Dealicious: Vittorio's on Avenue

The offer: $20 for $50 Worth of Lobster, Seafood and Fine Italian Cuisine from Vittorio's on Avenue in Yorkville

What I value in a good restaurant experience: convenient location, good service, pleasant atmosphere, reasonable prices and deliciousness (in no particular order - although tastiness is pretty key).

Location: Avenue and Davenport

This was a bit of a hike north of Bloor, but in normal weather conditions this isn't out of the way at all. The restaurant has recently relocated to Yorkville and is just a short walk north of Hazelton Lanes.

Service: Great service; very attentive staff

After switching tables twice, I was sure they were going to ignore us. But who puts armchairs (like office furniture) at a high table? We had to switch! Anyway, the waiters were all great, and various people kept coming by to fill up our water (rare!), pour the wine and clear plates regularly.

Atmosphere: Warm ambiance 

Upon arrival at 7pm, the dining room was dark with lots of candles around. The tables were quite close together, but it didn't seem to affect the overall dining experience - although it was somewhat difficult to fit everything onto the table. By mid-meal, a musician had begun serenading various tables with spanish-flamenco (??) type music.  Isn't this an Italian restaurant? Oh well. It was quite pleasant, although another patron seemed to be giving the guy a hard time about his performance. She was a cranky old bird, because we sang along when he came by our table and sang Brown Eyed Girl and various Enrique Iglesius (??) songs...

Prices: On the high side

The prices are typical of Yorkville, however quite reasonable given the quality and presentation of the food. I would certainly return for the prix-fixe menu in the future, and maybe even a full meal on another day if I didn't have a voucher; the vouchers make the prices a bit more tolerable.

Deliciousness: Exceeded my expectations.

Sometimes seafood is a bad choice, however I took a chance because this place seems to talk about seafood a lot on their website and in their specials menu. The appetizer included three amazing scallops, and my main was a half lobster stuffed with wild mushroom risotto. Yay! All selections were fantastic and very pretty! I should also mention that the rosemary and sea salt (I think?) bread was so amazing that we ordered a second one. The tiramisu was good, but not as amazing as the one at Grazie! :)

Overall value: Excellent! The deal came up again on Dealicious and I purchased three more vouchers. I'm also interested in the non-voucher deals, such as Date Night Tuesday - This looks like a tasty menu, so I'm excited to try it!

Recipe: Zucchini Fries

Who doesn't like cheese fries? Well they're bad for you, so it's best to avoid them. Alternatively, you may consider substituting zucchini. Yes, this is a certifiable cheat that I saw on Dr. Oz. 

Ingredients

Zucchini

Eggs

Finely grated parmesan

Spelt bread crumbs

General Method

• Cut zucchini into strips and blot dry
• Whisk egg and set aside
• Combine parmesan and bread crumbs 
• Dip zucchini in egg and quickly roll in cheese-crumb mixture
• Place strips onto a grease cookie sheet 
• Bake 10 mins at 425F; flip strips and bake for another 10 mins until crisp (not burnt)

Adapted from Dr.Oz

Comments:

• I forgot to blot the zucchini at first, so the egg wasn't sticking to it very well; this caused some of the crumb-mix to fall off rather quickly. Lesson learned.
• The egg mixture made the crumb-mix clumpy and quite difficult to work with towards the end of the process. I suggest dividing the parmesan-breadcrumb mixture into 2 portions to avoid having to use a lumpy mixture at the end. I simply added breadcrumbs to the mixture to dry up some of the egg batter.

Overall Recommendation:

• Generally good tasting, with a fun crunchy texture
• The baked zucchini doesn't keep well, so try to eat the whole batch at once. Use 1 zucchini instead of 2 for a more reasonable batch size.
• I liked this recipe, but not sure if I'd make it again in a hurry...it's a lot of work for a cheat, but distracting, time consuming activities may be part of the solution when avoiding a craving!

