Wednesday, June 19, 2013

First Time Making Wings

So today, I went to the store and bought some chicken wings for dinner. Threw together some sauces and spices, and they turned out great!


I combined Rooster brand chilli garlic sauce and Kraft barbeque sauce, with paprika, chilli flakes, and a touch of cinnamon. After coating the wings, I laid them out on a lined baking sheet and sprinkled them liberally with black pepper and brown sugar. They tasted fantastic! I think next time I will use more of the Rooster sauce and perhaps a squeeze of lime. 



Friday, June 14, 2013

Techie Tables: iBurger

A good restaurant experience is never just about the food. The decor, the atmosphere, and the service all factor into what makes for a fun meal, whether we're talking about up-scale fine dining or a quick bite at the local diner. That being said, a lot of places are bound to try new things that are totally out of the ordinary. iBurger, as the name suggests, is one of those places, going for something of a tech quirk. 


At the intersection of Metcalfe/Cypress, iBurger stands as a sleek restaurant all decked in black at the corner of Dorchester Square (that's the park at Peel, folks). It looks like it's trying to be an iPod. 


And it tries pretty hard, too. Yes, the tables are touchscreen, and you use it to navigate the entire menu, and you can also read the Gazette on it. It either sounds really cool, or really gimmicky, probably a mix of both. To my dismay, it's not exactly a perfect touchscreen, often prompting pokes and prods of all forms to try to get it unstuck from a page. Choosing a meal also takes longer, because you need to go through many pages to see all they have to offer. The pages do offer excellent pictures of each item (although what you get might look nothing like the image shown). The screen can rotate 180ᵒ for the person sitting opposite of you. If you go in a group, your friends also need to use the same screen, and you can finalize the order at the very end. 

Since ordering all takes place on the computer, there isn't a waiter assigned to your table. There is nothing wrong with taking away the server aspect of a restaurant, provided the service doesn't suffer. Unfortunately, it di it took them more than 20 minutes to provide water. Oh, and while the screen is idle, it goes through advertisements for your viewing pleasure. Distasteful. 


I ordered a glass of sangria, which was okay. It didn't taste as good as it sounded, and definitely wasn't pre-made, but that's not a surprise. 


M chose the spicy beef burger ($15.99), with an addition of caramelized onions ($1.99). The onions were a mistake, as the sweetness didn't mix well with the spicy sauce at all. The burger itself was okay, nothing too impressive but not too bad either. For the price, I wouldn't recommend this ordinary burger. The fries were pretty tasty, and went well with a sauce we got on the side (not the mayo shown on the picture). Note: the sauces come in a tiny container, and they really should be giving more, for the prices of $1.99. 


I felt like I wanted something out of the ordinary, so I went for a favourite food of mine: beef tartare ($22.99). When I received this plate, I did not want to eat it, it looked about as appetizing as, well, a pile of grey meat. The colour really set me off track; it was seriously more grey than pink. When I had a taste though, it wasn't half bad. I would say it is too acidic, which takes away from the rich flavour of the steak, but otherwise it was well spiced. It was served with a crunchy "bun" with fried capers, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it was supposed to go with the burger theme of the restaurant. Along with the crunchy bread and the chips I ordered on the side, it was quite a crispy meal. 


With room for dessert, I couldn't say no to my other favourite food, crème brûlée ($4.95). Despite the high prices on everything else, this was really cheap for a dessert, and really good too. The sugar coating had the most perfect crisp, due to the layer being just a bit thicker than other places. The cream was delicious, and was specked indulgently with vanilla bean, not even mentioned on the menu but deserves a shoutout. Respect. I would get this again. 

All being said, I may come back here. I dislike their main attracting feature, the touchscreens, and most of the food I had didn't wow me. However, some of their items like the lamb burger still look interesting, and that crème brûlée is simply divine. 

1237 Metcalfe,
Montreal, H3B 2V5
(514) 903-5799

iBurger on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Toronto: Kelsey's

On the second day of Anime North, we went to Kelsey's for dinner. The restaurant was packed with convention goers, and there was a bit of a line-up. Thankfully, there was a small seating area at the reception. Bleary-eyed, we waited for about 10 minutes before a table freed up. Our group had split up earlier during the day, so M and I had a booth all to ourselves! Across the restaurant, we saw six people -- some in cosplay -- squished into the same sized booth. We considered ourselves fortunate.

The service was slow, as expected. However, our waitress was quite cheerful and laid-back despite the fact that it was rush hour.


M couldn't decide between the steak or the burger, so he had the waitress pick. As I predicted, she chose the more expensive dish for him, the Fire-Grilled Steak & Chipotle Shrimp ($21.99). The presentation alone is much more than what I expected from a family restaurant. The portion size is adequate too, you wouldn't be too stuffed to walk after a dish like this. The steak, a 9 oz sirloin cut aged 28 days, was delightful in the sauce. I wouldn't call it chipotle, it is too mild and creamy for that, but it was tasty nonetheless. The shrimps were alright, tender but clearly from the freezer. Can't blame them for that. I was quite pleased with this dish, and stole more than a few bites. 


I tried the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich ($13.69). The description on the menu had me nearly drooling. I've never had a cheese steak sandwich before, but I know I wanted one. Unfortunately, Kelsey's version of the Philly delight left much to be desired. Served on a toasted baguette, the sandwich consists of shaved steak, grilled red peppers and onions, garlic sautéed mushrooms, and a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheese. The steak, however, was cut too thick and tasted too bland. It was like eating pieces of tasteless, stringy matter. The cheese was only on one side of the sandwich, so the first half I ate actually had no cheese. The dipping jus was flavourful, and it was fun to dip the fries into something other than ketchup, but that hardly salvaged the meal. 

Surprisingly, something did save the meal. M felt like he hadn't eaten enough, and I was just unhappy with my food. We had been eyeing the little dessert menu on the table ever since we sat down, and we both felt up to getting a little sweet something to finish off the evening. 


The description of the Maple Apple Pie ($5.99) really called out to me, and ohhhh boy, we did not regret that order in the least. It came as a stout, round cylinder topped with an enormous scoop of vanilla ice cream, the whole thing drizzled with vanilla cream sauce and English toffee sauce, then sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon. Wow. The first bite was heaven -- decadent buttery crust that broke easily to the tooth, yielding a cinnamon and apple filling with just a hint of maple. The base of the filling is actually Granny Smith apples, a choice that surprised me on the menu, but tasted just right on the tongue. The tartness balanced the overwhelming sweetness of everything else in the dish, and highlighted the woody tones of baked apple. Delicious. If I ever frequent a Kelsey's again, this will be my dessert for sure. 

Despite my bad sandwich, I do think Kelsey's is a pretty solid restaurant for the convention centre. The staff can handle a busy restaurant, and the food is good. A lot of my friends had the Messy Fish Sandwich and enjoyed it, so I may try that next time. At one point, M went to the bathroom, and came back to declare that it was the most disgusting men's room he'd ever seen in a restaurant, so cleanliness might be an issue to watch out for. If you come in a group, it might be smarter to split up, because you don't want to be crammed into a booth with 5 other people. 

636 Dixon Rd,
Etobicoke, ON
M9W 1J1
(416) 240-6932

Kelsey's on Urbanspoon