What's in a name? (The Pickle Barrel (Toronto))

Name: Delicate_Orchid1

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Product:	The Pickle Barrel (Toronto)
Date:	20.08.06 (631 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: variety of food, relaxing atmosphere, huge booths

Disadvantages: Oreo cheesecake

The Pickle Barrel was never really a place that appealed to me, simply because its name does not exactly convey the most enticing foods imaginable. Even though it is widely advertised in Canada, I never once set foot across their doors. On our recent visit to Toronto, however, it was my fiancé who became instantly intrigued with the place - and for days and days he kept suggesting that we should pay the branch located in the Atrium at Yonge Street and Dundas Street a visit. I was still not convinced, especially when one of my friends commented that the place served "plates full of meat" and "huge portions". But who am I to refuse those gorgeous blue eyes a wish?


***Ambience and décor***

The branch we visited is rightly termed the Pickle Barrel Grand - as it stretches across two floors of the Atrium. Diners can access the restaurant either from Yonge Street or by using the tunnels of Toronto's underground city. We happened to enter from Yonge Street and were instantly greeted by a hostess, who was more than happy to let us peak at the menu before we made a decision to ask for a table and give the food a try.

The ambience at the Pickle Barrel Grand differs a lot depending on whether you are seated upstairs or downstairs. On our first visit we were seated upstairs, an area that consists of a bar in the front and a smaller seating area in the back, consisting entirely of booths. The booths are designed with a true sense of privacy from other diners, with backrests so high that it is impossible to see what is happening at the next table. The green and blue upholstery adds to the comfort of diners, as it has an instantly calming effect and increases your sense of relaxation and "getting away from it all". If you are a sports fan, this section has an added bonus of being equipped with large TV screens on two walls, which probably means that the place will be a little loud during hockey season. When we were there, however, we only saw Wimbledon tennis on display, with the sound off, accompanied by slightly cheesy love songs as background music at an appropriate volume to still be able to have a normal conversation across the table.

By contrast, the downstairs area is a lot more spacious and has more room for diners - and at the same time the atmosphere is a lot different. There are some booths that are designed with red upholstery; others feature the same lovely green-blue sea colour from upstairs. The seating area is also a lot darker downstairs, giving it a little bit of an upscale night club atmosphere - without the people and the loud dance music. We instantly agreed that the upstairs area was a lot more pleasant than the downstairs area - even though the booths still cater for that lovely feel of privacy if you happen to be seated there.

The washrooms at the Pickle Barrel are really lovely - they are spacious and are set in a luxury design that would remind diners of washrooms in four star establishments. The washrooms are very well maintained and clean. A nice touch is the fact that they offer very sturdy hand towels to dry your hands with, although I have to admit that on one occasion they had actually run out of them.


***The menu***

The Pickle Barrel is yet again one of those places that prides itself on its huge menu, which makes it too difficult for the indecisive to make a quick decision. On the menu you will sometimes find pictures of the food available for ordering - and that makes the decision all the more taxing, as the dishes all look so inviting. First and foremost, you can expect to see American-style food, various burgers, sandwiches, wraps, and ribs, grill specialities, chicken dishes and salads that you may desire. However, there is also an Italian feel to the menu with a wide selection of pastas to choose from. I was mostly impressed with their selection of low carbohydrate dishes, which enables the health conscious, or those who already had a high-calorie brunch, to eat something delicious that will be good to the waistline.

The waistline may be at serious risk given the variety of desserts on offer - ranging from cheesecakes, chocolate brownies, banana split, sundaes, tiramisu, apple cake and chocolate cakes to the more health conscious option of a cup of strawberries (which can be quickly "ruined" by adding ice cream, cream or frozen yoghurt to the natural fruit).

We did not have any of their appetisers, which features soup, salad, bruschetta and mozzarella sticks, coconut shrimp, popcorn shrimp, fried chicken wings, calamari, mussels and nachos. Neither did we have the time to sample The Pickle Barrel's breakfast menu, which looks truly delightful with its selection of egg dishes, French toast, waffles and fresh fruit.

For the thirsty, it is good to know that The Pickle Barrel offers free refills on soft drinks and ice tea. They also serve various juices, smoothies and a good selection of coffees and teas.


***Our experience***

During our first visit, it took us at least twenty minutes to decide on what to order - I was very torn between the paella and the Hoisin Beef and Baby Bak Choy, the latter being a speciality available on the low carbohydrate menu. In the end, I opted for the Hoisin Beef, whilst my other half had one of their club sandwiches.

The waitress who tended to our needs during our first visit was not exactly the most efficient young lady, which was good in the beginning, when we took ages to decide, but became a little frustrating when it came to obtaining our free refills of ice tea and coke. On the whole, however, it did not annoy us too much, as we were thoroughly enjoying the relaxing atmosphere.

My Hoisin Beef exceeded all expectations. It did not just look inviting with all the different colours of fresh greens (Bak Choy, a Chinese vegetable), vegetables julienne, fresh brown beef and a small portion of brown Basmati rice, it was cooked to perfection - tender and juicy through the addition of just the right amount of Hoisin sauce.

My fiancé's sandwich must have been to satisfaction as well, as he announced immediately that we were to return at least once more during our stay. He did comment that my friend had been incorrect to state that the amount of food served was "too much". To me it looked like he had a lot of food on his plate, a sandwich filled to the brim with fresh ingredients and served with a generous amount of fries, but he certainly still had room for a cup of strawberries.

