Real World Sports Bar

Date: September 3, 2011

Location: 15 York St (S. of Front St.)

Website: http://www.realsports.ca/

Meal: late night snacks/drinks

My thoughts:
Already being in the financial district, The Real World Sports Bar was just a hop and skip away, so my companion and I decided to come here to satisfy a late night craving for greasy munchies. And munch we did. We ordered sweet potato fries, which were served piping hot and with a side of two dipping sauces. The fries themselves had a hint of Indian spices - amongst one of which I think was cumin, but it's hard to say with my unrefined taste palette - which I thought paired very well with the dipping sauces. My friend opted for ketchup to go with the fries, and thought the fries were just okay, but admitted that they were hot and crispy.

We also ordered some drinks of the alcoholic variety. I had a Fruli strawberry beer (Belgium), which I really recommend if you have never tried it, and my friend some cocktails. Service was quick and friendly. We sat at a booth, which had its own TV on the wall (only sports channels were available, of course) - a great touch to set the establishment apart from other bars. Will definitely be making a trip here again (and again)!

The Jason George

Date: September 3, 2011

Location: 100 Front St. (E. of Jarvis)

Website: http://thejasongeorge.dining.ca

Meal: patio drinks/dinner

My thoughts:

I don't have much to say about an otherwise mediocre restaurant. Even for a pub, the staff was not very professional and appeared disinterested and bored. 

I ordered the zucchini and brie sandwich and my friend a veggie burger. I thought my sandwich tasted fresh, but was lacking in a sauce or herbs to give it a kick. It came with a side of a house salad, which consisted of spinach leaves and light vinaigrette, but it was rather plain. I tried my friend's veggie burger, and it was quite bland to me. We both had a glass of red house wine.

Bottom line, I would not recommend this restaurant. You could get so much more bang for your buck elsewhere.

La Vecchia Ristorante

Date: August 28, 2011

Location: 2405A Yonge St. (2 blocks north of Eglinton)

Website: http://www.lavecchia.ca

Meal: dinner

My thoughts: 
This is a quaint, cozy Italian restaurant in the bustling neighbourhood of Yonge and Eg. My companion and I arrived around 5:30 and were greeted by the host. We were seated promptly and our waiter came to greet us and gave us menus. Our waiter was very friendly, but we waited for about 30 minutes and still he had not come to take our order. Finally, we had to signal him over. He informed us that he didn't know that we were ready to order because our menus were open, so a tip to all of you out there: if you ever think your waiter wants you to leave you starving and drooling over dishes being served to your neighbouring tables, it might actually and simply be because your menu is open ;)

Anyway, my guest and I each had a glass of house red wine, which, I cannot lie, is like most other red wines I've had in the past (I'm no wine connoisseur), but it was a nice complement to my meal and it added to the romantic ambiance of the restaurant.

I ordered the Linguini Calamarati, which our waiter informed me was the chef's personal favourite. This is always a good sign for what's to come, of course, and I admittedly had quite high expectations for my meal. According to the menu, this is a seafood linguini and includes a variety of seafood items including calamari, mussels, shrimp and rapini (a leafy vegetable) with a garlic-olive oil-white kidney bean-based sauce. My companion ordered the Pizza Vegetariana, which as you may have guessed, is Vegetarian Pizza; he opted to omit the cheese.

While we waited for our food, which was not a very long time, the restaurant filled up very quickly. I was actually quite surprised, seeing as how it was a Sunday night. Anyway, our food arrived in a very timely manner. When it was placed in front of me and I caught a delicate whiff of it, I immediately regretted not having my camera on me simply because I knew I was going to write a lengthy review. Also, of course, visuals always make written material so much more interesting to read! Returning to my linguini, upon having the first taste of my linguini, I was quite literally blown out of my mind by all the intense deep sea flavours. It was flavourful without being salty. It had a good amount of seafood chunks without it overpowering the pasta; this is important to me, because I love my pasta i.e. carbs! My dish was well-presented, and the portion size just right - I was contentedly full and needless to say, I was very pleased with my selection.

As for my friend's meal, I did not try his pizza. But I was told that it was very good. I'll have to try it next time to give you my take on it!

To top everything off, we shared an order of mango sherbert. It was very light and not very sweet - a nice finishing touch to a hearty meal.

