Jos Louis Ice Cream Sandwich

I swear these things used to be bigger...

I had asked Jo if she thought chunks of Jos Louis would taste good in ice cream, and she suggested Jos Louis ice cream sandwich...

It was everything I imagined it to be. :D 

CNE

Canadian National Exhibition

End of August means end of summer and two weeks of the Ex. For me, that means trying out whatever disgusting concoction of food combination they've come up with this year. The big craze this time was bacon, but I wasn't sold. The Bacon Nation offerings didn't seem that exciting to me, or maybe I just couldn't see the full menu. I decided for pulled pork business from Pull'd instead.

 The Jack'd ($13.56 after tax)

Pulled pork in between layers of red velvet pancakes... with a square of salted butter on top. It looked like something I'd make out of leftovers in rez. The pancakes were more orange than red, but surprisingly went okay with the meat. The meat wasn't all pulled apart, and could've used more sauce - Jack Daniel's sauce. The butter was good at moistening things up. It was kind of pricey and alright. 

 This is what it looked like after hacking.

We saw this sign that me and Renée found hilarious, but Jo didn't get it. 

Red Lobster

"There is no one of-woman-born who does not like Red Lobster cheddar biscuits." -Tina Fey

I think that pretty much says it all.

Renée was kind enough to share her take-out half dozen of biscuits (~$3) with me. They were warm, salty, and delicious. She insisted on eating one in the car before leaving the parking lot to make sure she got to enjoy a fresh one.

Milagro

Milagro (5 Mercer Street, Toronto)
416-850-2855
Hours:
Mon - Wed: 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Thurs, Fri: 11:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sat: 3 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun: 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Pitcher of sangria de pepino

This was very nice. I think we all enjoyed it. It's got citrus flavour with cucumber mellowness.

Chips and dip. Guacamole!

Jo with seafood ceviche and the pitcher.

Jo and the cantina platter of pork, lamb, and chicken, with refried beans and rice with plantains.

Soon after we sat down, we were offered samples of Dos Equis that they have on tap. Nice! We got the sangria and ceviche that came recommended by Jo. I was a fan of both. The cantina platter was more than enough for the three of us. I liked the lamb the best. I liked that the sauces tasted different, and the meats each had distinctive flavours. Renée wasn't too much a fan of the corn tortillas. They're slightly sweet and a bit chewy, but they did come out quite hot. Jo enjoyed herself and was content with sangria and ceviche happiness. Renée excused herself in the middle of the meal to upchuck, and we're not sure if that was from alcohol or the food. I was fine and Jo seemed fine, so maybe it was the alcohol for her. Jo also got the natilla cajeta (crème brûlée with goat's milk). It was quite sweet, and had a nice crispy top.

Would I return? Sure. The service was very friendly, the food was decent, but a little on the pricey side.   Jo likened it to paying for a fancy meal, but not exactly getting super elegant food.

Total damage: $57 for a cappuccino and my share of the platter, ceviche, and sangria.

Most

Most (5449 Yonge Street, Toronto)

Peach something something green tea.

Saw this place as I was walking by Yonge Street. It looked clean enough. There are wooden benches and tables, and a wide strip of chalk board around going around the room. My drink tasted decent enough. There was peach taste. And tea taste. And yet, I wasn't impressed overall. For one, my butt started hurting a few minutes after sitting down on those hard benches with no backing. The dessert selection seemed a little meagre and pricey. When Jo asked if the gelato on the menu was actually gelato (as opposed to ice cream), she was told that it was ice cream. 

Would I return? Well... my drink was a bit too pricey, my butt and back weren't comfortable, and there was nothing on the menu that looked super exciting. I'd say that my return would be most unlikely.

Total damage: something like $8 for my drink!

Viennetta

So, usually I post things that I eat. Here's what I'm NOT eating:

That's right. I'm not eating Viennetta because it isn't produced in Canada anymore. I've been craving this product for years, possibly over a decade now. I remember the smooth vanilla ice cream and the crisp, thin layers of chocolate. It was like ice cream lasagne. It was so pretty, and it had a fancy name to go with it. Oh, how I long for the days of Viennetta. Why did they take it away from me? WHY?

