Kaneda Sushi

My post Vegas hangover had me craving something fresh and healthy, and what better meal to breathe life back into my broken body than sushi. Kaneda is located on Broadway between Granville and Hemlock. They are a dine in/take-out/ All You Can Eat/late night sushi joint with a pleasant decor and mid range prices. Theres a 15% discount on take-out orders, and a $30 minimum for delivery items. Right now they have a special where you can get a california roll for 99 cents.

My favourite item was the Salmon Nigiri ($1.50), it was the best I’ve ever had. The fish was so fresh and buttery, I could have eaten a whole meal of just nigiri. Look how succulent they are! Nom nom nom

The appetizer tempura ($6.95) came with two prawns and three root vegetables, and best of all, it was served with miso soup. What an excellent deal. The tempura batter was light and cooked all the way through, however the prawns were a little over cooked. Still, taste wise, everything was delicious.

When dining in I always try to be adventurous with my orders, but my take-out order staples are always Dynamite and Spicy Tuna. The Spicy Tuna was delicious, not drowning in sriracha sauce and not too fishy. The roll was perfectly balanced between spice and flavour, allowing the tuna to shine through. It was $4.25.

Like the spicy tuna, my dynamite roll was very fresh, especially the avocado – such a vibrant green! I don’t always like lettuce in my dynamite rolls but this was the perfect balance. I really enjoyed this, even at $4.50. But you get what you pay for, and this was worth it.

On my second take-out adventure I steered from the path and ordered a Yam Roll and a Gomaae roll. Sadly, the Gomaae was a little underwhelming. I was hoping it would have a peanut sauce drizzle over it, alas it was a little dry. But still, and interesting roll and who knows, the dine-in version might be better. I felt that at $4.00, this roll was over priced for what you got.

I don’t usually like Ebi Nigiri because they are alway so dried out, but after having tried the salmon and loving it, I thought why not. The ebi ($1.50) was better than other joints, still not my favourite, but I would order it again.

The yam roll was light for a battered root vegetable. Again, for a vegetable roll, I thought $4.00 was over priced.

Brunching it at Caffe Barney

Mm, mm, brunch, my favourite weekend past time.

Last Sunday we decided to try out Caffe Barney, a small South Granville restaurant with a big reputation for their eggs benedict. at 11:45 we didn’t have to wait for a table, however I have seen line-ups outside the restaurant before. The atmosphere was casual; service staff were a bit hard to pick out, as there was no uniforms or name tags. Our server was friendly at first, but I think he got peeved after I changed my order (sorry dude!), and he didn’t return to our table to quality control, only to drop off the bill. Luckily for him, everything was delicious, and the couple sitting beside us shared their hot sauce and ketchup with us.

Obviously I had to see what was what and put in my two-cents so I ordered the chorizo benedict. It  came smothered in a delicious hollandaise over two perfect poached eggs and a fabulous tomato salsa. Oh, and a whole wheat English muffin. My only complaint would be there was not enough salsa or hollandaise! I’m a saucy girl, what can I say.

Phil, the egg-hater, got the cranberry turkey sandwich with a side of fries. They certainly didn’t skimp on the fries, although there wasn’t a lot of potatoes on my benny ( maybe our server was still mad about the switch? Or maybe i’m just a greedy little girl with eyes too big for her own stomach). The fries were light and crispy, although Phil particularly liked the cranberry sauce in his sandwich because it didn’t taste “artificial or canned.” 

We also ordered two glasses of orange juice. Fresh tasting with lots of pulp, these drinks were 4 bucks each. All in, we spent about $35. I would go back because I want to try more bennys!

24/7 Thai Cuisine. . . When you need Thai Food at 4am

24/7 Thai Cuisine is exactly what you expect its going to be: inexpensive Thai food at any hour of the day or night. There is no glamour to this restaurant, just simple cheap food served hot and fast. I was skeptical to eat here because it looks a little run down from the outside. You can find 24/7 Thai Cuisine on Broadway and Oak, sandwiched between the 7/11 and a japanese restaurant that never looks like it’s open. Dont let the looks of the place deceive you – they have a big menu with your classic Thai staples, as well as some items you wouldn’t expect to see, such as pho.

