Thursday, December 10, 2009

Review: Village Restaurant

Review: Village Restaurant, Toronto
420 Spadina Road (At Lonsdale)

Cuisine: Diner staples - Brunch, Burgers, Sandwiches
Sandwich: Triple Decker ($7.50 + tax) with fries ($1.50)



The Village Restaurant is a popular diner-style restaurant in the heart of Forest Hill Village. Locals flock to this cozy neighbourhood stalwart for reasonably priced brunch, large portions, and the comfortable setting. The Village Restaurant also offers takeaway for those of us who like to enjoy their club sandwich in private.


Inside, the Village Restaurant is decorated in a manner that my grandparents would be proud of. Patterned upholstery, lots of exposed wood, old style lamps, and a very impressive old wooden bar add a real homeliness to what could easily have been quite an unforgiving space. The only things that detracts from this feeling are the four widescreen LCD televisions, positioned at angles so that you can always see one whilst you are eating. Though this clash of cultures is a little awkward, I quite enjoy keeping up with the news while I eat - especially when eating alone - and so I was happy with the distraction.


I ordered the Triple-decker ($7.50) - a take on a turkey club - based on favourable reviews, a side of fries ($1.50 extra) and a vanilla milkshake. Unfortunately they had no ice cream and so I ended up with a tomato juice instead. I mention the lack of ice cream because this was the second time in two visits that the Village Restaurant was without a quite vital ingredient. On a previous visit for brunch, mid-morning on a Saturday, there was no hollandaise sauce - not because it had run out, they just hadn't made any. This, coupled with the missing ice cream makes me wonder if there are some problems with ordering/stocking.

Whilst ordering, I had thought that $7.50 seemed like quite a lot for a club sandwich without fries. Once it arrived, it became clear that I was wrong. In fact, ordering fries was a mistake and one that I regretted immediately. The mountain of a sandwich that I was presented with was as much food as I usually eat in a day. I have a large mouth, capable of conquering towering burgers and fully stuffed Subways but, in attempting to take a bite out of the triple decker, I encountered lip-stretching, jaw-locking pain. That's how big it was.

The sandwich itself was a pleasure to behold. Nice, thick, toasted bread stuffed full of home-cooked turkey, crispy bacon strips, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. The bacon was just crispy enough to add a wonderful crunchy texture, without being overcooked. The toasted bread held together well and was full of flavour and the salad ingredients were fresh and plentiful. 

Only the turkey was a bit disappointing. I appreciated the thick cut, home-cooked slices but it was a little too dry. It also lacked seasoning and so it was quite bland. Turkey is a dry meat at the best of times so the problem wasn't how it was cooked - rather the amount of turkey in the sandwich. The ratio of turkey to other ingredients was probably about 2 or even 3 to 1. There was so much that this dryness became the overriding experience of the sandwich, despite lashings of mayonnaise to counteract it. If the sandwich had been slightly smaller, with a more evenly balanced ratio of ingredients, then it would have been easier to eat, moister overall, and more flavoursome.

As far as mistakes go, being too generous with meat is not one worth complaining too strongly about. The ideology and the intention behind the sandwich was perfect - a more considered approach to the construction is the only thing that could have made it better.

My only real complaint is that, for somewhere with reputation as a friendly, family restaurant, I didn't feel as welcome as I expected to. The service was polite but a little distant and I wasn't offered refills of my glass of water nor any condiments (beyond ketchup that was already on the table) with my meal. It was this that disappointed me and tarnished an otherwise positive experience.

Pros

- Portion size
- Fresh, in house ingredients
- Comfortable, diner setting.

Cons

- Sandwich construction
- Dry/bland
- Service could have been better.