Showing posts with label fast food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fast food. Show all posts

Grandma Loves You (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, October 08, 2022 by

Grandma Loves You started in 2015, in Germany, as a family business with Sarah and Artin Davoodi, Sarah’s grandmother, and a bun in the oven. When the Davoodis immigrated to Canada, they opened a second location in Toronto to continue the tradition.

Sarah notes Grandma Loves You (GLY) pride themselves on treating customers with care; they want everyone who walks in to feel like they’re being cared for and nourishes while outside of their home. You’ll find that in their overstuffed sandwiches (don’t all grandmothers just want you to eat copious amounts of food?) and the little hand drawn hearts on the packaging.

From the number of customers who visited during my Friday lunch trip, I can see the community is reciprocating the love and has made GLY one of Yelp’s top 100 places to eat in Canada for 2022. There were couples, friends, families, and construction workers abound tucking into handheld creations. One client even acting as an ambassador as someone was trying to decide between GLY and the pizza place next door - sandwiches all the way!

GLY offers an extensive menu of submarines, sandwiches, hotdogs, and croissants. It can be difficult zeroing in on a choice, so I asked Sarah about her favourite items, which includes the gourmet French dog, chef’s choice sub, meatball sub, and the new BLT sub.

Since Sarah loves the subs, I opted for the Chef’s choice ($12.99 for the pictured 6 inch) that’s wrapped in a crunchy soft roll reminiscent of banh mi bread. It’s stuffed to the gills with toppings… I had to press and really stretch out the jaw to get the first bites in. The grilled chicken is neutrally seasoned allowing the house made sauces to shine through, blending into the fried onions to give the sandwich a real savouriness.

Not normally a fan of black olives, they work in the creation, becoming lost in the other ingredients so that it just adds a bit of saltiness. Pickled hot peppers provide interest to the sandwich without too much heat, and the creamy avocado holds everything together. It’s a sub with a lot of different textures and flavours. In other words, my kind of sub.

Same with the gourmet French dog ($9.49), which I was worried would be too sweet. Luckily, the blueberry preserve is more fruit than sugar helping to blend the other ingredients together without becoming the prominent flavour. If anything, the freshly grilled salty wiener comes through the most, GLY uses the long frankfurter that is surprisingly juicy for being a thinner dog. It becomes a “French” dog from the addition of brie, which when warm melts into the ultra soft croissant.

Having a sandwich for lunch seems so normal and overdone, but somehow GLY creates ones that are delicious and sought after. And to Sarah’s benefit, I could sense their care. Of course, I was invited in to try their food, so she made sure to take a few moments out of the crazy rush to answer my questions. But I also saw her invite people to take a seat at a table outside and bring orders out – walking around and calling out names to find the food’s rightful owner. She could have made people wait around for their order, but then that wouldn’t be the loving grandmother way. 

Overall mark - 8 out of 10
Disclaimer: The above meal was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in the mission statement, I will always provide my honest opinion. 

How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 1084 Yonge Street
 


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


Rudy (Toronto) for delivery

Posted on Saturday, July 24, 2021 by
Note: Prices in post are based on regular menu prices and may be higher when using delivery services

Sometimes life gets in the way of cooking. Sometimes life even gets in the way of dining out… or in our restricted dining age, Mother Nature puts a stop to the affair. It’s times like these that I still turn to delivery. After doing it for over a year, quickly ordering something from an app has become second nature. Don’t feel like cooking? Break out the app.

In all fairness, these lazy days are also when I get to experience different “fast food” places. In the past, McDonald’s was an occasional treat and Maker’s Pizza would generally fill in the rest. But, with all the lazy days I’ve experienced, we broke tradition and started ordering from other places instead. That’s when my husband read out great smash burgers in Toronto and realized there’s a Rudy in North York.

The Rudy burger ($6.99), with it’s smashed beef patty, is what drew him in. Quite frankly, I’m not sure why people like these burgers; to me, it tastes like having a burger patty in jerky format as all the juices are squeezed out and you’re left with crispy edges. It’s topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese, and their special sauce, but I still found it lacking in moisture. My husband tells me it’s supposed to be like this and it’s that caramelized crust that breaks through the soft bun that people like. I’d much rather get that crunch from raw onions or dill pickles any day.  

I’ll just stick with their chicken burger, the Valentino ($8.49), where the chicken patty is thick and juicy, but still arrives with a crispy lightly battered crust. The protein is amazing. Where there’s room for improvement is the bun – it’s way too soft becoming sticky and mushy and barely holds together.

At least they provide the sauces on the side or else that bun would have no hope. The Valentino sauce is sort of like a watery ranch and while the consistency is great for drizzling, it could be saltier. Once you really soak the patty with their light hot sauce and everything mixes with the coleslaw it does get tastier. Overall, a decent chicken sandwich.

