Congratulations to Frida on Eglinton!

Just wanna toss my congratulations to Frida at 999 Eglinton West! The Mexican restaurant, owned by my friend's family, made it into the the "Best Mexican Restaurants" list on BlogTO, coming in at number 7. I have never been, but now this makes it even more of a must-try.
Here's a small excerpt from BlogTO:
"Frida takes some fascinating liberties with the traditional. Gourmet ingredients add a depth of flavour to the most simple of dishes. Duck "Carnitas" tacos have an irresistibly delicate texture, and a creaminess accented by the guacamole garnish. The "fresco" cheese mixed with shredded flank steak on tostadas (Tostadas de Sapicon Yucateco "Dzik") tastes exactly that (fresh), with a tangy and cool finish, intensified by its chilled temperature. And that bowl of melted cheese (with some peppers, herbs and tortillas for dipping) - it's called Queso Fundido con Rajas, and it's the best idea ever."
Again, congratulations to the Frida team!

Smoke's Poutinerie

One of my favourite binge-restaurants in the city, Smoke's Poutinerie has, since its inception a few months back, become a staple in the Toronto Club District. Hailing itself as the world's first quick-serve restaurant dedicated to poutine, there truly is nothing in the city that is quite the same as Smoke's.
A friend and fellow poutine lover approached me one day and told me that this restaurant had just opened up down on Adelaide with lineups through the door. With a demented look of sheer excitement on my face, I was immediately warned that this was not just any poutine - and when I walked through the doors, I soon realized why.
Walking through the doors of Smoke's for a drunk, poutine loving Canadian must be the equivalent of walking through the pearly gates. The chalkboard menu flaunted such items as the Pulled Pork Poutine (traditional fries, gravy and cheese, layered with sweet shredded pork), the Nacho Grande (fries with chili, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and jalapenos) and I was even lucky enough to witness the induction of the Slaughterhouse poutine (traditional poutine avec pulled pork, ground beef, bacon, chicken, sausage and Montreal smoked meat). Of course there are slightly more normal menu items: the breakfast poutine (poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and peameal bacon)and a chicken curry poutine among them. Still, Smoke's does cater to the normal crowd: they DO make a regular poutine, but in my many visits, I've never seen one ordered.
In my many visits, I have yet to indulge in even a quarter of the menu. I've had my try at the double pork poutine (bacon and pulled pork), the Montreal (smoked meat, mustard and even a pickle), the prime beef (ground beef, mushrooms and onions), the Italian (with homemade Italian meatsauce) and the chicken peppercorn (with green peppercorn gravy, roasted chicken and mushrooms).
Smoke's also gives its customers the option to add any topping to any menu item and choose their own gravy (vegetarians, there is a veggie gravy made from mushroom stock). Take a traditional poutine and put your own spin on it!
I must give fair warning: Smoke's signature rich gravy is not what one would expect and took me a little while to get used to. It IS good, but has a unique flavour. It is sweet, salty and even a bit sour all at the same time. Perhaps their beef comes from a revolutionary new hybrid cow. Nonetheless, I have never had a disappointing experience at Smoke's.
Now, while I'm not proud of it, I am a self-dubbed poutine afficionado - even going to such lengths as walking two hours to grab myself the benevolently malevolent combo of crispy fries, sweet-salty gravy and squeaky curds. Having tried poutine's from all across the city, I must say that Smoke's is definitely near the top. The fries are nice and crispy, and gravy is interesting and the curds provide a nice squeak. I recommend it for anyone who is already a poutine lover, as it may be a bit too hard to get used to for an amateur poutinist.
To Ryan Smolkin, owner and visionary behind the Smoke's project: thank you for finally doing something new in the Toronto food landscape.

Smoke's Poutinerie is located at 218 Adelaide Street West, with locations in the Annex, Ottawa, Wasaga Beach, Kitchener and Kingston slated to open soon, and a mobile poutine truck coming to Toronto sometime soon. 416-599-CURD (2873).