El Jacal

El Jacal is a case of no frills authentic mexican food, and lots of it for a deliciously low price. The unassuming location on Bloor West, just east of Dufferin gives way to a feast for the sense of taste. This is where Mexican Torontonians go to get the real deal.

What to order here? Carnitas. A generous helping of moist roasted pork will arrive to your table with onions, fresh cilantro, a smooth avocado salsa and chipotle sauce, all of this ready to be wrapped, by you, in a warm soft corn tortilla. Available by the kilo or half kilo, the value is staggering. And the fun is just beginning...

Despite the kitschy neon Mexican decor, this place serves great mezcal cocktails, whereas many other taco joints in town stick to beer. The Jacarr-ito Loco, was my favourite, boasting a 2 oz. helping of Mezcal grapefruit pop, lime juice and salt, crowned with a powdered chili rim.

Value: Excellent
Price: $40 for two with a cocktail.
Jenny Likes It: ****Utter Adoration

Osteria Ciceri e Tria

Smaller than it's parent restaurant, Terroni at the Court House, and warmer than it's little Terroni sister on Queen west, Osteria Ciceri e Tria has a lot going on behind its modest street-front exterior. The combination of exposed brick, semi communal dining and blackboard specials make for a cozy and inviting atmosphere. The buzz word here is Antipasto, but after eating here, I wish it weren't. The service is fabulous and they are great about explaining that the idea is to try all of the antipasto (there are five in total) and then choose either a primi (first course of pasta), or secondo (second course of meat or fish) for a fixed price. Alternately, if the antipasto are ordered on their own for five dollars each, the portions are larger.

After sampling all five of the tiny antipasto, I was left wishing that I could have chosen three larger portions of the ones I had enjoyed the most. The Salt Cod stew, although delicious, arrived in a ramekin that was too small to spoon out without slopping most of it on the table. The crostino was a fabulous morsel of crisp grilled bread with soft ricotta cheese and a perfect variation of sweetness between pear and a light drizzle of honey. I was sad to see it go.

The house specialty pasta is a handmade orechiette, which is satisfying and does a good job of cradling the cherry tomato and anchovy sauce, albiet a bit sticky on the finish. I would have liked a little more of the garlic chili oil to lubricate the dish. They do a fabulous job of a secondi with seabass, calamari, clams and mussels in a cherry tomato broth. It's light, bright yet satisfying, leaving you with a tangy broth to sop up with some bread. Other Secondi include a Grilled Cornish Hen with sauteed rapini or a AAA Tenderloin with warm rosemary olive oil.

Wines are, of course, Italian and reasonably priced with most of them around $40-$50 mark.

For dessert, the ricotta and chocolate tart is lipsmacking and despite the density of the tart filling, the pastry is still substantial and buttery.

It's been said that French food is about the cook, and Italian food is about the food, itself. I found Osteria Ciceri e Tria to be more about the overall feel of the space, the buzz and the warmth. But it's worth a go.

Value: Average
Price: $100 for two people with a bottle of wine.
Jenny Likes It: *** Seconds, please. (I'd go back and order differently...maybe order the antipasto a la carte and a primi.)

106 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON
(416) 955-0258

Reservations: Yes
Closed Sunday

Aji Sai: All You Can Eat, But Give Up Your Seat!

Aji Sia is possibly the best all you can eat deal in the downtown core next to Sushi Island on College, but you'll be on the clock, so don't get too comfortable eating those delicious maki rolls.

The location on Queen, just west of Spadina is prime, especially with the underwhelming Japanese offerings that lie further east on the strip, and the lack of any real sushi for blocks west. Decor inside is comfortable and modern with most of the tables placed far enough apart to allow for a decent amount of comfort and elbow room.

Although Aji Sai's sushi and sashimi offerings are scant, they do a fabulous job with the maki. Make sure to order the Firehouse Roll, a delicious surprise of tuna, tempura bits and banana, draped in a spicy mayonnaise. The Rock and Roll is a delicious treat with cucumber, salmon roe and avocado lightly coated in tempura and deep fried. The oyster roll is a delightful contrast of hot, sauteed oyster nestled between warm rice and tightly wrapped nori. From the kitchen, Negienoki Yaki, enoki mushrooms wrapped in tender beef are delicious, despite needing soya to round out the flavour.

My only caveat: because of the high turn-over and massive lineups that form during peak hours, the servers will allow only a 70 minute window of ordering. And they will come to your table repeatedly to remind you of this. If you're planning on lingering, chatting or doing much more than stuffing yourself to the gills at a rapid pace, you might want to opt for an a restaurant that permits you to digest your food. This is especially off-putting, after enjoying everything else so much.

Value: Good
Price: $21 per person for All You Can Eat. $65 for two people and a bottle of sake.
Jenny Likes It: *** Seconds, please.

467 Queen St W
Toronto, ON
(416) 603-3366

Indian Rice Factory: Scrape Up Your Change for Channa

Although I adore the food at the Indian Rice Factory, I find that some of the dishes are outrageously overpriced. I am not cheap. I eat out a lot and I know that more often than not, you get what you pay for. However, I have a problem paying over $12 for Channa Masala that essentially is made of chickpeas, tomato, spices and onion. The cost to make this dish is almost nothing and it is fabulous, but not fabulous enough to deter me from visiting Lahore Tikka House or anywhere else on Gerrard St. for a dish of really good Channa that will only cost me $6.50 or so.

It’s true, the Vegatable Pakora at Indian Rice Factory are light enough to levitate and hover over your table like crispy fragrant clouds. They are arguably the best I’ve ever had (and don’t tell My friend Anita’s mother Saroj that I said that because I have repeatedly told her that hers are pure divinity!).