The restaurant doesn’t offer much in the way of decor so we got our food to go. As we were the only customers at 10:30 pm, our food was prepared quickly.

The fried vegetarian spring roll didn’t wow us, I don’t think I would order these again. It was really garlicky, a flavour I didn’t expect to be so prominent in a spring roll. The dipping sauce was too vinegary for my tastes, but Phil liked it.

I ordered the Shrimp Pad Thai. Decent portion size as you can see, although I should have asked them to make it spicy! 

The dish used a thinner rice noodle than other places, a change that was different but still enjoyable. The seasoning was good, it wasn’t too sweet and the prawns were cooked perfectly. I didn’t expect it to be the best Pad Thai, but I wasn’t disappointed by it either. If you’ve got a late night craving for Thai food give it a shot, I think this food would be most enjoyed after a night out drinking. They also deliver from 4pm-10pm with a $25 minimum order. If you want to dine in there is an entertainment coupon for them as well.

Roasted Chickpeas with Rosemary Garlic Oil & Sea Salt

Can we just take a moment and drool over these photos? Excuse me while I toot my horn for a second.

Now that we’ve taken care of that, I made a yummy snack! I’m not reinventing the wheel here people, but if you haven’t tried roasted chickpeas you probably should. Especially if you’re prone to munching on chips and other less body-friendly treats, ahem, myself included. The salt and oil measurements can be adjusted to your personal taste, as can the seasoning, plus a can of chickpeas is like what, a dollar? Hey-o to that!

1 can chickpeas ( although I would highly recommend using two cans and doubling the recipe because we ate everything within 5 minutes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Sprinkling of sea salt, to taste
Red pepper flakes, optional, but why not spice it up a bit, right?

Preheat oven to 375.
In a medium bowl add chopped rosemary, minced garlic, and olive oil.
Drain and rinse chickpeas under lukewarm water and pat dry. If you’re patient, remove the skins. If you’re in a hurry, toss them in with the rosemary and oil mixture.
Toss chickpeas around in the bowl to fully coat. Add a pinch of salt.
Pour chickpeas out on a baking sheet and cook for 30-45 minutes,depending on how crunchy you like ‘em. After 15 minutes I shook the pan to rotate the chickpeas to ensure even baking.
Remove from heat, season with sea salt and red pepper flakes. They’ll be hot, so let them cool first. Enjoy!

Church’s Chicken

Okay,  so we all have those cravings… the guilty pleasure ones you have to indulge in every so often… this was one of them. We got 4 pieces of chicken and three large sides for just under $20.00. Other than the heaping box of fries, the sides aren’t big, nor were they anything to boast about, except the French fries got an A+ for being thick, fluffy, and not greasy. The chicken was perfect, crispy and well seasoned on the outside (and not too salty!), juicy and tender underneath. I really liked the crispy skin, it’s my favourite part about fried chicken (shame!) but seriously don’t judge me, I know you love it too.

We ordered two spicy and two regular pieces, however we only got the regular (to Phil’s disappointment. Don’t worry, he smothered them in hot sauce anyways)

We were disappointed with the macaroni because on the menu it was described as macaroni and cheese, you know, warm steamy cheesy goodness. It was a cold mayo/relish macaroni salad. Booo-ring. The coleslaw was okay, I preferred it to the macaroni and I’d probably get it again. The ladies at the counter were both very nice, but they couldn’t coordinate our order and the whole process was far more complicated than it needed to be. Obviously there was a communication issue because we didn’t get exactly what we ordered, but they were patient and answered all our questions. Like, did you know Church’s has a “Wild West Rice”? Whats in that, you ask. Well, it’s sliced up chicken and vegetables, all mixed together with ketchup. Ya, no thanks, but good to know.

 Overall Impression

Go for the fried chicken and french fries, avoid the macaroni salad and wild west rice. The Churches Chicken on Main and 18th is open 24 hr for late night munchies.

 

 

Heaven on the Half Shell: Chewies Steam and Oyster Bar

Just a quick peek at the amazing kusshi oysters we enjoyed at Chewies tonight, an evening well spent! Delicious food, good company, and a beautiful sendoff for our jet-setting friend, bon voyage Renée!