A lunch date with my boss landed us at Strada 241, a fancy looking place close to China Town. The menu was very Italian and I had to Google a few things to make sure I knew what it was. We ordered the Gianpolo Pizza which was supposed to have a wild boar, but the person I was with didn’t eat pork so we asked if they could leave it off. Substitutions were not allowed but we were allowed to leave ingredients off. The result of our order was a gluten free pizza with spinach and mushroom. I’m not a health conscious person, but I actually enjoyed the gluten free pizza. It did not break apart or taste weird.
We also shared this cured salmon salad with fennel, onions, peppers and more. It was very fresh tasting and I think I may have enjoyed this more than the pizza.
I think I may come back later with Nash so we can order the more meaty (and less healthy) looking items on the menu! I’ll be back with an update later.
For my birthday, I hit up Union Social Eatery at their Mississauga location with my family and Nash. We ordered a little bit of everything from the menu.
As a starter Nash had the Killer Soup ($4.95). The type of soup varies every day and his was a Potato Bacon. He said it was okay, but it had corn which was unexpected and less creamy than he thought it would be.
These Parmesan Truffle Fries ($7.84) were very flavourful and addictive. The truffle flavour was only from the oil but that didn’t stop me from eating them all.
The Korean Short Rib Tacos ($9.96) melted in my mouth.
The House Braised Short Rib Firecracker was crunchy and served with a sweet chilli sauce.
Since it was my birthday I thought I’d try the Social Punch which was made with Amaretto, Southern Comfort, orange, cranberry and pineapple juice. It was so delicious I drank it before our food came.
My sister’s main was the Thai Red Curry Bowl ($13.96).
A few people ordered the Steak and Sushi which was a cute take on surf and turf. The steak was cooked in a Korean beef sauce and sliced and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The shrimp in the sushi was fried and it had a nice crunch.
Nash had the Korean Swordfish Steak ($18.98) served with veggies. I’ve never had swordfish before and I enjoyed that it wasn’t fishy tasting.
I ordered the Steak Frites ($19.73) but since I ordered truffle fries as an appetizer, I replaced it with a Candy House Salad. The steak was very juicy and flavourful. The Candy House salad was sweet and there were mini surprises of figs, mango, walnuts and more in every bite.
All the food was beautiful and delightful and I would definitely recommend it for a nice night out.
On Friday, I attended Joylister’s Grilled Cheese Festival. The premise was that we paid $39.99 ($45 with tax) for an all-you-can-eat grilled cheese and soup experience that included 4 drink tickets. We did a similar non-Joylister event, Burger Day, during the summer and loved it so we thought Grilled Cheese Festival would be something like it. I didn’t take any photos of Grilled Cheese Festival because we were in a frantic mood to try everything. I did however, have this vlog of our first hour:
I didn’t capture the chaos that ensued afterwards. Joylister had totally oversold the event and by 7pm the Roy Thompson Hall lobby was so full of people you could hardly move. My friends arrived during this time and were stuck outside for half an hour before being let in. Me and Nash felt really bad for them so we lined up in separate lines to help our friends get their share of food and drinks. The two of us were lucky because we lined up before doors and were able to sample the majority of things within an hour. There were only 12 vendors and it was ultimately underwhelming, especially for $45. I was surprised when I found out that only half the lobby had vendors. My favourite picks from the night included the Tandoori Chicken sandwich from Market Fresh, that most people ignored. A stand-out soup included the Tomato Feta & Basil from Soup N’ Such.
Personally, the overselling of tickets didn’t affect me because I came early but I felt like what I got for $45 wasn’t worth that price point. Burger Day was $30 and I was completely satisfied with my experience. I don’t know what Joylister did with our money, especially since it was beyond sold out and there wasn’t enough food to feed all.
The vendors themselves were friendly, and worked as hard as they could, despite not expecting the chaos that would ensue. The guy running the bakery stand even offered those that stayed till the end some full-sized pretzels to take home. Cheesewerks is giving out free sandwiches this weekend for those with tickets. I felt bad for sponsors that had to tie themselves to a disastrous festival. Look at this adorable ketchup bottle I won from the Indie88 booth!
Anyways, I don’t think I’ll be attending another Joylister event until they get their stuff together and I hear some better reviews.
Last night’s food adventure took us to Barrio Coreano, a fusion taco place in Koreatown by the owners of Playa Cabana. It was not difficult to find as you could see the flashy inside which stood out from the mom and pop Korean restaurants that surrounded it. The décor was in colourful and bright. Lights flashed. The music was loud but it wasn’t difficult to have a conversation. We were seated instantly. The place went a lot deeper than most places in the area.
The menus were written on large chalkboards on the wall. We had to stand up to read them, but it wasn’t that awkward. I liked the informal feel of the atmosphere. It was very inviting and everybody seemed to be enjoying their time. Our waiter took her time to welcome us and get us acquainted with the famous Playa Cabana hot sauces. Food was made fresh and to order so everything didn’t come together, but that was okay because it gave us breaks to recover.
