Takeout Queen and Bathurst
I'm going to be in the Queen/Bathurst area this evening. Will be venturing east by foot after that to Yonge/King area. Any good recommendations for takeout that will still be good an hour after picking it up and re-heated? Any cuisine, although I'm not in the mood for sushi today.
pescatarian
Oct 18, 2007 11:54AM
I like Amato’s Pizza at the northeast corner of Queen/Bathurst: http://www.igougo.com/dining-reviews-... If you don’t feel like order pizza, you can go further inside of Amato’s. Behind the pizza counter, they have a restaurant that offers other stuff. I was there once a few years ago: dipping its bread with olive oil. Yummy yummy!
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amato's is now a thai buffet.
i think your best bet, considering the re-heat aspect, would be to drop into one of the indian restaurants closer to university and queen. i don't have a favourite as i find them wildly different at times.
alternatively.... if you're game for it, i might even suggest going to mother's dumplings and getting a bag of frozen ones (assuming you're reheating in someone's home). the cooked ones might even survive well but noodle soup would be a mess to carry around that long.
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"amato's is now a thai buffet."?! It's time for me to go back to Queen/Bathurst for a visit.
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and a DREADFUL one at that.
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If pescatarian is willing to go to Mother's Dumplings that far and if he/she's willing to try something different/vegetarian, I would recommend Buddha's Vegetarian Foods at 666 Dundas Street West: http://www.torontoholisticdirectory.c... I'm not sure whether the place is MSG free though.
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My go-to take out is just a block or 2 west of Bathurst, Irie Food Joint, the gf and I get stuffed with leftovers for about $30, we get a main each and a few sides...the jerk chicken is great, she usually gets the chicken communista with a side of mashed & corn...
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What about getting pad thai, chicken satay, or the green mango salad at Natchos Thai Thai at 92 King Street East: http://www.oldtowntoronto1793.com/pag... 5 years ago, I used to go there for lunch often. However, I haven't been there for quite a while. Judging by the picture posted on the above web page, they might have redecorated the place.
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I just called Natchos and was told that they had a restaurant makeover.
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Thanks I actually work in that area and get their pad thai every once in awhile. I like it, but I don't like anything else there, lol
I'd like to try something more towards Bathurst since I'm around there less often.
I think I'm going to check out some of the Indian takeout or Irie Food Joint, perhaps, unless something else inspires me along my travels.
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do you specifically want hot food? perhaps this would be a good time for you to try out san since it's just right across the way from irie. if you get a cold noodle salad then you wont' have to worry about the reheat. otherwise you might still do pretty well with reheating since it is only 1 hour.
on that note i might also be tempted to just grab some terroni at victoria and queen since you're end point is just a hop skip and a jump away.
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ohh, good idea, I've really been wanting to try San...hmmm
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Thai Thai was a restaurant makeover. David Adjey had the chef focus on Thai rather then a Thai Mexican combo. They seemed to come up with some authentic, and fresh thai food.
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The menu didn't change post-makeover. As far as I can tell, the place looks just as tacky, just in a different way. Like I said above, it's only good for the pad thai (or at least it was good the last time I had it).
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Im surprised they kept the Mex/Thai deal. Ive yet to find a place that can do multiple styles of food well. Its tough without focus. Instead of one great food, you get 2 mediocre. And yes, a bit tacky inside.
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Thanks all. I have an apptment at 7 at Queen and Bathurst. I'm leaning towards picking up San on the way home (I have to catch a GO bus and want to eat the food at home not on the bus, hence the hour delay post pick up). Too bad Manic's not in the vicinity of where I'll be. Any good places to pick up a latte at King/Queen and Bathurst pre-appt?
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I would have recommended you Wagamama Pastries at King & Tecumseth (one small block west of Bathurst) if that place doesn't close at 5pm today: http://www.yummybaguette.com/magasin.... I looooooooove Wagamama's green tea cake.
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I'm pretty sure that my husband - who works in this neighbourhood - swears by this place, too.
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There's a place called NIche, has a loc on Danforth too apparently, I haven't been but it is on the way to San from Bathurst...post your thoughts if you try it...
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maybe I'll try wagamama before and niche afterwards, haha good thing I'm walking there and back - will post my findings - thanks all
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Wagamama was my first thought, my gf goes every morning, the best in the area for sure, but they close up early, if you are in the 'hood again try them for lunch, great freshly made soups and sandwiches, go early so you don't miss out though, they have a limited amount daily...oh, and Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee at $3 a cup to boot!
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I didn't get to Wagamama in time because it closes early, but I will definitely try it another time. I didn't get a chance to check out Niche. I misjudged where I was going - I was actually going to Queen, west of Dufferin. By the time I got to where I was going, there was not much that I wanted to try around me - definitely no lattes ;-(
Anyways, after my appt, and on my way back, I did stop into San.
The service was excellent. They were very pleasant and while I sat at the bar waiting for my take-out order, the waitress gave me a cinnamon flavoured juice in a shot glass that had a couple pine nuts floating in it. It was refreshing - and I love cinnamon, so I really enjoyed it.
I ordered Mandu (Korean dumplings) and Bibim Momille (buckwheat noodles) with chicken. It says mild or spicy sauce (I asked for spicy) served with sides.
