A dose a' dosa ($7.99 plus tax) - Madras Masala @ 796 Bloor St West

At the beginning of March I moved into a new place about a block away from Christie Pitts Park. The location is phenom, and is smack dab in the midst of a (cheap) foodie's paradise. To my south there is Little Italy. To the northeast there is Korea Town. Northwest of me is what I like to call Little Ethiopia, given the number of Ethiopian joints that line Bloor near Ossington (a review of Ethiopian food is coming soon). And right across the street from me there is a quaint Portugese deli that sells amazing sandwiches for 5 bucks. It's safe to say I live in the culinary equivalent of the United Colours of Benetton.

Anyways, a while ago I was meandering down Bloor, past Christie Pitts, when I was slapped awake by the beautiful yet pungent smell of curry. I blindly followed my nose to a small South Indian restaurant called Madras Masala. Just to give you some context, I am of Indian descent and typically only get good Indian food when it is prepared by my mom who lives on the other side of the country in B.C. I can make a few dishes on my own, but nothing compares to Indian food cooked by someone who knows what they are doing. That said, I was waxing nostalgic and compelled to get me some home cookin'.

Madras Masala, as can be implied by its name by those who are geographically literate, is a South Indian restaurant. A staple of South Indian cuisine is a beautiful creation called masala dosa, which basically means "spicy pancake". Now, as gross as that sounds, I'm telling you it's really good. Would I steer you wrong?

So, on the menu there are a variety of dosa's you can get. I keep it simple and go for the Masala Dosa. The dosa itself is crepe like, and is comprised of rice flour, lentils, and fenugreek seeds (no clue what these are). It's fried and filled with a spiced mixture of potatoes and onions. It comes with two types of chutney you can dip it in - coconut and coriander. It's also served with a bowl of sambar, which is basically a tamarind flavored lentil soup.

The dish is vegetarian friendly which is nice. I also think it's probably fine for those who can't tolerate gluten given that its rice flour... but don't take my word for it, I don't want any hate mail if I am wrong.

What I am sure of is that you get a pretty good meal for a great deal - $7.99 plus tax. Both the taste and smell will linger for days. It's fantastic.

If you do pick-up you get an additional 10% off, but be sure to tell the guy you saw the deal on their website, otherwise he'll act like he doesn't know what you're talking about (insert Russel Peters joke here).

Thanks for reading and please come again!


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Back in action...soon

Hello semi-nonexistent reader base.

I haven't made a post in about 4 months. Such is the life of a grad student.

Life's been busy, and funny enough I've been frequenting cheap eats almost daily in an effort to save time and increase body fat percentage.

Anyhow, things have settled down a bit and I'm excited to get back into posting on my experiences.

This time however I'll be incorporating my growing interest in photography, and taking revealing pictures of the food to be consumed with my handy dSLR. This will save you the agony of trying to make sense of the grainy mishmash that comes out of my lowly 2 megapixel blackberry.

I'd also like to take suggestions. I now have a TTC pass and am willing to commute anywhere in Toronto if you make a good case for the establishment. Comment on my posts or send me an email by clicking on the "requests" link on the right.

Stay tuned ;)

It's that damn Duff's. It's so hot right now ($6.75 plus tax) - Duff's Famous WIngs @ 558 College St.

I thought I'd redeem myself after my post about salad, so I ate 5 chickens worth of wings.

On Tuesday nights, Duff's sells 10 wings for $6.75 with the purchase of a beverage. Now these aren't any puny, brag to your friends that you can eat 37 wings, chicken wings. These are some hefty mo-fos, and are borderline drum sticks. I can barely finish one order, so I'd recommend you start with that, and then build upon it if your gut can handle it


There isn't an assortment of flavours. Duff's keeps it simple with hawt sawce (emphasize the "w"), and some variations of bbq and honey garlic. Their hawt sawce is rated on a scale of mild to armaggedon. Each rating corresponds to an SHU (Scoville Heat Unit). I think mild is about 5000 and armageddon is about 80 000. The numbers mean nothing to me, but it gives you some idea of how hot it can get. I'm guessing if the hottest rating is named after the apolcolypic battle with Satan, it must be pretty damn hot.

