TicTac

Let's also not forget (and not generalize as a result of) the fact that this is Jamie Oliver's 'restaurant' and as such he believes he can inflate his prices given his 'brand'. Many amazing options throughout the city where wine prices are not nearly as egregious, closer to the 200% mark as eluded to earlier, which is pretty standard.

True enough. They are not a true white varietal, but on the verge of. I might add a bit of lemon to the mix to add a bit more of a sour note.

Thank you FP. I seem to recall our 'resident' Mai Tai guru Jo mentioning the utilization of white grapefruit, though I cannot recall if it was in a Mai Tai or not... Simply have run out of limes (still have lemons and grapefruit) and just got a new bottle of Smith and Cross and my Small Hands Orgeat finally arrived.

What do you guys think about substituting the lime juice with fresh grapefruit? Or is that simply an abomination?

Not sure how canned salmon is for anyone but cats... But then again, I quite enjoy Oil packed tuna (Rio Mare brand preferably).

Expect a 300% markup on alcohol typically. Perhaps JAMIE thinks he can charge a bit more....whatever. A good reason why I like to either bring a bottle (if they offer corkage) or simply not imbibe while out -

I thought that the one at Yonge and Eg closed down - a quick search confirms - they are now in York - 71 Kincort Street, Toronto, ON, M6M 3E2

Oh it has been a while since we were at the Art Shoppe - I remember my folks getting some wildly large couch from Italy that took far too long to get here. That was the store near Yonge and Eglinton though, haven't been to the one DT. Is tonight your last meal in the city?

It's a good somewhat unknown spot - I much prefer their meat to say Caplansky's etc. What else is on the itinerary?

.....and!? - sorry - double post - meant to edit!

Too bad you missed the glass exhibit - though the AGO is always nice. St Lawrence can be a lot of fun - they have the best Greek yogurt there! Fingers crossed for Alo!

The Pea and Cauliflower dish looked very interesting, a quick google turned up this - http://www.rakskitchen.net/2008/10/cauliflower-peas-korma.html Sounds fantastic, might have to give it a go!

Many thanks, sartoric. I am sure this thread will offer many (myself included) inspiration and much eye candy!

Looking forward to this. We love Indian food in our house and I am always expanding my repertoire. Any chance you could along with traditional names, give some description as to what the dish is? Many thanks!

Sorry to hear that Zuppas was closed, I have only ever been for lunch - hope your replacement meal was satisfactory!

Not even half time and I had eaten far too much. The sleeper of the night was Buffalo Wing Chicken dip that my mom brought - a few extra squirts of Franks and it was killer with some nachos! While I wanted the falcons to win (I detest cheaters), I am no true fan (besides the 49'ers, but that goes back many years to the Montana days), but my sympathies are with true Falcon fans. What a choke....

Did you call them or just try online? Online booking system does not manage the chef's table (it's really more of a bar overlooking the kitchen).

Heh....Being at Queen and Spadina, you can use your imagination as to how some 'hipsters' dress for Alo. Your money is just as good as everyone else's, so long as you ARE dressed Good luck! At the very least you can always pop in at the bar for some great cocktails and excellent 'bar food'.

A well deserved break, Doc! I know you said nothing too posh, however; you are right around the corner from Alo - though the chances of getting a table are fairly slim, I would absolutely urge you to give it a go....often the chef's table is open, and there is also the Bar (which does not take reservations). It is the best restaurant in the city at the moment. Besides that, check out Khao San Road for some fantastic Thai food, and Zuppas for great smoked meat sandwiches. There is also Swataow on Spadina for amazing shrimp dumplings or their BBQ Pork soup. That should keep you busy, let me know if you want more or anything specific

The best steaks I have had on this continent. Many of the top restaurants in the city source from them.

It's almost like that warm blanket feeling knowing you have a freezer full of goodies. Call me odd... Yes, I only buy our meat at Cumbrae's these days. Such a discernible difference and to be honest Chicken is not that much more expensive than elsewhere. Especially for dark meat (which is 90% of what we eat, chicken wise). ((The Rib eye w/ mostly deckle I had last night from them was stupendous!)) Edit for Rotuts - I have done that before, but my excuse is I had 2 boys under the age of 3 in the car with me and no visual inspection of meat was necessary (I was only getting chicken, ground beef and bacon - mmmm their bacon).

I was wondering what the consequences were if we added into the freezer vs. retrieving from it.... Frozen peas are also a staple in my house (my 1 year old loves them!), so those get added at least every week or two. And I will admit to also adding 4 vac packs of chicken legs - I was at Cumbrae's and cannot help myself. Some red meat might have also made it's way in...

I am with Anna on this one, love the gooey cheese on some soft soaked bread floating on French Onion soup.

Sounds delish. Nothing wrong with a little MSG btw - so much nonsense surrounding this naturally occurring substance (in tomatoes as an example). If I was frying up (anything) I would toss some shaved onions tossed in a bit of flower. But then again I am a SUCKER for Onion strings (I blame growing up in Scottsdale and going to Hoolahans for their Onion 'brick'!).

I have a question, though not necessarily about Darto - about Carbon Steel in general. As previously mentioned I put my pan through 10 layers of Flax seasoning, looked great - cooked a steak on it last night, worked out very nicely... My issue is when it comes to cleaning - I did not want to be abrasive at all nor use soap, so I sacrificed a cloth and some hot water and wiped it down. The fat came off, but so did a 1x1 cm flake of the original seasoning - which really frustrated me! Am I doing something wrong?!