Brunch at Sherbrook Street Deli

I'm always on the hunt for new breakfast spots in the city, mostly because: a) it's probably my favourite meal to eat out on the weekends; and b) after all these years I still haven't found a proper replacement for my favourite cheap breakfast place of all time (R.I.P. My Place, Pie Place). 

I've been to Sherbrook Street Deli numerous times but never for breakfast. My condo is right around the corner and my parents live down the street so I have always loved this part of West Broadway. During my morning scroll through Instagram I saw this picture of one of the weekend brunch options at Sherbrook Street and decided it was time to see what this was all about. 

The decision between a sweet vs. savoury breakfast has always been a tough one for me. I normally end up going for savoury because I feel like this is the more appropriate option as an adult woman (and often some kind gentleman will offer me a few bites of his pancakes to satisfy my sweet tooth). I've never understood why it's socially acceptable to eat pancakes for breakfast but not cake for breakfast. Pancakes are cake, it's right in the name. They're not even trying to pretend to be anything else. At least French Toast has the good sense to disguise itself as a fancier version of a breakfast staple. 

Today, however, I listened to that child inside me and went for a sweet breakfast. After I saw that Instagram of the blueberry blintzes on my feed this morning there really was no other choice for me. Also anything that can be served with sour cream is highly appealing to me. 

SO GOOD. What I loved about this was that it really wasn't too sweet. Three light & delicious crepes, filled with cottage cheese, and topped with blueberry compote made in-house (no added sugar!) and sour cream.  

Sherbrook Street - check it out for brunch. There is no formal menu just different brunch features every weekend but hopefully the blintzes make a regular appearance. 

DG

Dancing Noodle (p.s. I'm back)

If there's anything that can bring this blogger out of retirement...it's a hand-pulled noodle!!

A few months ago I was tipped off about this little, hole-in-the-wall place on Pembina Hwy that was doing a hand-pulled noodle. It doesn't have a website yet and at the time I could not even locate the address on Google (I'll save you the hardship I had to endure and tell you that it's 1393 Pembina Hwy). After I found the address, I stalked the place out for weeks trying to get my hands on these hand-pulled noodles but they were always closed. If you really love something, you should never give up on it. And I never did.

When we sat down, we were advised that the Traditional Lanzhou Beef Noodle soup was the best and most popular dish. Ok, done. Next step - round or flat noodles? I like flat. Lastly - choose your noodle width/thickness. In the flat noodles, options are medium or extra wide. Extra wide, please. 

"Oh really?" - Server

"Why - is that...too wide?" - Me

"No, no, it's ok! And maybe you like a challenge!" - Server

That's me. Never met a noodle I was too scared to go up against.

Broth has a very simple, clean taste with just the right amount of flavour, but the star here is really the noodle - fresh, chewy, and completely satisfying. 

This is Asian comfort food. 

DG

Xi'an Famous Foods

Here are my top ten favorite things about Xi'an Famous Foods in NYC: 

1. Fresh, hand-pulled noodles. I could basically stop right here and just leave it at that. Here are the spicy hot oil seared hand-ripped noodles:

2. It's East meets...Middle East. Xi'an, located in the northwestern region of China, is the starting point of the Silk Road making it rich in Middle Eastern influences.

3. Spicy cumin lamb everything - noodles, soup, burger, you name it. We tried all three and they were all delicious. 

4. Spicy, but not too spicy. But spicy. 

5. Very reasonably priced. I didn't see anything over $10 and while this means you won't be getting white tablecloths it doesn't mean the food is anything less than top quality. 

6. HAND...PULLED...NOODLES. I cannot stress this enough. 

7. Watching Sam cut his noodles with a chopstick.

8. Same number, same hood (it's all good). The original location is still tucked away in the tiny basement food court of a local mall in Flushing, Queens.

9. Spicy & sour lamb dumplings. Ok, I never actually tried them and this is my biggest regret but apparently they were rated the best dumplings in New York!

10. See below (if you look closely you can also see #7).

DG

Vanessa'a Dumpling House

K so if you don't know me or haven't been following my blog, there's two things I'm obsessed with: noodles and DUMPLINGS. I love steamed dumplings. There is something so satisfying about these tiny little things that someone artfully crafted by hand that you pop into your mouth and down in five seconds. 

We've been running around all over New York (and yes, we have been taking in some sights other than menus) and yesterday made a point to spend some time in Williamsburg before we move into our new apartment on the island. There is a place I've had my eye on for a while called Vanessa's Dumpling House which is on Bedford Avenue less than ten minutes from our place. Whoever said New York was expensive?? You can get four dumplings for $1.50 here! That's a great deal even by Winnipeg standards. I got the shrimp and pork wontons with spicy sauce (8 for $5). 

I mean...c'mon. Steamed wonton in a spicy chili oil topped with garlic, chilies, scallion and cilantro. Paired well with the falafel sandwich I just ate at Oasis up the road.

DG

Ramen Noodle Burger

After a long hiatus I'M BACK!!! Thank you to all my loyal readers who encouraged me to get back to my blog.......but the real inspiration for bringing it back was a place that has inspired millions of people all over the world - NEW YORK CITY!

We arrived at 4pm and headed directly to Smorgasburg, a "flea food market" located in the East River State Park, just down the street from where we are staying in Williamsburg (totally not planned, one word: FATE). This is the most amazing place with 100 vendors selling street food from all over the world, plus a few things the chefs seemingly came up with on acid.

After many go-rounds the vendors I had to make the tough choice of what to order and ended up going with something that I would not typically order....a burger. I know, right? Maybe I've changed my noodle-loving ways and embraced traditional American fare? Unlikely. This is what they call a "ramen burger".

Beef chuck patty between a ramen noodle bun topped with a special "shoyu glaze" and arugala. This ingenious concoction was created by a Mr. Keizo Shimamoto, a blogger turned chef who is "living the ramen dream".

This is Asian-fusion at its finest.

DG

Montaditos

Kaley and I have been wandering around Barcelona for a few days now and I've been intrigued by these little, open-faced sandwich-like things that I've seen in a few spots. On our walk yesterday we were looking for a light snack and came across this restaurant serving these little sandwiches which I would later discover are called "montaditos". The word montadito comes from the Spanish verb "montar" which means "to mount" because of the way the tiny slice of bread is "mounted" with a variety of toppings. I've always disliked sandwiches, nothing against them personally but I find most of them so boring and heavy on the bread. But this was different. Each little sandwich was only a few bites and then you could have another one, or two, or three!! And the bread was really just a canvas for whatever delicious ingredients are placed on top.

There was no menu of course, only your eyes are used to pick your meal so there is a bit of mystery involved. Each piece was 1.65 Euros and we were each given a small plate and free rein to pick whatever we liked. My montaditos (below) included a brie cheese & tomato mini-burger, a mini-croissant with an egg salad-like filling, and a seafood-stuffed red pepper on a small slice of baguette.

At the end of the meal, the waiter comes by and counts up your toothpicks which is done to tabulate the bill. Genius.

DG

Roka

As a treat while my cousin Aaron was in the city, Auntie Mindy took us to Roka, a really nice restaurant in London's media district serving Japanese robatayaki cuisine. Robatayaki translates literally to "fireside cooking" and refers to food that is skewered and grilled over hot charcoal. The "tasting menu" was highly recommended which is where one gets to sample a variety of house specialities and feature dishes. We were hesitant because we had such a full day of eating (see "A Sunday Roast" post below) and weren't sure if we could manage such a feast. Aaron, being the smart young man that he is (he does go to Cambridge after all), made a very valid point:

  "Diana, you can eat a lot...like not in a bad way..."

And so the tasting menu it was.

It started with the beachu kim chi and a grilled seaweed & bamboo shoot salad. Next, we received a selection of sashimi and the yellow fin tuna tartar with seaweed crackers.


Moving into the hot foods we had a soft shell crab maki, assorted tempura, and beef, ginger & sesame gyoza.


We were all still feeling pretty confident at this point. The final round of savoury dishes was the spiced chicken wings with sea salt & lime, fried eggplant, grilled asparagus, and teriyaki salmon filet. The fried eggplant was fantastic (although not very photogenic) - it was served with this sesame miso sauce and katsuobushi (dried, fermented and smoked fish or what I simply call "fish flakes"). By the time the salmon came around I was ready to wave the white flag but somehow we managed to get through it all and even save a little room for what was coming next.


The last and final part of the meal, was the amazing dessert platter! I really should have been taking notes here because there were some really nice and refreshing desserts here: a peanut butter ice cream sundae, some sort of mango filled meringue type thing, a custard-y lychee dessert, an assortment of fruit sorbets and fresh dragon fruit (Aaron's fave). This might have been my favourite part of the entire meal and just look how pretty it is!


Such a lovely day, dinner, and visit with my Australian family. :)

DG