Monthly Archives: July 2011

Jul 29, 2011

by

in , , , ,

Comment (1)

E.L. Ruddy – A kitschy little place you’ll want to visit.

E.L. Ruddy



Inconsistent hours, no air conditioning (though there are a couple of fans) and construction blocking your every move on the way in. Sounds great right? No but really, it is great. However, the first time we tried to go to E.L. Ruddy (1371 Dundas West, Toronto, ON,) we were stopped by a big sad “CLOSED due to construction” sign. This time, I went with a friend visiting from out of town, and it was actually open. Hurrah!

A friendly server welcomed us in, and we took a seat at one of the tables, each with multiple hot sauce options and an old mill pepper grinder. It was empty, except for us, but they weren’t really supposed to be open anyway since it was Monday. I have heard great things about the grilled cheese sandwich (huge amounts of twitter enthusiasm), and I’m assuming it has something to do with the in house baked bread (because daiya is daiya, but the bread is quite lovely.)

E.L. Ruddy - BBQ Tofu Sandwich

Recommendations aside, I opted for a BBQ Tofu Sandwich instead. What arrived was a big sandwich with a couple of pieces of marinated tofu, sprouts, a few tomatoes and covered in a sweet salty sauce, all in a thick slices of wholewheat bread. It was tasty and filling, and I’d definitely recommend it (and I’d order it again, though probably pair it with a salad next time.)

Huevos


My friend ordered the huevos brunch, with salsa (which she loved), re-fried beans (which I noticed she kept adding pepper, salt, etc to), pieces of tofu, fried potatos, and a piece of gluten free cornbread (it tasted good, but the texture reminded me a lot of freshly made cornflour tortillas – which makes some sense.)

E.L. Ruddy - gluten free corn bread


With the exception of the heat, I really liked the atmosphere inside E.L. Ruddy. It’s comfortable and cozy, exposed brick walls, with functional “decorations,” like magazines you can actually read while waiting, and neatly arranged “natural food products” available for sale on the side shelving.


E.L. Ruddy - Interior


I was curious about the story behind E.L. Ruddy, and it turns out it was the name of an American newspaper advertising salesman that had set up a billboard advertising business and it was once upon a time a Toronto advertising firm that dominated the Downtown core in billboards (so now I/you know.) If you want more info go here to learn more from Richard Anderson and his Urban Historical Geography (GEOG4040) class slides, especially this one on Visual Culture of Modernity.

Related Posts

Jul 29, 2011

by

in , , ,

Leave a comment

M & B Yummy – Seriously… it’s Yummy

A week or so ago, a few friends and I went over to M & B Yummy in Parkdale (1263 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON.)  I wasn’t sure anything would beat the awesomeness of Nazareth, but I kept my mind open and my belly hungry. It’s kind of easy to miss, lacking all of the shiny look-at-me signage that seems to be appearing along Queen Street, but I don’t think it needs it.  I heard about it within weeks of arriving in Toronto, and kept hearing about it so I’m glad it was suggested.





All of us ordered the “beef” vegetarian combo, and when the food arrived… I think we were all pretty shocked at the portion sizes. It’s kind of hard to figure out what each item on the plate is, but I can tell you that they were all very delicious. The beef tibs, made with tofu, were sauteed and garlicky. There were spicy dark green collard greens, a couple of lentil stews, a cabbage dish, green beans and carrots, the green salad in the middle with a light dressing and a generous helping of injera (we noticed that we’d be charged for extra pieces, but unlike the experience I have had at most ethiopian restaurants, there was more than enough injera on the plate).

Vegan beef combo plate from M&B Yummy


Then we ended our meal with one of each of the desserts from Sweets from the Earth they had left. Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cake and a piece of cheesecake.


dessert

Related Posts

Jul 10, 2011

by

in , , , , ,

Leave a comment

Ravi’s Soups on Queen.

We ended up at Ravi’s Soups on Queen Street a few days ago, after a failed attempt to check out E.L. Ruddy (1371 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON,) Unfortunately E.L. Ruddy was closed due to the constant construction that seems to be happening on Dundas these days.

Ravi’s Soups had a big group of people waiting for wraps, so that was a nice sign. They had a veggie wrap on the menu, and a vegan soup option. That said, I wasn’t vegexcited about this place from the very beginning. Service was weird and all over the place, there wasn’t a line waiting by the time we got served, but he was still frenetic and rushed, but the food didn’t come to us for quite a long time, and as with most simple vegetable dishes, I feel like I could have probably just made the wrap at home.

The veggie wrap normally has brie in it, and jut as a heads up, one of the unlisted additions is mayo… so you know (if you’re vegan), ask for it without, or just skip it if you’re here and opt for soup. (or go somewhere else.) The wrap came with a tiny salad, that of course, had “just a little bit” of mayo on it, I guess “a little bit” of mayo is the same as “no mayo”? Not quite.

My friend had the wrap and the Porcini Mushroom Soup and loved it. It’s based on an onion broth, and has mushrooms, barley, and truffle oil in it, so it’s actually vegan. However, soups all come with a cheese biscuit.



This place, like the majority of Toronto’s restaurants, is an easy choice for lacto-ovo-vegetarians, but going there made me wish I had gone somewhere else on Queen that was a bit more vegan friendly with more exciting options.