A colleague of mine from Toronto recommended this place, noting immediately after suggesting it that she was "really craving a Lick's burger all of a sudden." It has apparently become a bit of a chain around Toronto, but I made sure to come down to the original Queen Street East location, especially since it was in the Beaches on a perfectly nice and sunny day here today.
They had a few healthy choices like salads, Nature Burgers, and some "ultimate" soy option available, but silly-me went straight for what were probably some of the most artery clogging choices on the menu: a "homeburger," poutine, and a milkshake, the last one of which was really more of an afterthought given how they seemed to be doing a brisk ice cream business here too.
It turned out fine, as did the homeburger, even if it was a bit salty. That was probably my fault, as I told them to load everything onto it, including their "Guk!" sauce and a bunch of spicy peppers, which ended up overloading the taste. But the patty was also a bit too lean in my opinion, so I suppose that all of those condiments were needed to compensate for that.
Anyway, the other thing that I was really after here was the poutine, a Canadian creation of French fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds. I found it very comforting to eat, but I was also a bit disappointed at how similar it was to chili cheese fries, except of course that it used gravy instead (did they use plain cheddar cheese here instead of curds?).
Well, similar to that other discussion about getting Montreal-style bagels in Toronto, I probably couldn't expect anything too outrageous here when there is probably much better poutine to be had in Quebec. Either way, I really owe my cardiovascular system a break now, especially since it just came off that Buffalo Wing Festival from yesterday. Whew!
8 comments:
You seem to be visiting a lot of chain stores lately. Hope you'll get to visit some of the independent restaurants too!
The cheese definitely doesn't look like curds to me. If they were, they'd be in chunks. You judge the quality of a fresh cheese curd by the way they 'squeak' in your mouth.
melissa
I am so excited to see that you were in my neck of the woods. But I am slightly underwhelmed by the places you've been to so far. I hope you found some good food while you were in Toronto.
Got drawn in right from the shot from the United RCC at SFO. I'm a 1K too and write for Lonely Planet. I'm always looking for great street food.
It's funny how you compare poutine to chili fries. When I was living in San Diego, I loved the "carne asada fries" from my favourite Mexican stand, Roberto's Very Mexican Food on Carmel Valley Rd. I used to call it "Mexican poutine" since they pretty much put all they can, including shredded cheese...
I literally froze in awe for a good 15 seconds when I saw your poutine picture. Sure, Toronto's is nothing compared to the one you find in Drummondville, a convenient pitstop when driving from Montreal to Quebec City. But still. After almost 2 years outside Canada... I nearly ate my computer screen! :)
You're in my neck of town! You must go to Little India at Gerrard and Greenwood and go to a restaurant called Lahore Tikka. Order a biryani, the tawa keema mutter and butter chicken and some nice garlic naan. You'll be in heaven.
You'll also find stalls selling Pani Puri that is probs the best you can get in TO.
Enjoy your stay!
if you are still on the east end of toronto, check out dangerous dan's !! one of the best burgers in the city !
If you are driving, head down to dundas and dixie in mississauga.. Check the beaver and the bulldog out. One of the best wings i've ever had..
are you up for fine dining ?
Yeah, it seems like you definitely hit up a bunch of places in Toronto, but non too successful?
If it's a poutine, it has to be from New York Fries.
I've gotta say, being a home grown Markham girl, Markham is Asian food heaven. Next time you're in Toronto, venture past the infamous Pacific Mall and skip it. All around Markham beats whatever they serve at Pacific.
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