Devyn G.'s Profile

This isn't a review.  It's a eulogy.

I'm heartbroken to have seen that Black Dog is closing, or has closed.  It's one of my two favourite independent businesses (the other being Red Rocket Coffee on Queen) in all of Toronto that seem to have shut its doors in the same week.  

Thank you, Black Dog, for your uniqueness, your avant garde and charming vibe, your eagerness to listen and develop your DVD collection with the tastes of your community in mind.  If it was those same glorious traits that contributed to your loss as a business, then this is truly a sad state of affairs in the world.

No, we didn't have a meal there.  Nor did we stay in the hotel itself.  Yes, it's very lovely and very popular and very trendy and the band we saw there was very good.

But, um.  I have to tell you:   ... Worst. Martinis. Ever.  I mean, so weak that at first sip, I actually startled myself into thinking that maybe I had just drank from my glass of water.

No lie.

Nestled amid some of Corktown's extraordinary furniture shops and the Little Trinity Anglican Church historic redevelopment project is this small, unassuming convenience store.

You know, the type that offers your coffee in the morning. A sandwich.  Newspapers and magazines.  A small number of grocery items.  Gum.  Pop.  Milk.  

So why does this place turn me on?  Because, behind their stacks of pop cases and unkempt shelves, I sense a subtle vibe here that tells me that these people are doing The Best They Can With The Tools They Have in such a way where subtle, elegant grace helps supercede the limitations of their space.

They could have served coffee from a single, scarred, greasy pot, like so many other convenience stores.  But no, they've taken the extra step to offer five varieties of really good joe.  They're not a Starbucks either, but that doesn't stop them from keeping some store-brand cinnamon next to the coffee. Pour and stir and enjoy the classical or light jazz they've tuned the sound system to.

They have virtually no space to speak of, but that doesn't stop them from fitting two dining tables inside the place.  (Although, if I were them, I'd use the rustic ambience of the historic building next door to make an outside patio enclosure.)  

They could offer pre-packaged sandwiches at high mark-up.  But, again, no.  They offer full deli services with everything from BLTs to breakfasty sandwiches to bulgogi wraps to a variety of salads.  For the weight-conscious and quick-protein-seeking, they even offer simple, plain hardboiled eggs.

Run by a very friendly Asian family, they even go an extra mile and offer bi bim bop (Wednesdays), miso soup, and dumplings.  You run a business?  They cater breakfast and lunch.  

Ok, it's cramped and not terribly aesthetic.  But sometimes you have to just appreciate it when you can easily see that someone is trying very hard to be the best with what they have, and that's reason enough to offer your patronage.

With a new owner, Naturalis is now the Seventh Sister Bakery.  This is a good thing.

Now, their treats are all baked on-premises, soups are made from scratch, and salads and other tasties have been added to the menu.  Naturalis' bagel enthusiasts will be happy to know that the same outside source continues to supply their goods here too.  Nom nom nom.

Um. Sorry, but if you're going to charge me $10 for a burger, I'll expect it to be larger than the slice of tomato that came with it. Call me crazy.  Nice ambience and excellent on-tap beer selections won't make up for that, dude.

Sure, kindasorta trendy and swankier Sunrise is up the street, but if you're like me, you enjoy giving the business to tried-and-true family efforts.  Ari seems to have made the mark for breakfast places along the Roncy strip, having once been The Man behind another resto that (this has gotta hurt) actually still bears *his* name.

Aris Grill is a greasyspoon diner par excellence, offering solid, stick-to-your-ribs breakfasts made by friendly and approachable people.  (I've even had the experience of my server offering me fresh, homemade... like, for real homemade... raspberry jam straight from the mason jar.)

Some tips:  If you're a pancakes-and-eggs person, get the Big Breakfast instead of the pancakes and eggs: it's the same price and more bang for your buck.  Try their liver and onions.  Ask for the password for their free Wifi.

