I'll admit, I haven't eaten everywhere in Toronto. But I think I can say with a lot of confidence that I've found the best restaurant in Toronto, and here's why:
M&B Yummy
1263 Queen Street West
www.mbyummy.com
I'll try to make this review as concise as possible, but that may be hard, because there's so much to describe. My roommate found this place while looking up vegan restaurants in Toronto. Yes, it's vegan, but you'd never guess it. I've never been too keen on the vegan restaurants, as I find the endless substitutions leave you with a plate of carbs and veggies that generally tastes like old bread. But M&B Yummy's food is so amazing, you'd never know it was vegan.
On a sidenote, I've never had Ethiopian in my life. I took a look at their online menu, which included dish names but not descriptions. I looked up Ethiopian cuisine on Wikipedia and it sounded good, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
Back to the review: M&B is located on Queen Street between Dufferin and Elm Grove Avenue. It's nearly across from the Gwynn streetcar stop on the Queen West streetcar, two doors down from Stones' Place. When I walked in, I was greeted by the smell of incense, very low lighting, and four tables (there are more in the back). The owner is also the hostess and the chef, so she seated us and promptly took drink orders. Although the menu explains all the dishes better than the web site, I still asked her to clarify what was what, and she was more than happy to. We decided to split a "Beef" Combo ($10) and Ground "Beef" Kitfo (soy ground beef with onions and spices, $9). I also tried to order the Sesame Fir Fir appetizer (sesame seeds mixed with injera - a sourdough flatbread - lemon, and spices), and she told me not to because two entrees would be more than enough. But everything looked good, so I still asked for a Teku Dumpling ($1.50). It's a good thing she stopped me from ordering more, because I wasn't prepared for what she served.
To begin, the dumpling was amazing; it was very similar to an old-fashioned donut and it was served with a dipping sauce that was slightly spicy, slightly gingery, and very creamy tasting (but it was vegan). I was very tempted to order the remaining two in the display case, but unfortunately they were snatched up by some other diners. They're served hot to order, and I highly recommend them.
After a short wait, dinner came out on a giant tray that took up half of our table space. The food was all made fresh to order, and I had to blink a few times to take it all in. Entrees are served atop a giant roti-like pancake called injera, which is a sourdough flatbread. It's 20" across, and half of it was covered with the Ground "Beef" Kitfo, and the other half was covered in piles of vegetable-based stews. The combo comes with Chickpea Shiro Wot, which is chickpea flour cooked with spices; Red Lentil Missir Wot, red lentils slow cooked with spices (my personal favourite of the veggie offerings); Cabbage Stew, made with carrots and onions (amazing); String Bean and Carrot Fasolia, string beans and carrots in a gravy (also amazing); Collard Green Gomen, which was spinach and kale in a gravy (a very close contender for best veggie offering); and Yellow Beans, which was split peas stewed with onions and garlic. It also came with "Beef" Tebs, which are chunks of soy beef in gravy. The meal came with four quarters of another injera rolled up for eating, and utensils for those who are picky about eating with their hands. The two of us could only get through half of the meal, and we took the rest to go, placing a duplicate order to bring home for our other roommate and her friend.
There was a great selection of vegan desserts as well, so I had to help myself to a generous portion of blueberry cheesecake ($3). I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It tasted, felt, and smelled like real cheesecake, with a fresh blueberry compote on top. I ate every last bit of it and felt like a pig, but I had to. I was fuller than full, but enjoyed every bit of it. The main course was fairly spicy, but tasted so incredible I couldn't stop myself from eating fast. It burned and I even cried a little, but I loved every second of it, and the cheesecake was a great follow-up.
Throughout the meal, we periodically spoke to the owner about her food, her store, and how incredible every bite was. She even chuckled a few times because my entire meal was very much like Meg Ryan's O-face scene in When Harry Met Sally. The service was amazing, and when she saw how much I liked the cheesecake, she told me I should come back in the summer for soft serve. I thought I had misheard her, but then she pointed out her Tofutti soft serve machine. I thought I had died and gone to heaven for the second time in two minutes. While I was off in la-la-land dreaming about Tofutti soft serve, I caught her saying that she had the only Tofutti soft serve machine in Canada, and that there's always a line-up around the block for it in th summer - and I believe it.
I could go on and on some more about this absolutely incredible restaurant, but I don't want to jinx it because I'm going back on Sunday for her $12 complete brunch. She also has various soups at $4 a serving, sandwiches ($6), and all-day breakfast for $7-8 a plate. There are quite a few appetizers and entrees that I haven't gotten into, but I intend to order everything on the menu at least once. The combo I ordered offered a small taste of nearly every entree on the menu, but there's a lot more to get through, and I'm looking forward to it.
M&B is closed all day Tuesday, and every day from 4-5. It opens all other days at noon, with the exception of Sunday (11 am). There's free delivery on orders over $65, but unless you intend to feed a family of 12, that's not worth going for. For my meal, food for four plus an appetizer, two beers, and dessert came out to $47 (!!!). We left a very generous tip because the service was great and she tossed in some extras.