In a nutshell, intimate ambiance, great service and even better food. I highly recommend this restaurant. Two thumbs up!

Lobster Trap

Date: July 8, 2011

Location: 1962 Avenue Road, Toronto (S. of Wilson)

Website: http://www.lobstertraptoronto.com/

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I was here with a friend to celebrate his birthday. Although the neighbourhood is upscale, this venue is quite casual, but my friend was still very happy with the experience.

I should mention that I have been here a few times (this was his first), so I already knew what the restaurant's specialties are. Every meal comes with complimentary home-style garlic bread, which is very garlic-y and buttery (i.e. delicious, in my books). I ordered a lobster bisque for each of us, and a broiled lobster for him and a steamed lobster for myself. The lobster bisque is nothing short of to-die-for, with its rich and creamy soup base and generous-sized chunks of fresh lobster. It is served piping hot (which isn't always the case with many places) and it compliments the garlic bread very well. The steamed lobster comes with some butter and lemon on the side, but I like to eat the lobster plain, so as to get the full flavour of the lobster. Having said that, though, the broiled lobster, which has a garlic and bread crumb topping, is also scrumptious. I would really recommend going with someone (not by yourself, as in any dining experience) so that you can share your plates! This is definitely is "up there" on my list of favourite restaurants!

Kultura

Date: May 9, 2011

Location: 169 King Street East, Downtown Toronto (E. of Jarvis)

Website: http://www.kulturatoronto.com/

Meal: lunch

My thoughts: 
I was really excited to try this restaurant after learning that Roger Mooking is co-owner/executive chef of this restaurant. If that name doesn't ring a bell, he has a show called "Everyday Exotic" on the Food Network (and he's got this amazing recipe for lamb..) I was slightly disappointed that I did not see him on that visit, but seeing as how it was a weekday afternoon and the restaurant was pretty empty, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

Anyway, the food, however, did not disappoint. This is a tapas restaurant, so all the portions, including the mains, were quite small. What I really like was the unique offerings. I came here with a friend and we shared two appetizers and two mains. We ordered the Chicken Samosas and Goulash Soup for starters, and Shrimp Ceviche Tacos and Steak Frites for our mains.

Chicken Samosas: Definitely my favourite dish this meal. It was a complex medley of spices and herbs, with everything in perfect balance so as the flavours all blend nicely and not one of the flavourings can be identified (at least I couldn't). There were five dumpling-sized samosas for $11. (The waitress told us after our meal that this was one of their most popular dishes, and I can see why.)

Goulash Soup: My companion and I were intrigued upon reading "dumplings" in the description on the menu and decided to give this a shot. This was too salty for both our tastes and the "dumplings" were more like gnocchi in taste, texture and size (and I am not a fan of gnocchi). That aside, the soup itself was far from bland and had wide range of ingredients, all of which must have contributed to the flavour.

Shrimp Ceviche Tacos: If you are not familiar with shrimp ceviche, it is a traiditional Spanish dish of raw shrimp. This was quite possibly my first encounter with this dish, and it was.. interesting. Had there not been the tacos, which were made of taro root, and were thin-cut, crispy and delicately sweet, I think I might have gagged at the sliminess of the shrimp. (I eat salmon and butterfish sashimi regularly, but that's pretty much the entire repertoire of things I'm willing to eat and enjoy eating raw.) There wasn't too much shrimp per taco so the tacos balanced out the sliminess, so rest assured, I did not gag. In fact, I quite liked this dish, especially with the pineapple chutney that came with it. I would recommend trying this, as it is truly a unique dish.

Steak Frites: Nothing special here. We asked for our beef to be medium-rare, and it was probably more medium-well done, but it was evident that the grade of the beef was very good, so the meat was still very tender and juicy. The fries were cassava fries and as my companion and I noted, tasted significantly healthier than regular fries. They were not greasy, surprisingly, and crispy. For the price, I would not order this again. (Actually, we originally wanted to order the Mushroom Orechiette, but we were told this was not available at the time.)

In short, I would recommend checking out this restaurant. Don't expect to really fill up on the food here, unless you are willing to spend a lot. (My friend and I were 'comfortably full' at the end of the meal and we'd spent $50 total, which is significantly more than what people typically spend on lunch.) I would recommend this sheerly because Roger Mooking's culinary and artistic flair really shine through in his dishes, which makes for a great and interesting experience.

