Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 440 Danforth Avenue
Type of Meal: Dinner
It’s been a while since I’ve ventured to the Danforth for delicious
Greek food. The Taste of the Danforth is a bit hectic for me, I’d rather go on
a normal night where tables are plentiful and the crowds subdued. But, we were
visiting for a reason: my friend and I were attempting to cultivate our artistic
side and try out a Paint Nite class.
But, before the Picassos in us would come out, we had to
fuel up on food and wine (at Pappa's a decent cabernet sauvignon only set us back
$35 a bottle). The grilled calamari ($11.95) was cooked until it had
a light smoky char and turned out tender. It was simply presented with olive oil, fresh thyme, bits
of bell peppers, capers and a wedge of lemon. On one hand, I liked that the
calamari was the star of the dish; but found the presentation a little lacking.
Although, the spoonful of sauce in the middle was
salty and flavourful so you really don't require tons of it.
Although hard to pronounce, the garithes me feta (baked
shrimp with feta cheese; $12.95) was great for sharing. Inside were four plump
sautéed shrimp topped with garlicky crushed plum tomatoes, red onion slivers
and an ample portion feta cheese.
It’s almost like a warm bruschetta but richer
(likely from the butter and liquor added to it). With the sheer amount of sauce
given there was plenty to slather on the soft white bread.
With all the starters, we ended up sharing an entrée. Visiting a Greek restaurant is my opportunity to have lamb – something they
do so well. With four choices available we went with the roast leg of lamb
($18.95). The leg is a leaner cut but also tends to have a gamier
taste to it (although not overwhelming).
Pappas gave such a big portion that I’m glad we shared as it’d
be too heavy for one person. There were different cuts put on the plate, and
the top slices where the meat also contained a thin sliver of fat and
connective tissue was best. Although there was a lamb gravy jus that accompanies
it, I personally wanted something more as it was slightly bland given there
wasn’t much of a crust on the lamb itself.
At Pappas it was my first experience with having baklava
($4.95) warm. I found it mellowed out the sweetness, but did cause the bottom
to crystalize and stick to the plate. All in all, it was good but could have
benefited from more ground nut mixture as I found it was predominantly phyllo
pastry.
All the food and wine left us satisfied and ready to paint!
I’ll be the first to say I’m not artistic – trying to get my hand to recreate
what’s in my head is so hard. But, the instructors broke it down step-by-step
and encouraged us to just have fun with it. Soon I started relaxing and just
going with it – plus with paint if you make a mistake you can repaint over it.
In the end, I was happy with my creation and it will look perfect in the guest
bathroom. If you're interested in reading more about the Paint Nite experience, #Parv's post offers a better insight.
Pappas was better than I expected – I knew a restaurant that
had to rely on Paint Nite activities to bring in customers likely isn’t booming
with business. Portions and prices were reasonable, the service friendly and
efficient, and the dishes tasted decent.
If only they didn’t cram all the painters into the top
section of their restaurant (you wouldn’t want to experience if you’re
clusterphobic) my friend and I could have even had more wine given their low
bottle prices. Alas, the close quarters left no table space for glasses and
certainly didn’t encourage us want to stay for another round of drinks after
painting.
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
