Pfannkuchen Koln

Date: September 22, 2013
Location: 3345 Yonge St (north of Lawrence), midtown Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/creperiekoln
Cuisine: German creperie
Meal: brunch

My thoughts:
It isn't often that I have a day off. No, it's more like it's once in a blue moon that I get a day off. And I couldn't think of a better way to enjoy it than over brunch.

I met with my friend CM who was moving to her hometown of Vancouver in a few days. I did a lot of research on selecting this place, since she is a former sous-chef, so while she may not be vocal about her thoughts on food, I know that inside, she is.

We arrived at 11am and the restaurant was empty. We were greeted by a lady, whom I recognized from their website as the owner, who was very hospitable and friendly. The decor was quite, what I would call, different and "chic." Everything was black and fuschia.

I ordered a green lychee pomegranate tea ($2), which had a surprisingly strong lychee taste to it and was not sour, as I was expecting it to be. I really enjoyed my drink. CM had a latte, which was rich and frothy - i.e. delicious - but it looks like the chef/barista needs more work on creating the foamy milk heart in the centre. See below:

For crepes, I *started with the Lachs ($11), which consisted of smoked salmon, fresh chives and dill cream cheese, with a side of mixed greens salad. (*It was so good that I later ordered a second crepe.) My crepe was soooo amazing. There was a generous serving of smoked salmon (lots tucked neatly inside the crepe and isn't visible in the photo), and the crepe had the perfect level of sweetness. It also had a great, almost chewy, texture. My own complaint, and really it wasn't that big of a deal, is I would have preferred the crepe to be hot, which it wasn't. It was at room temperature. The salad had a sweet balsamic vinegar sauce, which has been my obsession as of late.

CM had the Wild Beeren ($8), with mixed berries and whipped cream, so it is a sweet crepe. Again, the chefs were very generous with the fillings. I nearly drooled as I watched CM cut into her crepe and big globs of whipped cream oozed out. She let me have a small taste of the crepe, and it was also delicious. The cream was fresh and the berries sweet. Yum. Mee. 

But I wasn't ready for dessert yet. I still wanted another savoury crepe, and so I ordered the Pilz ($9), which consisted of mushroom, chicken breast, garlic, crème fraiche. This also came with a side of salad. While the presentation was comparatively plain, the taste did not disappoint. The garlic was partially raw, and before you wrinkle your nose and say, "Ewwwww," let me tell you: I think this really made this dish. The flavour of the garlic was quite strong, but in an aromatic, good way.

The portions are generous, which the photos don't really illustrate. And don't let my ordering two crepes fool you. The crepes are seriously filling. At the office, I'm notorious for being a small girl with a big appetite and my boss has literally called me a 'pig' in jest before.

Oh, and the restaurant/cafe filled up within 30 minutes after we arrived, and when we left at around 12:30pm, a small line had formed at the entrance. So a word of advice, arrive early!

So all-in-all, I absolutely loved this place. I will definitely be spreading the word on the place and will be back soon - if not to have another crepe, then to ask how to pronounce the name of the business!

Dumpling King

Date: September 20, 2013
Location: 3290 Midland Ave #2 (just north of Finch), Scarborough
Website: http://www.dumplingking.ca/
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
My coworker and I were commuting home together today and we happened to come to the topic of dumplings, which we are both big fans of. She said she loves this place and that it is better than Chinese Dumpling House (at nearby Midland and Finch) but slightly more expensive. After she got off at her stop, our conversation left me with dumplings on my mind, and curious that there was a place in existence that someone dared claim to be better than my beloved CDH.

And so I called up my dad and invited him to join me to see just how this place fared against CDH. We ordered the cabbage and pork dumplings (12 for $5.79), which were very good and a steal. I do, however, based on the filling, prefer CDH's vegetarian dumplings over this. I generally don't like meat in my dumplings/samosas/spring rolls/etc., but my dad chose this one.

We also ordered the braised beef noodle soup ($6.99). The flavour took a bit of getting used to. At first taste, I thought it had a pungent smell, but I quickly got used to it. I enjoyed the noodles itself, which tasted very fresh and were chewy in texture.