Thai Basil

Date: May 6, 2011

Location: 1070 Major MacKenzie Dr E., Richmond Hill (E. of Bayview)

Website: http://www.thaibasil.ca/

Meal: dinner

My thoughts: 
In a nutshell: Great service. The waitresses were very friendly and attentive. My glass of water never stayed empty for very long! Food arrived quick. Reasonable prices and food was excellent! Can't wait for my next visit! Here's a rundown of our meal: 

Thai Vegetarian Cold Rolls ($4.95) - "Rice paper wrapping vermicelli, shredded carrots, cucumbers, green onions, basil & mint leaves". Ingredients were very fresh and it wasn't bad. But I would've liked it better if there was a big shrimp in there (my friend ordered this). Would order this again, with shrimp. 

Grilled Satay Chicken skewers ($2.25/skewer) - "Grilled skewer marinated in Thai spices and coconut milk, served with homemade peanut satay sauce". Mmmm!! Heaven in my mouth. The chicken was cooked just right and juicy, with just the right amount of 'charredness'. Without a doubt, the best part was the sauce, which was a perfect balance between sweet and spicy; it really complemented the chicken. Thai food as it should be! 

Thai Red Curry Duck ($12.95) - "Thai red curry cooked with boneless grilled duck, Thai eggplants, grapes, tomatoes, basil leaves & coconut milk". This was me and my companion's favourite of the night! It has a good level of spice to it, so if you can't handle spice, ask your serve if they can exclude the chilis. Very strong coconut flavour. Some interesting elements here, including green grapes. Who would have thought to put grapes in curry? Cudos to the chefs on their creativity and for discovering something that really works! My only dislike for this dish would probably be the duck, which arguably should be the highlight of the dish, but I found it tough. My companion really enjoyed the duck, though. Regardless, I would most definitely be back again for this dish. 

Mango Chicken ($9.95) - "Stir-fried chicken with mango, onions, green onions, cashew nuts, red & green peppers, dried red chilli". On its own, this was not bad, but it really paled in comparison with the red curry. The chicken was not as juicy as the skewers we ordered, but the mango chunks were sweet and a good size and the cashews flavourful.

The Sushi Bar

Date: May 5

Location: 3369 Yonge St., Toronto (N. of Steeles)

Website: http://www.thesushibar.ca/

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

A typical sushi joint. I mean, the food and service was not bad, but given the number of sushi places that have popped up in the last decade, I think the standard of sushi restaurants has really gone up. Having said that, I don't think this was was anything special.

I ordered Unagi Don (eel on rice), which was $9.95. The portion size was okay, but there was hardly any teriyaki sauce. Okay, I admit that I like a lot of teriyaki sauce on my eel, but there really was hardly any at all. The eel itself was okay. I liked the rice, which was Japanese-style, which uses larger rice grains.

I also ordered an Alaskan Roll and Baikan Roll. The Alaskan Roll has salmon, cucumber, avocado, tobiko (fish roe). Surprisingly, I found this a little bland. The Baikan Roll contains white tuna (aka butterfish for some people), tobiko and avocado. This roll was delicious and very tasty!

Ferrovia Ristorante

Date: April 27

Location: 7355 Bayview Ave., Thornhill (N. of Steeles)

Website: http://www.ferroviaristorante.ca/

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

I came here with my family and we all agreed it was pretty good, but a little on the pricey side, especially given how the waitress/hostess was dressed. There's more on this after I talk about the food..

Grilled calamari ($12.95) - just okay. I prefer my calamari to be sliced into rings, but this place served ours in 'groups' of about five rings. This isn't a big issue, but considering that we were sharing our appetizers, this made it a tad more difficult. Flavour was on the subtle side, but not bland. Calamari was fresh and came with a side of arugula salad, which was yummy.

Steamed P.E.I. mussels (price stated in online menu is $10.95 but I believe the price at the restaurant is $11.95) - Very generous serving and came with a lot of almost "soupy" (liquidy) sauce, but this went perfect with the complimentary bread. Mussels were quite large but the meat was a little 'fishy' tasting, but it wasn't bad enough to keep me from pretty much devouring the whole dish.

New Zealand rack of lamb ($29.95 for full rack) - Very good. My parents shared the lamb and sea bass. My dad doesn't like to eat meat that is too raw so we ordered it medium-well done. I would have prefered medium or even medium-rare. But the way it was done was still very good. It was apparent that the meat was very good quality.

