Previously on Adam Riff™:
- Eater's Digest: Toronto
- Eater's Digest: Toronto 2
- Eater's Digest: Toronto 3
- Eater's Digest: Toronto 4
September 2018
ku-kum / feasTO / resto boemo / short and sweet / death in venice / dufflet pastries / omaw / aloette / chubby's jamaican / richmond station / hanmoto / soso food club / general assembly pizza / bar isabel / fargo's snack bar / bake shoppe / patois / le gourmand / pow wow cafe / yogen früz / big smoke burger / pinky's ca phe / egg bae / white lily diner / wong's ice cream / pinkerton's snack bar / kanpai / r&d
(Ku-kum) serves Indigenous food.
Seal Trio (Ku-kum)
pan-seared seal loin, seal tartare, and seal paté; served with a 
bannock crostini and house-made preserves
^ I should've just ordered the Seared Seal Loin entrée. The texture of the seal tartare was bizarre, and the seal paté was unpalatable.
Venison Gravlax (Ku-kum)
herb-rubbed venison loin with fresh heirloom tomatoes, drizzled with sweetgrass oil
^ Fine, but gravlax-ing meat doesn't work as well as pastrami-ing fish.
Wild Terrine, Mousse, and Rillette Trio (Ku-kum)
chef selection served with warm baked bannock
—Red deer and elk terrine, rabbit liver mousse, boar and rabbit rillette.
Pine Needle Tea (Ku-kum)
Scone Dog (Pow Wow Cafe)
cranberry mustard, sage ketchup
—An Indigenous corn dog. The scone/batter is bannock.
(Pow Wow Cafe) is known for its Ojibway-style Indigenous tacos, which substitute
bannock for tortillas.
Beef Chili Taco (Pow Wow Cafe)
cumin sour cream
^ It's more of a pile of food that tastes like Taco Bell.
Hot Turkey or Club (White Lily Diner)
smoked turkey, "stuffing" french toast, rhubarb chutney, gravy, butter
^ Anemically Thanksgiving-y.
Seaside Bae Sandwich (Egg Bae)
soft scrambled eggs, house-cured citrus pepper salmon, potato chips, pickled shallots, arugula, herbed mayo
—Canadian (Eggslut).
Boemo Double B Burger (Resto Boemo)
—Named Toronto's best new burger of 2018. [shrugs]
Aloette Burger and Fries (Aloette)
beaufort cheese, onion, lettuce, pickle
—The runner-up for Toronto's best new burger of 2018. Did we eat the same burgers?
Iceberg Wedge (Aloette)
chive cream, avocado, parmesan, wild rice
^ I did not expect to love this.
Tuna Tartare (Aloette)
green goddess, yuzu kosho, rice pearls, lime
Agnolotti (Aloette)
ricotta, manila clam, smoked butter, potato
Mac and Cheese (R&D)
satay sauce, smoked cheddar, indonesian breadcrumb
—I couldn't pinpoint its Southeast Asian flavour.
Lamb Biang Biang Noodles (SoSo Food Club)
xi'an house-made spinach noodles with new zealand lamb shoulder in chili cumin spice mix
—The closest I have found to matching the godlike N1 at (Xi'an Famous Foods) in New York City.
Jerk Chicken Chow Mein (Patois)
crispy egg noodles, pulled jerk chicken, shiitake, bok choy, oyster sauce
—Mediocre on both fronts.
Jerk Chicken Poutine (Fargo's Snack Bar)
—I am not surprised that (Fargo's Snack Bar) has since closed.
Jerk Chicken (Chubby's Jamaican)
chubby's slaw
—Good clean slaw.
Spicy Jerk Chips (Chubby's Jamaican)
plantain, taro, jerk spice dust
—Deceptively plain-looking.
Curried Lamb Bun (OMAW)
mustard, pickles
Rutabaga (OMAW)
coffee granola, basil, sunflower
^ A vegetarian fever dream.
Squid (OMAW)
green tomato, peanut mayo, scallion
^ Fried calamari sui generis.
Hanger Steak (OMAW)
tallow, broken rice, ginger/scallion
^ The best thing I ate in Toronto this trip.
Hawker Centre (Richmond Station)
milk tea ganache, fish sauce rocks, pandan coconut sorbet, barley granita
^ I could have used another dry element.
