Sadies

Coffee starts with breakfast. No. Stop me, it's backwards. Breakfast starts with coffee, and without it I sometimes don't know my way around. Never mind that I'm writing this at 9 in the evening.

I wanted to wrack up a big appetite when I went to meet Willie at Sadies Diner (whose website exists in the Dark Ages of myspace) for brunch. It's a fair 6km from my house to the oldtimey vegan diner at Portland and Adelaide, and though I wasn't walking fast it did the trick to make my stomach growl, and for the last half of my trip I flat out craved that hot coffee!

And when it hit my tongue I was left with a strong and memorable impression of meh.

Sadly, it went for the whole meal. 

The brunch wound up with a funny vegan Tex Mex angle. Understand, Sadie's is in no way a Tex Mex place. It just so happened that on this occasion our appetites had migrated, as the geese do, to the south. Can't blame them. I had the vegan Huevos Rancheros (10$), one of my favourite brunch dishes usually. Willie got to tell me a bit about different soy based cheeses, since I am a blank slate. I know nothing. Do they pair well with wine? I am told, no, they don't. They don't melt, either...except for Daiya cheese, which is why it is a BIG DEAL for vegans. Sadie's uses Daiya. I did like it, too, though it is stiffer than milkcheese. It has a similar taste, but floury. That interesting newness aside, I don't think the tortillas were good. The tofu 'egg' was cold, and hadn't really been made 'eggy' in any way. It just tasted like tofu. Cold tofu, in big dry clumps. No turmeric to turn it yellow, even! I know that a lot can be done for vegan scrambled eggs, and this was a bottom line effort. You can't go too wrong with brown beans and a crunchy tortilla at least.
In instances like this, I praise my love of hot sauce, and soak that dish.

Keeping with a deep south theme, Willie went for a more lunch like nosh, and got the Quesadillas (9$). A mix of predictable veggies tasted good, but didn't open our eyes to anything new and delightful, and weren't handled in a way that made the stuffed tortillas seem rethought. It wasn't delicious, just plain. I complain a lot about the lack of inventiveness in the zucchini-eggplant-peppers trinity vegetarian dishes tend to favour, though it's most often a symptom of the token vegetarian menu item on an otherwise meat loving menu. Sadie's is mainly vegetarian and vegan! They should be doing something exciting- it's what I expect. So even though I like the Daiya cheese, and there was a fair amount, I think this dish could have been more inventively veganized. One could not even taste the sambal alleged to be in their vegan mayo! One thing I did like was that corny, soft tortilla- I wonder if it's actually made in house?

(You can read Willie's review here).

The Hogtown Vegan

A while ago I got to check out Hot Beans, which is a burrito place down in Kensington Market. I was really impressed with the food and the painfully huge proportions. Those floury and dense burritos scored major points for their originality as well as their size. They are also a vegan joint, just like the recently opened Hogtown Vegan which has the same owners but lives in a completely different neighborhood (you can find it at 834 Bloor West). With fond memories of the good nosh at Hot Beans, I spent some time in the west end to try out the new restaurant, and see what the daring vegan chefs are up to. I will confess I was relieved that the portions were more manageable!

For once I took made the extra effort to sample this restaurant in two trips, really wanting to get a good feel for what they have to offer. The first time I went with the lovely Sabrina Scott, a fellow illustrator and entrepreneur- and a vegan, so I could get a proper perspective of how The Hogtown Vegan measures for someone who lives on the diet. It was pretty good to talk shop over cold ice tea, and hot lunch!

In case you've been sleeping in a cave this last year, Toronto is experiencing a comfort food revival. Since many of the vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the city follow a stance that puts healthy food hand-in-hand with their elected restriction on ingredients, so the movement hasn't been reflected by card holders of the Toronto Vegetarian Association. While every cafe and restaurant with an ear to trends started boiling up batches of macaroni sauced in bechamel, baked in cheddar, drenched in Mornay, vegetarian restaurants have kept to their soba noodles (a stereotype as unfortunate as it is true). And along came The Hogtown Vegan.... their slogan even boasts 'Vegan Comfort Food in the Heart of Downtown!'. For Sabrina, it was a treat... Mac 'n' cheese? Oh yes. I've never given faux-cheese much of a chance. When I make vegan dishes at home, I just make food that doesn't need those ingredients, so I'm not making substitutions. I found the sauce on this mac and cheese a little on the wet side, but it still clung to the noodles valiantly. The taste was salty and a bit floury. Even though it did taste like cheese, it was a very mild taste, and the noodles reigned supreme in the dish. I know there was no butter used to make the pasta, but wow, the flavour reminded me of butter! What's nice about this mac is that even though it hits that lovely comfort food carb craving, it isn't as bloating as real-cheese mac. Pretty good!

