The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 1)

[Darienne]

Your second hand stores are much better than our second hand stores in Peterborough. I think I have found decent cookbooks two or three times only in many visits. Mostly microwave and low fat stuff. Lucky ladies.

Soon we head to the land of incredible second hand stores...Moab, UT. But no lunches out. Dreadful restaurants.

[Kerry Beal]

Due to a huge slobbering summer cold - I forgot to post yesterday! Got a quick reminder from Maggiethecat's wonderful Cheap and Cheerful column she links to on facebook and it reminded me to get cracking.

Anna and I set off for the J-town mall in Brampton - a japanese mall in the GTA. I wanted to get a variety of green sencha's for the hubby and Anna needed a few odds and ends as well. She picked up a small bottle of Kewpie mayo, some Japanese pickles and a few other items I can't recall. I picked up some mirin and the teas.

This place had a very high end butcher - wyagu beef, berkshire pork, mennonite chicken - all really nice looking stuff. Our cooler space was limited and our pocket books a bit lean - so we just admired it.

There was a nice little cafe in the mall - calling itself "Cafe Green Tea" and advertising japanese homestyle cooking.

We started with these little croquettes - 'beef' was a bit of a misnomer - more like seasoned with a few flakes of beef - but still quite tasty. We weren't impressed with the brand of tonkatsu sauce on the table however. A bit too clovey.

Anna opted for the katsu donburi (if I'm not mistaken) which was a rice bowl with katsu and egg.

We shared a chicken katsu cutlet.

And I opted for the fried udon.

[Anna N]

I am back on a Japanese "kick" so this visit to the Japanese Mall was right up my alley. Kerry didn't mention my most important find: a tamago pan. AND it's magnetic so it will work on my induction hob. It's not easy to figure out where we are on Wednesdays as we often go where the wind takes us but I do want to correct the location where we ended up! The Japanese Mall is in Markham!

[JTravel]

We are 4 college roommates who have reconnected in the last few years. We graduated from SUNY Geneseo (NY) in the mid 60s. YES, we're getting old. But once a month or so, sometimes with non-local friends joining in we go for lunch. This is not an adventurous eating group, but we enjoy conversation and food.

Last week was one of our better choices: Palmer's (I have a hard time not adding "meat market"). As the sign says they have been around a long time with a reputation for great quality. So now they have branched out into serving food. This store/market/restaurant is close by the old location in the Regional (mostly wholesale) Market.

It is unusual in that it is still a fish/meat market, but now they have added a large seating area for eating in. Take out seemed popular too. You choose from the brochure/menu, and/or from the various blackboards with specials. It's all counter service but food is delivered to your table. Some items like sides are on display and there is an open kitchen though you can't see the food prep. Most things are +/- $10. plus bottled drinks.

We had 4 items and everyone was very happy. I took home half of my grilled shrimp and bacon sandwich with potato salad. The huge Rueben sandwich looked great, wonderfully grilled and oozing cheese. It was pronounced very tasty. The pulled pork sandwich was large and came with a big pile of french fries. I could see that the grilled chicken on the Ceasar Salad was very tender and moist. Next time I will have the fish fry....lots of those being sold and looking good.

After lunch we checked out the fish and meat and in house made sausages. Everything looked top rate, with prices to match. Having forgotten my cooler I passed on meat though the sausage and ground beef did tempt me.

There are no thrift stores nearby, but separately I think we all managed to hit The Christmas Tree Shop.

End of September it's Polish....another opportunity to get home made sausage.

[Anna N]

Yesterday, Kerry and I had our sights set on a particular restaurant in Burlington for our weekly lunch. But as lunch time approached we found ourselves in Hamilton and near a restaurant that Kerry wanted to check out called Spice Avenue.

The décor is strikingly different with a collection of bird cages providing the central lighting.

The banquettes are low-backed yet surprisingly comfortable but offered no privacy and I found myself trying to avoid eye-contact with a lone female diner throughout most of the meal.

Kerry ordered Chinese tea and was quite taken with this tea pot and cup.

Since calamari appeared on the menu we had to order it! This was served on a bed of some sort of crispy noodle that looked like tiny strands of beads. These noodles were crispy in the extreme but utterly tasteless. If anyone can shed some light on what they are and what purpose they serve, please let us know.