Better Than Sundae (Chubby's Jamaican)
coconut sorbet, rum caramel, banana cotton cake, candied cashews, sugar cone tuile, guava gel
Banana Cake (OMAW)
cocoa nibs, jasmine tea
Chewy Chocolate Loaf (Short and Sweet)
cocoa crumble
^ I wish bread featuring chocolate was more widely available.
Neapolitan Ice Cream-Inspired Bread Pudding (Egg Bae)
—I think it was a vanilla bread pudding with chocolate and strawberries?
Black Sesame with Salted Duck Egg Cookie (Wong's Ice Cream)
—Maddeningly crumbly.
White Rabbit Candy Ice Cream (Wong's Ice Cream)
Ovaltine Ice Cream (Wong's Ice Cream)
Toasted Ramen Miso Ice Cream (Wong's Ice Cream)
—Miso ice cream with bits of toasted ramen for crunch.
Corn on the Cob Gelato (Death in Venice)
Previously on Adam Riff™ [Oct 2013]:
(Oddseoul) was the best place I ate at in Toronto.
(Hanmoto) is (Oddseoul)'s Japanese sister snack bar.
Miso Ice Cream (Hanmoto)
condensed milk base flavoured with sweet white miso then decorated with nori powder and crunchy puffed rice balls
Moto Eggs (Hanmoto)
chicken skin chips, ikura, pickled chilies, nori powder
^ Devired eggs.
Surf n' Turf Handroll (Hanmoto)
steak tartare, tako wasabi, shiso, japanese hickory sticks, quail egg yolk
^ Raw beef, octopus, and egg.
Dyno Wings (Hanmoto)
pork dumpling-stuffed chicken wings, tare
(Pinky's Ca Phe) is (Oddseoul) and (Hanmoto)'s Vietnamese/Cambodian sister snack bar.
Marrow Beef (Pinky's Ca Phe)
cilantro, shiso, fried garlic and shallots, sweet soy and pat chun vinegar reduction
^ A play on butter beef.
Pho Beef Dip (Pinky's Ca Phe)
shaved beef brisket, asiago, bean sprouts, thai basil, red onions, cilantro, hoisin, sriracha
—A play on a French dip. The cheese in the sandwich turned me off.
The Grill Platter (Pinky's Ca Phe)
chicken legs, charcoal-smoked and -grilled, lemongrass marinade; pork jowl, charcoal-grilled, lemongrass marinade; luc-lac beef short ribs, charcoal-grilled, black pepper and hoisin sauce marinade
(Pinkerton's Snack Bar) is unrelated to (Oddseoul), (Hanmoto), and (Pinky's Ca Phe).
Laab-Style Beef Tartare (Pinkerton's Snack Bar)
cassava, lotus, quail's yolk
^ Asian-ish beef tartares typically miss for me, but this one hit big.
Pork Neck Pancake (Pinkerton's Snack Bar)
sticky braised pork on kimchi chijimi, scallions, chili, candied peanut
Korean Meatball Ssam (Pinkerton's Snack Bar)
rice, ginger, scallion sauce, gochujang, pickles, lettuce
^ An odd hybrid of ssam and khao man gai.
Sous-Vide Espresso Cheesecake (Pinkerton's Snack Bar)
dark chocolate, shortbread
MISSED CONNECTIONS
Quesadilla Americana (Grand Electric)
beef cheek, mayonesa mexicana, avocado salsa verde, lettuce, sesame
Popcorn Sud Sud (Little Khao)
butter, caramel, corn, chilli
Reyna's Famous Lamb Baklava (Reyna)
kataifi, lamb shank, saffron, burnt honey aioli
Silken Tofu Guacamole (Cold Tea)
avocado, green sauce, taro chips, nori powder
Banh Xeo Broccoli (Pinky's Ca Phe)
smoked oyster aioli, shiso, cilantro
Bae Don't Kale My Vibe Sandwich (Egg Bae)
fried egg, chunky avocado, kale, slow-cooked onions, muenster cheese, fried tofu, bae sauce
(Canteen)
Golden Melon Hot Chocolate (Eative Film Cafe)
golden melon purée, homemade chocolate, ice
Pine Needle Sorbet (Ku-Kum)