Restaurant Reviews – Page 11

Desserts @ OCHO

May 28, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

My friend Melody and I recently stopped into Hotel Ocho for desserts and a drink. We are strangely similar people and we managed to order the exact same thing. A Raspberry Crême Brûlée with strawberries and shortbread. It was very delicious and had a sweet raspberry sauce to dip the cookie or spoon in!

It was also half price martini night, and I couldn’t resist ordering what was called I’m Sorry Your Face. Isn’t that a hilarious name for a cocktail? Anyways it was vodka, mango juice and sprite. It went down super easily.

While we didn’t have any of the meals yet, I can highly recommend the dessert and cocktail menu!

Steak Frites @ Burdock

May 13, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

I’m about to head out to Burdock for a show but last week I also had dinner there. It’s a trendy new bar with a small menu of snacks and mains. I opted for the Steak Frites (pictured above). It was buttery and delicious and I loved the sauces that it came with.

My friend and I also shared a mushroom and cheese crouton thing that was gone in two seconds.

They also had a great selection of local craft beers. I opted for an IPA called the Great Lakes Octopus Wants to Fight because who the hell could resist a name like that?

Persian Food @ The Pomegranate

May 10, 2015May 10, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

I tried Persian food for the first time at The Pomegranate in Toronto. I was with Nash and my friend Karol so we ordered a couple of different things.

For my main I ordered the morasa polo (pictured above): jewelled rice – slivers of seville orange peel, almond and pistachio with diced carrots and barberries blended in saffron basmati rice served with a braised lamb shank. The lamb was heavenly and fall off the bone. The rice was very flavourful with all the berries, fruit and saffron.

Nash ordered baqali polo: dill and large green fava beans blended into saffron basmati rice, served with a braised lamb shank and persian pickles. His shank also easily fell off the bone. I thought that dill would be too heavy a flavour for rice but the amount they had seemed to work very well!

My friend Karol had one of the specials (can’t remember the name), but it was a tomato-based stew of yellow split peas, lamb chunks and dried lime topped with cinnamon. It was also supposed to have egg plant but we couldn’t find it. The most interesting part was this whole lime that was in the stew.

We also shared a few sides. They came with a delicious bread that we had 2 baskets of. The first was this maast-e saadeh which was a fresh creamy yogurt dusted with dried mint and rose petals.

The second was zeitoon parvardeh, a sort of vegetarian caviar made from a tapenade of green olives marinated in a pomegranate walnut sauce with a generous amount of fresh garlic. This was strange at first but super duper addictive!

I also had a refreshing (but salty!) carbonated Doogh.

We downed all the food. The aromas and tastes were awesome and the prices were very reasonable. We can’t wait to go back! A reservation is recommended.

Delucious Delivery!

May 4, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to sample an order from Delucious, a new delivery service by Mom & Son team Mark and Lucy. Their mission is to help you eat more veggies. At the same time, this would aid Mark in helping his mom work less hours a week as a chef. If they could fulfill 100 orders a week, it would be enough.

They focus on traditional Korean side dishes. Our samples included Kimchi, seaweed stem, coleslaw, radish, spinach and bean sprouts. At the moment, Mark and Lucy only deliver between 7-11pm on Thursdays. Our order arrived at 8pm, personally delivered by Mark.

Everything was fresh, and generously seasoned. It was like I was eating a home cooked meal in a traditional Korean kitchen! As you know, Nash and I have had plenty of meals around Koreatown. They also have a suggested quick Instameal where you just put all the veggies over a bowl of rice and top it with a fried egg for a quick Bibimbap!

You can order your own sides from delucious.ca

Thanks Delucious for the complimentary order!

Sansotei Ramen

May 1, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

I recently stopped by Sansotei Ramen on Yonge Street by myself to have a relatively quick meal. The place was small and there were little booths and despite being alone I felt welcomed and well attended to by their staff, unlike other experiences eating alone.

I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen which had black fungus, egg and green onion. There was no swirly fish ball thing but the broth was thick and flaourful. I ordered mine with thick noodles. The serving was just right (not too much not too little). If the Dundas location is too full. I recommend this one which is not too far of a walk from there!

3 Different Cultures @ The People’s Eatery

April 29, 2015May 24, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

After a meetup, a couple friends and I hit up The People’s Eatery. It’s an interesting restaurant that has Jewish and Asian foods on the same menu. We opted to share a couple of dishes. In the picture above was the Indian Buffet Platter which had butter lamb, saag paneer, rice, pickled carrots, and more. I especially liked the lamb and paneer because they were very flavourful.

On the snack menu were these latkes with trout, sour cream and salmon roe. They were light and fresh.

Also from the snack menu were these sticky General Tso Fu which were a fun vegetarian take on General Tao Chicken.

