Croissant Crawl - King / Queen West

In the past couple of years, there has been an explosion of bakeries within a 15 min walk from my home. There is now a particular concentration of French and Italian bakeries. So on the first spring-like sunny Sunday morning, what better way to spend breakfast than a croissant crawl?

For the taste test, I picked 5 French bakeries in my neighbourhood to compare:

• Brioche Dorée
• Wagamama
• Delysée
• Clafouti
• Nadège Patisserie

Brioche Dorée ($2.10 / croissant)
I went in Brioche Dorée thinking I would not like it; I generally doubt the quality of baked goods from a chain store.

I was greeted by an airy casual space filled with baked goods, including bread, pastries, sandwiches, quiches and flans. This immediately made me happy.

The croissant was still slightly warm when I got it. It was flaky but well structured, with a crunch on the outside when I halved it. It had good amount of butter taste, and a slightly sweet buttery after-taste. My only complaint is that the layers are not even, with a large air pocket in the middle. Maybe the dough did not get rolled properly?

Brioche Dorée croissant - Warm, good crunch, mysterious air pocket in the middle.

Wagamama ($2.00 / croissant)

Wagamama has been my default go-to neighbourhood coffee shop since it opened almost 10 years ago. Their pumpkin muffin, apple crumble muffin, scones and croissant have been a staple in my breakfast.

Wagamama has a homey, relaxed decor. It is a perfect spot for a chill break to enjoy a croissant, a tea and read some newspaper the old fashioned way.

The croissant at Wagamama has a crunchy shell, and flaky layers with little air pockets evenly distributed throughout. The crust was sturdy enough that it held its shape even when I bit into it. There was a slight saltiness that helped to balance the sweet butter taste.

Wagamama croissant - Rich, even layers.

Delysée ($2.75 / croissant)

Delysée is a newcomer to the King West neighbourhood. Its minimal all-white decor gives it a touch of modern upscale French elegance, echoing the delicate macarons they are famous for.

Delysée's croissant almost fell apart when I picked it up from the plate. It was limp, like it got too much steam. Once I halved the croissant, I figured out why - The inside showed some uneven layering with large air pockets in between. The butter taste was more delicate on the palette.  It reminded me of sweet egg bread.

Delysée croissant - Flimsy, sweet.

Calfouti ($1.85 / croissant)

Clafouti has been a staple in the neighbourhood. It is very popular, and they often sell out of items before noon on the weekend. The decor is rustic, like a little French country shop. There are some tables for eat it, but I prefer to enjoy my Clafouti's baked goods sitting on a bench or at a picnic table in Trinity Bellwoods Park across the street.

The croissant is in a large circular shape, not the more common "bull's horn" shape.  The sweet buttery taste has a good salty balance. There was good crunch on the outer shell. The texture is more on the bready, dense side, a bit too chewy for what I want to get from a croissant. (It actually took some force to split it apart for the photo.) It was probably the most filling of all croissants of the day.

Clafouti croissant - Bready, chewy.

Nadège ($2.20 / croissant)

Nadège and Delysée have similar all-white modern decor. Maybe because it was more crowded at Nadèges when I arrived, it felt a bit more casual. Nadège also has the advantage of having its patio face a side street across from Trinity Bellwood Park for the soon-to-come sunny warm days.

The croissant at Nadèges had very thick "layers".  It felt like a number of layers got stuck together with large air pockets in between. The result was like eating a piece of unstructured chewy bread.  It was a disappointing end to the croissant crawl.

Nadège croissant - Uneven, thick layers.

Conclusion

Lucky for me (and unlucky for my waistline), my top croissant pick is just steps away from my home. The croissant at Wagamama has all the checkmarks in my croissant wish list. And being an independent bakery café with friendly owner and staff is a bonus.

Walking around a neighbourhood to taste croissant and people watch is a great way to enjoy a lazy Sunday morning.  I already have Croissant Crawl - Bayview / Mt Pleasant edition in the plan, and there are probably more other crawls to come.