The dipping sauce that accompanied the calamari, called “cusabi”, was mayonnaise-based with cucumber and wasabi. It was not well blended and so Kerry’s face would intermittently express pained surprise as she found the wasabi. We joked that this was food as theatre and that we needed to get with the program. At first we thought the green garnish was chopped pistachios but eventually determined that it was more likely dried and crushed edamame.

We shared the “Asian Fajita” platter. This was basically make-your-own summer rolls. A plate of rice paper wrappers, separated by plastic grids to prevent them sticking together, was presented along with a platter of fillings. The fillings, beef, chicken and pork along with noodles, lettuce, daikon and cucumber pickle, some crushed peanuts and a spicy dipping sauce looked very appetizing.

After lunch we headed to a restaurant supply store where we both bought some half-sheet pans. From there we made a bee-line for the Re-Use Centre where Kerry found a Cuisinart Food Processor and I found this mini-chopper. We had a topic on this chopper some years back but I can no longer find it. It is perfect when you need to chop just a couple of cloves of garlic or a couple of tablespoons of herbs. I threw my old one out earlier this year as it had finally stopped working and was thrilled to find this replacement marked at $2.

[Kerry Beal]

Today started with a couple of hours in my kitchen - with Anna helping me get organized to a big cooking event coming up on the weekend.

Then we headed out to Sakai the restaurant we had planned to hit last week.

We started with the traditional salad - we'd already eaten part before we remembered the camera.

Mandu yaki - deep fried dumplings of pork, beef and veggies.

Tempura shrimp and veggies.

They brought a nice little palate cleanser - a piece of cantaloupe, watermelon and a grape. Remembered the picture too late.

As we were wandering in the parking lot after lunch - we noticed a little garden along the front of the restaurant. It had peppers, some turnip like plant, shiso and some other green that was sort of citrusy.

We hit homesense for some kitchen things and a couple of thrift stores.

[Dejah]

The extremely crispy bead-like noodles under the calmari at Spice Avenue are likely deep-fried mung bean threads. They are probably more for plating in this dish. Other times, hot food with a sauce may be poured onto the crispy noodles at the table - for the crackle presentation. Then the noddles soften and soak up the sauce.

I remember my mother deep frying these then sprinkling fine sugar over the pile for a sweet treat at Chinese New Year. A mess to eat as they basically crumble when picked up.

[Anna N]

The extremely crispy bead-like noodles under the calmari at Spice Avenue are likely deep-fried mung bean threads. They are probably more for plating in this dish. Other times, hot food with a sauce may be poured onto the crispy noodles at the table - for the crackle presentation. Then the noddles soften and soak up the sauce.

I remember my mother deep frying these then sprinkling fine sugar over the pile for a sweet treat at Chinese New Year. A mess to eat as they basically crumble when picked up.

Thank you so much for shedding light on these strange noodles. Anna

[Kerry Beal]

Rug rat needed supplies which necessitated a trip to Buffalo today. Fortunately Patris was free for lunch which gave us a chance to check out the Bistro Europa - an excellent little bistro at which we had a fabulous meal last fall. We were anxious to see what they were cooking this season.

Patty started with the pea soup (I've forgotten pea and what) - but it contained along with what looked like marrowfat peas, some elephant kale and some sort of minty herb.

I went for the moule frites - the mussels in a nice creme fraiche sauce.

Patty had the potato pancakes.

It was a nice opportunity to catch up - too bad it was lunch and a nice bottle of their lambic was out!

[patris]

Rug rat needed supplies which necessitated a trip to Buffalo today. Fortunately Patris was free for lunch which gave us a chance to check out the Bistro Europa - an excellent little bistro at which we had a fabulous meal last fall. We were anxious to see what they were cooking this season.

Patty started with the pea soup (I've forgotten pea and what) - but it contained along with what looked like marrowfat peas, some elephant kale and some sort of minty herb.

I went for the moule frites - the mussels in a nice creme fraiche sauce.

Patty had the potato pancakes.

It was a nice opportunity to catch up - too bad it was lunch and a nice bottle of their lambic was out!

Thank you for posting those pics - my iPhone camera really didn't do justice to any of that. The soup was pea and bread, with something called dinosaur kale which I am on a mission to find me some of (grammar be damned - it was good!). Turns out they fry the frites in duck fat. I'm kicking myself for turning down your offer to taste one!

