Sizzlin' Good

Date: April 19

Location: Major MacKenzie Ave., Maple (W. of Keele)

Website: none!

Meal: Lunch

My thoughts:

Not much to say here. I ordered a shawarma sandwich to go, which was $5 (or 2 for $9). The price was good, as were the portion size and service, but I have had much better shawarmas. My biggest gripe would probably be that the pickled ingredients were 'too pickled', which overpowered the meat and the whole sandwich. Don't think I would be coming back.

Octagon Restaurant

Date: April 18, 2011

Location: 7529 Yonge Street, Thornhill (N. of Steeles)

Website: http://www.octagonrestaurant.com/

Cuisine/Style: Fine dining/steakhouse

Meal: Dinner 

My thoughts:

After reading a number of reviews, both positive and negative, of this restaurant, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the appetizers and garlic bread (so buttery!), and somewhat disappointed by their filet mignon. And I want to say right off the bat that I did not take any pictures as I was with my boss.

For starters, we ordered Bacon Wrapped Scallops ($14.95), BBQ Ribs Starter ($13.95), Shrimp Cocktail ($34.95) and Crab Cakes. My boss ordered and oddly, I don't think the Crab Cakes were on the menu. 

Anyway, I didn't really care much for the ribs, as I found them to be on the dry side. The scallops were really good, but it was the crab cakes that really blew me away. The sauce really complemented it well and the cakes themselves were very fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

For my main, I had an 8-ounce Filet Mignon with House Salad ($39.95) and a side of Mushrooms. The salad was a pretty basic salad with balsamic dressing, but it was really good and not very acidic. The mushrooms were huge and very tasty. The filet mignon was okay, but a bit too charred for my liking. The inside was very juicy and tender though.

For dessert, we had Creme Brulee, Tiramisu and Coconut Cream Pie. The Creme Brulee ($10.95) was definitely my favourite dessert tonight! A tad on the sweet side but the custard was so smooth and creamy... Mm! The Tiramisu ($7.50) was not too bad. I liked the berries that came with this but I thought the cake itself was a bit too moist. The Coconut Cream Pie ($10.95) was a good serving size, but I've never really cared much for cream pies. I found this to be a bit too sweet for my liking.

Tutto Pronto

Date: April 16, 2011

Location: 1718 Avenue Road, Toronto (N. of Lawrence)

Website: http://www.tuttopronto.ca/

Cuisine/Style: Italian fine dining

Meal: Dinner

My thoughts:
I came here with some friends for dinner. Very nice ambiance and decor - dim lighting with lots of candles and chandeliers. Would be a nice place to bring a date.

Anyway, for starters, I ordered Coconut Shrimp, which was not bad taste-wise, but the serving was quite small. It consisted of 3 shrimp and a garden salad (about a handful). Price was around $13. I enjoyed my friends' appetizers much more. One of my friends ordered 'Grilled Calamari' and another 'Fried Calamari'. I normally am a fried calamari kind of girl, but I have to say, the grilled calamari was a lot better. It was cooked in  a tomato-based sauce, which was very yummy. The texture was lightly chewy and it was cut thin. It was very flavourful. The fried calamari was good, but the batter tasted exactly like Kentucky Fried Chicken's batter, which was kind of strange. The price for those were $11 each, I believe.

Pic #1: Coconut shrimp. As you can see, decent-sized shrimp but there were only 3!

Pic #2: Grilled calamari. Sorry for the blurriness!

Pic #3: Fried calamari.

Now onto the mains. My friends ordered mushroom risotto, a seafood risotto, ravioli, a steak with sweet potato fries and I the rack of lamb. Very nice presentation and everything tasted as good as it looked! My favourite would probably be the lamb or the steak. The steak was a whopping 12 ounces and the sweet potato fries were thin-cut and crispy. I asked for my lamb to be medium rare, and it was more medium-well done, but it was still very good and tender.

Pic #4: 12-ounce steak.

Pic #5: Risotto with chicken.

 Pic #6: Seafood risotto. 

Pic #7: Ravioli.

 Pic #8: Rack of lamb.

For dessert, my friend ordered a tiramisu, which looked like a flattened cupcake. Very moist and light. Love! Our very kind waiter also gave me a slice of chocolate cake, on the house, because it was my birthday!

Pic #9: Tiramisu. Sorry I didn't use flash. By this time, the restaurant had dimmed considerably and I didn't want to blind everyone with all my flashes!

 Pic #10: My birthday/chocolate cake! Okay, I used flash for this, obviously, lol.

