La Palette

As it was sitting at the top of my 'To Visit' list for some time, I decided it was finally the moment to visit La Palette. For ten years a Kensington Market staple (the owner was instrumental in the creation of Pedestrian Sundays), the much-loved French resto recently moved its menu over to 492 Queen St. West, where it has a new permanent home. I found the new digs very cozy, full of warm reds and creamy yellows. The tables are tiny, or maybe I should say intimate? Maybe moreso for dinner. Since we went for lunch there was a very friendly and open feel to the place. It will be wonderful in the summertime! I was going to describe the decoration and vibe as dressed down but stereotypical French, but my guest, Myra, has actually been to France and said it's nothing similar. Interesting how stereotype can differ from the real deal.

Though I've written the individual prices of items, Myra and I both opted for the 20$ prix fixe, which comes with two items. There's also a 25$ prix fixe for three items, but we weren't that hungry!

I know I've mentioned in the past that I'm chronically early. This actually provides a lovely opportunity to taste and savour pre-food coffee. At La Palette they have brewed coffee, but it's nothing to write home about. For two dollars your get a very petite mug. Maybe the refills are free, but I was happy with the smaller amount this time and didn't ask- normally I can go through gallons of java, even when it's not too remarkable. The presentation was adorable, with a little silver jug of cream, and a mason jar of brown sugar cubes.

If I were to pick one highlight of our visit (a feature I should start including regularly here at D&D!), this would be my choice. There is so much going right in this fromage fondant. A large wedge of creamy camembert was encrusted with a shell of bread crumbs. The thick crust protected the cheese from the heat of the frier, and needed to be cracked open with a fearless fork, after which the cheese would not stop gushing from the wound! How extraordinary and indulgent. The sides were maple-glazed pumpkin seeds and spiced cranberry compote, which could be nudged onto the crust as though onto a cracker. I was especially impressed with the pumpkin seeds, which were actually in a brittle. It was sweet and crunchy. This could have been dessert!

I went to La Palette knowing that there were two things that, no matter what, I would be trying. Escargots! For those not up on your French, and missing the hint in my little illustration, that's snails. I know I've had these before, but it was more than ten years ago at a Kingston restaurant famed for not doing anything wrong. I wanted to test them on an adult palate. My first surprise came in the presentation. Even though I read the description of the snails, I still expected them to arrive on a little round dish, each one nestled into its own buttery pot. Begone, stereotypes! I have a lot to learn about French cuisine. These were served blanketted with warm baby spinach leaves and succulent grilled chanterelle mushrooms. That was my second draw to this dish. The only other time I've had chanterelles I deeply suspect they were false chanterelles. This is supposed to be one of the worlds most delicious mushrooms, and I wanted to give it a second chance. The mushrooms were what I had hoped: citrusy and buttery. That's how they're supposed to be! The rest of the dish was also quite buttery and full of onions. Though I could taste the natural smoke and saltiness of the escargots when eaten by themselves, as soon as they were combined with anything else they were completely overwhelmed.

Our mains came with a selection of sides! We were each asked to choose two. Both of us chose the winter salad and the warm slaw, but somehow I wound up with fries instead of salad. This was the only slip-up in otherwise pleasant service. I didn't mention it because if the universe gives me fries, I will eat them. The winter salad was made up of cashews, rapini, red and golden beets, and brussel sprouts in a bit of olive oil. The warm slaw is something we eat in my family a lot: hot red cabbage with just a bit of butter, salt and vinegar. There was a nice surprise in this version since I swear I could taste anise, a recent flavour obsession I have! The french fries were not a let down, and I was glad I wound up with them. They had an earthy taste left from the intact peels, and with a hint of herbs I was left with a countryside impression.

Myra ordered the fish, which was fresh caught white fish (but what kind of white fish? I should have asked). It was a very small piece, so I would suggest ordering this if you aren't starving. The skin was crisped, and the belly was light and flaky. It had a delicate mildness of flavour, without any overpowering sauce or spice. Enjoyable, but not too memorable, sadly.

