Southern Comfort

After Banjara replaced the Coffee Tim near Christie Pits park, a KFC (Korea Fried Chicken) was its neighbour. But soon after the Korean joint moved further east into Korea town, Madras Masala  took over the small space. In contrast to the butter chicken and vindaloo dishes of Northern India, Madras offered the cuisine of Southern India including the sea-food dishes of Goa. But its most distinctive items were the giant, thin pancakes called dosas. These came stuffed typically with spiced potatoes, onions, and other options, accompanied by a variety of rich dipping sauce and hot sambar soup.

For a while, Madras even offered an annual Dosa Festival where you can try exotic combination including Chocolate Dosas. Like Banjara, it was a favourite go-to place until I decided I needed to cut back as part of a healthy diet. But now and then, like Sunday's lunch, I dropped by for some Indian pancakes. Actually, this is a misnomer as Madras does offer "Indian pancakes" known as Uthappam. Having never tried any of the meat choices, I ordered the chicken dosa.

As always, it arrived thin and crispy, perfect for breaking off to dip in the coconut or tomato-based sauce. But unlike the usual potatoes, it was impossible to pick up the big curry chicken pieces with the dosa. You have to resort to knife and fork. One drawback of all dosas is the single flavour: all potatoes, spinach, or in this case, all chicken. For this meal, it also meant there was a lot of chicken. I'd love to see one with a more varied stuffing. But this is a minor complaint for a tasty lunch.

Good To The Last Drop

Kinton Ramen is one of the top Ramen shops in Toronto. Unlike last time, I wasn't here on Saturday just for noodles but to become a Kinton bowler. If you finish the entire bowl, you get a photo taken, a pin, and a tenth of the way to being a 10 bowler. I opted for the extra pork bowl at $12.80.

Having a seat looking into the busy kitchen gave a great view into the proceedings. Looks like every worker had a specific task. Only the noodles: from separating it into neat piles, to cooking it in individual strainers; or just searing the pork shoulder or belly. Given their volume, it was probably the only way to run the busy kitchen. But like sausage-making, watching food being made is sometimes not as glamorous as the final product. Seeing the thick, grey gloop that needed to be continually scooped from the broth almost turned me off my Ramen.

But not quite, because it was fragrant and rich. The typical bowl may give you only 1 or 2 thick pieces of pork. Though tender and delicious, it could seem stingy compared to the numerous slices of beef you get in a bowl of pho. On the other hand, when my bowl arrived, the extra pork was almost too much of a good thing. I need to go vegetarian for the next few meals to balance it out! In any case, draining the bowl was quite easy and needed no heroic effort. You just have to ignore the niggling thought about how much sodium you're consuming.

Scream Therapy

Friday night, a couple of local bands played at the Silver Dollar. First up was Hands & Teeth. It was an early slot but there was a good turn-out. I haven't seen them in a while and there were some changes. Jeffrey Pinto was missing from the line-up and the songs had a harder edge with more prominence given to guitar riffs and solos. They played entirely new songs tonight and though the vocal harmonies were still there, the new tunes were more muscular and jammy. Perhaps as a nod to Spring finally arriving, Natasha wore a light, colourful asymmetric maxi-dress.

Next up was Nicholas Doubleyou and the B-Squad. Their young fans crowded the stage to listen to their brand of earnest, shout-sing indie music. As always, the singer threw himself into every song. But having heard them a few times now, I'm no longer so keen of their one-note style. Compared to the book-end bands, their repertoire were definitely lo-fi.

Henry Fletcher of Henri Faberge And The Adorables also did a lot of shout-singing, though he reserved it for emphasis. But the variety in their music from latin-inflected groove, to oompa-loompa folk, to 50s pop made it very enjoyable. With a better mix than at The Garrison, the sweet harmonies of Julianne Wilding, Dana Snell and Robin Hatch (both grinning throughout the set from Fletcher's antics) were wonderful. But don't let the twee-esque vibe fool you. With ample participation from Fletcher, the area in front of the stage turned into a mosh pit for the last few numbers.

Throwback Thursday

After several years of hearing Maylee Todd's retro-funk style songs, she finally released her sophomore album, Escapology. The release party took place Thursday at The Blk Box, the underground venue at The Great Hall.

Without openers, the sold-out crowd milled around for most of the evening. Although Harrison gave us some live mixing, and Alanna of Bonjay did a DJ set, it was a restless group. The late night start would have been all right with a fuller bill, but it seemed misplaced with only 1 performance. In fact, a few people left after 1 song, when Maylee finally came on around midnight.

After an effusive introduction by her room-mate, a comedienne dressed in a tight sparkling number and decorated with coloured beads on her face (fa-jazzling?), Todd bounded up on stage. She wore a glimmering dress with diaphaneous cape-like wings designed by her sister Leilanni, a Toronto fashion designer. The set began with the wistful Successive Mutations, with just her on the harp. With 4 slow numbers to start seemed risky as the audience was appreciative but didn't seem fully engaged. But after I Can't Stand It, they cheered upon hearing Baby's Got It, the first single from Escapology. Complete with dancers and choreography, the set proceeded with wall-to-wall dancing until the closing Do You Know What It Is.

The encore was a 20-minute set featuring all covers of classics including Pointer Sisters' Pinball Number Count, Hall and Oates' I Can't Go For That (No Can Do), and Isley Brothers' I Got Work To Do. A Soul Train dance line made an appearance after some encouragement from Maylee.

The evening was a smashing success. One minor issue was the slightly anemic sound. This was surprising as during the DJ sets, the speakers were powerful enough to vibrate your body from feet to chest. The mix was also a bit unbalanced and some of the finer touches were inaudible.