On The Road Again

Friday for lunch, I headed over to Sukho Thai at Dundas St and Dufferin. This is the western-most outpost of this food mini-empire. The room was large but felt cozy with dark wood and a copper ceiling. Too bad the giant TV sets ruined the ambiance.

I ordered some fried spring roll ($6) and the "Sukho Thai" pad thai ($13). The spring rolls were hot, crispy, and tasted great dipped in the slightly sweet sauce. The pad thai had quite a bite (I asked for the thai spicy option) and lacked the usual ketchup taste. But on the downside, it seemed a touch oily. It had good flavour but not particularly outstanding. It's strange that with the recent renaissance in Thai spots, we're getting yumy new choices like Khao Soi but no one can do a good job on a standard dish like pad thai.

The Thorn Bird

Wednesday night, I headed over to The Phoenix to see Quebeçoise singer Beatrice Martin (Coeur de Pirate). There was traffic diversion because of a bomb scare at Yonge and Bay so when I arrived opener Kandle was already several songs into her set. Unlike some "bad shows" she had done, there were already several hundred people there staking out a prime spot for Martin. So she was able to showcase her bluesy torch songs including So Bad, Control Me, and Not Up To Me. Her 3 piece band did a good job replicating the psychedelic feel of her debut album. Given the heavily francophone audience, too bad she didn't do her cover of Effeuille moi le coeur.

Martin has an emotional spot for Toronto (as she eluded to tonight as well as at her Massey Hall show) given that she mostly sings in French. But her set tonight contained quite a few English songs  (Carry On, The Way Back Home, Undone) from her latest album Roses. These were more pop and she also spent more time standing in front of a mic. Well, doing some flowy stream-of-consciousness dancing. They were warmly received but lyrically lacked the richness of her older material. It wasn't entirely due to the language change, even French songs like Crier tout bas were simpler. Her gamine, sweet voice couldn't quite carry the new material. So when she sat down at her piano for old favourites including Saint-Laurent, Place de la République, and Comme des enfants, the rapturous reception went up a notch.

She has some dedicated fans including one gentleman who flew from Paris. Incredulous, Martin told him that he must know she was playing there in 3 weeks. As for that Toronto fan support (the home opener between Leafs and Habs happening across town notwithstanding), Coeur de Pirate rewarded the crowd with her own wistful version of Drake's Hold On, We're Going Home.

In The Ghetto?

There are food biases that determine that some "ethnic" food have to be cheap while mainstream (some of which were "ethnic" a few decades back) can charge more. So after returning to Kabab House near Bloor and Dufferin on Monday, I'm conflicted about my lunch there.

On the one hand, halal meat probably costs more as an ingredient. Also, the beef curry I had was fragrant and tasty. And yet the dish was a small bowl accompanied by a huge pile of rice. There definitely wasn't enough entrée, and the presentation was a bit unappetizing. From a food/price ratio, you can get more bang for the buck at several other places along this block. So do I keep supporting this new restaurant or go back to those cheaper joints? It's a dilemma.

Al Thee Weed

I was in Ottawa for a wedding on Thursday. This was slightly unexpected since I thought my wedding-attending days were over for the next little while. This particular mah-wiage took place on the campus of a post-secondary school for two reasons: one, to take advantage of the gardens maintained by the botany department; two, to rent out the restaurant ran by the hospitality department.

Some may question having students in charge of the kitchen for an important event, but there there were perks. When the back-of-the-house came out for acknowledgements, it was clear you get access to a large kitchen fairly cheap, unlike your typical caterer. The waitstaff was also eager, but not as polished as they were working there for pay (even if they were also students) and not credit.

The 4-course meal itself was average. But then I've rarely had memorable food at weddings so it was par for the course. The presentation itself was "fine-dining". I suppose all those chefs-in-training wanted to show off their skill. It was all pretty to look at but most restaurants in Toronto have stepped away from this level of fussiness.