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| - Late Saturday night found a friend and I hungry and in need of some serious food therapy. We stood outside in the cold for about a minute outside of Indie Ale House contemplating before opting to cross the street and check out THITW. I am so glad we did. We showed up at 10:15, at which point they were obviously operating at full capacity, and were able to get seated by 10:30. Sweet!
From the sunken in entrance-way to the long, narrow dining/bar area with a wall of exposed brick and groovy light fixtures, this place is just so rustic and home-y. The best way I can describe being here is like being wrapped in a big warm blanket and not wanting to get out of bed, ever. We got seated right at the back next to the fantastic live band and were taken care of diligently by some great, chill and friendly staff who obviously enjoy what they're doing. Being next to the band, it was occasionally too loud for conversation, but we were stuffing our faces for most of the time anyway. It was a nice treat.
After 10:30, they have a smaller menu to choose from, which disappointed my friend (she had her heart set on the mac 'n cheese) but the food we did end up eating was great all the same. I started out with the Singapore Sling to sip on while we decided on food. Not too sweet at all and refreshing, I almost ordered a second one before I remembered that I'm poor. Onto the noms!
We ordered the duck wing confit, calamari and veggie burger w/fries to share, and finished with the pot de creme. The wings were brushed with a typical buffalo sauce but were so tender and rich, successfully achieving melt-in-your-mouth status. The sauce was too hot for my friend (weakling), so I had two out of the three wings that come on the plate. We split the veggie burger and fries between the two of us. The patty itself was mostly made up of bean, quinoa and other goodies and was tad crumbly, but very appetizing. The toppings on the burger itself lent great flavor and my friend really enjoyed the sauce on it. I approve! The fries were pretty standard but good, we got the aioli dip for them and that was pretty tasty too.
The star of the meal was definitely the calamari though, and that is saying a lot coming from me. I suppose I've had a lot of bad squid in my lifetime, so until recently I've been pretty biased towards calamari. Eating at more reputable establishments lately has opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. We loved this calamari. The batter is light and has good crunch to it, the squid itself had a pleasant texture to it and the sauce. The sauce! It was some kind of spicy sweet concoction that had me trying to get as much of it onto my calamari as possible. I'm all about that sauce and sauces in general. Try this dish!
As if we weren't stuffed and rotund enough, we had to get dessert. They offered two options on the late night menu, and while I love me some cheesecake, we were set on that pot de creme. Garnished with walnut pieces, we ventured into layers of peanut butter-y and chocolate-y goodness. It didn't last long until it was all gone. I have no regrets, but I probably gained 10 pounds last night.
After paying our bill, it was a veritable struggle to get back to the car as we waddled along Dundas in the snow with our engorged stomachs. Laughing at anything became a struggle of trying to keep our food down, and we were basically on a food high, so that was no simple feat. To quote my friend, "I just wanna keep this food down (whispers) because it was so good!" It was one of the most desperate and hilarious moments I've recently had.
THITW offers everything I look for in an establishment. Great food and drink, great staff and service, comfortable and cozy atmosphere, not pretentious at all and just a great spot to hang out and feel good. Check it out if you haven't already. I will certainly be going back to try their larger dinner menu, although I might need someone to roll me out next time.
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