Altogether, the bill came to less than $20. Despite the dingy decor, you really get a lot of bang for your buck here! I'll be back to try more of their dumplings, in particular their vegetarian and bok choy dumplings, so that I can see how they compare with CDH's.

Ema-tei

Date: September 20, 2013
Location: 30 St Patrick St (near University and Queen), downtown Toronto
Website: N/A
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
I had such high expectations for this place after reading a number of reviews on the authenticity of this place's decor and food. 

As far as the latter goes, yes, I can vouch that its decor is indeed very traditionally Japanese and all the staff there appear to be Japanese (with the heavy accents and difficulty communicating to boot). 

Now onto the food. Things were generally 1/4-1/3 times more than what you would pay at most sushi joints. The most expensive was the unagi don (eel over rice at $25!) When I saw the prices, this only inflated my belief that the food was going to be extra-ordinary. Sadly, it was not. 

I had the udon noodle in soup with tempura bits ($7.95?), a kalbi skewer ($2.95), and a grilled eggplant ($6.95). The udon was not bad. The broth was very light and the noodles thick and chewy - if you've read any of my previous blogs, you'll know that 'chewiness' is my most important criterion in assessing noodles. I was unimpressed by the kalbi. It was small, thin in terms of thickness, and tough. The eggplant was more of the same 'nothing spectacular.' All in all, nothing was worth the price I paid for.

 

My friend DQ had the chicken katsu, which I believe was $9.95 or $10.95. He was it was okay, but that he wouldn't come back. He has the chicken katsu at half the price at The Grange on a daily basis and he said they taste identical.

The verdict? Let's just say that next time, I'm taking my hard-earned money elsewhere.

Jack Astor's

Date: September 16, 2013
Location: 10 Dundas St E (at Yonge St), downtown Toronto
Website: http://www.jackastors.com/
Cuisine: North American
Meal: dinner and drinks

My thoughts:
I came here for dinner with my good friend CM who was moving to her hometown of Vancouver. She wanted to come here because there aren't any Jack Astor's in her city. We arrived at around 4:30 and already the place was abuzz with a mixed crowd of tourists, students and business folks - which is a good sign!

For drinks, I had a red sangria ($12), which was delicious, and my friend had a beer. 

We decided to share two apps. We had the Jack's golden calamari ($10.94), which came with a yummy roasted garlic lemon aioli and cocktail sauce. It was served hot and batter was very crispy, but I thought it was overcooked. That, combined with the fact that the calamari pieces were rather small, made it a little bit tougher than I liked.

We also shared Jack's Macho Nachos ($14.44), with a side of beef chili and guacamole (which were an extra $2.59 each). The portion size is huuuge and fully loaded with cheese, tomatoes, peppers, onions and jalapeños. I could have done without the beef chili, but definitely try their guac. You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck with this one and it's a good plate for sharing!

Service was amazing. My friend had told our waitress that she was moving to Vancouver and our waitress wrote "Good luck" on my friend's receipt. How sweet!

Just a word of caution. If you have a fear of heights, as my friend does, take the elevator or avoid this location altogether. This place is on the top floor (fourth or fifth, I don't remember) of the building. Since I don't have that problem, I'll be back! :)

Montana's Cookhouse

Date: September 14, 2013
Location: 2910 Steeles Ave E (east of Don Mills Rd), Thornhill
Website: http://www.montanas.ca
Cuisine: barbecue/steakhouse
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here with a date and it was an overall pleasant evening. All night, only about 20% of the restaurant was full, so it was pretty quiet, especially given the fact that it was a Saturday night. We opted to sit in the bar area, where it was more casual.

We shared an order of sweet potato fries ($5.99), which were very crispy and had a nice spicy kick to them. We also had an order of 2 garlic shrimp skewers ($4.99), which were very tasty but the shrimp were small.

Pretty standard fare but in all fairness, that is due in part to our choices in what we ordered. 

Service was quick and friendly. Decent selection of beers on tap. Nice (livelier) alternative to a humdrum coffee date.

Mykonos Grill

Date: September 12, 2013
Location: 881 Yonge St (south of Rosedale Subway Stn, downtown)
Website: http://www.mykonosgrill.ca/
Cuisine: Greek
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
My work was throwing a goodbye luncheon for my boss, who was leaving our team. We decided on Mykonos as a team, and it happens to be owned by one of my coworker's son, so we got free delivery.

