Showing posts with label takeout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label takeout. Show all posts

North of Brooklyn Avenue (Toronto)


While the new Avenue location is likely one of North of Brooklyn’s larger spaces, it’s still not overly spacious. If you’re jonesing to dine-in, I recommend visiting right at 5pm (when table service begins) or during weeknights to ensure you get table. Dining as a pair will also make it easier as there’s only one large table that can seat up to ten, the other four tables are made for two or four people.

North of Brooklyn’s limited menu is focused on pizza with a couple of salads, garlic knots, and a choice of two desserts rounding it out. The garlic knots ($4 for 6 or $7 for 12) are chewy and satisfying without being overly greasy, but I wouldn’t waste too much stomach room on them in lieu of pizza.

A fresh salad like their Caesar ($14) pairs nicely and is large enough to share amongst four to five people. The dressing isn’t overly heavy, which compliments the bacon, semi-dried tomatoes, and grated grana padano garnishes.  

But let’s be honest, people are here for their pies. The dough has a sourdough finish and is stretched paper thin yet still arrives well toasted and crispy so there’s no sogginess, not even at the centre. The medium pizza yields six decent sized pieces, but because it’s not overly heavy, you can easily knock back four slices without a thought. It’s best to budget a large pie for two people and two medium pizzas for three.

I have fond memories of their kale and bacon ($21 for medium or $29 for large) and am glad to see it’s a combination they still make. The oven crisps up the kale, so it become almost chip like and there’s plenty of double smoked bacon chunks to even satisfy my carnivore husband. It’s also a nice white pizza (the base made with garlic oil instead of tomato sauce) to have a different flavour from the other options.

If you want flavour, the killer bee ($21 for medium or $29 for large) is a wonderful combination of spicy, savoury, and sweet. Chunks of peppery Italian sausage creates a richness amongst the gooey cheese. While the pizza could become too heavy, the pickled jalapeno and spicy tomato sauce gives it a heat that helps balance out the pie, while honey provides a sweet finish. I can see why this is one of their most popular pizzas.

The margherita ($19 for medium or $26 for large) is a classic and thankfully the cheese is now more evenly distributed than my first experience. Still with the plainer pizza, I would have liked if they finished it off with a sprinkle of sea salt as the cheese less sections tasted rather plain.

I guess it’s an excellent opportunity to add on a dipping sauce and their creamy garlic ($1.50) is the best version I’ve had. It’s certainly garlicky with chunks seen amongst the mayonnaise, but I like the addition of chives that add a fresher finish. It’s also a nice consistency, not too thick so that is becomes a spread, but not too thin either. Just be mindful, it’s a flavourful dip so a little goes a long way.

While North of Brooklyn’s food impressed, their wine did not. The red arrives ice cold and after letting it sit and warm up, it only marginally improves and was still overly acidic. I’ll stick with beer or a fancy pop next time.

If you can dine-in, it’s the way to go - the crispy crust is so intoxicating fresh from the oven. Even so, after sitting in a take-out container for 15 minutes, the pizza was still good. 

Their online ordering platform was also a breeze to use, and the order was finished right on time to ensure it didn’t sit around waiting. Let’s be honest, once it’s done, it won’t last long anyways… somehow, in our family, within minutes a slice just magically disappears. 

Overall mark - 9 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 1728 Avenue Road


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:



Nozomi Fusion Kitchen (Toronto) for takeout

There’s no shortage of fried chicken sandwiches and smashed burgers in Toronto. Over the pandemic, people seemed to be craving handheld comfort food that’s also easy to takeout… oh how the business community responded. In fact, it was during the pandemic that Nozomi Fusion Kitchen opened and soon became a well kept secret in the Bathurst and Lawrence neighbourhood.

The hot honey inferno chicken sandwich ($11.95) was delicious: a thick piece of tender chicken breast covered with a batter that stayed crispy through a car ride home. Just get a bunch of napkins as there’s a plethora of sauces – herbed mayonnaise, chili oil, and hot honey – that gives the sandwich such a flavourful, but messy, bite. And depending on where you’re biting, the taste changes as I found it much spicier at the sandwich’s centre while the sweetness was stronger along the edges.