This was the other thing I HAD to try! Maybe some people will be scandalized by my willingness to sample horse. It's certainly been the source of some controversy for La Palette, whose front lawn has been the site of more than one protest. For me, it's just another meat, an interesting food that I haven't tried yet. In this case the extra drive to try horse came from its interesting presentation, as part of a benedict breakfast. The toasts were slender home made coins of bread with a hard, herbed crusted that let the milky yolks pool inside. I found that the yolk and hollondaise were too watery and cool, and would have liked the dish to be a bit hotter, less soggy. Still, for taste it was very unique, and I enjoyed myself. The horse steak was served in medium-rare strips underneath the poached egg. It's comparable to beef, but I found it to be a bit more sour tasting, and more crumbly in texture. It was succulent, cooked perfectly for my tastes. I also enjoyed the mayo served on the side, which had a great kick of horseradish to it.

Of the two of us, I think I'm a little bit more adventurous for food! But hey, I'll eat anything.

Hot Beans!

Any excuse to make my way over to Kensington Market is a happy one, so it was with pleasure that my sister and I ventured forth yet again to taste what the City of Toronto has to offer for Latin American food. I guess she's my #1 lady to taste these flavourful foods with, being the closest thing to an expert I have on hand. 

Recently opened at 160 Baldwin street (on the west side of the river-like divide of Spadina), is Hot Beans, an all-vegan taco place place. No website yet! This little hole in the wall is easy to find with a nice big sign, but space is tight and I only hope they can put out some chairs and tables in the summer. There's just a corral of a counter with stools running along the upper level, and that was full. Mary and I wound up eating on a bench! No easy feat.

Mary ordered the spicy bean burrito with guac, her favourite anywhere. I was very excited for the tacos, especially the Jackfruit "Pulled Pork" Taco which I had already decided to have. Unfortunately that one was sold out, and instead my eye was drawn against my intent not to a taco, but to one of their specials, a burrito boldly called...

There's just one size for the burritos at Hot Beans, and that is LARGE. They're stuffed to near bursting capacity with filling. The Elvis, may he rest in peace, packed an extra hefty punch, worthy of the name. With generous amounts of starchy fillings like hash browns, tortilla chips, sweet plantain, and crunchy toasted coconut, I needed to be rolled up the stairs afterwards. Yes, I ate it all! It was insanely good, and for me combined some really unique flavours. Peanut miso sauce with coconut and mild banana? Interesting! There was also 'sour cream', which is actually made from cashews. I think there should have been more of both sauces considering how dry the fillings were. Even the plantain had a dryness. I'm used to my burritos moist, and kept spooning on dollops of the homemade hot sauce. It boasts a taste that's sweet like chutney, but with a kick in the teeth from habenaro. This was my first time trying tempeh bacon, and I was underwhelmed. It has nothing on the real deal, and while I like a few fake meats, this time I could have done without. It added nothing, really.

8.50$

That red squiggle is actually the tell tale trace of hot sauce. Mary went for the milder non-habenaro hot sauce. That one isn't house-made, but is still good, packing a softer citrus-chipotle kick. A bit more predictable! All the regular roster of burritos come filled with garlic-annatto rice (google tells me that annatto is a seed from the Americas used to add natural yellow colouring, and a hint of flavour), pico de gallo, lettuce, "sour cream" and cilantro-jalepeno salsa. The Bean is, of course, the most basic of burritos. At Hot Beans they seem to really like putting plantains in things, and they're present in this big roll along with a hefty spoonful of brown beans. I like black beans for colour and flavour, but I had a few bites of Mary's lunch, and was not unhappy. I feel like maybe Hot Beans doesn't do the most 'authentic' burritos, but I've never been a stickler for authenticity- we're in Toronto. Let's explore hybridization in foods! What I really like about this burrito is the almost tropical undertone, something that reminded me of curry. Maybe it was the cilantro?

8.50

These deserts won't set you very far back! Even though they're in line with the large portions that are the trend we've seen from the burritos at Hot Beans, the lime coconut doughnut and peanut butter chocolate cookie only came to 2$ a pop. Hot Beans is already getting some decent buzz online, and I think it's largely fuelled by their original doughnut. Homemade from dough to dip, the thing is unique in Toronto. I found the dough dense and chewy, like good fresh bread but sweeter. Personally lime and dough makes a disconnect for me, so this wasn't my favourite. I can appreciate the experimentation a lot since I love a bold chef. The cookie is vegan too, of course, so it doesn't have the texture of a traditional cookie. I find it was more suitable to my palate. It's powdery, dense like dried out peanut butter, but is so satisfying somehow with bursts of dark chocolate. It's very crumbly, but Mary and I eat every crumb. She says what I'm feeling: "I will come here just for the cookies".

