Ring a Bell

I headed back to Ottawa on Wednesday for a short stay to celebrate a relative's 93rd birthday on the week-end. Via Rail no longer separated its passengers for social distancing but luckily, there was no one sitting next to me on the train.

Friday morning, I headed back to the intersection at Beechwood Cemetery for lunch. But instead of Indian, I opted to visit an Algerian restaurant called Idriss Mediterranean. They had a patio but since there wasn't really much of an outdoor view in this area, I chose to eat inside.

Its past as Cat's Seafood Fish and Chips remained with a large maritime mural painted on its outside wall. I wasn't sure how much of the interior was also from that time. But it was also decorated with earthen clay pots, painted plates, and other knick-knacks that evoked a bit of the Middle-East.

I ordered 2 vegetarian Bourak ($3.99), a lentil soup ($10.99), and a Kromb Tajine. The lentil soup came with a ground beef Bourak but I preferred the veggie version of this so-called "North African spring roll". The latter's assortment of veggie as well as a sharp cheese was nicely different from any spring roll I've had. The lentil soup was rich and creamy although being completely pureed, my coarse palate couldn't really detect all the ingredients that was listed on the menu. I was a little disappointed with the tajine but only because the combination of cabbage and meatballs was a little bland for my taste. I think the olive or potato tajine would have provided the strong flavour or texture my aging taste buds crave. The spongy bread and hmiss (more dip than salad) rounded out the entrée.

Overall, I like Idriss and their other offerings including shashuka and couscous also seemed appetizing. It had only recently opened so I hope they are growing their clientele.

Grillmasters

Not being much of a meat-eater anymore, I don't usually frequent restaurants that do deep-frying or grilling. But I recently visited two such places and I admit that these types of meat preparation are delicious and make most people reluctant to switch to a plant-based diet.

With the unbearable heat last Wednesday, I wasn't going to cook dinner. I wandered along Bloor through Little Korea almost to the start of the Annex looking for a dine-in option. I was happy to see that non-descript Her Chef was still open despite the pandemic. It was a nice discovery just before the first lockdown in the winter of 2020. During my meal tonight, the other diners and take-outs were young folks because this kind of comfort food (and generally wallet-friendly prices) appealed to their lifestyle. My dinner of Coco Shrimp ($5.99) and Chicken Mayo on rice ($7.99), so lip-smackingly oily, was perhaps a little too decadent for my waistline or arteries. But those dishes went down easy!

On Monday, I met up with some out-of-town friends. They wanted to try a Yakitori (grilled chicken) place because although Ottawa finally has Izakayas, these niche places haven't made it there yet. I suggested Zakkushi in the East end on Carlton between Jarvis and Parliament. I warned them that I haven't been there in years but the quality would likely have remained high. I got there early and walked around the neighbourhood to gauge its gentrification level.

I needn't have worried because my pals were blown away by the food. We tried a lot of the chicken skewers from heart and skin to thighs and various meatball concoctions. But we also ordered plenty of beef and pork. There was only 3 vegetarian dishes on the menu, not counting the seaweed salad, etc. I thought that the king oyster mushroom more than held its own in flavour and texture. A highlight was a pork skewer wrapped in sticky rice. Like Yaki Onigiri, the crispiness of the rice made the dish quite addictive. 

We ended the night heading to Parliament looking for a dessert place. Unfortunately, one of my friend was suffering major knee pains and we couldn't walk too far. We also ran into a few indigents who are being pushed out of all Toronto neighbourhoods. These encounters were normal for me but for suburban folks, it was all rather scary.

Sandwiched

The stores at the edge of Little Korea abutting Christie Pits Park have always been in constant rotation. From "Korean" pho to "Korean" tacos to tentative attempts at hipsterdom (Apiecalypse), this stretch has seen many failed dreams. So I was surprised to see that a Vietnamese banh mi place called Lam Han was making a go of it here. Especially considering that its next-door neighbours were Subway and Ali Baba, a popular chain of shawarma eateries. This reminded me of another recent banh mi shop Komi competing with Popeye's and Tim Horton's near Bloor and Dufferin. This seems to be a business strategy from Vietnam which in my opinion, doesn't translate well to North America.