[Anna N]

On Tuesday Kerry and I returned to Back Alley click. About 3 years ago we dropped in to this restaurant to meet Frank Hsu and pick up our beta versions of his Sous-Vide Magic to do some testing. At that time the restaurant was not open for lunch.

Yesterday we were much luckier and spent a very long lunch hour eating and discussing with Frank his latest forays into sous-vide equipment.

First, though, lunch:

Kerry ordered the whole beef rib with a side salad. This had been cooked sous-vide for 36 hours, partially re-heated in a sous-vide bath and then seared in an 800F wood-fired oven.

Here’s how the beef appeared inside – still a little pink.

I opted to try the pork ribs with a side of potatoes

Part way through our meal, Frank’s wife brought a sample of pizza for us to try.

After lunch Frank enthusiastically showed us the packages of his product ready to ship to countries such as the UK, Germany and the USA. He also showed us his new offering called the FMM and told us the story of Pierre de Serres foray into sous-vide cooking back in the 80s.

Scroll down for the FMM

click

He let us in on a couple of other developments which he asked us to hold off sharing until he could release them officially.

[Anna N]

Kerry and I are on Manitoulin Island at present click. Kerry worked in the Nursing Home in Wiki this morning and at lunch time we checked the offerings on the lunch menu and decided that nothing appealed. We headed out of Wiki and found a place offering buffalo burgers on native fry bread with french fries.

Beneath the onion there really is a buffalo burger!

We had to eat in the car as the burgers are made in a "truck" but we got a wonderful lesson from the owner on the burial customs of First Nations people.

Edited to add link.

Edited again to fix spelling of Wiki! Aren't you glad I did not try to spell out the full name?

Edited September 28, 2010 by Anna N (log)

[JTravel]

The other 3 college roommates were oonvinced by me to try Polska Chata "Homemade Perogies" this week. We had a fun time and even the skeptic said "it was better than I expected" ...and licked her plate.

It is a little house on a side street in an eastern suburb. Downstairs is a Polish deli and a couple of tables. Up the steep stairs is a room with the look of an ethnic hall, lots of signs of love of Poland.

The waitress was very helpful which was good since there was no lunch menu as such.....just smaller portions of dinner dishes. All got sorted out in a bit.

Two of us had the "plate" with a taste of several things. There was a cabbage roll, a big chunk of Kielbasa sausage, 2 potato perogies,a good portion of bigos, and a folded potato pancake. There was some sauce (gravy?) on the cabbage roll and it was tasty too. The pancake was an upgrade, raising the price, over mashed potatoes, by $2., to $12. Well worth it. The sausage, made in house was wonderful, it's a raw kind which is baked till crispy outside and tender inside. I bought a couple to bring home and they were delicious. The BIGOS was the hit of the plate. It is called a stew, but is really a long cooked saurkraut with more cabbage and bits and pieces of ham and sausage and other meats. I guess when you have a deli you have lots of bits and pieces and it was fabulous.

Our sandwich lover had the kielbasa sandwich, served with a white roll, AND 2 slices of rye bread....plus the bigos which she also enjoyed.

Our other companion had just the pancake plate (7.95) with 2 big pancakes plus sour cream and applesauce. To my taste they needed a bit of that sausage but it made a good meat free lunch and she was content.

A good time was had, in a very different place, where the cook cooked for us and the food was truly homemade with care.

[Kerry Beal]

That looks delicious!

[Marmish]

Oh man! I definitely could lunch on those potato pancakes.

[JTravel]

It WAS a delicious lunch and had the element of being something I hadn't eaten before. Such a treat to find such a place.

[suzilightning]

took advantage of a cold rainy day and no birds flying to use a gift card from my secret santa. went to tanti baci: http://tantibacicaffe.com/ .

a plate with 4 pieces of grilled garlic bread came out. i ordered the soup of the day which was butternut squash. it wasn't too sweet and had a hint of orange at the finish.

main was wild mushroom ravioli sauced with a simple tomato and basil sauce with a side of meatballs. the mushrooms were great and the sauce was wonderful the meatballs were a little less soft than the last time i had them. i ate all the soup and half of everything else. i also ordered a piece of chocolate fondant cake to go so i had half of that as my 5pm snack. dinner and snack for thursday. 27.00 total

[Kerry Beal]

Sounds delicious!

