Habits Gastropub: Upscale Pub Fare in Little Portugal

Gastropub. Have you ever wondered what the term means? Or where it comes from? It should be somewhat obvious that "gastropub" is derived from the words "gastronomy" and "pub". Digging deeper (which just means googling and clicking on Wikipedia on my part) the word "gastropub" actually originated in the UK in the late 20th century. Traditionally British pubs were merely drinking establishments with little emphasis placed on serving food. If pubs served meals they were usually basic cold dishes such as a ploughman's lunch (i.e. cheese, chutney and bread). The term "gastropub" was coined in 1991 when David Eyre and Mike Belben took over The Eagle pub in Clerkenwell, London, where the duo specialized in serving high-quality food. From then on the concept of a restaurant in a pub reinvigorated both pub culture and British dining. 

When Michelle Genttner and Luis Martins opened Habits Gastropub (Twitter: @HabitsGastropub, Facebook: Habits Gastropub) in the summer of 2012, their vision was to provide the 'next step' in pub-going in the city. With a weekly changing menu that focuses on using the freshest ingredients and as much local as possible, Habits Gastropub elevates 'comfort food' by taking the things you know and love and giving it a little extra; a "sophisticated" update, so to speak.

Partners in both business and in life, Genttner manages the front of house while Martins has adopted the role of head chef at this cozy neighourhood gastropub.

Habits features Ontario craft beers on tap and strives to maintain a local focus by constantly adding VQA wines to their list. Their cocktails also feature house-infused liquors. Fun fact: Habits houses the third largest collection of whiskey at any bar in the city (which explains its elaborate bar).

The Whippoorwill Restaurant and Tavern

At the corner of Bloor and Lansdowne is The Whippoorwill (Twitter: @WhippoorwillTO, Facebook: The Whippoorwill Restaurant & Tavern), a new brunch / happy hour / dinner / bar spot that took over Bloordale Pantry last November. Co-owners of the new rustic restaurant are friends Shawn Creamer (also owner of The Dakota) and chef Tyler Cunningham (formerly of Mildred's Temple Kitchen). In a span of ten days, the duo transformed the previous Pantry space into a homey, retro restaurant that has now attracted the attention of the Bloordale brunch crowd (brunch is available from Friday, Saturday and Sunday). My friend Karen, who lives in the neighbourhood, invited several of her friends, including moi, to The Whippoorwill for dinner recently. Why? Because Karen fell in love with the restaurant ever since it opened and really wanted more people to know about the fantastic food and cocktails there.

The red booths, red bar stools and the black and white checkered floors give the space a very cool, vintage vibe. 

An old Detroit tire shop sign is now part of the bar at The Whippoorwill.

At the back is a painting of The Dale, the restaurant which occupied the space before Bloordale Pantry.

El Catrin

Out goes Boiler House, in comes El Catrin, a large scale modern Mexican restaurant in the Distillery District that promises authentic traditional and modern Mexican cuisine. Recruited from Mexico to head El Catrin's kitchen is chef de cuisine Olivier Le Calvez, previously an instructor of Asian cuisine, fusion cuisine, Mexican and French cuisine at the Cordon Bleu Mexico Culinary Institute. A tapas-style menu incorporating chef Olivier's interpretation of both traditional and modern Mexican cuisine and flavours, you can expect staples such as ceviches, tacos, burritos and tostadas at El Catrin. Aside from its large ambitious food menu, another highlight of El Catrin is their impressive list of tequila and mezcal - boasting over 120 brands (some which have never before been offered in Canada) it is currently the country's biggest tequila and mezcal collection.

My first thought when I arrived at El Catrin's grand opening party on Tuesday was "Whoa this place is huge!" then quickly followed by "Whoa this place is beautiful!" The grandeur, the pure gorgeousness of El Catrin (Twitter: @elcatrinca, Facebook: El Catrin) is really something else. Take for example, the stunning forty-foot by twenty-two foot high mural (pictured below) created by Mexican street artist Oscar Flores; the sheer size of it is just mind-blowing. 

Paying homage to Mexican cantinas, El Catrin's decor was inspired by the Mexican traditions of La Loteria Mexicana, Papas Picado paper art and urban street art. The space is designed by Munge Leung, a local firm responsible for designig Gusto 101, La Societe and Weslodge. 

 El Catrin's massive fifty foot long bar constructed from The Distillery’s old whisky racks.  

