Globe Bistro is an established restaurant in Greektown that offers a menu focused on local ingredients. Although I had made reservations during summerlicious, only myself and one other person ordered off the set menu. Everyone else opted for the Swine and Dine.

Atmosphere: The decor was modern contemporary. Two large art pieces decorated the formal dining area and wooden sculptures filled the remaining wall space. Our group of seven was seated comfortably for a late lunch and quiet background music allowed for easy conversation.

Service: For the majority of our meal, service was standard, professional and friendly. It was only near the end, when we were ready to get our bill when we ran into a long wait. The dining area had cleared out and it took a good 10 minutes to flag down a server.

Food: After perusing the $20 summerlicious and weekend brunch menu, the majority of our party was swayed by The Swine and Dine. I stuck to set menu, because I knew I could eat off the Fiance’s plate and because I wanted dessert. Globe Bistro did offer to add any summerlicious dessert items to a regular order for just $8.

For my lunch, I chose the Tuna Crudo, Fried Chicken Thighs and Chocolate Ice Cream Cake. Two triangles of tuna were served with pressed watermelon, raw watercress and radish garnish. The dish was light and summery. Raw watercress has a great nutty flavour and went well with the watermelon and fish. When the fried chicken arrived, I was disappointed with the simple presentation. The colours were flat and the garnish was minimal. Digging into the dish, my opinion didn’t improve much. I liked the use of dark meat and the chicken was flavourful and tender, just a bit oily. The popcorn grits however, I didn’t enjoy. The texture was porridgey and thick while I prefer grits to be smoother. Dessert was a highlight with a combination of hazelnuts and chocolate, one of my favourites.

Onto the Swine and Dine, which was the better choice looking back. The dish was made up of 3 eggs, cooked any way, potato hash and pork 7 ways including sausage, bacon and pork belly. Portions were generous, well priced and every component was delicious. I loved the variety on the plate and exploring each piece. My favourite was the pork belly, soft, and perfect caramelized fat. This was a great plate, perfect for an indulgent brunch (or recovery after a night out).

2013 marked the 20th birthday of Taste of the Danforth, an annual street festival celebrating Greek cuisine in Toronto. It seems like every year the festival is growing with more restaurants and inspiring similar events throughout Toronto’s many cultural neighbourhoods.

Tents line both sides of the street in front of each restaurant transforming blocks of Danforth Ave with smoky lamb chops, spits of quail and delicious grilled souvlaki.

Atmosphere: It gets crowded. Bring a water bottle, wet wipes and good cheer. Special sponsor tents are set up in the middle of the street and around the performance stage, but for the most part there’s little shade and lots of standing in line. Personally, I’m much more purposeful now when I attend with a checklist in mind of foods and vendors I want to visit. The festival gets a little boozy at night, all in good fun. If you’re visiting with family, I’d try to beat the rush by starting early and walking the street at a leisurely pace.

Service: Every stall I visited was efficient and friendly. Like most street festivals though, it can be hard to find napkins and food is served on a variety of options from paper plates to wax paper. Be prepared to get your hands a little greasy, the food’s worth it.

Food: This year, the BF and I only had a couple of hours to satiate our appetite for Greek cuisine so we had a gameplan. We were focused on lamb chops, souvlaki, crab gratin (a yearly favourite of the BF’s) and quail.

I don’t remember where we grabbed our quail and the first set of lamb chops from (bad blogger right?) but we chose one with a short line and best value. 2 fatty chops for $5. They were greasy as the picture shows and therefore full of flavour. I liked the quail but there were a lot of bones and it was a bit hard to eat, walk and not choke.

At Ocean Treasure’s Fish Market’s stall, they grill the most amazing crab shell gratin. Usually the line will span the block. Luckily we were early enough and didn’t have to wait long for our cheesy seafood goodness, served with two pieces of bread to soak up all the sauce. This dish is a stand out for me and the first stall I’ll run to. We finishing this year’s Taste of the Danforth with two more lamb chops and souvlaki from Ella’s Meat Market. I didn’t have any room left for a gyro from Messini, that’ll have to wait for next year.