White Squirrel Snack Shop (Toronto, On)

Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks

This restaurant ceased operations as of November 1, 2013


It’s always interesting and even exciting to see a new “Foodie” part of town develop. The intersection of Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue in Toronto has, in the past, just been an area that, more or less, intersects the Business, Entertainment, Fashion and Chinatown districts. While still in its infancy, it’s looking like it’s trying to become it’s own little sub district. Call it the “Snack” district if you will. Within the last couple years no less than 5 places have opened up serving high quality fast food. Taking advantage of the lunch late night bar crowds. The latest of which, White Squirrel Snack Shop offers a little taste of Toronto.

In 2009 David Ginsberg opened White Squirrel Coffee Shop just west in the Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood. It’s been a hit ever since but the small shop doesn’t have a full kitchen. Wanting to expand his horizons, David found a spot and together with Chef Chelsea White crafted a menu that takes from Toronto’s strength; Diversity. Influences from across the globe can be found in items like Nachos, Fried Rice, Souvlaki and Po’ Boys. Many of those items coming in full or snack sizes.
The Snack Shop operates out of a store front on Queen Street West. Up front is the dining area with it’s half dozen or so seats as well as couple tables beside the counter. Which is about half way through the space. The restaurant has high ceilings and is very long and narrow. Two things really stand out, first is the completely unfinished wall down one side and the enlarged 100 year old map of the city on the other. The map is beautiful with it’s collage of vintage photos adorning. The unkempt feel of the place… not so much. The kitchen is in the back and where you pick up your goodies.

And speaking of those goodies, let’s have a look at some.


They make their own hot sauce and it’s just as good as anything you’ll find anywhere. There’s a hint of smokiness that comes from Chipotle. Other than that there’s a medley of chilies and other flavourizers. The whole purpose was to make it flavourful and not just hot for hot’s sake.


The Kimchi Fried  Brown Rice is a bit of an odd dish. Brown fried rice with kimchi, oyster mushrooms, tofu and topped with grilled bok choy. What I’ve heard and read so far, for the most part matches my findings. Which are that it wasn’t really what I was expecting (not that I really know what I was expecting), wasn’t wowed by it but at the same time, found it addictive. It was slightly spicy with a bit of crunch and packed with flavour. About half way through I decided to add a bit of the hot sauce. It was just that much better. Adding another layer of flavour and kicking the spice level up a few more notches really helped solidify this dish for me.


I thought the Sweet/Spicy Wings were quite good but not really my thing. They come grilled and tossed in a maple, chili, lime, cilantro sauce. They have good flavour but I find the sauce a bit thin. I like a heftier sauce that really sticks to them. I also found that the taste was somewhat restrained whereas I like a bolder flavour. So all in all they were really good but just not what I go for.


The Cubano is one tasty sandwich. Slow roasted pork, smoked ham, slaw, grainy mustard and pickles on fresh French Bread. White Squirrel’s version of this classic Florida sandwich is fairly close to traditional. The use of grainy mustard and slaw a slight departure but it holds fairly true. And does it justice. The most pronounced flavour is the piggy, roasted pork. The rest of the ingredients all play supporting rolls. The bread is delivered fresh from a local bakery every day and is excellent.


Their Snack Shop Burger is pre ordained with a half pound of house ground beef on an egg bun with caramelized onions, pickles and dijon mustard. While it’s not my “Go to” burger (bacon, cheese, pickle, raw onion, prepared mustard) I thoroughly enjoyed this. Make no mistake though, that is because of the meat. It’s excellent. The bun is good. It doesn’t detract and is sturdy enough to stand up to the oozing juice. The toppings are okay but nicely balanced. The sweetness of the sautéed onions equally measured by the pickle and mustard. The beef is, well, beefy. It is loosely formed into a patty and though it was cooked to well done, it’s still plenty juicy. The nice thing is, it’s ground corsely enough to still have a pleasant chew. This is just a great burger.


So whether you’re stumbling out of a bar or escaping the rat race, White Squirrel has some tasty treats for you.

You can find White Squirrel Snack Shop at 507 Queen Street West in Toronto, On.

View Larger Map

You can also find them on the web and Twitter.



Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.

Craft Beer... NY style Pizzas... Good Times

In 1991, just outside Vanderbilt University in Nashville a little pizza place named Guido's started doing business. It quickly became a hit with the locals who went crazy for their New York style pies and in particular, the dough. Guido's would eventually relocate to the Cool Springs Galleria area in Franklin. From there it would be sold to former British Infantryman, Chris Hartland and his wife Jane who immigrated to the area in 2008.
 