I had the hummus dip ($7). The hummus was definitely the best I've ever had. When I ordered it, I had intended on bringing it home, but once I had a taste, I couldn't stop. It was amaaaazing! It had a very strong garlic flavour (which I loved), and was smooth and creamy. My only complaint was that it was very oily. There was actually a thick layer of oil on top, but I convinced myself that the oil used in Greek cuisine is olive oil and so it is healthy.

I also had a chicken pita wrap ($9), which was so-so. One look at the sea of Chicken Caesar Wraps and Chicken Greek Wraps, which were only $2 more than mine but about 4 times larger, made me wish I'd ordered that instead. Taste-wise, the contents of my wrap weren't bad. But the pita was too thick. Also, my coworkers said their wrap was really good, and if it tastes anything like it looks, I believe it.

My wrap also came with a mixed greens salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing. The salad was very simple and fresh, and the dressing sweet, just how I like it.

I'll definitely be back for more hummus and to try the Caesar and Greek wraps! I also promise to snap some pics next time!

Sushi Bar

Date: September 8, 2013
Location: 3369 Yonge St (
Website: http://www.thesushibar.ca/
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
So obviously I have been here on a number of occasions, and for good reason: this place serves the best eel sushi in town! 

Anyway, so I met with my usual companion to this place, my dear friend AD, and I had my usual avocado and eel sushi with brown rice - 2 actually. (I didn't bother taking a picture since I have already done so for most if not all of my previous visits here.)

I was feeling particularly hungry today and decided to try their salmon sushi pizza ($9.95). I've wanted to try it ever since I saw it on the menu years ago, but was never hungry enough to have both the eel sushi and this. 

When it arrived at our table, the array of bright colours haphazardly arranged on the disc-shaped crust of pan-fried(?) rice piqued my interest even more. Here, take a look:

And then I took a bite.

While the toppings were hearty and delicious, the rice "crust" was a major letdown. Not only was it not crispy as sushi pizza crusts should be, it was mushy. I convinced myself that I should be glad because it was probably not deep-fried and as such I saved myself a load of calories at the small expense of a less enjoyable sushi crust. 

Oh, who am I kidding? I am a foodie at heart, and I like me some good, unhealthy food from time to time, and I have to face facts, this was not up to the level of standard that I had come to expect of the great Sushi Bar! There was also not enough sauce for all the rice that there was. Well, at least now I know. This won't be something I order again here.

Just to put it out there - this place has shortened hours of operations on Sundays. They're only open from 5pm to 8pm.

Remy's

Date: August 31, 2013

Location: 115 Yorkville Ave (east of Avenue Rd), Toronto
Website: http://www.remys.ca/

Cuisine: bar

Meal: dinner and drinks

My thoughts:
My friend LL was leaving town, and she picked this place for a final catch-up session before going. The restaurant was about half full, surprising for a Saturday night, but I guess most people are away for the long weekend.

For drinks, I had the Walking Dead ($8), Malibu Black Rum, pineapple juice and grenadine. It was amazing! If you are anything like me and love pineapple and/or its juice, then you'll love their cocktails menu. About a third of their drinks have pineapple juice in it.

LL had some sort of rum cocktail. The name escapes my mind. It was black in colour but sweet in taste.

I ordered the Chicken Quesadillas ($13), which was aesthetically-pleasing, with its perfect grid-like grill marks. Unfortunately, taste-wise, it was lacking. There wasn't much chicken and the little chicken that was there was chopped so fine, it was hardly distinguishable from the cheese. There was also no cilantro, parsley or any type of fresh herb, which would have given it a nice contrast.

LL ordered the Crab Cake Salad ($14). The crab cakes were delish - with a nice crunchy exterior and a moist, intact interior. The salad was very plain, though, was terribly meagre, tossed in just a little bit of salad dressing topped with a sad very few dried cranberries. My friend asked our waitress, who was a real sweetheart, for some nuts, cheese and extra dressing, which she provided at no extra cost. With the extras, LL said the salad was much better.