Recipe: Baked (not fried!) Meatballs

We've been talking about spaghetti and meatballs for some time. It just seemed like too much work. The problem is that most pre-packaged meatballs are disgusting. Yeah - disgusting! Random particles and rubbery bits...and overall poor flavour. Note: Even the Longo's brand meatballs aren't good - how is that possible?

Little known fact: I don't really know how to fry any food other than bacon. I burn that too. It became important to find a recipe that didn't involve any crisping, searing or initial frying. Who knew you could bake meatballs? Best idea ever.

After reviewing a few different recipes, including one from Chef at Home and some no-name Pasta book, it became apparent that there wasn't a perfect recipe available, so a few needed to be combined. Here are the results - these are not scientific.

Ingredients

Beef

Pork

EVOO

Leek

Parmesan Cheese

Egg

Garlic

Basil

Thyme

Oregano

Salt

Chili Powder

Spelt Bread Crumbs

General Method

• Combine all ingredients with 1/4 of the breadcrumbs
• Form the meatballs and roll in remaining breadcrumbs
• Place on a baking sheet
• Bake 20 mins at 400 F

Adapted from 3 other recipes

Comments:

• Try rolling some meatballs in breadcrumbs before baking and leave the rest plain - try them before deciding which you prefer
• The 1/2 pound of beef and pork yielded approximately 14 meatballs and quite a bit of wasted meat - will double up the recipe next time and freeze the extra meatballs
• Whisk the egg before adding it to the mixture 
• Using leeks instead of onion was a last minute sub, since there weren't any onions around (oops!) - it created a milder flavour considering the large volume of leeks that were used (you can see them!)
• My favourite herb right now - fresh thyme. Delicious...use it! All of the other herbs listed above were dried

with pasta, sauce and cheese

Overall Recommendation:

• Pretty quick if you've got everything you need
• The most time consuming part of this method is preparing all of the ingredients
• I served this up with the marinara sauce I posted previously. Note that for 14 meatballs a double batch of sauce would have been preferable!
• Since this recipe usually goes with spaghetti, I'm opting to defer making these again for a while... carby goodness.

Theatre: Live Action Shorts @ the TIFF Bell Lightbox

I was never really interested in film until a friend took me to TIFF last summer. We had tickets for a couple of international films, since the major premieres were either American or had weird ticket selling practices. Apparently it's not worth it to attend a North American premiere, because the films come to the theatres shortly after TIFF. The only bonus is to catch a glimpse of the red carpet and maybe see some celebrities... uhh I think it's worth it! I did try to get tickets for a couple of American premieres including one featuring Jennifer Garner, and another with Cory Monteith. hee! Anyway, I failed at both, because the tickets kept going "off-sale" when I was online so I eventually gave up. One of my friends did see James Franco at a film though... fun!

In more recent news, I attended the TIFF Lightbox screening of the Live Action Shorts nominated for Academy Awards. There was an option to see the animated shorts as well, but I wasn't as interested in those. Cartoons make me sleepy.

Well, of course we arrived late (blame the wine!), so didn't get the greatest seats which impacted my ability to read subtitles! Anyway, here's a brief review:

Pentecost (Ireland)

Synopsis

• Damian is forced to serve as an altar boy at an important mass in his local parish, and faces a difficult choice: conform to the status quo, or serve an extended ban from his life's passion - football. 

Rating in a few words

• 4 out of 5 
• Short, clever, hilarious and held my attention. Only somewhat visually appealing. 

Recommendation

• See it. 

Raju (Germany/India)

Synopsis

• A German couple travel to Kolkata to adopt an orphan boy and realize they are involved in child trafficking. 

Rating in a few words

• 3 out of 5 
• Long, serious and slightly shocking. Dull cinematography. I couldn't read the subtitles most of the time. 

Recommendation

• You may not enjoy it, but you should see it. 

The Shore (Ireland)

Synopsis

• A tale about an Irish immigrant who brings his daughter to Ireland to show her his place of birth where he ends up reunited with his former best friend. 