Chris and Jane would add a microbrewery, the first in Williamson, County and was re-branded Cool Springs Brewery. Offering a full bar menu, centered around the original Guido's pizza as well as craft beers brewed right on the premises. They also offer live music.

The duo behind CSB weren't fooling around either. Investing significant dollars in brewing equipment and bringing in Brewmaster Mike Kraft (yes that means the beer was Kraft-brewed) from Texas. Mike got the couple up and running but eventually need to meet new challenges. He left the brewery in 2012. Enter Derrick Morse. Born and raised in the unofficial capital of craft brewed beer in the US, Boulder Colorado.

CSB takes up a few units in a strip mall. It's adorned much as you would expect with the large brew vats sitting prominently by the front window. Inside has all the trappings of a slick, big box sports bar. That is to say, TV's, TV's everywhere. The space is rather expansive with plenty of seating and can also handle larger groups either in the dining area or a semi private room.

One thing I love about brew pubs like this is they offer a tasting board. Usually about 5 beers you can order in sample size before diving headlong into one brew or another. On this day we ended up with a bonus glass to make it an even half dozen. I'm not much of a dark beer lover so the Shaft Black IPA was just simply not for me. On the other hand I love grapefruit and as such the Private Johnson Pale Ale was clearly my favourite. Oddly enough, one of my dining partners absolutely hated it for the very reason I loved it. Others on the board included Tiches Wit, Saison and Franklin's First. All of which I enjoyed. There was also a wheat beer that I really didn't like. I haven't found a wheat beer I do like so take that for what it's worth.

The chicken wings were excellent. The sauce wasn't quite Buffalo style but leaned somewhat towards that. It had a nice sweetness to balance it out. Sort of a Buffalo wing meets Asian wing thing. They were also perfectly cooked. Nicely crispy on the outside and beautifully tender and juicy inside. They come served with Blue Cheese or Ranch dips. We ended up with both but never touched either.

The Pizza was very good. My only complaint would be I'd like the crust to have been a little crispier on the bottom but from a taste point, it was just plain great. There was enough sauce that you could taste but not enough to provide personality. The toppings, while many, weren't so heavily mounded on as to weigh the whole pie down. It's thin crust pizza and needs a lighter hand here. I really loved that they used capicola. This Italian ham is amazing on pizza.

So there you have it folks. A great lunch in the Cool Springs area which if you are familiar, is inundated with just about every national chain on the grid.

You can find Cool Springs Brewery at 600A Frazier Dr. Unit 135, Franklin, Tn.

View Larger Map

You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.

Well that's all for now peeps. See ya next time in the food court.
Davwud

Minority Report

An old English proverb offers “Before you can truly know a man you need to walk a mile in his shoes.” I may not have walked that mile but for a few feet anyway, I got to see race relations from a different perspective.

On some personal business in Birmingham, Al. we were interested in something local and legendary for lunch. We polled the fine folks about where they'd take a visitor and one name really stood out. Green Acres Cafe (downtown). Charles Gratton founded Green Acres at the corner of 6th and 16th but later relocated to it's current home on 4th. Specializing in soul food, it's a shining example of how to turn oft neglected ingredients into something special. The family business has been around since the 1950's and is now run by Charles son, Greg. In 1994  at the urging of Greg they opened their first franchise. A second came in 1996 and they now boast 9 locations in the Greater Birmingham area.

The store downtown operates as their headquarters and is considered the best of the bunch. The old brick building is a perfect setting for some serious, real deal, soul food. They do a bustling business at lunch and can often have lineups outside the door and down the street.  It's a bit Soup Nazi-ish too. Large crowds mean the line needs to move. Humming and hawing over the menu at the counter will get you scolded I'm told. A terrific lady helped us with our ordering and kept things moving.

There's no seating so your best bet is to take a short walk to near by Kelly Ingram park. The park is now dedicated to civil rights but in an era that seems so recent yet long past it was often center stage for civil rights activists. Martin Luther King himself organized rallies on behalf of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Across the park sits the infamous 16th Street Baptist Church. Site of the 1963 bombing and murder of 4 young black girls. It can be seen in the background between the trees of this picture. You can also visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute across the street.

It was an interesting perspective to be the only whites in the whole place. We received a good a range of looks extending from an occasional sideways glance to a dumbfounded “what the hell are they doing in here” stare. I suppose for some it would've been unnerving but I was way to excited about my pending lunch to worry about such silliness. I always just figure people are nice so I really didn't think I had anything to worry about anyway.

