Hannah's Kitchen
Catering
Catering
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Recipes
416-481-2828


"Butter Tarts"-Toronto Life

Before all else, and pre-empting indignant letters, we acknowledge that nobody makes butter tarts like the ones you had at Grandma's cottage on Manitoulin Island. That said, it's remarkable how many unassuming places bake their own-and how few do bad ones. Saying as much, though, reveals our relationship to them: most buttertarts taste like someone's grandmother made them (and how could you say anything bad about Granny?). Even so, some grans have the genius. The stickiest, yummiest butter tarts ($1.65) come from Hannah's Kitchen (2221 Yonge St., 481-2828). The top third is a chewy caramel layer that'll loosen dental work. A bare touch of runny sweetness fills the center, and the base is a buttery pastry that beats anything else in town. Still not sold? Two words might help convince some of you: no raisins.

 

"Apple Pie"-Toronto Life


Sitting on a diner stool, winter creeping in the door, the world starts to look a little grey. Boulevard of broken dreams. Then, marketer's dream, the pie. Dead of winter, and yet there's pie. With fruit. And it's good. Think not how there came to be fruit-local fruit at that-in December (in the best scenario, apples are stored in cold warehouses with low oxygen-three per cent to nature's twenty-one-to halt the ripening; in the worst, in cans). Instead, break the flaky crust or tumble through the crumble and there lies a touch of Eden, with just a hint of Mom. Alas, much as we like the image, we've yet to discover magical apple pie in a diner, so off we trot to Hannah's Kitchen (2221 Yonge St., 481-2828). Beneath sugar sprinkles on a dark, softly flaky pastry, apple chunks with a bright, lemony-apple flavor ($32/pie; $3.50). Try it, we urge a friend.


"Butternut Squash and Broccoli Stew"-Chef's Showcase (Starweek)


Since 1990 chef Susan Hughes has been tempting Yonge/Eglinton office workers and moviegoers with soups, hearty pastas and stews, and homemade desserts including prize-winning butter tarts. Hannah's Kitchen is a family business with husband Michael Shields as manager and co-owner. Hughes trained at George Brown College and worked at various restaurants including Centro Ristorante. Chef Felipe Silverio also cooks on the day shift. Olga Kowalczuk of Toronto writes that she is impressed by their "wonderful vegetarian dishes," especially this squash stew with broccoli.


"Egg Sandwich"-Toronto Eats (by Leonard Wise)

When I was in high school and later in university, I used to sit in the cafeteria and watch the other kids open up their lunch bags. From theirs came great-looking sandwiches of avocado and tomato on whole wheat bread, sliced chicken with Dijon mustard on rye, or tuna and lettuce on an onion bun. Not from mine. For 10 years my mother gave me two chopped egg sandwiches on Wonder bread. I never had to guess what was in the bag; I never even had to look. One whiff of my school locker and it was obvious. In time I became known as the "chopped egg kid." I vowed that when I got out of school, I'd never look at another egg sandwich. So, guess what? I broke my vow. Recently I renewed my relationship with chopped egg and mayonnaise on whole wheat bread and found the best sandwich at Hannah's Kitchen ($3.50)


"Raspberry Muffin"-Toronto Eats (by Leonard Wise)

There was a time when the only decent muffin in town was the bran muffin at Mars. Well times have changed...I present to you the raspberry muffin at Hannah's Kitchen ($1.25). If you can find a better muffin, I'll buy you lunch.

"It's One Great Cafe"-The Toronto Sun, Feb.23, 1994: Every corner ought to have one. One great all-day cafe, take-out and restaurant that serves the kind of food everyone wants to ear. At affordable prices. Yonge and Eglinton has one, Hannah's Kitchen, open from 7 a.m. to 10 in the evening, perfect for Canada Square movie patrons and anyone living in the vicinity. In the a.m. Hannah's hops as folks kickstart their workday with great coffee and homemade muffins to go. Again at lunch, lines form at the counter for Susan Hughes and Michael Shields' appealing selection of salads, sandwiches (the eggplant is a personal favorite), soups and pasta specials. Staffer Chris Nogollos keeps the hungry lines moving and satisfied. There's one special salad that always gets raves. It's pasta with chicken, redolent with fresh basil, with the rich crunch of toasted pine nuts and a dense tomato-y tang that can come only from slivered sundried tomatoes. Yes, there is chicken, and the pasta is radiatore, President's Choice is recommended as it keeps its firmness and shape. (recipe follows)


"Vegetarian Dining"-Vitality Magazine

Hannah's Kitchen serves extremely fresh and tasty food, homemade, with two excellent soups daily. Great salads. The staff tries hard to please and does a good job of it. Newspapers and magazines are available. Lunch is cafeteria style and dinner is slightly more formal with table service.

 


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