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| The back seating area at Utopia |
A few weeks ago, 2 of my foodie friends (C &S) and I went
to
Utopia Café , located at 586 College
Street West, in Toronto. S promised an evening of amazing nachos and delectable
poutine. Lucky for us, he did not disappoint.
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| Tofu Cream Croquettes |
Small and very unassuming, Utopia looks like it would fit
perfectly in an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Canadian edition,
anyone)? From poutine to burgers to their version of Tex-mex, Utopia boasts a
huge menu with lots of variety. Normally, I find big menus don’t always deliver,
as most places only have a few dishes they really excel at. Randomly trying a few dishes (and because S
INSISTS that anything and everything he’s ever had has been pure genius), I was
pleasantly surprised that Utopia does deliver.
We started the meal off with Tofu Cream Croquettes, crispy
panko croquettes of fresh tofu and cream cheese served with a spicy chipotle
BBQ sauce. We ordered (well, I may have
demanded) these on a whim, after all, tofu and cream cheese have drastically
different textures…which means the croquettes had to be amazing or a complete
train wreck. Luckily, they were amazing. The texture was soft and the taste mild,
while the bbq sauce added just the right amount of zing.
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| Veggie Nachos |
We then ordered the Veggie Nachos (freshly made corn
tortilla chips piled high and topped with a blend of melted cheeses, spicy
salsa, jalapeño peppers, white beans, tofu, corn and sour cream) – they didn’t
disappoint either. The freshly made chips were definitely the star, and while I’m
not a fan of white beans, they were actually quite tasty. Even the texture
couldn’t weird me out.
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| Gourmet Poutine |
By this point, we were full (but not FULL), so we pushed
our luck and ordered one more dish: the Gourmet Poutine (sautéed mushrooms,
goat cheese and veggie gravy). Now, I’m not a fan of goat cheese (or strong
cheeses in general), but the cheese was very mild and gave some great flavour
and texture contrast (I’m not a food snob at all). It acted almost like a sour cream.
Let’s just say we made quick work of the poutine and then
some.
S swears that everything on the menu is delicious…I
cannot wait to go back and help prove him right.
Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two
at the gym.
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