Stack Restaurant

It's pretty hard to find some good BBQ in Toronto or anywhere in the GTA in my opinion.  I have yet to try out the new joints that opened up though.  So maybe those new places will hopeful.  But because they're a bit farther downtown, it will definitely take some time before I will be able to check them out.  One night while browsing through Yelp, I noticed Stack Restaurant's BBQ Platter.  It looked awesome!  So I scheduled something with a few of my friends to go and check it out.  I reminded them that they need to make sure their stomachs were empty since the platter in the picture looked pretty big.

We arrived, the restaurant was pretty empty.  I have to mention that it was a weeknight though.  What I noticed even more was the lack of BBQ smells.  Who knows, maybe they have a great ventilation system unlike Korean BBQ places.  So we ordered the platter and the food arrived shortly.  There was a good amount of food that arrived.  Whats included:  baby back ribs, quarter chicken, pulled pork, brisket, smoked meat, fries, mac & cheese, beans, slaw and buns.  This platter feeds 3-5 people, and we had 4 people.  I wish I could say the food was so good, because everything looked good, but it wasn't.  Nothing here was particularly memorable.  What I do remember is the chicken being super dry (so dry to the point that my friend really didn't want to finish it, but because he didn't want to waste food, he ate it while drinking A LOT of water), the brisket having no smoke flavour, smoked meat being super salty, and mac & cheese being cold.  And for a platter that is supposed to serve 3-5 people, why are there only 2 buns?  Pretty disappointing.

BBQ Platter

Stack Restaurant
3625 Yonge St.,
Toronto, ON
M4N 2L5

Phone:  (647) 346-1416

Hours:  Monday - Friday 11:30a - 10:00p
             Saturday 11:30a - 11:00p
             Sunday 11:30a - 9:00p

http://www.stackrestaurant.ca

Fully Loaded TO

I went to this food truck festival with a truck that I was targeting to try.  All the other trucks at the festival was pretty generic, burgers, fries, ice cream.  Fully Loaded T.O was different, and I wanted to try.  Unfortunately for me, so did lots of other people.  By the time I got there, the line up was pretty much the longest for any of the trucks, and they were already sold out of the chicken and waffles option.  What I should mention is Fully Loaded T.O is a truck that does stuffed chicken wings.  No other truck does currently, as far as I know.  We ordered Poppin' Jalapeños and Mac on That.  The Poppin' Jalapeños were wings that were stuffed with a jalapeño cheese filling and then drizzled with ranch dressing.  Mac on That were wings that was stuffed with macaroni and cheese tossed with garlic parmesan sauce and toasted bread crumbs. Orders were served with a side of regular standard french fries.  The wings were cooked through (very important, as I tend to get raw chicken a lot of the times), and outside was crispy.  The jalapeño stuffed wings didn't have that much cheese stuffing in it.  The macaroni and cheese one had more substantial stuffing.  I was under the impression that the wings would be boneless to maximize the amount of stuffing that could be put into the wings, but the way that Fully Loaded T.O does it is, that they keep the bones in tact, and then stuff some filling just under the skin of the wings.

Poppin' Jalapeno

Mac on That

Poppin' Jalapeno Insides

Mac on That Insides

Interesting and different idea for the food truck scene.  Taste was great too.  But now that i've tasted it once, I think thats enough.  Pricing was a bit high for me.  My brain isn't working right now, but it was between $10-$15 for 5 pieces (drumettes and the middle of the wing are considered 2 pieces).

Fully Loaded T.O
http://www.fullyloadedto.com

Market 707: NomNomNom, Gushi, Petit Nuage

The idea of Market 707 is pretty cool.  Its like a normal small restaurant crossed with a food truck, resulting in food being served out of a shipping container.  I would assume since it's a place with actual running water and fixed gas/electricity, food prep and storage wise would be safer than a food truck as well.  The only downside is that you end up eating the food at a picnic table with busy road traffic running down Bathurst St.

NomNomNom
Known for their poutine and crepes.  I wasn't feeling for crepes that day, so was looking at their poutines.  They have lots of options on their menu, but because of the purist that I am, I ordered the plain or regular poutine.  Portion was quite big!  The fries, cut in house, and fried fresh, topped with real squeaky cheese curds and gravy that wasn't overly salty.  Love their poutine.  Probably one of my faves in the city now.

Poutine

http://nnncrepes.com

Gushi
This is a place I knew the hubby would be interested in checking out.  One of their best sellers is the chicken kaarage.  We got a large order of Original Gushi Chicken on Rice.  We probably shouldn't have ordered the large, but the hubby always has an issue with thinking we can eat more than our stomachs can handle.  So in the end, he stuffed his stomach.  I loved how the rice was a purple rice rather than a white rice.  Just something different, and I think purple rice is supposed to be healthier right?  The kaarage was good, a piece or two was a little fatty for me, but the hubby didn't notice, i'm probably just pickier about food having hunks of fat on it.  I have to say that there quite a few pieces of kaarage in the order.  Worth the price paid for sure.

Original Gushi Chicken on Rice

https://www.facebook.com/gushitoronto

Petit Nuage
Last but not least, saved some room for dessert.  I got 2 macarons, and a cream puff.  To be honest, I don't remember which macarons I bought, and I don't remember if they were good or not.  But, I LOVED the cream puff.  I've never had a cream puff like this before.  The outside, pastry, was like the normal pastry crossed with the top of a pineapple bun.  Amazing!  The inside cream filling was a matcha filling, that filled the pastry to the brim!

Daily Selection

Matcha Cream Puff

http://www.petitnuage.ca

Market 707
707 Dundas St. W.,
Toronto, ON
M5T 2W6

Hours:  Spring & Summer (April to September) Tuesday - Saturday 11:30a - 7:00p*
             Fall (October to December) Tuesday - Saurday 11:30a - 5:00p*
             Winter (January - March) Hours vary depending on the vendor
* Hours of individual vendors may vary