Their fries ($4.19) are a little pricy but a fair size and can be shared amongst two. It just needs to be double fried, so it doesn’t arrive so soggy. And unlike the golden arche’s fries, these barely have a lick of salt. You’ll want to save some of the chicken burger sauce to dip these into.

I’ve certainly had my fill of chicken sandwiches and fries during the pandemic. Rudy hardly leads the pack, yet it wasn’t a disappointing experience either. Maybe I need to go beyond the chicken and broaden my palette by trying more smashed burgers – is it me, or do they seem to be all the rage lately? It’s certainly a possibility, because with life right now, I’m just so tired of cooking. Anyone feeling the same?


Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: Various locations
 Delivery: Uber, Doordash, Skip the Dishes
Referral Discount Codes
 Support the blog by using my referral code
 UberEats: use eats-ju6ta to get $5 off a $15 order 
 SkipTheDishes: click link to get $5 off a $15 order
 DoorDash: click link to get $20 off

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never order again
  • 6 - decent for delivery and takeout, but there's better
  • 7 - this is good, for delivery and takeout
  • 8 - great for delivery and takeout, it's almost like you're in a restaurant
  • 9 -  wow, it's like I'm eating at a restaurant
  • 10 - I'd happily order this for delivery or takeout instead of dining in any day!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Hot-Star North York is now open and they're having a promotion from Aug 25-27

Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 by

After the success of their downtown location, Hot Star Large Fried Chicken has opened a North York outpost so patrons in North Toronto can also enjoy their larger-than-life chicken. Lucky for me, during their August soft launch period, the store was relatively quiet for weekday lunch – finally, I could try the item people wait painfully in line for.

Some describe the large chicken cutlet as Taiwanese schnitzel, but it’s an inaccurate description. Firstly, Hot Star’s is much thicker - about half an inch wide while traditional schnitzel should be as thin as cardboard. Moreover, the breast bone remains connected at the bottom of the piece (hard to decipher at first since it is battered), while schnitzel is boneless.


However, true to other descriptions, it is as large as your face and does arrive piping hot as they’re made-to-order…taking about seven minutes for me.


For my first taste, I tried the original large fried chicken with extra spicy seasoning ($9.99). In reality, the flavouring is just chili powder sprinkled on top and even with the extra spicy it’s a manageable amount of heat that slowly builds with subsequent bites. Aside from having it plain, customers can also flavour it with salt and pepper, seaweed, plum or curry. For an extra 50 cents, there’s a wet version drizzled with barbeque sauce - a good option for those who like katsu.


It’s really large: enough to share (just be careful splitting it in half given the bottom portion does have the aforementioned bone) or saved for another meal (mine re-heated nicely in the toaster oven becoming crispier and less oily). Despite the size, I had to try the fried king oyster mushrooms ($4.99), which were delicious - just try resist biting into them as soon as they arrive. They’re really hot and after patiently waiting several minutes for them to cool, you can pop the entire nugget into your mouth, so a flood of crunch and sweetness is released in all its glory.


Normally, a fried chicken and drink combo is an additional $3.50. During August 25-27, 2017, the North York location is giving customers who purchase a large chicken cutlet, a blue curacao or green apple yoghurt drink for free. Head over soon before the lines start forming… once someone sees you holding the massive chicken slice, they’ll want one too.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10
Disclaimer: The large fried chicken was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide an honest opinion.
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 5525 Yonge Street
 Website: www.hot-star.ca

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
Hot Star Large Fried Chicken Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Burger's Priest (Toronto)

Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 by

When I heard about the line-ups (and disappointment when patties run out) at the Burger’s Priest, I knew I’d want to try the establishment, but the hype would have to die down first. Now that multiple locations have opened across Toronto and even Uber Eats delivers their product, my desires are fulfilled.    

My first bite was into the California classic ($8.87 with an extra $5.62 for a combo) after an evening of drinking by their Adelaide location. Luckily, there was no queue (compared to lunch hour) and within twenty minutes I was biting into a soft juicy meat patty.


The burger was decadent, the relatively thick patty sandwiched between a buttered and toasted bun resembling grilled cheese bread. Although the beef patty didn’t have that lovely char and smoky barbeque taste I love with burgers, there was still a strong beef flavour to make it standout. Containing cheese, sautéed onion, lettuce and tomato, the burger had all the classic toppings. However, the “secret sauce” noted on the menu became lost. Altogether, a delicious burger.

My second experience with Burger’s Priest was a delivery through Uber Eats from their North York outpost. The wait was understandably much longer, so long that I was a bit worried the sandwich would arrive cold. However, the regular hamburger ($6.83) was still warm, albeit the “smoke” ($1.79) or slices of deep-fried panko crusted jalapenos became soggy.


