Guilty Pleasures

I am not a big box type of gal, nor am I a chain type. I tend to gravitate towards mom & pop shops and independent cafes. If in desperate need of caffeination I’ll grab a guilty Starbucks coffee, but frankly I don’t really like their coffee or the overall Starbucks experience.

I find the coffee often tastes burned and the service often so overeager that it’s off putting. Maybe I would feel less encumbered by the whole experience if I spoke “Starbucks,” but the contrarian in me just won’t sit down and learn the idiosyncratic Stabucks jive. I think I like being frustrated with SB. Frustration ensures a safe buffer zone between my palate and the coffee giant.

So, you’ll understand that it’s surprising to me that Starbucks has managed to bait me into coming in. Their salted caramel hot chocolate is out of control. Especially with a touch of whipped cream. It’s a very rich drink, so a small, or in SB jargon, a tall, is more than enough to sate your sweet tooth.

Here’s an easy copy cat recipe devised from the folks at Blisstree:

 

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt (the best you can afford)
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar crystals
• 1/4 cup whipped cream
• 2 tablespoons caramel syrup divided

1. Bring the milk, sugar, and cream to a simmer.  Keep it just under a boil and stir in the chocolate until melted completely.
2. Add one tablespoon of the caramel syrup to a warm mug and swish it to coat the inside of the mug.
3. Carefully pour in the chocolate.
4. Top with whipped cream, add a drizzle of caramel, a sprinkle of the salt and a dusting of the turbinado crystals.

7$ soup to feed 7: Peas Please

Peas are a great legume, but outside of England they seem to be a little neglected. This recipe actually combines two neglected delectables: peas and tarragon. The woody anise flavour of the tarragon is a nice accent to the naturally sweet peas.

This is a delicate, but filling soup, with a great colour.  It’s easy to make, but your guests’ll think you slaved away. It’s best with fresh English peas, but a bag of frozen peas will work just as well. Feel like experimenting? Try mint instead of tarragon, or blend the two.

What you’ll need…

1 tbs butter

1 medium white onion (0.50)

1 bag of peas  750 g  (2.00)

¾ cup Sweet potatoes  (0.75)

5 cups vegetable or chicken stalk (1.50)

¼ cup heavy cream (1.00)

1 splash dry white wine (0.25?)

1 bunch tarragon (1.25)

Optional garnish: bacon or goat cheese

Preparation

• Peel and chop onion coarsely
• Peel and cube the sweet potatoes
• Wash the tarragon, strip leaves from steam and chop Reserve seven 4cm top tufts for garnish

Turn Up The Heat

1. In a large pot melt 1 tbs of butter, add onions and cook on medium until translucent.
2. Add sweet potatoes, peas, and stock. Let simmer for 25 minutes on medium low.
3. Test to ensure that potatoes are cooked through by piercing a larger potato morsel with a fork. The potato should give no resistance, for soup you don’t want to keep the potato’s integrity in tact. If the potato breaks apart, then you know you’re in business.
4. Remove soup from the burner and let cool down for five minutes.
5. Blend with a hand blender, adding cream, tarragon, and wine while blending.
6. Salt to taste. Taste before salting, store bought stock is pretty sodium rich.
7. Serve garnished with a sprig of tarragon, a crumble of goat cheese or a drizzle of cream, and if you’d like, a dusting of bacon bits.

Bon Appetite!

Bonjour Brioche

Unfinished wood floors, a Provencal palette of yellow and blue, and the aroma of freshly baked bread culminates into a meal length vacation to St. Tropez. Bonjour Brioche is cozy when half full, but becomes claustrophobic at capacity. During peak hours expect line-ups and a lapse in service quality that is compensated for by the quality of the food. Perennial favourites include the decadent baked French toast, marbled with cinnamon and caramelized sugar, served with fresh fruit and maple syrup (8.50$); quiche Lorraine that’s light, yet creamy, and served with salad in basil vinaigrette and a portion of dream worthy baguette (8.75$); perfectly succulent scrambled eggs served on a potato rosti are adorned by a modest portion of smoked salmon and caviar, and garnished with horseradish and chives (10.00$). Drip coffee is unending, but often watery, lukewarm, and hard to flag down.

Brunch mains are all under 10$, and unaccompanied sandwiches hover around 7$. While the sandwiches on the fixed menu are cheap, I often find they’re underdressed, i.e. just roast beef and brie– I demand vegetables in my sandwich, even if it’s just a few tomatoes and a sprinkling of salad greens. But, if spartan sandwiches are your thing, you may just fall in love with their Jambon Buerre sandwich: prosciutto with butter on a baguette for 6.50$. Also at 7$ is their fantastic, and figure friendly, homemade granola served with yoghurt and a fresh fruit salad.

If you are on a tight budget I would suggest staying to the fixed menu, as daily specials are typically more expensive at around 15$. Through experience, I have also found that the daily specials can be hit or miss, although the daily sandwich is almost always safe bet.

SERVICE 2½/5 — service on weekends is significantly worse than on weekdays. It’s not unheard of to sit down and be professionally ignored for  a quarter hour. This, however, has only happened to me once. On off-peak hours the service can be acceptable, but never astounding.
AMBIANCE 4/5
PRESENTATION 4/5
TASTE 5/5
PRICE $-$$
HOURS Tuesday to Sunday 8 am to 4 pm
LOCATION, LOCATION 812 Queen Street East
NOTEWORTHY No reservations and cash ONLY, no plastic

[Originally written for Toronto Life internship application.]