Just remember:  it is a greasyspoon, so expect to know that everything was made on the massive griddle there.  That includes "vegetarian" options, so be warned, rabbitfood eaters: even your nibbles will have been made directly next to the bacon and sausages.

If Nawab isn't a franchise, then it's coordinated by one helluva successful family.  In addition to this location in Mississauga's trendy Streetsville, they're in Thornhill.  And in India, Malaysia, Uganda, and several locations in the UAE.  

Sometimes, when ordering Indian, I suspect that the cooks cater their recipes to the comparatively timid Westerner palate and serve their hotter dishes to what someone in Poona might regard as suitable for toddlers. My chicken hyderabadi (fiery chicken with minced lamb) was very nummers though, and I was only disappointed that the serving was just this side of modest.  

In addition to the vindaloos, roganjosh, kormas, biryanis, the obligatory butter chicken, and other dishes that Westerners have come to expect, Nawab offers some plates that frankly I hadn't seen before.  (Maybe I just haven't been paying attention, or maybe I'm just that habitual in my ordering lamb korma or chicken vindaloo.)  Several prawn and other fish dishes are available here, including Bombay (a "roadside" recipe with chili paste, curry leaves and whole coriander), saffron, tawa (griddled prawn with onion, yoghurt and coriander leaves), and an Indian interpretation of Thai green curry.  The palak kofta (spinach dumplings stuffed with cottage cheese in a creamy spinach sauce) looked incredible.  The baigan bharta and baigan bagara (eggplant in tomato, onion, and yoghurt, either smoked and mashed or cubed and fried) would definitely meet my eggplant fix.

Our server was cordial, polite, and attentive.  The tunage was eclectic and unique without seeming overbearing or unpleasantly distracting.  Several wines and lagers make up for the standard booze selections, including beers from India.

You know, I've been so jaded about the quality of pizza in Toronto that when I parked my car in Pizzaville's small, shared lot (be careful no one parks immediately behind you and blocks you in... no, seriously), I was actually telling myself to be prepared for the same-ol' dry, bland, crackery suckage.

I have never been so happy to be so wrong.  

These slices were so laden with cheese and... wow, basil and oregano and...  ohmygod... sauce, they really have sauce on them...  that they did what a proper, honest slice should do:  bend and contort in my hands (both of them!) because of the gooey weight and content of it all.  Nope, no brittle crunchy slice is this, baby.  Nuuuuh uh.  This is what pizza is supposed to be.

Ok, fine, it's a franchise chain.  *sigh*  But, I tells ya, the folks at this particular Pizzaville outlet in High Park seriously know what they are doing.

The place is small with virtually no seating, but plan your orders to go or for delivery.  There's no side table with extra spices... but, trust me, you won't really be needing it.  Ordering is possible through their website.

Crusts come in thin, regular, and thick, and I'm guessing that slices-for-general-order are made with the thick option.  Toppings include bacon, chicken, ground beef, ham, pepperoni, Italian sausage, anchovies (does anybody really use anchovies?), steak, artichoke hearts, black or green olives, broccoli, "gourmet" garlic, green chili or jalapeno peppers, green or red (including roasted) or hot banana peppers, mushrooms, red onion, pineapple, sweet cherry or sundried or regular tomato, grilled eggplant, or grilled zucchini, asiago cheese, cheddar, double/extra cheese, feta, gouda, parmesan, provolone, bocconcini, pesto sauce, ginger, or hot chili flakes.  Holy God.

Their assortment of preplanned speciality pizzas include margherita, thin crust potato, thin crust goat cheese, extra thin crust veggie, asiago chicken, smoked gouda and BBQ chicken, parmesan grilled veggie, chicken pesto, the obligatory pepperoni party size, spinach/bacon/goat cheese, kalamata olive and goat cheese, and spinach/chicken/goat cheese.  

A small variety of pastas, salads, wings, poppers, and other items are available too.

Definitely worth checking out.  Just, again, make sure no one parks right behind you.  Really.