Grilled sea bass, daily special ($33.95) - Small serving; approximately 4-6 ounces. This was very good and I don't get the privilege of eating sea bass very often, so this was definitely a treat. I really enjoyed the seasonings they used.

Grilled Atlantic salmon ($24.95) - This was probably the best thing we ordered that night. The salmon was made medium-well done and it was very moist and flaky. It came with a lentils dish on the side, which I didn't care too much for, but at least this dish offered an excellent source of protein, healthy fats, carbs and fibre.

Mushroom (fungi) pizza ($14.95) - This was mediocre and I don't think I would order this again. The crust was extremely thin but hard, and there was such a thin layer of cheese that the cheese layer had hardened into the crust. There were a few stray mushrooms on top, which were good, but I need my cheese and for the price, I felt like I was hardly getting my money's worth.

Okay, so now onto the bad part: the waitress, who was wearing skinny faded cargo pants, a ragged drapey top and big hoop earrings; the rest of the staff was dressed in black dress shirts and tailored pants. Did no one tell her that she was severely underdressed? Her attire really brought down the restaurant's class. Further, throughout our dining experience, she was loud, brash and rather unprofessional. For example, when telling us about the daily specials, she didn't take her time to explain everything and rushed through everything. When she was done, she literally jsut turned on her heels and left. My father had to call her back because he wanted to ask a question. Also, she was very pushy with getting people to order more expensive things. For example, after she seated people, she asked people if they wanted something to drink. When people asked for water, she asked, "You want sparkling water?" Maybe you think I'm being sensitive, but her tone was forceful. And there's more. Everytime we asked for her recommendation between two items that were not the same price, she always recommended the more expensive one. Coincidence? I hardly think so.

So, would I come back? Possibly, but I definitely wouldn't be going out of my way to do so. There are so many better restaurants out there with better food *and* service.

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.

Joe's Shawarma

Date: March 22, 2011

Location: 10794 Yonge St, Richmond Hill (Yonge & N. of Elgin Mills)

Website: no website!

Cuisine/Style: Fast-food/cafeteria-style shawarma (Lebanese/Persian)

Meal: Dinner

My thoughts: 
I had been introduced to this quaint little joint by a friend of mine, who frequents this place, and I can completely understand why. I have only ever had their shawarma sandwich and their chicken shawarma dinner/plate, and both were superb. The chicken is very tender and juicy, the coleslaw fresh and crunchy with just the right amount of sourness and the hot sauce smokin' hot but delish! Large serving sizes - the sandwich is always stuffed to its brim and food really piled on in the dinner/plate meal. Decent prices: around $7.50 for a sandwich, and if my memory serves me correctly, the plate is around $10. Again, considering the portion sizes, the prices are very fair.

Anyway, we both had the chicken shawarma sandwich on Tuesday. I didn't have my camera with me, but we are both regulars. I will post a picture next time!

Oh, I've also read in other reviews that their lamb kebabs are really good. Unfortunately, they didn't have any ready that night (it was a slow night) and I was told I'd have to wait about 10-15 minutes. I was pressed for time so I passed them up, but I vow to order them next time!

As an afterthought. I really wish the shawarma I had in Ottawa. I was there last summer for a weekend and had shawarma with some Italian-style seasonings/tomato sauce in it. You are probably grimacing at the sound of shawarma and tomato sauce in the same sentence, but I am telling you, it was most probably the best shawarma I've ever had! I wish I remember the name of the joint, but it was on Rideau St, just a few blocks away - east, I think? Not sure, because I'm not very familiar with the city - from Rideau Shopping Centre.

Kelsey's

Date: March 17, 2011

Location: 8715 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill (Yonge & Hwy 407)

Website: http://www.kelseys.ca

Cuisine/Style: Bar & grill
Meal: Dinner/drinks 

My thoughts: 

So it was St. Patrick's day and my companion and I were in the mood for some good ol' green beer (why not? You're only able to get coloured beer once a year!) We headed over to Archibald's Pub around 7:30 and not surprisingly, it was jam-packed, literally! We were both hungry and didn't feel like waiting around for a table and not even get any service, so we went to Kelsey's just down the street.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had green beer, so we ordered a drink and mulled over the menu. We finally decided on an order of wings in "Hot n' Honey" (which is not listed in their online menu for some reason) and popcorn shrimp.