Being a huge cheesecake fan, I had hoped to find a variety of these on the menu - but much to my disappointed I only had the option of ordering a platter with three different types of cheesecake (strawberry, rocky road and chocolate brownie - clearly intended to be shared) or an Oreo cheesecake. As my other half is not very keen on the creamy type of dessert, I selected the Oreo cheesecake. This would transpire to be the only poor choice I made in terms of food selection at the Pickle Barrel - as to call this dessert a cheesecake is somewhat of a misrepresentation. In reality, this is more of a chocolate cake, with a very thin layer of cream cheese filling in the middle. It only occurred to me retrospectively that this was probably the reason it was called an Oreo cheesecake. Just like the Oreo cookie, the outside is a little bland, but the inside filling is the treat that everyone aspires to eat. It also only occurred to be later on that The Pickle Barrel would probably have served me one of the other cheesecakes on its own. If only I had asked.

We each had a cup of Earl Grey tea to go with our dessert - and I strongly recommend you do the same if you ever decide to visit. Without doubt, this was one of the best cups of tea I ever had. The tea bags are made of a see-through linen-type material and you can clearly see the huge tea leaves in there, sense the aroma as it slowly infuses the water and makes it so tasty that you wished the cup would last forever.

Certainly, we were impressed enough to return. On our second visit, we were seated downstairs - and this time we actually were greeted by a waitress who was talkative, friendly and highly efficient. She was the type that asks you how your day was, assists you with your menu selection and places a refill of your drink on your table before you even finished the last drop of your last glass. This came in very handy on this hot summer day, when I had finished my ice tea before I even placed my order.

I had loved the Hoisin Beef so much that I was very tempted to order it again, but I felt like I should choose something else. The other section of the menu that really appealed to me was the pasta section - especially the one that had seafood pasta on offer. Despite the fact that I knew I was going to be eating at Red Lobster the following night, a recommendation from our superb waitress, "Everyone loves our pastas and nobody has ever complained about them", made me opt for the lobster and shrimp angel hair pasta in creamy Alfredo sauce. All pastas come with a salad - and so I opted for Caesar salad, to add to my calorie total for the day. My fiancé selected a burger (Mushroom and Swiss Cheese), despite his persistent vows that he should really not have any more fries with his meals.

The amount of Caesar salad that you get served in American/Canadian restaurants would in theory be enough to constitute a meal - and the Pickle Barrel certainly adheres to this tradition. The lettuce was of the freshest and crispiest variety - and much to my delight, it was not drowned in Caesar salad sauce. A generous amount of croutons was added into the mix.

The pasta arrived on an elongated dish large enough to serve two people - and the lovely pasta was sprinkled with a touch of green herbs, vegetables julienne and accompanied by a bit of garlic baguette. The baguette was fresh and crispy, not over-saturated with garlic. As for the pasta, it proved a sheer delight - unlike some pastas in cream sauce, this one was not drowning in it, and the angel hair pasta was cooked to perfection and felt almost light as an evening meal. Naturally, I could not finish my portion, but I had assistance from my other half, who was very impressed by the sauce, which he did not find too greasy and calorific. Literally my only complaint was with respect to the amount of lobster in the pasta - it was in fact, barely visible. But then what does one expect for a pasta dish that costs only around CAD$15 (approximately £7.50)? Certainly not a whole lobster tail.

My other half quite enjoyed his burger, although it still does not beat the burger that he usually gets in our favourite establishment back in the UK. No burger ever does, but this one sure came close.

This time, we ordered a cup of strawberries to share - and unlike the first waitress, this very helpful young lady asked us whether we would like frozen yoghurt, cream or ice cream to go with it. We opted for some frozen yoghurt. This was a perfect conclusion to our meal - the strawberries were firm, ripe and sweet - and dipping them into the frozen yoghurt just added that extra little something to completely satisfy our taste buds. And of course, we also had to have some of that special Earl Grey tea.


***Prices***

The bill for our first visit came to less than CAD$60 (approximately £30), which included two main meals, two desserts, two cold drinks and two cups of tea. Our bill for our first visit came to less than CAD$50 (approximately £25), which only included one dessert. Main courses are priced between approximately CAD$9 (approximately £4.50) for a burger and CAD$20 (approximately £10) for a more serious meaty platter, such as ribs. Starters are priced between CAD$4 and CAD$8 (between approximately £2 and £4).


***The verdict***

I can find little fault with the Pickle Barrel, which not only has traditional American dishes down to perfection, but also manages to serve up a variety of Asian and European dishes. Despite the extensive menu, I never felt that the restaurant has to compromise on the quality of any of the dishes. I only have two regrets. My first regret is having ordered the Oreo cheesecake - but this is purely down to my dislike for most chocolate cakes and my high expectations from cheese cakes in general. My second regret is that we did not visit The Pickle Barrel sooner. I am sure we would have returned a couple of more times during our stay if we had known how good the food and atmosphere really is.


***Further information***

Pickle Barrel Atrium
312 Yonge Street (near Dundas Street)
Tel: 416.977.6677

www.picklebarrel.ca


*Opening hours*

Sunday - Thursday: 8am - 11pm
Friday - Saturday: 8am - 12 midnight

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Summary: Superb food served in a relaxing atmosphere.