Fat Rabbit

Seeing how Pearl Morissette has captured the #1 ranking in Canada's 100 Best Restaurants for 2025, we knew a car rental was in our future.  So we made our way out of Downtown Toronto to the wine country for our tasting menu out on the farm.  However, we weren't going to do the 1.5 hour drive just to do one restaurant right?  For lunch, we headed into St. Catharines to try another restaurant on that list at #97.  Fat Rabbit is its name and a butcher shop is its game.  However, they also house a restaurant in the same space that allows you to pick your custom steak (among other things).

Even though we were only there for lunch and looking forward to a tasting menu for dinner, we went all out and started with the Crispy Humbolt Squid.  This was an excellent dish where the squid was super tender while having a slight chew.  The thin batter was definitely crispy and seemed to be almost not there.  That made each bite an airy experience which made things not as heavy as it appeared.  The batter was also beautifully seasoned where it didn't need anything else but a slight squeeze from the slice of lemon.  However, the side of scallion mayo was the cherry on top as it provided a bright, yet richly-flavoured hit.

Looking at the menu, we knew we had to get The Cheeseburger.  Freshly-ground meat prepared to medium, this thick patty was juicy, meaty and well-seasoned.  It was topped with a thick slice of gruyere as well as caramelized onions, pickles and dijonnaise.  The soft bun held everything together where the dijonnaise had a nice tanginess that helped offset the richness of the beef.  The pickles took that one step further while adding crunch.  We couldn't forget about the caramelized onions as it provided a rich sweetness.

We got a side of Crispy Potatoes to compliment and oh boy, was that a great decision.  These slices of what I believe were Yukon Gold potatoes were lightly crispy, but ever-so-creamy and moist on the inside.  This textural contrast provided a great mouth feel and kept coming back for more.  These were properly salted where they enhanced the natural potato flavour.  On the side, we found garlic mayo which was creamy and aromatic.  There was also some bomba to add a bit of spice to the dish.

For our choice of steak, we went big with the 29oz Aged Ribeye from the display case.  This was thick cut and took 30 minutes to prepare.  When it did arrive, it was a sight to behold.  Charred on the outside and perfectly medium-rare (closer to rare, just how I like it) on the inside, it was what we were looking for in a premium steak.  This was $68.00 per pound which would be around $122.00 for the steak.  Not bad for so much meat that was cooked properly.  It was also well-seasoned with kosher salt allowing us to eat this without any need for any condiments.  It was juicy and tender with a slight bite.

To compliment our steak and also get some veggies, we opted for the Turnips with picobello, bottarga and beurre blanc.  These turnips were cooked-through while still being firm with a crunch.  Natural sweetness was the initial hit of flavour, but then we got some bitterness and slight sharpness at the end.  The creamy beurre blanc helped add some luxuriousness while the bottarga afforded saltiness.  Overall, we quite enjoyed the Fat Rabbit and were glad we stopped by for lunch.  Interestingly, another couple was there, also taking pictures, and then we saw them again at Pearl Morisette!  I guess we weren't the only ones with this idea of hitting both restaurants!

 

The Good:

- Just well-prepared food

- Love that you can pick your steak

- Great service

 

The Bad:

- We enjoyed our meal but unless you are on your way to Niagara or another spot, I wouldn't necessarily drive out 

 

Emmer Bakery

So what is this hype about a Pistachio Croissant anyways?  Well apparently, it is enough for people to get to Emmer Bakery on College Street much earlier than it opens to get their hands on it.  The last time I was in TO, I couldn't get myself to wake up and lineup for a croissant.  So on my return visit a few months later, I took a different approach.  Rather than lineup prior to 9:00am, we would come for some lunch and hit up the second batch at 12:45pm.  That we did and hey, success!  But we had some other things too prior to striking the proverbial pistachio jackpot.

Since we got there just as breakfast was ending, we were able to try some of their lunch offerings including the prominently-displayed Muffaletta sandwich at the front counter.  Gotta say this was really good and comparable to the ones I've had in New Orleans.  Served on round Sicilian sesame bread, this came with all the goodies including salami and mortadella, provolone cheese, olives, pickled veggies and EVOO.  This had a great saltiness from the cured meats as well as the sweet tanginess of the olive dressing.  Loved the bread as it was sturdy enough without being too dense.

Next, we tried their House Burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion 2 ways, pickles and burger sauce on a potato bun.  Oh man, this was a masterpiece as the burger patty was thick, juicy and well-charred.  The meat was tender and moist while nicely salted.  Good smokiness and nuttiness from the char.  What really made this burger though was the potato bun.  It was super soft and had brioche vibes.  Despite this, it held up to the wet ingredients, but just barely.  It soaked up all of the burger juices and was on the verge of breaking apart, but it held on til the last bite.