So how was lunch you ask?? I will state up front that basically everything comes breaded (flour/cornmeal) and deep fried or so it seems. Most of what we had was anyway. The simple breading tastes fine on it’s own but where the sauce covered it, it was fabulous. That applies to all the items we ate.
Also, we ordered everything “All the way” which means salt and pepper, hot sauce and, yes, ketchup. Odd as it seems it was a great combination. I should’ve ordered extra sauce since they don’t put a lot on and I love it. Everything the red goodness touched was just that much better.

Mrs. Sippi’s gizzards were, well, gizzards. I’m not a fan (I don’t hate them) but she had delirium tremors in anticipation. They didn’t disappoint. Crunchy with a terrific chicken taste. They had the typical texture you’d associate with gizzards which I find off putting. It’s tough because while I can’t get by that texture, they are one of the tastier parts of the bird.

The catfish sandwich was pretty interesting. A whole splayed (head off) fish served on white bread. I wasn’t sure how to attack since the bones were still in. I kinda nibbled around but then remembered how you take the bones out of a poached fish. Grab the spine and lift away from the flesh. It came right out. No skeletal remains. The meat was nice and sweet with the breading adding some nice crunch. I really liked it.

The fried green tomatoes were really good (S & P) only on these. They need to be extricated from the bag immediately and kept from steaming. Where they stayed crisp they were very good. Nice and crunch with a green tomato taste that was stronger than the thin slice would suggest. Not the best I’ve had but tasty none the less.
Perhaps as much as anything the chicken wings are their claim to fame. Regularly nominated for a Steve Harvey "Hoodie" award they took top honours in 2007. They only serve wings but still call it fried chicken. The crispy batter seals in the juices and where the appendages were covered with sauce they were some of the best wings I’ve ever had. I could handle them hotter but the heat level was more than enough to liven things up. I probably wouldn’t kick the heat up but leave well enough alone. Just make sure I ordered extra sauce. Delicious.
I’ve always wondered what crunchy vinegar tasted like and now I know. Mrs. Sippi’s pickled pigs foot was in her mind, okay. She thought it was a little small and a bit too fatty. I just really didn’t like it. Surely there must be something better to do with these things. As I said, it tasted like vinegar and had a certain crunchiness to it. Yuck. Never hurts to try something new though, right??

Well there you have it folks. Some serious soul food from a legendary establishment.


You can find Green Acres Cafe's downtown location at 1705 4th Avenue, N. in Birmingham, Al.
View Larger Map 
You can also find them on the web.

Davwud

Medium is Hot.....

...Medium hot is very hot and hot is very, very hot. That’s the slogan for Duff’s Famous Chicken Wings. They of both Toronto and their origin, Buffalo. Of course, that means we’re talking about Buffalo Style Chicken Wings.
First things first, let’s talk about what a Buffalo Chicken Wing (here on referred to as a wing or chicken wing) actually is. It’s basically a flavour. Ya, the wings are some of the largest wings you’ll find but for the most part, it’s about the sauce. Depending on which recipe (or legend) you care to believe there’s as few as 2 ingredients, butter (or margarine) and Franks Hot Sauce. Or as many as this. The wings are separated at the joints (tips discarded) and deep fried naked. They’re then tossed in sauce and served along side celery sticks and blue cheese dip. These wings are meaty, tangy and spicy. A bit salty as well.

In 1946 Louise Duffney opened a tavern in Amherst, New York,  outside Buffalo. It wasn’t until 1969 however that she started serving Buffalo’s latest food craze, the chicken wing. While credit for the invention of the chicken wing almost undisputedly goes to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, there’s little doubt that Duff’s wings now reign supreme.

Living in Toronto a day trip to Buffalo is a pretty simple jaunt for myself and many other residents. Heck people even make the trip simply for chicken wings. This wasn’t lost on twin brothers,  Hy and Rob Erlich. They approached Duff’s about opening a Toronto location. A deal was hammered out and in 1998 they opened their first location in the Davisville Village neighbourhood. They’ve gone on to open two more. One near the University of Toronto and the other, not too far from my house in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Located in a strip mall about a 10 minutes north of the city the newest Duff’s boasts a nice patio and large glass windows on two sides. Inside it’s really rather basic and functional. Wood tables and chairs in the dining room and a small bar where you can wait for take out or a table when it’s busy. Of course, beer and chicken wings are always made much better with sports and the ample TV’s are always showing games or tournaments. Duff’s boasts a pretty well rounded menu so those not interested in the tasty appendages can be satisfied as well.

So anyway, on with the food.

Poutine is a delicacy in Montreal and the Eastern Townships. Fries covered in cheese curd and smothered in gravy. While most purist will tell you you can’t get good poutine outside Montreal that’s simply not true. Duff’s makes a very respectable version. 