[Anna N]

So Kerry and I found ourselves on Kerr Street in Oakville checking out all the thrift stores when we spotted this Japanese restaurant. Since we like to sample and share as much of a menu as is reasonable at lunch time, we put together the following:

Miso soup for Kerry.

Noodle soup for me.

Chicken Teriyaki

Shrimp Tempura

Vegetable Tempura

And the knife I always carry with me comes in useful as chopsticks don't lend themselves very well to sharing!

Here's the spoon that accompanied my noodle soup.

And a closeup of the same spoon.

Kerry ordered tea which was served in this unusual tea pot.

[annachan]

It's a great time for me to discover this topic as I've become a lady who lunch since I stop working. Actually, I joined a lunch group before I stopped working and used to take one day off a month just for lunch. I had to take time off as many of our lunches ended up lasting 2-3 hours. I continue to enjoy them very much. I look forward to reading more posts from fellow ladies who lunch. I'll try to remember to take some pictures on my next lunch.

[Anna N]

On Wednesday Kerry and I had a function to attend but that didn’t stop us from first doing all the necessary things! We stopped in at Lee Valley Tools and I bought some pastry cutters, some prep bowls and a couple of peelers. Then we hit as many thrift stores as time would allow but came up emptied-handed as far as kitchen or food-related items were concerned.

After weeks of Japanese/Thai/Vietnamese lunches we decided on a complete change and ate at Denninger’s, a local international food store with a lunch counter.

We both ordered the sausage platter.

Here’s Kerry’s lunch: spinach sausage and a bratwurst with onions, sauerkraut and red cabbage. The bright orangey stuff is a pepper and peach relish.

I also ordered the spinach sausage and went with a veal sausage for my second choice. I had a side of scalloped potatoes, some red cabbage and the requisite onions and sauerkraut.

Neither of us could finish the whole platter so Kerry took her doggy bag home to take for her evening meal at the hospital and I took my doggy bag (one and a bit sausages) and added to my turkey soup for a quick dinner when I got home.

[Kerry Beal]

Mea culpa. Forgot to post last week! Noticed the pictures still in my camera when I went to download some of the stuff from Montreal.

Better late than never - we decided to go for schnitzel since it was a recent topic of discussion and I recalled getting fabulous schnitzel at The Black Forest Inn years ago.

A quick look at the schnitzel page on the menu.

A very basic salad - interestingly included a potato salad as well.

The 'Black Forest Plate" - 1 Vienna Schnitzel, 1 Kassler Rippchen, 1 grilled Sausage, Potatoes and Sauerkraut

Schnitzel Pusta - Pork Tenderloin, topped with Pusta Sauce, hot Peppers and fried Onions - Pusta sauce was like a very nice tartar sauce.

[Anna N]

This morning Kerry and I had a great visit with another eG Member and had hoped she would make up a threesome of the ladies who lunch. However, prior commitments made that impossible today but she has promised to join us next week.

We decided on Middle-Eastern today and headed for a place we had spotted in an earlier search for a suitable place for lunch. It turned out that we had been mistaken – the place we had spotted was Mediterranean! But we were far too hungry to argue the merits of Middle-Eastern versus Mediterranean and so Agabiwould have to do.

As it turned out, it was a combination Egyptian, Lebanese and Greek and very satisfactory.

We shared the frito misto: calamari, shrimp and scallops

And the Mixed Grill: shawarma, kofta, pork shashlik and chicken pineapple.

Curiously we had visited this place before when it was a Thai restaurant!

[Marlene]

That looks really good Anna, and so does the schnitzel from the last outing, although, you may have my calamari. I am sorry I couldn't go with you today, but I am all set for next week. I'll leave myself entirely in yours and Kerry's capable food hands.

[Kerry Beal]

Today Anna, Marlene and I had an opportunity to spend the day doing a bit of shopping and lunching.

We had lunch at Sweet Smoke, an upscale BBQ joint in Oakville.

The decor includes this board on the wall which has a large scale recipe for tortilla soup.

Anna's app - a nice salad.

Marlene went for the mac and cheese.

I had the tortilla soup.

We shared the mixed BBQ plate, pulled pork, ribs, turkey, cowboy beans and coleslaw. Note the attractive drizzle of BBQ sauce decorating the plate.