Toronto and Kingston

The Other Dr. Gale having research to do in a Toronto archive, we drove down last week from Montreal, stopping to eat at a place in Kingston we'd heard about. It was so good we ate there again five days later on our return to Montreal. Herewith some info.

Toronto. Before going, I'd mined the LTH discussions and pretty well had an intinery down. I'll not belabor those discussions, except to lightly add or subtract from what's been already—and well—said. We stayed at the Day's Inn, corner of College & Yonge, about as well-placed as one can get. And I just LOVE the "ding-ding" of a tram bell in the night: there is no better sign of high civilization than that sound. First night we got there late, but right across the street is an open restaurant, the Peach Garden, Vietnamese. Pleasant enough place, very welcoming staff. Phô (but of course!), and a green mango salad. The phô broth was exemplary, the meatballs were excellent, not enough tripe, but, for once, there was an appropriate amount of tendon. Really crunchy, fresh salad. It was just amazing—we felt like we'd hit the jackpot, just walking in off the street and all... I ate two more lunches there and each was as high-quality as our first dinner. I can quite whole-heartedly recommend this place for anyone who likes Vietnamese food.

Next night we went to Bright Pearl. Dead Loss. TODG later said "My heart sank when we went up the stairs and they were filthy, looked like they hadn't been cleaned in weeks." Food wasn't just lackluster, it was poor. The steamed dumpling ridges were completely dried out, the shrimp dumplings were stuck together and the steamed mei ching choi were totally limp and listless.

Tuesday night was Chiado, a glorious experience all around! I've eaten a LOT of Portugese food since coming to Montreal and this was by far the best. My grilled squid was the best I have *ever* had. Believe what's been said good about this place. A fine, fine evening.

Wednesday lunch, Shopsy's downtown. As someone said earlier, 'any town would be pleased to have a deli like this.' D'accord. I had the reuben (but of course!), which was loaded with good juicy meat (and a bit clove-scented, which I found interesting), on a decent set of toasted rye. I prefer Jake's, but I would not want to argue which was better; honestly, I think it's preference here between the two. Fries were ok. Good selection of beer.

Finally, I have to bring up something evidently not mentioned before on LTH. Walking around the archive neighborhood, TODG wandered into a MOST delightful street, Balwin Street, aka Baldwin Village, 3 streets east of Spadina, 3 streets south of College. A nest of restaurants, a b&b, a fabuluous Chinese pastry shoppe, and just about the finest city ambience I've ever seen in a single neighborhood. Lots of decks/outdoor seating, great vital vibes, but little car traffice, hence quiet and lazy. Here's TODG sitting out in the sun for a beer:




And the Chinese pastry shop:




Next time we go to T.O., we're going to stay in the Baldwin Inn and basically not move from the street for our eats. I'll append the Inn's url and some restaurant listings below.


Kingston is almost exactly half-way between Montreal and Toronto, at the eastern extremity of Lake Ontario. There is some wonderful architecture downtown, and the core has been well-taken care of, with lots of businesses and eateries which appeal to the university crowds. It's a very pleasant place to be on a sunny day. "The Pig" —Chez Piggy— an upscale restaurant of some long duration, opened up their bakery as a cafe and informal spot called Pan Chancho, on Princess St. about 3 streets up from the port:



TODG ordered spinach and ricotta dumplings, which were elegant and quite delicate, but rich at the same time, on their bed of nicely composed tomatoes:




For me it was the Moroccan lamb in pita—a very nicely cooked tagine, actually, with lots of good spicy flavor to it:




But let's be brutally honest about all this: elegant food, lovely tastes, etc. are important, but what Pan Chancho is *renowned* for is its fries with glorious aioli sauce:




Absolute perfection in a fry, crispy brown on the outside, lovely and creamy inside. And lots of garlic in the aioli.

Pan Chancho is also noted for their breads and other baked goods. We got a loaf of their pain de campagne and it's super: dense, chewy, full of flavor, and it toasts like a dream.

All-in-all, a fabuluous place to spend a few hours off the 401, when you're travelling between two great cities.

Geo

Peach Garden Restaurant
45 Carlton Street
Toronto, ON M5B 2H9, Canada
(416) 979-0005

Bright Pearl Seafood
346 - 348 Spadina Ave.
Toronto, ON M5T 2G2
416.979.3988

Shopsy's Downtown
33 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario M5E 1G4
416-365-3333

Chiado Restaurant
864 College St.
Toronto
(416) 538-1910

Some Balwin St. Restaurants:
http://www.torontobrunch.com/baldwin-village.php

Baldwin Inn:
http://www.baldwininn.com/

Pan Chancho Bakery and Café
44 Princess Street
Kingston, Ontario
613.544.7790

Hi Geo--

Im really glad you posted about Pan Chancho, as I should have done so myself long ago. I visited Kingston several times over the last few years while my sister was living there (my brother-in-law coached the RMC hockey team until moving to Laurier this season). I think we managed to visit Pan Chancho for lunch at least once on every visit and we were never disappointed: everything was fresh, flavorful, and creative.

Incidentally, for the return trips to Montreal (where my parents live), we would often skip the 401 and take the route along the water. Probably adds 30 minutes or an hour to that journey, but the scenery is much more interesting than the straight, flat 401. On the last trip, we stopped at Upper Canada Village, which is about an hour, hour-and-a-half west of Montreal, and is a kind of living museum of nineteenth century life, cobbled together from buildings that were moved when they were scheduled to be destroyed by the development of the St. Lawrence seaway. The shop there sells some excellent potato donuts made onsite and while the cafeteria near the entrance is unmemorable, there is a tea shop/lunch shop in one of the old buildings in the complex that was pleasant and served local beer, as I recall.

Greets Maple Leaf--

Glad to hear your Pan Chancho experiences match ours. Lovely place, esp. in the sunny garden when it's warm.

Thank you for recommending Upper Canada Village. We saw the signs and wondered. I'm planning on taking a trip in mid-May with a visting pal to hit Kingston again, and take the very road along the water--esp. the 1000 Island Parkway--you mention. Do you know any places in the 1000 Island region to eat? We've seen it from the high bridge to the USA, and that country is flat-out GORGEOUS!

Geo

Hi Geo--

I don't believe we ever stopped anywhere else along the way other than at Upper Canada Village and, in a moment of hurry with a hungry child, Tim Horton's. Brockville has an attractive donwtown along the river road and looked like it might hold some good food, but we never had a chance to explore.

Patrick