2011 in Review - Significant Foodie Moments

2011 has been a very busy year, both at work and in my personal life.  While I have not had time to write about my foodie adventures, I was still able to savour some significant foodie moments.  I even managed to lose a few food virginity this year!

White Truffle
What is more perfect than a piggy being born in truffle season? White truffles arrived just in time for my birthday dinner at Auberge du Pommier! 

Cuy (aka Guinea Pig) 
A major event for me in 2011 was travelling in Peru for 3.5 weeks.  It has been my long time dream to try guinea pig (or as they are called in Peru, cuy).  I stumbled upon a celebration in Cuzco where indigenous Quechua women were selling traditionally stone roasted cuy.  Mmm ... The other white meat ...

Alpaca
Another commonly seen animal in Peru is Alpaca.  Not only do they provide wool, they make a tasty meal too!  And no, they don't taste like chicken.  (More like lamb.)

Ceviche
Being someone who likes my seafood raw whenever possible, I have prepared ceviche on my own many times.  However, it is no comparison to the ceviche at Cevicheria el Fayke Piurano in Lima.

Menu
The first major confusion upon arriving in Peru is thinking of menu as a menu - a book listing out dishes that a restaurant serve.  Menu (or cena for dinner) is actually a set meal, usually with an appetizer or soup, a main dish, and either a juice for lunch or dessert and sweet tea for dinner.  Unlike the gourmet prix fixe counterpart in North America, these meals are cheap, fast, and most of the time quite tasty.

Scrapple
Coincidentally, 2011 is the first year I have heard of scrapple (thanks to Food Network), and the first year I ate scrapple at Lancers Diner in Horsham, PA.  Mmm ... The other grey meat ... 

Wish everyone a bountiful & delicious 2012!

El Paso & Surrounding Areas on A Tank of Gas

I was recently in El Paso cheering a few friends in their bowling tournament. Of course it would be a waste to fly that distance without some sightseeing.

This is the story of how my rental Toyota Corolla used up its 1 tank of gas. 

I stayed at the Holiday Inn near the airport, on the east side of downtown. The hotel was quite old, and the swimming pool is an odd configuration of half indoors & half outdoors. It does have a courtyard that is good for chillaxing at night when there is no blazing hot sun shining down.

El Paso is not that big, probably a 20-min drive to pretty much everywhere. I would highly recommend having a car as it is definitely a low density sprawl type city. There are several places to eat and a club within walking distance of the hotel.  One of the places is Jaxon's Restaurant and Brewing Company - They don't offer beer flights so I was only able to try out their Borderland Lager and Cactus Jack Amber Ale.  I wouldn't say it's exceptionally good, but it is refreshing to have some microbrew while out in the boonies.

Mexican Lager

Amber Ale

First stop was downtown. There is a free city hall parking right next to the convention center and various museums. The signage is very confusing as it says free city hall parking after 6pm on weeknights and all day on weekends. But it also says parking for Insights Museum only. In any case, I parked there on Fri night and Sat all day with no problem. Street parking is generally free on Sundays and holidays. If you cannot stand heat, I would highly recommend spending the $3-5 for indoor parking at the convention center or across the street in the parkade.

If you are the cultural type, there are 3 museums right next to each other. Mind you they are not the scale of any museums in major cities, but can't beat free general admission either.  A group of us toured the El Paso Museum of Art one afternoon.  They have an eclectic collection of classical and modern art.

Of all the exhibits, I actually found something in the gift shop the most intriguing - a bracelet made with twist ties!  How ingenious!  

 
 
For the shopping type, there is the Golden Horseshoe extending from the convention center to the border with Juarez, Mexico. If you are on the hunt for cheap socks and underwear, football [soccer] jerseys, brand name sneakers and women's clothing that is way too tight for anyone who eats more than 500 calories a day, you will find yourself in paradise here!

For the rest of us, this Mexican "Magnificent Mile" is an amusing way to sweat off at least 10lb. I did manage to gain some pounds back from the yummy pistachio paleta I got from a "street vendor" - i.e. a woman with a rolling cooler standing on the side of the street. True Mexican spirit!

