FINISHED - Let's Be Frank Contest



Did reading my post on Let's Be Frank get you hungry? Well you're in luck. Thanks to the folks there, Gastro World is giving away a $25 gift certificate so you can try out their delicious dogs!

Choose any of the two ways to enter through social media:

Tweet about it on Twitter


  1. Simply follow me on Twitter
  2. Tweet out the following (in it's entirety)
Hot dog  has tons of options. , I'd like to try one for myself! http://www.gastroworld.ca/2015/04/let-be-frank-contest.html 
Comment on Instagram


  1. Simply follow me on Instagram
  2. Look for the picture below and in the comments section let me know which hot dog from Let's Be Frank you want to try. If you need inspiration you can read the Let's Be Frank post.


Do both and you'll score two entries!

Other Things To Keep In Mind:
  • One entry per person, per social media platform
  • Contest will run from Saturday, April 4 and the winner announced on the morning of Sunday, April 12
  • Winner will be contacted through direct message with instructions on emailing address so I can send out the prize
Good luck and enjoy your dog!



CLOSED: Murgatroid (Toronto)


First off, thank you Zomato for sending me a Murgatroid gift card, I may have never found this place myself. Located on the city’s east side, its entrance is set back slightly so look for their logo (a large ‘M’ surrounded with orange) to find it. 

You may be thinking, what does Murgatroid mean? It sure doesn’t sound like a restaurant. In speaking to the owner, it’s actually from the Snagglepuss cartoon, where the character’s favourite saying is “Heaves to Murgatroyd”. The name intrigued him and became a placeholder in his life, a promise of things to come. So, while planning for the restaurant and not knowing its name, he used Murgatroid and it just stuck.

And how did I find all this out? I simply asked! Murgatroid is a small neighbourhood spot run by the owner and a chef. So, as soon as you walk in you’re greeted and served by the person who is the most knowledgeable about the place. From every ingredient being used in the dish, to the place's history.  

They focus on lunch and brunch service and are likely most known for their decadent take on eggs benedict. For me, the Murgatroid sandwich ($9.30) sounded delicious. A fluffy Blackbird bakery kaiser is stuffed with a mountain of tender juicy roasted chicken and sprouts. Tons of bold flavours are abound with the rich Ontario gouda-style goat cheese and bit of spice from the fermented pepper relish. But, what really made the sandwich was a thin slice of crispy chicken skin which added the right amount of crunch and saltiness to the sandwich.


For an extra $5 you can add a side and drink. The canoe potatoes are wedges of roasted potatoes finished off in the griddle until crispy and golden brown. If you like hashbrowns you’ll likely enjoy this as the wedges develop a thick crust on the outside. They were good just a tad salty for my taste.


Although I was pretty full I couldn't help but try their cinnamon roll ($2.95) as its one of my favourite sweets. Normally, the ones I eat are of the Cinnabon variety – tall, soft, buttery and doused in a sweet glaze. Murgatroid’s is very different and almost reminds me of a harder cinnamon Danish. It’s flaky but not greasy and has a very pronounced cinnamon flavour. The icing on top is thick and has that tanginess you’re expect from cream cheese.


The owner and chef both show such passion towards their food. All ingredients, whenever possible, is sourced locally and made from scratch. From the not overly sweet ketchup made with local tomatoes, the zingy hot pepper relish smeared in the sandwich using peppers grown in Downview Park and even the locally milled flour that was the staple of the cinnamon roll. Even the table I sat at was constructed from wood salvaged after the demolition.

Murgatroid is what you’d imagine a neighbourhood lunch place to be. Sure their service may not be as quick as some, but it's that individual attention from their chef that ensures their quality is sustained.

And it’s the unhurried pace that makes Murgatroid a place where you feel welcomed to sit around and have another cup of coffee. In fact, they even have a decent selection of board games available so you can sit around and play with your friends and family before you leave.


With so much demand for similar board game cafés Murgatroid may be the hidden place to go for a decent cup of java and food without a long wait.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 568 Parliament Street


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
  • - 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!





CLOSED: Let's Be Frank (Toronto)



While the gourmet burger craze has swept the city over the last five years, it's only recently the haute hot dog options are starting to pop up. Beside El Mocombo, on the diverse Spadina stretch, is Let’s Be Frank - a cheerful combination of restaurant, bar and overall cool place to hang out (Bring Your Own Vinyl Tuesdays for the music lovers perhaps).

Their location is ideal for the late night crowd (they’re opened past 2pm). So, when you’re feeling the munchies and want it paired with a tall pint of beer, Let’s Be Frank is there. For those who need a stronger drink, cocktails are also available. The Sour Dog ($7.99) is an easy drinking, eye puckering concoction of gin, lemon juice and syrup, whimsically garnished with a sour key.


