Report: Tashkent Restaurant at Keele and Steeles
It was recommended in the Good Food Near York University thread earlier today ( http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/... ) so I stopped in at Tashkent for dinner tonight.
There was a rather awkward bit of standing around when I got there. No indication of whether I could seat myself or if I needed to wait for a currently invisible staff member to arrive. I grabbed a menu and checked it out while I stood awkwardly by the door and the one other table of diners tried not to stare at me.
It got a lot better once the waitress came out of the kitchen. I sat and ordered, choosing manti and chebereki (as the only thing on the menu I'm familiar with) and trying to order the recommended plov. Unfortunately, they were out of plov, but the waitress recommended Bhash instead, another rice dish.
Manti (meat filled dumplings) were good, made with diced rather than ground meat, and lots of onions. Served with a dilly yogurt sauce and a sort of cross between salsa and ketchup, they were pretty tasty. Without the sauces, though, a bit bland.
The chebereki (meat in a fried pastry) was fried hot and fresh. I think it was still steaming when it hit the table, and it the pastry was puffy. It came with a dark, sweet sauce - perhaps tamarind based? It was a fantastic complement to the chebereki in any case.
Bhash was a mixed rice dish with small bits of meat (it said what they were on the menu, but I don't remember since it hadn't been a dish I intended to order) with lots of herbs and spices. A fair bit of dill in this, as well. A touch on the greasy side, but quite tasty.
With a can of coke and taxes, the bill was $22.65 for a meal that was really too large to eat all of.
Tashkent Restaurant
800 Petrolia Road
North York, ON M3J 3K4
416-667-0737
As I recall, they're open noon to 11 every day except Tuesdays.
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Jacquilynne
Oct 6, 2008 10:31 AM
Mind the bump -- just adding a place link
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Tashkent Restaurant
800 Petrolia Rd, Toronto, ON M3J3K4, CA -
Chester Eleganté
Aug 24, 2006 04:52 PM
Thanks for the report...too bad about the plov. It'd be on the greasy side as well, but I quite enjoyed it. I wasn't kidding about that place being old school eh? Anyway, there's another Uzbek/Middle East place right by there on Steeles one block east of Keele called Halleluia. Looks like it's worth checking out.
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re: Olivia
Olivia
Jun 10, 2007 04:41 PM
Went the other day to Halleluia on Eglinton. Mixed feelings about it.
I was fine with it being a "family restaurant" (i.e. bring the kids, brightly lit), service was good, very large portions, and some of the food was quite nice. However, some of the food was not good, in the sense that the salads had been sitting too long and were fizzy, and 2/4 mains were unpleasantly greasy. I think it might be worth another shot, but am wary of less than fresh food...
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re: Chester Eleganté
If anyone is in the mood to check out a place I've been hearing a bit about I'd appreciate your 'knowledge'....I called them but they are only open on the weekends(?). I work with a few Russian immigrants and they talk and talk about a place called "AMULET" on Dufferin near Finch. I believe the cuisine is similar to the above post? Anyone been there?
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