[BTW, from all the research I have done and people I have talked to, there is no real reason to go shopping in Juarez ... Your life is worth a lot more than some cheap merchandise!] 

The majority of the tank of gas was spent on a road trip to the White Sands National Monument. The trip is about an hour and a half from El Paso. I would recommend starting early, and stopping by the Little Diner on the way for brunch. According to the advertising in tourist books, George W Bush has eaten here; I didn't know he's considered a gourmet? For those who have time, there is also a relatively large outlet mall at the same exit.  After this section, there are not many selection for decent food on the deserted highway.

As I started late on the trip, I drove directly to White Sands. I also bypassed White Sands Missile Range Museum on the way. This is the site where the atomic bomb used in World War 2 was tested, so it should be a good stop for military buffs. I did stop on the way of the scenic drive to take in the landscape a bit.

White Sands is a very unique place. It almost look like a snow covered ground in the middle of a desert. The whole place is blindingly bright thanks to the reflection of the sun by the sand. Seeing such vast coverage of white sand, and without being by an ocean, is a strange feeling. It feels lonely, like a companion is missing.

On the way back, I took a detour to Mesilla in New Mexico. It is a quaint old town square with a church and some shops in old Southwestern style buildings. I only had time for a whirlwind walk-around and to pick up some locally produced pistachio as gift for my friends back home.

 
 
Continuing down NM-28S, the drive suddenly turned into a lush green path through the Stahmanns pecan farms. It is such contrast to the White Sands scenery that I just visited hours ago.

I was not able to bring some pecans back, as they are only available in either fresh form that requires refrigeration, or candied forms that will melt in the car within a minute.

 
 
I took Woodrow Bean Transmountain Road back to El Paso. This route passes through the Franklin Mountains State Park. I like the feeling of driving through a mountain pass - climbing in between the rocks, then the sight opening to a vast space. In this case, the sight opened to El Paso and extending into Juarez, Mexico.

I drove to the Wyler Aerial Tramway hoping to get a view of El Paso from the mountain. The drive up to the base station was very steep - I had to drive in first gear of the Corolla to get enough power for the incline. Unfortunately the tram was closed by the time I got there. For those planning to follow this itinerary and want to be a bit more leisurely, I would recommend reversing the route and start with the cable cars. I took in the city view from the base station before heading to some dinner.

After all the sightseeing, I was thirsty at this point. I stopped by Flautas y Paleteria Tepalca, an unassuming restaurant in what seems to be suburbia strip mall. This place sells a large selection of agua fresca (Mexican fruit juices) and paletas (Mexican popsicles). I have not had these many agua fresca flavors to select from since working in Los Angeles years ago - it took me almost 5 minutes to look through all the choices and decided on a mango one in a gianormous styrofoam cup. While sipping the refreshing juice, I checked out their wide paleta selection, wishing for a place like this in Toronto some day.

 
 
Last stop of the day is the famous Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Fabens, about half hour Southeast of El Paso. I got there in time for sunset, which is an amazing view, even though it was a cloudy day.

The restaurant is part of a ranch, with live animals around. Aside from the usual suspects like dogs and horses, I got a glimpse of a peacock on the roof of one of the buildings. And while having dinner, a pack of coyotes also showed up to eat some of the fresh meat left outside for them. It was a rare treat having dinner with coyotes indeed!

And the food? My 12oz ribeye was aged to perfection - juicy and buttery without being too fatty! The baked bean side dish has just the right hint of smokiness, although a bit on the sweet side.

The evening concluded with the night view at the hotel and some desperately needed rest after a long day of driving.

Of course, my El Paso trip had to conclude with more food! On the way to the airport, I made a pit stop at a local favorite Chico's Taco. Chico's has a very limited menu. Their El Paso style tacos are more like taquitos with beef filling served in tomato soup then topped with shredded cheese and green chili salsa. It may sound odd, but the tacos were quite tasty in its own way. They also serve "round" hot dog, with a halved sausage in a hamburger bun. I couldn't take more food after 3 tacos, but it did look tasty.