We also had the Butter Croissant, which was pretty large and featured good lamination with a tender dough that still had an appealing chewiness.  It was plenty buttery with a nuttiness and aromatics.  There was a decent amount of shatter from the exterior of the crispy croissant too.  Really enjoyed this as it was a good croissant.   We also had the Passionfruit Danish which was also solid.  It featured crispy buttery exterior with defined layers of puff pastry.  The passionfruit cream filling was excellent with the natural aroma and tanginess of the fruit.  It included the crunchy seeds.

Now the for the main event...  We were able to secure the Pistachio Croissant by heading into back into the store at 12:40pm.  In fact, we were the first to get the 2nd batch.  After that, they were going fast.  Gotta say, this was well worth it as the thing was loaded with chopped pistachios.  That in itself afforded the classic pistachio nuttiness and crunch.  There was also pistachio cream to amp the flavour even more so as well as added sweetness.  The croissant itself had some good crunch on the outside while the inside had a slight chew while being pretty sweet.  Okay, now that croissant did live up to the hype, but I though the rest of the things we had were quite good too.  I would say that you don't need to visit Emmer just for their signature item, you'll be happy with anything else on the menu too.

The Good:
- Yes, that Pistachio Croissant is really good
- The burger is next level too
- I don't think you can lose with anything on the menu

The Bad:
- We went on a weekday, so it was manageable, but on busier days, you will need to wait and possibly be out of luck with the croissant

Aloette

Having not secured a reservation for Alo in Toronto, we decided to visit their more relaxed and approachable baby sister restaurant below.  This Michelin-recommended spot is unpretentious but still offers up an elevated experience with its food and service.  Sure, it looks like a jazzed up diner inside (which it is), but it is all business when it comes to the execution and plating.  This was a taste of what the Alo Group is about and a precursor to my visit to Alo several months later (spoiler alert!).

We kicked off our meal with the Torched Hamachi Crudo.  This was such a delicate and impactful dish at the same time.  Bright, buttery and sweet, the hamachi could stand on its own, but was highly influenced by the aromatic smoked coconut.  That tropical feel was interrupted by the tangy spice of the jalapeno and then further more by the tanginess and slight bite of the finger lime.  As if this wasn't enough, we found some shiso that added the complex final herbaceous notes.

Possibly our favourite dish of the meal, the East Coast Mussels were served on the half shell.  If you look at the picture, you'll notice that they were supremely plump.  Moreover, the cook on them was perfect allowing the buttery soft texture to shine and the sweet brininess to be the star of the show.  But c'mon, there needed to be a sauce right?  Oh yes, that koji butter was on point with a mild tang, plenty of umami and of course butteriness.  The side of charred sourdough was the perfect vessel to soak it all up.

In addition to the charred sourdough that came with the mussels, we were also served the complimentary Cheddar Brioche with spiced whipped butter.  Really airy and light with the nuttiness of cheddar.  I truly loved their interpretation of a Wedge Salad as it took half a head of lettuce and put all of the components on top.  Oh the textures were on display here with the crunch from the lettuce, the nuttiness and light crispiness of the puffed rice and the tangy bite from the pickled onions.  There was a wealth of chive cream on top which helped dress the lettuce.  It was bright and not overly heavy.  Extra creaminess was provided by the avocado.

With our larger plates, we went for the Grilled Sea Bream.  We found the cook on it to be on point where the properly salted skin was crispy while the meat was flaky and buttery.  It sat atop a beurre blanc with snap peas and chanterelles.  On the side, we got the Crispy Butternut Squash.  These fried nuggets were indeed lightly crispy on the outside while intensely sweet and delicate inside.  It was topped with a brown butter hollandaise which was rich and full of depth.  It was aromatic too, but the candied pepita on top provided some more sweet aromatic nuttiness.

So you know we couldn't get out of there without trying their famed Aloette Burger.  Absolutely in love with the seared crispy and melted beaufort cheese.  Beyond being a contrast in textures, the cheese was nutty and sweet.  That complimented the juicy and meaty beef patty.  It was properly salted, yet at the same time, had a real beefiness.  There was plenty of shredded iceberg and onion for some freshness while all held together with a soft brioche bun.

We capped off this fabulous meal with the Lemon Meringue Pie.  This was tall with a buttery crust holding in all that tangy and sweet lemon curd.  It was topped off with torched meringue.  Gotta say that this meal was one of our favs during this trip to TO.  Although not inexpensive by any stretch of the imagination, the prices at Aloette are approachable.  Considering the level of execution and deliciousness of the food, it is very well worth it.

