I was taking my sister for a belated birthday dinner and of the three places I suggested (why it is always MY choice!) she thought she’d like to try Banu (777 Queen West), I hadn’t been for years but I’d been often with a good friend and liked the menu and atmosphere.
Banu hasn’t changed a bit, except for the handmade political sign at the window and, although I’d reserved a seat, there was only one other table with people seated. The service hasn’t changed at all either - cheerful, helpful and attentive. We had a good long chat with the chef and with the host.
It was my sis’s birthday so she got to choose the items. None were what I was used to ordering and she had her dairy sensitivities to consider, so it took a very long time to make our choices.
We went with a beet salad (basically six big chunks of beet with some micro leaves, which I almost forgot to photograph) $14, beef side ribs $19, and Okra and eggplant stew $21. The latter came with a very large platter of saffron rice. All were nice, my favourite being the ribs. Nothing rocked my world but it was a pleasant outing.
We had a small pastry each at Sud Forno.
