Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives recap: The Lakeview edition

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives recap: The Lakeview edition

(Image: Matt MacGillivray)

Poor Guy Fieri. For the second Toronto segment of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, he ventured to Dundas West’s favourite 24-hour diner, The Lakeview—a visit that proved to be rather confusing for him. First, Fieri was flummoxed by the pronunciation (not to mention the existence) of peameal bacon, which he initially pronounced “pea-mell” before simply settling on “ham.” Then Fieri made the (understandable) mistake of mixing up a croque-monsieur with a Monte Cristo sandwich (pro tip: the latter is covered in egg before frying); and when he was instructed to dip said sandwich in maple syrup, Fieri shot chef James Bouy an incredulous look and pretended it wouldn’t fit into the syrup-filled ramekin. He then asked Buoy what he called the chips on the side of his plate, to which Bouy replied (with a near-perfect straight face), “homefries.” Better luck next time, Guy.

The Place: The Lakeview
The Chef: James Bouy
The Food Porn: The Freedom (a brie-, havarti- and peameal-stuffed sandwich dipped in egg and fried), The Cornflake Chicken Club (a triple-decker sandwich with cereal-breaded chicken) and an apple pie milkshake, for which owner Alex Sengupta blends an entire slice of apple pie with French vanilla ice cream and milk.

Best Quotes:
• Alex Sengupta on the apple pie milkshake: “Canadian rye is really good in these as well.”
• Guy Fieri on the ambience: “When I say old school diner, I know you think, its gotta be in New Jersey. Well this joint, it’s eighty years old, and guess what? It’s not in New Jersey. Matter of fact, it’s not even in the United States! It’s here, in Toronto, Canada.”
• Guy Fieri on The Freedom’s cheese blend: “It’s always a party when you have Havarti!”