A why didn't I think of that? #FoodPornFriday

Everyone in Windsor knows the place this came from, though they probably don't recognize what it is. This was my side with my Chicken Delight. That's right Windsor's Penalty Box.  

When I asked what the soup of the day was the last time we were at the Penalty Box the waitress said: "Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup" and I was sold instantly. I love that particular combo, at least when it's two separate things, a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup. Putting them both together as one thing sounded too interesting to pass up.

As you can see in that lovely #FoodPornFriday picture up there, when the soup came it was basically a twist on a French Onion Soup (another personal favourite of mine). Here I had a big hot bowl of tomato soup filled with garlic croutons and topped with melted mozzarella.  It was fantastic and brilliant. I keep sitting here thinking, man why did I never think to do this. Why haven't other people thought to do this? I should be seeing this soup everywhere. 

The only problem with this soup is that you can't just go get some right now. It was a soup of the day and who knows when Penalty Box will have it again. Maybe it's worth calling to find out? Hmm.

A sad #FoodPornFriday post about The Leaf

Yes, you can believe your eyes. I actually managed to post two #FoodPornFriday posts in a row. Actual consistency. Now next Friday we will be in Florida so I double I can make it a hat trick but we will see.

While I'm happy I managed to actually post two weeks in a row this #FoodPornFriday post makes me quite sad. What you see pictured here was my favorite dish from The Leaf Neighbourhood Grill. I say was my favourite dish because The Leaf recently closed its doors, for good.

This bummed out my entire family. The Leaf was our favourite 'family restaurant.'  It was the place we went the most often with my parents. It was somewhere we went regularly with our kids. It's also somewhere my wife and I would go when we just wanted some down to earth good food.

This particular dish I always ordered as Butter Chicken. On the menu, they called it Chicken Mahkani. Boneless chicken breast grilled and smothered with Indian butter sauce. Serviced with Jasmine rice, hot Naan bread, and the seasonal vegetable.  Nine times out of ten when we went to The Leaf this is what I got. I loved it and I miss it.

#FoodPornFriday featuring my all time favourite comfort food: Hot Hamburger.

I love sushi. I love a flavorful steak. I love bacon wrapped panko encrusted chicken stuff with ricotta and spinach. Sometimes though I just want something traditional. But, sometimes I want some good old fashioned comfort food. So this #FoodPornFriday I'm sharing this pic of my favorite comfort food: Hot Hamburger.

I love a good Hot Hamburger. To me, a good Hot Hamburger has to be a freshly made beef patty and has to come with mashed potatoes, never fries. The rest can be changed up. A side of veg? Sure. Chicken gravy instead of beef gravy? Sure I'll try that. Swap that white bread for biscuits? No wait, the bread should be white bread. I guess I'm a bit pickier than I thought.

I'm guessing many Windsorites can guess in an instant where this particular Hot Hamburger came from. If the placemat menu doesn't give it away the wood table should. The Lumberjack has been a Windsor staple since 1980. I remember going there when it first opened and it was much, much smaller than it is now (and so was I). My biggest memory of that trip was the heaping mound of mashed potatoes my meal came with. I remember being reminded of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I don't remember what meal I got with that huge mound of potatoes but I'm willing to bet good money it was a Hot Hamburger.

#FoodPornFriday Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast from TOAST

I really don't know what I can say for this #FoodPornFriday post. This Cinnamon Toast French Toast from TOAST on Erie Street pretty much speaks for itself. 

The actual toast is coated with ground cinnamon toast crunch cereal. There are almonds and oats on there. Even the whipped cream isn't your average whipped cream but is instead vanilla whipped cream.

I do have one warning about this one, though it should be obvious at this point: this breakfast is sweet. Okay, more like SWEET! Which I have to admit went really well with TOASTs great coffee.

#FoodPornFriday - a Sunday tradition of comics and coffee

Our family has something we love to do every Sunday. It starts with stopping at Windsor's best comic shop: Rogues Gallery Comics. 

