A Lot About Nothing

I had a great BBQ last weekend. Here is a recipe for one of the tasty items I cooked on the grill.

Prep Time: 10 minutes + 1 hour of refrigeration
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

2 pounds (2 frozen, 450g packages) of large, raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup of fresh, chopped basil
4 cloves minced garlic
1 small can of pineapple tidbits (drained)

wooden skewers

Directions:

1. If you’re using frozen shrimp, place them in a colander and run cold water over them for about 5 minutes, until defrosted. Peel and discard the shells.
2. With a spoon, mix the melted butter, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic in a large bowl. Gradually stir in the basil.
3. Add the shrimp to the marinade, coating well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
4. Preheat your greased grill or barbecue to medium heat.
5. Thread about 3-5 shrimp on each skewer, alternating with pineapple tidbits.
6. Grill for approximately 5 minutes, turning once, until the shrimp turn pink.
7. Remove shrimp from the grill and place on a platter. You can garnish with lemon slices to squirt on the shrimp. Enjoy!

My belly is stuffed. I really need to cut down on the amount of all-you-can-eat restaurants I go to. I just came back from Korean Grill House at Yonge & Bloor (they have three other locations in Toronto: Queen & University, Hwy 7 & Leslie, Midland & Finch, and the new Yonge and Dundas location).

If you aren’t familiar with the Korean BBQ deal let me fill you in: For as low as $8.99 (lunch & night-owl specials) you can have raw meat served to you and you can cook it yourself on a gas-powered grill that is equipped at each table. Yeah, I know… it doesn’t sound too temping. Why would you have to pay to cook my own food, you ask? It’s all about fun: Laughing at your friends char-broiling their beef to a crisp, or making sure you date doesn’t get food poisoning (okay, you have no one to blame but yourself here… ). All the meat is thinly sliced so that it’ll cook quicker and prevent you from ‘accidently’ poisoning yourself by undercooking.

The service (at least at the Yonge and Bloor location) is excellent. The staff were very quick to refill our orders of meat and sides, and my water glass was never empty. $8.99 will get you a soup to start, rice and a decent meal of pre-seasoned pork, beef, chicken, squid and fish fillet. I recommend not overcooking the squid and fish, since they may tend to get tough fairly quickly. You also get a nice selection of sides: kimchee, tofu, bean sprouts, spicy bean sprouts, and pickled Radish (my favourite!). If you want a bit more of a selection, you can get ox tongue, ox liver, salmon, and beef ribs along with the above items for $12.99.

They also have regular dishes to go along with their AYCE menu, such as salads, soups and bibm bahb (check out the selection of cooked cuisine on their à la carte menu on their website). I tried their spring rolls, and they were tasty, but small (about the size of my little finger… and I have long fingers!). I also need to mention their free refill policy on fountain drinks which is great… I’ve never seen free refills on Nestea’s ice tea before!

Aesthetically speaking: The Yonge and Bloor location has a very modern decor… very spacious and bright. The food will leave you feeling full. So if you carnivores are in the area of a Korean Grill House, and are feeling rather famished and only have $15 to your name, make sure you stop in and play with your food.