Good Eats! Savera Indian Cuisine

Fella and I love Indian food. 

I sometimes think I could eat it everyday.

There are so many dishes to choose from

you never have to have the same thing twice.

(I totally do, though. I'm such a creature of habit. I like to eat the same thing over and over at restaurants because I know I'll like it.)

There aren't a lot of restaurants in our hood.

But we discovered one last week that's only about 10 minutes away by car

Savera Indian Cuisine on St. Clair West near Wychwood.

(Unfortunately I can't find their website but they claim they have one. At least the link has a map)

The food and service were great - we were there really early - 5pm - but they were welcoming and attentive. We ordered some chat papri (which is like a snack food) as an appetizer and some baji that were some of the best I've ever had - the batter was light and the vegetables were fresh.

We then ordered a tamarind chicken dish and a tandoori paneer and some naan and paratha.

One of the men working there came over and told us that neither dish came with a "gravy" so we had ordered bread but there would be really, nothing to dunk it in.

He asked if we'd like to change our order but we stuck with what we had originally chosen. I appreciated this, though, because after we'd eaten, we decided that we wouldn't order the two dishes together again - not enough variety (or gravy, as it turns out). 

However - we would totally order each dish again! 

The chicken was the perfect blend of sweet and sour from the tamarind

and the paneer was beautifully cooked. I'd never had it from the tandoor before. Delicious!

The naan and paratha didn't disappoint either.

We were too full for dessert but they had a nice variety from what I saw on the menu.

Gulab jamin, kheer and some other tasty items.

The prices were reasonable - $11.95 for mains and I think $5 or so for the appetizers. 

We will definitely go back to. It's a nice change from the churrasco chicken and Thai and Mexican places that line St. Clair.

Two thumbs up!

The Queen and Beaver

Fella and I love to eat.
We also love to eat out.
I decided to combine these two loves and add in a spoonful of a third love (and perhaps fourth):
writing about it on my blog and telling people what to do.

(Ok that fourth isn't completely accurate. I don't like to tell people what to do, exactly, I just like to share good things that are advisable. It's a much nicer way to do it.

Last week we went to the Queen and Beaver.

It's a pub downtown, tucked away from the chaos of Yonge Street in one of a string of old Victorian houses that have been converted into restaurants on Elm Street.
It's also across the street from my favorite spa and workplace of the best massage therapist ever, Katrina, at the Elmwood Spa. (She's a genius. I love her.)
Anyway - the Queen and Beaver is a lovely spot
but the menu is peculiar, as is the beer selection.
And the clientele, other than perhaps the regulars, all seemed a bit perplexed at what quite to order
between the cask ale and the deep-fried pork skins - what is a pub lover to do?

I know the owner, Jamieson Kerr, wanted a traditional English pub, with real English fare and odes to football in the stylish sports lounge, but honestly, the selection of restaurants in this patch of Toronto is less than satisfying (unless you actually choose to eat at nothing but chain restaurants like Jack Astor's and Milestone's (and might I add - that Milestone's is the worst one I've ever eaten at. The food and the service both stink almost every time I go there. Just saying. Hate that place) and I think he is successful because he's been open for at least two years, but it's expensive and the food? Not entirely worth it.
My beer was $7. It was a Czech Pilsner.
I love Czech beer. But I don't think it's worth $7. However -
fella had a burger with stilton - which looked and smelled great (even though I don't eat beef - I can appreciate that others do) but frankly - it was really fatty and he kept having to, um, expel parts of it.

ew.

The burger was $17

I had the fish and chips. I don't usually order fish and chips because they upset my stomach, but frankly, there wasn't a lot for me to choose from.  I used to be a vegetarian (except that I still ate fish so whatever that made me - I was.) I now eat chicken and turkey and bacon and even ham, recently. It's a gross out thing for me so I try to test the waters at times to see if I'm "ok" with eating something. It's been slow progress. There was one salad on the menu - a stilton, walnut and pear salad that sounded great but it was  a starter and it was $12. I wanted dinner and that just didn't seem sufficient. There are a lot of ham hocks and kidneys and pork bellies on the menu and for a reformed veggie like me - I'm just not having it. (I still struggle with bacon for heaven's sake). However - he wants traditional English fare and I guess that's what the Brits go for.

So I ordered the fish and chips. It was gigantic. And salty. So, so salty.
The chips were covered in sea salt and the fish had flakes of fleur de sel all over it.
We stopped adding salt to our food at home because Fella has high blood pressure. I still salt some of my food but this was too much.
I couldn't eat it all.
It was $17.

I ordered another beer but it never came. Which was fine, in the end, but still. The guy totally forgot about it.
It was busy
but it was only 5:30 so it was early in the evening (is that even evening?)
We waited a long time for menus, drinks, the bill. Everything took a long time.

However - I appreciate what they're trying to do and like I said, they've been there for awhile now so they must be doing ok.
But $50 for a burger, fish and chips, beer and ginger ale is a bit steep for me when the meal is so salty you can't finish it.
Live and learn.

Nice patio, though.