Our waitress - whose name is Jessica, I think - was great. Attentive, but not overly so, friendly, and efficient. The patio was really very spacious, and I hear it is one of the largest in TO; this is certainly a great spot to hit up on a summer night. This particular night, however, was a bit on the chilly side, so we didn't stay for very long. All in all, we had a good time. Great electronic music, if that is your thing, played at just the right volume level. I'd come back for patio drinks, but not the food. A lot of floor space, which I would imagine converts into a dance floor on busier nights.

La Casita Chinese Eatery

Date: August 30, 2013

Location: 405 Dundas St W (east of Spadina), Chinatown, Toronto
Website: http://www.lacasitachineseeatery.ca/

Cuisine: Chinese

Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
Came here on my lunch break, so I was pressed for time. Food came in under 10 minutes, so that was a plus.

I had one of their lunch specials, beef with black bean sauce on rice with a spring roll and cream of corn soup for $5.99.

The food was very good. The spring roll had a vegetable mix (which I like, as I am not a fan of meat fillings) but tasted like it was refried or the oil in which it was fried was not very fresh. Still passable, though. The soup - nothing really worth mentioning. The beef was delicious, although standard. The rice was dry, but there was enough black bean sauce to mask that fact.

My issue was the service. I understand that customer service is not typically a dim sum restaurant's forte, but I felt like the several of the waitresses were not very willing to serve me.

With all the competition there is in Chinatown, I'm sure that I can find other places with $5.99 lunch specials. I just hope that the service will be better. Not returning here.

Wrap and Grab

Date: August 22, 2013

Location: 171 Dundas St W (west of Bay), Downtown Toronto
Website: http://www.phenu.com/wrapandgrab

Cuisine: Lebanese/Middle Eastern

Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
After entering Garden Restaurant and realizing that my party and I wouldn't be seated any time soon, we came here upon the suggestion of one of my co-workers.

I had the chicken shawarma plate - which is what I always get at shawarma restaurants. The total came to $9.60 tax included. Pretty standard for a shawarma plate.

The goods: The portion size and the food, or more specifically, the garlic butter. It gave the dry chicken the juices that it was missing. In fact, it made everything taste a whole lot better! Let me clarify that the food itself really wasn't too shabby. Everything was very flavourful, but was either too salty (turnip, rice), sour (turnip, salad), or oily (salad). If butter wasn't so unhealthy, I would've asked for an extra slab of it.

Now the bads: The dingy decor, cramped space, poor air circulation.. and the worst offence of all.. an eyelash in my salad. Before you point out the possibility that it could belong to me, I was wearing mascara today and the eyelash that sat on a piece of lettuce in my salad was bare. I was nearly finished my meal at that point, so I decided to turn a blind eye. I'd enjoyed my meal enough anyway.

So there definitely are some major 'bads' to this restaurant, but it was still good enough for me to make a second visit the following week.

Cafe en Passant

Date: July 30, 2013

Location: 10133 Yonge St (north of Major MacKenzie), Richmond Hill
Website: http://www.cafeenpassant.ca/

Cuisine: French

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

With a Team Buy voucher in hand, my sister and I came here for dinner on a random Tuesday night. You may have read from my previous posts that I've been to this restaurant a number of times now, and it is a place that I highly anticipate visiting.

So while this isn't a new restaurant for me, I thought I'd at least order items on the menu that I'd never tried before. 

We decided to share:

Crisp Calamari ($11.95) - marinated calamari rings mildly spiced and flash-fried to a golden brown. We were dissatisfied with this mostly because the batter wasn't really crispy. The culprit wasn't that the dish had been sitting for a while, as it was actually served hot. The problem is the batter. Tweaking of the batter recipe is definitely suggested. And perhaps a different seafood distributor - the calamari had a rubbery texture. Blech.

Cajun Seafood ($22.95) - trio of fresh mussels, scallops and jumbo shrimp blended with cajun on tomato rice. This was what I ordered and it made me reminiscent of the Spanish paella that I love so dearly from here.. but a whole lot spicier and with lots of mussels and no chicken. Next time I'm craving rice here, I'm definitely going for the paella, which is more flavourful minus the spice cover-up.

