Welcome back.
Here is the second of my trilogy in four parts on the Al.com article Huntsville's 20 Most Distinctive Dishes. The first of which was last month and the other two will be posted over the next couple months.
6) Locally brewed beer by Olde Town Brewing and Straight to Ale. (Huntsville) Available at various locations.
Olde Town Brewing Co.: They began operations in the summer of 2004 and were the first brewery in Huntsville since the repeal of Prohibition. The brewery was devastated by a fire in 2008 and the company never seemed to recover. They officially closed shop in early 2011 before I was able to sample some of their wares.
Straight to Ale: Born in the basement of co-owner Dan Perry, Straight to Ale first hit the market in the spring of 2010 and as of the summer of 2012 was only available in North Alabama. Their beer names are either puns such as "He Ain't Heffe" or locally themed such as this sample, Monkeynaught IPA. A tribute to the monkey's dispatched to space from Redstone Arsenal during the pioneering days of NASA. This is almost a glass full of tangerine or sweet grapefruit. It's very citrusy (as they advertise) and downright fantatic. If you like the citrus fruits, you'll probably love this.
7) Fish Taco's ~ Bandido Burrito Co. (Huntsville)
Certainly one of the best things on this list. BBC is not a lot to look at from the outside. Occupying what looks like a one time Burger King. In fact, the exterior doesn't hold much promise of good things within. But don't ever judge a book by it's cover. This place is great, led by the fish tacos. They come 2 to an order with Mexican Rice and Refried beans. (both sides were very tasty) A piece of lightly seasoned tilapia each, topped with cabbage, tomato, onions, cilantro and a white sauce made of dill, lime juice and Mexican crema. They are utterly delicious.
What made this dish is the sauce. It added a great deal of depth.
I can also recommend the Combo Burrito. Nothing earth shattering about it. Just plain tasty.
8) Jalapeno Cheddar Bread ~ FredBread (Huntsville) Available locally.
What we have here is basically a loaf of sandwich bread studded with jalapenos and cheddar cheese. On it's own with a bit of butter this was great. I didn't get a chance but I think it was just screaming to be made into a grilled cheese sandwich. Very tasty stuff.
What really makes this is, it's bread. Nuff said.
I recommend purchasing this on court square at Harrison Brothers Hardware. A wonderfully restored hardware store from days gone by.
Chicken Berlin ~ Cafe Berlin (Huntsville)
A breaded chicken breast topped with Jarlsberg cheese, sauteed onions and sliced green apple. It was okay but really lacked any depth. The chicken was plain breast meat, the breading wasn't particularly well seasoned and even the Jarlsberg cheese, onion and apple didn't kick this up a notch. Here, the sum was exactly that of it's parts.
What made this dish was the red cabbage that was a side. It was fantastic.
I can also recommend the bratwurst platter.
10) Big 8 Pizza ~ Big Ed's Pizzeria (Huntsville)
Pepperoni, sausage, ham, green pepper, onions, fresh mushrooms, green and black olives. A seemingly nice combination however the thin crust was way too weighed down by all the toppings and too much water leached out and in general, the whole thing was a mess.
Nothing made this dish. It's just ill fated.
I can however highly recommend Big Ed's pizza. We had a simpler pizza with just pepperoni and black olives and it was fabulous. The best pizza in the city.
So there you go. Some great and some not so great stuff. Check back in a few weeks for part III.
Disclaimer:
This is not a political opinion piece. I'm trying to stick to straight
facts here. So please, let’s keep this discussion to the food.
Unless
you've been living on Mars, in a cave and under a rock, you've probably
heard that the United States invaded Iraq and deposed Saddam Hussein.
Claiming victory several months later and leaving the country in a
quagmire. While on the surface, ridding the country of a murderous
tyrant seemed like a good idea, if you get a chance to talk to someone
from Iraq, a different picture takes shape. One where a delicate
balance, held together with Saddam's iron fist, has been upset. One
where, clearly, they were better off with the devil they knew. In this
case, instead of the many devils they didn't know. I've been lucky
enough to converse with some Iraqi people who've left the country
because it had simply become too dangerous. As one told me, "Used to be 1
Hussein. Now there's 100."
For
young Sahar and her extended family, the opportunity to leave the
homeland and come to Canada has been life changing. Now here 7 years,
they've opened a small restaurant serving some of the tastes that they
brought with them. Popular Middle Eastern specialties such as Shawarma,
Falafel and Baklava, (popular here too) are on the menu but what really
makes Al Tanoor so much more than just another in a line of Shawarma
places is the tandoor they have in their kitchen. Breads like Samoon, a bun like device and Tanoor, similar to Laffa and simply know as "bread" are baked daily on site and bring a taste of Iraqi to the GTA.