With over a dozen options on the menu deciding on what to eat may be difficult. Luckily, they offer almost all their dogs in three sizes (3.5” slider, 6” regular and 8” big dog) so you can taste from the plain naked dog to the generously dressed pulled pork po’boy.

The pulled pork ($3.99/$7.95/$8.95) is a meat lover’s friend with the juicy frank topped with more meat, zingy BBQ sauce (care of Dine Alone Foods), tangy coleslaw and some hickory sticks to add some crunch. I’d suggest trying this with the “bed of fries instead of a bun” option, which you can do with any of their dogs for free. For those who want to skip carbs or meat, you can also substitute the bun with romaine lettuce and the beef frank with a veggie wiener instead.


A favourite of owners Christa and Julie (and me) is the Katsu Dog ($3.49/$6.95/$7.95) where the crunch from the deep fried panko coated dog goes so well with the soft bun, sweet katsu sauce, wasabi mayo and fresh green onions. It’s satisfying but not overly heavy feeling, although I would have liked more wasabi incorporated into the mayo as the slider didn’t provide that heat as expected.


The corn dog ($2.49/$4.99/$5.99) is where you can savour the succulent Nathan’s Famous beef frank in its fully glory. Simply covered in a corn batter and deep fried it's covered with a liberal squeeze of the slightly spicy BBQ sauce. Our table saw possibilities of combining the katsu and corn dog. Just imagine having the crunchy panko fried frank as the base, a smear of thicker gooey mac n’ cheese in the middle and then covered with the sweet corn dog coating. What an amazing texture combination that frank would be!


If you have a sweet tooth, Frank also offers the Ivana Banana dessert dog ($4.49) where a deep fried banana stands in for the wiener and it’s covered with gooey peanut butter, Nutella and a light jelly. Although I’m not a fan of the peanut butter and jelly combination, this was actually quite nice. But, the banana itself could be larger to stand up against all the condiments.


Some snacks you could have include the hot dog “wings” ($5.99 for 6 pieces) which are bite sized deep fried hot dogs tossed in buffalo sauce and served with a thick blue cheese dip and veggie sticks. For me, these were a tad salty given the hot dog is already so flavourful and perhaps served full size on bread may be better.


Let’s Be Frank also offers various sides to round out the meal. Of course, the tried and true fries are available. But, there’s also a saucy mac n’ cheese or hot dog gravy poutine (both $4.99 for small and $6.99 for large) for those who want something more substantial.


What impressed me most was hearing about the perseverance Christa, Julie and Simon had with starting Let’s Be Frank. The partners dreamt of a place where they and their friends could meet-up for drinks. But, they wanted to serve no-fuss food as well and what could be more fun than hot dogs?

Mac Daddy ($4.49/$8.95/$9.95)
Although it only opened in late 2014, this business was a five year endeavour all starting with a catastrophic festival attempt (think no tent in pouring rain, dropped chili with no backup and tons of unused food at the end of the night). But, like true entrepreneurs they learned from this experience and went on to do more festivals, purchased a food truck and did a pop-up restaurant before settling in their permanent location.

To top it all off, they all had regular full-time jobs (Simon has now since quit his to focus on Frank)! I can only imagine the dedication and hard work required to put in 50+ hour weeks and then start prepping for busy weekend festivals right afterwards. As an aside, the best part of attending media events (other than sampling food of course) is hearing about each restaurant’s history and meeting the people behind the brand. I have the utmost respect for restaurateurs as it’s definitely an industry that takes dedication and skill to be successful in.

Korean BBQ dog ($3.99/$7.95/$8.95)

So will the haute dog trend start in Toronto next? Only time will tell, but until then, I’m sure there’s a contingent of people who don’t care and just like wrapping their hands around a big juicy frank.

Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
Disclaimer: The above meal was complementary, but rest assured as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide my honest opinion.


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 460 Spadina Avenue

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
  • - 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!




CLOSED: Elegance Chinese Cuisine (Markham)




With so many Chinese restaurants across the GTA, there’s no shortage of options for eating dim sum. However, on weekends, demand is at its highest and it seems like wherever you go after 11:30 you’ll be doomed to wait for at least half an hour. Enter Elegance Chinese Cuisine. Somewhat hidden in a small plaza I didn’t even realize it was there until someone told me word-of-mouth. This means, that they’re not overly busy and upon arriving at 11 we instantly received a table.

At Elegance diners are given a sheet upon arriving and you simply select as many dishes as you desire (depending on the sizes about 3 per person is a good rule of thumb). However, they also have some “special” items which are wheeled around in a cart (think soups, braised offals, etc) to entice patrons if you’re still feeling hungry.

