I know this is a few weeks too late but earlier last month Le Pain Quotidien had declared bankruptcy in Canada and closed all their locations. Most of the Le Pain Quotidien Canadian website links I could find on google to their website just forwarded back to the general .com website with links to their global chains (with Canada excluded). Although it was some what pricey, I gave it a generally positive review about a year and a half ago, and I’m sad to see it go.
Not quite pancakes, more like latkes, but still good!
After seeing it on the NYTimes food blog, Sara decided that she’d try making these pancakes for “Brinner” (a cross between Brunch and Dinner). The final product is not that close to being the Aunt Jemima pancakes that we all grew up with, but seem more closely related to the Jewish potato pancakes, latkes.
These are a great and somewhat healthy alternative to the doughy fried pancakes you’d usually have for brunch, but the amount of cardamom is a bit too strong. I’d say you could use less, or swap it out for either nutmeg or cinnamon (and Sara agrees). The dried apricots and almonds are what really gave the pancake a burst of flavour with each bite and it would also be great to experiment with a different type of dried fruit; possibly some cranberries or some blueberries. I recommend that you watch the video posted at the link below as the author also gives some other great substitution ideas.
Taken from the NYTimes:
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cooked oatmeal
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
Vegetable or olive oil, for frying
Honey, for serving.
served for blinner with both ham and bacon...mmmm pork!
1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Combine the flours, oats, almonds, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk; stir in the cooked oatmeal and the apricots until just incorporated. Add the oatmeal mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently; don’t overmix. The consistency should be that of thick pancake batter; add a little more milk or whole-wheat flour as needed.
3. Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin film of vegetable oil and let it become hot. Spoon out the batter, making any size pancakes you like. Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes and cook until they’re browned on the other side, a couple of minutes more. You may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on the heat source and pan. As they finish, transfer them to a plate in the oven while you cook the remaining batter. Serve with honey.
Tabule
I guess the actual way of spelling it this wonderful Lebanese restaurant would be Tabülè (according to their signage). But since the internet, and their own website, seems okay with spelling it sans accents, we’ll stick with Tabule.
Tabule is a hop, skip, and a jump away from Davisville station, situated along the strip of Yonge street that isn’t quite yet Eglinton, but still has an interesting selection of places to eat.
For our starters, we chose to try the sampler, which allows you to pick three dips. We picked the humus (or hümus), the babaganüj, and labni. It came with a basket full and plentiful of pita bread. I wasn’t too keen on the babaganüj but the humus was my personal favourite with the labni coming in for a close second. In fact, I used some of the remaining labni to spread over my main course when it came. Oh and labni, for those who don’t know, is a mix of Lebanese cream cheese and garlic, but it actually had the consistency and the slight flavour of yogurt.
Sampler of dips, pita bread, and kubbe
As a second appetizer, we also ordered a plate of kübbè, which sort of looked like falafel balls but this stuff has nothing on falafel! It’s was nice and crispy on the outside while soft and meaty in the middle. It sort of reminded me of the deep fried meat dumplings you would get for dim sum, but not nearly as doughy. A few of us remarked that there was a heavy taste of lamb from the meat and pine nut filling in the center, but since I like lamb, I had not problems with it.
For our entrees, we ordered the Kebab Kefta and the Tawuk. Since Jennifer wasn’t feeling it for the main entrees, she ordered one of the appetizers, spicy sausage, but was able to turn it into an entree for just a few dollars more with the addition of vegetables and rice.
The kefta, spicy sausage, and tawuk
The kebab kefta wasn’t anything too special. I felt that the meat lacked any significant pop in flavour and just tasted like your standard masked meat kabob. On the other hand, the rice that came with the meal was really well done and very plentiful. In fact, all of the plates came with a nice portion of rice and food. As I mentioned earlier, I did use some of the left over labni to spread on my kabobs to give it a boost in flavour.
