Mabel's

Mabel's is a quaint bakery in Toronto that serves up tasty baked treats, breads, sandwiches and more. The atmosphere is welcoming and the food is fresh and flavourful. On my most recent visit, I ordered a Muffaletta sandwich (with various meats and cheeses).

The bread for this sandwich was so fresh. It was soft on the inner areas but had a nice crunchy crust which I love.

I have been told that Mabel's has excellent cupcakes...so I tried one. This is a carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting. It was moist and sweet; everything a cupcake should be.

I enjoy Mabel's. I'll definitely be back to try more baked treats,

Happy Eating! 

Homemade Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

I recently made Goat Cheese stuffed Chicken Breasts that were really tasty. I thought I'd share the recipe!

Ingredients:

5 medium sized boneless and skinless chicken breasts (6 oz each)

8 oz of Goat Cheese

half cup of roasted red peppers

handful of chopped basil

handful of chopped parsley

1 oz cream cheese

half cup of white wine

Salt and Pepper

 For stuffing – Mix the goat cheese, roasted red peppers, basil, parsley and cream cheese in a bowl.

 Lightly Salt the chicken, and cut slits to open each breast

Stuff each chicken breast. Scoop the stuffing in the chicken breast (where you made the slit). Put a good amount in each. Use toothpicks to secure the chicken breast together, so the stuffing doesn’t ooze out.

Put chicken in a pan, and sear on each side till nice and brown in colour.

Transfer chicken to a baking dish. Add a dash of white wine to the pan (the pan you were just using for the chicken…it has delicious flavor from browned pan drippings) to deglaze. Pour the reduced wine over the chicken breast and put into the oven for 25 minutes at 375 degrees

 Delicious finished Product:

 Inside view

This goat cheese stuffed chicken recipe is truly delicious! The tanginess from the goat cheese, with the subtle juicy chicken is scrumptious. Give it a try :)

Happy Eating!

Kotta Sushi

Kotta Sushi is a Japanese restaurant located at King and Dufferin (my hood). I came here with a friend a while ago  because it is so close to where I live..how could I NOT try it? ...Sadly, it was a very disappointing meal. Although the decor was nice, and service was friendly...the food missed the mark by a long shot. Heres what we ordered:

 Seaweed Salad

 Spicy Tuna Roll, Spicy Crab Roll, and Unagi Roll. The Unagi was the most enjoyable.

Close up of the tuna roll. The roll was tasted soooo fishy (in a bad way). The tuna was chopped so finely I could barely see it.

 Close up of the Salmon Roll. Again, the salmon was chopped a little too finely for my liking. The overall flavour was just ...meh.

Gyoza (these were actually tasty) 

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with Kotta Sushi. The food wasn't very good. Simple as that.

Happy Eating! (not here)

Caplansky's Deli

I love smoked meat sandwiches. So what better place to grab one than Caplansky's Delicatessen? Caplansky's, located at College and Brunswick Ave, is a well known deli that serves up excellent smoked meat. Owner Zane Caplansky has recently been featured on TV's Dragon Den to promote his Caplansky's food truck idea. Food truck or sit in restaurant, Caplansky's does their food right. Heres what I had on my last visit. 

Matzo Ball soup. I loved the flavour of the Matzo ball. The broth was soothing and the celery added a nice crunch for texture.

Deep Fried Pickles. I am a sucker for deep fried pickles. If they are on a menu, I usually can't help but order them. These were tasty. The batter was thick and crispy. The ranch dipping sauce was a perfect pair.

Latkes with apple sauce. The apple sauce added the right balance that these Latkes needed. They were good, but I found them a little too peppery.

Caplansky's famous smoked meat sandwich. This is what this restaurant is known for. I loved it. 

The meat was tender and full of flavour, the bread was perfect. I added a little mustard to mine, which completed the sandwich. mmmmmmm...

If you want smoked meat, go to Caplansky's. You won't be disappointed!

http://caplanskys.com/

Happy Eating!

Food Video

This video is a bit ridiculous. But I found it entertaining, so I thought I'd share it! 

...imagine food ACTUALLY came alive when we closed the fridge! hehehe

Happy Eating!

Hot 'N Dog

I have been weirdly really craving a hot dog..... So I decided to check out Hot 'N Dog in Parkdale.

This small take out joint is all about the experience of dressing up your hot dog with TONS of traditional or wacky ingredients. There are over 60 different toppings to chose from. From whipped cream, to cheese whiz, to ritz crackers, Hot 'N Dog doesn't fail to give variety. Once you pay for your dog, you can get unlimited amount of toppings...for free! 

My sister and I got 2 hot dogs for the low price of 5 bucks. We decided to be a little adventurous with our topping choices. The first dog had crispy onions, coleslaw, chipotle sauce and a little garlic mayonnaise. 

The second dog was topped with hickory sticks, bacon bits and garlic mayonnaise. 

This is the poutine with added ketchup. 

Okay, overall....the hot dogs were OK..nothing amazing. Maybe the combinations we chose just weren't the best. If I come back, I would definitely try a different combo for the dogs. I found the bread was not the best quality. It tasted like it was not very fresh. The poutine was very disappointing. Not a great poutine by any standards. They didn't use cheese curds, just grated mozzarella..and there was not enough gravy. I wouldn't order it again. On a different note, it's enjoyable to have fun with your food, and have the option to decorate a hot dog with whatever you could possibly want. 

Happy Eating!

Banh Mi Boys

Banh Mi Boys is a delicious Vietnamese sandwich house, with some traditional and modern spins on the classic Banh Mi Sandwich. This restaurant is fairly small and has only a handful of tables to dine at. There is usually a line up of people, waiting to get their hands on some of this tasty food! I like the vibe of the restaurant; it is a casual dining experience, and upbeat music is always playing.

 This is the grilled pork bank mi sandwich. 

It was very flavourful. The meat was perfectly cooked and very moist. The lightness of the carrots and cilantro balanced out the flavour from the meat. 

This is the braised beef cheek banh mi sandwich. This was my favourite. The meat was melt in your mouth and had rich flavour. The baguette for this sandwich (and the grilled pork sandwich) was light and fresh. I was wanting a bit more cilantro on this sandwich, but overall it was great.

Kimchi Fries. These fries were topped with pulled pork, kimchi and mayo. It was honestly so tasty. I loved every bite. mmmmmmm..so good.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Banh Mi boys. The sandwiches were great. The fries were great. The atmosphere was welcoming and relaxed, and the prices were right! If you haven't checked out this restaurant before, I recommend giving it a try. 

http://www.banhmiboys.com/

Happy Eating!