Buster’s Sea Cove…Probably T.O’s best Fish Sandwich October 7, 2009

When you wake up on a rough Saturday morning there is nothing like a substantial meal to cure the hangover pains. My friend Shona kept saying that the sandwiches in St. Lawrence Market were the best for her drinking maladies. I thought she was referring to the (giant) veal and eggplant paninis from Mustachios – which in my opinion are mediocre in comparison to St. Francesco’s or California- and dismissed her suggestion to trek to the market with my blinding headache. One painfully bright morning my fridge was close to empty (except for the never ending family-sized ketchup bottle) and my brain was as lethargic as a dying sloth. The need for immediate nourishment pushed me to go investigate the sandwich situation. And I found something amazing and incomparable, a true revelation for taste: a perfect fish sandwich and seafood stand!

The thought of buying seafood in Toronto outside of St. Lawrence market has never crossed my mind. It always has the freshest and best stock. And so I felt like a fool when I realized how long it took me to find Buster’s Sea Cove. How could I have spent so many mornings hungover, craving nothing but fishy-fried goodness and eating day-old oatmeal? Amadeus in Kensington did it for me for a while but they really need to improve their choice of bread. Chippy’s fish and chips are tasty, but they do not compare to Buster’s in terms of freshness and quality. And what if I get all the way there and I am in the mood for something else? Both of those places need to improve/expand their menus. At this busy Sea Cove the menu is pretty long, with everything from the average Fish Sandwich to Grilled Octopus and Cocunut Jumbo Shrimp. It pleases everyone -even vegetarians with four options of salads- and everything is fresh and on display for you to be the judge.

The fish sandwish is perfect- fresh, crisp and tasty. It comes with a side of salad that is nothing to rave about; however you can get the onion rings or the fries for an additional price. The grilled shrimp is some of the best I’ve ever had, and that’s including summers spent in Greece basking in the Mediterranean. The fried calamari is also another favorite; just remember to bring a bottle of Gaviscon for the ride home if you do dare to finish all those greasy fries. Although the line seems never ending at lunch time on a Saturday you would be surprise at how fast it moves. I recommend splitting up, someone getting the order in and paying while the other person gets a nearby table. I read somewhere that they are thinking of expanding and putting more tables in the back patio. If that’s true Buster’s won’t have any competition.

Cava: A Tapas Bar fit for the King of Castille? October 1, 2009

In Spain, the legend of how tapas became the signature drinking food is rooted in royalty. They say that King Alfoso X of Castille ordered taverns to serve small snacks with wine — these were called tapas, Spanish for “coverings”. Back then it served as an alibi for drinking colossal amounts of alcohol, and now it is a tradition Spaniards indulge in on a nightly basis. Following closely the King’s advice, Cava on Yonge and St. Clair serves delicious contemporary tapas that stick to the traditional Spanish flavors as well as fusing some South American and Mexican ingredients.

Once again I went with my boyfriend and my friend Cristina, and again on a Tuesday night. My South-American and Spanish heritage- combine with my food blogging addiction-lead me to the discovery of this restaurant. I was very excited. I had talked about it for weeks on end, seen the menu online so many times that when presented in front of me it seemed to me as familiar as my own I.D. I knew exactly what I wanted and was aware of the three tapas per person suggestion (which seem like a lot, but who cares?).  I still took my time and listened to the specials and noted the decor of the dining room. Clean, sophisticated with even a modernist flare, Cava is not presented as the traditional tapas restaurant of Madrid. The hanging cured hams were the only reassurance we were not in a trendy euro-bistro down on King Street West but in a Spanish finger food restaurant.

After debating, writing and listing our choices we finally settled on eight plates. The Papas Fritas- of course- although categorized as a fast food cliché are a savory side dish for almost anything. I love them and so does everyone that has ever tried a good batch. Crispy and delicious, there are very few times you can go wrong with them. At Cava my beloved fried potato sticks came in a paper cone, just like they do in the streets of Belgium (where they are proudly called the national dish).  Seasoned with rosemary and sea salt perfectly crisp and golden. Since this was one of my uninspiring choices, I had to step up my game to something more adventurous and creative. My next two choices had such alluring titles that I felt like a dog in Pavlov’s lab. Pinchos of Avocado and Salmon Machaca and the Sardines Two Ways. The pinchos were good, not great yet not terrible, a let down for my wild foodie imagination. The salmon machaca although rich in flavor, had a consistency that belong in a Molecular gastronomy restaurant and not in a hardy spanish tapas bar. The Sardines were very good, one fried and salty and the other in a fresh tomato sauce that worked perfectly with the strong taste of the fish.

George asked for recommendations from the waitress, who took no time in selling with awe the Charcuteria. Smoked and cured meats are one of Spain’s most beloved culinary traditions and Cava claims to smoke their own stock. This was without a doubt the best choice of the night. Four small samples: liver souffle, cured lomo, smoked chorizo and a chicken and fois gras mousse — simply exquisite. Along with that he ordered the Jamon Iberico, only released to the North American market in 2007 and by far the most exclusive of all hams. It comes from the acorn-fed rumps of Iberian black pigs, it is expensive and rich and probably everything you want in a cured ham. The last of his choices was the Quail and Pork Belly A la Plancha with Calabacitas. A mouthful of a name, this dish closed the dinner with a bang. Masterfully cooked. Chef Chris McDonald proves that he knows how to make a mean tapa.

The remaining two dishes were the selection of my friend Cristina. After traveling in Spain she wanted nothing but octopus. The Octopus Anticucho with Lentils and Romesco was not the traditional dish she was expecting but it certainly was excellent. Grilled to perfection, it was not chewy or hard but on the contrary felt soft and meaty- a quite an achievement for such a difficult meat. She also chose the delicious Eggplant with Queso Fresco, Honey and Tomatillo, a second runner-up after the charcuteria. Everything was superb about this dish, the flavors worked together to make this vegetarian tapa a competition for any meat.

After spending three hours eating and drinking the not-so-strong North American version of sangria, we concluded that Cava is a great restaurant to go for tapas in Toronto. Don’t build your expectations so high that you reconsider that spring break trip to Barcelona, but for a city on the shore of Lake Ontario, far from the breeze of the Mediterranean, Cava does Spanish tapas well for around 50$ a head including service and drinks.

The Hype and Truth: Pizzeria Libretto September 30, 2009

After months and month of hearing about this place we finally made it! We went to Pizzeria Libretto. I love pizza, the crust, the sauce and especially the cheeses – the latter I  believe are the principle of this Neapolitan invention. After everyone -including the most picky vegetarian eaters- have bragged about this place, I was a bit skeptical of the hype. I don’t trust people’s recommendations of a restaurant that is surrounded with more hype than the opening night of the latest Harry Potter, because most of it is grounded in the need and desire to fit in. I was certainly not going to wait in the one hour plus line up, but I  begged my boyfriend to take me on a weekday for an early dinner.

It was a beautiful Tuesday, for an unemployed gal like me Tuesdays are not surrounded with that bore that the middle of the week brings about, so I was ready to experience something good that night. I took the opportunity to call my friend who is visiting Toronto for the summer and invited her to the “Best Pizzeria in Town”. As you can see I also bought in to the Libretto craze and was making grand claims without ever having been within 50 yards to that pizza oven. We got there around 6:30 p.m., Ossington Av. was completely empty, making it impossible to believe for my out-of-town friend that in two or three hours those places were going to be filled with a melange of hipsters and office clerks getting their drink on. We sat down in the middle of the long and narrow dining room, trapped between a lime green wall and a display of old photographs with a bunch of old style light-bulls hanging from the ceiling. All the waiters seemed very young and somewhat attractive, and even though it was by no standards full they seemed to be running all over the place. We ordered a half bottle of wine for the two ladies and a beer for my boyfriend. The wine was not bad, a Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from 2006, recommendations of the waiter/on the spot sommelier. After looking at the menu for a second we decided that we just wanted what this place was known for: the pizza. We each ordered something different: I went for the Rapini (Goat’s Cheese, Black Olives, Ontario Fiore Di Latte Mozzarella), my friend Cristina after a long and well studied decision ordered the House-Made Sausage (Caramelized Onion, Ontario Fiore Di Latte Mozzarella , Chili Oil) and George- my boyfriend- went for his obvious choice: Duck Confit (Bosc Pear, Panna, Ontario Fiore Di Latte Mozzarella).

The crust was perfect — perfectly toasted, thin and flavorful. The lack of sauce, instead of hampering the taste of the pizza, gave way for the cheeses and well chosen ingredients to take center-stage in this masterful interpretation of Vera Pizza Neapolitana. The strong flavors did not clash with one another, but worked together to produce nothing but perfection in the palette. They were right, damn it! This could actually be Toronto’s best pizza joint; I haven’t been to all of them, but c’mon, this place lives up to and exceeds its hype. I cannot wait to try and savour all of the pizza choices — thank God they just have a dozen!

The perfect place for a date, with pizzas starting around 16$ it is not your average pizza night in front of the television, but it makes you feel you went to Italy without the hassle of packing. An extraordinary culinary experience just south of Dundas Av. on Ossington Av.