Crêpe saumon fumé ($19.95) - smoked salmon & green asparagus in a rosé wine sauce. This was pretty good but my sister and I unanimously agreed that the Crêpe St. Jacques is a whole lot better.

So it seems like tonight was filled with letdowns. We do, however, hold high expectations for this place. We are not regulars as it is out of our way, but we have been here enough times. I do still recommend this restaurant, though, just not the particular dishes we had this evening.

Iqbal Kebob

Date: July 11, 2013

Location: 2 Thorncliffe Park Dr (across from Fairview Mall), Toronto
Website: http://www.iqbalkebab.com

Cuisine: Pakistani and Indian

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I used a $10 voucher from Groupon. Not knowing that it is for a fixed menu, I was a little disappointed because I had my heart set on trying their biryani, paneer and butter chicken - maybe not all in one shot!

My voucher entitled me to 3 different styles of chicken kebobs, with a side of flavoured rice and a salad. It also came with a choice of a beef or vegetable samosa (I chose the latter), a naan and a mango lassi.

Let me start with the kebobs. They were dry and I wasn't very fond of the seasonings, which is ironic since it is in the name of the restaurant! I preferred the rice and salad, although neither of which were very notable in any way. The samosa was overly spicy and the naan dry and thick. I think the best part of my meal was the mango lassi. I have a preference for drinks that are mild in taste and almost border on bland. This fit that bill and was very refreshing.

The service was unbelievably slow. Quick side story: I was waiting at the cash for about 5 minutes to place my order. I was starving. I was growing impatient. I caught sight of some take-out menus with their phone number listed and a portable phone both located next to the cash, I thought about calling the restaurant to get someone to come out to pick up the phone and hanging up just before they pick up - I know it's lame of me, lol. But I didn't have my phone on me. With my rumbling stomach urging me on, I tiptoed past the cash area and into the kitchen and shouted out (in as polite a way as possible) that there were waiting customers. A server by the name of Aleem came out and was surprisingly nice about the whole thing. I was afraid that he would give me attitude for doing that, but I got nothing of the sort.

In short, if I am ever in the area, there is a tiny chance that I will go back to try their biryani, but I definitely would not go out of my way to do so.

Monkey Bar and Grill

Date: July 10, 2013

Location: 3353 Yonge St (north of Lawrence), midtown Toronto
Website: http://www.themonkeybar.ca/

Cuisine: Canadian, Italian, French and Asian fusion

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

I came here for their Summerlicious event with some former co-workers (AE, AB and MM). Seeing how busy the restaurant was, we realized how lucky we were to have nabbed a reservation the day of. 

Now, let me first say that you shouldn't let "bar" fool you - this is an upscale restaurant with the prices to match. But you get what you pay for. This is precisely why I love Summerlicious (and Winterlicious). You get 3- or 4-course meals, sometimes featuring items off of their regular menu, at a discounted price. We paid $25 for a 3-course meal, which is very fair.

Anyway, this is what I had:

Panko-Crusted Brie with Blueberry Balsamic Sauce - I'd never had crusted brie of any sort before so seeing it on the menu piqued my interest. Unfortunately, I wasn't that impressed by it. I felt it needed some chicken in it, which may have then clashed with the blueberry compote. Just saying. Also, I took a close-up shot of this, so the picture doesn't give you much perspective as to how big the dish was, especially in comparison to the uberly-tiny the chunk of cheese was. This turned out to be a good thing, since I didn't care too much for this anyway!

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Breast with Pommery Cream Sauce, Vegetables and Sweet Potato Mash - This was the only entree option that is from their regular menu. We were told that this is their most popular entree, and as much as we all wanted to get a taste of everything, we just really wanted to order this. We were all glad that we did. This was divine. The chicken paired perfectly with the sauce, and there was a perfect yet subtle blend of spice in the sweet potato mash.

House-Made Sorbet and Cookie - The cookie was rather hard, so I didn't care much for it, which was okay, because the strawberry-lemon sorbet completely stole the show. It was amazing! Too bad it isn't on their regular menu.

All in all, I was impressed. The quality was there and it was apparent that there was a lot of attention to detail put into preparing the food. I'd love to try their regular menu. Reservations are highly recommended!