You can almost fool yourself into thinking they're healthy, too.

After this visit I know I'll be back to try Hot Beans signature tacos...and I'll make sure to have someone to split them with!

Arepa

In high school my sister and I had a friend from Venezuela. Her and Mary were great friends, and once Mary got to try these mysterious 'Arepa' things when she was visiting. I never even saw them, but the description of their simplicity and flavour has always left me wondering! Juicy cornbread stuffed sandwiches?

Fortunately Toronto has an answer to my silent wishes: 490 Queen West, Arepa cafe.

Naturally I went with my sister on this blog outing. If only my buddy Elena weren't off being a chef world traveller! Well, we live in an imperfect world. Imperfect except for this restaurant, maybe....

I was waiting for a while for my company, a result of my being chronically early. Being a growing connoisseur of coffee (admittedly most other people with barista experience could put me to shame), I wanted to try their espresso in its purest form: a shot (with a bit of sugar). Very pleasant! I'm used to the strength and nuttiness of Black Cat, and this was very different. I was foolish not to ask about the bean they use. There was a distinct cherry flavour, and it was nicely mellow.

 

I was aiming for a dairy-free choice, since I was attempting my first ever 'cleanse' during this trip. Egg, tomato, grilled onion; no cheese, but still hearty! Gluten-free too, which is a nice thing to know, since the buns are made of cornmeal. Little did I know what lurked at the bottom of this arepa...like many sandwiches and wraps, the arepa's juices wait until the last second to spring on you. Here they have a perfect waxy wrap to hold them in. Butter! So very laden with butter! I was happy that the tomatoes weren't overcooked and still had firmness, their freshness helped a lot with what turned out to be a very rich 'light' lunch.

Bolder was the meaty Pabellon! Here is some more Venezuelan flavour, shredded flank steak that really smacked of ground peppercorn. It was dry in a purposeful way, without losing tenderness. The plantains were like the tomatoes on my Perico: firm, crunchy, and adding freshness. With the beans, they actually turned this arepa into a sweeter sensation. It wasn't sugary, but had a nice natural sweetness. The first flavour to hit home really was the cheese, though.

 

Also famous are these treats: alfajores. They're like two very small and thin shortbread cookies with a happy dollop of dulce de leche in between. I had never tried that caramel-like substance. It's thick as molasses, but tastes like sugary cream. It really held the crumbling, light cookies together! They're fun to eat, but you have to be careful, especially if you're eating out with a sibling: you might just wind up with a face full of icing sugar! These things are coated in half a centimetre of the stuff. One powerful exhale....yikes! Also, don't wear black. Trust me.

The Drake Hotel

At long last! Drawn and Devoured returns with another weeks worth of delicious restaurant review. This week brought a most delightful brunch from Toronto's famous hotel/restaurant/club/you name it, The Drake. I've been a fan for a while, but it was really fun to go with some people who had never been, to hear what they thought of the food and to try something new myself.

One thing I will always love about The Drake but haven't drawn here is the Caesar. There's more horseradish in that thing than you can shake a fist at. I recommend you make a little detour over to BlogTO for some pictures and an extra-fantastic review of the drink here.

Two of my party of five opted for the manliest thing on the menu. First they mused over the smaller, more typical breakfast plate, but it was the lure of pancakes WITH all that bacon, egg and hash brown that drew them in. By the end I think the Lumberjack had felled them and both plates were whisked away half-done. From my samples and the feedback the ladies were more than happy to provide (I love vocal company!), there are some points of improvement on this platter. First and foremost, that splurge on the pancakes? A bit of a waste. On one plate they were overdone and rubbery. While the other plate had pancakes which were a more ideal golden-brown, they were still flat and bland. Drake needs to learn how to make a fluffier stack! Points go to the big bad plaid for it's crispy, greasy good potatoes, which were hot and fluffy on the inside, and to the mound of bacon heaped on the side. Not shy with the meat! Who's surprised, Drake also runs a barbecue.

I think it's generally pretty hard to mess up a burrito. When you mix all that good stuff together -eggs, potato, cheddar and sour cream in this case- wrap it in soft tortilla and grill until the essence of each ingredient melds together, well, it makes magic. In the Drake's case, they make it stand out by putting fries right in! Or did those potatoes just taste exactly like fries? This baby was on the large side, so bring your appetite if you plan to order it. It also comes with avocado (guacamole, actually) and salsa on the side so you can add them per bite as you work your way through. Oniony, the guac has good taste. Unfortunately the salsa was not as flavourful, lacking any bold choices and tasting like a plain pico- that's just diced tomatoes and onion, for those not in the know.