With the regular bun, you could taste the beef patty more although the burger didn’t standout compared to other premium fast food eateries – the buttered and toasted bun really makes it special. The four small rounds of jalapenos was a bit disappointing adding a light heat but no crunch or smoke.

Their fries, although somewhat expensive to add on, is a huge portion and can easily be shared. The fresh cut potato is soft with crispy edges (very similar to Swiss Chalet’s fries) and salty enough that no condiments are required.


All in all, you’ll get a good meal at the Burger’s Priest, their product is good. However, would I ever wait an hour to have it? Never … it’s not that good. Luckily, for you and I, the hype has died down. Long live the Priest.  

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 212 Adelaide Street West

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

The Burger's Priest Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato The Burger's Priest Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Welcoming the all new Mary Brown's

Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2016 by

Mary Brown’s Famous Chicken and Taters has undergone a rebranding, complete with new logo: Mary's lost her bonnet and sports a blowout bob instead. If you live in Toronto’s downtown core, it not surprising if you’re not familiar with the fast-food chain. Growing up in Scarborough, I’ve had my fair share of take-out from the Canadian restaurant, generally located in the suburbs.

Subsisting solely on the chicken and taters as a child, the grand re-opening party was my first taste of their chicken pop-ins ($5.39), Big Mary sandwich ($5.49), and poutine ($7.99)! My how Mary’s evolved with the times.

The pop-ins and poutine could easily be combined to make a winning combination: the chicken bites moist and well breaded, while the poutine smothered in hot gravy so the gooey cheese curds really gets a chance to melt. Put the two together and you’d have an epic poutine!


Meanwhile, the chicken patty on the sandwich is thick and actually a slice of chicken breast – it can flake a part and isn’t the formed burgers found at some competitors. Although the Big Mary sandwich provides a choice of regular or spicy, the latter is really just the addition of sriracha mayonnaise on top. Presumably, using the same patty is much easier for their operations, but takes away from the spicy experience as the spices aren’t actually worked into the batter.


As for the taste of their famous bone-in deep fried chicken and taters itself ($6.99 for three pieces and taters)? It was just as salty and moist as I remembered … the dry non-greasy skin giving way to the hot chicken juices. However, I think Mary’s done something to the breading recipe as it’s not nearly as crusty and crunchy as in the past.


Indeed, their prices are a couple dollars higher than the Colonel, but the quality is also a step above. After all, even without the bonnet, Mary can cook … honest to goodness.

Disclaimer: The above meal was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide an honest opinion.
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 3199 Dufferin Street

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Mary Brown's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

CLOSED: Mean Bao Delivery from Uber Eats (Toronto)

Posted on Tuesday, January 05, 2016 by

Mean Bao delivered with Uber Eats

As Uber enrages taxi drivers, they may soon add fast food delivery services to the list. In late 2015, the tech company launched the Uber Eats function, using their drivers to provide food delivery for numerous restaurants across the city.

Already being an Uber rider, I decided to test out the new app to take advantage of the $10 credit and free delivery being promoted during the 2015 launch. As fate would have it, Mean Bao (a place I’ve been wanting to try for a long time) was delivering during lunch.

Like Uber’s car service, the app was easy to navigate and already linked to my existing account and credit card. In a minute my order was placed with the system providing updates and revised delivery times (earlier than what was originally quoted before ordering). Surprisingly, the driver even met in the lobby of my company’s building; I didn’t need to wait at the nearest intersection as earlier Uber Eats pop-up days had done.


The braised beef bao ($3.95) was still warm containing a hefty slab of tender meat garnished with boiled bok choy, Taiwanese pickles, crushed peanuts and cilantro. Even with the pickles and nuts, the bao was rather soft, I would have liked more textural contrast (perhaps some carrot slivers or crunchier pickles would help). Nevertheless, the beef was well flavoured and the bao fluffy without becoming mushy.  


To make it a full meal, the cold noodle salad ($4.95) was a good addition and lends itself for delivery since it’s already cold. Along with the vermicelli were plump fried tofu puffs, julienned carrots, red cabbage and pickled daikon. The soy dressing was extremely garlicky with a hint of chili in the background. Overall, it would have been good if the garlic was toned down as the raw tang simply overpowered everything.


At this point, the majority of restaurants are in the downtown area, which is a shame when I need to return home to the suburbs. There has been the occasional juicing service or healthy eatery available during the weekends. Sadly, neither of those appeal to me. For those who are working late or too lazy to venture out of their building, a new savior is in town – let’s hope this doesn’t lead to additional protests and gridlock.

Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:



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