I dropped by on Saturday when it looked like the official opening with a flower bouquet gift basket by the front entrance and friends stopping in for first orders and well-wishes. I looked over the menu and chose a lemon-grass chicken banh mi ($7.50). Lam Han also offered combos that included soft-drinks and fries. Looking around, these new shops all seem to be aiming for the Subway meets Ikea aesthetic.

Once I got my order, I skedaddled over to the Park and sat beneath a shady tree. I'd like to report some wonderful discovery but this was run-of-the-mill. In this case, the chicken didn't have much flavour. I appreciated the stab at better ingredients than the usual cold-meat found at venerable Nguyen Huong and its ilk. But "quality" banh mi has been a thing in Toronto for a decade now with Banh Mi Boys. Since the prices aren't much cheaper than Subway, which was a major selling point for the hole-in-the-wall banh mi shops back in the day, I'm not too confident that Lam Han will be competitive.

Zoom Kippur

Daniela Gesundheit's Alphabet of Wrongdoing was a highlight show for me 2 years ago. This album of reworked liturgical Jewish chants (usually only sung on the High Holy Days) is on my regular rotation. I was disappointed that another show in 2020 had to be canceled because of the lock-downs.

So I was excited to see a show sponsored by Nefesh on Sunday. It was live but in L.A. so I had to follow via a Zoom broadcast. I had hoped that it would be a high-quality production similar to the O'Pears Christmas concert. But given that this was a community event, I wasn't surprised that it was a basic laptop setup pointing at the stage. So there was plenty of audio-visual glitches and jitters during the show for me.

But the power of the songs/arrangements and Gesundheit's voice were such that much of the transcendent beauty still shone through. This took place on the altar at St. Paul's Common so there were Christian symbols in the background. But with today's setup, this definitely felt more religious than the show at the Canadian Music Centre. As a non-Jew who doesn't visit synagogues, I appreciated the communal feeling.

It seemed that only women (or a clear majority) were in attendance. All Zoom viewers had female names. And when Daniela encouraged the audience during one of her songs to recite snippets of quotes she had passed out beforehand, only women voices rang out. It was an interesting feeling to experience a (possibly) all-women religious gathering. Certainly for myself, I can't think of other such scenarios except perhaps some Sound of Music cliché.

On a related note, Gesundheit couldn't wear her custom-made coat of Jewish prayer shawls today because she was pregnant with twins. But she did bring it out to the admiration of the audience after the show. She also expanded upon its meaning: not only does it speak to the issue of women wearing religious garment, but the fact that these tallit had to be cut (which they never are) for the tailoring was also symbolic of her re-interpretation of these religious songs.

Net Flicks And Cilic

On Monday, I would be attending the first day session of the National Bank Open (formerly Rogers Open). This year, the men will be in Toronto with the women playing in Montreal. But with pandemic restrictions, attendees could only watch centre court matches with the smaller courts and site grounds being off-limits.

I was reluctant to pay cut-throat prices for mediocre food. In any case, you needed to order from your seat using their app. Since I didn't have a modern smartphone (related: would my ancient Android tablet run TicketMaster's annoying SafeTix app?), this option was off the table. So on Sunday, I dropped by Yam Chops after Yoga class to buy some vegan victuals.

For lunch, I ordered 2 fysh tacos ($4.99) and a loaded kale salad ($10.49) to go. Tacos go for $5 a pop nowadays so I wasn't expecting a large portion but it was a shock to be given appetizer-size bites. But I was mostly disappointed with the soft, flat-bread-like shell. Was I suddenly in Europe or the U.K. where you'd get some ersatz copy of North American cuisine? The salad (with edamame, red peppers, shallots) was much better the next day during the tennis match although the coconut bacon bits had softened.

It was a bright, sunny day on Monday and relatively busy at the venue. But with no vendors and other activities set up at the site, it felt less exciting than previous years. I wasn't surprised that an elderly gentleman couldn't get in at first using a screenshot of his ticket. To prevent "fraud", you needed to run the SafeTix app since the barcode on display would change every 30 seconds or so.  Luckily, you don't need internet connectivity but I'm not thrilled that I will have to bring my tablet to other shows. Along with their exorbitant service fee, this is another reason to avoid TicketMaster events.