 

I present...quiche! Oh, they tried to fool us with clever naming, but when you're baking egg into a pie crust, it's a quiche. I did really enjoy this- the pastry was buttery and flaky, the egg was rich and creamy, full of mushrooms and greens. Ricotta was used in with the egg to give it that lovely extra body and delicious taste. I don't think I really tasted any custard, which is a bit of a shame since it would have added that extra level of interest to what was a perfectly created breakfast. I'm glad the humongous wedge of egg came with a salad sized to match. It worked to clean my palate in between forkfuls, and was also full of yummy red cabbage.

 

Daniel, Adelle (you should be familiar with her by now!), Lisa, Jane and I are all into coffee in a big way. I think it comes back to Australia- Jane and Lisa are from the java obsessed country, I've lived there, and Adelle has family there (Daniel doesn't have the Aussie connection, but he is awesome anyhow). They know good coffee! Toronto's coffee scene is only just emerging and unfortunately there's little consistency between what passes for a latte or cappuccino here. Order the same thing at different places, and you'll just get a completely different drink. The Drake makes their espresso beverages too watery, and bitter. I know it's not their specialty- but I demand perfection! If you go there, stick to the drip. It's passable.

Kings Cafe

It was really a bizarre jump to go from the upscale Sassafraz to Kensington's Kings Cafe, a vegetarian restaurant making it's home in one of the larger space along Kensington Avenue's southern half. While I have a huge love, near obsession with vegetarian, vegan and other healthy foods, this is not a positive review. Sadly, Kings Cafe makes very boring Chinese style food with their only real adventurous note being the addition of some known vegetarian meat substitutes like seitan and tempeh.

Read on, brave follower!

It would be so, so unfair to say that everything at Kings Cafe was bad- it wasn't There were some real winners on the menu, and for me these dumplings take the prize. Unlike other steamed buns which are mainly dough and come very light on filling, this was the other way around. It was full of diced veggies, and tasted especially of mushroom. The three small buns arrived on a steamer. I think we left them sitting a few minutes too long, since trying to grab them with our chopsticks, and then our hands, made the tender skin fall apart.

 

Here is where my opinion of Kings starts to go awry. A couple bites in and Adelle and I, as we had ordered the same soup, began to doubt the wisdom of our selection. There are plenty of excellent and interesting textures which can be created in a soup. The salty water that makes a good miso, the heavy body of a chowder, and all ranges in between from smooth butternut to hearty minestrone. From hot and sour soup, I expect something in the minestrone spectrum: not very dense, but with chunks of interesting food. This hot and sour soup had the texture of cheap plum sauce- the thick, oily kind. The flavour was not strong, or spicy. It really wasn't good, and neither of us finished even half. Though the mushrooms, tofu, and especially bean curd all tasted good by themselves, the terribly viscous 'liquid' they were embalmed in was a complete turn off.

Perhaps my advice when venturing into this glowingly fresh-looking restaurant is to stick to the apps and dim-sum. This tiny wonton soup which came with the large bento box (below) was actually very nice, and available from the starters menu. It was salty, watery in the right way, and the won tons were pleasantly chewy. Simple and good. The soy fritters were one of the more interesting items ordered. Basically they were small nuggets of rolled soy. I don't think they were battered, but were deep fried plain. Crisp on the outside and with a mushroom like texture on the inside, they had very little spice, but a flavour hard to describe. It came with steamed cut carrots and green beans, but from the texture, and the shape of the carrots, I suspect they came from frozen.

Hungry for REAL food, Lexie ventured out to order one of the combos, which comes with a handful of side dishes, including that little won ton soup. Here we have purple rice (a blend of different varieties of rice to make a purple colour), seasonal salad (which was actually fruit salad with cucumbers), spring roll, and soy nuggets. No, we did not change the presentation so that the spring roll and nuggets looked like that! That's how they arrived. They were also what you'd expect in terms of flavor. The spring roll was crisp fried and full of soft, vinegary veggies, and the nuggets, other that their distinct soy-flavour and slightly too squidgy texture, were like good old McDonald's chicken nugs. The fried bean curd was both tasty and original. Again we were presented with something with a fried texture, but the bean curd at Kings Cafe is really delicious. With teriyaki sauce on it, and a crunchy nori bottom, it had a lot of flavour going for it too. The nori base was a particular hit with me, since the seaweed kept the teriyaki from being overpowering.