Rating in a few words

• 2 out of 5 
• Seemed funny and had beautiful scenery. Unfortunately it took too long to get going and I fell asleep. I heard is was a good one - I can't say. 

Recommendation

• Check it out at your own risk!

Time Freak (United States)

Synopsis

• A neurotic inventor creates a time machine and gets caught up travelling around yesterday 

Rating in a few words

• 2 out of 5 
• Mostly a reenactment of what a guy did as he repeated the previous days events over and over. Think Groundhog Day. Nothing groundbreaking here, yet mildly amusing. 

Recommendation

• It's short enough to spend time on it.

Tuba Atlantic (Norway)

Synopsis

• An elderly man has a week to live. A young girl keeps him company as he kills seagulls with various whacky inventions and blows on a giant horn. 

Rating in a few words

• 1 out of 5 
• Too long and mostly annoying. The dead seagulls were hilarious at first, however the dreary setting and unattractive actors make for a long look at the 7 stages of grief. 

Recommendation

• I probably missed the whole point of this film, but I hated it so much that I don't care. Skip it. 

Food: Tortilla Flats

Walking along Queen West, there was a delicious deep fried smell in the air... it was Tortilla Flats. Now, before you judge or read any (bad) online reviews, pause for a moment and read on. 

I don't generally guess my way through Toronto restaurants - I like to do some research before settling on a place. I'd never heard of Tortilla Flats before, and I don't remember ever having good tex-mex anywhere in Toronto.

Date visited: February 18th, 2011

There seemed to be a few groups inside, and they told us we could sit anywhere. A server quickly came by and asked us about drinks. He took a while to come back, but when he did, he apologized for the wait. Were we waiting? I didn't really even really think about it, but appreciated the apology anyway.

After a number of questions and requests for recommendations, I had a few thoughts...  I like reinforcement that I've made a good menu selection. I've ordered a lot of disgusting things from restaurants and been disappointed, and I wish someone had been honest enough to tell me I'd made a bad choice! For example, I really wanted the "Kitchen Sink Dip", because it seemed to have everything I could ever want in a tex-mex layered dip - refried beans, guacamole, salsa, chili, cheeses...the guy didn't really offer any feedback.

Tasty: Kitchen Sink Dip & Tortilla Chips

But when I asked for an entree suggestion because I was torn between Flautas and the Enchilada, he said the Flautas were horrible and to not order them! Okay...perfect. The enchilada was very fresh tasting and had acceptable chicken chunks. No objectionable chicken bits here... I could have done without the side of yellow rice though. I meant to omit that, but forgot. It wasn't bad, there was just too much food.

I also enjoyed a good margarita with crushed ice - not too sweet/sour and just the right amount of tequila. I wish it had been Margarita Thursday.

So, I must say the prices were reasonable, and the service was great. Again, I will say that most of the time I'm unimpressed with restaurant service in the city, and don't usually expect anything. When the experience is good, I'm pleasantly surprised and offer a good tip.

The food, tasty beverage and relaxed atmosphere all contributed to a lovely adventure in food...I would definitely return to this place, despite what you may read on Urban Spoon. It had a lot of bad reviews, but I'd give it another go. Until my next visit is a total bust, I stand by my recommendation!

Final thought: Eat there!

Recipe: Apple Pie

I like pie. People like pies. Especially apple pies.

I was pretty nervous about making my own pie crust at home for the first time. I was super paranoid about "tough" pastry, so I was really careful to not overwork it.

Ingredients

Pastry

Flour

Butter or shortening

Salt 

Brown Sugar

Water

Filling

Apples

Lemon

Sugar

Spices 

Butter

Corn Starch

General Method (Pie Crust - top and bottom) 

• Mix fat and flour
• Mix salt and sugar in water
• Combine and knead until dough comes together
• Allow dough to rest and divide
• Roll out bottom crust, fit into pie plate and egg wash 

General Method (Pie Filling)

• Core and peel apples 
• Coat with sugar, starch, spices and lemon
• Cover filling with top crust and cut a hole to release steam
• Water wash and sprinkle with sugar (or cinnamon sugar!)