Salmon Ceviche
As a starter, I ordered the Salmon Ceviche ($9). I thought it would come in a dinky little glass to be eaten with a spoon. That’s how much ceviche you usually get for that price at other place. I was surprised when we got a bowl of ceviche with tortilla chips. They are very generous with the portions. The ceviche was fresh, and it wasn’t fishy at all. Even Nash (who doesn’t normally like Salmon) was enjoying the dish.
I had a Soju Sangria ($9) to sip on. Soju is plum wine and it was mixed with unknown fruits. A starfruit sat on top as a decoration. It was sweet but just what I needed on a Friday night.
Chihuahua & Tofu Taco
Two of Nash’s tacos came first. One of them was the Chihuahua and Tofu Taco ($5). Before our waiter explained it as a cheese from the province of Chihuahua, I actually thought they might have put the scrawny dog on the menu. The cheese had an interesting taste. It was a sort of like blue cheese, strong at first, but without the after taste. I liked it.
Korean Beef Taco
The other taco was the Korean beef taco ($5). The beef was marinated in Kalbi sauce to give it the Korean twist.
Yuzu Tuna Taco
I was already getting full on the ceviche and bites of Nash’s tacos when my two tacos came. I always make a habit of trying fish tacos everywhere so I ordered the Yuzu Tuna ($5) and Chipotle Kambungki Chicken. The fish was nicely cooked and topped with a slaw that also had kimchi. I really enjoyed the Chipotle Chicken taco.
Chipotle Kabungki Chicken
The chicken was battered (but not heavily) and flavoured sweet chili sauce. There was also jalapenos, radish and onions which made a crunchy and delicious taco.
Grilled Octopus Taco
Nash’s third taco was a Grilled Octopus Taco ($5). It was served with wasabi salsa which I thought would be empowering but totally wasn’t. The octopus was nicely cooked and not chewey at all.
We ordered a lot of food, but next time we know that it is unnecessary. The food is very well-priced and worth every cent. With delicious places like this in Toronto, I don’t know why anybody would want to wait 2 hours to get into Grand Electric. The service at Barrio Coreano was friendly and pleasant, food was exquisite and we got our money’s worth in portions. I’m already planning my next visit back with friends!
I’m always up for trying burger places I haven’t been. I spotted W Burger Bar outside College station so me and Nash hit it up while we were in the area. The interior design was pretty fancy and I was actually surprised to find that the burgers were quite affordable. The menu contained bison, kobe beef, lamb, chicken and more. Both of us got bison burgers but added our own toppings. My burger had chipotle ketchup, bacon and sauteed onions. Nash added a portobello mushroom and monterey jack. I enjoyed my bison burger, it was nice and meaty and the ketchup was a nice pairing.
As a side, we shared an order of 1/2 sweet, 1/2 regular fries. I love that they had that as an option! It’s a great compromise for those that can’t decide and they gave us a decent amount for $3.50.
In the years we’ve dated so far, I have never actually eaten sushi with Nash. He had always said he wasn’t a fan or that he didn’t particularly enjoy salmon in general. Anyways, for some reason he changed his mind and we ended up at Rikishi around Ossington Station. We found the menu endearing in the fact that there were many spelling errors including “Riquer” instead of liqueurs. Instead of Bento meals, we took the pricier route and ordered a bunch of small things.
We sampled two sushi rolls, the spicey salmon and spicy scallop (pictured above). Nash said he couldn’t taste the salmon (which I guess is a good thing since he doesn’t normally like it). Even when you dipped them in soy-sauce the scallop and salmon were battered enough that it was still crunchy.
We also ordered the fried squid which was lightly battered and not heavy at all. There was also a generous portion for the price.
Out of curiosity I asked for the “Seafood-foil-yaki” (yes the actual name), which was literally a piece of buttered shrimp, scallop, salmon, onions wrapped in foil. It was my least favourite of the dishes but I was curious as to what it was and it was quite literal to its name.
I also got this raw octopus salad dish. It came in a sweet and sour dressing, much like the pickled carrots and radish that it included. Raw octopus is actually less fishy as you might expect.
I had a mini glass of plum wine. It was sweeter than the ones I have tried in the past.
For dessert, me and Nash had icecream. He had green tea and I opted for pumpkin out of curiosity as to what that would taste like. It was very sweet, a lot like custard but with a pumpkin-like texture. It actually be my new favourite flavour of icecream.
The bill was around $44. Considering we ordered from an A La Carte menu, with alcoholic drinks and dessert this was a fair price for a decent meal.
Situated behind Rose & Sons is what looks like someone’s fancy backyard picnic. We probably wouldn’t have stumbled on Big Crow if we weren’t specifically looking for it.
