Sheryl Kirby

Sunday Brunch – The Harbord Room

The Harbord Room
89 Harbord Street
416-962-8989
Brunch for two with all taxes, tip and coffee: $43

Restaurateurs spend a lot of money making their places look elegant. Only sometimes is that comfortable elegance actually achieved; more often than not many restaurants feel stilted, contrived and downright inhospitable, which is generally not the original goal. The Harbord Room, despite the best efforts by someone to force elegance upon its customers, manages to be a really lovely spot.

During a recent brunch visit we’re ushered through the main dining room to the patio where umbrellas shade customers from the early autumn sun, and sweet wicker chairs offer comfortable seating for some while a built-in bench seat is hard on the backside of others. Someone’s decision to plant uber-trendy grasses in planters in the back of the bench didn’t account for the fact they do tend to grow, and diners unlucky enough to get bench seats also found themselves fighting off a jungle of fronds every time there was a slight breeze. Of course, the annoying grass was unnecessary, and couldn’t possibly compare to the genuine charm of a gorgeous pear tree whose branches hung overhead, covered in ripening Bartletts.

Continue reading “Sunday Brunch – The Harbord Room”

I Could Appreciate Art More if There Weren’t so Many People Standing in Foont of It

I guess I’m late to the party in posting Nuit Blanche photos. For those not aware, Nuit Blanche is an all-night art event in Toronto (copied from a number of European cities), where art installations, galleries and clubs are open from sunset to sunrise the next day, and it’s all free.

This year’s event supposedly attracted almost 1 million people over the course of the evening. The events were divided into three “zones” and since we live smack in the centre of one, we decided to stay close to home and only do what we could walk to.

It was an enjoyable evening, with only a few disappointments. We walked along Queen West, but didn’t go into any of the galleries that were open because they were all just too packed with people. We also didn’t stay out all night, although we did consider getting up early and returning to the nearby stadium for the mascot exhibit, just to see how many of them were still dancing 12 hours later.

Continue reading “I Could Appreciate Art More if There Weren’t so Many People Standing in Foont of It”

Organics, Delivered

Recent chilly nights and the appearance of squash and pumpkins means that the end to farmers market season will soon be upon us. Within the next few weeks, farmers will be finished with this year’s harvest, and we’ll be left to fend for ourselves in the aisles of the supermarket, where Peruvian asparagus and spongy pink tomatoes cause much sadness.

But there are a few companies who have made a business out of sourcing local and organic produce throughout the year, and not only do they do all the legwork of tracking down clean healthy food – they’ll even deliver it!

Note that the information below is based on Internet and telephone research only. Wanigan is the only one of the companies listed that I’ve personally dealt with, and while I was always happy with their service, they don’t deliver to highrise buildings, so I can no longer use them.

For any readers interested in trying the places below, I’d suggest doing your research – they all have different policies on deliveries, payment, substitutions, etc., and while I’ve tried to cover as many obvious questions as possible, everyone has particular needs and circumstances that should be worked out individually.

Continue reading “Organics, Delivered”

Yo Ho Ho! Rum’s Not Just For Pirates Anymore

The Caribbean is known for its gorgeous beaches, laid back atmosphere and beautiful scenery. But food and drink connoisseurs might be more familiar with the other hilights of the Caribbean islands – particularly rum.

September 24th to 26th was Caribbean Week here in Toronto. Designed to promote travel and industry in the 32 Caribbean islands, the festival also featured an evening of Rum and Rhythm at the Harbourcastle Westin, where guests listened to the sounds of the Caribbean while sampling rum from the islands and culinary offerings from some of the Caribbean’s top chefs. Guests could sample a variety of rum and rum-based cocktails, and a buffet-style selection of Caribbean cuisine that included everything from salt fish to bread pudding.

We wisely filled up on some of the fabulous edible offerings first before hitting the rum and cocktail samples.

From the Bahamas, Chef Mario Adderley offered traditional rice and beans, an outstanding conch stew and apple bread pudding with a light rum sauce. Chef Vidyadhara Shetty from Cayman Islands prepared grilled swordfish, paired with a fruit salsa, and possibly the best rum cake we’ve ever eaten.

The culinary offerings from Chef Richardson Skinner of St. Lucia might well have been our favourite overall. Chef Skinner was serving up a salad of avocado and cucumber with figs in a lime dressing, fried plantains, salt fish and veggies and a ginger and coconut crème brûlée.

Continue reading “Yo Ho Ho! Rum’s Not Just For Pirates Anymore”

Pears Are the Perfect Fruit for Fall

We all know the phrase about comparing apples and oranges. We tell someone they’re a peach if we think they’re especially kind, and plum good is better than just plain good any day.

But what of the lowly pear? The average Canadian eats a mere 2 pounds of pears a year; they tend to be overlooked at harvest time when the other more extroverted fruit take centre stage. Yet pears are not only great eaten out of hand, they can be a versatile ingredient in both sweet and savoury dishes, and make delicious wine and cider.

