Welcome to Plato Putas, the food website that puts out daily! Launched in March 2009, Plato Putas celebrates food and the joys of eating. We strive for a conversational tone and tongue-in-cheek humour, covering everything from street food and local events to delicious products and new restaurants — basically anything and everything that has to do with food.
Six months ago I went on a solo quest to find better butter. I had no actual evidence, but I was convinced there was something better out there than the same three brands I saw at every grocery store. Then one day at Fiesta Farms I stumbled on this brick by Stirling Creamery. Little did I know I had uncovered a whole new world of butter.
Gimme The Loot is a new recurring feature showcasing products and items I love. It is never sponsored or a paid advertisement, it’s simply created on the insistence of my belly.
I am a hater of jarred salsa. Sorry, I know it’s convenient and easy to buy, but the flavour and spice level cannot be compared to when it’s fresh. I’ve given the Garden Fresh Gourmet Salsas found in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores a try, but I find them overly sweet and way too mild. Making it at home requires a lot of tiny dicing and I can never get the right balance of acidity and spice. So I’m happy to report the one place in Toronto that serves my favourite fresh salsa also sells it to-go.
Head straight to Kensington Market’s Jumbo Empanada (245 Augusta Ave., near Nassau) for a container of their Fresh Salsa and I promise you’ll never go back to jarred. The mixture of tomato, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, and whatever other secret ingredients they use results in a garlic-heavy tang with a significant kick. If you can’t handle your spice, just use a tiny bit, but if you can take the heat, pile it on. Best of all, it’s good with everything: tortilla chips, eggs for breakfast, pan-fried fish and of course, the Chilean cheese empanada I also can’t leave the restaurant without.
Jumbo Empanadas’ Fresh Salsa is $3.40 for a small container, $5.65 for medium and $8 for large (pictured at top).
There’s been non-stop buzz since former Black Hoofers Colin Tooke and Ian McGrenaghan opened the doors of Grand Electric (1330 Queen St. West) in Parkdale. But you need only one bite of their full flavoured Mexican fare to realize you’re tasting something much better than hype. I’ve long been waiting for a place in Toronto that’s equivalent to La Superior in Brooklyn, NY and I’m happy to report I’ve found it. Great food, inexpensive prices, music I actually listen to and the infectious energy makes me want to stay all night long.
Starting a brand-new year means making a mental list of restaurants you really want to dine at in next 12 months. For residents of West Queen West, there’s a new pizza restaurant in town, an import from Treviso, Italy. Piola has spread its brand of pizzerias to Brazil, Argentina, Turkey and the U.S. and have just opened their first Canadian location at 1165 Queen St. West. The media launch event allowed me explore the space and try the menu, including the highlight, Polenta & Ragu ($9, shown above).
Read on to see Piola’s lively interior and rotating stone pizza oven.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Patrick McMurray, champion oyster shucker and owner of Starfish and Ceili Cottage. (He hosted Oyster Week here on the blog earlier this year.). Tonight I watched as he spontaneously created a four-tiered seafood extravaganza, which he aptly named All That and a Bag of Chips. Notice the paper bags filled with potato chips in the background which were served alongside the vertical platter. “If you can see ice in a seafood platter, you haven’t done it right,” Patrick said, as he jammed more mussels into every available crevice. Sadly, this delicious tower piled high with lobsters, crab claws, mussels, brined salmon belly, shrimp, sauces and a myriad of oysters was not for me. But it still gave me great joy to watch Patrick assemble it and gently carry what I dubbed ‘The Stanley Cup of Seafood’ to a lucky table of eight dining at Starfish.
I couldn’t resist inquiring about the salmon belly soaked in brine and Patrick kindly recreated this treat for my brother and I. Served in a martini glass packed with ice, the Mersea oyster meat is served in its top shelf and a thin slice of salmon belly (fresh from a fish that arrived today) sits brining in the oyster’s juices. Leave it for five minutes or so, and the result is a delectably fatty piece of salmon that’s slightly cured and with a subtle, salty flavour profile. It’s a one-of-a-kind ShuckerPaddy creation that only further solidifies my opinion that Starfish is Toronto’s best seafood restaurant.