The Good:

- Approachable well-executed eats

- That burger

- Service that is not fussy

The Bad:

- Seating is not super spacious, but the place is still cool

Burger Crush

Haven't been back to Burger Crush in awhile.  Last time, I went with my son and he thoroughly enjoyed his burger.  It isn't exactly In-N-Out, but it has those sort of vibes, right down to the fries.  Originally out of Victoria, Burger Crush strives to give the classic burger joint experience.  So it is not surprising to find a very simple menu with essentially 2 burgers in several different configurations.  They have both vegan and vegetarian options including vegan nuggets.  Jackie and returned for a tasting of the menu including their fantastic shakes.

So getting right to it, let's talk about the classic Cheeseburger first.  We had it both in a single and a double.  We also loaded it up with fried mushrooms, fried onions, peperoncini and Canadian cheddar ($2.00 each).  The burgers already had a 4oz patty (2 of them for the double), cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and crush sauce.   As I've said, their burgers definitely have an In-N-Out quality to them except the meat patties are double the size and the bun is softer.  I really enjoy the burgers here since they are moist and properly seared.  Also, the components are fresh.  Those mushrooms are totally worth the $2.00 as they are buttery and full of umami.

Burger Crush not only appeals to beef lovers, they have both Vegetarian and Vegan options as well.  That burger sports the same house-made vegan patty except with vegan cheese and vegan bun for the Vegan while cheddar and brioche for the Vegetarian.  We loaded both of them with the optional toppings as well.  Although the patty was on the softer side, I didn't mind it had a crispy exterior and did have a mild sweet taste.

The only option for sides included French Fries and Crush Fries.  I like the fries here as they are quite thin and pretty crispy.  They are also salted enough.  With the same fries, the Crush Fries also have In-N-Out vibes with fried onions, melted cheese and Crush sauce.  These "dirty" fries are super saucy, yet at the same time, retain much of their crispiness.  The best part is the fried onions as they add aroma and sweetness.  This is also available with vegan cheese instead.

In addition to the burger and fries, they also offer Vegan Nuggets made with firm tofu.  Personally, I think a lighter tofu would make this item better.  The crunch from the batter is quite nice as it is not too thick nor greasy.  However, the firm tofu eats pretty heavy and dense.  The available sauces include Herb Crush Hot Crush, Sweet Crush and Original Crush.  For me, the herb crust is my favourite being creamy and almost tartar sauce-like.  The hot crush is a close second because I just like it spicy.

So we need some beverages to go with our burgers right?  In addition to sodas, they have both Milk and Vegan Shakes.  Here are some of the highlights including Root Beer, Strawberry (Vegan), Chocolate (Vegan) and Orange.  Despite being vegan, the strawberry was my favourite.  It was fruity and sweet while tasting fairly natural.  Orange was also sweet but refreshing at the same time.  Overall, the best things at Burger Crush are their beef burgers, their regular fries and shakes.  If you get those items, you will go away a very happy and full person.  For the other things, YMMV.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Beef burgers are excellent

- Fries are crispy

- Shakes (milk or vegan) are also good

The Bad:

- Tofu nuggets are too dense for me

Burger Bender @ Match Eatery & Public House (Delta)

There are many things I look forward to each year.  These include Summer holidays (and usually a trip somewhere), taking off my winter rims and switching to Summer rims, Birthday dinner(s) and Match's Burger Bender (from Jan 16th to Feb 23rd) .  Wait.  Really???  Yes, as I've said many times, I enjoy the burgers at Match (also their wings) and I honestly look forward to their new burger creations every year.  This time around, they have 5 offerings with 2 hold-overs and one that has been voted by customers as the best for 2 years - the French Onion Big Dipper.

So let's talk about the French Onion Big Dipper first as it is also my favourite as well!  That might shock some people since they know my aversion to raw onions.  If you know me well, I actually don't mind onions, when they are cooked right.  For this burger, they are completely caramelized and for the ones in the dip, they are super delicious and add depth and sweetness.  The burger itself features their thick moist patty that is evenly seared.  This adds nuttiness and smokiness.  They put a large breaded onion ring into it as well as melted slices of Swiss.  The key to this burger is the French onion soup dip on the side.  It is not overly salty and has all of the rich flavors of sweet onion.  One dunk of the burger and the toasted brioche soaks it up and it becomes a flavor bomb of umaminess.  Delicious.

Now for the other returning burger, it is the Mighty Mushroom.  This is a pretty classic mushroom burger with the same 6oz chuck beef smashed patty.  It is not the thin type of patty you might be thinking of as it is thick and plenty juicy inside.  However, it does have the crispy edges of a typical smash patty.  I find that they properly season the meat while not making it super salty, so you can taste the meatiness.  They top this patty with sauteed crimini and button mushrooms along with Boursin cheese.  As you can imagine, this is plenty strong with bursts of umaminess.  A touch of dijonnaise helps add a bit of zing to keep things from being too bogged down with heaviness.

One of the new burgers that I think will be a fan favourite is the Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese.  Yes, that is quite the mouthful and in fact, literally as well.  It is hard to fit this thing into my mouth!  The base of this burger is the fried chicken breast which I'm happy to report is moist and not dry.  The batter is relatively thin, properly seasoned and crispy.  Topped that off with crispy smoky bacon and some non-offensive mac n' cheese, we have a tasty concoction.  Now let me clarify what I mean by "non-offensive".  Sometimes, when people shove more carbs into a carb heavy sandwich already, it bogs everything down.  They put just enough of it that you know it is there without thinking you are actually eating the dish.

Okay, when I first looked at the Mr. Rib, it gave me some McRib vibes.  However, it is nothing like the McD's versions as the piece of rib is actually pork ribs without the bones!  So no formed ground pork patty here, it is real meat. Furthermore, it is tender fall-off-the-bone meat (hence no bone) which is very easy to eat and a bit smoky.  I think a bit more tangy and smoky BBQ sauce is needed to give it that messy deliciousness.  There are the obligatory sliced onions and pickles to give some bite and zing to the heaviness of the pork.  As much as the toasted bun is fine, I think a softer roll is necessary to keep the sandwich from being too dense.

Lastly, the Brooklyn Deli is really a burger with a corned beef sandwich surrounding it.  So same 6oz patty with corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss on an "everything bagel" brioche bun.  This is pretty solid with the corned beef sammie vibes coming through.  I think that it needs more corned beef because it got a bit lost in the smoky meatiness of the charred burger patty.  Otherwise, still very good, especially with some mustard!  So there you have it, another year of Burger Bender with the excellent French Onion Big Dipper and Mighty Mushroom.  I think the best of the new ones is the Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese.  That is a massive burger which is hits all of the high notes.  Get them before February 23rd!  Oh get some wings too, they are great as well!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- The French Onion Big Dipper
- Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese
- For the sides, get the Breaded Onion Rings or Tater Tots!

The Bad:
- Maybe the bun could be softer for the Mr. Rib
- More corned beef for the Brooklyn Deli?

Match Eatery & Public House Delta (Game Day Wings)

You've probably heard me yammering on about how good the wings are at Match Eatery all the time.  Sure, you might chalk that up to me being invited to eat there every now and then.  Well, for those who read this blog often, they will know that I put my money where my mouth is!  I've dined just as many times at Match on my own coin because I genuinely like the place!  So when they invited me out to try their Game Day Wings menu, they didn't have to ask twice!!!

So you can get this menu on "NFL game days" as the name suggests.  We were here for a Sunday morning to catch the football action and to enjoy the wings!   The first one I'll discuss is a favourite of mine in the Nashville Hot Spiced.  Now, this time around, they toned down the spice with less dry rub.  For me, I would ask for more of it, but I get that they have to appeal to a wider audience.  So, if you eat it like I do, you will get some sweet heat to go with the pickles.  If you can take spice, highly recommend you ask for more rub!

One of their new flavours is the Buffalo Blues featuring a hot sauce laced with real blue cheese.  Normally, the dip on the side is the blue cheese, but in this case, it was garlic ranch dip.  Hence, the blue cheese pungency was all in the real chunks of cheese.  The hot sauce itself was mild with some tanginess.  The wings themselves were not dry and the skin was completely rendered and crispy.  Instead of carrot and celery sticks, we found matchstick versions.

One of my favourites of this tasting was the What's the Dill Yo?  This featured crispy wings tossed in dill pickle seasoning.  Hence, the wings were tangy and mildly salty.  There was also some sweetness.  To drive the point home in terms of impact, we found sour dill pickles and dill pickle chips.  If that wasn't enough flavour bomb for us, we also dipped everything into the spicy dill dip.  This was like a chunky tartar sauce that had a kick.  Would love this on my fish sandwich!

The absolutely most tasty dish was the Rising Sun Togarashi with a soy drizzle that was both sweet, salty and tangy while accented by the aromatic sesame seeds.  This was perfectly complimented by the creamy and sweet nori-kewpie mayo.  This had some vibes related to a blast from the past in the Thai wings from Milestone's in their heyday.  Definitely a must order and it really does the Asian fusion justice in its flavour profile and execution. 

