Tom's Dairy Freeze - Queensway

Admist the noisey quaintness, sleeze and grit of the Queensway stretch between Royal York and Parklawn is a marvellous little family friendly ice cream stand, Tom's Dairy Freeze. The ambience is authentically carnival throw-back and the place is hoppin' all summer long. Soft cones / Dips / Banana Splits and Shakes all exactly as they should be. There is also a reliable greasy grill menu featuring burgers, dogs, steak sandwich and of course... French Fries - Tom really knows how to fry up sliced potatoes - don't even ask how they come out so crispy and tasty, I'm sure you don't want to know... just enjoy! It's a popular outdoor hang-out all summer long, complete with tunes - but operates in the winter aswell, that's when they let you come inside. Prices are very reasonable - Tom's is refreshing, satisfying, grubby and wholesome all at the same time.

Price: Approx $2-3 / cone
Rating: A-

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Check these out ... Poached eggs ----------->

Served on rye bread with fresh garden veg and herbs plucked from Etobicoke Orchard Soil - Slathered with homemade hummus, sprinkled with sea salt and crushed black pepper - enjoyed with OJ!

Rediscover the delicious simplicity of Poached Eggs on toast !

BOBBY'S CANTINA - opa!

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Daniela's Deli - Lakeshore

Daniela's Deli - Lakeshore / Brown's Line.
Needed a quick picnic table lunch munch while the kids played in the park, so I darted into to an unassuming hole in the wall called Daniela's Deli on the south side of Lakeshore Blvd. and grabbed a couple of cabbage rolls to go. Nothing to really report on this place other than the cabbage rolls were darn tasty and really hit the spot.

Price: approx $5 with a pop
Rating: B

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Babaz

Babaz is a mediterranean, arabic grill spot on Islington at Norseman featuring shwarmas, falafels, souvlaki and burger type fare. The owners have done a really nice job of transforming the ratty old KFC into a new neighbourhood chow house with a fresh look and nice place for quick family dining. I've eaten there several times since it opened using both the eat-in and drive thru features - service has gotten marginally better with each successive visit. Their menu is a tad unauthentic (Hawaiian Shwarma - wtf?) but hey! this ain't exactly the ol' world here. I personally prefer to stay with the traditional.
After several random samplings, I offer this on Babaz... The Shwarmas are tasty, Burgers are not horrible, wings are actually surprisingly good, Fries are OK, souvlaki seems average (I was only allowed to nibble on the Mrs'order), unfortunately though, the falafel is just not cutting it - too bad, because falafel should be the simple, tasty, staple at a place like this. Regardless, overall it has inched it's way to average and has the potential to dramatically improve if they pull their head from their arse and figure out how to make a proper, affordable falafel (check Falafel World at Bloor and Jane) - we'll see where it goes....


Price: approx $5-6 / Sandwich
Rating: C

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