Parts & Labour

Located in the up and coming hipster-ish part of Queen West, it is located quite far and out of the way for me to randomly go.  But after hearing from some of my food loving friends that Parts & Labour has half priced cote de boeuf on Thursday nights, gave me that extra push/incentive to go and check them out.  The cote de boeuf is normally $120 and serves 3 or more.  Half priced would be a steal!  I also used it as an excuse for another birthday dinner.  I have some other friends who have birthdays in November and beginning of December, so off we went.

Beef, beef, beef!  We were so excited.  The restaurant wasn’t as full as I was expecting, but then again, our reservations was for 8:30pm, which I think is pretty late for dinner.  But because of other circumstances, that was the earliest time that we could go.  My dining companions/friends had already tried out Parts & Labour, but a while ago.  They recalled that the burger was pretty tasty so we ordered one of those also.  I of course wanted some veg.  So we also ordered a beet salad.  The mac and cheese also looked interesting so that was part of the order as well.  An order of the cote de boeuf comes with mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and broccoli & cheese sauce.

Their ‘infamous’ mac and cheese arrived first.  Looked like any other mac and cheese, but topped with crushed Cheetos.  Taste wise, we just ok, nothing spectacular.  I think I prefer the sauce I make. This sauce actually reminded me of Kraft mac and cheese.  I did like the crushed Cheetos on top.

Mac and Cheese

Next was the beet salad.  The beet salad had beet puree, pickled beets (mild), shaved baby beets, charred ricotta and beet root dressing.  They were supposed to have puffed buckwheat but ran out, so they subbed with pistachios. Loved all the flavours and everything in there (minus the pistachios, I just picked them out). 

Beet Salad

The burger arrived next.  Looked like any standard burger.  We divvyed up the burger into quarters and dove right in.  Taste wise, the burger reminded me of McDonalds.  Or what I remember of McDonalds, since it’s been over 10 years since I ate a beef burger at McDonalds.  It’s been 6 years since I ate anything McDonalds.  I have to admit, beef taste and quality way better at Parts & Labour.  What I didn’t like about the burger was the bun.  I found it too soft to hold up to the meaty burger and the toppings.  My friend said she loved the soft bun for burgers.  So taste preference then.

Burger and Fries

Moment we’ve been waiting for, the cote de boeuf arrived with its sides.  The beef was cooked slightly too rare for my liking, but the others at the table liked it.  I just ate less centered slices.  Very tender (minus the one piece where I got a piece of tendon/muscle), and very good beef flavour.  One friend said she found it lacking beef flavour, but others agreed with me, and liked it.  What I didn’t like was the bordelaise sauce.  I assume it was some sort of red wine reduction.  I’ve never liked my beef with sauce or gravy in general.  I always think if there’s a good cut of beef, why try and cover up the natural flavours with something?

Cote de Boeuf

Sides

For dessert we ordered their small donut.  The small donut isn’t really a donut per say, it’s more like a fritter.  Because there are some food restrictions at the table, we had to get the toppings separate from the actual donut.  I wasn’t a fan of the donut.  It was very dense and bready, even a bit oily.  I would pass on this next time.

Donut

Parts & Labour

1566 Queen St. W.,

Toronto, ON

M6R 1A6

Phone:  (416) 588-7750

Hours:  Dinner  Tuesday - Saturday 6:00p - 11:00p

             Drinks  Friday - Saturday 11:00p - 2:00a

             Brunch Sunday 11:00a - 3:00p

http://www.partsandlabour.ca/