Eating on the road: Blackhorn Steakhouse in Scarborough

Scarborough is a community that is often the first stop for new residents and citizens on their Canadian journeys. As such, the face of Scarborough is often changing and so is its food. Today, you don't have to go too far to find quality biryani, kebab and shawarma. But scratch beneath the surface and you can also still find the tastes of an earlier Scarborough tucked into unassuming strip malls and industrial areas. German deli, Scottish fish and chips and, as I tried on my last visit, a steakhouse also specializing in seafood and Greek delicacies.

The Blackhorn Steakhouse is at Ellesmere and Warden, not far from a Costco whose $1.50 hot dogs still call my name. This night, though, I had my culinary sites set higher.

As mentioned, they do have a lot of Greek specialties developed to cater to what was once a very large Greek community in Scarborough, from Greek salad and a Greek variation of bruschetta to saganaki and slouvaki. At it's heart though, it's a steakhouse and I was there for the steak.

After a perfectly reasonable Caesar salad to start (I was trying to behave myself a bit or I would have gone with the cheesy, sinful goodness of saganaki), I went with the NY strip, medium-rare with garden veg (hold the potatoes) and a side of mushrooms (because it's not steak without mushrooms).

A delicious meal cooked perfectly, and I was more than filled up without carby potatoes. The steak was flavourful and juicy, and the mushrooms well-seasoned. And while prices are going up everywhere, it still beats The Keg.

Glad there are still places like this in Scarborough for when I need a break from the biryani.

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Eating on the road: Alberta beef at Caesar's Steakhouse & Lounge in Calgary

 After a brisket sandwich the day before, the next night I continued my quest for a beefy Alberta visit and my Internet research brought me to an old school Calgary steakhouse: Caesar's Steakhouse & Lounge.

The restaurant certainly looks the part, and seems a big place in modern downtown Calgary as a largely windowless block on a city street. Inside it continues that old school steakhouse vibe with a red carpet, red upholstered chairs and booths, and white linen tablecloths.

There's also a flame grill inside the restaurant where a chef will come out and grill steaks, imbuing the dining room with a beefy, smokey smell. That may not be some people's vibe but if you're at a steakhouse I assume it's yours, and I enjoyed it.

Speaking of, they also had a tableside Caesar salad service where they make it in front of you. I would totally have gone for that but, sadly, it's a two-person minimum and I was a solo dinner. Still, I got to see it prepared at nearby tables and it's a cool show. And I did enjoy a kitchen-prepared Caesar salad for one as m starter. Garlicky and tasty.

On the disappointing side was the garlic cheese bread. While it was a nice portion kept warm in a foil-lined basket, the cheese was apparently parmesan which was not what I was expecting in this context and was not particularly cheesy. Not worth the $1 upcharge over the garlic toast. And not the best use of a carb cheat for me.

But that was the one minor note of disappointment with this meal. For my main I ordered the 10.5oz New York Strip, medium-rare. Avoiding carbs as mentioned, I opted for tomatoes and cucumbers as the accompaniment and added an order of button mushrooms sauteed with butter as, on my opinion, mushrooms are a mandatory side with steak.

A delicious main course, well-prepared. Rich and beefy, cooked as I ordered it. A nice rare treat and a fitting dinner for a visit to Alberta. The veg was a nice light side that gave me an illusion of eating healthy but did make it a less heavy meal (and allowed me to save room for desert).

Speaking of which, I had some ice cream for a simple and tasty desert. 

Overall, a nice treat meal that felt sufficiently Calgary. Hope to be back on a future visit.

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Eating on the road: Sophie's Cosmic Cafe in Kitsilano

After my train journey back in April and a few days in the Comox Valley, I had some time in Vancouver my flight back to Ottawa. 

It was a chance to have lunch with an old friend and, rather than dining downtown, he coaxed me out to Kitsilano for lunch at a popular neighbourhood spot: Sophie's Cosmic Cafe.

I got there first thanks to Uber and grabbed a booth; I had been worried it would be hard to get a table but while it was busy, I got there before the lunch for got a spot no problem. 

They have an extensive brunch menu but, as you know, I'm not a big breakfast guy, and had enough eggs on the train to last me for awhile. The lunch menu is a little more limited, but the Sophie's Cosmic Workout Burger calls my name. It's described as a 6oz lean beef patty topped with mushrooms, bacon, tomato, lettuce, mayo, with your choice of cheese. Served with fries and house salad.

I eyeball their fries on another table and decide just salad -- Caesar -- for me please. My friend gets the same burger but passes on the salad for fries-only, so I tell the waitress that he's welcome to my ration of fries. He also gets a milk shake, which he says they are known more. I stick with Diet Coke.

Service is efficient and we don't need to wait too long for our meals to arrive. I am advised to report the milk shake is excellent. The Diet Coke was, well, it was Diet Coke.

The salad was creamy and garlicky and I certainly didn't need the fries to go with it. The burger was cooked well, the bacon crispy and mushrooms sauteed nicely. Lunch filled me up so I didn't need to buy any disappointing ball park food at the Canadians matinee at the Nat that afternoon.

All in all, a good lunch with good company at a local greasy spoon. Perhaps a smidge more bougie than your typical greasy spoon (shows more in the breakfast menu) but on point for the Kits neighbourhood.

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