Gerrard St. For Diwali, Recs ?

[Minister of Kebab]

Having looked through the threads for dining tips, seems there haven't been many reviews of the Gerard Street strip for a while..thinking of going down there today to load up on sweets, any dining tips from recent diners...or is it the usual...the perennial Toronto questions....Has Lahore Tikka House finished its renos yet ?

Is siddhartha going through a good phase or an iffy phase, anything new worth trying ?

Haven't been to skylark or siddhartha for a while....or is Moti Mahal better at the moment, someone please surprise me and tell me there is a great new place just opened that has the taste of Lahore Tikka House, but with waaaaay less ghee and more veggie options...

One can always hope !

[foodyDudey]

Mahar usually has good sweets availabale for Diwali.
I'm surprised that people are mentioning Lahore and 786 in this thread as it's not Indian food and they don't celebrate Diwali.

[childofthestorm]

There really isn't a whole lot of difference between Pakistani food and North Indian food. Partition didn't involve assigning them separate cuisines.

But for sure a true Diwali meal would be vegetarian, and I would choose Udupi Palace for that.

[Minister of Kebab]

No, strictly speaking you are right LH is indeed Pakistani, and I presume the same is true of 786...which sounds worth a visit. Diwali, yeah it's technically a hindu holiday, but the years I've worked in India it has been the one holiday that the bulk of people seem to get into and just have fun regardless of stripe....

[garfield]

I think you could try BBQ hut. Food is okay and they will have live music today,a friend told me.

[munchieHK]

I was just about to start this thread myself! I am taking a group down there tonight and was wondering where to land. I heard whispers tha Skylark has a good chef right now. Can anyone substantiate? Does anyone know about Host? It seems popular and there are always great smells emanating from there. Any other thoughts?

[Paulustrious]

Plus ca change ....

Lahore is now inhabitable. But with the advent of the cold weather you will be confined to the interior, which reminds me of the hospital ward in 'One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'. I enjoyed my last meal there about four weeks ago. I do not find their stuff too oily, but each to their own.

Moti Mahal, whose decor is reminiscent of a play school, is as good as ever in terms of the food. For some reason it always has a good atmosphere in there.

Udupi - with its operating theatre vibe - is still one of your best veggie bets. I should give the Siddhartha Pure Vegetarian (1411 Gerrard) a chance. I abandoned the other location after a trip to their buffet. If there are sufficient good reviews I may revisit.

... plus c'est le meme choice.

[Minister of Kebab]

Given I work in healthcare, your post made me laugh so hard...the "Cuckoos Nest" for Lahore Tikka is bang on..! I heard rumour there was some place called 788 or some other set of three numbers that was good opposite Fortress Lahore Tikka...anyone confirm or deny ?

And munchieHK as for the Host ..it is routinely good, but not super-good, I am not suggesting you'll get way better food on Gerrard...just that for Diwali, Gerrard is way more lively and fun. The Host is basically on a side-street off of Avenue rd, in a lower level...nice meal, nice place...no street atmosphere or chance to stock up on yummy once a year indian sweets...and browse for cookware, seriously good place to buy a Tawa or a spice grinder...and you can pop in to little shops and re-fill your spice cabinet with cardamom that (unlike ...hmm shall we say...Whole Foods...doesn't cost you your first born).

[munchieHK]

Thanks MOK. That's why we're heading down there, for Diwali. I just figure it will make a fun evening, but I'd like to score some good grub in the process. If I want great Indian food, I will go further afield. Tonight I will settle for quite good. Any more suggestions? BTW, the first person to tell me how good the butter chicken is at some place gets a wet finger in the ear. Why does every thread on Indian food seem to be full of people who use this ridiculous dish as some kind of benchmark? It's like judging a Chinese restaurant by its chicken chow mein! I've never even seen butter chicken on a menu in India, just like I have never seen sweet and sour pork in China...these are western concoctions!

[childofthestorm]

I'm a massive fan of 786, and it's the first place my wife's Indian parents want to go when they visit town. The Lahori charga and whole fried fish are particularly good, as is the nihari special on Saturday nights.

[chocabot]

i like 786 too. the fried fish is excellent.