Lil’ Baci

We had been trying to go out with some friends for a while, but never found time until recently.  I made the suggestion that we try Lil’ Baci on Yonge.  I had previously been to the Queen location a few years ago and thought this might be a good neighbourhood place close by.  I can’t say I loved it.

When my friend ordered the fresh cremini e pecorino salad, the waitress warned us that it was only mushrooms and celery, no lettuce.  When the salad came, it was a bunch of cut up raw mushrooms.  Totally not what she expected.  The lack of celery was probably an innocent error (wasn’t on the menu), but it might be worth saying that the salad is completely raw.  The dressing did happen to be very tasty – a tart, fresh, house made dressing.  I started with one of their daily crostini – mushrooms and truffle oil.  These were sauteed and more like what we expected the salad to taste like.  They had a few interesting crostini and I would definitely be interested in trying 3 for $8 (the other choice is 1 for $3) next time I go back.

Mushroom crostini

For mains, we were pretty boring.  Margherita pizza and spaghetti and meatballs for everyone.  The pizza came about 5 minutes before the pastas so it cooled down while we waited for the pasta for the rest of the table.  The pizza had a pure tomato sauce with a good crust.  The cheese was a good fresh mozzarella, but wasn’t melted enough for me.  It was too chewy.  The pasta was delicious.  You could tell it was homemade and the sauce was a great, smooth, sweet tomato (different from the pizza sauce).  The meatballs were nice and light.  I would recommend pasta and will definitely be having pasta next time.

Not as good as it looks pizza

Best: Spaghetti and meatballs.  This delicious homemade pasta made for a great hearty meal.

Not the best: Margherita pizza.  This just might be a preference or timing thing, but it wasn’t for me.  It was one of the only pizzas that we didn’t even take home the leftovers…

http://www.lilbaci.com/

2013 Yonge St (between Davisville and Eglinton)

El Catrin

My first experience with Mexican food included deep fried ice cream in a plaza next to a mall. As you can imagine, it wasn’t the most authentic and I didn’t love it – not a great start. Things have changed. I’m a total Mexican food junkie. I love spicy and crunchy and both are usually part of a good Mexican meal.

I went with a friend to El Catrin on one of the last warm days of the year. We started on the patio, but it started to lightly drizzle – picture me sitting with a napkin on my head chugging my margarita. We asked the waitress if we could sit inside, maybe at the bar? She said no. Annoying…and wrong – we ended up at the bar. That was the best decision of the night. The bartender was super friendly and knowledgeable.

I had the traditional margarita and my friend had a beer cocktail. Both were really large and pretty tasty. Very fair prices for the huge drinks we got.

Classic margarita

They give you 3 salsas and lime at the start so you can add as you like. Since we moved locations, we got them twice. Both our original waitress and the bartender said they were in order of heat, but the order they gave them to us in was different. Is rojo hotter than verde or not? Anyway, none really packed the Mexican spice I was looking for, especially since there were 3.

Tacos con Tinga – make your own tacos with refried beans and pulled chicken. I enjoyed this dish, but my friend wasn’t really feeling it. It was a little too simple for her. I was loading on the limes so take that for what it’s worth.

Guac – mashed in front of you with a whole avocado. My friend ate it all fast. I’m not a fan of mush (nothing against El Catrin, just avocados), I had some chips and some of the salsas they give you.

Elote Placero (whole corn) – one piece of corn with chili butter, chili aioli and crumbly cheese. The presentation was much better than the actual taste. We had this during corn season so I had pretty high hopes.

Tacos Gobernador – Sauteed shrimp and lobster tacos with a creamy chili sauce. This was the spiciest and best for sure. The bartender said it recently won a Toronto contest. I believe it.

Tostado de Atun – my friend had both of these tiny tostados. Nicely seared pieces of tuna with guac. I think this was her favourite.

Finally, we had the Mexican bread pudding. Interesting flavour. Next time, I will try the churros. Or for $18, you can get 3 desserts plus caramel popcorn. A very intriguing offer, for sure.

At slightly more than $100 for dinner for 2, I found it on the high priced side for what we got. That’s not to say I wouldn’t go back. The patio is beautiful, the decor is awesome and it’s wayyyy better than the previous restaurant in that space.

Best: Gobernador. Spicy and well cooked seafood

Not the best: Corn. Hard to pay $6 for a single ear

http://www.elcatrin.ca/home

18 Tank House Lane (Distillery District)

Lunch at The Chickery

I would love to be the kind of person that can say I make my lunch every day but sadly, I can not. My office is in a great area of Toronto, so I am able to eat a variety of different foods on any given day. On this particular day I was on the hunt for some good comfort food and my colleague recommended The Chickery.

When I first walked in, the decor instantly caught my eye. Everything was in its perfect place and even though it was more of a take-out spot , I didn’t feel like I was at just another fast food place.

There are a lot of different option to choose from including, 2 piece chicken finger, quarter chicken and some healthy (looking) salads. Not to mention the many side options that come with it. For my lunch I decided to go with the 4 piece chicken fingers, a side of mac and cheese, and a glass of their home made iced tea and lemonade, which came out to around $19.00.

Once my name was called I was presented with a take out bag and my food in a biodegradable container, another great way to make me feel like this wasn’t just any take-out place.

The chicken looked perfectly cooked with just enough coating on it. It wasn’t taken over by bread crumbs or a brown layer of unrecognizable chicken (cough cough, Mcdonalds). The mac and cheese also had a nice golden brown layer of bread crumbs on top. Sadly, this is where my story falls flat. As a lover of mac and cheese (my second favourite food item after eggs Benedict) I have yet to find something that can rival my all time favourite  from Cafeteria in NYC. I’m not sure what it was about this dish that had me reaching for a packet of ketchup in my desk drawer but something wasn’t doing it for me. The cheese was more of a white cheddar soup then a creamy texture and the flavouring of the bread crumbs didn’t complement it at all.

The iced tea and mac and cheese

I moved on to the chicken and with my first bite I noticed how perfectly it was cooked. However, the breading just slipped right off and at some points I was eating the chicken on its own. To be honest there wasn’t that much of a difference with or without the coating because I felt like it was missing an important ingredient, SALT!

I am a big believer in second chances so I am not going to rule this place out completely but I am hoping my next visit will be a little tastier!

130 Spadina Ave (Spadina and Richmond)

http://www.thechickery.com/