Instead of a brioche bun, the chicken sandwich would be better paired with something denser as the soft bun couldn’t hold up against all the sauces. Be forewarned: your fingers will be saturated with grease as the bun disintegrates. And while the sandwich incorporates pickled jalapenos, I’d recommend adding chopped onion, which provides a fresh crunchiness to help counteract the heaviness of the fried chicken.

I loved the caramelized crust of the O.G. smashed burger ($9.95) and wish I had thought to take a bite when it was freshly made as once the thin patty cools it doesn’t do the burger justice. Still, it was flavourful without being overly salty despite the liberal smear of Nozomi’s special sauce.

Aside from the sandwiches, Nozomi also offers poke bowls featuring a variety of proteins served over rice, salad, or soba noodles ranging from $10.95 for the crispy tofu to $16.95 for tuna. In fact, the salmon poke with soba is the owner’s favourite things to eat as she finds it refreshing but still substantial enough to satisfy.

Being a mom-and-pop shop, their food is made-to-order and something like a thick chicken breast can take time to prepare. Luckily, you can pre-order to pick-up for a specific time through their website; the system was a breeze to use, and my order was ready by the reserved time. The perfect balance of supporting a small business while enjoying the efficiency of fast food. So, next time you’re craving a chicken sandwich, skip the chains and go small and local instead. 

Overall mark - 7 out of 10
Disclaimer: The above meal was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in the mission statement, I will always provide my honest opinion. 

How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 3415 Bathurst Street
 Delivery: Uber and Doordash
Referral Discount Codes
 Support the blog by using my referral code
 UberEats: use eats-ju6ta to get $5 off a $15 order 
 DoorDash: click link to get $20 off

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:




Pizza One (Gravenhurst)


Somehow when a pizza comes from a mom-and-pop shop, it always seems tastier to me. Consequently, Pizza One has caught my eye having driven by on numerous occasions. Finally, one day we were too lazy to cook dinner and went there for takeout instead.

When I see a white-based chicken bruschetta pizza on a menu, I need to get it. It gives me a sense of nostalgia of the slices I used to have at Gino’s Pizza before heading to work at a call centre during high school. While working at a call centre isn’t necessarily the greatest memory, the tasty hot pizza before getting ready for hours of mundane work was such a highlight in the day.

Pizza One’s chicken bruschetta ($16 for a medium) starts with a garlic butter base that’s topped with chunks of chicken, onion, tomato, parmesan, and mozzarella with a sprinkling of Italian seasoning to provide a pop of freshness. Overall, the pie has good flavours (the parmesan adds such a nice salty finish) and the toppings are well spread out allowing each bite to incorporate all the ingredients.

While Pizza One has tons of developed recipes, my husband always goes with his custom pizza ($18.50 for a medium): pepperoni, mushroom, onions, and extra cheese. His wasn’t as impressive as the chicken bruschetta, the pepperoni were larger slices, which meant they needed to be toasted longer as the soggy centre ends up tasting like bologna. With the extra cheese, Pizza One should consider applying less marinara to ensure the crust doesn’t become doughy and soft.

They are not a thin crust pizza, but their crust is still slimmer than what’s typically found at the chains. The chicken bruschetta’s crust was nice and airy, and the bottom lightly toasted until it almost had a Pizza Hut crunch and flavour but without the greasiness and heaviness. I've never had it myself, but my husband claims it's like New Orleans’s pizza crust.

If munching on a plain crust isn’t your thing, Pizza One offers a variety of dipping sauce in regular and spicy formats for $1 with interesting sounding options like Thai pesto. And it’s all made in-house, which is something I’d expect from a mom-and-pop place. It’s all these little touches that makes a pizza taste better than the cookie cutter chains. 

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Gravenhurst, Canada
 Address: 480 Muskoka Road South
 


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: