toronto – Page 29 – Sheryl Kirby

Sunday Brunch – The Beaver

The Beaver
1192 Queen Street West
416-537-2768
Brunch for two with all taxes, tip and coffee and juice: $34

Beaver Loves You.

The sentiment may be genuine, pre-emptive or merely provocative; (“Dude, I love beaver too!!”) but there’s no denying that the note on the bill at this funky restaurant on the edge of Parkdale will put a smile on every face.

Known more for its clubby atmosphere of an evening (the owners are Toronto’s favourite party promoters, Lynn McNeil and Will Munro), Beaver serves up a pretty mean brunch, especially considering the limited kitchen behind the small bar.

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Sunday Sips – Hendrick’s Gin

Okay, that’s it, I’m done. I think we’ve all been more than patient with this weather thing, but really, enough is enough. I’m just not going to acknowledge it anymore. Instead, I’m just going to pretend that summer is here. I’m going to drag out the sunscreen and capri pants, and I’m going to pour myself a nice cold gin and tonic.

My choice of gin is an obscure one, with an unusual flavour profile. Made in the Scottish village of Girvan, Hendrick’s Gin is distilled in a restored 19th century still that processes the soft Scottish water and unique botanicals slowly to ensure full instillation of the flavours. Aside from the traditional juniper berries and citrus peel, the addition of both cucumber and rose petals to the distillation process creates a gin with a sweet floral undertone that blends well with a variety of fruit flavours. The dark, stout bottle alludes to an old tyme apothecary and the healing medicinals of the day.

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Where Curly Fries Come From

At first, I was sure I must be dreaming. Pretty ladies stepped out of nowhere to hand me free samples of cheesecake, gelato, or cashews. There was beer, wine, and grilled kangaroo. Everywhere I turned there were displays of gorgeously decorated cakes. Chefs stood over hotplates cooking up dishes of pasta or rosti potatoes, free for the taking. I couldn’t be sure, but there might have been angels singing. I never wanted to leave this blissful place.

Then the ethereal music came to a screeching halt as I came upon a display of salad dressings from a cigarette company. I shook myself out of my sugar-induced coma and noticed displays of chicken wings, available in bags of 500, or frozen burger patties, and all varieties of personal pizzas, sausages and nacho cheese mix.

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A Multicultural Feast at Senses

Senses
328 Wellington Street West
416-935-0400

I’ve gone on record as saying that I don’t like foie gras. That was before I had the foie gras as prepared by Chef Patrick Lin at Senses.

Working on the “try it ten times” theory as espoused by Vogue food writer Jeffrey Steingarten, I continue to try foods that I’ve had bad experiences with in the hope that I’ll eventually learn to at least like them, if not love them. After trying the duo of foie gras on Senses new menu, consider me a convert. Chef Lin’s technique of offering the tasty liver both pan-seared and poached in Peking duck consommé is a testament to both an exquisite ingredient and his skill and creativity behind the stove.

A renovation of the space now sees the comfortably modern lounge graced with generous sofas and a reworked restaurant with better flow and ambiance due to the removal of a couple of seats and the addition of the wine wall that breaks up the space without breaking up the light. With warm wood floors, and a palette of chocolate, cream and gold, the space is relaxed and welcoming.

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Sunday Brunch – Mitzi’s Sister

Mitzi’s Sister
1554 Queen Street West
416-532-2570
Brunch for two with all taxes, tip, plus coffee and juice: $40

I have a love/hate relationship with the brunch at Mitzi’s Sister. I love the homey, laid back vibe, the friendly servers, the eclectic tunes, and the constantly changing garnishes on what is likely my favourite brunch menu in the city. If it weren’t for the hate bit, I’d be here every weekend. But the hate thing is something I can’t get over. It’s got nothing to do with the place itself, but everything to do with the clientele. Mitzi’s Sister seems to double as a daycare centre on weekend mornings, where local hipster parents come with their kids and pretty much set them free.