One of two private dining rooms at El Catrin.

(Photo credit: El Catrin)

New Menu at The Curzon

The Curzon in Leslieville (Twitter: @TheCurzon, Facebook: The Curzon), known to the locals as mostly a weekend joint with fun bartenders serving cheap drinks, has recently been overhauled by The Food Network's Restaurant Takeover. J.J. Hope, manager of The Curzon, said the goal of the renovation was to have the Leslieville landmark be known not only as a neighbourhood-friendly bar on Fridays and Saturdays, but also an actual restaurant serving great food during the week.

The Curzon brought on consulting chef Deron Engbers (@TheDeron) to launch its new menu. 

I was invited to The Curzon for a tasting last week. Here's what I had:

Vanilla Cured Rainbow Trout / Butter Lettuce / Orange / Lentils

Hawker Bar

No doubt in my mind that the hearts of most Asians in Toronto skipped a beat when news of a Singaporean restaurant was set to open in downtown. Heck, I was pretty ecstatic myself given that when it comes to legit Singaporean or Malaysian food, the place I fall back on is always Restoran Malaysia in Richmond Hill. Meh, the thought of not having to drive uptown for a nice, heart-warming bowl of laksa was enticing enough to make me lose sleep. OK. Not really. But close enough. 

Hawker Bar (@HawkerBar), its name stemming from hawkers or hawker centres (i.e. open-air complexes in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia housing stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food), is tiny. I went early at 6pm to grab a table for four as Hawker Bar doesn't take reservations. Evidently nobody was there yet but hey, better safe than sorry (FYI it was slammed by the time we left).

A nod to street grub, the vibe at Hawker Bar is casual and simple (nothing says casual more than tree stump stools!)

Hawker Bar's menu written on cardboard.

SNACKS

The four of us did not order the whole menu, but close enough :)

Son In Law Eggs - Soft boiled then fried, chili jam, Prik Nam Pla ($6)

More Than Just Ice Cream at Cool Hand Luc

Cool Hand Luc (Twitter: @CoolHandLucTO, Facebook: Cool Hand Luc) located on 545 King St. W. is a cute and colourful ice cream shop that opened back in June of last year. While many ice cream shops in Toronto cut down hours or shut down completely during the winter, Cool Hand Luc steered away from the norm and launched a "Winter Menu" that  offers fresh soups and custom grilled cheese (with weekly features and specials). I was invited by Cool Hand Luc to try out their Winter Menu last week.


Before I go on, I need to point out Cool Hand Luc's back-wall! For those of you that have been there you will know exactly what I'm talking about. This mural... I just can't get enough of it! I literally stood in front of it for five minutes just admiring it...it's so adorable! I especially love the blob of purple ice cream vomiting Mike and Ikes. And the face on that peanut butter cup? Hilarious! =D

Currently, all of Cool Hand Luc's ice cream are sourced from Bobcaygeon-based Kawartha Dairy and their vegan friendly,100% natural, fat-free fruit sorbets come from Solo Fruit in Montreal. However, this will all change this summer as owner Luc Essiambre hopes to produce at least 50% of their ice cream, and by 2013, Cool Hand Luc will be serving exclusively their own homemade ice cream.

Ah this is what I'm here for, Cool Hand Luc's soups and grilled cheese~

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Road Trip - Primanti Brothers

My apologies for the confusing title of this post as Primanti Brothers was never featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives ("DDD"), but rather, the restaurant was featured in Travel Channel's Man vs. Food. I wanted to keep my blog post titles for this road trip consistent since my intention of this road trip was to visit as many DDD places as I could. However, Primanti Brothers is an extremely popular chain of sandwich shops throughout Pittsburgh so it would be wrong of me to not pay this place a visit.


When I was on Primanti Brothers website, I looked around and it was then that I noticed that they were on Man. vs. Food. I thought that works out perfectly as it kinda fits the "theme" of my road trip, which was basically "going around eating a crazy amount of diner food in a span three days".

Watch this Man. vs. Food video. Primanti Brothers is known for putting fries and coleslaw in their sandwiches.

The Primanti Brothers that we went to was located in Pittsburgh's Strip District and is the original Primanti Brothers before it expanded to a chain restaurant (this location was also where the Man. vs. Food episode was filmed). Primanti Brothers has been around since 1933 and has now expanded to Fort Lauderdale as well.