It's a special place because it's dirt cheap, the food is amazing, and the service is even better. It's very rare to find a hostess/waitress who will pay that much attention to you. She addressed all concerns I had about the food being dairy-free, and even explained that she goes out of her way to buy gluten-free injera so that her menu is safe for people with Celiac. As we were leaving, she was dishing out a generous portion of cheesecake to a lucky birthday girl and singing "Happy Birthday" with much gusto. I don't' know what else to say... There's vegan organic soap in the bathroom... It's my new favourite restaurant... Ah-mazing.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Eat and Greets
I haven't been out much because of my back. It's been a real mess and very painful. The painkillers started upsetting my stomach so I had to stop using them. Today was the first day that I've been able to shuffle around since my accident, so I called a friend and tried to catch up on some grocery shopping. Driving is hard for me because I drive stick, and even when I walk I can feel my muscles screaming. I'm still cursing the TTC and hoping they'll get back to me.
Before my fall, I had a Christmas party dinner at Sidecar restaurant (577 College Street), which I hadn't gotten around to writing about. I looked it up before going, and I saw a lot of fairly negative reviews. Going into it I didn't expect much, but to be honest, I thought it was a nice place. Even though it was a Saturday night, the service was prompt and pleasant. Our waiter had quite a sense of humour and a fairly good memory. I was most impressed, however, because substitutions were not a problem. I didn't feel like an idiot asking for a dairy-free meal, or different accompanying items. The funny thing is, most higher-class restaurants can easily do it, but they make a fuss about it. I asked for a dairy-free meal with swiss chard instead of asparagus, and I got it without a problem - and it was tasty, too. The waiter didn't give me a hassle about it, or make a fuss. If anything, he was very accomodating and understanding, so I was able to actually enjoy my meal (for once).
The drinks at Sidecar were a tad on the expensive side, but they had decent prices for bottled wine. I ordered a signature Sidecar and wasn't too impressed by it, but it was stiff enough to get me buzzed before dinner arrived. The atmosphere was nice and the service wasn't pushy, the only things I noticed that weren't so great involved the layout and the seating - every time the door opened, an icy blast blew into the restaurant, chilling the crowd. And the table of three next to us was huddled around a surface that would have been cozy for two, which I thought wasn't such a great idea (although perhaps they chose that arrangement). It's a small space, though, so I think they've done the best they could with it.
Sidecar's on the higher end of average for dinner, with wine and an appetizer it worked out to roughly $50 per person. Dinner entrees were generally between 16 and 22 dollars, and everyone in the party seemed to enjoy their dinner. The plates weren't too frilly and weren't too plain, they were visually appealing and cooked just right. I treated myself to sea bass and an ahi tuna appetizer, and although I've never had sea bass before, I was very impressed with the taste and the way it melted in my mouth. The ahi tuna was very good (also a first for me), but four small chunks with sauce cost $14. I'm aware that it is an expensive delicacy, although I'm not sure what the average price is. I wouldn't necessarily say it was worth it, but it may be for someone who really loves ahi tuna. Anyway, Sidecar's a restaurant I'd definitely try again, and I would love to see what kind of a vegan meal they can whip up. The kitchen's small but very open and very clean, which also impressed me. Recommended.
Before my fall, I had a Christmas party dinner at Sidecar restaurant (577 College Street), which I hadn't gotten around to writing about. I looked it up before going, and I saw a lot of fairly negative reviews. Going into it I didn't expect much, but to be honest, I thought it was a nice place. Even though it was a Saturday night, the service was prompt and pleasant. Our waiter had quite a sense of humour and a fairly good memory. I was most impressed, however, because substitutions were not a problem. I didn't feel like an idiot asking for a dairy-free meal, or different accompanying items. The funny thing is, most higher-class restaurants can easily do it, but they make a fuss about it. I asked for a dairy-free meal with swiss chard instead of asparagus, and I got it without a problem - and it was tasty, too. The waiter didn't give me a hassle about it, or make a fuss. If anything, he was very accomodating and understanding, so I was able to actually enjoy my meal (for once).
The drinks at Sidecar were a tad on the expensive side, but they had decent prices for bottled wine. I ordered a signature Sidecar and wasn't too impressed by it, but it was stiff enough to get me buzzed before dinner arrived. The atmosphere was nice and the service wasn't pushy, the only things I noticed that weren't so great involved the layout and the seating - every time the door opened, an icy blast blew into the restaurant, chilling the crowd. And the table of three next to us was huddled around a surface that would have been cozy for two, which I thought wasn't such a great idea (although perhaps they chose that arrangement). It's a small space, though, so I think they've done the best they could with it.
Sidecar's on the higher end of average for dinner, with wine and an appetizer it worked out to roughly $50 per person. Dinner entrees were generally between 16 and 22 dollars, and everyone in the party seemed to enjoy their dinner. The plates weren't too frilly and weren't too plain, they were visually appealing and cooked just right. I treated myself to sea bass and an ahi tuna appetizer, and although I've never had sea bass before, I was very impressed with the taste and the way it melted in my mouth. The ahi tuna was very good (also a first for me), but four small chunks with sauce cost $14. I'm aware that it is an expensive delicacy, although I'm not sure what the average price is. I wouldn't necessarily say it was worth it, but it may be for someone who really loves ahi tuna. Anyway, Sidecar's a restaurant I'd definitely try again, and I would love to see what kind of a vegan meal they can whip up. The kitchen's small but very open and very clean, which also impressed me. Recommended.
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