I always go with the medium. Its spicy enough to make you sweat a bit, without damaging your insides. The wings are also served with celery and your choice of dip (blue cheese is the best). The fresh, crisp celery is a nice complement to the hot wings, and also tricks you into thinking you're eating somewhat of a balanced meal.

All in all, the wings are amazing, and probably the best hot wings I've had. It can get busy on Tuesday nights, but it's definitely worth the wait.


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Tasty Bird Feed ($8.50 plus tax) - Urban Herbivore @ 64 Oxford Street

Merriam-Webster defines hippie as: a usually young person who rejects the mores of established society (as by dressing unconventionally or favoring communal living) and advocates a nonviolent ethic; broadly : a long-haired unconventionally dressed young person.

That sure as hell kills my dream of being a hippie. I get my haircut at least once a month and I'm about as conventionally dressed as a Gap commercial. But sometimes, I'll light incense and eat organic alfalfa sprout sandwiches while I read the works of Eckhart Tolle. So maybe I'm a semi-hippie... or perhaps a sippie.

The old saying goes, "you are what you eat". A trip to Urban Herbivore will have you reevaluating your stance on tie-dye. This place is like, far out, man. They have a nice selection of salads, sandwiches, grain bowls, and juices.

I went for the grain bowl. You can choose your favorite grain as the base. I didn't know what spelt was, and I've had quinoa once before, so I made the safe decision of the quinoa-red lentil mix. You then can choose 6 toppings. They have a fresh and flavourful array of choices. In my case I chose barbecued tofu, roasted yams, green beans, red onions, beets, and roasted red peppers. The grain bowl was delish. It's a fresh and wholesome way to satisfy your senses that doesn't involve things with legs.
The grain bowl costs 8.50 plus tax, and is well worth it. I thought I had a huge appetite, and I could only finish half, leaving me with another meal for later.

I'd recommend the bbq tofu as a definite topping. Its the closest thing to meat for those of you who need that. And with that, I'll leave you with a corny joke:

Why did the tofu cross the road?
To prove he wasn't chicken.


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Mmmm Smokey Beef ($11 plus tax) - Caplansky's @ 356 College St.

Kensington Market is considered Toronto's cultural centre; an eclectic mish-mash of Vietnamese, Jamaican, Chinese and European establishments, to name a few. A short stroll through the bustling marketplace will open your eyes to the wonderful co-existence of a variety of cultures. What many people do not know is that Kensington Market actually used to be called the Jewish Market. It was founded in the early 1900's by European Jewish immigrants. Over time the market was settled by other immigrants, and the Jewish community slowly moved into other parts of Toronto.

Today, Caplansky's Delicatessen has a presence in the market thats about as strong as its horseradish mustard, which packs a mean punch. Caplansky's is a Jewish Deli that is famous for its smoked meat sandwiches, amongst other Jewish fare. The smoked meat is phenomenal. You can choose medium or fatty. As you would anticipate, fatty is... well fatty and juicy. I decided on the medium, and was quite pleased with my choice. The meat is cut into thick juicy pieces, and is nicely marbled. The brisket used for the smoked meat is rubbed with spices, cured for up to three weeks, and then hardwood smoked, resulting in a tender and flavourful cut of beef. It is presentled simply on rye, and you can apply whichever mustard you fancy: horseradish, garlic honey, deli, or plain. I went with all of the above and it was quite enjoyable. For $11 you can get the 7 oz. sandwich and a side of either salad, fries, poutine, or soup. The poutine looked amazing, but I did my coronary artery a favour and went with the salad.

Having grown up in Montreal, I've had my fair share of highly acclaimed smoked meat from places like Chenoy's and Schwarz's Deli. Montrealers are almost snobs when it comes to their city's famous dish. I know Montreal Smoked Meat has a nicer ring to it than Toronto Smoked Meat, but I think Caplansky's has the potential to give Montreal a run for its money.


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I Saw the Swine (4$ plus tax) - Kom Jug Yuen @ 371 Spadina Ave.

