Fake grandmother makes really good quiche
There really is a grandmother behind Buna’s Kitchen, a downtown restaurant that trades on nostalgia.
“Only from her recipes (do) you get the warm, fuzzy feelings (that) bring back memories of a simpler time,” says the restaurant’s website.
Grace An and Taylor Heon opened the weekday-only spot last October, using the nickname of An’s Roma- nian grandmother-in-law.
The idea of an Eastern European grandmother feeding us with love certainly appeals. Less so does the unpuréed gazpacho ($3), a chewy mix of diced vegetables and tomato juice. It resembles a watery pico de gallo. At this point, most grandmothers would hit the pulse button on the blender. But the quiche ($6)? Now that’s a winner.
“We get inspiration all over Eu- rope,” says Heon, who even keeps a copy of the Culinaria Hungary cookbook on hand. Both butter and shortening go into the crust, making it rich and flaky. The filling — it changes daily and is vegetarian 80 per cent of the time — contains whipping cream along with milk and eggs. Laced with gruyère and leeks one day, it is like a pudding with the earthy sweetness of long-cooked allium.
The only thing inconsistent with Buna’s fantasy is portioning. Grandmothers, especially those wearing kerchiefs on their heads as depicted in the cartoon namesake, like to fill their families like fattened geese. A hockey puck-sized quiche wouldn’t suit them. It does me. Buna’s Kitchen, 388 Richmond St. W. (near Spadina Ave.), 647-344-8112, bunas. kitchen. Open Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki