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I admit it. Yes it is true, there are times I resort to the dreaded store-bought frozen dinner. Okay I said it. Judge me if you want. But one can't deny it is convenient and generally well-priced. On the flip side, if you've ever looked at the back of a Swanson's dinner, the nutritional (or lack of) facts are rather disturbing. I guess it is a great way to get a day's worth of sodium and fat, if that was your goal. There is an alternative though with Chef 2 Home. You can have meals delivered that are fresh (albeit you have to reheat) and generally better for you than a frozen dinner.
They deliver every Tuesday and Thursday with a 2-dish minimum order ($15.00 each) or $54.00 for a meal plan consisting of both days and 4 dishes in total. Our first order consisted of Chicken Kiev and Cabbage Rolls. The food came packaged in hard plastic take-out boxes, which could be used in the microwave. I decided to transfer them onto a plate instead. For the Chicken Kiev (I didn't heat it up for the picture), the chicken was moist despite being subjected to the microwave. This was partially due to the garlic butter on top which melted to give both extra flavour, but also more moisture. The large serving of cabbage rolls was on point with tender leaves that were not soggy. Inside, the rice and tomato sauce mixture was well-seasoned having a nice balance between sweet and tangy.
Our next order included Mongolian Beef as well as Bacon Mac & Cheese. As much as the flavour of the Mongolian beef was rich and deeply sweet (it penetrated the meat), the beef itself was a bit on the drier side. That was directly the result of it being a lean cut. With that being said, it wasn't tough either. As much as plain white rice isn't super exciting, they nailed it where it was fluffy while still chewy and not soggy. Well, the mac & cheese was a hit with the kiddies as it was littered with meaty bacon. Moreover, the pasta was still al dente despite being reheated. The sauce was sinfully cheesy and full-flavoured. It didn't hurt that there was a layer of shredded cheddar on top that melted nicely in the microwave.
With each package, we got 2 homemade Cookies for dessert. The first time, it was chocolate chip marshmallow and the second was rainbow chip. These were pretty sweet due to the ingredients, yet not overwhelmingly so. Texturally, they were crispy on the outside and appealingly chewy and soft on the inside - a nice way compliment to some pretty solid meals. Sure, the stuff from Chef2Home isn't necessarily fancy, but they are done well and offer up an alternative to canned or frozen food. This is especially useful for people who are either too busy or unable to go out, shop and then prepare a home-cooked meal.
*All food was complimentary*
The Good:
- Solid eats
- Food holds up well when reheated in the microwave
- Cost is reasonable for a weekly meal plan that includes delivery
The Bad:
- Since it has to be reheated, one must time things right for it to come out like it should
After my last minute decision to go for something close and simple by the St. Lawrence Market, we had time on our hands. Viv suggested we hit up Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Angel Cafe because there was no better time. Wow, she actually didn't object to overeating! Who replaced her with this person I do not recognize? Now for those unfamiliar with Uncle Tetsu, they specialize in Japanese cheesecake which is usually lighter and less sweet than the North American variety. The Angel Cafe is an offshoot of their take-out only location where lineups are commonplace. Another interesting feature are the "maid" waitresses who not only provide attentive service, they do singing performances as well on the stage. A little different yes, but it was all the rage in Japan at one point.
At first, I was going to order one each of the 3 featured items, but Viv spotting the Tasting Platter that had a little of everything. Well that was a good idea! It included the fluffy Original and Matcha Cheesecake as well as the Lunar Yuzu Original and Matcha, Chocolate. We also got the Angel Hat Cake in strawberry and original. Lastly, there was the Matcha Ice Cream. The fluffy Japanese cheesecake was light and airy while being not sweet at all. I found that the original was a good base for any of the accompanying sauces. As for the matcha, it was also not sweet with an appealing bitter aftertaste. The lunar style was more similar to the North American style being richer and creamier. I found the original was tangy from the yuzu and slightly sweeter as well as cheesier. The matcha seemed more intense in this form. The kids loved the chocolate as it was rich, silky and purposefully sweet.
The light and sponge-like Angel Hat Cake was barely sweet with only the lightest flavour, even the strawberry (that tasted like Pocky). We found the sauces were necessary to amp the flavour and moisture for the 2 slices. Melty and decently sweet, the flavourful matcha ice cream had a nice bitter aftertaste as well. On the side were 3 sauces including Matcha, Chocolate and Strawberry. I found the matcha to be intense and concentrated while the chocolate was sweet and silky. The strawberry tasted quite natural with a light tang to go with the purposeful sweetness. Viv also had the Matcha Latte which didn't sport the cute bear or cat or whatever, so we felt kinda slighted. It was creamy and milky while not too sweet with a bitter aftertaste. So to answer the question, "is it worth lining up for?", I would say not really, but if you can get it with little wait, it is good for sure.