Now before I get piles of cranky comments, let me be clear. I don’t have a problem with well-behaved kids who can sit politely through a meal. I don’t have a problem with breastfeeding. And I understand that kids have short attention spans and lots of energy to burn. What I have a problem with is the Parkdale locals who let their kids literally run around the place, annoying other patrons and making life dangerous for themselves and the servers while the parents sit by oblivious, comparing tattoos and discussing their guitars. I watched a kid make it out the door and onto the street one day before his father clued in that he was gone and rushed frantically around the place looking for him. I witnessed a toddler wander into the kitchen, only to hear the crash of plates as the server avoided knocking her over. When I’m looking for a quiet breakfast that doesn’t include top-of-the-lungs screeching, I tend to end up somewhere else.

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Four Scores With Delicious, Healthy Dishes

Four
187 Bay Street, Commerce Court South, concourse level
416-368-1444

Fine dining and healthy eating have never exactly gone together. Luxurious sauces, marbled steaks and decadent desserts are a far cry from the salads without dressing and those awful “diet plates” of cottage cheese and melba toast that we tend to think of as low calorie meals. And pious health food restaurants serve up hefty portions of morality but the food at those places has never been known for being especially tasty.

Four aims to change that.

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The Sweet Spot

Unlike most of Toronto, I’ve not been overly bothered by our cold, snowy winter. Also unlike most of Toronto, I’m out in the cold four or five times a day at least, which is what happens when you replace children in your life with two large drooling, fur-covered beasts. The huge gritty snowbanks can sometimes be an obstacle, and I will curse and wave my fist in the air with a zeal unknown to all but the emotionally disturbed upon encountering an uncleared sidewalk (shovel your snow, cocksuckers!), but the fresh cold air is bracing, the exercise imperative (for me and the dogs), and getting out of the house is a nice break in what can sometimes be a monotonous day.

Which is not to say that the experience is pleasant.

I try not to complain too much because I think of the other extreme. When the cold wind whips my cheeks to a scarlet red, and that little area above my eyebrows and just below the edge of my hat starts to go numb, I think of August. I look around me on the streets and remember the parched brown lawns, and the feel of sweat trickling down between my shoulder blades as I gasp for breath in the polluted Toronto air. I replace the shriek of wind in the trees with the eerie drill of cicadas. The energy to push on against the cold takes me back to the days when it felt too hot to put one foot in front of the other.

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Sunday Brunch – Yitz’s Delicatessen

Yitz’s Delicatessen and Catering
346 Eglinton Avenue West
416-487-4506
Brunch for two with all taxes, tip and coffee: $30

One of my very first jobs in Toronto was at Eglinton and Avenue Road, and ever since then, I’ve loved going to Yitz’s. Between the Eglinton location and the old Switzer’s on Spadina Avenue, these two restaurants often made me wish I had my very own Jewish Grandmother who would stuff me with blintzes and latkes and matzo.

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Sunday Sips – Le Face Cachée de la Pomme Neige

I’ve neglected doing much writing about wine because I know very little about the subject. And when I do plunge into the unknown depths of varietals and oak-aging, I find myself completely overwhelmed. Which is why I thought I’d be able to manage to sound like I knew what I was talking about by sticking to fruit wine.

But not so fast, because when it comes to apples, the definitions get as confusing as with grapes, and sent my Google-fu into overdrive.

The product in question is Neige, an “ice cider” from La Face Cachée de la Pomme in Hemmingford Quebec. Technically speaking, any product made with apples is considered a cider. What we know as hard or alcoholic cider tends to be light, slightly sweet, but not overly so, and effervescent; usually from natural carbonation (although some ciders have carbonation added). Through further fermentation of the cider and the addition of sugar, yeast, pectin and acid, cider can become a more viscous and sweet dessert wine.

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Craving Some Valentine’s Chocolates

Craving Chocolates
119A Roncesvalles Avenue
416-538-1212

Valentine’s Day is commonly thought of as the biggest holiday of the year for chocolate sales, but statistics show it actually ranks third or fourth after Easter, Halloween and Christmas. Due to shopping habits related to the day, however, Valentine’s generates more one-week candy sales than any other holiday. Apparently shoppers are better prepared for the other holidays (something about women doing the bulk of the shopping as opposed to men), and Valentine’s Day purchases are more last minute. Which is a shame, because it means an awful lot of people are getting big ugly boxes of sub-par candy, when a little planning could mean a better product.

Tucked away behind a flower shop on Roncesvalles Avenue is exactly the kind of place where people should be buying their Valentine’s chocolates.

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