Restaurant review: Big Smoke Burger (830 Yonge Street)

Since certain development projects took out some excellent choices, I have found it challenging to get good food at great value near the Bloor/Yonge intersection. So, when Big Smoke Burger was suggested to me, I made it a priority to check out their hand-crafted burgers at 830 Yonge Street.

I went for what would give me the most meat to sample, the Double Cheeseburger Combo with Onion Rings ($13.45):

The cashier was low on coins, so I was short-changed by 5 cents.

There was a short wait, but a freshly prepared burger is always worth it. The juiciness of the burger indicated superior preparation, but I found the taste to be a bit bland. In other words, the meat quality was good but not superb. The cheese slice was a bit small, so was finished well before the rest of the burger. The onion rings, however, were excellent with their slight hint of sweetness. It was a pity that the number of rings was on the low side.

Since no utensils were available, this meal was messier than average. That itself is usually not a concern, but the washrooms at this location are in the basement i.e. not the most convenient, in addition to not being accessible to disabled persons. I understand about older buildings being grandfathered regarding accessibility provisions, but this is a major negative aspect for operating a food premises at this address, one that I hope was carefully considered when the lease decision was made.

Given the overall quality of the meal, I would consider it to be overpriced. Bottom line: worth considering if one happens to be in the area, no compelling reason to go out of one’s way to visit it. Do consider picking up an order of onion rings if passing by.

Restaurant review: Montana’s Cookhouse (8735 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill)

While in Richmond Hill for some business the other day, I decided to stop by Montana’s Cookhouse at 8735 Yonge Street for a quick lunch. After all, they do have this banner outside about certain lunch dishes being ready in 15 minutes, guaranteed:

After pondering the lunch choices, I decided to try the Pulled Pork Sandwich ($10.99) with a Pepsi ($2.99). I was pleased that a side Caesar salad was available at no extra charge, unlike some other restaurant chains. After taking my order, my server quickly returned with a countdown timer set at 15 minutes, showing that they are serious about the guarantee. Obviously if my food still has not arrived when the timer hits zero, there would have been a discussion about free lunch with apologies. With real consequences, this is the true form of accountability, unlike the distorted version preached in some religious circles. For practising real accountability, and for providing a legitimate link between two separate themes of this blog, Montana’s gets bonus points.

It turned out lunch was ready way before the 15 minutes was up. In fact, there were more than 8 minutes left on the timer when my pulled pork sandwich arrived (add a few seconds for the time it took for me to get the camera from its case to take the picture):

The pulled pork sandwich was amazingly good. It was served on delicious garlic bread, plus both the meat and the sauce were excellent. Nothing about the taste indicates that it was ready in less than 15 minutes. In other words, it was gourmet quality at fast food speed:

The service was fast and attentive, with my Pepsi refilled as soon as the glass was near empty. My server was cheerful and provided a great lunch experience.

Montana’s exceeded my expectations for a quick but good lunch. In fact, I was so satisfied with lunch that I decided to return for dinner on another day.

After ordering, I noticed two minor problems and mentioned them to staff. One was fixed immediately, while the other needed further follow up but was taken seriously.

Since Montana’s is proud of its ribs, I decided to get the Beef Ribs and Wings Combo ($23.99) in honey garlic with sweet potato fries and corn:

The wings were very good, being nice and crisp. I would consider Montana’s to be a strong contender for Best Chicken Wings. If you are able to, have some wings there.

The excellent sweet potato fries were another highlight of dinner. Being tasty and crispy, it is a great side dish choice that is highly recommended. The corn and cornbread were satisfactory as well.

The beef rib met my expectations. There were lots of meat and I was filled up. Definitely not hungry afterwards. Both the beef quality and the preparation were good, but on the other hand, it did not stand out as exceptional. If I really wanted to have beef ribs, I would order them from Montana’s again, however, given the choice, I would get more chicken wings instead.

Service at dinner was enthusiastic and attentive, which I would rate as very good.

Bottom line: Montana’s is a top pick for lunch, and worth considering for dinner. Order wings if you can.

Pharisee church pastor condemns the prophet Elijah for “sinfully living with a woman who is not his wife”

In his latest tirade against “deteriorating morality in the world”, the Pharisee church pastor called the prophet Elijah in the Bible “a man of sin who violated the many and always-expanding rules of Christian accountability” for living with a widow while he stayed in Zarephath.

“An important rule of Christian accountability is that a man must never live with a woman who is not his wife,” the Pharisee church pastor explained. “If Elijah wanted to live with that widow, he should have married her first. Since he did not do so, he was living in sin.”

“It is therefore obvious why the widow’s son became so sick that he died,” continued the Pharisee church pastor. “As I have preached before, all diseases, from the common cold to cancer, are caused by sin in your life. The illness and death of the widow’s son is the result of either the child’s own sins, or the sins of his parents, or both. With his mother living in sin with the man Elijah who was not her husband, this child’s sickness and death is well deserved as a measure of Christian accountability.”

“If Elijah were indeed a prophet, as he is commonly known, he would know to never associate with sinners, such as a woman living with a man who is not her husband, in order to keep himself pure and holy in accordance with the rules of Christian accountability,” explained the Pharisee church pastor, “because Christians are not allowed to associate with sinners. I have no doubt that the man of sin Elijah has been burning in hell since his death.”

But, Pharisee church pastor, Elijah was apparently told to live with the widow in Zarephath, would that not be an acceptable excuse?

“The one who told Elijah to live with a woman who is not his wife is clearly even more sinful than Elijah,” thundered the Pharisee church pastor in response, “and whoever this is needs to immediately join in one of my Christian accountability groups, so I can hold him accountable as his accountability partner.”

