Host Volunteers/Assistant Organizers

Fellow foodies,

I'm looking for volunteers to host events for www.meetup.com/party_of_six/.

If you have the foodie bug and
love to meet people in Toronto email me at fernanda.concordia2007@gmail.com or Facebook me at https://www.facebook.com/fernanda.skepticalfoodblogger and I will get back to you.

Cheers,
Fernanda

A Mean Burger at Marben (Toronto, ON)

After having some nice sparkling (and oysters for some of us) at Crush Wine Bar, we decided that we should go for dinner in a more...food oriented environment. Going to Marben was a no brainer as they are nearby and they serve great food.

The four of us were lucky enough to find a place at the kitchen table. One of my friends is a regular and he always manage to find a seat in the kitchen area. It is needless to say that it was a show. The chef was preparing the batch of hamburgers for the week. The kitchen was busy but not too hectic so we had the chance to chat with the guys and more importantly, watch them working. We got a free sample (leftovers) of the beet salad. It was very good!

After I saw how they make their burger I had to have one. It was very juicy and delish. I could not finish all but I loved it! I did not like much the fries but I usually don't eat fries, so I guess it was ok. Funny enough, three of us ordered the burger. We had a great time and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon (suggestion of our waiter).

So bad they changed their menu and I could not have their to-die-for lavender creme brûlée.

I adore the kitchen crew at Marben. They rock!

Oh, these are the famous dollar oysters from Crush:

Brunch at Lady Marmalade (Toronto, ON)

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Toronto. I met the guys in the east end of the city at a brunch place called Lady Marmalade. Here are the facts:

They don't take reservations
They just seat you when your entire party is present
They are a cash only establishment
But they serve a very nice brunch. Yes, they do

We waited for 30-45 minutes in line. Mostly because we did not come together and some of us were a bit late. Lady Marmalade is known by their bennies and they also have gluten free options in the menu, which is very nice. I was trying to avoid carbs so I ordered the Huevos Rancheritos (scrambled eggs with salsa, refried black beans, guacamole, and a wheat tortilla). I did not eat the tortilla so I was happy with the amount of protein I got in that meal. It may be shocking but I did not eat until 8:30PM after this super heavy brunch.

The service was very lax and friendly. The decor was bright and cheery. The food was simple and tasty, very good but not outstanding. Nice for a change. I love Leslieville!

Splendid brunch at Splendido (Toronto, ON)

We had a reservation for noon and when I arrived at the restaurant I was promptly greeted by a hostess. She was very polite and arranged an extra seat for us as we became a party of eight...last minute hiccup...oops

While I was waiting for our table, I could not resist to notice the juices and cocktails coming out of the bar. They did look and smell very fresh. I ended up having a lucky luciano cocktail. Orange juice, ginger beer, vanilla and walnut bitters. It was very refreshing! Nice option for someone avoiding alcohol like me.

The restaurant is nicely decorated. A beautiful light fixture in the middle of the dining room, series of pictures on one wall, huge jars of compotes on a rack, white tablecloths. Just lovely!

I don't want to be mean and I don't want to be crucified with my next statement but I have to admit that the symphony created by some children in the dining room was somewhat distracting. I am glad that it did not last forever but some of us were wondering if restaurants should or not have a separate room for parties with children. I am certain that if I was a parent I would be more understanding, but I am not.

They served breads, croissants, pain au chocolate, scones, butter, preserves, whipped cream cheese, fontina cheese, cured ham, pork terrine with mustard, fois gras with rhubarb compote, apple jam, and preserves, all family style. Then, you choose one dish from their mains. The spread (that's how they call their "first course" was amazing.) The pain au chocolate was fantastic and I have to admit that I rarely like them. It was just the perfect ratio of dark chocolate and croissant. The pork terrine and the fois gras topped with rhubarb were my favourites. Everything was simple but very tasty and when I finished eating my first course I was very happy.

I had the flank stake with eggs, beurre de Paris and mushrooms infused in truffled oil as my main. It was perfectly cooked and tasty. Part of my stake was not cold but not warm, and that bothered me. I was not clear on how that could happen but I let it go. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I sampled some of the bone marrow. It was good but nothing out of the ordinary.

Would I go back to Splendido? Absolutely! Specially for dinner, preferably on a week day...sans enfants...

Elle m'a dit (Toronto, ON)

Elle m'a dit is closing its doors at the end of the month so I went to the restaurant with the group to have one of their last meals.

Elle m'a dit is located at the heart of the Baldwin Village and it serves Alsatian cuisine. It is simple to identify in the menu the French and German dishes and the great variety of Alsatian wines.