Al Tanoor sits in a strip mall in Toronto's Wexford
neighbourhood. A growing Muslim community. Logically, it's in the best
area in the city to secure yourself a Shawarma. Either of Iraqi,
Lebanese or Turkish decent.
Inside
there's a handful of tables with chairs and a counter at the back of
the dining room. That's where the Shawarma does it's magical dance and
things are grilled. There's a hot bar with rice and other dishes as well
as the condiment station where sandwiches and the like are fitted out.
The main kitchen, where the tandoor resides, is in back.
So let's get a look at these Iraqi delights.
Being
cooked in house (and their specialty), the Samoon bread was beautifully
fresh and tasty. It makes me think of what the offspring of a pita and
Italian roll would be. Quite conducive to stuffing as it seems the
interior is a bit more airy. The house special (shawarma) comes on one
of these buns instead of a pita.
Kibbe
(meaning Ball) is a bulger wheat croquette native to the Middle East.
This version has highly seasoned ground beef stuffed into the dough and
is then deep fried. This particular specimen is very tasty but, (I guess
me being a sauce guy) I thought it could use some sort of dipping
sauce. Traditionally they’re either eaten with or without a condiment.
Your choice. Sahar suggested concocting a sauce for next time.
The
Chicken Shawarma special (here in a Samoon) is some of the best in the
city. Terrifically flavourful, I was able to get it cooked a little
more well done. It may seem counter intuitive to cook the chicken to
well done but there’s enough fat to keep it moist while the shaggy bits
of meat get beautifully crispy. A terrific contrast in tastes and
textures. All in all, this is a fantastic sandwich and a steal at $2.99.
The
Ayran yogurt drink, in my mind, is kinda meh. It’s quite popular but I
didn’t care for it. It tastes like salty yogurt. I sometimes think I
need to try it again but bring some juice mix.
Also
fantastic is the Beef Shawarma. Nicely seasoned and very tender. On a
pita is my favourite way to have Shawarma and this is no exception. The
condiments are fresh and they have one of the better hot sauces for
these sandwiches there. Good flavour and plenty of kick for such a
little amount. The condiments are pretty much your usual suspects. Toum
(Garlic sauce), lettuce, tahini, onions, etc. One of the best Shawarma
in the city. Ask for a beef and chicken mix for something a little
different.
Shish
Tawook, meaning “skewered chicken” in English is just that. Marinated
cubes of breast meat, skewered and grilled. AT's version is simply
fantastic. Heavily season it came perfectly grilled. The meat was very
tender, had a nice exterior while remaining very moist and flavourful
inside. There was a pretty ample amount as well. The Tahini and hot
sauce make it even better. Full marks here to Sahar as she absolutely
nailed the cooking on this. Shown above with salad it made for a full
and healthy lunch. I subbed out the rice for Tabbouleh.
Al
Tanoor make easily my favourtie Baklava as well. This traditional Iraqi
style baklava uses simple sugar instead of honey. It’s used a bit more
sparingly and allows the top layers of phyllo to puff up nicely and stay
crispy. The whole thing is much more reserved in the sweetness
department. As such, it’s much, much more appealing.
Well there you have it folks, a taste of Iraq without ever having to jump in an up armoured Humvee and risk life and limb.
You can find Al Tanoor at 1993 Lawrence Ave E. in Toronto, On.
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You can also find them on facebook.
Well that's all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
In 1951 Fooad Haba did an Aliyah. That is to say, his father Sason packed up the family and moved them from their native Iraq to the holy land, Israel. A baker by trade, Sason brought his taboon and established the first Iraqi bakery near Mahane Yehudah Market (referred to as The Shuk) in Jerusalem. Sason also brought with him generations of experience as a baker. Which he would pass on to Fooad. The bakery specialized in the popular Iraqi bread, Laffa.
Eventually Fooad's son, Sasi would settle in Canada. First in Montreal and eventually, Toronto. Having turned his back on his baking heritage Sasi worked many different jobs. In the fall of 2008, while working for a pool company, the jobs ran out. At the urging of his father, he decided to get into the bread business. He brought the taboon with him and his father would teach him the ropes. With his business partner, Yoram Gaby (a baker as well) they opened Dr. Laffa. Serving some of the most authentic Israeli food in the GTA. In fact some say the best anywhere outside Israel.
Dr. Laffa sits in an industrial area just inside Toronto’s northern boundry.
