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| - I'm reviewing the Villa Madina half of this restaurant. Shame on Yelp for not distinguishing the two for the search process. Because of this, it looks like I'm giving Thai Express a bad review.
Half an hour before class (again) and I needed something to feed my belly close to campus. Last time, I went into this restaurant and walked right back out because I realized I had eaten Thai Express for the last 3 weeks and could not get enough of it, but didn't really pay much attention to Madina.
So this time I thought I'd give them a whirl. Since I like Mediterranean food, it took me a while to decide what plate to try out. I went for the oddest one I could see, which was the Sujuk plate. Sounds weird right?
It's basically a mix of your choice of rice, salad, potato wedges and some all-beef sausages with some garlic and hummus. Mmmm this makes me hungry just typing it.
Anyway the lady behind the counter seems to be in a rush and I caught a hint of a mild language barrier between us, but what can I say, it's Toronto. I chose the vegetable rice and the coleslaw salad. She dishes up said items along with the potato wedges and dips and sits the plate on her side of the counter while the sausages heat up. My plate gets to me after about a 10 minute wait, which I find rather long.
I grab my plastic utensils and head upstairs where I can get a more private seat for my meal. I chose a seat where I can overlook the Evergreen Mission and the people outside who have clearly seen better days. They are constantly looking around suspiciously with their hands rummaging in their pockets. Quite an interesting vantage spot, because when I look straight forward and see a sign for a Full Body Massage. I casually gaze into the window and someone catches my eye and abruptly draws the curtain. Heheh. Maybe I should check that place someday when I have a kink in my uh...neck.
Back to the food. I bite into one of the sausages and am pleasantly surprised as to the unique flavour of the spice and a tough texture that is clearly from overcooking. This tastes awesome nonetheless! I dip it in the hummus and have another bite....it's so good. Thinking I'm going to enjoy the rest of the plate, I wield my fork in the direction of the potato wedges and notice that they are all shriveled up and tired looking...not a good sign. I stick the fork in one and realize it's very hard to do so. Inside my mouth, the potato wedge is cold, undercooked, and not even close to crispy. Inside my mind there are visions of Gordon Ramsay reaming out one of his stooge-like pupils, slamming dishes on the floor and calling them a donkey. I'm really that disappointed. How do you screw up potato wedges?
On to the rice. I figure that potato wedges are hard to mess up, but rice should be next to impossible. Wrong! The rice is underdone and hard. The grains cling to each other and taste more bland than sock lint. On top of everything else, I decide that this is instant rice. This causes me to cuss out loud. I really have half a mind to take this rancid plate back and demand a fresh one. If I had the time, I may have.
The coleslaw was thankfully edible and good as far as coleslaw goes. I soldiered on because I was damn hungry, and damn sure I wasn't letting my $8.00+ go to waste. Fully aware that I was likely to regret my decision later that day, I cleaned it all up anyway except for the most shrunken and despicable potato wedges left on the plate.
Overall, not impressed with the meal. Especially for the premium I was charged for it. I'm happy to report that despite the sloppy cooking job that a 12 year old could have pulled of successfully, I was not food poisoned. Having spent over $8 on a plate of food I would at least expect to be full, but I was still craving a Big Mac after that. The only thing saving this joint from a 0/5 is the sausages. Admittedly they were good, but they won't bring me back to this place. If I do come back, it will be for the Thai Express half.
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