We have a pull box at Rogues. For the non-comic book fans, that's when you ask the store to set aside certain comics for you each week. They put them in your box, and when you show up they pull them for you. This is done to make sure you don't miss any issues. Myself I've been reading the new Marvel Star Wars comics. My wife is still huge into ElfQuest and the kids love the two current My Little Pony runs. 

Once we are done at Rogues we had downtown to The Coffee Exchange. For some drinks, sweets, and to read our new books.

I've loved the Coffee Exchange for years and have been going there since it was right across from The Palace Theater. It has moved twice since then and is now a bit further down Ouellette closer to the river. 

The coffee exchange has fantastic coffee, the best cappuccino in the city (according to my wife), great tasting and reasonably priced kids drinks (mine go for the kids hot chocolate every time) and some great snacks. 

So who out there has a pull box at the local comic shop? How about lazy Sunday traditions with the family?

#FoodPornFriday featuring breakfast poutine from TOAST

#FoodPornFriday is back. At least this week since I'm off work. I'm hoping to try to keep it up in 2017. I'm aiming for every week but will be happy with myself if I get something up at least once a month.

My wife has a new favourite breakfast place here in Windsor: TOAST. This year there was one thing my wife asked that we make sure to do during the holiday time off for work: go to TOAST for breakfast. She got some money from an Aunt and that's what she wanted to spend it on.

TOAST is located at 653 Erie St. East. Right across the street from Spago. They only serve breakfast and lunch and are open from 7am to 3pm every day of the week. 

What you see pictured above is the amazing Breakfast Poutine. Potatoes covered in beef gravy, scallions, chunks of bacon and cheese curds, topped with two eggs cooked to your liking (over medium for me). This was fantastic. I was a bit leery of beef gravy with eggs, it just didn't sound right but man it all went together really well. I hate to say it but this beats out the breakfast poutine at both Twisted Apron and The St. Joachim Diner. 

In addition to amazing breakfast TOAST has an amazing selection of coffee, espresso and lattes. Which is probably a given due to their location in Little Italy. My wife has said that their cappuccino is the best in the city. TOAST is still pretty new, they just opened in August 2016. If you haven't had a chance to check them out I strongly recommend heading in some time. 

You've got to get to Motor Burger on a Tuesday and try a Mozza'rati

This intriguing beauty is a Mozza'rati. A new 'burger' only available at Motor Burger and only available on Tuesdays.  Even on a Tuesday they are in limited supply and it may be worth contacting them to make sure they have some left before you go (though if you do go and they don't have any Mozza'rotti left there's tons of other awesome burgers to choose from, so it wouldn't really be much of a loss). Yesterday I finally got a chance to try one of these beauties for myself. 

So what exactly is it? It's an all beef burger with pepperoni wrapped in mozzarella cheese wrapped in pizza dough and baked. Served in a sea of tangy tomato sauce. 

It's just as good as it sounds. This burger combines two of my favourite things; Motor's amazing burgers and pizza. It's like someone read my mind and told them to make this just for me. The meat patty was perfectly cooked and spiced. The pepperoni wasn't too spicy. The sauce was a good tangy sweet. I guess the only thing I would have changed was to add more cheese and that shouldn't surprise anyone :D

Along with the Mozza'rati I feel the need to mention Motor Craft Ales. This local brewery is part of Motor Burger and includes a significant number of beers. Way more than I remember them serving last time we were there. Many are available to go as well as with your meal. Overall it feels like they stepped it up a notch. We tried four different beers while we were there and they were all excellent and each very distinct. 

A special mention goes out to the BMW 2.0 which is by far the best beer I've had from Motor Craft Ales and one of the best beers I've had from a Windsor brewery. The BMW is a Dunkelweizen, 7.4% ABV, 23.5 IBU. I found it very easy to drink, with a great balance of sweet fruit tastes and hoppy bitterness. It has some notes of banana and apple, but you couldn't really taste any booziness despite the high ABV. It went great with the Mozza'rati.