The tawuk, which is just chicken skewers, was also not a bad choice but the problem, I felt, was that these main dishes lacked some kind of dipping sauce for the meat so we improvised with what we had left over from our sampler. The spicy sausages were indeed spicy, but not too much that you couldn’t stop eating them. I like that the restaurant staff were very accommodating to our needs and did allow Jennifer to turn the sausage appetizer into a full entree. I think they should list this in their menu though as I’m sure there will be people in the future who wish to turn their appetizer options into an entree dish. If memory serves me right, only one appetizer on there said that you could turn it into an entree, but I believe their flexible enough to do it to anything.
the belly dancer
A major conversation topic that arises when we discussed this restaurant post-meal was the belly dancer. Yes, they have a live belly dancer there and she’s quite good at it. At one point during her dance, she was even balancing a sword on her hip. She sort of prances around the restaurant from table to table entertaining the guests as whim. It’s a nice touch that really adds to the experience of the restaurant, though I can’t help but feel bad for her while she was dancing up near the front of the restaurant – it was a really cold winter’s night when we went and a lot of people kept coming in and out of that door!
If you want some great high quality Lebanese food at some pretty amazing prices, then I highly recommend you go ahead and book your reservation now!
...on a cold winter day
The Counter is a relatively new 24-hour diner located just outside of the entertainment district downtown, right at the base of the Thompson Hotel. I’m fairly ambivalent towards 24-hour diners in Toronto thanks to having a few bad experiences at Fran’s over the past few years, but how does The Counter stack up against its competition? Well if having to pay $5 more per entree than any other diner doesn’t scare you away, then you may be surprised by how good the food is. On the other hand, the decor gives off a pretentious vibe, and the menu is a little lacking in options. Also, who has ever paid $12 for a slice of pie?! Maybe $12 for a whole pie but just a slice? Ouch!
We ordered a Reuben sandwich with onion rings, a chicken club sandwich with poutine, and fried chicken wings with mashed potatoes. And for an appetizer, we all shared a spinach and artichoke dip. One thing to note that by default, the side options are fries, onion rings, or salad. The poutine cost an extra $2, while we originally were offered a side of mac & cheese, but unfortunately it cost an extra $4. A steep price difference to replace a side.
spinach and artichoke dip
The spinach and artichoke dip was enjoyed by all and came with some crispy lavish for dipping. It was nice and cheesy but our only gripe about it was that it was a little bit too runny which made it hard to keep on the lavish while dipping.
pastrami reuben and onion rings served on a cool wooden board
The pastrami reuben was done really well, it was nice and moist and each bite filled your mouth with the excellent spices contained within the meat. Unfortunately, it didn’t come with pickles on the side, but when we asked, were given a few. I was told to make note specifically that we were not given just one single pickle, but were given a few on a plate, and this made us happy.
The onion rings that came with the reuben were nice and crispy, done in their own special buttermilk batter.
chicken club sandwich and poutine
The chicken club sandwich was stacked with tomatoes, lettuce, three pieces of bread, two pieces of grilled chicken breast, and bacon. It was probably one of the best clubs I’ve had in ages. The poutine, on the other hand, was a little lackluster. They didn’t use cheese curds in it (just a random sprinkling of mozzarella here and there), and the gravy wasn’t as plentiful.
fried chicken and masked potatoes
The fried chicken wings use the same buttermilk batter as the onion rings which is nice and crispy. On the other hand, the batter slides off the chicken too easily, making it feel like it’s a completely separate component of the chicken — almost like there was no skin to begin with. Another down side is that the batter, although nice and crispy, is a little bland and lacks any sort of seasoning. This works great for the onion rings which already come with the strong flavour of fried onions already, but not so great for the chicken, which could use a healthy dose of herb and spices.
The mashed potatoes that came with the chicken was most excellent though it contained tons of butter. But the sprinkling of cheddar on the top is what really made it special.
Even though The Counter lacked decent dessert options, we were all pleased with our meals, but were saddened that it doesn’t have a more central downtown location, especially for a 24-hour place. I understand that a lot of people will wander out of the clubs (and the Thompson Hotel) and seek late night comfort food at The Counter, but it would be nice if they opened up another location closer to Yonge St. The service was great though and our waiter was incredibly attentive to our needs, constantly keeping our glasses of water full. I would definitely choose The Counter over Fran’s any day for a 4AM meal, but I can’t say I’d recommend it otherwise.