Pharisee church pastor, as someone who says that you will hold God accountable, I suppose that if God is to come into the world, you would crucify Him to death on a cross.

Restaurant review: Sunset Grill (1 Richmond Street West, Toronto)

Regular viewers of CP24 would likely have noticed a little ad for breakfast at Sunset Grill. Given the proliferation of various breakfast diner-type chains lately, one certainly wonders if anything sets Sunset Grill apart. So I decided to find out one day during a brunch visit to the location at 1 Richmond Street West in downtown Toronto.

I started with a coffee ($1.89), which was excellent with great aroma and taste. I next ordered the “French Connection” ($9.69), consisting of three eggs, breakfast meat (I picked sausages), French toast and home fries:

First amazing point about service: I asked for the eggs to be over hard, which was not an option listed in the menu. However, my server cheerfully informed me that it will not be a problem, and indeed, the eggs were done right. Going beyond “the rules” is certainly worth a praiseworthy mention in a review!

The French toast was wonderful. The slices smelled beautiful and the taste was fresh and perfect. Indeed, it is the best French toast of the traditional variety that I’ve ever had. I will definitely consider getting a much bigger stack at my next visit!

Besides getting the eggs exactly the way I wanted, service was commendable in other aspects as well. Speed was fast with little waiting, my coffee mug was topped up when appropriate, and my server enthusiastically checked up on me at the right times.

If I have to find something to pick on, it would be the sausages had the appearance of being left on the grill for a few seconds too long. However, it was purely an aesthetic issue, and the taste was not affected at all.

Bottom line: Sunset Grill represents superior value and great food. Highly recommended.

Restaurant review: Star King Viet Thai Cuisine

Once in a while, I like to indulge myself with a good pad thai. My usual choice for good value in pad thai’s is Star King Viet Thai Cuisine at 7050 Warden Avenue.

With the summer heat I like to start my meal with a cool Longan in Ice Water drink (menu item #030, $2.75). Apart from adding to my daily fruit intake, the drink is pleasantly sweet. I saw their kitchen staff having the same drink, just in less fancy mugs:

The green strips are cendol.

What I like most about Star King’s Pad Thai is the generous portions combined with reasonable price makes for excellent value, far exceeding the food court chains (menu item #740, $6.95 with beef, chicken or mixed vegetables, $7.95 with shrimp, beef pad thai shown below). I never need to worry about being hungry before the next meal.

The taste is also excellent!

If I am particularly hungry, or if someone is with me and can share, I would also order the Beef Balls in Soup (menu item #115, $5, small size only). The beef balls look small but they are compact with no fluff. Of course, it would be even better if I get even more at that price, but as it stands, it still represents good value:

The only shortcomings I encountered with Star King happened during their busiest periods (mostly Friday lunch time). Like most Chinese-run establishments, the number of staff required when the restaurant is full has been underestimated by management. Combined with that fact that, like most Chinese-run establishments, servers are not dedicated to particular tables, when the place is really busy the wait times can feel long and at times one may feel neglected.

In addition, it can be really tough to find a parking spot at that strip mall on Fridays, so the bus or walking may be the smarter options for getting there.

Bottom line: good restaurant, but try not to go when everyone else is going.

Why the English Standard Version (ESV) is NOT my preferred translation of the Bible

The English Standard Version (ESV) version of the Bible, a newer translation first published in 2001, has been increasing its market share steadily. It has also found an audience among those disappointed with the recent revisions of the New International Version (NIV), possibly the market leader among Bible-believing Christians. Much of this popularity is due to the ESV’s promise of being “an ‘essentially literal’ translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer”. However, in one Bible passage at least, the ESV’s presentation is anything but literal. Indeed, the ESV stands alone among commonly accepted Bible translations in its rendering of the passage.

Please click on the link to see a side-by-side comparison between versions of 1 Corinthians 11:3-15.

In all other versions, one can see the words “woman” and “man” consistently translated throughout the passage. However, the ESV is on its own in shifting from “woman” and “man” to “wife” and “husband” respectively in parts of the passage. The ESV translators explained themselves in the relevant footnotes, which clearly displayed their lack of fidelity:

“a. 1 Corinthians 11:3 Greek gun&emacron;. This term may refer to a woman or a wife, depending on the context
b. 1 Corinthians 11:5 In verses 5-13, the Greek word gun&emacron; is translated wife in verses that deal with wearing a veil, a sign of being married in first-century culture”

In footnote a, the translators claimed that the context called for shifting perspectives. If this were so, how come the ESV stands alone in shifting? Should not all other faithful Bible translations employ the same shift in wording? Clearly, the ESV translators are not being literal in their translation work at all here.

In footnote b, the ESV translators admitted to using “cultural factors” in how their translation. However, this is exactly what got the so called “watered-down” translations, such as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the NIV’s new revision into trouble. Once we adulterate the word of God and claim that things are said a certain way because of a particular cultural context, we lose the universal truth that is presented in the Bible. Instead, passages that do not fit well with contemporary sensitivities can be dismissed as “that’s the way things were back then, and means nothing today”.

1 Corinthians 11:3-15 is a passage that is commonly dismissed as not relevant to today’s Christian, but that calls for a deeper separate discussion. Here, the focus is on the ESV translators’ errors.

So what’s the big deal with one passage in the entire Bible? The answer is: faithfulness to the Word of God is at stake here. Even the ESV translation admits that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV). Note that ALL Scripture originate from God, and not “All Scripture except 1 Corinthians 11:3-15”. No matter how one feels about that particular passage, the integrity of translation of God’s Word is relevant to all.

The ESV is an “essentially literal” translation? I think not.