Last wing creation was the Stadium Nacho with wings tossed in taco seasoning and served with a nacho cheese sauce topped with salsa.  We also found some tortilla chips and pickled jalapenos.  So this was essentially nachos with some chicken.  However, this worked as a the flavour profile was cohesive.  I enjoyed dipping both the wings and chips into the nacho cheese.  The taco seasoning was definitely there but not enough to make things salty.

So if you see in the background, we also had a the Game Day Beer in the Gridiron 24oz Budweiser for a great price of $10.50!  You can have this as a Bud Light for the same price.  It was served ice cold and naturally went well with the wings.  I think it particularly paired best with the hot wings and taco wings.  For those who can't finish so much beer, there is an $8.00 option for a 16oz.  But honestly, go for the 24oz, it is a better deal!

We ended up ordering a few more items including the Blackened Chicken Sandwich with Jack cheese, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and house mayo.  This was fantastic as the chicken was truly blackened giving off nutty smokiness.  At the same time, the meat was still moist and tender.  Crispy bacon and melted cheese added texture and more flavour.  It was served on a perfectly toasted potato roll.  

We also had our usual in the Game, Set, Match... Burger with all the same fixin's as well as pickles on toasted brioche.  As per usual, the smashed beef patty was nicely seared while still moist and tender.  The bacon was crispy, so each bite wasn't a struggle (with flabby bacon).  Also, the texture was appealing.  The brioche bun was soft, but toasted enough to hold everything together.  We got the side of breaded onion rings and they were great!  

Since we were there during brunch, our dessert was the Sweet French Toast Bites.  We've had this dish before, but this time around, it was perfect!  The cubes of brioche were crispy on the outside (while not being greasy) and the inside was still soft and fluffy.  They tasted great on their own with aroma, but the side of Kentucky Bourbon Caramel Dip was money.  So rich and sweet.  Another tasty visit to Match and we overloaded on the wings.  Not a bad thing to happen to us!  Come for the games on the big screens and order the wings as well as some inexpensive beer!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- New wing flavours are great, especially the Rising Sun and What's the Dill Yo?

- Great beer special for the 24oz

- The rest of the food is great too, especially the burgers

The Bad:

- Not really a bad, but you'll have to ask for more rub on the Nashville wings because the new version doesn't have enough

Between 2 Buns

Here I am again at Between 2 Buns.  I think this is like my 6th time here.  Sure, I haven't blogged about every visit and really, it would be boring.  However, I haven't been back for 2 years, so it was about time I provided an update.  Besides, it was so sad that Sirius Smash Burgers at Coho Eatery has shut down.  It only leaves a few other places for these types of burgers.  Not to spoil the entire blog post, but B2B makes the best smash burgers in town in my opinion.

Unlike the last time, we didn't bother with a Single Cheeser because there is just not enough meat to satisfy.  Yes, I know that many people don't have the appetite to finish anything more than this, but believe me, it isn't the best the version.  That is why you must order the Double Cheeser with 2 crispy smashed patties, cheese, pickles, shedduce and B2B sauce.  I find elements of In-N-Out with this burger but the patties are far more seared and crisped up.  The sauce and cheese does give it those In-N-Out vibes.

We also got the Jalapeno Bacon Cheeser with only one patty.  Wait, didn't you say one isn't enough?  Well, when you pile on bacon, cheese, shredduce, pickled jalapenos, fried jalapenos and sauce, it becomes much more of a meal.  Sure, I would still add another patty to this because go big or go home,  However, it is still plenty hearty.  Lots of tangy spice from the jalapenos.  The soft toasted bun holds everything together.

For those who don't like beef or can't eat beef, they were offering an Ebi Burger with shredduce and spicy mayo.  This thing was super filling due to the huge shrimp mousse patty (which was coated with panko and fried).  I found it to be a bit too dense, but ultimately, it was still pretty good with a firm bounce texture and natural shrimp flavour.  Good spice from the mayo as it was also a bit tangy.  It helped provide some moisture to an otherwise dense patty.

Of course we got some Fries to share as well.  I consider these similar to Costco fries and it isn't an insult.  These are starch coated and fried until crispy.  The inside remains tender and soft while the outside is uniformly crispy.  As you can see, the menu at B2B isn't extensive as they want to do one thing and do it right.  That they do and you can't go wrong with their burgers.  I also like that they are licensed with a few beers on tap.  That went real well with the food.

The Good:

- Best smash burgers in town IMO

- Do one thing and do it well

- They are licensed!

The Bad:

- Ventilation isn't the best, you will smell like a smash burger when you leave (may be good too?)

- Limited seats