Miss Cora’s Not Missing a Beat

A healthy hearty lunch for five dollars has become nearly myth in Toronto. Now, imagine a place where you could not only get lunch for five dollars, but lunch with a sweet mouthful of dessert and fifty cents change left over for… Well, ok, fifty cents won’t get you far these days. So, let’s recap—I am promising you lunch, desert, and a phone call for the sum total of five dollars. But where is this mythic provider of reasonably priced lunch foods and other goodies? Right in the heart of Kensington Market.

Miss Cora’s Kitchen settled into the heart of Kensington three years ago and have found themselves comfortably at home in the market. Cora’s soul warming food focuses on organic ingredients sourced from the market. A note to the waist wise: it’s healthy because it’s wholesome, not because it’s particularly diet friendly. If I only had one word to describe the effervescent proprietor it would be: epicurean.  Miss Cora’s philosophy is that food is about striking a balance between nourishing the body and nourishing the senses and the soul. Ultimately, according to Cora, it’s “about knowing that what you are eating was made using fresh ingredients, by a real person with love” and deriving pleasure from the experience.

Miss Cora’s Kitchen’s primary focus is catering, but when not feeding office meetings and wedding parties they’ll gladly prepare a few mouthwatering bites for those strolling through the market. Their daily offerings run the gamut from sickeningly sweet to salty and savory.

On the savory front Cora offers a daily soup, a handful sandwiches (5$), and an eclectic array of pizzas(3$), and if you come at the right times, hot mains like homemade pasta with marinara sauce (5$) or Mahogany Beef Stew. The sandwich bread leaves something to be desired, but their fillings steal the show.

The BRIE.L.T, is simple, but delicious. With a healthy serving of brie cheese, accompanied by spinach, a touch of mayo, and ripe roma tomatoes; it’ll satisfy even the loudest of lunchtime stomach growls. The pizzas are unorthodox, made on whole-wheat Persian barberi flatbread (and the tomato sauce is, of course, homemade, and fantastic).

Pizza toppings change to reflect what’s available in season and available in the market. It’s hard to guess what Cora’s next pizza creation will be, but past pizzas have included: chicken breast, with grilled artichoke, and mozzarella; goat cheese, sundried tomato, and baby zucchini; BBQ roast chicken, roasted bell pepper, and basil; steak, blue cheese, and onions.

On the sweet side Cora offers a butter tart your grandmother wishes she could make; flakey, buttery, crusts, filled with a caramel that is neither too runny nor too viscous. This may be butter tart perfection. There is a price to pay for perfection, and it isn’t cheap—2.50$ for these seraphic tarts.

Cora’s was deigned best cupcakes in Toronto by blogto.com. While their cup cakes are good, they’re fairly expensive for a less than euphoric experience. Their mini-cupcakes can often be a little dry, from sitting in the fridge, and lacking in flavour. Their vanilla has a bland cake-bottom and an over vanilla-ed frosting, while their chocolate cupcakes are lacking that ‘wow factor’. Their vegan coconut and their pink velvet cupcakes, however, are dense and absolutely delicious!

1 slice of gourmet pizza with toppings piled high 3$+ 1 mini pink velvet cupcake 1.50$ + 1 phone call = 5$ lunch

Miss Cora’s Kitchen is focused on catering more so than it is its takeaway nibbles, so don’t be too distraught when they run out of sandwiches or other treats, or if something isn’t crafted on the spot for you, there’ll always be tomorrow to sate that sweet tooth.

SERVICE 5/5 — Cora goes the extra mile to make you feel like a welcome friend, instead of a guest, in her kitchen.
AMBIANCE 3½/5 — It’s small, with little sitting room. Three stools to be exact. But the atmosphere is cozy, with butcher’s block counters, warm lighting, and fresh flowers. The kitchen takes up three quarters of the space, but it’s always fun to take a peek at how the magic’s made.
PRESENTATION 3½/5
TASTE 4/5
PRICE ¢
HOURS Monday-Sunday 12-6
LOCATION, LOCATION 69 Kensington Street

Idealic

Ideal's patio

Over the past 10 years Toronto and Montreal have diverged down two different micro paths. While Montreal has been busy becoming a secret beer Mecca, Toronto has been quietly stoking a roaring roasting fire. One of my favourite Toronto micro-roasters is Ideal Coffee. With a focus on sustainability, both environmental and social, Ideal offers its costumers luscious, guilt free, coffee at competitive prices.

photo taken by joe r. with a panasonic gf1, 20mm pancake lens.

Ideal Coffee has three locations across the city, from east to west: Leslieville, Kensington, and Ossington.  Their Kensington location is my favourite, although the communal ambience and lack of traditional café seating isn’t for everyone. Expect a stranger to strike up a conversation with you— especially during the spring and summer months as the patio buzzes with a vibrancy that will rival most bars. While the Ideal can be a good place to read for pleasure, don’t come expecting to get work done— indoor space is limited, there’s no wi-fi, and plugging in your laptop is a fault pas. Mind you, if you’re looking to unwind during a leisurely afternoon Kensington wander this is the place for you.

Drop by on Saturday and watch them roast your beans right before your eyes.

A pound of fresh roasted whole bean coffee will run you 14$ (tax in), but wait that’s not all—with every pound you buy you get a free mug of fresh steaming drip to bring on your way, or to enjoy on the patio. Yes, I know that S-bucks coffee typically hovers around 12 a pound, but that’s tax out, and you don’t get a fresh mug of drip to sate you.  Not to mention S-bucks doesn’t offer you local Harmony Organic milk, soymilk, or almond milk. A cup of drip is 2$, as is tea, and a latte will run you 3.75$, with a cappuccino closing it at 3.50$. Baked goods range in price, but hover between 2-4$. If you’re penny pinching the 2$ drip can’t be beat.

When I used to frequent Ideal regularly I described it as the perfect bordello of a café, but since partnering up with the Fresh Coffee Network Ideal has under gone a much-needed face-lift. This shift is probably for the best, as cluttered and dingy appeals to a very particular type of person, and that person is usually under twenty. The partnership between Ideal and the FCN has affected more than just the decor— Ideal’s beans have always been carefully selected based on quality and sustainability, but until last year the café was still using Styrofoam take-away cups. The shift to biodegradable Greenshift cups only adds to Ideal’s allure.

Whole Bean recommendation: Prince of Darkness (just saying the name makes you want to cackle manically).

 

 

 

 

SERVICE 4/5 — typically, down to earth, friendly baristas.
AMBIANCE 3½/5
PRESENTATION 3½/5 — they might not draw Mona Lisa in your foam, but they’ll pull a good espresso.
TASTE 5/5
PRICE ¢
LOCATION, LOCATION 84 Nassau Street