The Buffalo shrimp are breaded, deep fried crustaceans that are tossed in wing sauce. While the subtle flavour of the shrimp is slightly over powered by the  sauce all in all these are very tasty.

The star of the show is of course the chicken wings. As noted in the title and preamble they claim that medium is actually hot. I disagree. I find medium to be medium and hot to be hot. Unlike many places that serve hot wings that barely dampen your nose. These babies will make you sweat and clean out your sinuses all at once. While I love ‘em hot Mrs. Sippi isn’t quite there so we always order medium and then get some hot sauce on the side. This allows me to get my heat fix and satisfy my love of all things saucy. Rather than dipping in hot then blue cheese sauces I mix the two together and then dip the wings in the red and white mess.

The Triple Fudge Chocolate Cake for dessert is a winner too. Not made on site but brought in from a local desert maker. A chocoholic's delight. The ice cream is just of the store bought (whatever is on sale) variety and should probably be upgraded.

So there you have it. What I consider the GTA’s best chicken wings. 

You can find Duff’s at any of 3 GTA locations.
 
View Larger Map

You can also find them on the web.
 

That’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
 

Davwud

1000° of Separation

Okay, so I’m not into “Hip” restaurants and certainly cringe every time I see the the words “Gourmet” and “Burger” side by each. Sometimes however it pays to put prejudice aside. It’s worth opening your mind (and mouth) to notions that run contrary to your opinions. So with that in mind I ignored my instincts and suggested to “The Law” that we hit up the newest, hippest place in the Arcadia neighbourhood of Scottsdale, Arizona. The Grind.

The brainchild of George Monzures and Allen Thompson The Grind “Combines old world tecniques with modern day favorites to create quality appetizers, salads, chicken, fish, steak, burgers and weekly blackboard specials.” Well known and respected local chef Matt McLinn, who has since moved on, fashioned a menu using locally sourced and organic ingredients to compose offerings that are both upscale and simple. If those two factors weren’t enough to tempt you, consider that they have the only 2 coal fired ovens of their kind in the US. Capable of temperatures of over 1000° the heat creates a great crust that seals in the juices of whatever critter they roast.

Found in a strip mall the exterior is quite contemporary looking with it’s wood, stainless steel and glass. You’re greeted with a big heavy door that feels like you’re entering a secret social club.

Inside a long zinc bar provides ample seating with great views of the liquor selection and nine TV’s. The interior is long and slender with a warm use of wood. All adding to the hip and stylish labels.

So enough of all that, let’s have a look at the food. A burger each with sides of wings and fries.

The wings were fantastic. Seasoned and grilled over mesquite charcoal and coverd with their secret wing sauce. They had a nice crispy exterior and were a decent size. They didn’t pick up much of a smoke flavour from the charcoal which was a bit of a surprise. Mesquite is a very pungent wood. I asked what was in the sauce and other than butter and hot sauce they wouldn’t divulge their secret.

The standard celery and carrot sticks that usually accompany wings were done rather differently. Thin julienne’s of carrot were tempura battered and deep fried. Very nice for dipping in the blue cheese sauce. The celery on the other hand was something more. It was like a vinegary, celery slaw. A great idea and one I may just have to steal from them.

The burgers were definitely the stars of the show though. The Nogales burger, named for the county in which Phoenix sits was fresh ground and blasted in the oven to a perfect medium. Topped with arrugala, a corn tamale, chorizo and montery jack cheese it was spectacular. Much like having a hamburger tamale.

The Steakhouse BLT was a bit of a mountain of a burger. Mayo, steak sauce, bacon, grilled onion, fresh tomato and lettuce stacked high. It was a lot to cram into my burger hole but I managed. My only complaint was there was too much lettuce. I’m not big on lettuce on a burger anyway so I took a good portion of it off. This was just a good, solid, tasty burger.

We had some fries with lunch as well. They were fine. They have fresh cut Herbed Fries and Sweet Potato Fries. We couldn’t decide which ones to go with so the bartender suggested a bit of both. Good call.

We left room for desert and it was a good idea. The neighbouring bar patron ordered the donuts and salted butterscotch and they looked fabulous. So, 5 warm yeast donuts lightly covered with powdered sugar and a drizzle of butterscotch. Accompanied by a tremendous home made butterscotch syrup. It was absolutely amazing.

Well there you have it. Opening up to different ideas can really pay off. I ignored my thoughts on burgers and restaurants and in the end was rewarded. I guess it’s true what they say, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

You can find The Grind at 3961 East Camelback Road in Phoenix, Arizona.
 
View Larger Map

You can also find them on the web, facebook and twitter.



Well that’s all for now folks, we’ll see you next time in the food court.

