huevos over easy

Ah breakfast... easily my favourite meal of the day, and as they say (whoever they are) "the most important!".  Perfect for any time of day, whether it's an early morning - getting the day started off right, a late afternoon hangover recovery or midnight snack; it's hard to resist eggs cooked how you like them with some kind of greasy pork product, potatoes and toast.

For years Features was a breakfast staple for me and mine, it is "where Stratford meets for breakfast" after all.  But over the years the prices have jumped - often in the winter? - and the service has started to slip a little (not to mention the decreased size of my bacon portion!).  I feel the overall value has decreased to a point where I have ventured further afield to find a great diner breakfast.  Two of my current favourites are Joe's Diner on Erie st. and if you're feeling ambitious, or have a ride from some generous individual, you can trek to Dave's Diner located in the Sobey's plaza for great tasting, perfectly greasy diner fare (try the local water buffalo lasagna sometime for lunch!).

But here I plan to speak of breakfast beyond the early bird special.  I truly believe that the best breakfast in the city is an ongoing battle between Foster's and The Parlour.  Unfortunately for the latter they only serve their really interesting items on Sundays so the availability is incredibly limited - making it much easier to enjoy the Foster's uber breakfast more often and become quite fond of it.

I place here, for culinary judgement, the Huevos Rancheros, Eggs Benedict and French Toast from both restaurants.  After a large amount of gluttony and a spike in my cholesterol - but also a great deal of Omega 3's and 6's - I have consumed all three of these, times two.

It breaks down basically like this:

Foster's Huevos Rancheros:  In my opinion, this is the best breakfast item in the city.  Spiced hash browns are tossed with house-made beans and local bacon, smothered in cheese, placed into a flour tortilla which is then baked until the edges are just a bit crispy.  Over easy eggs perch atop the deliciousness beneath, finished with Pickles Eh! salsa and sour cream.  A prick from your fork sends the warm yolks cascading down, the perfect testament to a well cooked egg.  If you think you might want to omit the bacon and beans I would encourage you to choose something else, if you're vegetarian, at least get the beans, they're the best part!

The Parlour Huevos Rancheros:  A great bit of spice from the fresh sliced jalapenos (a wonderful addition to the dish!) is the highlight here for me, along with a perfectly flavoured guacamole.  I find the potatoes, etc. on the inside of the tortilla to be a little under seasoned but the eggs are impeccably cooked, like little spheres of gooey sunshine!

The Parlour Stuffed French Toast:  If you like the sweeter side of breakfast then this is for you!  Blueberry cheesecake is decadently sandwiched between two generous pieces of house-made brioche.  The bread itself is eggy and fluffy with crunchy toasted edges - perfect!  Final additions of fresh blueberries and real maple syrup round out the plate (and my waistline), and I happily sop up every last drop.  It's dessert for breakfast, and you deserve it!

Foster's French Toast: Apple pie without cheese is, well, not a concern with this sweet/savoury breakfast item.  Thinly sliced, lightly caramelised apples adorn thick cut, dense white baguette (made in house) that has been covered in aged cheddar and baked to golden brown.  Add a few slices of bacon for an extra salty kick and drizzle the whole plate in pure Canadian maple syrup.

Foster's Eggs Benedict: Classically prepared with peameal bacon or enjoyed as one of the variations available on the menu (smoked salmon, crab cakes or portabello mushrooms - great for gluten allergies), this is a breakfast that keeps me coming back.  There is just something about watching a chef/cook whisk your made-to-order hollandaise right in front of you in the open kitchen that makes breakfast taste that much better.  Served with a lightly dressed green salad to help prevent a coronary.

The Parlour Eggs Benedict:  I feel nervous saying it out loud but this is probably the best eggs benedict I have ever had!  A benedict is something that is hard to achieve at a really hot temperature - the physics of the dish usually hold it at 'really warm' - much hotter and the hollandaise will split, the eggs will be poached hard and generally, all the things you love about a benedict will fall apart.  I'm not sure whether it was purposeful brilliance or just serendipity but Max has achieved a wonderful thing.  In place of the peameal stands a quarter inch piece of ham which is served piping hot, this lends itself to the rest of the dish, maintaining the hollandaise intact  and the soft poached eggs but heating it all as you eat it.  Add to this a house-made sourdough english muffin and there is nothing more to say.  Dig in!

Taj...crown of Indian flavours?

Very few cities with a small population like ours can boast a really good Indian restaurant, let alone two very good Indian restaurants located right around the corner from each other!

Taj has recently opened at a location that has been renovated and updated to the tune of almost a half a million dollars (or more!) so I thought it would be a good idea to compare it to Raja, which I have to admit is a favourite of mine for take-out when I just don't feel like cooking, or when I'm in the mood for something spicy.

Now that I have tried both places a couple of times I have to admit that the decision is a very difficult one to make, but quite frankly, I was impressed with the food at Taj - though the price is more than a little frightening.

Even with the enticement of a 25% discount, lunch was in the $70 range, plus tax and tip (for two).  I always enjoy the value at Raja for lunch, you can get away with a delicious and filling lunch for under $35 (also for two).  Perhaps the two places are better compared at dinner time - as the menu at Taj seems to be the same all day.

Service at both places is incredibly attentive, I always feel treated like royalty at Raja and the young woman serving at Taj is quite capable and charming.