I heard they still sell it in the UK.

Waterloo beer

Waterloo Amber Seasonal Collection

Jo says I'm pro-Canadian beers. Maybe... or maybe that's just what's cheaper in Canada. :P

Anyways, saw this on the shelf, and decided to go for it, being my Canadian self.

I like that colour. So pretty. Tastes very flavourful. It's a bit bitter, but I like it. Smells... malt-y. It's marked as "strong beer" and at 6.8%, I guess it is. It's not exactly smooth, but I find it drinkable. That's the best description I can come up with right now... not everyone's going to like it, but I don't hate it.

Would I get it again? Sure, why not. I support Canadian products and this beer is okay by me. It would go well with spicy wings. Though in general, I remember liking their dark beer more. 

Total damage: $2-something + tax at your local LCBO. 

Muskoka Cream Ale

Muskoka Cream Ale

Smooth. So smooth. 

It's a little heavy, so I can't drink too much of it, but it's definitely smooth. Slightly sweet, goes down easy. It feels like a meal on its own though.

Would I get it again? I might. I feel that it tasted better from the bottle I had the first time around though.

Total damage: $2-something at the LCBO.

Kinton Ramen

Kinton Ramen (51 Baldwin Street, Toronto)

Hours: Mon - Sun: 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

647-748-8900

This place is pretty tiny and I've heard that it's always packed. We got there around 1 p.m. on a weekday, and the wait for our party of four was about 20 minutes. They don't take reservations. We ended up at a table in the back, sharing it with other customers.

Spicy garlic ramen with pork belly ($9.80)

There's a choice of pork belly or pork shoulder with each of their noodles. The slab of meat I got seemed dry at first bite, but it seemed okay afterwards... possibly because it soaked up the broth? I'm not sure. There was also the option of light, regular, or rich broth. I got the rich one because I enjoy intense flavour. The broth was good. It wasn't very spicy, but that small mound of garlic certainly delivered. The noodles were good consistency, and they had that bit of bounce that I like.

Bianca and Amanda each got a cheese ramen ($10.80).

It seemed very cheesy, but they noted that the cheese melted into large clumps that were a bit difficult to eat. 

Would I return? Yeah... when I have a lot of time... and don't want to talk to the people I'm with. There's all sorts of noise coming from the staff, similar to what you'd hear in Guu - you know, cheering, greeting, and the like. The environment makes it hard to hear anything else. The wait makes it hard for it to be a quick lunch. I liked what I ate, though. It should also be noted that they don't have air conditioning, but there are fans all over the restaurant. Oh, and their sawaa drinks are priced similarly to the bottled beers. Fair enough.

Chingu

Chingu (280 West Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill)

905-763-0620

Hours:

Mon - Thurs 11:30 a.m - 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Fri - Sun 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Josie had Korean barbecue cravings, so I suggested Chingu, remembering that their all-you-can-eat business included pork bone soup. 

Korean appetizers

Yay to glass noodles and the fish cake thingies. 

I like their pork bone soup, but Jo noted that she remembered it having more peppercorns and stuff last time. I still liked it. 

I spared the pictures of the raw meat, but on the regular AYCE option we got, there was fish, pork belly, pork in red sauce, beef, short ribs, squid, and I can't remember what else. It comes with lettuce, and chopped up lettuce with spicy seasoning. You're meant to wrap meat in the lettuce and shove the seasoned lettuce in that as well. Lettuce in lettuce still seems kind of weird to me. 

The deluxe AYCE menu that we didn't get included things like tofu soup, handmade dumplings, salmon, and I can't remember what else.

There's also ice cream at the end.

There's still at 15% automatic gratuity charge, but it's well deserved. Staff nonchalantly eyed us as we cooked, making sure that if the grill got too crusted up with black stuff, they would change it. 

Would I return? Yes. Their marinated beef is pretty awesome and I appreciate that it comes with lettuce.  I also like that they're actually Korean. I'm a fan of the pork bone soup as well. Also, chingu means friend. :D

Total damage: approximately $25. (It's cheaper than that by a few bucks on weekdays.)