THE ART OF THE SMALL

Bank Street, between Somerset and Gladstone, has quietly been mushrooming with little nooks and crannies that serve up good, substantial food that isn’t a sub, shawarma or a slice of pizza.

Last winter Lynn and I were about to set off to see Le Cirque du Soleil when we suddenly felt mild pangs of hunger.

Not wanting to commit ourselves to a sit down dinner and neither of us being big eaters anyway plus we just weren't that hungry we decided to go local.

We duckwd into the Temptation Tea Shop which is right next to the Royal Oak at Bank and MacLaren.

The Temptation is an unassuming comfortable place with non-descript tables and chairs, everything is basic and functional.

They started out trying to cash in the on the bubble tea craze that briefly surfaced during ’04 and ’05. Then as that bubble began to burst the Temptation folks quickly diversified their menu.

They expanded their choices in the traditional Vietnamese manner – just add a new ingredient or three to what is already on the menu and call it something else.

The food is basic, filling and reasonable. We shared some wonderfully crisp spring rolls (3.99) and a huge plate of stir fried chicken with lemon grass and a side of extra rice (8.25). I had a mango smoothee while Lynn sipped tea. The bill was 18 dollars. We were full.

The most expensive item on their menu is a stir fried combo of shrimp, chicken and beef with red and green pepper in a lemon grass sauce (9.99). The teas and smoothies are amazing and only cost between 4 and 6 dollars. Try their coconut bubble sherbet drink – a drop of some long lost beach heaven fantasy.

The Temptation Tea Shop is a very affordable gem.

We would have dawdled and hung out but we were in a rush to see the arobatic magic of the Cirque.

We were able to order, eat, pay and leave within 20 minutes.

Eating at the Temptation prompted me to take a tour of other small joints near Bank and Somerset.

Just kitty corner from Hartmans on Somerset is Basmati, which offers Indian fare that they say can be adjusted to fit your individual hot/spicy tolerance level.

Again the place is small and the décor unimpressive, basic and functional seems to be the interior design for these small places. Basmati operates largely as a take out business but they also have seating for about twenty.

The food is very good, better than most Indian restaurants and very reasonable. A butter chicken curry with rice, veggies and a fresh baked naan is (12). It is ready in no time and a treat to eat.

For me one order was enough for two meals.

Basmati has everything you could possibility imagine from an Indian kitchen. They even play to as wide an audience as they can by offering a Tikka or Tandoori Pizza(8.99) – or how about a Desi poutine (4.50), that French Canadian classic with a unique twist. Don’t scoff, for the price it is worth bringing a little adventure to your palate.

Going south on Bank from the Temptation and on the opposite side of the street is MIGA which bills itself as a Korean Japanese establishment. If you ignore that particular bit of food schizophrenia you’ll find reasonable choices from both sides of that great cultural divide.

The interior is again not fancy, just functional.

The food is very good and nicely presented.

They tend to lean more to the Japanese half of their cultural equation perhaps because that is a more common experience for this city.

Neither Japanese nor Korean cuisine are particularly related to one another, although one could make the argument that the Koreans were some of the early settlers on the island of Japan but that was eons ago, somehow imagining culinary exchanges lasting over time doesn’t seem very plausible. (Never ever bring up that particular bit of history with either one of the cultures – some old wounds never seem to heal)

The highlight of this mini sampling tour of the small is the Imperial Food and Beverage just beside Barrymores.

After a renovation of the old Pita Pit, which seemed to take forever, the Imperial finally opened and was a success as soon as they unlocked the door.

In keeping with the previous three establishments the Imperial is a wallet bargain with their Salmon Fish Cakes (14) being the most costly item on the menu. These Salmon Cakes are perfectly sauteed and arrive crispy with a homemade Dill Tartar Sauce. Their soups are made daily and never fail to amaze (4).

Where they differ from the others is in decor. Certainly not basic or cafeteria, the Imperial has created a cosy and comfortable small room with subtle lighting and an eclectic collection of old film posters.

They toss a great salad. Try the Wild Rice Waldorf for a meager (5.25). Like Basmati the Imperial offers poutine (5.25) with a twist that you’ll have to discover on your own. Still hungry try the desserts a whopping (4.25) each.

So that is our little tour. Four small but substantial eateries in a four block area along Bank Street.

Most when they think about that particular stretch of Bank Street only consider Whalesbone and the Buzz as being the best, the premium places to eat at in that area of town.

And that’s what they are, premium places. You expect and get great food, great service and you pay for it. They offer a dining experience where what is offered on our tour of the small is simple good food done well for a reasonable price.

Buzz and Whalesbone have created a new culinary standard along Bank Street and that influences the smaller places and the result is good food all around.

One last thing, the old corner store on the south corner of Bank and MacLaren has been going through some changes.

The store closed late last year and re-surfaced as a Vietnamese fast food place.

Lynn and I tried it just days after it opened and enjoyed their spring rolls and a beef stir fry done in a piquant lemongrass sauce. It was delightful.

A few weeks later that business closed and morphed overnight into a fast food burger joint. They still kept their poutine which was always their best seller. I guess it must be considered as a Bank Street basic staple food. Whats up with that?

Well no sooner had they been open for a few weeks doing burgers when they closed again.

Yesterday new signs went up and they are now called Basil, a Thai and Pho restaurant. I am not sure if poutine is still on the menu.

All this was done under the same owners, the original Vietnamese family that ran the corner store.

We'll keep you posted.


TEMPTATION TEA SHOP

324 Bank Street,
613-237-1291
www.temptationteashop.com

BASMATI

373 Somerset Street West,
613-233-0303

MIGA

399 Bank Street,
613-230-0084

IMPERIAL FOOD AND BERVERAGE

329 Bank Street,
613-237-3636

BASIL

312 Bank Street,
613-567-9029