Manpuku

Date: July 4, 2013

Location: 105 McCaul St Unit 29-31 (University/Dundas), Toronto
Website: http://www.manpuku.ca/

Cuisine: Japanese

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

I was working late today and knew I wouldn't be able to wait til I got home to have dinner, so I came here to grab a quick bite. 

Kake udon ($3.99) - basic plain udon topped with kamaboko fish cake, tenkasu and diced scallions.

Corn soup ($2.99) - a bowl of cream corn soup. For what it was and compared to the kake udon, this was relatively overpriced. While the flavour was there, this is a very basic soup that was a tad on the greasy side. 

Everything was served piping hot, which wasn't a good thing on a sweltering day like today, but it was my fault for ordering these things. Service was quick. I'd been here before, and overall, I would say this is nothing spectacular, but if you are looking for some authentic, quick, reasonably-priced Japanese fare, this is it.

Chatime

Date: June 20, 2013

Location: 132 Dundas Street W (west of Bay), Toronto
Website: http://www.ichatime.com.tw

Cuisine: Chinese/bubble tea

Meal: drinks

My thoughts:

I brought a friend here to introduce him to my favourite bubble tea drink – roasted milk green tea with grass jelly (less ice and no sugar). It probably sounds as bizarre to you as it did to him, so I ordered it for myself and let him have a taste. He wasn’t a big fan of it. He preferred his drink, coconut milk green tea with tapioca, which I thought was too sweet and tasted strange.

If you ever are in the area, though, trust me on this one and give my bizarre-sounding drink a shot. I’m willing to bet that after the first taste, you won’t think it tastes nearly as bizarre as it sounds. 

My only gripe is the price. My drink, a small, cost nearly $5! While the taste justified the price, I can only enjoy this drink every once in awhile, even though it is a short walk from my work. Also, be warned that at night, this place can get pretty busy and I often see long line-ups. We were lucky that we came in the early afternoon, and it wasn't busy at all.

Chinese Dumpling House

Date: June 7, 2013

Location: 3290 Midland Ave #2, Scarborough
Website: N/A

Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
It was a Friday night, I had just finished a long week, and I just felt like indulging in some comfort food.

I called my dad up and he suggested this place (no surprise - this is one of his favourite restaurants.)

We ordered the usual vegetarian dumpling with egg and chives ($5.99). This is not on their menu and it comes with 15 dumplings. Everytime we have this, we reminisce on the times when this used to be $4.99. The current price is still very good, but the old price was practically a steal. Hot, in-house made steamed dumplings - soooo good.

We also had the cumin stir-fry beef ($6.99). Mmm.. The beef was incredibly flavourful and tender. The cumin was definitely discernible but not at all overpowering. There was also some green peppers and onion mixed in. Just thinking about it now makes me crave it. Just try it!

As usual, this place really delivered on some great authentic northern Chinese dishes at a great price. We'll be back soon!

Corned Beef House

Date: June 3, 2013

Location: 270 Adelaide St W (east of Spadina), Downtown Toronto

Website: http://www.cornedbeefhouse.com/

Cuisine: sandwiches
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
I've been meaning to try this place for so long, and on this very sunny day, I really had no excuse not to go out for a bit of a walk. I checked their hours before going and decided to go right when they opened for lunch to avoid a wait (my lunch break just isn't long enough for that!)

I arrived at around 11:15am. I came hungry and ready to eat, so I ordered their "colossal" (10 oz) Montreal smoked meat sandwich ($8.75) on onion kaiser bread with honey dijon mustard. And, not knowing just how big "colossal" was, I decided not to order a side. (The other sizes are "huge" at 7 oz and "gigantic" at 14 oz).

My order came within 10 minutes, and one look at my sandwich and I knew I was going to be a happy camper (at least a full camper anyway). With the buns included, it stood at about 4.5-5 inches high.

Then I took a bite. Mm-mm-mmmh! I thought. Now I knew I was going to be a full, happy camper. The meat was lined with a bit of fat, which I didn't mind because it made it very juicy. I couldn't taste the onion in the bread, but the honey dijon mustard pairing with the meat was excellent. The bread-to-filling ratio was also perfect, too. Delish! I'll definitely be back and will order this sauce again, but I'd like to try their other sandwiches.