Continue reading “Pears Are the Perfect Fruit for Fall”

Sunday Brunch – The Liberty

The Liberty
25 Liberty Street
416-533-8828
Brunch for two with all taxes, tip and coffee: $35

We joke here at TasteTO about the “Restaurant Makeover Death Watch”; the jinx that seems to occur to so many places that participate in this particular Food Network TV show. But the truth is that many restaurants that participate actually go on to do well; not necessarily because of the publicity or even the new décor or menu, but because the process is a rejuvenation of sorts.

Such is the case with The Liberty, the longstanding café in Liberty Village. Already a successful neighbourhood lunch and dinner spot, a revamp of their menu on the show was quickly discarded after the film crews left, and even the renovated décor was tweaked to suit their needs better than the designer was able to.

Continue reading “Sunday Brunch – The Liberty”

Through the Cracks

This neighbourhood is an odd blend of rich and poor. Gorgeous Victorian homes on one block, crumbling low-income apartment buildings on another. It’s a struggle between the NIMBY dreaming of idylic times and high property values and the down and out cruising for a fix of something – sex, drugs, lotto tickets – to dull the pain for a few brief moments.

There is always a sad collection of lost souls on King just west of Dufferin every morning. It’s worse in the summer when tiny apartments or rooming house rooms become stifling in the heat. Then they sprawl across the doorsteps of shops, take over stoops and sometimes just situate themselves in the middle of the sidewalk – drinking, smoking, puking, turning tricks and getting high, as necessary, lather, rinse, repeat. Garbage seems to collect around them, like they’re magnetized; paper coffee cups, cigarette butts, broken beer bottles and fast food wrappers gathering at their feet as they sit through the night, getting high or coming down.

It’s better in the winter, when it’s too cold for them to spend the night on the side of the road. Then they all disappear, leaving the streets empty and nonthreatening, only crawling out of bed in the late afternoon to gather in front of the usual haunts, bleary-eyed and hoping to score.

Continue reading “Through the Cracks”

Falling Flat

Tortilla Flats
458 Queen Street West
416-203-0088
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and margaritas: $80

This was supposed to be a review of Tattoo Rock Parlor. But when we arrived to an empty restaurant, then waited for a server who never appeared while bad rock music blared on the sound system, we bailed. “Let’s go to Tortilla Flats!” sez the husband as we found ourselves on the Queen West sidewalk. “I haven’t been there since about 1989!”

While sharing his sense of nostalgia and spontaneity, I was worried. Tortilla Flats doesn’t have the best reputation for its food, and the things we like when we’re twenty often don’t translate well when we’ve advanced to middle-age. But Tortilla Flats has a small spot in the nostalgic “remember when we were 20″ place in my heart, so in we went, hoping to be wrong.

Continue reading “Falling Flat”

The New Neighbour

There’s a new guy, lives on the corner. He spends a lot of time outdoors. He’s pretty quiet, and has this aura of peacefulness that everyone in the neighbourhood is remarking upon.

The big Buddha is located at the corner of Dufferin and Melbourne, outside a high-end furniture store called Kuda. Kuda sells a lot of imported stuff from Thailand, Morocco, etc, and they’re big on Buddha as an icon, if not as a philosophy/spiritual path (they might well be Buddhists, for all I know, not making judgements one way or the other).

Continue reading “The New Neighbour”

Where Can I Find – Rugelach

My first encounter with rugelach was in the early 90s when I worked for a company owned by a Jewish family. During the Jewish holidays, they’d bring in platters of treats to share with the staff and the little rolled cookies had me coming up with all kinds of reasons to wander by the break room.

Yiddish for “little twist”, rugelach was originally made with a yeast dough, but American Jews introduced a dough made with cream cheese. The pastry is rolled around fillings such as chocolate, raisins, nuts or preserves such as apricot or raspberry.

Rugelach are supposedly easy to make at home, but while I consider myself an accomplished baker, I’ve never been able to get the cream cheese pastry to work well for me, despite trying a variety of recipes. As such, I’m always on the lookout for places that sell the things, because rugelach are quite addictive.

And while I’m sure there are any number of Jewish bakeries and delis in the north end of the city that make fantastic examples of this cookie (please feel free to share your favourites in the comments), I’m sticking to what is accessible to me, a car-free downtowner.

Note that as rugelach is considered a seasonal item, not all the places listed may have it at all times. While it should be readily available for the next week or so until the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah have passed, I’d advise calling ahead if it’s out of season and you really need a fix.

Future Bakery (93 Front Street East, St. Lawrence Market) – cream cheese or raspberry filling.

Harbord Bakery (115 Harbord Street) – offers a variety of flavours with chocolate being the most popular.

Wanda’s Pie in the Sky (287 Augusta Avenue) – a variety of flavours, likely seasonal as they don’t show up on their website.

What a Bagel (421 Spadina Road, and others) – carry the cookies year-round, with 4 flavours plus a sugar-free version.

Whole Foods (87 Avenue Road) – offers rugelach seasonally, sold pre-packaged, by the kilo.

Yitz’s Deli (346 Eglinton Avenue) – sold singly or by the kilo, there’s usually a nice mix of flavours including cinnamon and walnut.

I’ve also bought rugelach at Benna’s (135 Roncesvalles Avenue), but the person I talked to on the phone for this piece didn’t know what I was talking about, so I can’t guarantee they have them all the time.