Personally, I’m a traditionalist and tend to enjoy the cart version of dim sum instead (you can read all about dim sum here). But, ordering off the menu does have its benefits: the food arrives piping hot, it’s generally faster and for those who don’t understand Cantonese is an easier option.

At Elegance, the frustrating thing is that everything comes in quick succession and you end up with a table full of items getting cold. Some traditional items ordered included the steamed squid with curry sauce (M; $4.20), which was very well flavoured with the savoury Singaporean style curry.


The steamed minced beef balls with vegetable (S; $3) were decent, but sadly arrived with not a vegetable in sight. The description is rather misleading as I would describe the beef to be more paste like than “minced”. It’s essentially processed until smooth and then steamed so that it becomes airy.


A crowd favourite is the sticky rice filled with assorted meats and conpoy wrapped in lotus leaf (L; $5.20). In the past, these use to be one large rice packaged stuffed with a piece of chicken, lap cheung (Chinese cured sausage), yun cheung (Chinese liver sausage), salted egg yolk and Chinese black mushroom. However, to cut down on cooking time and amount of ingredients, they have morphed into individual sized packages and is stuffed with a minced meat and mushroom filling instead. 



At Elegance, theirs is a cross between the old-fashioned and new aged method: they are miniature and uses the minced meat mixture but also has a piece of lap cheung and half a salted egg yolk with it.  This is one of the better versions of the dish eaten where I found their rice to be smooth and almost creamy.


The pan fried “tainam style” onion cake (M; $4.20) is predominantly a flaky pastry with minced onion in the middle. It’s very different from the green onion pancakes you’ll find at Shanghainese restaurants being much airier yet slightly greasy.


I recommend trying the steamed rice roll with crispy bean curd (L; $5.20), a great combination between the silky soft rice roll, crispy bean curd layer and succulent pork and shrimp filling. It’s enjoyable both with the warmed soy sauce or thicker sweet hoisin and nutty sesame sauce on the side.

  
During dim sum, it’s customary for the restaurant to add on a “tea” or “seating” charge. On the bill, you’ll generally see it as a one-line charge before the subtotal. It's generally about $1 a person and at Elegance is $1.20. All in all, Elegance serves a decent dim sum (perhaps a tad expensive for the quality) but if time is important to you, this would be a good option. 

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Markham, Canada
 Address: 20 Gibson Drive

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
  • - 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!




Doing the thing that gets me excited!



Let’s lay it out there now … I am not unhappy. There are many things in my life that I’ve been blessed with and wouldn’t want to change. And it’s because I already have so much that I’ve always felt greedy for wanting more. So, for several years sayings such as “work shouldn’t be fun … after all, if it was they wouldn’t be paying you to do it” were always top of mind. To me, what mattered most in a career was ease of getting a job, of course the compensation, ability for progression and job security.

As I’ve grown older, this no longer seems enough. Sure, I change roles every 2-3 years to keep things new but inevitably it’s still working in a large corporation and going through the motions. Don’t get me wrong, the companies are great and offer everything I had wanted in a career. My managers are supportive and provide the right amount of recognition. And I’m good at what I do; I know the work is appreciated and “matters”.  

But, what about that intrinsic satisfaction, passion, simply put doing that thing that gets me excited? Sunday evenings shouldn’t be a drag and Friday afternoons the best thing in the world. Surely, there must be some of you out there who are nodding your heads right now.

Over the last few months, as a means of staying encouraged, I’ve started meditating (currently loving Tracks to Relax and My Meditation Station) and listening to motivational podcasts (try Happiness Five a Day and the Daily Boost). In the end, I’ve realized that to achieve contentment you have to do something that makes you want to move.

Writing at Gastro World is exactly that thing that makes me move. Despite a 45-50 hour work week, I want to spend more time writing at least two posts a week, connecting with others through social media daily and attending as many media events as my schedule allows. I’m energized by all these things and look forward to every moment of it!

Sure, I know this is just a hobby… but why does it have to be? Plenty of people work in the food industry as food writers, social media consultants and public relations professionals. Then why can’t I find my niche? 

Quite frankly, it all comes down to finances which has made me stop myself. The industry is competitive and not exactly as lucrative as corporate Canada. So, it’s taken a while, but the realization is I can’t have it all – is money or happiness more important?

As much as I’d like to announce I’ve handed in my resignation and started working for Blog.TO, lets be realistic - living your dreams isn’t an easy affair. Nonetheless, I’m willing to give it a try. 

But, it’ll have to be done in a systematic way, so financial obligations can be met and I won’t have to live on Kraft Dinner. Sorry, I’m too much of a planner and frankly not brave enough to just take the plunge. Continue reading to find out more about the “Master Plan”.