All You Need is Grill

For my birthday, I decided to split my usual celebratory dinner (aka Groundhog Day) into two outings. Sunday was a visit to Taverniti North to reflect my first dinners at Black Skirt. On Monday, I made my way to the food court at College Park to get food at BHK Roll. The last time I was there, I was disappointed with my meal. But luckily, chef Saha was in the kitchen tonight instead of subordinates.

My experience with the chef went back several decades. But specifically as a birthday dinner, I did go to his last "fancy" restaurant called Spice Indian Bistro. Tonight's order didn't hit the pocketbooks as much but it was just as delicious. The chicken changezi ($21) was enough for 2 meals. The rice was moist and fragrant, the sauce had a hint of sweetness and spice, and the chicken was tender yet retained a good chew. Based on its red coat, I wondered if the pieces were cooked in a tandoor. I had chosen the to-go option instead of eating in the food court. But the meal was still warm when I got back home in part due to a speedy TTC subway and bus. In fact, it was so tasty I wanted to add BHK to my weekly rotation despite its $20+ mains (though the chicken biryani dish was only $14).

Pasta La Vista

The 1st day of February was warmer than most days last month. I started Sunday by paying rent and covering expenses in Ottawa. That ate up most of my budget so it was a bit demoralizing. Also a downer was the state of my investment after the recent stock market bloodbath. Lunch was a pesto sandwich made from my fridge ingredients and a fresh bun ($0.70) from Progress Bakery (or rather Mel's). The afternoon offered a free show at Walter Hall from the University of Toronto New Music Festival. But it combined my two least favourite genres: improv music and Jazz.

In other years, I celebrated my birthday with an indulgent meal. At first, I wanted to go to Zia's Place, a restaurant co-owned by Jess Maiorano who started Pasta Forever. Its Southern Italian menu would be a callback to the first such dinners at Black Skirt. But with my budget in mind, I decided this year to split it into 2 modest outings. The Sunday dinner was at the last remaining neighbourhood I haven't visited: Taverniti North.

The inside had exposed brick on one wall and wooden slats and fake grape leaves on the other. A few booths shared space with small tables and two larger round family tables at the back. Its' menu was similar to the short-lived Tav's (which has been merged into the original Taverniti). I chose the bread ($5) and a Pappardelle Bolognese ($25). The verdict: it was better than Sugo but didn't compare to Enoteca Sociale. True, my first visits to Enoteca weren't home-runs but they were making an effort.

The toasted bread was crumbly, bakery-bought (I sure hope they didn't have their own baker), and forgettable with run-of-the-mill balsamic vinegar and olive oil. You got complementary fresh, chewy slices with quality oil at Enoteca. The pasta was better: al dente with a rich sauce though I would like the pappardelle to have a slightly thicker mouth-feel. Still, I would come back for more carb-loading at this spot if the mains were $5 cheaper.

Cash Apt

Did I stayed within my budget for the month of January? At the end of Saturday, I had $32 left. Actually, I would have been over without the extra $210 as my rent was prorated for the 3 days before I moved in. Early in the morning, I went to Billy's Souvlaki Place at Bloor and Dovercourt for another nostalgia hit. To be fair, it wasn't really a regular haunt; I usually went to this old-school diner for breakfast before trips back to Ottawa. But we still went back more than 15 years and many may not know its full name was Akbar Billy Mohsen Souvlaki Place.

It was the same line cook as before. He must be in his 80s by now. As there was no waitstaff at 9 am, he took my order: your typical 2 eggs (over-easy) with sausage, home fries, and toast. It was still cheap at $8.99 compared to nearby places, and I didn't really expect the $4.25 price from 2010. Still, that was higher than inflation and came in at $12.15 with tax and tip. Nostalgia factor aside, given the same ingredients, you got a more flavourful breakfast wrap at Uncle Sid's for $9.

Then I walked to College and Shaw to photocopy my Saturday crossword from the library. Then it was across the street to the local Metro grocery chain. This will be my last time there. I never really shopped here when I lived in the neighbourhood because prices were always higher than No Frills. But to charge me full price ($4.29) for bread that was 1 day from the Best Before date (I only checked when I got home), that was a no-no in my book.

Both lunch and dinner were at home. I had 2 choices of evening entertainment: doom metal and post-punk (Tiajuana Taxi, She Wears Black, Luster Dust) at The Baby G or a trio of folk songwriters (Jessica Moore, Jessie Dara, and Beatrice May) at the Tranzac. But the combination of sub -20 degrees weather and some intestinal tenderness convinced me to stay inside and complete my crossword puzzles.

Time Of The Season

After work on Monday, I made my way to Bloor St. My friend's restaurant was opened and I asked about the situation on Saturday. This past week-end, they experienced dizziness and wounded up in the emergency room from afternoon to night. But there was no known root causes besides their usual health issues. Their trip to Thailand was both vacation and medical: they got an MRI, some herbal remedies, and a diagnosis of gout for their swollen ankles. This seem to be a thing as an ex co-worker also did it.

After I told them about my sublet, they said their place was still available. Though the living room was bigger than the second bedroom, using it as a sleeping space worked for me. It also seemed unwise to sublet from an older person with numerous health conditions. In any case, they almost sold their restaurant (and the accompanying residential lease) in October. I thought that they should consider retiring and follow their dreams by moving to Morocco.

Wednesday night was dinner from South Pacific. I decided to go all-in on the nostalgia and ordered a combination Chinese dinner ($10). It was a tasty if a tad oily meal: deep-fried spring roll, lemon chicken with flourescent yellow sauce, stir-fried chicken and mixed veggies, and aromatic fried rice. This had a better vibe than last time but rang my "healthy eats" alarm.

I visited my friend again on Thursday for lunch. Though I had skipped it, I finally went inside the newish Hana Sushi. The interior wasn't quite as dinghy as I thought. I opted for a sushi combo ($19) while my friend chose a miso soup, coconut tuna sushi ($13), and spring rolls ($5.99). The menu also had other Chinese add-ons including a few dim-sum plates. I ended up tipping $8 because they were good-natured about my friend's demands: soup, extra spoons, extra sauces, etc. It wasn't quite as good as ibet Sushi but about what I expected from these mid-tier sushi spots.

They showed me photos and videos from their trip. Two cousins from Brampton had also tagged along. Some downer news: the gout prognosis from the Thai herbalist was rejected by their doctor after a visit on Wednesday; his initial assessment of arthritis stood. So they needed to decide whether to accept injections for the ankle pain or get another opinion. Considering how much difficulty they had walking a few blocks even with my help, I wasn't sure what they should do.