Continuing my search for good grub in Toronto, we decided to try Scaddabush, on my sister’s recommendation. Apparently, it is well known for its stuffed meatballs. Somebody was hungry post half marathon so we were looking for something substantial. Hubby helped himself to the spaghetti bolognese. I went straight for the stuffed meatball. The meatball was the size of a baseball and stuffed with pepperoni and mozzarella. Their pasta is also fresh made in house. It was pretty good; the portions are deceiving filling. The tartufo made for a lighter finish to the meal.
Spaghetti and stuffed meatballTartufo with strawberries and cream
Hubby and I happened to be in the deep south of town Monday night. On our way home, we were looking for a place for dinner. We decided on San Remo, conveniently located off the Deerfoot in McKenzie Rowne. It was also $10 pasta night, so their usual menu of five pastas blossomed into twelve. It’s good value as the pastas are half or more off the usual price.
Hubby and I shared the prosciutto and melon appetizer. They were nice enough to split it into two servings for us. It looked beautiful and tasted just as good. Hubby ordered the braised beef short rib. He really enjoyed it.
I ordered the lasagna for my main. The portion size looked small but it was surprisingly filling. It had a nice, rich flavour. The service was prompt and fast, but not rushed. I had a good experience here and would return if it wasn’t so far from where I live.
Prosciutto & Melon Thinly sliced prosciutto & cantaloupe, lemon, mascarpone, truffle cream.Lasagna House made pasta layered high with meat, tomato and cream sauces, topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, then oven baked.
I’ve always wanted to try making pizza on the grill. I just needed an excuse to do it. Today is the day, a beautiful bluebird 27C day and a preference not to turn on the oven.
I defrosted the leftovers from my last pizza party – one piece of dough, caramelized onions and tandoori chicken. Prep the chicken, onions, and mayo before grilling.
Tandoori Chicken
This recipe is adapted from the book Simply More Indian by Tahera Rawji. It is actually part of the butter chicken recipe, but I omitted the sauce ingredients and adapted the instructions.
2 lb boneless chicken pieces
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tbs tandoori powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbs ghee or oil
1/4 C crispy fried onions (buy at an Indian grocer)
1 C warm water
Cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes. Combine the ginger and garlic pastes, chili powder, tumeric, tandoori powder and salt. Toss this mixture with the chicken in a plastic bag and let sit for 30 minutes in the fridge.
In a large, deep, saucepan (dutch oven works well), melt the ghee over medium high heat. Add the crispy fried onions and the chicken. Saute the chicken until browned, about 5-8 minutes. Add the warm water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Let the chicken cool, and pour into a strainer to remove any excess liquid. This will make more than enough for one pizza. I suggest freezing the remainder.
Caramelized Onions
I love caramelized onions and usually double or triple the recipe to save for other uses.
Slice a large yellow onion into 1/2 inch rings. In a heavy bottomed pan, (Dutch oven is great), heat 1/4C oil suitable for high heat such as ghee or grapeseed oil. Saute the onions on medium until they turn golden brown. This may take at least 20 minutes. Take off heat and cool.
Mango Chutney
I cheated and used some store bough Patak’s chutney. I used about 1/2 the 250 ml jar.
Mix all three ingredients together. The colour should be a slight tinge of yellow. Add more curry powder to taste.
Pizza Dough
Use whichever pizza dough recipe suits your fancy. I froze my dough before proofing, so I let it sit on the counter in a large zipper bag for an hour.
I stretched it out, and it was round when it hit the cookie sheet. I basted olive oil on the top and tried to pick it up and put it on the grill. Unfortunately, it stretched and turned into sort of an oval. The temp was less than 500F but I had to reduce the cooking time as it was already starting to brown. The olive oil and the grill marks make for a satisfyingly crisp crust. Next time I will just do flatbreads using the pizza crust. So good! Or maybe naan…
Back to the recipe. After the first flip, I slathered on the chutney, followed by the chicken, and then the caramelized onions. Do not put on the mayo!
I followed the instructions from The Kitchn for grilling.
After taking it off the grill and cutting for serving, top off with the curry mayo to your own taste. Delicious!
Tandoori chicken pizza on the grillServed with curry mayo
I like a little fusion with my Italian; it keeps things interesting. On a Thursday night, the place was just about empty. Given that, parking was still a challenge. Avoid the $15 Stampede lots south of the restaurant. Instead, as advertised on their webpage, try NW of the location around 10th Ave. We parked just down the street from Village Ice Cream. Convenient dessert.
I like the decor. It is in an historical building, called the Dafoe Terrace, built in 1910. The interior is cozy with a modern touch.
I started with the minestrone. It came out piping hot. I had to give it a moment to cool before I wet my whistle. It was fresh tasting and had a rich tomato flavor. I ordered the Nero linguine for my main. I was surprised that the pasta was made from squid ink. It was piping hot like the previous dish and delightful. The seafood was cooked to a turn; the scallops and prawns were still juicy. Hubby enjoyed his gnocchi.
The service was top notch and quick. Definitely worth a return visit.
NERO LINGUINI scallops, prawns, mussels, tomato, onion, garlic, basil, tomato sauceGNOCCHI house made ricotta and potato gnocchi, double smoked bacon, red onion, tomato, basil, red chili, tomato sauce
We decided to go to Vero after seeing the lineup out the door at Lido Cafe last weekend. It’s been on my wishlist for some time; and I’m glad that I’ve finally gotten around to visiting.