Don't come near me because I think I have swine fever! Fever for the tantalizing barbecued pork at Kom Jug Yuen that is.

A friend mentioned seeing a pink neon construction paper sign outside of a quaint Chinese restaurant on Spadina that read: "Best BBQ Pork in North America -4$". Well, I didn't believe him, so I decided to go and see the sign. I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes, I saw the swine.

Upon entering this unassuming, small Chinese restaurant you are most likely going to start making some assumptions. Well don't. Because you don't know anything, and even if you did it wouldn't stop me, or anyone else who's tried the bbq pork here from going back.

The walls are lined with pictures of dishes they serve as well as neon construction paper signs (similar to the one that first caught my friend's attention) that list prices for restaurant specials. The decor is... interesting. My favorite work of art is the painting of the flying ponies. But, I digress.

Back to the topic of interest. Promptly after you are seated, one of the friendly staff at the restaurant will bring you a complementary bowl of soup and some hot tea. The soup is fairly simple; it consists of a nice broth, some potatoes, carrots, and on some occasions, what I am guessing is pork. It does a great job of whetting the appetite for the bounty to come. If this is your first visit to Kom Jug Yuen, I would definitely recommend the dish they claim is the best in North America.

For 4$ (yes 4$!) you get a plate of steamed rice, topped with a generous amount of bbq pork, along with some steamed greens. My goodness the pork... It is so so tasty. It is amazingly moist and flavourful. The seasoning they use finds its way to the centre of every morsel. The best part has to be the glaze. It is sweet, yet savoury, and a perfect red hue. With your serving, you're likely to get some end pieces. Consider them the "red smarties" of your meal. Save them until the end and then relish in their chewy, candied, perfection. I think I'm salivating as I write this and I just had the stuff less than two hours ago. The meal is topped off with some fresh orange slices and a fortune cookie. Recap: Tea, Soup, BBQ Pork/Rice/Greens, Orange Slices, Fortune Cookie. $4.

I have no idea how the meal is only 4 bucks. It blows my mind. If I was to buy the pork and cook it myself I doubt it would be any cheaper, and nowhere nearly as good. I'd just end up with a sticky kitchen.

Amongst the media frenzy of swine flu news, I've read articles on how the present swine flu epidemic is causing pork prices to plummet because of the mass ignorance and lack of awareness in the general population. People think that they can get swine flu from pork and thus aren't buying it. Call me a twisted optimist, but maybe there is an upside to this whole "end of the world" flu thing. As long as these dummies think they'll get the swine flu from spareribs there will be $4 bbq pork at Kom Jug Yuen. Go get it before this all dies down.


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Something like a Pho-nomenon (7$ plus tax) - Pho Hung @ 350 Spadina Ave.

Pho - Some speculate that the name comes from the French word feu (fire), as in the dish pot-au-feu, which similarly to pho uses the French method of adding charred o­nion to the broth which enhances both colour and flavour. Some people believe the origin of the word to be the Chinese currency fen.

Fen or feu, this delicious Vietnamese dish has kept me coming back to Pho Hung for at least a weekly visit. I've sampled from the menu, ordering the likes of Bun cha (vermicelli noodles, grilled pork and some spring rolls), and a variety of Pho bowls, and I think I've finally decided on my fave meal.

Number 2 on the menu, Pho with rare beef, is a simple dish in complicated times. Comprised of a sizable serving of thinly sliced rare beef, al dente vermicelli noodles, and a perfectly seasoned broth, this bowl of goodness is definitely a soup that eats like a meal.

You also have the option to deck your pho out with crispy bean sprouts and fresh basil. Last but not least, if you fancy your pho a little spicier, douse it with the readily available sriracha and hoi-sin sauce each table comes equipped with. I don't like to talk politics, but when it comes to sriracha, I'm liberal.

Just when you think things couldn't get any better you get the bill - 7$ plus tax.

I never really agree with most ratings so I'll spare you the ambiguity. I won't be using ratings on this blog. If I'm writing about it, it means that I think it's good. Check out Pho Hung and see for yourself, I think you'll enjoy.


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