Upon arriving we noted the crowd wasn’t quite as big as at the winter version, and we didn’t have to wait at all to get in. The two women running the ticket booth noted there was a short lineup just 30 minutes prior to our arrival, but even so, at the winter festival it was pretty well full from open to close, with at least a 15 minute wait (often longer) at all times.  That said, there were still lots of people in attendance to enjoy what cask ales were on offer this time around.

Ticket prices included a nice souvenir half-pint glass and two beer tickets for $8.  If you wanted food as well, your admission was $12 instead (we saw sausages being enjoyed by many of the attendees), and for $3 you could purchase an additional beer ticket. Not a bad price considering what you’re getting!

Rich and I did our usual method of attack when it comes to these events: each of us got a different ale each time we refilled our glasses and let the other taste, so in total we got to try 6 of the casks. Here’s what we had, complete with some notes:

C’est What? Caraway Rye (County Durham Brewing Company) – Interesting, tasted like caraway rye bread or crackers. A bit of a novelty, not something we’d order regularly.

Cameron’s High Hop Silver – Absolutely the winner of the afternoon for us. Hoppy and a bit sweet and just really good. Great summer beer. Searching Cameron’s blog tells me that this is a special beer they only make occasionally, a blend of their Auburn and Cream ales with the hoppiness kicked up a few notches.

Compass Albion Ale (Better Bitters Brewing Company) – Rich refers to this one as a good session ale. It’s an Extra Special Bitter, easy drinking, and not strongly flavoured (so goes fine with whatever you might be eating).

Great Lakes Orange Peel Ale – One of my favourites on tap at the Vic last year, so I really wanted to try it on cask. It was great, refreshing and with a hint of orange peel flavour. I’ll seek this one out again.

Michael Duggan No.9 IPA - Really good, classic IPA. Well rounded, not just hops.

Neustadt Black Velvet – A novelty beer again – a mixture of cider and stout.  Someone else there commented there was a bit of a shoe polish smell/aftertaste. I can’t say I disagree. Not bad overall but not something I’d ever order again. Hey, I was being adventurous; I ordered this one when they were out of the two I wanted to try instead (Black Oak Summer Saison or F&M Stonehammer Strawberry Light).

We’ve also had a number of the beers on offer previously, so we avoided getting things like Durham’s Hop Head or Hop Addict or Granite’s Hopping Mad, given we wanted to try new things instead. All three of those are great, hoppy beers for those who enjoy that; highly recommended and well worth seeking out. Victory Cafe usually has Hop Addict on tap and often has either Hop Head or Hopping Mad on cask in their regular rotation.

The next Cask Ale Festival should be in January 2010. I’m not rushing away the summer, but I am looking forward to attending the next one!

The ‘Notice of Distress’ posted to the door, dated July 13th, seemed to indicate they were being locked out for non-payment of rent.

I don’t have a picture, unfortunately, as I didn’t bring my camera with me tonight. If I have a chance I’ll snap one tomorrow for you all.

I recently reviewed Organics on Bloor for Foodtv.ca, the timing for which was rather fitting – it’s a very short walk from our new apartment, and will probably become one of our weekly stops for groceries, especially fresh vegetables.

The review on Foodtv.ca really says it all, but I wanted to share a few more photos of the place. It’s pretty cute inside, the staff are really friendly, and they’ve got a pretty good selection of eco-friendly cleaning products, rivaling that of Fiesta Farms.

I wrote up the details for the FoodTV blog, Food for Thought.

I’m a big fan of falafel.  Growing up in the Maritimes, I wasn’t really exposed to it until I moved to Ottawa; the small community I grew up in didn’t have much of a Middle Eastern population.  But once I had my first falafel, I had to have more!

A good falafel sandwich to me is really simple: lightly spiced falafel balls that are freshly made, good pita, a bit of lettuce and tomato, and tahini sauce.  A bit of pickled turnip is a nice addition, but not necessary. Other toppings? No way. This isn’t a Subway sandwich, it’s a falafel!

The Annex area of Toronto has a lot of falafel and shawarma shops.  I chose to visit two: Ghazale and Laila.

The smell from Ghazale is enough to make you salivate, and it tends to waft down the street at all hours of the day.  Here their falafel isn’t freshly made to order – it’s reheated in the microwave.  However, the rest of their sandwich is pretty solid – good pita, nice sauce, and no weird toppings.  They also have some great side dishes to go with your sandwich, should you want a little something.  Rich and I tried their lima beans, which are pretty good. Service here is fine, if a bit haphazard – with the store being so small, it can be difficult to tell who is in line for ordering, who has already ordered, and who is just waiting for a friend to finish up.  A little assertiveness usually solves that problem nicely.

The falafel at Laila is better than that at Ghazale – it’s made to order and has a lovely spiciness to it.  It comes piping hot from the fryer with the usual toppings, plus you can request a sprinkle of their hot seasoning mix.  There are less sides to choose from at Laila – here it’s mostly about the sandwiches.  Another nice bonus is the available seating with tables for about 30 people or so available at the back.  And the service?  It’s been great on one visit and just ok on another.  Nothing to make me not want to go back, but as with most service jobs, things change depending on who is working the counter.  Our last visit was a bit disorganized, with people getting their food out-of-turn and some orders being given to the wrong people. It seemed like perhaps they were understaffed, or there was a new person working that evening.

We’ll actually continue to go to both places, depending on our mood.  However, I’m looking forward to trying some other falafel places in the city!