The Good:
- If you like light and airy with minimal sweetness
- If you like the "maid" thing
The Bad:
- It isn't cheap
- Good, but not sure if I'd lineup for it
Originally, we had reservations at The Good Son, run by Top Chef Canada alum, Vittorio Colacitti, however, we were just not wanting to go very far from St. Lawrence Market. Call it travel fatigue (even though it was only 3 days into our 24 day adventure), so we ended up across the street at Market Street Catch (sister restaurant to Buster's Sea Cove found in the market itself). Besides, we were on the "see-food" diet where we saw food across the street and wanted to eat it. Ironic that that they served "seafood" as well.
To start things off, we got both the Seafood Chowder and Lobster Bisque. Thick and relatively creamy, the chowder was chock full of tender potatoes, soften carrots and very little in the way of seafood. When we did find some, the clams were tender and buttery. There were a few baby scallops and even smaller pieces of fish. I found the broth to be fairly mild with only a touch of brininess and very little saltiness. As for the bisque, it was too thick in my opinion because it seemed too chowder-like. It wasn't very silky as there were bits of things including dry lobster or at least I thought it was lobster. There really should've been at least a few token pieces. In terms of taste, it was more tomatoey than the classic lobster aromaticness.
For my main, I decided on the Seafood Linguine which was a pretty generous portion of fairly al denta pasta. It was drenched in a bit too much sauce which made the dish rather heavy. I did find it balanced between tomato and cream. Although there wasn't a wealth of seafood, the 3 large prawns were on point being meaty with a buttery snap. There were only a few baby scallops and as many mussels as you see in the picture. I thought there was a bit too much in the way of red onion which dominated the flavour profile. Viv ended up with the Grilled Arctic Char which was beautifully grilled with a tasty and smoky char. The fish was well-seasoned while moist and flaky on the inside.
My son had the Cod and Chips which was also a huge portion, especially for $11.50. The 2 pieces of fish were prepared properly with a light crunchy batter and flaky soft fish on the inside. We found the fries to be rather overdone though as they were dense and more chewy than crispy. Tartar sauce was pretty good being creamy with some tang. As much as this was an inexpensive meal that worked out due to its location, the food for us was hit and mostly miss. Hence, your experience can be wildly different depending on what you order.
The Good:
- Large portions
- Reasonable pricing
- Casual and good for families
The Bad:
- Food is hit and miss
- Seating gets scarce during peak times
The likelihood that I willingly and knowingly make a visit to a vegetarian and/or vegan restaurant is pretty slim. Now add in the fact that I had to "fool" my son into eating anything remotely close to his non-preferred foods makes it even more remote. I think if I had told him straight up that we were bound for Virtuous Pie would elicit nightmarish screams and protest. However, we really went there and yes, I didn't say a word. To be fair, from what I've heard, the place ain't bad especially when no meat or cheese is involved.
Well, it wasn't too much of a stretch (sorry for the pun) for him to try their version of the classic Margherita Pizza. This featured San Marzano tomato sauce, cashew mozzarella and fresh basil on a 3-day hand-stretched crust. Normally, most thin-crust pizzas are generally softer in the middle, but not this one. It was firmly crunchy (and a bit dry) emulating a hard cracker-like texture. I found the tomato sauce to be decently flavourful with a mild tang. The cashew mozzarella did its job and fooled my son. However, the "Italian Field Roast Sausage" on the Flower & Water didn't emulate meat enough for him to like it. For me, I love gluten and the texture was spot on. The pizza was a little spicy with a strong roasted fennel sweetness as well as the aromatics from the confit garlic.
We also got the Super Funghi with scalloped potatoes, truffle almond ricotta, wild mushrooms and rocket. This was noticeably Earthy and aromatic with the robust texture of the potatoes. It was drier than the other 2 pizzas though. To change things up, we tried their Potato Salad sporting firm chunks of purple and regular nugget potatoes. There was a considerable amount of dill and onion flavour. I also enjoyed the large amount of plump mushrooms. So, from reading my post, you can clearly see I wasn't turned off by the non-meat and cheese pizzas. To be honest, I would prefer a typical Neapolitan pizza more, but this wasn't bad at all.
The Good:
- Fairly appealing for a vegan pizza
- Simple and minimalist, yet modern
The Bad:
- For meat-eaters, this may not replace the real thing.
Congratulations to Cindy Lam for winning the draw for a $100 GC to the restaurant of her choice! Cindy, please email me at admin@shermansfoodadventures.com!!!
Staying across the street from The Royal Ontario Museum (aka the ROM) allowed us to get some needed sleep before it opened. But in a blink of an eye, the place had a lineup out the door and was bustling with activity. After a few hours there, it was no wonder why since there was so much to see! It was established that we had to grab some lunch and come back in the afternoon to see the rest. We made the short walk (or long walk according to the whining kids...) over to Burger's Priest on Bloor. When they say TO is a burger town, they aren't kidding as we spotted many different joints around as well as many restaurants offering a good one on their menus.
But over at BP, it was all about the Vatican City sporting a double-cheeseburger sandwiched in between 2 grilled cheese sammies with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo and ketchup. Due to the large amount of processed cheese, the burger ate on the saltier side (probably exceeds one's sodium intake for the day), but was still enjoyable since the meat was moist and juicy. The grilled cheese was on point with crispy and buttery surfaces while melty on the inside. It was good, but really, the shock factor was more impressive than the burger because my Double-Cheeseburger was much more tasty as it was less salty and the soft bun served as the perfect vessel for the moist and well-seared meat.
Viv went for something a bit different in Peter's Denial featuring a fried breast that was moist and nicely brined. The batter was crispy and appealingly spicy. It was balanced out by the sweet creamed corn (yes really) and gravy on the same soft bun. This was actually quite good despite the weird corn concoction. Along with my cheeseburger, I had the Chili Cheese Fries which were overloaded with meaty chili and melted cheddar. I found the chili to be overly mild for my own tastes, but okay overall. There was enough of it to coat every fry. About those fries, they were crispy, starchy and really good.
Lastly, we added a Chocolate Milkshake for good measure and it was good as well. Lightly creamy and totally drinkable, it was more airy than thick. It was chocolatey without being overly sweet. Due to the airiness of the shake, it melted rather quickly and became a rich chocolate milk. So did Burger's Priest live up to the hype (well, the hype about it for a visitor that is)? For us, it was a yes as we enjoyed the double-cheeseburger with its simplicity and being well-executed all-around. As I said before, the Vatican City was more for the novelty than anything else.
The Good:
- Meaty and juicy beef patties
- Soft, but robust bun
- Good fries
The Bad:
- A little pricey
- Made-to-order, so we had to wait (not really a bad thing though)
Posts
I admit it. Yes it is true, there are times I resort to the dreaded store-bought frozen dinner. Okay I said it. Judge me if you want. But one can't deny it is convenient and generally well-priced. On the flip side, if you've ever looked at the back of a Swanson's dinner, the nutritional (or lack of) facts are rather disturbing. I guess it is a great way to get a day's worth of sodium and fat, if that was your goal. There is an alternative though with Chef 2 Home. You can have meals delivered that are fresh (albeit you have to reheat) and generally better for you than a frozen dinner.
They deliver every Tuesday and Thursday with a 2-dish minimum order ($15.00 each) or $54.00 for a meal plan consisting of both days and 4 dishes in total. Our first order consisted of Chicken Kiev and Cabbage Rolls. The food came packaged in hard plastic take-out boxes, which could be used in the microwave. I decided to transfer them onto a plate instead. For the Chicken Kiev (I didn't heat it up for the picture), the chicken was moist despite being subjected to the microwave. This was partially due to the garlic butter on top which melted to give both extra flavour, but also more moisture. The large serving of cabbage rolls was on point with tender leaves that were not soggy. Inside, the rice and tomato sauce mixture was well-seasoned having a nice balance between sweet and tangy.
Our next order included Mongolian Beef as well as Bacon Mac & Cheese. As much as the flavour of the Mongolian beef was rich and deeply sweet (it penetrated the meat), the beef itself was a bit on the drier side. That was directly the result of it being a lean cut. With that being said, it wasn't tough either. As much as plain white rice isn't super exciting, they nailed it where it was fluffy while still chewy and not soggy. Well, the mac & cheese was a hit with the kiddies as it was littered with meaty bacon. Moreover, the pasta was still al dente despite being reheated. The sauce was sinfully cheesy and full-flavoured. It didn't hurt that there was a layer of shredded cheddar on top that melted nicely in the microwave. 
With each package, we got 2 homemade Cookies for dessert. The first time, it was chocolate chip marshmallow and the second was rainbow chip. These were pretty sweet due to the ingredients, yet not overwhelmingly so. Texturally, they were crispy on the outside and appealingly chewy and soft on the inside - a nice way compliment to some pretty solid meals. Sure, the stuff from Chef2Home isn't necessarily fancy, but they are done well and offer up an alternative to canned or frozen food. This is especially useful for people who are either too busy or unable to go out, shop and then prepare a home-cooked meal.