There’s a fairly small dining room and plenty of room for those there to get take away. The star of the show though is the taboon that's in the open kitchen. So let's get a look at what's cooking.
Laffa, for those who don't know about his unique and rare bread, is of Iraqi heritage and is cooked on a taboon. It's a fair bit larger than a regular pita, is quite light and fluffy on the A side and crisp and golden brown on the B side. It doesn't tear easily and is, if flattened, rather thin. It puffs or blisters, up quite a bit when baked and doesn't have much flavour. It really doesn't need much though, it's more or less a canvas on which other things shine. Seeing as how bread is my favourite food, I still love it.
Your greeted at the table with a selection of pickles. Cucumbers, carrots and cabbage. The slaw is fine as are the carrots. The pickles are quite nice though. They’re half sour and have some nice crunch.
Shakshuka is a dish that's North African in origin and very common for breakfast in the Middle East. It's name is derived from a common last name in Tunisia, Chakchouk. That said, Turkey and Yemen also lay claim. Given that it reminded me of the Merguese sausage dish I had at a Tunisian restaurant, I'll go with the former.
Basically, it's eggs poached in a mildly seasoned (with harrisa) tomato broth that's loaded with chilies (mild ones), onions and roasted garlic. Quite frankly, there's a ton going on in this dish.
The Shakshuka Special, which is what I had is the basic dish with the addition of Merges sausage. This Middle Eastern lamb sausage is highly seasoned and incredibly tasty. Pretty much every bite with this dish is different. A deep, rich tomato flavour permeates, sometimes a bit garlicky, other times rich from the egg yolk. A hint of spice once in a while or sweet from a different chili. Just an incredible dish that's comfort food at it's best. Mostly served in the winter months in Israel.
The Shawarma meat was something I've never seen. Instead of the usual chicken, Dr. Laffa was using turkey. The turkey was embedded with lamb fat as it's basting agent. The meat wasn't heavily seasoned but more left to stand on it's own merits. The sandwich was stuffed into a laffa with a nice mixture of sauces and vegetation. I think my bread of choice for shawarma is still pita but this was a nice change. All in all, this was a great sandwich. And big too. No, not big, HUGE!!
In the run up to, and during Chanukah, Jews will often eat things deep fried.
Commemorating the miracle of the temple oil. Sufganiyah (SOOF-gone-ee-AH) are traditional jelly filled donuts that fit this bill nicely. Dough balls are fried, filled with jelly and topped with powdered sugar. These specimens are good but I think could be better. For me, there wasn’t enough jelly in them. Outside of that, I really liked them. I found them a bit more savoury than most donuts and to a degree, a bit more like bread than donut. These are totally not like the light, airy Krispy Kreme Original Glaze donuts. They’re denser and savoury balanced out the powdered sugar nicely. I rather enjoyed the chewiness.
Baklava is a traditional dessert all over the Middle East. Chopped pistachios are sandwiched between layers of phyllo or, as in the case here, dressed up a bit more nicely. There’s plenty of sugar, usually in the form of honey to sweeten these up. While I really like baklava, I don’t love it. These specimens here are among the best I’ve had though.
Well there you have it folks, a little taste of Israel right here in TO.
You can find Dr. Laffa at 401 Magnetic Dr in Toronto.
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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.
Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
Davwud
Perhaps the biggest thing that makes up the character of the United States is the many different regional accents or topolects. (regional dialects). One could never confuse a person from rural Louisiana with someone from Brooklyn for instance. As much a part of the fabric of the US it’s also part of the Pop Culture. Go to your local Books-A-Zillion and you can find many, many dictionaries on the subject.
In the American Rust Belt there are a few variances on a certain dialect and one can be found in and around Pittsburgh. The fine folks of Steeltown have a speak that while similar, is different from those of Buffalo or Chicago. Affectionately known as “Pittsburghese.” Of course not all residents speak it and in fact, it’s considered more how people think Pittsburghers speak than how they actually do. But if you find yourself faced to face with some speaking this local tongue, just use this handly little translator.
Playing on this topolect in Pittsburgh is Eggs N’At. The little breakfast and lunch place “with plenty of home made recipes and a jaggin' around (fun) kind of atmosphere.”
Sometimes I think the single best word you can use to describe a breakfast place is “Solid.” Since they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it gives you a solid foundation for your day. Without that, it’s just a house of cards. Couple that with a very friendly staff. You’ll have a happy tummy and mind as you set out for the day. (or continue your day if it’s lunch you’re after) Walking in the door you’ll immediately be confronted with your first Pittsburghese question, “Jeet jet?” If you haven’t, you’re in the right place.
