Akane-Ya Review

My latest review.

Lady & Son Butchery

I had a great time interviewing the "lady" of Lady and Son Butchery. Here's the shop profile. MMMMM meat

Lean Cuisine Grilled Panini

What I'm loving now...

Working full time really does kill my desire to cook let alone slap a sandwich together, so with lunch I've turned to eating frozen food. For about a month with Michelina's on sale for $.99 I've been eating a mix of their regular and lite meals. From that I realized that when they take out the fat, they pump up the sodium and sugar content so with no fiber and minimal protein, I was always hungry. Also a steal were the No Name pasta meals (for $.95) I grabbed from No Frills which were a bit bigger in portion size and just as low in fat & calories but also high in sodium, but they went back up in price.

Now I've gotten into Stouffer's Lean Cuisine Grilled Panini. Although I can't stand the commercials, after reading a lot of good press in American Diet & Fitness mags (especially that fun book "Eat This, Not That" - yeesh no wonder I was never able to eat a whole Chipotle Grill burrito at +1000 cal), I decided to try them.

For how low in calories, they are suprisingly filling and really yummy. The whole toasty bread thing doesn't quite work, but it's pretty damn good for microwave food. I didn't like the one philly cheese steak I tried from the Bistro line and prefer the Lean version; seems like whatever they use to make the sauce creamy and cut out the fat also helps it stay together and not ooze out in a mess.

So far I totally dig the chicken, mushroom & spinach.

Below is nutritional info from the American website as well as a photo:

Fat - 7g
Calories - 320
Vitamin A - 8%DV
Calcium - 25%DV
Vitamin C - 10%DV
Dietary Fiber - 20%DV

Looks like the Canadian version is only 270 calories ... hmmm...

Dynasty Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum)

After Tim email that my review was up, he mentioned that I'd make a couple of typos & posting errors which he fixed. Then I noticed that the pictures were all wrong! oh well (here's the missing pic) ...

tasteTO review: Prohibition, formerly Booze Emporium

Prohibition
696 Queen Street East
416-406-2669
Lunch for two with all taxes, tip, and a bottle of imported beer: $89

Prohibition, born "Booze Emporium", was renamed when its liquor license came under threat as the title was deemed inappropriate. There were several articles published that relayed this incident, but nary a review. More digging lead to long discussion threads on Chowhound that had widely varying opinions. I was curious about its gastropub and oyster bar promises, but it was the recent addition of a lunch and weekend brunch menu that prompted a visit.

It was a Sunday afternoon and the place was quite empty. Just as quickly, someone's genteel mother arrived with menus and took beverage orders. Between her and the attentive and friendly male server (who must be "the bartender" everyone had raved about online), we were taken care of very well. The service was friendly, fast, and efficient.

The menu tried to be cute, naming categories like: "ruffage" (salads) and "hand-held" (burgers/sandwiches). Late night offerings like: calamari, wings, nachos, "flat pies" (pizza) with various toppings. Meat 'n bread items were the same as lunch. There'd been mention of a Kobe burger in the Chowhound posts, but the only one listed was made with bison. Brunch items started from $8.95 with the usual eggy suspects. It was a minimalist menu, but all sounded tempting, like the apple wood smoked cheddar grilled cheese or the fried goat cheese salad with candied nuts.

We started with the Caesar salad ($6.95 on the menu) which turned out to be disappointing. Homemade croutons and fresh grated parm couldn't make up for brown wilted leaves or a bland mayonnaise-like dressing. Not to mention, I didn't notice until too late that we'd been charged $7.95 for it.

The open-faced steak sandwich ($14.95) was a completely different story; one definitely worth retelling. Arriving on a platter about 2 feet long, it was flanked on either side by two lightly dressed salads: one dominated by spicy celery stalks, the other, a fennel slaw. It was also accompanied by a mound of of thin, fresh-cut fries, soft with a bit of crunch. Then there was the sandwich. Six ounces of lean and tender strip loin crowned with melted Brie, caramelized onion and mushrooms, sat atop thickly cut, buttered, flaxseed-flecked multi-grain bread.

As dessert, we ordered one of the brunch specials, French toast with raspberries and white chocolate ($9.95). My jaw dropped when again as a platter was brought out, carrying a serving fit for three. Unfortunately, the whipped cream had melted by the time it landed on our table, but that didn't diminish its impressiveness. Challah slices, about an inch thick, in crisped richly eggy coating were topped and stuffed with at least a pint of plump, fresh sweet tart berries and drizzled in white chocolate. Real maple syrup came with. Despite a possible tummy ache in finishing such a generous serving, it was all wolfed down.

If a gastropub equates a huge laid back space, with interesting aspects like a grand piano and Speakers Corner-esque video booth, that serves better than average, hefty-portioned casual fare at a slightly higher price point, then this fits the bill. Without any nearby pub peers, there's no prohibition to its potential.

here's the original review post on TasteTO.com.

once I hopefully fix my laptop, I'll post some more pix

Pachira Asian Cuisine review

My blogTO review

Congee Cravings

My TasteTO.com article on congee in downtown Toronto.

Mill St. Brew Pub

IN CELEBRATION OF LEAH'S BIRTHDAY!
we went out for dinner at the Mill St. Brew Pub in the Distillery district WINGS IN SOY GINGER good marinade, not as gingery (as Leah had before), but meat a bit overcooked so that it was on the dry side and the skin chewy - yet the group thought they were yum



ARTICHOKE & SPINACH STILTON DIP WITH PRETZEL BREAD -it was really just blue cheese dip since that overpowered everything, but I love blue cheese... the pretzel bread was cute and nicely light & fluffy but the salted top wasn't really necessary since the dip was so strong in flavour

PRIME RIB BURGER - I didn't try it, but word was that it was surprisingly good for a burger

STEAK PIE IN MILL ST. COFFEE PORTER GRAVY - good pastry, rich, flaky, tender and done (I hate pies that have that undercooked doughy bottom) with adequate stewed beef in robust dark gravy. mash was textbook, peas surprisingly tasted fresh (as opposed to frozen) & sweet

STEAK WRAP - I had a small bite as (you can't tell in the pic) it was huge! too big to take a full bite out of. Liked the grill smoke taste in the meat. The eater's comment was that it got soggy from the juices, and could have used more cheese.

the waitress we had provided efficient service but wasn't too friendly. when one of the party asked about the sample 24 ounces of Mill St. faves - you get a taste of 6 beers, he said, "What's the deal with that?" just to clarify that it was an assortment and not your choice of 24oz for one beer. She said something in an almost snappily as if to suggest not knowing the answer to that was quite stupid. oh well, maybe she was having a bad night.

otherwise, i liked it and their summer patio is great.

Birthday Party

DEE'S CHEESE PLATE W/ APPLE SMOKED CHEDDAR, CREAM BRIE, TARRAGON CHEESE

MINIBURGERS ADAPTED FROM WINTER 2008 LCBO GUIDE RECIPE

CUPCAKES FROM SWEET BLISS BAKERY ON QUEEN STREET EAST

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE FROM ALTITUDE BAKERY ON QUEEN STREET EAST

Anniversary Dinner

naturally raised steaks & cookstown greens from Lady & Son Butcher

with garlic, parmesan & EVOL mashed potato

Piave cheese (Piave River Valley region of Belluno, Italy) from Alex Farm
- this cheese is like candy! crumbly, buttery caramel high-lights, irresistibly salty