I ate the Mandu on the bus. They were very tasty, although they did leave a oily residue on my fingers and lips. I think they would have been less oily if eaten right away. They did taste good.
The noodles came with tofu in a delicious soya bean/garlic sauce - loved it. The kimchi was the best kimchi I've had. Loved the flavour - spicy, with good flavour and vinegary.
The noodles looked good- very generous portion - I wanted to love them. The chicken tasted good, but was a little fatty for my liking. The noodles came with chinese broccoli (I don't know if there is a korean broccoli, but it looked like chinese broccoli to me) and some red pepper.
The problem for me was that the sauce on the noodles had an overpowering taste of orange juice/zest. I couldn't get past it. They weren't spicy at all, as advertised and I am not a fan of overpowering orange juice flavour (I generally prefer lemon and lime flavours). A little might have been ok, but it was so strong, I stopped eating. And it's too bad because the buckwheat noodles were perfectly cooked and otherwise very edible.
All in all, I will definitely go back and try other menu items. You can tell they take pride in their food. I just happened to pick something that wasn't for me. The price was very reasonable too. It was a lot of food for $13.95 in total.
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Do give them another shot, eat in if you can, a nice intimate and attentive atmosphere, I ate there with 3 others one night with cocktails for under $100, and we all loved our food!
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I'll definitely go again. I liked everything but the noodles and the service was great. I could see it was a nice environment for an intimate meal.
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Just west of Dufferin on Queen is a coffee shop called Salvador Darling that makes good lattes, and has great coffee.
*I'm responding to the first part of pescatarian's first post regarding the lack of lattes in the area.
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Thanks. Good to know for the next time I'm around there. It's hard to tell which places I would want to chance from the exterior. I haven't been around there in awhile and I'm surprised at how shady it still looks. Needs a bit of a refresher, IMO. I know it's an impoverished neighbourhood, and I don't mean that in a snobby way at all. I just think a refresher would do some good for the area.
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the new parkdale drink is likely the start of the gentrification west of dufferin.
i'll second the salvador darling rec as well, great place to just hang about to read up and sip... love the design.
my personal favourite goat roti filling is close by, just south a touch on dunn st is the roti lady. i'm not much of a fan of anythign else but her tender flavourful and moist goat curry filling is fantastic.
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I was actually wondering about a number of roti places I passed around there - are any of the ones right on Queen any good?
I will be back there in a couple weeks, so I'll check out the Salvador Darling.
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Ive heard Bacchus Roti is one of the best, however never tried. Came from a friend from Trinidad, so could be reliable. Queen between Duff and Lansdowne.
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these are all one-off experiences as i'd only go back if they were great.
ali's - more roti than goat filling it was a bit on the bland side with indistinctive spicing and more potato than i'd prefer. doubles were promising looking with a nice fluffy barra but greasy tasting and the texture was mushier than i prefer. the channa just didn't do it for me, can't recall why... to much double testing that week.
bacchus - i only got a goat roti with spinach and squash.... but just could not eat it. they had the least amount of roti shell i've ever seen, almost tortilla sized such that everything was falling out when i attempted to eat it by hand. i will never go back because the spinach was gritty! each bite was like sand paper between my teeth. the squash was mush but tasty and what i can recall of the meat was good but not exceptional.
roti lady - love the goat roti filling. if you're taking this on your 1 hr commute home, i might suggest reheating in a pan to cook up the roti shell more my only complaint is it's a bit rawer than i'd want. decent dhal between the sheets. the doubles are guyanese style and sweet! unbelievably fruity and sweet, they were also saucy and the barra was dense and very chewy... not my preferred style. this place is really not far from queen at all, just a couple steps.
you mentioned before that you were actually between king/queen. you may want to go south to king and just hit up the island foods. i can't recall the last time i had a roti there but they dont' do a bad job at all, just not my fave.
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Comparing that Parkdale stretch of Queen from 15 years ago (when I moved into it) to its current state, gentrification has already happened!
However, if really you want to give yourself the willys, then had a little further west to Mother India, at Queen and Lansdowne (as long as it's not 2 am, you'll be fine). Owned by the Ghandi folks, it offers India style rotis (i.e. Butter chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala). I've found them a little shaky in the past, but recently they've been as good as the original Ghandi location at Queen and Bathurst.
Bacchus Roti used to be fabulous, which is why it has a great reputation. Never had sandy spinich there or the small amount of roti shell, but I will note they've declined in quality. There hot sauce is still great, but these days if I order a beef roti, the meat is likely to be hard and rubbery due to a short cooking time.
I can also vouch for Salvador Darling's coffee. However, they don't seem to be open too late.
You should also try Cafe Taste. They do french press coffee and excellent espresso - beans are fresh roasted and blended by Alternative Grounds. They also have an impressively stocked bar, both wine and liquor. Since the LCBO delisted Bookers bourbon, that's the only place I've seen it.
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..since I brought up Niche cafe on Queen yesterday, and then I got curious myself and went this morning...I got a double americano, their bean blend, 1/8 inch thick creama floating on top and nice flavour, though a little bitter...service was very nice, the price was $3 and although they use higher end beans it's not organic – no need to pay for their Queen W location, so I think I'll stick to my usual $2.17 Illy cups from Zoe's...
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