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

The father, the sun, and the Holy Oak

Bloordale's a diverse neighborhood with tons of hidden gems.

You may be familiar with Parkdale, but have you heard of Bloordale? Bloordale stretches from Lansdowne to Dufferin across Bloor Street, and is the epitome of the multicultural cocktail that is Toronto. Unlike other neighborhoods that have been dominated by a single cultural influence, Bloordale is a true mix of new Canadians from across the globe. In this small stretch you’ll find Italians, Latin Americans, Sri Lankans, West Indians, Chinese, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis, many of whom speak a native language other than English.

Bloordale has been historically neglected by young Torontonians because of its lack of trendy shops, cafes, and accessible grocery stores. Even the cheap rental rates weren’t enough to attract and keep young residents sated. But, fear not, over the past five years this neighborhood has gentrified, and not in the over saturated Ossington kind of way. One of the founding cornerstones that catalyzed the renaissance of Bloordale was the arrival of the Holy Oak Cafe to the neighborhood.

Click to enlarge photo

There’s something special about the Holy Oak that sets it apart from all those other trendy latte slingers. Sure, some places on Queen can paint a Klimt with foam, but the Holy Oak is more than just a run of the mill coffee house. It’s your grandma’s kitchen, it’s your work place, it’s a place for discussion, and a place to scream “JENGA!” all at once.

The Holy Oak is a café by day, a bar by night, and a light fare restaurant all times in between. The room is small, with about 10 mix and match vintage kitchen tables, a working stand up piano, and a glorious bay window that lets in enough sunshine to fight off those impending winter blues. Hanging houseplants and colorful wall art help to reinforce the comfortable, pretentious free, atmosphere. It’s also family friendly, so don’t be surprised when you see tots hanging out on a sun drenched Sunday playing with the complimentary toys.

Freshly baked goodies fog up their glass displays.

They offer Intelligentsia coffee (1.50$ espresso, 2$ americanos, and pricey, but delicious lattes at 3.75$– specialty lattes at 4$), a healthy selection Tealish teas (2-3$), Quebecois draft beer, and a small, but filling menu of edibles. The daily soup never disappoints, the portion is a healthy size and it comes with scrumptious rye bread, definitely worth the 6$. Other menu staples include stuffed naan, stuffed with your choice of curry chicken or vegetables for 5$, and various grilled cheeses (4.50$+). On weekends they offer simple brunch fare; the menu changes weekly, but you can expect eggs any style, bennies, french toast, & omelets, made with a focus on organic, locally sourced, ingredients.  Beware on weekends because tables can be scarce, so arrive early or be prepared to wait.

holy oak, batman!

The Holy Oak also has a plethora of board games, wonderful live music performances that are scattered throughout the day and night, and excellent hours. They’re open everyday of the week, save Monday, from early morning to the witching hour or later.

Because the Holy Oak straddles the line between café and bar the atmosphere on a Saturday night is somehow more civilized than your typical booze focused bar. There are the university students discussing Hegel in a corner, the friends catching up over beer by the window, the internet suffers answering e-mails and sipping chai, while the party of five argues over whether slang is Scrabble approved.

SERVICE 4.5/5
AMBIANCE 4/5
PRESENTATION 3.5/5
TASTE 3.5/5
PRICE $
HOURS Mon 8am- 7pm, Tue 8am- 12am, Wed & Thurs & Fri  8am – 2am, Sat 9am- 2am, Sun 9am – 12am
LOCATION, LOCATION 1241 Bloor Street West (at Emerson)

NOTEWORTHY

• Tuesday Night Local Prix Fixe. For 25-27$ you get a fantastic meal that focuses on what is seasonal, locally produced, and organic. The meal includes an appetizer, main course, dessert, and cheese plate, and there are always two options: carnivore or vegetarian. If you are interested in learning more about the Holy Oak prix fixe click here.
• Wednesday: board game night. Great atmosphere, but don’t fret, games are always available to those who want to play.

Delightful Delight

Now, I promised myself not to write like an asshole, but the Delight chocolaterie is a true delight. I absolutely love everything about it, from the location to the products, to the staff—Jennifer Rashleigh and Jeff Brown got it right. Nestled in the Juntion (Dundas & High Park ave.), just out of reach of the hipsters’ usual stomping grounds, this unassuming organic chocolaterie and creamery serves up mouthfuls of delight.

The shop is small, but they provide a seating area that can comfortably sit about two couples and a small family, or seven lonely chocolate munchers. The space is open allowing patrons to watch as the chocolate artisans beaver away on scrumptious morsels. And the staff is very approachable and, in my experience, knowledgeable, and will gladly answer your neophyte chocolate questions.

What I love about Delight is that they aren’t just a chocolate shop, but they operate under a few different guises. During the winter they’re a café serving up fair-traded locally roasted coffee (Alternative Grounds), but once summer hits they sport a new face: they are the ice cream kings of Dundas. Delight makes ice cream throughout the summer showcasing ripe Niagara region fruit. I should note that while their alternating fruit flavours are phenomenal, you shouldn’t over look their staple selection: chocolate (dairy full and dairy free), mint chocolate chip, and blue cheese.

Their chocolate ice cream is so rich it should be taxed, and their dairy-free version could fool the most critical of vegans. My all time favourite is the mint chocolate chip. It tastes like no other—first of all, it’s not dyed some gaudy green; second, you can taste the real spearmint; and finally, the chocolate chips are small truffles that melt in your mouth! Now, I know that blue cheese ice cream sounds a little off putting, but as an accent to the fruit flavours it’s really quite sublime. It isn’t a harsh bleu cheese, but a mild one, made in Quebec, that offers a small kick to finish every lick.

So, back to the fruit ice creams— the season began with strawberries, transitioned into raspberries and blueberries, and is now reveling in apricot. I hear pear is still on the way. The pear should pair (haha) nicely with their blue flavour. So far my favourite has been strawberry. Perhaps that’s because it was made with fresh (and I believe organic?) field strawberries, or maybe it’s because once the strawberry season waned so did the ice cream. So, maybe it’s that everything tastes better from a nostalgic point of view, or maybe that was the best mother fucking strawberry ice cream of my life.

They are open Tuesday to Thursday 9-9, Friday 9-10, Saturday 10-10 pm, Sunday 11-6. Closed Monday. I would recommend it as a nice way to round off a Junction date. Grab some scoops in their homemade waffle cones (also amazing) and stroll on over to High Park for some evening canoodling.

 

SERVICE 5/5

AMBIANCE 4/5

PRESENTATION 4/5

TASTE 5/5

PRICE $