As for the menu: for the less adventurous types, the Butter Chicken at Taj seems to have more depth of flavour than Raja but in turn I prefer the Korma at Raja - maybe it's the cardamom in the rice that intensifies the flavour?

Tandoori chicken is good in both places but I think Taj's wins with increased moistness.

For those more adventurous palates I would certainly recommend the vindaloo at Taj - great balance of spice and flavour, and the heat certainly builds as you get farther into the dish!

Overall, I feel that I will most likely stay loyal to Raja, and I have to admit that this decision is heavily weighted on value for dollar and naan.  The naan bread at Raja is more tender - though if you prefer somewhat crispy naan then Taj is for you.

Perhaps I was also swayed by the washrooms at Taj which seem to have been a last minute thought in the massive renovations that took place this spring.

Good luck to Taj, competition raises the bar for all of us!

corporate whores!

Why would anyone in Stratford eat at a corporate restaurant?

Not meaning to trash talk specifically, but in a city so blessed with independent operators in just about every category of dining, WHY?

Corporations like Kelsey's & Boston Pizza offer little more than mediocrity, they are the BIG BOX stores of restaurants. Yet, despite our aversion to Walmart, the dining rooms of the corporate places are sometimes bustling while the independent restaurants such as The Annex, Foster's, Bentley's, Pazzo, Simple Fish & Chips etc. have quiet nights through the winter.  Where is our support for community on a larger scale?  There is a nice tidy little group of people who support the independent operators but what about the 34,847 other people in this town!?

Your average corporation employs cooks who don't care so much about quality food as they do about food cost bonuses, and the servers are usually just passing through - not truly in tune with the needs of a guest.  Why waste your money on a frozen pizza, or vegetables microwaved from frozen in a bag and dumped onto your plate beside your over salted (hence the intense savoury flavour) sauce (also from a bag) slathered on your chicken breast (raised ethically? I think not).  That cheap T-bone advertised on the Crabby Joe's sign - where do you think they get that meat from? Perhaps the steak at Foster's is a little more expensive but at least they know the supplier!

The average person tends to default to the corporations, grandma prefers the festive special at Swiss Chalet because she has been conditioned to feel this way.  Birthday parties are booked at Boston Pizza because there's a free dessert and they sing and clap and there's a great deal of hooplah.  These are not valid reasons!

Some people cite "price point" as their reason for choosing corporate, let's do a comparison shall we?

Boston Pizza dinner for 2 sharing a pizza, water to drink:
- Caesar salad $5.49 (starter size) be careful though, the bacon costs extra
- Rustic Italian Pizza $16.49 (10" serves 1-2)
TOTAL = $21.98

Pazzo Pizzeria dinner for 2 sharing a pizza, water to drink:
- Caesar salad with Italian bacon $9
- Za Za Gabor $15.00 (approx. 12" serves 1-2)
TOTAL = $24.00

The bacon alone is worth the extra $2.02, not to mention the atmosphere, service, quality & the fact that you are supporting a local independent restauranteur.


My dear Local-Come-Lately, where's Chew?  I can tell you where I'm not!

me love sushi longtime ~pearl vs. mr. kim~

Pearl Sushi was recently taken over by new management, and they do serve some fine sushi. But, we are lucky in this town to have options when it comes to all things food so it is necessary to compare the sushi from both Pearl and Mr. Kim (the General Store).  In reality it's more a comparison of the Maki rolls served at both places, and I am comparing take-out.  I'm pretty sure for ambience that Pearl would win quite handily, so we will try to remain objective.

Comparison of Dynamite Roll, Unagi Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll and Edamame:

MK = Mr. Kim
PS = Pearl Sushi

Price/Wait time:
MK - $28.75 total / 20 minutes
PS - $32.65 total / 20 minutes

Dynamite Roll:
MK (Deep fried shrimp, avocado, cucumber, crab) - roll is a good size, texture of rice is just right, flavour is good
PS (Deep fried shrimp, avocado, cucumber, caviar and sauce) - colours are vibrant, roll is drizzled with a sweet white sauce (coconut), taste is fresher and fuller

Unagi Roll:
MK (BBQ eel, avocado and cucumber)- toasted notes from the BBQ eel are extremely pleasant, slightly sweet as well and a generous size
PS (Eel, fish, egg and cucumber) - roll was poorly made, sloppy and small, slight fishiness to the eel, not their best effort

Spicy Tuna Roll:
MK - focus on the spice, roll is well formed with a top of crunchy tempura bits mixed with spicy sauce, great texture but the tuna is somewhat lost
PS - focus on the tuna, nori is wrapped on the outside of the rice, tuna and spicy sauce in the centre, spice doesn't come through strongly enough

Edamame:
MK - look and texture of the pods are overdone (microwave?), baby beans inside are quite delicious and firm
PS - pods looks great, bright green and firm (steamed), beans are a quite fresh and al dente, perhaps too much so?

Accoutrements:
MK - ginger is natural in colour, tastes less commercially made, wasabi is good and hot and is nicely piped with a swirl pattern, soy sauce is slightly sweet
PS - regular pinkish ginger, wasabi is hot (though less so than MK) and is plonked down without much presentation, soy sauce is saltier

Conclusion:
Somewhat a split decision: for the simple fun enjoyment of some filling Maki Rolls it's gotta be Mr. Kim's.  At a slightly better price and significantly larger portions he's the better choice.  But for more 'serious' sushi with a focus on the fish instead of the extras Pearl has some winning notes as well.