Eggs N’at’s dining room is comfy and cozy. Which is to say not very big. Two dozen or so seats if you don’t count the ones on the back deck. The place is clean, bright and decorated with framed Classic Rock album covers. For someone of my age, it was a trip down memory lane. There’s also a couple flat screen TV’s for your entertainment pleasure.
So let’s have a look at these solid breakfast items. Or as the say in Steeltown, “a looky at dese solid breffis items.”
Mrs. Sippi's sausage and eggs were straight on good. There's not really much to say about the eggs. Over easy, cooked to perfection they were just as they should be. The link sausage was quite nice. Not overly seasoned but with a hint of country breakfast sausage but tasting mostly of pork. The whole wheat toast was really nice. Fresh made every morning from a local bakery. The best part was the home fries. Chopped up potato griddled on the flat top with some onion and a bit of bacon. Ya, I said that, BACON!!! How could they possibly be bad??
My Corned Beef Hash was very good. Again, prepared on the flat top for a nice crust it was pretty much a 50/50 mix of potato and meat. I'd like to have seen some onion but I won't complain. The eggs were just as Mrs. Sippi's. My toast however was excellent. Caraway Seed Marble Rye. It was fantastic. Nicely toasted with a nice taste of rye and caraway seed. Just terrific.
You can find Eggs N’at at 8556 University Blvd. in Moon Township, Pa.
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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.
Woll ats alls fer now folks, see ya next time in da food court
Davwud
If you're like me you've probably heard of the "Balkan's" without ever really knowing where they are. Well, they're in S/E Europe bounded (generally) on 3 sides by 4 seas (Adriatic, Mediterranean, Marmara and Black) and on the other by 3 Rivers (Danube, Sava and Kupa). Consisting, of Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and it's most well known denizen, Greece. The Balkan Peninsula has seen it's fair share to problems over the last few decades. Civil war and financial hardships have ravaged the region.
That war in what was Yugoslavia offered as much as any conflagration can give. Up to and including genocide. For Ante Ostojic staying in his native Serbia would be dangerous. Ante was married to Lucija who was of Croation birth. For a mixed couple at that time, it was virtually a death sentence. In 1993 The family pulled up stakes and moved to Canada and what is now the GTA. Ante continued plying his trade and opened a butcher shop in Mississauga. Serving the growing number of Yugoslavians who had also fled the decimated area. In 2007 he and his son Mario opened Royal Meats BBQ. The
restaurant serves food made fresh from the butcher shop that range from
the well known like salads and burgers to the obscure like Chevaps and
Karadordeva.
The snazzy restaurant in south Etobicoke has a beautiful patio and a slick, modern feel. The almost night club look and ultra clean environment is spacious and, a rarity in TO, has plenty of parking. It sits prominently on a corner. All about location.
Inside the place looks like a restaurant and butcher shop had a baby. You walk in, order from the meat case like a butcher and then your food gets cooked like a burger joint. Take a seat and wait to be paged while your meat of choice is grilled up. Most of those critter choices come in two large sizes. Half and full pound weights.
So let’s have a look at these Balkan goodies.
They have all the normal burger condiments plus a couple other regional staples. Kajmak is a spread of butter and unripened cheese and Ajvar (shown left). Known as "House Sauce" Ajmar is a relish made of roasted eggplant, garlic and red bell peppers. I don’t get much out of the Kajmak other than a rich buttery flavour. Like there’s something wrong with that. The Ajmar is really tasty. Not spicy but still tasting of peppers it’s terrific. Certainly a nice change.
The Lepinja (They spell it Lepinya) is a staple bread in the region. This fairly large bun serves as the vehicle for all their sandwiches. It has a very soft crust and a pretty hearty texture. It's not overly flavourful but good none the less. More like a canvas than part of the picture in my estimation. I think it could probably use just a bit more salt but I'm not complaining. They serve them buttered and grilled. A nice smoky component is picked up off the grill that just adds to the flavour.
I really love the burgers. These are not the "Classic American Cheeseburger" type. These are larger, much more heavily seasoned and made of pork and veal. They're also done on a grill so it's more like a back yard BBQ type burger. A very nice combination that works well with the seasoning. I get it topped with onion, Kajmak and Ajmar. The flavours really come together very well although the Lepinja was maybe just slightly too big.
