Izba Restaurant

Definitely worth a visit.

Izba Restaurant, located at 648 The Queensway in Toronto/Etobicoke claims to have "the BEST schnitzel in town". And in my humble opinion, it's very possibly true.

I'm a fan of schnitzel and have had many different versions of it. I've also been disappointed many, many times. Too often, schnitzel is oily and flaky - the breadcrumbs falling off and the meat (pork and veal) waaaaaay too tough. But this....THIS was amazing.

Not oily, perfectly crisp, amazingly tender and awesomely spiced (yes, I know I'm using a lot of positive adjectives, but you would too if you'd tried it).  The funny thing? I didn't even order the schnitzel (that's right, I mooched off my friend's plate).

Instead, I ordered the pork tenderloin with pierogi (I've been DYING for pierogi, but that's a story for another day). The pierogi were served with sour cream and boiled (which, I'm told by my pierogi-connoisseur friend would've tasted much better had they been pan-fried), but to my Canadian Chinese palate, tasted great. Potatoes and cheddar wrapped inside a dumpling...mmmm...but I digress...

The pork tenderloin was tender - as in fall-off-the-other-parts-of-the-meat-tender, served with a sprinkle of dried parsley (hey, it works here) and a gravy I couldn't identify. There were also roasted potatoes (which this potato-connoisseur LOVED), braised cabbage (forever ruined because of the cabbage soup diet...thank you parents...) and boiled carrots (which I didn't touch).

It was by far one of the best comfort food meals I've had in a very long time, and definitely a belly-filling one.

The portions are generous, so be sure to go on an empty stomach.

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.

(Apologies for the lack of food pictures, but it was too dark for decent pics).