The first match between Cilic and Ramos-Vinolas went the full 3-sets. It looked to be a cake-walk with Cilic winning the first set 6-2 but his opponent fought back with several breaks to take the second set. But truthfully, Cilic was never in any trouble except from his own playing. There were still some exciting rallies which I could now follow compared to several years ago. I didn't hang around for the second match because 2.5 hours of direct sunlight was plenty.

Most people didn't stay masked while sitting even if this was the tournament's official policy. The organizers did block off seats within the same row to create "pods" of various sizes but their promise of at least 1 empty row between spectators wasn't true. So although I don't normally don a face covering when outside and socially distanced, there was a woman sitting directly behind me. And there was something in her manner that suggested (perhaps wrongly on my part) that she didn't believe in masks and other health measures. As such, I kept my mask on the whole time just to be safe.

Leavened

A new pizzeria opened in an old location of a Pizza Del Arte near Bloor and Ossington. During the pandemic, a soft-serve tried to make a go of it there. But even without the shopping restrictions, I don't know how a business with no visible signs or menus expected to attract much foot traffic. Levant Pizza made its presence more obvious with a big blurb detailing their journey to pizza-dom.

I had wanted to eat here for a few weeks so I was surprised that when I dropped by on Friday, it had only been open for 3 days. I had seen people trying out their slices in the past. Perhaps these were soft-openings for testers and friends? The menu highlighted that this store offered a unique combination: thick-slice Sicilian-style pizza with Middle-East toppings. After looking it over, I chose the Sumac Musakhan ($19). This Palestinian dish of spiced, roast chicken has been adapted for pizza, with the taboon bread being replaced with a "4-day proof" dough.

The rest of this review will be with left-overs consumed over several days. I thought the pizza seemed small for the price at first but the substantial dough turned out to be quite filling. In fact, it was best eaten with additional sides like salad to keep the slice from feeling too heavy. The sumac was front and centre both good: a citrus-y, perfume-like fragrance unlike any other pizza toppings I've had, and questionable: a pink-ish liquid that you don't want to see when you cut through chicken. The latter had good texture and nicely spiced. It went well with the egg-like whipped ricotta. The dough was spongy unlike other deep-dish styles I've eaten. There was a thin, cracker-like bottom crust similar to a Romana pizza (the good sort, not the inedible kind). Overall, it made for good dinners especially so I don't have to labour in the kitchen during this heat wave.

It seems odd that I would talk about the left-overs, but I hated this pizza freshly made: the dough was gloopy, the toppings dripped and ran. As I grimly made my way through the first slice, I thought "Why not stick with an authentic pide or lahmacun if you wanted Middle-Eastern pizza"? But like the recent coconut bun, it looks like a day or two in fridge reduced the moisture content and turned a mediocre dish into something great.

Wait Til Your Father Gets Home

Wednesday night, I watched a live-stream show by musician Annie Clarke aka St. Vincent. Most attendees knew that it wasn't a live concert. There were some reasons why this show was pre-recorded. The first one had to do with the visual effects. Her latest album, Daddy's Home, was steeped in early 70s sounds. People are calling it St. Vincent's Bowie phase with a hint of Pink Floyd and other luminaries. So for the concert, they "filmed" it in 4:3 aspect ratio as well as applying sepia tones, star flares, graininess, and other post-production effects to make it as though you were watching a TV taping from 40 years ago. None of this is achievable with a live show.

But with pre-taping, they were also able to take advantage of the entire theatre. Songs were not only recorded onstage but also in the green room, sitting in the theatre seats, and even in the "old Hollywood glam" foyer when Clarke sang New York accompanied by Rachel Eckroth on a baby grand.

It was a fun way to visually experience this retro aesthetics. But afterwards, I was thinking that this was the easier way to generate this vibe. The alternative, to watch the 70s in full HD (e.g., think period-accurate costumes on a new Brady Bunch movie), would have been more costly and labour intensive.

The New York number encapsulated perhaps the most exciting aspect of this show for the audience. First, Clarke has assembled some notable talents in the indie music scene for her Down and Out Downtown Band. They made their debut on Saturday Night Live a few months back. Tonight, their live playing added so much energy and vitality to her music. Clarke changes with every album. But the recent songs, with their warmer tones, are perhaps more inviting than her previous stylized persona. Second, as much as fans loved new tunes like Pay Your Way In Pain, Daddy's Home, or Down, they wanted to hear her old songs reworked with this 70s sound as Clarke has hinted at on social media. So numbers like Mass Seduction, Digital Witness, and Cheerleader were met with ecstatic kudos in the chat.