I would have to agree with what one of my friends said, 'Would come back but would prefer to try other restaurants first'. But overall, a very nice experience and celebration!

Me Va Me Express

Date: April 14, 2011

Location: 9302 Bathurst St, Vaughan (at Rutherford)

Website: http://www.mevame.com/

Cuisine/Style: Fastfood shawarma & sandwiches

Meal: Lunch

My thoughts:
Oh my word! I had a shawarma pita with all the toppings minus hot peppers, and it was honestly one of the best shawarmas I have ever had.

What I liked: the toppings, which included a buttery creamy hummus, coleslaw and sauteed eggplant, among other things. I know, it sounds strange, but trust me, it was an unbelievable combination. Bonus points for the large portion (the pita was about a foot long). Good price ($6.95 plus tax) and quick service.

What I didn't like: the way the pita was filled made it difficult to taste all the different toppings/ingredients in a single bite. Also, the pita was stuffed, but not at the ends. Not a lot of chicken, which didn't seem juicy (it wasn't dry, just not juicy).

Having said this, however, I will most definitely be back. And sorry, I didn't get a chance to snap a picture as I virtually inhaled this thing!

My Place Fish & Chips Restaurant

Website: no website!
Cuisine/Style: Fish and chips
Meal: Dinner

My thoughts:

Came here with some friends and we all shared a calamari rings ($3.95 for a small) appetizer and a platter combo consisting of halibut, shrimp, scallops and fries ($14.95).

We were unimpressed with the calamari rings, which were fried, like the platter, but surprisingly, the batter was very bland. It honestly tasted like they forgot to put salt in it. Nonetheless, the batter was very light and crispy. The platter's batter had the same light, buttery consistency but the flavour was so much better! They did NOT forget the salt for this (odd, isn't it? You'd think the batter would all be the same..) I wasn't crazy about the fries as they were thick cut and not very crispy and the fish was just alright (a little dense), but my-oh-my, the scallop and shrimp were to die for!

 

  

Pic #1: The calamari. Sorry, I didn't remember to take a picture until pretty much the whole plate was finished.

 

Pic #2: The platter, which consisted of shrimp, fries, scallop and halibut.  

Prices were reasonable. Service was pretty good and the waiters responsive (don't you hate it when you try to catch someone's attention and they never seem to hear or see you except when you want to get the bill? Not the case here). They did, however, forget our platter order, but hey, mistakes happen so all's forgiven.

A little funny story. On the menu, you have the option of essentially building your own platter. One of the platters came "with chips" and another was the same thing but "with fewer chips", which was $0.30 cheaper! Yes, that was actually written on the menu, haha. See below.
 

Pic #3: Half of the menu. Wish I'd taken the other side, too, since there is no online menu. Take note of the boxed area!

My verdict: Yes, I would definitely come again. Not sure I would order the halibut or the calamari, although I do think the latter was just an 'anamoly'.

Kenzo Ramen

Date: April 2, 2011

Location: 6180 Yonge St, North York (just S. of Steeles)

Website: no website!

Cuisine/Style: Japanese noodle

Meal: Dinner

My thoughts:

Came here with my family. We ordered a rice dish topped with chicken and egg, a ramen, gyoza and takonomiyaki (octopus balls). In a nutshell, things were a tad on the pricey side, everything was quite salty and service was *horrible*! The service was really, really slow (with the exception of bringing our bill and taking our money) and not only were there no smiles, but it really showed that the waitress hated her job.

Anyway, onto the food. The noodles and rice dish were both $9.99 each - pricey in my opinion. But in all fairness, for the noodles only anyway, the serving size was quite generous, but not so much for the rice. The fam was really impressed with the noodles. I thought it was mediocre. I do have to give points for all the toppings that came with the noodle, though. It was chockful of seafood and veggies. I personally prefer my noodles plainer, with more noodles and less toppings.

The gyoza was really crispy, not very greasy and just plain delicious. I really enjoyed this. Price was $6.99 for 6. I recommend this.

Takonomiyaki was pretty good. If I had not tried Guu's version, I think I would have been very satisfied with this. But that not being the case, I was somewhat disappointed. This wasn't as fluffy as Guu's. Price was $8.99 for 6. Again, pricey considering the serving size.

In total, with tax and tip, the bill came to almost $45 for 4 people, which, in my opinion, is expensive for a simple noodle joint with a very limited menu. Would I come again? Perhaps, if I'm in the area, or if I have a really bad takonomiyaki craving (since I have yet to find a place uptown with takonomiyakis as good as Guu's). But otherwise, wouldn't make the drive out to this place.