The red velvet cake was very moist, the layers of the cake and vanilla icing were perfect!  I'd bet the cupcakes would be amazing too.  I also enjoyed the hot chocolate very much.  The hot chocolate was prepared from real chocolate melted in steamed milk.  Can't wait to try their coffee next time too.  And I will make sure we come earlier in the day to have a great selection of goodies with coffee! =)

Magnolia Bakery

Rockefeller Center

1240 Avenue of the Americas (at the corner of 49th and 6th Ave)
New York, NY 10020
http://www.magnoliabakery.com/

Hot chocolate made from real chocolate melted in steamed milk ($3? Large)

A slice of red velvet cake ($4.50)

John's Pizzeria (Bleecker Street)

John's Pizzeria (Bleecker Street)

Coal Fired Brick Oven Pizzeria
278 Bleecker Street
(between 6th Avenue & 7th Avenue)
New York, New York 10014
http://www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/

What's going to New York without trying their thin crust pizza!  This pizza place was recommended by Oliver as one of the best pizza place to try in New York.  John's of Bleecker Street Pizzeria is opened since 1929, and not to be confused with another franchise!  This pizzeria is located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, where it is known for its artistic atmosphere.  As we walk along the neighborhood, there are many small but neat restaurants and wine places.  The Washington Square park is also located in Greenwich Village.   

The restaurant claims: "No Slices. No Reservations. Cash Only. Dine In or Take Out."

We arrived at the restaurant and found the restaurant very packed.  We waited about 20 minutes before we were seated.  The decor has a lot of character and there are many pictures of celebrities and hockey players on the walls.

I have heard their most popular pizza is actually plain - tomato sauce and mozzarella.  Since I'm not used to just eating plain pizza,  we ordered a medium pizza with tomato sauce (6 slices $14.50), mushroom and fresh ground sausage ($3 each for topping).  The pizza is made-to-order, and cooked in a coal fire brick oven.  I enjoyed the pizza very much!  Because its freshly made and nice and crispy.  The tomato sauce is absolutely delicious!!!  Definitely worth a visit.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
1501 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
http://www.bubbagump.com/

People always say Bubba Gump is one of those expensive themed restaurants that doesn't taste that good.  But I think otherwise.  I really like their food.  After the first try in Chicago, I have been thinking about Bubba Gump for a long time.  Their coconut shrimp is amazing!  The best deal is to get the Shrimp Sampler with shrimp four different ways.  And the seafood pot was amazing too!  Now that we know Bubba Gump is also in NYC Times Square, we are back for another visit!

Strawberry Lemonade

Bubba’s Far Out Dip ($9.29)
Spinach, Roasted Red Peppers, Artichokes and Monterey Jack Cheese with homemade Tortilla Chips.

Bourbon Street Mahi Mahi ($19.79)
Charbroiled Cajun spiced Mahi Mahi with Bourbon Sauce and grilled Shrimp, served over Mashed Potatoes.

Shrimper's Net Catch (2/3lb $12.99)
Our best Peel‘n’Eat Shrimp steamed in Beer. Choice of Bubba’s Garlic Spice or Secret Recipe Cajun Spice.  We got a half and half mix!! This way is the best!

Guy's American Kitchen and Bar

Guy's American Kitchen and Bar

220 West 44th Street
Between 7th and 8th Ave
New York, NY 10036 
http://www.guysamerican.com/


Charles and I have been watching Guy Fieri's Diner, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network for years and absolutely love the show!  It was our dream to one day go on the all American road trip and try some of the best food in America.  When we were touring NYC in Times Square, we found Guy's restaurant and decide to go in for a try.

The restaurant was very large with a 2-storey woodstone fire roasting many many birds.  We were greeted immediately and the wait for a table was considerably short (10 minutes?).  The waitress was very friendly, which I was surprised about (I usually find American's have a different sense of 'nice').  We ordered the rotisserie chicken and the cajun chicken pasta.  The rotisserie chicken was very flavourful and moist.  And the rosemary flavour still rings in your palette.  Charles really enjoyed his dish.  I was a little disappointed with mine because it wasn't as the name of the dish as described to be blackened chicken... although the flavours of the dish is still good.  I'm more impressed with the Baked Alaska dessert.  Normally I dislike lemon-ey dessert since I don't like sour things.  This Baked Alaska was actually really tasty and cleanses our palette well after a heavy meal.

Rotisserie Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Chicken ($17.50)
Woodstone rotisserie roasted half chicken with garlic, fresh rosemary, lemon sauce and mushrooms.  Served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes + seasonal vegetables

Cajun Chicken Alfredo ($22.95)
Cajun spiced blackened chicken breast, white wine, sundried tomatoes, fettucinni + creamy parmesan sauce

Baked Alaska ($12)
Lemon sorbet covered with meringue and lightly baked

Buster's Sea Cove (St. Lawrence Market)

We have wanted to come to St. Lawrence market for a few times.  Finally we decide to come to get some fish n' chips for lunch.  After shopping around in St. Lawrence market, we found the line at Buster's Sea Cove is getting real long even it is only 11:15am!   They only take cash.  A guy actually come and asks your order while you are in line to speed up the process.  Charles ordered the classic Fish n' Chips and I overheard someone talking about crab cakes and ordered that.  Personally I like the fish n' chips more, because I find the crab cakes really heavy.  Buster's Sea Cove serve the freshest seafood from the market, and cooked as your order.  They have many seafood choices you can think of- haddock, cod, salmon, halibut... grilled or fried, served in a bun, with fries or with a salad!  They also have large tiger shrimp, octopus, calamaris, as well as clam chowder and lobster roll.  I have heard raging reviews on Buster's Sea Cove's lobster roll.  They have a huge bottle of tartar sauce, vinegar and ketchup for you.  The portion of fries is unbelievably huuuuge.  You will definitely be very full and satisfied at the end.  Although you may have difficulty finding a seat there because it is CRAZY busy.

Buster's Sea Cove
93 Front St East 
Toronto, ON
M5E 1C3
http://bustersseacove.ca/

Fish n Chips (haddock) ($11?)

Crab Cakes with Fries ($12?)