Rose & Sons is pretty new and they’ve already added this cool looking BBQ cook-out to its backyard. You can see the cooks grilling everything on the make-shift fire pit situated in the back. The atmosphere was very laid back. We were seated in between two other sets of customers. Plates are meant to be shared so we chose 2 selections from the “little crow” menu and one from the “big crow”.
The crow sizzling bacon (“little crow”) had a sweet ancho chili BBQ sauce. It was served with thuet bread and a little slaw, which we realized later were the only veggies we ate that night.
Also from the little crow menu was the miami ribs served with a creamy tzatziki sauce. This was a meal where using your hands and getting messy was necessary.
Our “big crow” and larger of the selections was this 1/2 rabbit. I’ve never had rabbit before and it reminded me a lot of pheasant. They were coated in a sweet and spicy hot sauce.
To wash down all the meat, me and Nash both had sweet teas.
We realized after we ordered that all we ordered was meat, but it was delicious. Like Homer in Simpsons said, “You can’t make friends with salad!” I’m not sure what will happen when the weather gets to cold to eat outside, so get your meat on while you can.
Lays sponsored a contest where people around Canada created new chip flavours. The winner gets $50,000 and 1% royalty from future sales.
Right now they’re down to four finalists, each of which have received $5000. I missed out on the Perogy Platter (because they were not available at the time) but I purchased the Caesar Salad, Maple Moose and Grilled Cheese and Ketchup flavoured chips.
The Grilled Cheese and Ketchup greatly resembled BBQ chips, but a little blander. The “cheese” could be tasted when I licked the chips. The Creamy Ceasar Salad chips tasted a lot like a tamer version of sour cream and onion chips with a hint of cheese and a bit of garlic. By far the most original flavour was the Maple Moose flavour. They reminded me of firewood and camping. It was kind of atrocious on the first bite, but they got strangely addictive after a while.
My bet on the winner is probably Maple Moose as it is the most unique. The US contest had a Sriracha flavour which I wish I could get my hands on!
Nash and I love adventure and for our anniversary we decided to dine in the dark at O.Noir. The restaurant, located at the corner of Church and Charles has two dinner services 5:45pm and 8:30pm. Dinner is a prix fixe with 2 courses at $32 and 3 courses at $39.
After placing our orders in a small lit bar area, we were led by our server into the pitch-black dining room. All the servers are legally blind. Our server guided us to the table with a hands-on-shoulder method. It was scary at first to rely only on another person’s voice, but I learnt to put my trust in our guide and found my way to the table. We were seated at the end of a row of tables beside a wall.
We began with some Long Island iced teas, which I made a conscious effort not to knock over. We were also brought bread which I failed to butter. It’s hard to judge how much butter I scooped on my knife in the dark, so there were blobs of it everywhere! I ordered the Surprises for three of my courses. Nash ordered from the menu for his appetizer and main dish. I think my appetizer was a salad with avocado, feta cheese, tomatoes and cranberries, at least I think they were cranberries. Nash had a grilled octopus salad. The octopus was very tender and not chewy.
I’m still trying to figure out what my surprise main was (I forgot to ask). There was green beans, mashed potatoes and what I think is steak in a mushroom sauce. Nash thinks it was pork. It was very flavourful. He ordered the shrimp and sun-dried tomato risotto. I had one of his shrimp and it was well seasoned and felt very large. We both had the surprise dessert which was a cheesecake, served on its side. Not sure what sort of cheesecake but I did taste coconut and pineapple. Maybe pina colada.
The whole experience was a lot of fun. Our appetizers and mains were served in plates that had edges like a bowl, so accidentally pushing the food off the plate wasn’t a concern. I did end up using my hands to help get food on my fork, and to feel if I was actually done each course. Technically I could have licked the plate and nobody would have noticed. It was interesting to have to rely on other senses to gauge our way in the dark. We could hear conversations around us and tried to figure out how close they were. I think there was one table separating us and the people beside us. There was a lot of accidental eye-poking to try to see how far away we were from each other.
During our entire meal, everybody kept up with the rules. Nobody pulled out a smartphone or let in any light. Conversations was plenty and it was definitely a memorable way to spend an anniversary!
Located across from the Mod Club, Hey Meatball is known for their meatball dishes of all kinds. Guy Fieri even visited the joint recently.Most of their dishes are around $12 and vary from sandwiches, pasta to polenta.
We started things off with some homemade soda. I originally ordered lime and Nash had orange. We ended up switching because we preferred each others’. You could tell by the pulp in the drinks that they were made fresh.
I tried the meatball, rib and sausage polenta, which was pretty much exactly as described. I loved the sausage and there was a good portion of it hidden beneath the potato mash!
Nash had the Rodfather sandwich which had three pork and beef balls with a veal bolognese sauce. There was a salad on the side. While delicious, it was a bit expensive for the portion size.
Hey Meatball I love your juicy balls, but I wish there was more of it!
We also shared this cured salmon salad with fennel, onions, peppers and more. It was very fresh tasting and I think I may have enjoyed this more than the pizza.
Tiana Feng 