Review: Home of the Brave, the retro diner on King West from the owners of La Carnita
Home of the Brave ★½
589 King St. W., 416-366-2736
Andrew Richmond and Jonathan Hamilton, the kitsch-happy team behind La Carnita on College, have opened a retro diner above Lou Dawgs on King West. The place looks like a mid-century greasy spoon with a clubby downtown spin: diners wear mini-skirts and bespoke suits instead of trucker caps and fleece. Hamilton’s dishes are literally all over the map—they veer from from the northeast to the midwest to the deep south—but the cooking is spot on. For a chicken sandwich, he sends out a golden fried leg—foot included—squished between a buttery, griddled sesame bun. He also updates the East Coast johnnycake, topping the crunchy, Frisbee-size cornmeal pancake with delicately smoked trout, a dollop of chive-laced cream and a surprising drizzle of maple syrup. Tender pork and beef ribs follow the Kansas City formula, slathered in a sweet, smoky barbecue sauce and accompanied by pickled carrot and celery matchsticks. On the side, sweet stalks of grilled broccoli perch on a mountain of crunchy, cheesy grits. The house-made rum slushies are too gimmicky and too strong, but house cocktails, like a zippy, chili-infused Summer in Sakon vodka blend, are nicely balanced. Service is friendly but rushed—great for those in line, less so for diners already seated.
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Home of the Brave ★½
589 King St. W., 416-366-2736
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Andrew Richmond and Jonathan Hamilton, the kitsch-happy team behind La Carnita on College, have opened a retro diner above Lou Dawgs on King West. The place looks like a mid-century greasy spoon with a clubby downtown spin: diners wear mini-skirts and bespoke suits instead of trucker caps and fleece. Hamilton's dishes are literally all over the map—they veer from from the northeast to the midwest to the deep south—but the cooking is spot on. For a chicken sandwich, he sends out a golden fried leg—foot included—squished between a buttery, griddled sesame bun. He also updates the East Coast johnnycake, topping the crunchy, Frisbee-size cornmeal pancake with delicately smoked trout, a dollop of chive-laced cream and a surprising drizzle of maple syrup. Tender pork and beef ribs follow the Kansas City formula, slathered in a sweet, smoky barbecue sauce and accompanied by pickled carrot and celery matchsticks. On the side, sweet stalks of grilled broccoli perch on a mountain of crunchy, cheesy grits. The house-made rum slushies are too gimmicky and too strong, but house cocktails, like a zippy, chili-infused Summer in Sakon vodka blend, are nicely balanced. Service is friendly but rushed—great for those in line, less so for diners already seated.
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this is the nicest yet lowest scored review i’ve seen… which leaves me confused. my take on the wording would have me believe there should be at least one more star thrown into the score. just me?
Yeah, I don’t understand this review at all. I would have expected some critiques in the language with such a low score.
“the cooking is spot on”!
for a 1.5 star-rating to go with this line alone, i was expecting the follow up to be “spot on to my face, after the waitress unapologetically dumped a trayful on my head.” Even then if the food on your head tasted great I’d probably give it at least a 2star! Glad i’m not alone here.
Great drink menu including Sam Adams beer and Woodchuck cider.
Uhh…. I guess they’re not going to fix it? Perhaps it’s because the absurd scale starts at “Good” and doesn’t include negative scores? I guess on Toronto life every review is of a good restaurant and it’s simply the quantum of “goodness” that they review.
welp.. whatever their methods may be i guess i better get used to it, as they’ve struck again!
http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/new-reviews/2013/11/25/review-me-and-mine/
1.5 stars and the only drawbacks i read was against a single side dish and small list. *shrug*