Adapted from some other recipe

Comments:

• I prefer using butter over shortening in my dough, because it's generally more flavourful and not gross!
• I was worried about the crust thickness - too thick and it won't cook; too thin and it will rip apart during assembly. I didn't really have either of these problems
• Ideally, I would have liked to use Spartan apples, but couldn't find any. I used a combination of granny smith and honey crisp...
• Use modified corn starch (Clear Jel), not corn starch! They are not created equal. I ended up with a significant amount of liquid in the pie from the apples which didn't thicken adequately with regular corn starch. This changes the consistency of the bottom crust, which should be crisp and only slightly wet on the inside of the pie. 

Overall Recommendation:

• It was easier than I thought
• Try it! Next time I'll try strawberry and rhubarb... well, when it's summer and rhubarb is around again.

Longo's! What happened?

Take the Longo way home.

Usually I’m a huge supporter of Longo’s, the grocery chain that (usually) never fails to deliver the best produce and a wonderful shopping experience.

This weekend, I had one of my most disappointing experiences in a grocery store since I saw a mouse at the Metro. As a side note, that Metro has since been demolished in favour of a large Tridel Condo and a Whole Foods. Upgrade! Anyway, although Longo's is sometimes known for its astronomical pricing, their quality is exceptional. Guaranteed satisfaction…tasty stuff. Or so I thought.

I visited the Woodbridge Longo’s at Langstaff and Weston and was horrified at what I saw:

• Bruised apples
• Mushy peppers
• Funny looking broccoli
• Tired looking fruit / veggie trays
• Dry raspberries… and it just goes on…

I wish I’d taken photos of what I’d seen! I was so let down, that I even gave up on the idea of checking out the pastries in the bakery. I’d bet that those would have been gross too. Maybe that store doesn’t do very well, because the product appears to have been sitting out for ages and going bad. I don’t care – I just know that I would never go back. That location is ruining the Longo’s name!

In the end I didn’t do any of my main shopping there and am opting to order via Grocery Gateway instead (still Longo’s, but delivered to my door with a 100% satisfaction guarantee). If you want to go to a store, the following locations are definitely worth checking out:

• Oakville
• York Mills
• Market @ Yonge & Bloor

Go there! :)

Recipe: Spaghetti Squash vs. Pasta

I do love a good pasta, but what about all that white flour? Whole wheat is always an option, but I'd rather have the real stuff.


From there, I've moved onto spaghetti squash - is this a legitimate substitute for pasta? I'm not totally convinced. Here's what happened:


Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash
Tomatoes
Tomato paste
Onion
Garlic
Basil
Parsley
White wine
Black pepper
Chili powder
Mushrooms + other veggies + chicken etc.


General Method (Squash) 

• Pierce the squash a few times to release steam during baking
• Bake at 375F for approximately 1 hour or until tender
• Once slightly cool to touch, slice and remove seeds
• Scrape out flesh with a fork!

General Method (Marinara)

• Chop and puree tomatoes, paste and spices 
• Saute onion and garlic 
• Add puree and simmer with white wine 
• Season with extra black pepper and chili 
• Add vegetables and cooked chicken (optional!)

Adapted from some Clean Eating recipe

Comments:

• One hour is pretty long to wait for "pasta" - I recommend baking the squash in advance to save time
• I think one cup of squash is considered a serving - not very much! Consider adding some chicken or other protein (as a side or to the sauce)
• This is a pretty basic marinara that I make quite often - it's simple and pretty fool proof. I'm always interested in new recipes, if anyone has a suggestion, please let me know!
• I threw in random vegetables that I had, including zucchini - I probably won't do that again. It's difficult to add veggies without overcooking them. I added these last, so they were still firm by the time the sauce was done, but didn't contribute to overall flavour
• A note about dried mushrooms: the rehydration process is weird and takes 0.5 to 1 hour, but you get an interesting variety in the box. Hint - Hydrate mushrooms with some chicken stock, or alternatively, use fresh mushrooms!