The wings were not bad. Personally, I think having experienced Archibald's Pub's deliciously fatty and juicy wings the week before might have influenced my thoughts on Kelsey's. Kelsey's were definitely much leaner and the sauce was not bad. As in the name, it is actually quite spicy.

The popcorn shrimp was mediocre on it's own, as it was way too much batter and very, very little shrimp. But it came with two dips, one of which was a creamy mustardy-looking dip, and the other a sweet Thai chili. I, being a big fan of thick, creamy, fatty foods (who doesn't, right? Haha), tried the creamy dip first and I didn't feel it did anything for the shrimp. The chili dip, on the other hand, was amazing! I had the rest of the shrimp with this. I definitely recommend this, with the chili sauce!

Ippai's Japanese Fusion Cuisine

Date: March 16, 2011

Location: 8865 Woodbine Avenue Unit D5 (Woodbine & 16th)

Website: http://www.ippai.ca/menu.html

Cuisine/Style: Japanese, specializing in ramen noodles

My thoughts:

Okay, I know that thus far, I haven't given much mention to restaurants' service, but that is only because they were decent or better (as one should expect). But I must start off with the service with this place, because it really detracted from my experience here. 

Be prepared for a long rant. If you don't want to read, skip this paragraph. I went on a Wednesday night and the place was less than half-full, and we were treated very poorly by one of the waiters (female). She was extremely impatient, rushed and literally out-of-breath (from what, I don't know, seeing as how it was quite empty). Anyway, here is what went down: I wanted to order a plain/vegetarian okonomiyaki (pancake) and asked if they could do that, since all the ones on the menu contained meat. And she answered - somehow, in several sentences - that the plain/vegetarian one has a lot of vegetables (duh! I said vegetarian). Then I said that I was aware of that, and asked her for the price. And she kind of sighed, exasperated for some reason, and said that it would be the same price as the chicken one. And I asked why, since the chicken also contained the vegetables and I'm just asking for them to omit the meat. And she made a clicking sound with her tongue and sighed again and said "It just is." And I just looked at her, and I guess I had a confused facial expression, and she said, "So do you want it?" That was when I said, "I want to talk to the male server," who I suppose was our primary server, and she walked off. Very, very rude!

Okay, now that I'm done my rant, here is a review on the food! Here is what we ordered:

- Milk Soup Ramen: Price $9.95 but large serving size. I liked the noodles and the soup was interesting, in a good way. It also had mushroom, seaweed, kelp, sesame, green onion and broccoli - all of which I like. What I didn't like was the pork, as it was a little fatty. But all in all, I would order this again.

- Garlic Butter Miso Soup Ramen: Price $9.95 but again, very large portion, so it wasn't too bad. However, as the name suggests, the soup literally tastes like an entire stick of butter and some raw garlic was just tossed into their soup base. There was also corn (a fan), kelp (a fan), boiled egg (a fan), mushrooms (a fan), seaweed (not a fan - seaweed was crispy but tasted like it was fried in butter) and fishcake wrapped in fried tofu (a fan). While the noodles' texture and most of the toppings, I just was not a fan of the soup. Will not order again.

- Chicken Okonomiyaki: If I had not experienced Guu's amazing okonomiyaki last weekend, I would think that this was not bad. But since I have, this really pales in comparison. I went with my mom, and she, having never tried okonomiyaki, was quite impressed. My complaints? It was too thick, floury, and did not have enough sauce - the best part of okonomiyaki's in my opinion!

Archibald's Pub

Date: March 10, 2011

Location: 8950 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill (Yonge & Carrville)
Website: http://www.archibaldspub.com

Cuisine/Style: Pub

My thoughts: 

- Wings: 1 pound of wings with Hail Caesar sauce. $9.99. This was amazing! The best wings I'd had in awhile. They were very juicy, lightly crispy and  the flavour was delicious. I personally didn't really taste the "Caesar", which I would say is a good thing. A must try! (FYI: Wednesday is 1/2 price wing night!)

- Nachos: We went on a Thursday night, which so happened to be 1/2 price nacho night. So our order cost $5.50. Awesome! Taste was pretty good, but nothing special. I liked that they really loaded up on the cheese. If I had to be really critical, I would say the chips were a little bit too thin; I prefer slightly thicker chips.