The gas tank warning light came on, so it's time to fill up the tank, return the car, and say adiós!

SXSWf(ood) ... Getting Chubby in Austin

 This is the first year I attended South by Southwest (SXSW).  It's arguably one of the largest music festival in North America.  But in recent years, interactive (affectionately known as SXSWi) is becoming a much more significant part of the festival.

Of course, I used this opportunity to sample some great food offered in Austin.  I was pretty much around the main 6th street area of Austin throughout the stay, so I did not have a chance to check out some Austin staples like Magnolia Cafe.  But there are more than enough tasty treats downtown to keep my taste bud interested for the 5 days I was there.

BBQ: When in Texas, eating BBQ is a no-brainer.  I went with my colleagues to the famous Stubbs Bar-B-Que one night to chow down some local favorites.

I kick-started the meal with some fried green tomatoes.  The shell is crunchy, with just enough tartness in the green tomatoes to counter the grease from the frying.  A refreshing accompaniment to a pint of Franziskaner Hefeweiss beer after walking in the sun for a while.

My pick was the Stubb's Minor plate with fairly traditional combination of beef brisket, ribs, fried okra and coleslaw, and of course a slice of white bread.  The meat is well seasoned with a dense smoky flavor.  The original BBQ sauce has a good balance of sweetness, sourness and spice.  I did find it a bit salty if I put it liberally on the meat.  Everything in moderation, right?

And now a confession - I liked it so much that I hand-carried a pound of brisket and half rack of ribs along with a bottle of Stubb's original BBQ sauce home to extend that Texas feeling!!!


Breakfast Tacos: Even the NY Times wrote about the significance of breakfast tacos in Austin, so it totally deserves its own category.


My first encounter with breakfast taco was at Taco Shack, a taco fast food chain in Austin.  My pick was the Shack Taco, with scrambled eggs, chorizo, potatoes & cheese in a flour tortilla.  The chorizo was more like ground beef, with no chorizo-like spicy flavor.  The texture of potatoes in flour tortilla was also a bit strange for me.  The biggest flop was the shredded cheese on top that was not melted - that would have greatly improved the yumminess of the breakfast tacos.  (Little did I know, the non-melted shredded cheese seems to be the norm.)  I must say the salsa was really tasty, good hint of smoky chipotle.

I also had breakfast taco from One Taco, a famous food truck in town.  I had very high expectation of this meal, after reading all the positive reviews about One Taco.  I tried going 3 times with no success getting tacos since the line was too long.

When I finally made the line-up, I picked the One Fried Egg Taco with corn tortilla and chorizo and the One Barbacoa Taco.  Fried egg as the filling for a taco is an interesting concept.  However, the mashed glob of chorizo was not what I expected at all.  It has the spicy chorizo flavor, but the consistency does not relate to chorizo at all.  The barbacoa taco was a much better combination for me, even though the barbacoa was also mashed up in a glob.  I am not sure if the barbacoa was made with the traditional ingredient or just beef; it does have a bit of the gamey flavor that went very well with the beans and the spicy salsa.

The last entry to the breakfast "taco" category is The Big Oh!, a breakfast "waffle" from Before Cone ... There Was Bacon (or simple BC).  This is an odd combination of a waffle cone stuffed with tortilla strips (probably to prevent the bottom of the cone from getting soggy), scrambled egg and bacon, topped with pico de gallo.  The concept is great for eating on the go, and I didn't have too much mess issue eating it.  If the waffle cone was not made so sweet, it would be a pretty interesting snack option.

Tacos: Now onto other tacos.  My colleagues & I went to Iron Cactus for dinner one day.  Sitting on the outdoor rooftop deck to dine in the perfect combination of sun & breeze was amazing!

We started off with 2 appetizers to share - Ahi Tuna Ceviche, and Mexican Shrimp Cocktail.  I really like the texture & depth in flavor from the avocado in the ceviche; definitely something to copy in the future.  I rounded up my seafood dinner with the Yucatan Fish Tacos, served with mango salsa & jicama slaw.  All the seafood is very fresh.  The slight sweetness in the mango salsa goes very well with the tartness of the El Agave Margarita!