I enjoyed the Butter Chicken, but found that it was much sweeter than I like it to be. I appreciate a spicy, smoky Murgh Makani, but the cook uses molasses or something that is bittersweet. I was left craving more heat.

The Shrimp Curry is also wonderful. Plump tiger prawns tread in a mouthwatering sauce that is smooth and fiery. But again, if I recall correctly the price was close to $15 or $16 for the dish and the portions aren’t heaping, either.

The ambiance is a refreshing departure from the traditional Indian. Minimalistic blue lanterns dangle gracefully from the ceiling and one feels that it may be more of a trendy new bistro rather than a traditional Indian restaurant. The tables are a bit too cozy to the diners next to you.

In my opinion, you can get a better deal elsewhere, but you won’t find a better pakora anywhere!

El Plebeyo

You’d never suspect that such a place would exist, but next to the Money Mart and the papered up windows of what used to be a 7-11 at Bathurst & St. Clair, is the most wonderful little Peruvian restaurant that ever there was.

Pepe, the owner will greet you and show you to a quaint table in a small room decorated with paintings of all things Peruvian: mountains, llamas, Peruvian people making treks up mountains on llamas…The colours in the room are traditionally bright with lots of turquioise, red and emerald green. The music that plays is an eclectic mix of Peruvian and 97.3 easy rock-type tunes.

Start with a Pisco Sour, the national cocktail of Peru. It is made with fresh lime juice, egg, Pisco,(which is a form of Peruvian grappa that tastes more like tequila), and topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

The menu is a staggering five pages long with everything under the sun. Whatever the level of carnivorism or veganism is amongst your guest, everyone will find several items that will satisfy.

Before your food is ready, a basket of warm bread will arrive at your table with a little cup of one of the hottest and flavourful sauces that you have ever tried. My bet is that it is made from Aji peppers, which are found all over Peru. I think I may have the recipe pieced together from tasting it, but Pepe would kill me if I divulged the secret!

My personal favourite is the Sea Bass Ceviche. Tender morsels of sea bass marinated in lime juice with red onions and cilantro. The best ceviche I have ever had.

The french fry is dead to me. Instead, have the Fried Casava. Lighter than a potato and crispier on the outside with a soft fluffy middle and served with a mayonnaise-based sauce for dipping ( I like to use the remnants of the hot sauce that came with the bread!)

The calamari stuffed with rice is out of this world!

I haven’t had a thing on the menu that isn’t fantastic!

The service is slow, but caring. Don’t rush them…. enjoy the company of your guests and be careful how many pisco sours you have…ok, DON’T be careful…get really drunk and dance with Pepe at the end of the night…uhhh, I’ve never done that before, I just heard that someone did it…

Make the venture and tell Pepe that Jen from up the street sent you!

Swan, for Oysters and Seafood

I was implored to come to this little gem on Polk St. I was also warned that I'd have to get there early, that it would be crowded and that it was the only place to go in San Francisco for the real deal in seafood.
I arrive just before five pm (they close at 5:30) to find that my advisors were right on all counts: there is indeed, a lineup. I wait impatiently as inside, chalices of shrimp cocktail and crab float by, placed beside fresh oysters that look like gleaming pools of heaven. The servers/bartenders/oyster shuckers hurry between glasses of wine, bowls of steaming chowder and takeout orders from customers who linger behind the barstools eagerly awaiting their fresh fish or seafood. The old '50's style diner decor is punched up with nothing more than vases of fresh irises on the bar. Everything else remains true and untouched. This is perfection, not pretension. That's what I came here for.

The crowd is rowdy and I suspect that more than a few of them ave been drinking since well before noon. I find out that the woman two seats away is celebrating her birthday. She claims to be younger than forty (she's full of shit. I guess her at at least fifty) and she and her friend slur sexual innuendoes at the fresh- faced and innocent twenty three year old behind the counter. He promises to meet them for a drink after he goes to some thing for his aunt tonight (right, pal.)

Jealous of the attention this young buck is receiving, one of the older men behind the counter chimes in with a timely witticism. "Hey, in your thirites, you're a puma, in your forties, you're a cougar and in your fifties your a jaguar!"

I've heard this before, but it makes me smile to hear it recounted by this guy, his hands dripping with oyster liquor.

The two drunk cougars concur hour grateful they are to still be pumas and clink their glasses of Cabernet in celebratory inebriation.

My oysters arrive, and as promised, are fabulous. I'm also pleased to find that the horseradish is hot enough to bring tears to my eyes. One of the drunk cougars tries some, too and a chorus of painful wails ensues. I laugh silently as my clam chowder arrives. It is hot, salty and brimming with the flavour of fresh clam, laced with tender chunks of potato. So delicious. So classic.

I order a prawn cocktail as I finish my glass of chardonnay and the latest apron clad shucker asks me if I would like another. I'm driving, so I decline. He frowns, but then brightens, pulling an almost empty bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the ice- filled bus pan on the counter. "You can have the rest of this for free! " he beams.

"Okay."

My prawns are pink, plump and delicious. I dress them with cocktail sauce and some more of that kick ass horseradish. Drunky pants cougar bleats about wanting to take a bottle of the stuff home with her. Part of me wants to tell her to shut up, but really, she's sort of adding to the atmosphere.

I drain my glass and feel happy to have made it here in time. The place is closing and the waiters are stacking the stools on the bar and telling a few latecomers who just walked in that they are closed, but they can get them some take out. If you really want a true San Francisco seafood experience, do yourself a favour and visit Swan. It's uncompromised-old school -San Fran- seafood- bliss.

Value: Average
Price: $100 USD for good feed for 2 with wine.
Jenny Likes It: ****Utter Adoration (especially that cute, young oyster shucker!)