Guu Izakaya & 7 West Cafe

Location: 398 Church St, Toronto (Yonge & Carlton)

Date: March 13, 2011
Website: http://www.guu-izakaya.com

Cuisine/Style: Japanese Pub

My thoughts:

I have to admit, when I came into the restaurant and saw how packed and crowded it was, I almost wanted to pass on this restaurant. Further, my girlfriends and I came here around 6:30 on a Sunday night and was told that there was an hour-long wait (yes, on a Sunday!). We were all pretty hungry and almost decided to go elsewhere. I am very, very glad I did not. I was literally blown out of my mind at how amazing the food was!

The 'restaurant' is actually a Japanese-style bar/pub that also serves snacks/small dishes. Small portions. Prices were on average $6-7 a pop, which might seem really cheap, but given the small serving sizes, wasn't actually that cheap.

Here is what we ordered:

- Sashimi salad: This was a salad with various types of sashimi served over mixed greens and strips of pickled turnip. A wasabi mayo sauce was drizzled over top. This dish was not bad. The sashimi was definitely very fresh. The thing was, however, I didn't feel like the various things really melded with one another. I felt like I was just having sashimi with lettuce, if you know what I mean. Not bad, but I am not sure if I would order this again. Just not my cup of tea. I'm just not a big salad person, but if you are, you may like this.

- Aburi salmon: An appie consisting of lightly seared salmon sashimi with ponzu sauce and wasabi mayo. This was slightly similar to the sashimi salad, but tasted much better. Perhaps maybe because there wasn't anything to compete with the delicious taste of sashimi. I would recommend this.

- Takoyaki: Fried octopus balls with sweet Tonkatsu sauce and mustard mayo. My second favourite dish of the night. These were unbelievably soft and fluffy little balls with a small piece of octopus in the centre. I don't know what the soft, fluffy part was, but it was mind-blowingly (is there even such a word?) delicious. I was simply floored by the taste! The sauce was a little bit salty, but I am telling you, it was perfect with the food. I would recommend this in a heartbeat. Loved it!! I would come back just for this! It was a little taste of heaven!

- Okonomiyaki: Deep-fried pancake with Tonkatsu sauce and mustard mayo. This was similar in taste to the Takoyaki. It must've been partly due in part to the sauce. The food part was quite similar to the octopus balls as well, in the sense that it was also quite loose and fluffy (not as fluffy as the octopus balls, though). But overall, I thought this tasted similar enough to the octopus ball to give this the same second-place rating.

- Oden: An assortment of Japanese-style hotpot items, including egg, radish, squid & fish cake, puffed fish cake, deepfried tofu and bamboo shoot. Okay, this was the last thing we ordered, and after being so impressed by most of the things that we had ordered, I have to say, I had high expectations. But this was quite disappointing. I found it to be salty and the flavour a little strange. I personally would not get this again.

- Unagi Doria: A rice dish topped with BBQ eel, mushroom and cheese. This was hands-down my favourite dish that night. The richness of this dish resembled that of risotto, but I guess what I would have guessed to be Japanese-style, because of the sauce. The sauce was sweet and thick, which made the rice taste absolutely heavenly. I would have never expected this combination of foods to taste so amazing. It was the perfect marriage of all the ingredients. I would recommend this in a heartbeat. Two thumbs way up!

One of my girlfriends absolutely adores cheesecake and we were going to order a slice of the Roasted Green Tea Cheesecake for dessert. Before doing so, however, we asked our waittress how big (I should say small) the slice was, and she indicated a little square with her hands. Not enough to share amongst three people! So we decided to go elsewhere for dessert. My friend suggested 7 West Cafe.

Location: 7 Charles Street West, Toronto (Yonge & Charles)

Date: March 13, 2011

Cuisine/Style: North American cafe

My thoughts:

We ordered the Dulce de Leche cheesecake, which for those of you who don't know, is a caramel cheesecake. It was very rich and creamy, which is good for a cheesecake. My cheesecake-loving friend really enjoyed and she definitely got her fill. However, I am not a big caramel person. I prefer rather plain or fruit cheesecakes. Also, the price was $6, which was a little pricey given the size. I think we should have stayed at the first restaurant. Oh well, I will be returning to that restaurant in the near future, and I will try it out!