Overall Recommendation:

• Try the squash if you're afraid of pasta 
• It's a nice light alternative, but isn't as comforting or tasty. I'd have it again with a more interesting (spicy!) sauce.

Mini-Rant: Loblaws is hiding beans.

Galen Weston Jr

Problem: Loblaws @ Yonge & Empress.

I walked up and down almost every aisle in search of canned kidney beans today. Sorry Galen - I love Loblaws, but this was a huge pain in the ass.

I'd like to know why all the canned goods are divided into so many categories among various aisles! Also, the hanging signage doesn't tell you what's in the aisle. Shouldn't the canned beans be with the canned lentils and / or canned vegetables?? Loblaws must be making up their own categories, because no one else merchandises this way.

My attempts: 

Canned Vegetables? No - diced tomatoes, carrots, peas, beets, string beans...

Mexican Products? No - refried beans, taco fixings...

Pasta and Rice? No - sidekicks, dry lentils, rice, pasta, pasta sauces, pizza sauces...

Soups? No - vertical soup dispensers, Chunky, Campbells...

Canned Meat? No - Zoodles, Beefaroni, canned lentils (??)...

I has a ton of groceries on my shoulder, and I was so angry by the time I walked up and down the aisles for the 3rd time that I just gave up.

Where the hell do they put the beans? Did I completely miss them? I decided to head to the check out minus any kidney beans and picked them up at Rabba on the way home. Anger. Back to Grocery Gateway.

Hair Products: Going Curly

I have been testing a few hair products this season, because I'm having static problems and can't be bothered straightening my hair all the time. I should note that my hair isn't really that curly, but kind of fine and has a bunch of waves if I don't straighten it with a round brush and hairdryer. My objective has been to find a product that I can apply to damp hair and scrunch to enhance the waves. By the time my hair is dry, I would like the waves to be somewhat defined and shiny.

Here are my thoughts on a few products that were recommended to me recently...

Brand: Bumble and Bumble
Product: Grooming Creme
Price: $30 at Sephora

• sticky, thick and difficult to apply to dry hair
• pleasant scent
• weighed straightened hair down, and didn't do anything useful for a wavy look 
• more of a finishing cream than a styling product
• final word: skip it - I returned it!

Brand: Bumble and Bumble
Product: Texture Hair (Un) Dressing Creme
Price: $30 at Sephora

• sticky, thick and difficult to apply to damp hair
• pleasant scent
• resulted in a wavy, dry, tousled look
• the look improved over time, without much effort 
• more of a finishing cream than a curling cream 
• final word: try it - I'm keeping it!

Brand: Bumble and Bumble
Product: Curl Conscious Defining Creme For Fine Curls
Price: $33 at Sephora

• lightweight and easy to apply to damp hair
• resulted in soft and somewhat defined curls without any effort
• did not result in a glossy finish
• final word: I tried a sample and will consider buying it
• note: for this price, I'm going to try a John Freida Frizz Ease gel first for $13 - apparently this stuff provides a glossy finish!

Brand: Living Proof
Product: No Frizz Wave, Curl Styling Cream
Price: $30 at Sephora

• lightweight and easy to apply to damp hair
• pleasant scent
• resulted in a dry, messy finish
• this product didn't do anything for me
• final word: skip it - I'm returning it!

Recipe: Baked Eggs

In the spirit of trying to find lean protein that isn't meat, I've gone back to egg whites. I've made these baked eggs almost every day this week, and they're definitely going to be one of my top breakfast recipes for 2012. The prep and bake time is a bit longer than I would like, but I'm not sure if there's a way to do the prep and/or baking in advance without sacrificing texture and freshness.

1 serving = 170 calories depending on how much turkey bacon you use...

