A Day O'Fun and a Toronto Restaurant Review: House on Parliament

So, I've been blogging about what goes on in my kitchen since the summer, and the whole idea of blogging about what I'm eating when I go out is pretty foreign to me.

I did used to do it for my blog about living in Japan, but I don't want to pretend that I'm, say, a professional reviewer. I cannot feign impartiality.

We could have a healthy debate about whether it's possible to be objective, but I fall firmly on the side that believes we all have biases, so I don't think it's good to pretend otherwise. If you wow me with a couple of amazing dishes, I'll probably forgive others that don't do as well.

If that makes me a terrible source for reviews, then so be it. I loved Fanny Chadwick's pickled vegetables, their pretzel bread (speaking of pretzels, I'll be posting a recipe for those later this week), their corned beef (which others hated, and points towards further uneveness in the kitchen) and their S'mores. That means I'm willing to forgive the one soggy mushroom pierogie that accompanied the corned beef, you know?

We all make these judgments when we go out. Last time I went to Canoe, I thought the tea-smoked duck breast was a little tough, but that doesn't mean it was a bad meal. The campfire smoked soft egg was insane! The dill pickle drink? Awesome. Will I enthusiastically return? Uh huh. 

Okay, I'm sorry. You're probably not here to listen to me talk about the process of reviewing.

My husband and I went out yesterday for our annual Day O'Fun - which basically means he takes the day off work (I'm on March Break) and we go explore a different part of the city. Yesterday, we wandered around Cabbagetown, popped into the Toronto Necropolis (I love saying that word, it conjures up such a great image), ate lunch at House of Parliament, hopped the streetcar to West Queen West to MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) MOCCA (Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art) before walking back down Queen West, popping into little galleries and scouting a potential sofa for our living room.

It was a great day.

So we spent the morning walking around here:

Necropolis Chapel & Crematorium

The graveyard

Detail of a gate on the chapel.

Crematorium side door

Detail on a memorial.

Fantastically creepy tombstone.

Anyway, after traipsing around the Necropolis for an hour or so (I really enjoyed H.A. Knowles' mausoleum), we were in the mood for some grub.

House of Parliament was everything I wanted in pub food. Good, solid, tasty with enough of a twist to the food to keep it interesting. Reminds me a lot of the Manx in Ottawa.

I had the Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Applewood smoked 5 year old cheddar, double smoked bacon (YES) and a sundried tomato tapenade. The house salad was super fresh with a sherry vinaigrette and pumpkin seeds (that's how you should do a green salad, Fanny).

My husband had the steak and blue cheese sandwich with caramelized onions and a massive side of chips served with garlic and herb mayo.

It was exactly what I wanted. It wasn't fancy, but it was well executed, fresh, and tasty. And really, do you want anything else out of your local pub? The rest of the menu looked really good too (as did their whiskey selection). I'd definitely hit this place up again next time we're in the 'hood.

Also, MOCCA is pay what you can and tiny, but also a very, very enjoyable diversion.