Food for Thought: Farmhouse Tavern- 1627 Dupont St., Toronto

Monday, September 2, 2013

Farmhouse Tavern- 1627 Dupont St., Toronto

I occasionally travel to the Big Smoke to visit family and friends. Love to try new restaurants when I'm there. Most recently, I had the pleasure of brunching at the Farmhouse Tavern, a place with a fun vibe and fabulous food. There's an underlying sense that quality food and service are meaningful to this group. Have to say that the Caesar was the best I've ever imbibed, and I've had a few.

My niece Jess lives on the other side of town but didn't mind the drive to this clever joint with its clever chef. She's written the following review. Sounds like she's planning on making the drive again.

Farmhouse Tavern- Review by Jessie Bass-West

Remember those water glasses your Grandma had in the 80’s with cows, or flowers, or roosters printed on them? I know where they went! These retro water glasses now grace the tables at the west side eatery ‘Farmhouse Tavern’ in Toronto, ON at 1627 Dupont near Dundas West.

Dupont and Dundas West??!!

Yes. Though there’s not much else around, it’s worth the drive to eat here. The décor is inviting, the service friendly, and the kitchen an open book (it always makes you feel good to be able to watch the chef prepare your food…no monkey business here…just efficiency.)

Taste- Extraordinary!

Oh wait…I guess I should mention the food. YUM. The brunch menu boasted a nice selection of the sweet and savoury. Although I had the buttery traditional eggs benny with a melt in your mouth homemade biscuit, I watched the pancakes go by piled with fresh berries. Makes a girl want to change her mind and go sweet. The burger that was demolished by my aunt looked amazing. However, as they say- the devil is in the details- and by devil I mean deliciousness. The homemade ketchup that came with my aunt’s fries was so…SO good. The ribbon vegetables on our salads, so pretty. The dressing on the salad was subtle and cleansed the palate (because…yeah, I mentioned eggs benny….hollandaise…again, so good.)

I hear their dinner is something to write home about too. I have a standing date with a pregnant friend to take me there for dinner for my birthday after things settle down with the baby. So…looks like I'll be looking at their dinner menu sometime around the year 2033. Haha. You might have to try it first.

Dinner- Thursday-Sunday from 6pm. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11-3. Patio… √. Enjoyment…. √.

http://farmhousetavern.tumblr.com/

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'To Cut the Mustard'

Meaning: To succeed; to come up to expectations.

Origin: Why cutting mustard was chosen as an example of high quality is unclear. Some possibilities allude to the literal difficulty of cutting mustard;for example: - Mustard seed, which is hard to cut with a knife on account of being small and shiny. - Mustard plants, which are tough and stringy and grow densely. - Culinary mustard, which is cut (diluted) and made more palatable by the addition of vinegar. - Dried mustard paste, which was reputedly used to coat meat and then dried to form a crust.

The love of olive oil...

I finally figured it out...why I love olive oil so much. It was the television programming I was exposed to as a child. See the following description, from the online Encylclopedia Britanica, of a character I admired. I lusted after the large boxes of chocolates she would consume in one sitting.

Tall, gangly, big-footed Olive Oyl, whose black hair was almost always tied back in a bun, first co-starred with her brother, Castor Oyl, in 1919 in the newspaper comic strip Thimble Theatre. For the strip’s first 10 years, she was the girlfriend of Castor’s layabout pal, Ham Gravy, and her jealousy over his wandering eye fueled many comedic episodes. However, soon after the introduction of Popeye in 1929, Ham was written out of the strip as Olive found true love with the salty sailor. In this coupling, she was the more fickle character, as from time to time she became drawn to suitors with more education and refinement than the scrappy, wisecracking Popeye, though he always won her back. Popeye rescued Olive Oyl hundreds of times from the nefarious bully Bluto.

A Funky Review of a Funky Cookbook by a Funky Girl

“Bite me speaks to more than your stomach,” reads an excerpt on one of the first pages of the newly released cookbook, Bite me, by sassy sisters Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat. From the tongue in cheek, retro photographs that grace many of the pages to the aptly chosen, often perfectly crude quotations; Bite me is a cookbook that also speaks to your sense of humour and playfulness.
The book is decidedly un-pretentious, which is exactly what the sisters had in mind when creating the book, and exactly what appeals to me as a twenty something with not much experience in the kitchen. At the book’s launch on October 6th at an Indigo location in Toronto, Julie was the first to boast that many of the props in the self-published book came from the dollar store. The price- perfect. The look- genius. The props convey just the right amount of kitsch and comedy.
Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo and famous as Heather of ‘Heather’s Picks’ obviously saw the same genius in these first time authors. The book is now the first cookbook to ever be chosen as a ‘Heather’s Pick’ at Chapters and Indigo stores nationwide.
I personally know Julie Albert, as I tutor her adorable, charming son Benjy, here in Toronto, Ontario. Julie is most often seen looking flawless, but approachable- laid back in jeans or yoga pants, shuffling her kids from one activity to another. She is exactly the involved Mom who wants delicious, easy, home cooking with a twist, to feed to her family. That was the goal for the sisters- no mushroom foam, no truffle scented this or that. Just fun, easy variations on your favourites- using simple ingredients with a dash of wit, and some of Lisa and Julie’s own kitchen secrets. Oh- and a man with his head stuffed down a woman’s shirt. You have to buy the book to take a look at that last one.
I am buying the book for all the cooks in my family this Christmas. Even for a cook with many books, this one is a standout- almost more coffee table material than shelved with other cookery bibles.
If you need a giggle- go buy it. If you need a recipe for pecan crusted lime chicken- buy it. To the self-professedly “not so sweet, tiny-bit salty” sisters- great job. I forkin’ love it.

Jessie Bass-West

Link to Bite me http://www.bitemecookbook.com/

Pages

Monday, September 2, 2013

Farmhouse Tavern- 1627 Dupont St., Toronto

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