New Generation

New Generation
486 Bloor St. W

In my mind I had reserved the Bloor St. sushi strip for the dead of winter. However, I met up with a friend today, and this was the area that was easiest for both of us to get to, so I broke my own rule by a couple of months. Next week I’ll have to head to College St. or something to “make amends” to my own schedule.

I’ve heard many things, both good and bad about the more popular places like New Generation. What I’ve discovered is that what is one mans nirvana is anothers hell. The reviews by folk on such places as BlogTO are so all over the place that it was easy to go in with no preconceptions.

One thing that has always struck me is why the heck is there two locations close enough together that you can see one from the other? Well, it’s pretty simple. One is devoted mostly to Sushi, the other focuses more on the Korean BBQ. This location was the Korean BBQ one. I honestly didn’t care for the tables, I’m not a big fan of the gas stove tables necessary for the BBQ. It’s overlooked when I’m grilling my own, but it gets in the way otherwise.

I perused the menu and decided I’d go with a couple of completely new things. First up was the Scarlet O’Hara Roll at $6.95. OK, this was a mistake. Why? Well, what did they put in it? Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn. The menu states mixed fish with onion, and boy did they put everything but the kitchen sink in there. Salmon, Tuna, Crab, possibly a bit of whitefish and some squid. Damn. If the squid had been spelled out on the menu I would have passed. Raw squid has such a strong flavour, that you just have such a hard time tasting anything else. While an interesting idea, I think they would have been better served to pare down a couple of ingredients so it wouldn’t be such a flavour clash.

But next up was something that always gets my attention. Lobster. Apparently a Canadian Roll ($7.95) contains Lobster Claw, cucumber, asparagus, mayo, and is topped with salmon. I’m not exactly sure what part of Canada screams “asparagus”. This was another roll where keeping it simple and “less is more” would have been a good idea. Too many things can lead to some interesting combinations, or just a mish mash of flavours. This was the latter. A bit heavy on the mayo, this could have been much improved by removing the asparagus and tossing in a bit more cucumber. It wasn’t bad by any means, but I found tastes fighting for my attention instead of co-existing peacefully.

Since I had a sushi neophyte with me (and who ordered Korean stir fry) I decided to try out the Salmon Pizza ($7.95) and see if the “gateway drug” could hook someone else who was really unsure about the whole “raw fish” thing. Unfortunately, the pizza didn’t pass the new comers taste test. But thats OK. No-one has to like everything. But I’m not complaining one little bit. That meant that 5/6th of a salmon pizza was all for me! Compared to most places, this pizza was rather light on the salmon, and the patty was somewhat thick. But with one arm twisted behind my back, I struggled it down!

Overall I’d give a minor thumbs up. In the coming months I’m going to hit the “sushi” location across the street and see the difference. But there were a number of people enjoying the BBQ, and I’m going to have to come back and give that a try!