Takeout and Delivery in [Toronto]

@elvisahmed I’m wondering if you were served bigfin reef squid (aori ika). They’re tougher but tastier than the normal ika. I recently saw a couple of places with this on special. The chef’s skills is the key factor in how tough it is but it will never be as tender as the normal sushi squid.

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Yeah I wouldn’t know first I thought they didn’t remove the hard cartilage as haven’t had Ika like this before.

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Imagine the person (me) who asked why such an expensive squid was tough and got schooled by the chef. :rofl: But if was not noticeably sweeter than normal ika, it’s probably not aori ika.

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Lomo Saltado ($29) from Pisac Peruvian on Dupont. I haven’t had this too many times at other restaurants, so I can’t really compare it to other versions, but I liked it.

The Papa al la Huancaina was okay, but I wouldn’t order that again from this restaurant. I won’t bother posting a photo.

I will return to try some other main dishes in a few months. I ordered pick-up through Ritual.

https://pisacbistro.wixsite.com/mysite

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Had this on the list for a while A la turk chicken filet and Adana kebab delivered via UberEATS



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I was in the mood for Mediterranean/ Greek or Middle Eastern food last night, something I could pick up on Bloor or Dupont, between The Junction and The Annex.

Contemplated Bar Neon, but the menu is fairly limited. I wanted chicken or a vegetarian main.

I decided to order from Fet Zun, a spot I’ve visited around 4 or 5 times. Last time I ordered the sabich platter, in the fall of 2020, the kitchen forgot the Schug and Tahini.

Last night, the kitchen remembered the Schug and Tahini, but forgot the garlic tomatoes, the hard boiled egg, the olives and the pickles on my Crispy Eggplant Platter ($29 before tax and tip)

Busy place. It was packed .

I guess I will be heading to Jerusalem, Tabule, Aish or Dr Laffa for take-out from now on, when I want an eggplant tahini egg garlic tomato fix.

I used to visit Little Sito on Bloor. Little Sito uses too much salt for me, as do Byblos and Me Va Me, so I stopped getting takeout from them.

I enjoyed take-out from Silk Road Kabob on Bay, which @elvisahmed recommended last year, and I should revisit soon. https://join.ritual.co/menu/silk-road-kabob-house-bay-hayter-toronto/3b63

Aish’s Sabich Platter $22

Dr Laffa Sabich Platter $22.99

Jerusalem: recommend the garlic tomatoes ($8) and fried eggplant ($8)

Tabule: good garlic tomatoes and fried eggplant

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We finally crossed North Pole Bakery off our list. It is primarily a bakery with a small hot table at Greenwood and Danforth. It has been there for about 50 years. We knew that Suresh Doss gave it the thumbs up and Rob Gentile loves there cannoli. During the week, there is usually a pasta dish of some sort, but on the weekend not (at least yesterday). So we tried the following:


Softball-sized arancini. Lovely cheesy rice, with a ground meat centre and a light sweet tomato sauce over top.


Veal sandwich. Tender fried cutlets, stewed peppers, onions, and eggplant, same tasty tomato sauce, on a crusty roll. Very good. Would need to compare to other versions as we haven’t had any recently.


Meatball sandwich. Finely ground and well-flavoured meat with the same accompaniments. Also very good.


Cannoli. Light, crispy-crumbly pastry with a light, not-to-sweet ricotta filling. Classic.

So all-in-all, very good and a nice option in our neighbourhood. Not sure they are worth trekking across the city for, but if you are in the area, might be a fine pit-stop for a cheap and tasty lunch.

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North Pole will have both baked and fried Zeppole di San Giuseppe the week before St Joseph’s Day (March 19).

My last visit with a friend before the initial lockdown took place on March 13, 2020, and I had stopped at North Pole specifically to purchase the Zeppole di San Giuseppe. I posted about it on Chowhound, but not on HO.

My friend took a photo of the Zeppole from North Pole. I think we liked the fried version a little more.

image

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Good to know. We got introduced to Zeppole di San Giuseppe through Forno Cultura and are now hooked.