20g protein, 4g fat, 14g carbohydrate 

Adapted from the Eat Clean Cookbook 2

Topping

Spelt bread crumbs

Ingredients
8 egg whites

Tomato

Chives

Turkey Bacon (nitrite free!)

Salt + Pepper

Basic Method

• Layer egg whites and other ingredients in 2 ramekins
• Season with salt and pepper
• Top with bread crumbs
• Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes

Comments:

• Consider adding other ingredients like mushrooms and cheese!
• I realized that the turkey bacon I bought is "mechanically separated" (not ideal) and also contains nitrites... I'm on a mission to find better quality turkey bacon
• The first time I made this, I scooped into the dish and the egg whites were still a bit runny in the middle so they went back into the oven - note that the eggs are cooked once they puff up pretty high in the ramekin
• I'm going to try making a bunch in advance and microwaving them in the morning - probably not as good, but I don't usually have half an hour to bake breakfast...

Overall Recommendation: Bake these for breakfast..snacks... whatever.

Recipe: French Breakfast Puffs

It's not exactly a great start to the new year, but I couldn't resist! I had all the ingredients, and who knew donuts could be baked in the oven? These fluffy treats taste like the Old Fashioned Sugar donuts at Tim Horton's - my personal favourite!

Adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe

Topping

Browned butter
Cinnamon + Sugar

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

Basic Method

• Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg
• Cream butter and sugar
• Add egg and vanilla
• Add flour mixture and milk until combined
• Spoon into muffin tins 
• Bake @ 350F for approximately 25 min or until the knife comes out clean
• Once cooled, dip in browned butter and roll in cinnamon sugar
• Serve warm!

Comments:

• I only had salted butter on hand, but I could definitely taste it, even though I omitted the 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the recipe - I'll try unsalted next time
• I might also consider adding an extra 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg in the dough
• The granulated sugar in the topping added a bit too much texture to the muffin top - I'll try icing sugar next time for a more delicate touch
• A mini muffin pan is a must - the standard 12 muffin tray produced muffins that were 2-3 bites instead of 1-2

Overall Recommendation: Bake these!

Food: Spacco Restaurant and Bar

We were actually hoping to get into Grazie, but as usual, there was a one hour wait. It usually doesn't take that long, and even it it does it's always worth the wait.

Nonetheless, it seemed like a good time to try out another place - preferably something Italian, or at least with some sort of pasta offering. My UrbanSpoon iPhone app told me that Spacco was in the area, and I remembered a daily Groupon offer that kept coming up this year. Note: There was no Groupon offer at the time, probably because it was Christmas week! 

Date visited: December 29th, 2011

The location is sort of hidden away behind Alleycatz on Yonge Street, so it's easy to miss. Despite the fact that it was 6-something in the evening, there didn't seem to be a line of any kind, and only one other set of people already dining. Red flag? The host that seated us was full of energy (but not too much energy!), and gave us a few seating options. We had some time to review the menu, and he quickly came by with wine recommendations. I wasn't planning to have a glass, but felt compelled to order one based on his suggestions. So far, so good!

After further review of the entrees, he came by again and provided further recommendations on the best pasta and risotto options. This helped narrow things down, and I was confident that I has chosen something I would like - Mushroom Pappardelle. No protein? So what? - it had truffle oil. Amazing. Sometimes pasta's suffer because the sauces are flavourless, or there isn't enough "stuff" in them. I was nervous about the olive oil, because that usually sucks. I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle flavours of the various mushrooms, which were complemented with just the right amount of truffle oil... no lack of flavour here.  

I was also glad that our server came by soon after a large party came in to ensure that our orders made it to the kitchen first. This kind of service warrants a good tip, in a city where pleasant dining experiences are few and far between. I would certainly recommend Spacco to a friend.

Based on the excellent service and quality food, I would definitely return to this place. I can't believe I've never been there before - it's worth a try!

Final thought: Eat there!