Meat Market

Long time Kensington Market shop Toronto's European Quality Meat and Sausages, packed on the week-end, closed up operation after 50 years. But given the opportunity, nearby Sanagan's Meat Locker decided to take over the space. On Thursday, I dropped by for a bite at lunch as they also retained the sandwich counter across from the meat section.

I ordered a roast beef ($7) and an old-fashioned glass bottle of pineapple from pop shoppe. The bread was crusty whole-wheat dotted with various grains. The roast beef oozed out covered with melted cheese and mushroom. It was rich, satisfying and a bit messy. Though the portion didn't look substantial when they prepared it, it was filling. Note that there wasn't much space for dining, as this is primarily a butcher shop. You can stand by some some small wooden tabletops near the door, or have your sandwiches to go.

Don't Get In My Belly

The ubiquity of Mexican food in Toronto really started with all the local burrito franchises that opened in the last several years. Feeling a bit peckish from the small portions at charity event ProjectUpliftPH, I headed over to Fat Bastard Burrito for a bite. With selections like butter chicken, this was multi-culti burritos. But I opted for the traditional pulled pork ($7.99). Like all these joints, after a base of beans and rice (said no to the vermicelli noodles), you can add more toppings like salsa, onions, etc. I got the works plus the hot option which meant 4 squirts of hot sauce.

The burrito came out fragrant from the grill, bulging and certainly filling. Yet with all those ingredients, it was oddly bland. I wouldn't even have known there was pork if I had ordered it myself. This was certainly not the first mediocre burrito I've had lately (and from different franchises). Toronto needs a good burrito joint to set the bar, similar to all the gourmet taco places that have sprung up.

Edit: What was I thinking? Long-time New York Subway near Queen and Bathurst has long provided excellent burrito. But they take their time making orders so you can't be in a rush.

Uplift

Wednesday night, I went to the Great Hall for a charity event (Project Uplift PH) organized by the Kapisanan Centre. The aim was to raise money for the recent typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines. In addition to some musical guests, there were food kiosks, raffles, and a silent auction. I bought some raffle tickets hoping to win but struck-out 0 for 17 items.

Wandering past the food tables, I started with a slider and calamansi slaw and a green raspberry ginger smoothie ($5 for both) from Chef G catering. The slider was crunchy with a slightly sweet sauce though the pork berry was bit too rich. The smoothie sounded like an odd combination but was actually quite tasty. Then it was next to Lamesa for a chicken arroz caldo ($5). This was chinese congee soup given a filipino twist. With flecks of crunchy fried scallions, seaweed, ginger, and chicken, this was warm, comforting, tasty food.

The musical act started with the Mecija sisters (Ohbijou). They played atmospheric shoe-gazey pop from Casey's new act Warm Myth and some old favourites from Ohbijou. But it was perhaps a little too chill for the noisy crowd, who were energized from the food, booze, and excitement from the raffle. There was a moment of silence when Casey gave a rather emotional speech about the current situation in the Philippines. Things got dancey with Abdominal and The Obliques, whose rap has a funky vibe from an upright bass and jazzy guitar. They were a last minute replacement for Maylee Todd who had to pull out. I was getting tired and left before Datu took to the stage with Scratch from The Roots, though the prospect of hip-hop combined with gamelan and South Asian percussion sounded intriguing.

Bang Bang

It was "nu music" at The Horseshoe Tavern on Tuesday. Listening to samples online, the bands were in the "loud rock" category. I wasn't feeling it tonight, so I skipped the first two (Speed Control, Love Tapper). I arrived as Salt of the Chief Cornerstone was getting into their set. This instrumental band from Windsor comprised of a guitarist and a drummer. Together, they had a big sound. Their instruments were transparent: from the clear drum kit (lit up with white LEDs) to the plexi-glass-esque guitar. Though not metal, they got heads banging with their tight and synchronized changes. Both were good, but unfortunately the "rock vocabulary" isn't too complex. Guitar simply alternated between riffs and power chords, chunky melody and rhythm. Drums did have complicated polyrhythm but essentially boiled down to furious rock banging.

Language-Arts was the final band. Their set varied between light pop and impressively catchy rock. Lead singer/guitarist Kristen Cudmore might seem twee in speech, and that did carry over into some song lyrics, but her array of 12 pedals refuted that label. Though their latest album was not even officially out yet until next year, they played mostly new songs that were not on either records. These were quite raucous but still retained a melodious core.