We sat at the second floor of the restaurant on a somewhat quiet Wednesday. Wooden floors and tables, candles and tiny flowers were placed inside of tiny jam jars. That was the decor of the restaurant.

I shared a traditional tart flambé made of bacon and gruyere. Very light and delicious.

For the main, I had the Coq au Vin with spaetzle. The meat was very tender and tasty. The spaetzle did not feel heavy but I was just able to eat half of the dish.

For dessert, I had a perfect sized lemon meringue tart. So good!

I'm glad we made there before they closed. The Baldwin village will definitely lose a good resto.

Woody's Burger (Toronto, ON)

I am not a huge fan of burgers but I'm always keeping my eyes open for a good one. I hope I am not coming up as the girlfriend who is always keeping her options open...anyways... today I felt so lazy after watching The Place Beyond The Pines that I decided to finally try out Woody's Burger, a neighborhood burger joint. I have to admit that this is not the first time I tried to eat there but they were shooting a commercial last time around.

They have ten types of specialty burgers and seven types of burger patties that range from vegetarian to beef stuffed gorgonzola blue.

I had the Bistro burger that comes with Brie cheese, sautéed mushrooms and onions and Dijon mustard. It was not bad but not a great burger. It was charred, and the Brie wasn't melted when I got it.

I would not mind coming back as long as I was coming back from a party, after too many drinks (not driving), and I needed something in my stomach before going to bed. Other than that? No way

Eating Italy Food Tours, (Rome, Italy)

This time around I had a few extra days to spend in Rome and therefore I felt compelled to do a Food Tour in the city. I have to be honest that Eating Italy Food Tours was not my first option but it was the only one that had availability and it was not conflicting with my commitments in the city.

I opted for the Testaccio tour. Testaccio is a traditional working class neighbourhood of Rome whose recent process of gentrification has changed its reputation from poor to hipster (think of Corktown if you live in Toronto). The difference is that instead of booze, you could find the main slaughterhouse of the city and plenty of butchers. It was not my first time in the area and for someone like me who despises dislikes anything that is touristy it is a nice place where you don't have to bump into tourists at every minute.

The folks organizing the tour were very friendly and accommodating. The tour is held in English (of course). I cannot think of a respectable Italian that would join that tour, but one of the organizers was raised in Rome, so I was quite happy to hear from time to time some real Italian while his was interacting with the customers and staff from the stores and restaurants that we visited.

We tried pizza al taglio, supli, tiramissu, charcuterie, cornetto, pasta, fresh canollo, and mozzarella di buffala. We also visited the testaccio market, the old slaughterhouse, and even a cemetery. The last stop was for a brief class of how to distinguish fake and real gelatto (we also sampled it).

My companion loved the tour and I am sure that most of the people also had a great time. I enjoyed the experience and it was a great opportunity to learn about the history of Testaccio and Rome but I would never recommend this tour to any serious foodie. The only place that wowed me was Volpetti, a deli where you can find fantastic cheeses and cold cuts. I managed to get a beautiful piece of parmigiano reggiano - Thank you God we are allowed to bring cheese to Canada!

Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo (Naples, Italy)

I have heard lots of tales about the history of pizza while I was in Italy but its history without a doubt was not well documented. My best guess is because pizza for a long time was considered as "cucina povera" or food for the poor. During the 16th century it became common to find what we know today as pizza in the poor areas of Naples, but it wasn't until pizzamaker Rafaelle Esposito created 3 pizzas for the queen of Italy Margherita of Savoy that pizza became popular. The queen felt in love with the mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil pizza and since then the world was blessed with what we now call pizza margherita.

I had to go to Naples to check that out and paid a visit to Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo. Although the pizzeria is famous and attracts hordes of tourists and Neapolitans, the place is very simple, totally no frills. I went for lunch and the place was filled within 30 minutes. The menu is very straight forward, and has many vegetarian options. The pizza is huge and even though other patrons were ordering one pizza per person, I though that it was too much and I decided to share a pizza margherita (of course). Surprisingly, the pizza was so thin and juicy that melted in my mouth. I could not believe that we finished the pizza and we were still hungry. I could have stopped at that moment but it was so good that I had to ask for a second one. For the second time we ordered Pizza Elena (with artichokes) and it was also very good.

I have to admit that the Sorbillo's pizza margherita was the best pizza I had in my entire life. I don't know if I would come back to Naples but boy, I would not mind making a pit stop there one day just to eat some great pizza.