That's A Wrap

Trips to Toronto often involved delicious food not available in Ottawa. But last week's visit was disappointing culinary-wise except for the first meal, perhaps because I was relying on Toronto Life's recent list of "cheap eats". A few months back, they published an article that named The Danforth and several areas near Yonge and Sheppard to be the top 10 neighbourhoods in Toronto. This risible take had me wondering if the staff were transplants and don't actually know much about The Big Smoke. Likewise, several well-known entries on that cheap-eats list already had me rolling my eyes. I should have listened to my gut instinct and skipped the rest.

Returning from Burlington after my solar eclipse watch on Monday, I headed to the Baldwin area of Kensington Market. Unfortunately, Takoyaki 6ix was closing up for the day. So I headed to the busy Spadina and College intersection. In a building with one of the few remaining internet gaming café and next to the Burger King on the corner, there was an outdoor ATM. It was then boarded up for a long time before someone tried a tiny coffee kiosk, then a coffee/drinks/ice cream location. Now, Corner Crepe was taking a shot with offerings of Chinese crepe or Jian Bing Guo Shi.

I opted for the traditional one ($6.99). The crepe was large for the price and stuffed with eggs, salad, scallion, and cilantro. But it was bland and boring despite the spicy sauce. Maybe the addition of sausage or other add-ons ($3.99) would add more flavour. The one bright spot was the texture contrast between the soft crepe shell and the crunchy wonton crisp. I liked it better than the Japanese crepe at Millie Creperie but it wasn't the revelation that was long defunct Qian He.

Before I headed to the Chess tournament at The Great Hall on Tuesday, I went back to Baldwin to try a vegan Egyptian spot called Eat Nabati. Most of their pita wraps contained tahini but I decided to risk an allergic reaction with a Cauliflower Za'atar ($7.99). Sadly, the fried floret wasn't flavourful and the rest of the veggie ingredients, though fresh, didn't justify a pita that was 40% smaller than most shawarma places. While eating my lunch, I thought that I'd prefer vegan versions of the Egyptian street food from Tut's.

My last attempt at a tasty meal came after a dance recital Tuesday night. I knew that Lahore Grill was opened late. Two years on from my last take-out there, it was still one of the best South Asian place I've been to. I hopped on a Carlton street-car that would take me directly there along Gerrard St. Unfortunately, 3 blocks into my ride, the driver had to stop the vehicle because one of the passengers, passed out in their seat, needed a wellness check from EMS. With this emergency blocking all traffic eastbound on Gerrard, I returned to Parliament and took an alternate route back to my rental. By then, I was too hungry to wait for the Greenwood bus that could also drop me off at Lahore. While I ate the last slice of bianca from the nearby Pizzaiolo, I reflected on the bad timing. If I had arrived at the Parliament and Gerrard stop 20 seconds earlier, I would have caught the previous street-car.