Laila: 553 Bloor St. W, Toronto, ON, (416) 588-0199
Ghazale: 504 Bloor St. W, Toronto, ON, (416) 537-4417

Honestly, I would have walked by this Borden Street cafe without giving it much of a second glance.  From the outside it seems pretty unremarkable, with it’s retro ‘Manny’s Coffee Shop’ Pepsi sign, left over from the previous business. Once inside, however, you’re greeted with a cute cafe with comfortable seating and a good menu.

The coffee menu contains all the usual suspects: cappuccino, latte, espresso, mochas, and various iced drinks.  I ordered a macchiato and Rich ordered a cappuccino. I was very pleased to find the owner asking how I wanted my macchiato: with just a hint of foam, or more milky.  Asking for just a hint of foam turned up exactly what I would expect in a good macchiato: nice espresso, good crema, and a hint of foam.  Delicious.  My croissant was nothing special, but it was buttery and got my pastry craving under control.  Rich’s biscotti was good, full of fruit and nuts.

Wild Thing is also offering homemade gelato, in a variety of interesting flavours  such as pineapple and basil, mayan chocolate, and vodka and grapefruit.  They also offer gelato with espresso, an Italian dessert known as an affogato.

Lunches here also look promising: a panini served with a side salad for $6.50.  I’ll be back to try one of those soon.

Has anyone else been here? What did you think?

Wild Thing: 196 Borden Street (Just off Harbord), http://thewildthing.ca/

I wonder if the place will sell and remain a Lettieri, or if it will be converted to something else?

This past Saturday evening we were both exhausted from a long day at the Toronto Zen Centre. Neither of us wanted to cook, so we headed out to the Annex around 8:30pm. Originally, we thought we’d try Fresh, but when we got there we found it was packed and had a long line of people waiting. So instead we headed over to By The Way, remembering how much we enjoyed their brunch.

When we came in the door, it took our server quite a while to come up to seat us. The cafe wasn’t super busy, but there was a large table of 15 or so people just finishing up, so we figured that maybe that was keeping them. Anyhow, once we were seated we discovered the table of 15 had already paid and were just finishing up conversations before leaving. In spite of this, it took our server 15 minutes to come by to take our drink orders. We tried catching someone’s eye, but were ignored while several staff straightened tables and cleaned up after the large group that had just left. I can completely understand wanting to straighten things up, but maybe they could have done it in between taking our orders and when the food was ready from the kitchen?

When she finally returned to our table, we ordered a plate of spanakopita to share, and two of the day’s specials: for me, orzo with butternut squash and gorgonzola cheese, and for him, Mexican spiced fish with rice and vegetables. We had originally wanted to order some Middle Eastern food, but couldn’t tell from the menu how big the plates were. Feeling sort of put off by the staff, we just opted to try their specials instead.

Once we’d ordered, we noticed the table behind us at the window had opened up. We asked our server if it was ok if we moved to the window. She hesitated and then said yes, although was clearly frustrated to have to move us, even though we told her we’re happy to move everything over ourselves, and there wasn’t much to move: just cutlery and two drink glasses.

But what about the food? Well, the spanakopita arrived quickly and was delicious. Lightly crispy and with great flavour, it was a nice snack to start off the meal.

Our mains, however, were just ok. My orzo was cooked properly, but there was a bit too much of the creamy sauce, and the butternut squash flavours were really lost amongst the strong flavour of the gorgonzola. Rich’s fish was nice enough, but he said it was under seasoned and really needed to be cooked better to get a nice crispy layer to it. The rice it was paired with had too much lemon juice; by about halfway through it was like eating a lemon, which was probably not the desired effect.

The slice of Tiramisu we shared for dessert was delicious and more than large enough for two. Paired with two cappuccinos, it was a good way to end the meal.

Finally, when we were completely finished, we found the entire staff was sitting down to eat their own dinner. It took us a few times to catch someone’s eye so we could get our bill and leave. Now, I’m all for staff getting to eat, don’t get me wrong! But when you’ve got several tables still eating, it is probably best to eat in shifts so your customers are still taken care of. This was yet another reason why we felt like we were ‘putting out’ the staff, like we’d walked in on someone’s private party or something.

Will we go back? Sure. But for brunch next time.

By The Way Cafe. 400 Bloor St. W., Toronto. (416) 967-4295. Dinner for two with wine, dessert, tax and tip: $85.

One that I know I’m going to spend a lot of time at is Faema cafe, located across the street from my new office. Faema is actually a coffee/espresso machine distributor, but they have a cafe at street level attached to their warehouse. The coffee is excellent quality and their pastries and sandwiches are also good. I haven’t yet tried any hot meals, but I suspect I probably will some day soon.

I was also lucky enough to get to try another local favourite coffee spot, Ideal coffee. They are well known for the quality of their beans, and for just being a very down to earth sort of place. I popped down to the Ossington location (just past Dundas) last weekend to grab a coffee with a friend, and was impressed by the quality of their cappuccino. Organic milk in bottles! Fresh roasted beans! Needless to say, I will be back here soon. One warning for anyone who has never been, though: They’re certainly rough around the edges. The food isn’t, but the decor all looks like it was taken from garage sales, and the bathroom is functional but not finished yet. Still, I think it’s part of the place’s charm.

The last coffee shop I’ll mention here is Aroma Cafe, located at Bloor and Bathurst. This is the only Canadian location of the Israeli chain. It is a more ‘slick’ and modern place than the previous two, and has a menu to match. So far I’ve only tried a macchiato and a chocolate croissant, but I will be back to try lunch there sometime soon.

I promise to try to get more regular with posts here!