By mistake, we were given the dinner menus to order from. Our server sort of did a double take on our order, when she realized we had the wrong menus. I ordered a glass of their freshly squeezed orange juice. I settle on the eggs benny with burger. The bread was a crisp brioche that paired well with the veal meatballs and runny vita egg. I like my eggs orange and full of omega-3s. Hubby enjoyed his Vero Traditional. I had my eye on that as well, but decided we shouldn’t have the same dish.
The food is interesting; as they advertise it, a fusion of French and Italian. They source from local suppliers as well. The service was pleasant and not obtrusive. It is a combination that works well for them.
Eggs Benedict with Burger and BalsamicVero Traditional
When a friend setup a night out at Cerezo with a Chef’s tasting menu, I could not resist. I know I was only there a couple of months ago, but a change in season brings a new menu. Our party of nine took up half the restaurant, and we were awarded a private event sign at the back entrance. I feel special. An ironic thing that happened was that two of our party turned themselves away when they saw the sign, thinking the restaurant was booked for someone else. Ah, what they missed.
We had a twelve course menu with a palate cleanser. I felt this dining experience was definitely elevated compared to the first time I was here. The fusion of Japanese and other international flavours was apparent. I enjoyed the texture of the scallop ceviche – it was sliced paper thin. The prawn wrapped prosciutto was a nice diversion from the lighter fare we had to start. The crab cakes were delicious and swam in the puddles of Hollandaise. I though the meal was heavy on the beef, with three dishes. But then again, this is Alberta.
We had an endless debate on what was in the beef panini. We settled on the flavors of dark sweet soy and possibly five spice. It’s good when a dish spurs debate. The yuzu mimosa served as a palate cleanser and offered quite a hit of alcohol. It did surprise me. The goat cheese came shaped as a pear with a whole clove as the stem. The desserts were delicious small bites. We eased into the course slowly with a refreshing lemon tart. The chestnut custard was a hit with most of the table. Finally, we were assaulted with the strong flavor of the matcha chocolate cake. It was a delightful dining experience.
The pictures are arranged in the order of serving.
Caprese With Buffalo MozzarellaPonzu Sockeye Salmon GravlexScallop Ceviche With Truffle OilDaikon Radish Wrapped Tuna TartareProsciutto Wrapped Prawn With Caper AioliBeef Shabu-Shabu SaladMiso Bisque Sauce With CrostiniCrab Cake With Miso Hollandaise SauceBeef Suji PaniniYuzu MimosaGoat Cheese Pear With Pom JamTagliata With Wasabi SauceLemon Tart, Chestnut Tart and Chocolate Cake with MatchaMenu
The last time I visited this location, it used to be AKA Winebar. The food was really good there, too bad it closed. In its place, Carino. I was curious as to what Japanese Italian fusion meant. I certainly found out this evening.
I ordered two appetizers; the beef tongue and the ramen. The beef tongue was nice and thinly sliced, it definitely didn’t taste like the beef tongue of my childhood. Which is a good thing. The peppery arugula and splash of lemon perfectly complimented the beef. I really enjoyed the ramen – it was obviously not the kind out of the package. The noodles were chewy and the boccocini and tomato salad went well with the dish.
I tasted bits of hubby’s dish. I really enjoyed the gnocchi and mushrooms. The lamb was fall of the bone tender. For dessert I had this lovely custard tart with fruit. The chocolate ganache was out of this world.
Service was quick and polite. I am definitely coming back.
Yuzzu tart with fruitChocolate ganache with crispy banana and ice creamLamb Ribs Cacciatoria Sauteed mushroom and crispy gnocchiRamen Salad Arugula, prosciutto, bocconcini cheese, Gull Valley tomato and shisho pestoCalamari Fritter Yuzu zest and spicy aioliFrench Kiss Grilled, sliced, organic beef tongueI like choice.
Friday night, the place was very busy and loud. The last time I was in this spot, it was the Elephant and Castle pub. Wow, that was a long time ago. We were happy to get a reservation half hour after we called; other places we tried, we were not so lucky.
We settled in to watch the Pens and Sens playing while waiting for our order. We started with the arancini. The little fried rissoto balls were hot out of the fryer. The creamy rice and crispy exterior paired well with reggiano and peppery rocket.
The three of us shared the sausage and margherita pizzas. The crust was super thin on the bottom, with puffy crispy edges. The toppings were thin and flavorful, as you might expect from a thin crust pizza. I don’t normally take satisfaction in eating pizza crust, but I do have to admit that I enjoyed this one.
Our server was friendly and attentive. The only knock on this place is the volume. Not recommended for a first date.
Arancini deep fried breaded risotto balls, herb and garlic aioli, reggiano cheeseSausage Pizza housemade italian sausage, green onion, artichoke Margherita fiore di latte, basil, tomato sauce
Teatro is one of those places that have been on the periphery of my radar. One of those places, at some point, that I would get around to visiting. I finally did, lured by a vendor luncheon.
Special lunch menu
I was feeling less then well at the time, so I opted for something that I hoped to be lighter. I went with the caesar salad and the spatzle. The caesar was nicely presented and it tasted, like a caesar salad. The spatzle was rich, creamy and divine. Not very light, but very filling and tasty for a vegetarian dish.
I didn’t have the lamb, but almost everyone else did. It was a beautiful frenched rack, done to medium rare.
Leek and Spaetzle Cauliflower, white gold provolone, parmesan cheeses, tomato concasse
The butternut squash tart was delicious. I really enjoyed the gooeyness of the toasted marshmallow and the accompanying coulis.
Butternut Squash Tart cinnamon meringue, caramelized zucchini
The decor was very nice. We were in the Opera room, a room outside the main restaurant. The ceilings were high and the lighting looked as if they had installed two large full moons in the ceiling. I will have to come back for a more typical meal.