If you're from Toronto, I hope you've explored Chinatown. You should know that it's dotted with a  score of little bakeries, where the buns, breads and cakes are cheap and plentiful! To cleanse our palate after that greasy soup, we wandered over to the closest reliable hole in the wall baker and loaded up with sesame red bean buns, almond cookies, and whole wheat bread.
 Did I also mention that I bought a peanut crunch mochi ball at the bakery? I did! It came with the tip of a latex glove stuck to the bottom. Discovered AFTER taking a nice big bite out if it, thanks!
I really, really want not to a stereotype of bad Chinese food, but alas. Not today, Chinatown. Not today.

Sassafraz (for Winterlicious)

I realized that this title should probably read '45$ for a three course meal', not 'per plate'. I'm not that rich! And Winterlicious is not that pricey- it would defeat the purpose after all, since this Toronto tradition is all about bringing food to the people. Amazing fine dining like Sassafraz set up a prix fixe that is affordable. The food-lovers win by getting a treat that's in the budget, and the restaurants who participate (there's a whack of them!) get to increase their business over the dreary snowed in months.

I feel like I'm always around Molly and Pietro, always dragging them out to dinner...oh wait! That's because I live with them. YEP. They must be tired of discovering amazing new places in Toronto at which to dine. Am I ever thankful they put up with me!
By the way, Molly is also an illustrator, you can check out her work here.


We actually tried all three of the appetizers offered as part of the prix fixe, but I've only chosen to draw two of them.There was a soup as well, but the presentation wasn't striking enough for me to draw it: just a sea of pale creamy yellow. I'll let you use your imagination just this once.

You might remember that back when I reviewed CAVA last month, my guests and I tried something similar. Cornmeal, poblano chili sauce- we weren't too impressed. That says something since I love cornmeal. Cornbread, Johnny cake, polenta, I will eat it. And I'll usually love it.
This tamale is like how that should have been. To start, this sauce had zip, zap, zing- everything. Flavour was present in spades! The tamale was so moist that it crumbled with full, tender grains, steaming hot, and achieved an almost creamy texture on the tongue. It was so incredibly good, right to the filling of shrimp. Their flavour was not very strong, but there's an art to delicate cooking. Here the buttery shrimp worked with the cornmeal to make a great, not-too-filling appetizer.

A salad by any other name would be as sweet! With this sort of taste bud teaser, you know what to expect. Beets will taste like beets, and arugula will always have that arugula spice. Everything was wonderfully fresh, crunchy, and home-made in the case of the beet chips and toasted pecans. I think that beet chips might have been misleadingly named since I at least was expecting something cooked and crunchy, but I won't complain- I adore cooked beets. The real art in this salad was the orange fennel root dressing, though. It added an interesting level of flavour to what is otherwise an unassuming salad.

Seafood? More like steak! Such a cut of swordfish could easily be mistaken for red meat. It was a lovely colour, and had a heavy body and dense texture, like chicken. All in all, it didn't taste very fishy at all, and just had the satisfying flavour of a good mouthful of meat and char. The polpette -something this meal introduced me to- had us guessing for a little while. Without the menu in front of us, it was hard to remember exactly what tastes we experienced ('we' since everything was shared). Tomato, sure, basil, maybe, feta? Parmesan? I don't know if there was any cheese inside, but there was a nice saltiness that had more flavour than the described ingredients suggest. It also looked beautiful on the plate.
Interestingly enough, the Internet tells me a polpette is usually a variety of meatball...but this was vegetarian!

Just the sort of thing you order to remind yourself that summer is on the in again. How about a wonderfully grilled steak! Cooked to a perfect medium-rare, the slab of steak I tried was so moist that I could pull it apart with my fork. Chewiness was nonexistent. Sassafraz served their steak nonchalantly on a bed of green beans, as if to say 'we do not have to dress up how amazing this is'. They didn't. It was. Ancho herb butter was the only flourish in this entree, which speaks to the skill required to cook a perfect steak.