For me, "Streetsville's only authentic Irish pub" turned out to be a disappointment. Their "Burn Your Head Off" wing suicide sauce was anything but that, and frankly, they were some of the scrawniest, dry, most overcooked wings I may have ever had.  

However, the rest of their menu looks interesting and diverse enough that I still think it's worth another look. Not too many places offer lamb burgers, pulled beef sandwiches in Guiness BBQ sauce, or Newfoundland-style "CDG" chips.  The decor is relaxed, the patio overlooks trendy Streetsville, and the plate service was classy. Their late afternoon "Poverty Pints" events offer on-tap lagers at less than four bucks, and open mic nights happen at least once a week.  Plus, thank God, it's a family-run business and not yet another franchise chain. That scores big points in my world, lad.

I just won't order their wings again.  Ever.

The truth is that I'm torn.  Politically, I really want to dislike Wild Wing, and it's because it's a franchise chain, and because franchise chains tend to threaten local pubs and bistros and so ruin a local area's unique vibe and character.  There are enough stripmalls and carboncopy eateries in the world already, as far as I'm concerned.

The Wild Wing Corporation has seemingly sprung up all over downtown Toronto in the last year, clearly trying to homogenize and muscle in on the growing Buffalo wing craze.  This particular location is very probably trying to draw customers away from my own personal and beloved haunt, Loons, which is about a block away at the Roncesvalles/Howard Park intersection.  I'm worried.

Thankfully, Loons still has it down when it comes to solid, stick-to-your-ribs hot meals apart from the standard pubfare, and their wings are seriously good, all considered.  But I'm afraid that I do have to admit that, in some ways, Wild Wings is a like an upstart, young Sugar Ray Leonard here, giving the well-established challengers some bopping and swerving moves in the ring.

To start with, WW boasts some 91 flavours to choose from, and about half of those are actually not some variant of hot and spicy.  This is good news for those of a mellower palate who simply want to enjoy some pleasant sauces on their poultry limbs instead of feeling embers from Hades sliding down their throats.  

These flavours include a variety of assorted clerverly-named blends and fusions of any or all of these:  BBQ, jerk, pineapple, maple, curry, honey garlic, Thai, mango, garlic, Cajun, chipotle, lemon, dill, kethcup, buttermilk, parmesan, ranch, caesar, mustard, hickory, black pepper, teriyaki, and yes, chocolate.

But I'm a fire man, and the hottest to be offered here include "She's a Hottie" (triple suicide blend), "Cadillac Ranch" (caesar/ranch/suicide), "Home On The Ranch" (ranch/suicide), "Bubba's Backfire" (BBQ/suicide), "Catch Me If You Can" (maple/suicide), my personal fave "Dusty Muckaroo" (honey garlic/suicide), and their two super inferno options, "Sweatin Bullets" (a suicide/smokey BBQ fusion) and Ring Of Fire (blend of various suicides).  Whoah.

Wings are offered in counts of 9, 18, 28, 36, 50, and 100 pieces, all with option of regular or boneless, breaded or not.  It's a tad expensive here, but if you're smart you might show up on one of their specials nights: Tuesday (14 wings for $10), Wednesday (double wings and a pitcher for $30), or Thursday (pint and pound for $13).

Wings are served with ranch or bleu cheese options, but in cups that are half-full at best.  The metal busket (like those found at Duff's) is useful, as are the particularly firm and large wetnaps available.

Sometimes the vibe is cool and distant, but you can always relax on the extensive side patio with its young trees and view of passing streetcars.  

The brats eat free on Sundays.  The meatheads enjoy UFC on the big screens here.  If you're driving and it;s after normal business hours, take a chance and park in the Master Mechanic's lot across the street.

The biggest drawback is the price and the general lack of unique character (unless fresh-from-the-box psuedo-Western is your thing), but I have to say than tham thar wings is purdy damned okelydokely.