The colossal turned out to be just the right amount of food for me. I think I may try the gigantic next time or order a side with my sammy. The service was mediocre, but oh well, I'm there for the food anyway. Check this out!

Moxie's Bar and Grill

Date: May 31, 2013

Location: 3401 Dufferin St #30, Yorkdale Mall
Website: http://www.moxies.ca/
Cuisine: Canadian

Meal: dinner and drinks

My thoughts:
I came here with girlfriend HF because we both had had a long week of work and needed to unwind at Yorkdale Mall - because what better way than with some booze, food and shopping, right, ladies? ;)

Anyway, since both of us were starved, we didn't feel like putting too much effort into trying to find a place. Then Moxies caught our eye.

We headed on in (down, actually, the escalator). We sat in the lounge and each ordered a nice, fruity cocktail - that's what girls do!

We decided to share the bruschetta ($7.99) for starters. This was the evening's show-stopper. While you may scoff at my claim, give it a try and you will agree.The baguette was perfectly crispy and the toppings fresh and flavourful. With a generous serving of chewy bocconcini balls, a light drizzle of olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar, you've got a winning combination.

We also shared the double stacked turkey club ($11.99), which was house-roasted turkey with crisp bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo & cheddar on toasted multi-grain bread. We upgraded the side to sweet potato fries for $2.50. While I had no complaints about the sandwich, I much preferred the fries. They were very crispy and the roasted garlic chipotle aioli was delicious.

So while I try to avoid mainstream franchise restaurants like Moxies, I left very happy. I will definitely be back soon for the bruschetta and sweet potato fries!

Holy Chuck

Date: May 30, 2013

Location: 1450 Yonge St (just south of St. Clair), midtown Toronto
Website: http://holychuckburgers.com/

Cuisine: North American

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

Ryoji Ramen & Izakaya

Date: April 5, 2013

Location: 690 College St (east of Ossington), Downtown Toronto

Website: http://www.ryojiofcanada.com/

Cuisine: Japanese

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

If you read my previous posts, you'll know that I have only recently developed a love for ramen. I happened to stumble upon this place on my way to a spa appointment just a few steps away. I looked up this place and found out it was opened just  and was really excited about trying this place.

I invited one of my sisters to join me. She had just had an exam so I felt like spoiling her a bit. The first that I noticed when I stepped foot inside the establishment was the fact that over 75% of the workers were Caucasian (all of which were blond). Let me quickly clarify that I have nothing against either Caucasians or blonds, but given the fact that this is a Japanese restaurant, I was afraid that the food might not be authentic if it was run by a non-Japanese operator. 

I also noticed that a lot of the things on the menu were a bit more expensive Everything was relatively pricy for what a lot of other places charge. But I decided not to let this preface my take on the food.

We decided on the following:

TAKOYAKIS ($7): Fried mashed potato balls with octopus, tonkatsu sauce and mayo. All I can say is, blech! Hands down the worst takoyakis I have ever had. Major miss!

POKI SALAD ($10): Hawaiian-style salad with fresh fish sashimi and fruits on top of mixed greens with Ryoji sweet chili dressing. The moment I saw this, I knew I wanted it. This salad was featured on the Hawaiian episode of Guy Fieri's Triple-D show on the Food Network. It looked so good on the show. When it came, I was somewhat crestfallen to see that it was a rather simple salad. Taste-wise, there was a lot of less common tropical fruits, like star fruit, which gave it more value, but way overpriced for what it was worth.

OTOKO-AJI/TONKOTSU RAMEN ($11): Original Ryoji style pork bone broth, topped with pork belly Chashu, bean sprout, scallion and kirage mushroom. My second least favourite today. Non-chewy noodles, salty yet bland soup. A miss.

TON-TORO ($11): Grilled pork neck with freshly chopped wasabi. Holy cow, this was soooo good. Pork neck is rather common in Asian cuisine and is known to be rather fatty and therefore juicy. I'm no pork aficionado by any means, but this is one of the few exceptions! A must try! A hit.

So two misses, one hit and one mediocre. This place does show some promise. It is on the pricey side, which I think in part reflects the ambiance. Add pretentious service to all that.. No, I will not be back.