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Tried a shish tawook wrap from Askadenya on Queen a couple blocks west of
University Ave. It’s halal. Very slow. No one was ahead of me in line to order , and it was 1:35 pm on a Sunday afternoon. It took 18 minutes for the wrap. I was in a rush, and should have just grabbed a hot dog or snacks at Rexall instead, in retrospect. After I ordered, I noticed a sign that says their food might take a while to make.

There was a generous amount of chicken breast, probably close to 5 ounces, and some fries, garlic sauce and red cabbage were inside the wrap. I don’t think I will go back. Too slow and not that great. It seems like all the shawarma/doner places I’ve tried on that stretch of Queen between University and Spadina are overpriced, although large portions and generally meh (Askadenya, German Doner Kebab and Me Va Me)

Nice packaging, though. They do a lot of orders through DoorDash et al.

I also picked up some mushroom soup from Country Style Hungarian tonight. It’s a broth-based soup with paprika and carrots ($6.95) Tried the noodles & cabbage, which were okay- generous portion- rustic home cooking, probably more of a comfort food for some than others ($17.95, includes marinated beet or cabbage salad).

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Tried the kibo secret garden seafood Udon at that price point skip imo and Raku instead. Didn’t feel like sushi so picked up the soup I guess stick to their forte :relaxed:

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How much did that run you? The website says $25, but that’s not covering delivery. Was it the flavour or the presentation that didn’t work out for you? It’s hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like a few items would have been better off submerged in the broth.

Why is your Zeppole staring at me?

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It was 26$ on UberEATS though I did a pickup as live nearby. Broth was ok but I think a below 20$ price point would have helped. The broth reminded me of one that’s made from concentrate and the Udon noodles serving though decent portion nothing to write home about. I would pick Raku over these if getting a delivery.

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Ordered the Tokyo hot fried chicken Nashville style again today. Oh boy this always hits the spot. Good stuff

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Since we are still not doing indoor dining for the most part, we grabbed haddock burritos from Burrito Boyz before the opera. It’s still a tasty package overall. The fish was nicely fried and moist, though needed a bit of salt. The many condiments added flavour and texture. Maybe not as great as days long ago, but still enjoyable.

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I think I only went once, around 2006. I went through a fish taco phase for a good 3 or 4 years, and had a running list for both Toronto and New York at one point.

I was trying to figure out where I will get take-out before my next opera. If I have time, I might try the croque at Bicyclette.

If I’m in a rush, I’ll probably get take-out from The Oxley or Eataly, and eat the take-out at home before heading to the opera.

Other than the Oxley and Kibo Secret Garden, does anyone have take-out they think is worthwhile in Yorkville these days? The momo place on Bay is decent. I haven’t tried to many other places in Yorkville over the past year.

I guess Alo Bar is an option.

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I would recommend Bhoj (technically Yorkville) I enjoy their BBQ items and Biryani not sure its Opera worthy food though :slight_smile: Nervosa?
Also Souvla by Mamakas has pop up on Scollard and Hazelton (an odd area as there aren’t any restaurants I can think of on that side of Scollard) I was hoping to try but a friend gave poor feedback. Oh Miznon opened as well and they keep selling out!


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Scollard Variety used to serve breakfast and souvlaki. Is Mamakas at the Scollard Variety site? Scollard Variety had been owned by a Greek couple. Haven’t been since 2019, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it closed over the past 3 years.

I used to work in a gallery on Scollard a long time ago.

Thanks for mentioning Souvla, and thanks for your other recs.

Have you tried Sofia? The brunch looks good to me. It reminds me of Buca’s brunch 4-6 years ago. https://sofiayorkville.com/menus/.

I noticed Miznon. 4.8 rating on Google, which is not common!

I will have to try Bhoj at some point. Thanks for the reminder!

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I am not a fan of the restaurants by CK so tend to avoid them. Brunch I enjoy Clay in Yorkville and for splurge Cafe Boulud prix fix on the weekend.
Planta is OK I guess.
Aiming to try the Mamakas Prix Fix brunch over the weekend lets see as enjoy their food.

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