Another memorable taco experience comes from Chi'lantro BBQ, a Korean BBQ taco truck.  Wait!  Am I not a purist?!  Normally I would prefer the original / authentic food over fusion.  But this fusion combination definitely works!  Korean BBQ beef & lettuce with spicy sauce, served in Mexcian style with double corn tortilla & lime.  The flavor is somewhat close to bibimbap, and somewhat close to asada tacos.  I wish I had more time to go back & try their other combinations.

Empanadas ... Or should I say mmmpanadas: Another food truck find is mmmpanadas, of course famous for its empanadas.  I encountered this truck the first night I arrived in Austin.  Upon recommendation from the person at the truck, I got the Argentinean.  Honestly I was a little disappointed, as the filling was not as flavorful as I normally get at Jumbo Empanada here in Toronto.  The lack of raisin (or other dried fruit) was definitely a miss as well.

However, by chance, I attended a party catered by mmmpanadas.  They served hors d'oeurve sized empanadas at the function, so I was able to try a variety of filling.  Soy chorizo with brie, spicy black bean, pulled pork & mango ginger (yes dessert!) were all amazingly tasty!  I had to really control myself to not overeat these yummy treats.

Burger & Fries: One of my favorite Food Network show is Diners, Drive-ins & Dives.  So when "triple D" covers Casino El Camino in Austin, I put it on my to-eat list for this trip right away.  The decor of the place, as shown on TV, is dungeon-like, definitely stand out from the generic bar scene.  The patio at the back is a tranquil oasis.

Back to the food.  I had the quintessential buffalo burger and verde chili fries (even though I know there is no way I could finish all the food).  The home made buffalo wing sauce was quite hot, even though I only ordered medium heat.  I never would expect wing sauce, blue cheese & medium-done burger to work together, but they do.

The star of the show is totally the verde chili fries.  The tomatillo verde salsa is on the extreme garlic scale.  It livens up the traditional fries & cheese sauce combo, giving it a kick in the taste bud.  The fries are crispy, and the home made cheese sauce is light, a bit runnier than the usual cheez-whiz-looking glob at other pubs.  Now if only they would have burger topped with verde salsa & cheese ... Mmm ...

Casino El Camino is definitely a food destination in Austin!  Thanks Guy for the tip!


Hot Dog: Now we can't talk about burger & fries without also talking about hot dogs.  There are lots of gourmet hot dog carts / trucks in Austin.  I did not get a chance to try the crowd favorite The Best Wurst.  What I tried was the Cuban Franks from Chupacabra.  It's a hot dog topped with pulled pork.  Yes you heard that right - pulled pork on all beef frank!  It is like eating 2 sandwiches at the same time - pulled pork sandwich on top, hot dog at the bottom.  I do wish the cheese on top is slightly melted, bringing the two together more.  Interesting combination nevertheless.

Ice Treats: The final category is dedicated to my new found love - Ice Cream Man.  These guys travel around to different music & culture festivals, and give out free ice cream & popsicle.  Check out their website for more information about the crew, and their mission.  Don't miss the Off the Wookie magazine they publish!  Check out their whereabouts, and follow them on twitter (@icecreamman) if they are in your neighborhood!

What they give out is not your run-of-the-mill ice cream either.  They were giving out GoodPop popsicles and Blue Bell ice cream, both local favorites.  I focused all my visits on the various flavors of GoodPop, trying out mango, mango chile, pineapple basil and watermelon agave.  All of them are really good, although my favorite for a hot summer night is most definitely watermelon agave; it's like eating frozen concentrated watermelon with honey drizzled on top.

So this pretty much sums up my chowing through Austin.  Being a street food fan, I love the food cart / truck culture in Austin.  I am also constantly amazed by the creativity in the fusion of flavors at the local joints.  I definitely look forward to visiting Austin another time, and exploring more chow.

Watch out for my other SXSW 2010 sightings coming next!