The main star was the Peking Duck which was served “3 ways”. At first only what was in the above picture showed up so I was confused as to where the third duck preparation was. The lettuce wraps were lovely and I enjoyed their fried noodles. Their spin on traditional Peking Duck wraps were also interesting opting for pear instead of the traditional cucumber, carrot, onion mixture. Their “hoisin” sauce was also a little different, kind of like a black bean paste.

The miss on the “trio” was the consumé which was served separately. It reminded me of the soups my mom makes occasionally and tells me would heal my blood. This didn’t really float well with my non-Chinese friends because of it’s dark flavour.

Generally, I was quite pleased with the meal and it’s a perfect place to bring friends who are indecisive on what to eat. Here you can have a bit of different cultures!

Dinner With Friends @ The Comrade

April 25, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Before a show at The Opera House, my friends and I had dinner at The Comrade. We ended up here by chance. Our original restaurant pick was too full but this one had a nice casual atmosphere about it. I ordered the Hanger Steak ($19). It was a PEI grass-fed beef with roasted vegetables. The steak had a lovely butteriness to it.

To drink, I had one of their lovely cocktails, Gilded Radner, which was Tanqueray gin, Fernet Branca, Peychaud bitters, lemon juice, ginger syrup, cucumber and egg whites.

If you’re expecting a meal, this is not really the place to be. The Comrade is more about having drinks and sharing food with friends.

Carls Jr. Comes to Toronto

April 18, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

This afternoon I ventured into the newly opened Carl’s Jr on Queen West, the former home of HMV.

The burger joint joins the many American fast-food chains that have been making it’s way into the city. The menu was a little overwhelming looking and I was rushed by the cashiers to make a choice. I had the Teriyaki Burger with waffles fries because I can’t think of a single place in the city with waffle fries.

I liked the waffle fries, they were crispy and lightly salted. However, I found the burger very unappetizing. The patty had those weird holes like a McDonald’s burger and there was something really weird about the texture. The sauce was nice but in the end I couldn’t finish it because I couldn’t get over how unappetizing it felt.

For the price, I could’ve went down the street to any of the bajillion gourmet burger places on Queen Street, or even McDonald’s for something better.

Nordic Brunch @ Karelia Kitchen

April 11, 2015April 11, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews5 Comments

This morning I had brunch with friends at nearby Scandinavian restaurant Karelia Kitchen. I ordered the Potato Pancake $14 which had hot smoked trout, beet and horseradish cured gravlax, and a poached duck egg. There was also a strawberry and a yellow berry. Everything on the plate was super fresh and delicious.
I also added a side of smoked strip and loin bacon. The portion was a lot bigger than I expected! The bacon was brunchy and had just the right amount of salt.

We all drank coffee with our meal. Milk and sugar came in shot glasses which I thought was funny.

I couldn’t resist the desserts in the display so I chose the oreo cheesecake topped with berries which I believe were freeze dried and added a nice crunch.

I’m excited to discover a new spot in my neighbourhood to indulge in weekend brunch!

Brunch @ Queen Street Warehouse

April 4, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

This morning I had brunch at Queen Street Warehouse. It is the second restaurant in Toronto to be offering a menu where all food items are $4.95 all day everyday. Interestingly they sustain this through company sponsorships. A Redbull logo could be seen in the corner of the restaurant but I actually didn’t feel like I was being blatantly advertised to that much. The servers were all dressed like 80s rockers and the sign to the bathroom said “Free Air Guitar”. It was corny but worked for the type of establishment that catered to young university students on a budget.

I ordered the Fried Chicken Wafflewich (pictured above). The sandwich had buttermilk fried chicken, an apple coleslaw, bacon, mayo and a side of maple syrup which I happily drenched everything in. It was served with a side of “fries” which were really more like tater tots, but crunch and delicious. Everything in the wafflewich paired nicely together but I wish it was slightly bigger. Considering it was $4.95 I couldn’t really complain.

Nash ended up ordering two things because he was hungry and had a hunch that the portions would be smaller than normal. The first thing was a Baked Fritata with egg, roasted broccoli, carmelized onion, cheddar cheese, greens, pickled vegetables and green onion.

The second was The Chorizo Hash. He added extra hash for $1. It had a chipotle hollandaise, chorizo, onion, green pepper, scrambled eggs and more.

To drink I ordered the Warehouse Espresso which contained vodka, Toronto’s “Cut Coffee” beans, kahlua and cream. It was like an iced coffee with a zing in it.

I couldn’t resist getting dessert (since again it was $4.95) so I ordered the Fried Apple Pie which was served with a side of vanilla ice cream. The shape made me think of what it would look like if someone took a MacDonald’s Apple Pie and fried it. The filling was way better than a McDonald’s pie though, it was hot and fresh. The outside was crunchy with a thick breading. It was a bit messy to eat but worth getting my hands dirty.