As great as everyone was, the 3 backup singers with their wonderful harmonies made the biggest impact. They elevated Clarke's songs especially her back catalogue to a whole new level. Many people tonight was adamant that they had to see St. Vincent on tour in the fall so they can experience this band and those vocal harmonies at a live venue.

No Can Go

For the last few Sundays I have been back at a Yoga studio. I now prefer my self-practice that allows me to concentrate on each pose. But there is an energy to a live, fast-paced class that has its own allure. So even though my tights don't fit so well after more than a year at home, I've been heading Ossington and Queen for the workout.

I was looking for a restaurant for a post-session lunch but the patios on Ossington seemed too chi-chi for my sweaty clothes. Then I remembered that a new sushi joint has opened on College. I guess Siri, which had pretty good Thai, could not survive long-term having opened during a pandemic. I did enjoy their vegan drunken noodle (Pad Kee Mao) on a semi-regularly basis.

The extensive menu in the window of Cango Sushi didn't inspire much confidence. It's the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach of a lower-end business. In any case, I settled on the "tuna combo" ($13.95). After lamenting at all the take-out containers (8 separate pieces!), I looked over the spread and noticed an extra order of yam sushi. Perhaps these were bonuses during first few weeks of opening? The pieces were large with lots of filling and more substantial than Kobi Sushi (which has been doing much brisker business than its predecessor Gobo Sushi) down the block. This lunch set was looking good.

Things started out well with the salad and miso soup. But the sushi was a major let-down. I wasn't expecting quality fish but these tuna were flavourless. The spicy tuna maki was perhaps the blandest version I've ever tasted. The nigiri wasn't much better and the hand-roll was a losing fight. But even average sushi can be saved by good rice (and excellent sushi must have good rice). Sadly, these were sticky, clumpy, and lacked that delicate vinegar tang. I don't remember struggling to finish a sushi meal like today.

I will say that the Yam maki was the best of the bunch. Given its size and price ($3.95), the good selection of veggie maki (from $3.95 to $6.50) at Cango is probably worth a second look if you're into vegetarian sushi.

6-0

It has been a while since I went to Chinatown so I did my groceries there on Saturday. A few restaurants had set up makeshift patios. I rarely see Asian restaurants with outdoor seating, except for Pho Hung at St. Andrews and Spadina. And that was more of an extension. The novelty of having dim sum at Rol San outside would have to be balanced with interacting with homeless people talking to themselves. But obviously some folks thought it was worth the potential hassle.

I wanted to get some empanadas at Jumbo Empanada in Kensington Market but the shop still had no indoor dining (and they have closed their patio). Numerous restaurants did install sidewalk patios. But with the already narrow lanes, along with the frequent passer-bys, and the freely imbibing "locals", these outdoor seating didn't feel relaxing.

Since I've been enjoying weekly bagel purchases from Wise Bagel, I decided to get a half-dozen ($9) from NU Bügel. This was a mistake. I remembered when they first opened and the novelty of a Jewish-adjacent business returning to a former Jewish neighbourhood. I have visited them a few times though not within the last 5-6 years. Well, the novelty of eating a fresh bagel still warm from the oven quickly palled. The sea salt on the everything bagel killed off any flavour from the poppy, sesame, and caraway seeds. Over the next few days, they didn't store well with a heavy doughiness and a sticky outer layer. I guess I've wised up now (haha).

That one bagel was enough for me. I still needed more food so I headed over to Fresca for some pizza. I chatted with the owners about their current situation. Business was still good with frequent customers but their daughter has stopped helping out. It's hard to live at home and work for your immigrant parents, too. The 24-7 interaction was probably challenging. So they were surprisingly on the fence when I told them I was contemplating a return to Ottawa to be closer to family.

I finished off my eclectic lunch with a croissant from Bonne Nouvelle. Disappointingly, it has been a slowly diminishing return from this bakery. I was initially enthused but I am now noticing that their butter croissants have a slightly sweet coating. I prefer a richer, more savoury mouth-feel. It feels like a recent change and not a welcome one.