Polish Farmer's Feast

Jijesh and I enjoyed one of the authentic Polish restaurants in Roncesvalles Village. This neighborhood is an exclectic mix of very old Polish immigrants and also artsy young yuppies. This is what they called the Farmer's Dinner: kielbasa, sourkraut, cabbage roll, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy. The taste was good and similar to what I expected. The kielbasa preparation choices were fried or boiled. I choose the traditional boiled and was glad I did- the skin needs to pop when you cut it and the taste was rich and delicious. The mushroom gravy also really hit the spot. The cabbage roll was filled with mostly meat and the sauce was very bland. I am looking forward to taking some of our guests to this new find- Cafe Polonez.

Cafe Polonez Pierogies

Jijesh ordered pierogies from Cafe Polonez. Just as we have experienced so far in Canada, they are bright white and boiled very soft and served with sour cream. These were also served with diced sauteed onions but the pierogies were not fried at all. He chose the cheese version which turned out to be cheddar mixed with mashed potatoes. They were mildly tasty... but nothing compared to what our family makes or what Tanya shared with her snowy driveway;)

Bulgogi Bento Box

I took my girlfriend out for a celebratory lunch and I finally got to try the Korean dish I have read about- bulgogi. It is thin strips of sirloin are marinated with soy sauce, sugar, scallions and mushrooms and then grilled or fried. The beef was very tender, rich and flavourful. The sweetness and soy were very strong but well balanced with the beef flavours. There was a bit of excess oil used, which would lend me to think this was pan fried. Next time I hope to try a grilled version. I could only eat about 1/3 of the bulgogi portion with all my rice to balance out the strong flavours. Jijesh enjoyed the leftovers! Since we were at a Japanese resaturant (Sushi-Ya Japan on Airport Road, Toronto) I opted for the bento box- which also included shrimp and vegetable tempura, spinach salad, miso soup, rice and green salad. Not bad for $9.