Davwud

Jersey’s

In the waning years of the 18th century, Brittan and France were at war in North America. The British were vulnerable in Upper Canada (basically what is now Ontario) and in particular the Upper Great Lakes. Fearing American intervention an overland route was to be established connecting York, (now Toronto) the new capital of UC  and the upper lakes. John Graves Simcoe headed north to Lac aux Clais (now Lake Simcoe) then blazed a trail to Georgian Bay and established Penetanguishene. An existing Indian trail would be settled upon as the York/Simcoe leg of what Simcoe would name, Yonge St.
Serving (unofficially) as “Main St. Ontairo” it would go on to be included in the Guiness Book of Records as the longest street in the world (1,178 mi) when Hwy 11 was amalgamated into Yonge St. In the late 20th Century realignments, bypasses and political shuffling have led the partial dismantling of Yonge St. and loss of its record.
If Canada sprouted along the St. Lawrence River and Lower Great Lakes then Ontario grew up along Yonge St. A string of small towns would pop up at most major crossroads along the route. One such town to sprout up is Aurora. The small burg about 15 miles north of Toronto began life at the crossroad of Wellington and quickly became an important industrial center. Led by the Fleury Plow Works. 
It would later be the childhood home of Lester B. Pearson (Prime Minister 1963 – 68) and where I currently call home.
In 1880 a small family home was built on Yonge Street just south of Wellington. The house served as a family dwelling for nearly a century until it was converted to a business. Several in fact. Mostly though, it’s lived the last couple decades as a bar and grill. In the early 90’s it was almost razed to the ground by fire. Determined to rebuild and restore reclaimed building materials were used to help maintain it’s century charm.
It’s current incarnation is Jersey’s Bar and Grill.  Jersey’s boasts one of the best bar menus you’ll find. Just about everything is made in house. No boil in bag here. Fish and other items are hand battered. Pizzas are made on site and the daily specials board punches well above it’s weight class.
The exposed brick, beams and large fireplace give the feel of a 19th century single room house. The wooden furniture is unfortunately not the most comfortable but bearable and lend to the charm.Make no mistake though, Jersey’s is best enjoyed during Summer on the patio. The large Walnut (I believe) tree covers the whole area and provides beautiful shade on hot summer days. While is proximity to such a busy street makes it a little noisier than one would like the wooden fence does a nice job holding the sound down enough that you can speak comfortably with your guests.So let’s see what’s to drink.

From the bar you’ll find a great version Mrs. Sippi’s favourite cocktail, the Bloody Caesar. Loosely speaking a Bloody Mary with clamato juice instead of tomato. A nice helping of horseradish gives it a good bit of zing. As does Tabasco sauce.There is a nice selection of local beers such as this crisp cream ale from Muskoka Cottage Brewery. A little ways up Yonge St. in Bracebridge.Alright, let’s see what they’ve got in the kitchen. I’ve compiled a few different items from various visits here.

In the appetizer department you’ll find cheese balls. Tempura battered and deep fried balls of cheddar. Very nice but a swap out of dipping sauces was in order. We ended up with the Southwest sauce and it was a perfect fit.Mrs. Sippi often orders the fish on Friday night. The hand battered halibut usually comes with fries but on this occasion she subbed onion rings. The rings are one of the few things they don’t make themselves unfortunately. It also comes with a nice slaw.They also make a great pizza It’s completely build your own from size to toppings. The crust is thin and has a good fresh taste to it. Pepperoni, mushroom and bacon is what is shown here and it was devoured.A nice lunch option is the curry chicken wrap. Curried chicken and rice wrapped in a tortilla. I found the curry a little too mild for my liking. I like a more robust and spicy curry  and found this one rather tame. I’d probably ask for extra gravy next time.I swapped out a “Greek” salad for the fries with my wrap.  As Greek salads go it was rather lacking. If you just took it as a salad with feta and cucumbers it was pretty tasty.As much as anything though, Jersey’s is known for it’s wings. These stay crisp all the way through consumption which is nice. They come in a variety of standard sauces (unlike Wild Wing and their crazy concoctions) but hot with honey garlic is their bread and butter. They’re certainly in the conversation for the best wings in the area.

 One thing lacking at this place, and it's something they are constantly thinking of fixing is the lack of desert. They don't serve it. Period.

You can find Jersey’s right in the heart of Aurora at 14987 Yonge St.

View Larger Map


Well that’s all for now folk. Catch ya next time in the food court.

Please note. Jersey's has undergone and restaurant makeover and is now an upscale Italian restaurant. Still owned by the Badali family a terrific Italian experience can be found.

 Davwud