Chevaps are a staple in the Balkans. These meat logs (about 2.5 - 3 oz ea.) of veal and pork are simply seasoned with salt and pepper and really, that's all they need. There's enough flavour in those two meats that simply accenting them, not altering them works very well. I get my sandwich exactly the same as the burger. All in all it tastes great but unfortunately rather unwieldy. Usually you get a crusty bun that provides a sort of exoskeleton or a burger patty that provides some back bone. Here the bun is super soft and the Chevaps have a tendency to roll out. As a result the whole thing is hard to hold on to, hard to maintain structural integrity (usually not a bad thing but in this case it is) and as a result, hard to manage. Sorta like putting Sloppy Joes on Wonderbread.
The Karadordeva, a chicken cutlet stuffed with Kaymak, breaded and deep fried is renamed Royal Cannon. The Cannon actually kinda resembles the charge packed into a cannon back in the day. This one is cooked to a beautiful golden brown and explodes with ooey, goodness when cut open. It’s got a real buttery, creaminess to it that I loved. Unfortunately I have to deduct points on the breading though. While nice looking and tasty, it doesn’t stick to the meat and thus breaks off. All in all, a very tasty dish though.
The Shopska salad is very similar to
Horiatiki. What we here know as the Greek Village Salad it’s chopped tomatoes, bell pepper, cuccumbers and onion. Topped with feta cheese. In fact, if they had a Greek salad dressing it would be indistinguishable.
The sweet potato fries were really nice. Back when these things first became popular I wasn't too fond of them. I think they're definitely better when not fresh cut. The fresh cut ones seem to be limp and somewhat flavourless. These ones here were certainly dusted with flour or something to promote crisping. Much better than what I've had in the past here and there.
So there you have it folks, a little taste of the Balkans in a nice friendly setting.
You can find Royal Meats BBQ at 710 Kipling Ave. in Toronto.
Vie
You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.
Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
Davwud
It’s a funny thing about barbeque. Long known as a southern staple it’s also very regional within that geographic area. Sometimes only a few neighbouring counties will have a certain style while outside that area it’s different. Be it someone from Owensboro, Austin or the Triangle in North Carolina, they’re fiercely proud of their own special take and roundly dislike other varieties.
Perhaps this, as much as anything, is what plagues Q in non traditional areas. In Memphis you have a certain style and everyone likes it. If you try to do Memphis BBQ in a non traditional area, only Memphians will like it. That can lead to a pretty small demographic. So people tend to generalize their product. Trying to satisfy everyone. Most often, if you try to make everyone happy, you end up pleasing no one.
So it came as a nice surprise in a land of poorly done Q to see Paul Kocukov serving up some real deal smoky goodness. One time insurance salesman Paul’s love for love for Q started over 30 years ago with a pulled pork sandwich in Tennessee. It led him on a journey that would culminate in a small west end Toronto restaurant. Along the way, he and his wife Sandy toured some of the South's great BBQ havens, sold brisket's and shoulders to friends and eventually opened a BBQ sandwich stand at the Orangeville farmers market. This is where Paul really road tested and honed his craft. Playing around with sauces, rubs, woods and cook times all the while perfecting his techniques. In 2010 it was time to open Paul and Sandy’s Real BBQ.
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You can also find them on the web and facebook.
Well that’s all for now in the Big Smoke. See ya next time.
Davwud
Olde Town Brewing Co.: They began operations in the summer of 2004 and were the first brewery in Huntsville since the repeal of Prohibition. The brewery was devastated by a fire in 2008 and the company never seemed to recover. They officially closed shop in early 2011 before I was able to sample some of their wares.
Certainly one of the best things on this list. BBC is not a lot to look at from the outside. Occupying what looks like a one time Burger King. In fact, the exterior doesn't hold much promise of good things within. But don't ever judge a book by it's cover. This place is great, led by the fish tacos. They come 2 to an order with Mexican Rice and Refried beans. (both sides were very tasty) A piece of lightly seasoned tilapia each, topped with cabbage, tomato, onions, cilantro and a white sauce made of dill, lime juice and Mexican crema. They are utterly delicious.
What we have here is basically a loaf of sandwich bread studded with jalapenos and cheddar cheese. On it's own with a bit of butter this was great. I didn't get a chance but I think it was just screaming to be made into a grilled cheese sandwich. Very tasty stuff. 
A breaded chicken breast topped with Jarlsberg cheese, sauteed onions and sliced green apple. It was okay but really lacked any depth. The chicken was plain breast meat, the breading wasn't particularly well seasoned and even the Jarlsberg cheese, onion and apple didn't kick this up a notch. Here, the sum was exactly that of it's parts. 
Pepperoni, sausage, ham, green pepper, onions, fresh mushrooms, green and black olives. A seemingly nice combination however the thin crust was way too weighed down by all the toppings and too much water leached out and in general, the whole thing was a mess. 