One of my goals with 'Drawn and Devoured' is to always be bold. When faced with a menu, I will NOT just order the pizza Margharita! I will order that weird thing with the blue cheese.
On that note, I had to try Cornish hen. Not only have I never tried a tiny bird before, but I knew that it would be great to draw- much more interesting than a piece of chicken. I was very surprised when my fowl landed! Don't birds usually have two legs? What happened? I may never know, because I didn't ask- a regret I will carry to my grave. What there WAS was excellent, though. I expect it's easy to overcook so small a thing, but the meat was juicy. I took my time with the stuffing, savouring its complexities. There was a good, earthy mushroom flavour, but also a creamy taste that I can't help but compare to blue cheese. The quinoa spilling out bountifully was buttery, and has converted me to the red variety permanently. It has so much great texture! It was a bit too bad that the winter vegetables were just the same cubed sweet potato that was served with the steak.

Many, many flavours mixed together in this teeny tart. Sweet meringue, rich chocolate, piquant lemon, boozy custard (YES), and the unusual floral taste of lavender. We took our time, enjoying all those layers. The crust was crisp and satisfying. Unlike a pie crust, it was much more solid, almost crunchy.

I have to guess that 'pavee' means 'brick'. This was such a dense chocolate cake, it took ages for us to nibble our way through. Made of a layer of heavy cake topped with a layer of mousse topped with a brittle dark chocolate crust, this dessert embodies richness. As someone who is not a fan of passion fruit, I was happy to find myself really enjoying the sorbet, and how it acted as a relief from the overwhelmingly chocolate wedge. The rosewater gelee was fun, and pretty to look at, but tasted of little but gelatin, with only the slightest hint of rose.

 

Harlem Underground

Toronto's East and West sides both have a Harlem Underground to keep those deep-fried needs fuelled. I went with my friends Gillian and Misha to the West side location on Queen street, just east of Trinity Bellwoods. Convenience central! Which was great since our excursion took place in the middle of an awful cold snap.

The spicy comfort food couldn't have hit the spot better. We also had a laugh over some weird naming choices on the menu. 'Mississippi Masala'? Really? I don't think so!

Normally Harlem Underground does charge for their (apparently famous) cornbread at 3.50$, but it was a slow night. I'm chronically early, and was waiting for my friends maybe all of ten minutes when the server surprised me with these amazing morsels, since he felt bad I was waiting. I'd barely been there long! The servers were so friendly to us, I would recommend this place for them alone. The cornbread WAS excellent and moist.

This place knows how to batter 'em up. Was it a cornflake batter? Much lighter than a beer batter, but different from a tempura, I don't know what magic was used to make everything crunchy without feeling like a brick. Okra is a rare treat for me. We started with a plate for our appetizer. There was cracked black pepper in the batter that added so much to the natural spiciness of okra. The mayo was very dull though.

Ordered by Gillian, who stuck to apps for dinner. Even though the presentation was interesting, and the texture of the crisps was unique-like a very thin, crunchy flat bread- the dips were not exciting at all. The hummus didn't have enough body or garlic, and the guacamole just tasted like mashed avocado. I couldn't even tell if they had salted it.

In the end, just about everything we ate was battered and friend. And it was amazing! Catfish is wonderfully solid, and keeps its robustness after the terrors of the deep-fry. These morsels we almost like chicken in texture. The flavour was very subtle, not too fishy. The sauce was your typical Thai chili, and added a good kick. I should also mention, portion here are GENEROUS!! I thought it was a bit overpriced until our dishes arrived.

Amazing. So. Amazing. I have never had better waffles in my LIFE. Large, fluffy, and steaming fresh, it was like they were whipped with air. Oh my gosh! I could eat stacks. They didn't come with maple syrup, which was a bit bizarre. I would up really craving some. The dips that came with it weren't sweet enough for waffles, but went great with the chicken. There were three gigantic pieces on my plate, more than any mere mortal should be able to eat (I totally did). Again there was that thick and crunchy cornflake batter, this time with a hint of thyme in it, but the chicken inside was so tender I had to wonder if they had pre-stewed it.

This one takes the cake. Heaps of stewed chicken piled up on the plate. Are you hungry? Go to the Harlem Underground! They will kill you with their generosity. The chicken was absolutely coated in home made Guinness marinade. It was sweet and succulent. The meat fell right off the bone, and tasted even better mixed in the the mac-n-cheese (which by itself was a bit predictable). At the end of the meal the plate looked like a murder instrument, it was just covered in sauce.

Another review brought to you by VERWHO?