I have been to The Happy Hooker a few times now as it's literally a 5 minute walk from J's house. As I have mentioned before in a previous blog post; the place has an outdoorsy feel with its wooden panels, paintings, random items like a Pacman machine, and even a washroom marked "outhouse".

I was invited to a media tasting in late October at The Happy Hooker to preview some of their new menu items. Chef Bethany McBride now heads the kitchen of The Happy Hooker and is originally from the South. She has incorporated and brought a lot of southern influence from back home to the seafood-centric establishment.

To start off the menu tasting, we had the Southern comfort chowder. I am not a huge fan of chowder, but I absolutely enjoyed this bowl of hearty goodness. Normally, I find that chowders tend to be really chunky. However, I found this dish to be comforting and creamy without being overly thick. In addition to the veggies that are mixed into the chowder; there are also three types of clams (Maine, Nova Scotia and Edmonton). This dish is perfect for the extremely cold weather that we're experiencing on and off in Toronto these days.

The next dish was the seafood popcorn ($9) which consisted of breaded calamari, shrimp and mahi mahi. This appetizer comes with three different dipping sauces; Chipotle aioli, Chipotle adobo and lemon aioli. This is a great starter to get, especially if you're a fan of deep fried seafood like I am.

This is how the seafood popcorn looks like when you order it.

Another starter that we were introduced to was the lobster spring roll. Chef Bethany McBride wanted to create an appetizer that was slightly different from the traditional lobster roll that they already offered on their menu. The fresh Maine lobster meat was wrapped in traditional rice papers, and deep fried. Instead of  aioli, there is cream cheese in the filling which complements the taste of the lobster. The lemon honey sauce that was served with the spring roll was brought over from Ireland. I just think it's a matter of preferences, but I did think that the sauce was a little too strong in taste. 

The Happy Hooker offers a few sandwiches on the menu as well, and we got to taste both the Louisiana Black Cat and Creole Shrimp Po Boy. 

The chef's take on the Louisiana Black Cat ($9) offers a taste of the South as Chipotle aioli and lime were used to complement the blackened catfish. The catfish was lightly battered and tasted good with the Portuguese bread. The bread was a debated issue within the small group of bloggers who attended the event. Some thought that the doughiness of the bread overwhelms the texture of the catfish,while others liked it. The bread used is from a neighboring Portuguese bakery so they're not baked in-house. 

The Creole Shrimp Po Boy ($11) seems to be an updated version of their previous po boy sandwich, which was fried. Unfortunately, I have never tried the previous one, so I can't really offer a fair comparison. The one that I had that day contained a good helping of shrimp and it was topped off with a lot of spicy Creole sauce (mustard).

Lastly for dessert, we were served key lime pudding. While thinking of a dessert that could be perfectly paired with fish; the chef thought of key lime. I thought that the light citrus dessert was good to end the dinner with. The dessert was made fresh from scratch, and contains 6 lbs of key lime and topped off with whipped cream.

 Although their menu may be limited compared to other places; it's one of the better places in Toronto that does seafood right. They also have a full service bar with a good selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Additionally, their bartender also likes to create plenty of creative mixes that are often featured on the menu.

Address: 887 Dundas St West Toronto, ON, M6J 2P8
Website:  http://www.happyhookerfish.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/happyhookertdot

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happyhookerfish

Disclaimer: The food provided in this post was complimentary. However, all of the opinions expressed in this review are of my own.