On this first visit, I saw one thing on the menu and HAD to order it. It was after reading a recipe from le sauce that I became a bit obsessed with trying the wonder of pulled jackfruit. I haven't had time to try the recipe at home...and Hogtown Vegan has a version of jackfruit pulled pork! And...they were sold out, two hours after opening! Sadness filled me! Fortunately so did this chick pea salad sandwich, once I chose it to plug my saddened stomach. Sad no longer! There was so much from texture to taste that reminded me of a creamy summer potato salad, I momentarily wondered what I was eating. With tiny flecks of dill pickle, and fresh dashes of the same herb, the naturally creamy-when-creamed texture of the chick peas went a long way to completely what I'm sure was an unintentional illusion. Under a bed of a sprouts was a hint of mustard. The sunflower bread was very intriguing! It was like two robust, orange coloured pancakes instead of sliced bread, and I really enjoyed the novelty of the texture.
All sandwiches come with a choice of fries, collard greens or salad, but I really wanted to split. That costs an extra 2$, but for once I found the surcharge worth it. There was so much good food. Both the oily squigle fries with their crispy ends and the smooth, garlicky collards were super satisfying.

Drink selection leaves something to be desired! There's no liquor license in effect at The HTV, and what was available was a mix of homemade (like this tea, which was like mildly tea-flavoured, tart sugar water- good, if you don't like strong tea), and some bottled stuff, like lemonade. It would be great if they expand to include some alcoholic beverages, or fresh squeezed juice.

Visit number two debuted with something familiar to anyone whose ever made that first dip into non-meat waters: a veggie patty. These mini patties were of the common soy blend variety, brown and spongy in texture, with a flavour all their own. It is the kind of soy patty you can get at the local supermarket, with nothing to make it stand out as particularly noteworthy. The presentation made this more exciting, though! The biscuits, ordered by my guest Bentley, were fluffy and fell square between sweet scone and savoury biscuit. They also sparked a debate about the benefits and downfalls of Bisquick. I'm am a huge proponent of biscuits made from scratch, and I like them to be super fluffy and dry, with a light taste of soda- no sweetness at all! Like I said, the ones at Hogtown have a little sweetness. That is my bias, though, since my mother would bake amazing biscuits for us weekly.

The ceasar salad tasted exactly how you would want it to, the sauce tasting like nothing out of the ordinary. It was a delicious treat for a vegan, avoiding both dairy and anchovy! I was most impressed by the 'gravy', though. Not only was it studded with tiny peas, but it tasted like wholesome meat gravy made from the drippings at the bottom of a roast. And yet, vegan! So inventive and well crafted.

Guess what I tried to order a second time! The pulled jackfruit sandwich. Guess what they were out of! A! Second! Time! I was pretty disappointed. Here is an item that is clearly a major hit- it's probably time to start making bigger batches, guys. Maybe enough to last at least an hour or two after opening? Sigh. I turned my eyes instead to a most intriguing item: Reuben a-la seitan. I'm not the biggest proponent of seitan, not just because of the name (I find it impossible to say with a straight face). I like tofu and tempeh, and am happy with most fake-beefs. The seitan nugg's I've had in the past are just...squidgy. It's a textural issue. An issue which was cleverly avoided here. Large pieces of seitan were sliced deli style into medium-thick strips. It's a tall order to recreate the fatty and marbled texture of good deli, but this was an effort. The result was perhaps more like pepperoni, the 'meat' having fine pores and sweating with light oil. It was piled up, the taste not as briny and sweet as the real deal, but not unsatisfying. I was actually quite in love with the sauerkraut which is what made this actually taste like a Reuben! There was a generous amount under the straining rye. As a side I went for those garlicky collards again. Try them! You'll love them.

 

All this classic omni dish impersonation raised an interesting conversation about the nature of vegan restaurants. Bentley's observation was that so much of the menu was an attempt to reproduce familiar meat and dairy meals- Reuben, pulled 'pork', unchicken and waffles- and that with vegan restaurants in general the food doesn't embrace its own vegan-ness enough, or try to create something unapologetically vegan. I see things differently. Most of the veg places I've dined at fit the narrow view of health-food lettuce leafy fare. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think there could be much more interesting things done at veg/vegan restaurants. I don't necessarily mean veg/vegan foods which seek to imitate an omni equivalent. I mean dishes which don't just try to fill the niche, but try to compete with fine dining restaurants and offer a really unique food experience. I feel that maybe more than any other place, the food at The Hogtown Vegan is on to something (it's just too bad about the horrible interior decorating!).

What do you think?

Hibiscus

Click for larger images!

Perhaps you've noticed that Drawn and Devoured tends to focus on very new restaurants. Well, I'm not a selfless creature. New things garner interest, tend to have fun twitter accounts, facebook, which is all good for me- the more people who find me and spread the word the better!

I think some amazing classics fall to the wayside due to my selection habits. Some restaurants, like Hibiscus, have been in Toronto much longer than I have (what is it, about six years now?). Though I've literally wanted to try Hibiscus for years, the stars and planets have never aligned just so to allow it. There was one time my friends and I were right at its door on Augusta Avenue, but a sad sign informed us that a family emergency would keep the vegan eatery closed for the day. Bummer! I hope everything on their end in that situation turned out for the best.

If you've been reading the blog for a while, you should remember Adelle, my favourite person to go explore the seedy underbelly of T.O.'s resto scene- and when I say seedy, I mean pumpkin, sunflower, sprouted and cracked. That's right, we're talking the HEALTHY stuff now! Adelle just came back from an adventure to Hawaii and Eugene (at a sustainability conference! Amazing!), so it was extra excellent to see her, catch up, and gush with all the projects we're both constantly wrapped up in.

You're reading this for the food, though, aren't you? Ok!

Hibiscus is, as I mentioned, a classic. It's been a long standing haunt for the healthy, vegetarian, and vegan. They are known for their buckwheat crepes and wholesome salads. We went on an ideal day as it was balmy and hot summer dress weather. The tables are polished, old wood, sun kissed. With all the natural wood details and age, the place feels homey. The large windows keep it bright and open. There's also a sunlit patio to sit at. So interred is Hibiscus in its digs that the planks under our feet waft wholesomeness, the smell of dry grains and earth. I like it, in my mind it is the ultimate 'health food store' smell- maybe not appealing to everyone, but it is to me.

There are fresh drinks to be had on this intense day. Not one for super sweet drinks and often disappointed with lemonade, I order theirs to see how it compares to others. 3$ buys a tall glassful, and to my pleasure the drink is tart, just mellowed out enough to keep me from sucking my cheeks in against the sourness.

Adelle orders iced Kombucha tea. I was worried I would only taste mushrooms and staleness. This kombucha is not comparable to others! It must be very fresh, and has a booziness to it. She explains to me that the tea is fermented at some point in its processing. Not unlike my lemonade it has a good tartness that helps deal with the heat- I wish I'd ordered it instead.

Even coming from a Dutch family where we would eat apple pannenkoek (like a crepe) regularly, I've never been a huge fan of stuffed crepes. I have a limit, yes I, to sweetness! These aren't your Queen West crepes, though; my understanding of buckwheat is that it's very grainy and robust, very unlike a white flour crepe. Then I read the description of a crepe with chutney, pecans, pears and spinach leaves (9$). I had also been recommended the crepes... I ordered it. The crepe was folded around one end, the other open to display a lovely fan of sliced and delicately cooked pears, layers of spinach and mock-chedar. I couldn't see the chutney until I cut in and forked a chunk. Then, lo, a bright orange splash of colour and flavour! What I tasted was a drizzle of honey over the still-crisp pear slices, and the thick diced mango chutney dashed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and other heady spices. To my surprise the mock cheese was pleasantly savoury, even stringy, though its texture gave it away otherwise. I had had my reservations. I do prefer the hearty buckwheat crepe with its crisp dry edges and extra chewy texture. To perfect the dish, the pecans gave a crunchy kick. No wonder Hibiscus is a classic.

For long before her vacation and explorations, Adelle had talked about the salads at Hibiscus, building them up with praise for their diversity. There's a rotating selection, changing with the chefs whims, favourites reoccurring regularly. I got a look at the big bowls on display. It's a lovely sight, beautiful crockery brimming with orange yam salad, maroon beans, punchy green broccoli heads. You can order an assorted salad bowl, which is exactly what she did. It comes in two sizes (6.70$ or 7.85$), but I think the small isn't enough for anyone with a real appetite. There was a dozen different salads and toppings as well, all served with a raw cracker stuck in the side. Raw crackers fascinate me. Created with a blend of grains and nut pulp (usually, but not always), they're dehydrated for hours until the texture becomes not crisp, but chewy and dry. This one is thin and delicate, its flavour of a mix of whole grains offset by what I thought was black strap molasses.

In the bowl were sweet potato cubes (solid, plain), cold quinoa (fluffy and light, slightly oiled with dried cranberries adding sweetness to offset the natural nuttiness, which was complemented by pine nuts), bean salad (a traditional vegetarian nom, this one made of black beans, chick peas, garbanzo, and flavoured with sweet onion and generous cumin, again that hint of molasses), finely cubed tofu (sweet with a non-smokey barbecue sauce, and lightly dressed), kimchi, and a couple steamed veggie dishes lightly seasoned with lemon: broccoli, green beans, grated carrot, slivered beets. Most perplexing was this dollop of white stuff on top, which we were guessing was mashed potato, but didn't QUITE taste like it. Finally we asked. It is some kind of super-protein mash made of soymilk paste and mushroom. It tasted a lot like ricotta, with a similar texture.

To indulge a shared tooth for well-crafted sweets, we debated over the many cookies and squares displayed along the back counter. I try not to be too pushy when sharing, but coconut does something orgasmic to me. We were both eyeing the selection of squares, and there was little debate over selecting a cashew coconut square (2.75$). Shockingly creamy thanks to the natural butteriness of cashew. It was also very chewy in a more pleasant way than stick-to-your-teeth toffee. Dried cranberries helped hold it together. I wish the coconut had been more pronounced, but this was still an immensely enjoyable treat. Just watch out, they melt in the heat!

Yes, I used the word nom. Is it in the dictionary yet? Quick, where's my Websters!