Showing posts with label fried eggplant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fried eggplant. Show all posts

Me Va Me (Toronto) for delivery

Note: Prices in post are based on regular menu prices and may be higher when using delivery services

Me Va Me locations have been popping up around the city as quickly as it takes to say their cheerful sounding name. Serving an Israeli Middle Eastern menu, their most famous item is the laffa a thin chewy bread that’s a cross between a tortilla and freshly made pita. Restaurants are equipped with a taboon clay oven so that these can be made fresh and on location.

The falafel laffa ($11.95) wrapped up several airy chickpea fritters, which arrived warm with delivery and would have been amazing if eaten fresh and hot. They go nicely against the cooler sauces that I incorporated plenty of for maximum flavour - hummus, tzatziki, tahini, and hot sauce! With all the condiments, there was a chance the wrap would arrive soggy. Yet, lettuce helped form a layer between the bread and the other ingredients and added a nice crunch to the wrap.

After enjoying all the great flavours in the laffa, the lacklustre chicken shawarma plate ($17.75) was a let down. It comes with a sizeable portion of slightly dry chicken, tons of grilled vegetables, and a dense cold dry pita … but then only one measly tahini sauce to flavour everything.

Having had my fair share of shawarma plates, most places provide at least two condiments - tahini and garlic sauce - and many even have extra sides like pickles, beets, and tabbouleh. Instead, Me Va Me serves theirs with a huge side salad, which while great value isn’t the tastiest. I’d much rather they eliminate the salad and provide things that would enhance the overall plate instead.

We did order a couple of their dips, but they didn’t impress and reminded me of the prepared ones found in supermarkets. The fried eggplant ($3.95) started off nicely with big chunks of smoky eggplant, but the ketchup-like sauce they incorporated into the dip made everything way too sweet. Meanwhile, the babaganoush ($3.95) had so much mayonnaise added that it would be better classified as eggplant aioli. This is definitely not something you’d want to just eat a spoonful of plain.

Their laffas are by far the star of the menu. In the end, Me Va Me wasn’t a complete bust, but is a one hit wonder.

Overall mark - 6 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: Various locations
 Delivery: Uber, Doordash, Skip the Dishes
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Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never order again
  • 6 - decent for delivery and takeout, but there's better
  • 7 - this is good, for delivery and takeout
  • 8 - great for delivery and takeout, it's almost like you're in a restaurant
  • 9 -  wow, it's like I'm eating at a restaurant
  • 10 - I'd happily order this for delivery or takeout instead of dining in any day!


Is That It? I Want More!

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Tabule Middle Eastern Cuisine - Bayview (Toronto)


Mezze are to Middle Eastern cuisine what tapas are to Spain: small plates generally accompanying drinks. They’re nibbles to start on or could be an entire meal in itself. They’re the dishes that draw me to Middle Eastern food and are ideal for sharing amongst friends.

Tabule has a variety of hot and cold options to choose from. Most tables share their sampler platter ($15.95), which gives diners a choice of three cold mezze from four options. Their hummus is thick and lightly laced with garlic, the babaganuj incorporating tons of roasted eggplant but could use more spices, and the tabule fantastic with a zippy lemony kick that’s goes well with meaty mains or tossed into hot rice.


To eat the dip, you will need an order of their regular pita bread ($0.50) or the gluten free laffa ($3.75 and pictured below). The latter is worth the extra money as it’s made-to-order, arriving hot, giving off a lovely smoky aroma, and incorporates a lovely chewiness in the dough.


For a vegetable that’s known to be a sponge, the fried eggplant ($7.95) isn’t overly greasy. In fact, get through the lightly crisped coating and you’re greeted by a soft almost creamy eggplant. Our dish arrived without the lemon garlic dressing, but it was still tasty and I ate my plain, not wanting the vegetable to get cold.


The sole disappointing mezze was the warak enab ($10.95), the layers of grape leaves too thick and the inside a plain lemony rice. Where was the tomatoes, garlic, and spices that were promised on the menu? Moreover, the yoghurt dipping sauce, reminding me of the Indian raita, didn’t exactly go with the dish. A warm spicy tomato sauce may be better suited.


Tabule’s falafel salad ($11.95) is hearty enough to be a main with a third of the plate occupied by crispy fluffy falafels. Generally, I shy away from these chickpea nuggets as they’re often dense and dry – Tabule knows what they’re doing, they’re one of the best I’ve eaten!


While the lamb chops ($30.95) were cooked way beyond the requested medium rare, the aged lamb was still tender and moist. Each piece had a great charbroiled flavour and arrives with plain chunks of sautéed vegetables. Sadly, the rice wasn’t substituted with müjaddara (extra $1.50), as ordered, instead in its plain form topped with onions – fine, but nothing special. Lucky for me there was still some of the tabule and babaganuj left, both went wonderfully with the rice.


Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 2901 Bayview Mews Lane (at Bayview Village)

Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


Tabule Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato