Date Visited: Dinner on Wednesday Apr 16, 2014
Company: +Stuart, +Alex, & +Laura
During our day in Santa Monica/Venice Beach on our California road trip last month, +Laura wanted to check out the fish taco place from the movie I Love You Man. We had quite the walk from the Santa Monica Pier to Venice Beach but was finally able to find it after asking for some directions from locals without knowing the restaurant name. It was very empty when we got there even though it was dinner time. They have a sheltered patio with heat lamps and another indoor section about the same size with a large bar centralized in between, catering to both sides.
We were seated on the patio, but it was still chilly enough outside that the heaters had to be turned on. I'm surprised how many restaurants in California do this as it seems so counterproductive to me, but I guess locals like to enjoy their outdoors. Our waiter was very friendly and started us off with a plate of raw veggies and dip. The veggies we got included snap peas, radish, and jicama which were very refreshing and a light starter while we waited. We also had a fun time trying to think of the name of the white vegetable we were eating, which we ended up asking the waiter who also forgot and had to ask and let us know it was Jicama! He also offered us a second plate while we were waiting.
For drinks, we all split a pitcher of White Jose's Sangria at $33. The pitcher was more like a large mug or stein and filled about the four of our glasses evenly, it was topped with some cherries and orange slices. It was a refreshing drink with the slight taste of alcohol, not overpowering, and not too sweet either.
So for our main dishes, everyone got their famous Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos but I wanted to try something different on their menu as I wasn't really feeling tacos. They all thought I was nuts as we came to this place specifically for the 'best fish tacos in Venice Beach' (according to I Love You Man). I instead, got their Turkey Burger, which made me the center of some teasing for the remainder of the meal. I must admit though, when their Tacos came, it looked incredibly delicious. It wasn't prepped for them and had all the sides on the plate with a whole piece of mahi mahi ready for them to create themselves, I loved that. The Turkey Burger however, wasn't a bad decision, but it probably wasn't the best turkey burger Venice beach had to offer. The patty was constructed nicely but I was expecting a thicker smaller burger which looked more home-made, and the flavour was average. The fries however were extremely delicious and so crisp. It was a pretty plain meal for me. Do I regret not getting the Fish Tacos? Probably... but I can't reaallly answer that until I try them.
Food: 2/5 - OK turkey burger, very fresh ingredients in all their dishes though.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Nice atmosphere, a bit classier but still relaxed environment. Got a bit busier by the time we were leaving.
Service: 4/5 - Great service, very friendly waiter.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Yes for sure I would try their Fish Tacos next time I was in Venice Beach :)
Overall: 3.5/5
Website: http://www.jamesbeach.com/
Date Visited: Winterlicious Dinner on Wednesday Feb 5, 2014
Company: High School friends get-together of 5
There seems to be some force of nature that decides to make the weather go crazy every time my friends from high school and I decide to get-together for a dinner downtown Toronto. On this occasion, our reservation for 7 dwindled to group of 5 that made it out on the night of a huge Toronto snowfall. We took the GO Train, TTC subway, and street car to make our reservation at 7PM at Harlem Underground at Queen West, go us :)
We entered from the snow and wind to the warm and cozy Harlem Underground. There were sheets insulating the doors and heaters blasting this small, hip restaurant. We were seated in a corner where I believe the heat was right under our seats, which made it scorching the whole time we were there. There was another section beside us in the back which made the restaurant a bit bigger than it looks. The decor is very urban, although hard to appreciate at night with the dim lighting. Definitely something like you would find in the Queen West area, their menus are even plastered on vinyl.
Their drink special of the day was Sangria Pitchers which were $2 off from regular. We ordered the White Wine Fruit Punch with Sprite to share with the table. Each of our glasses came with some berries and we got a medium sized jug filled with our deliciously-looking Sangria. It was a great drink with the perfect amount of alcohol mixed in. I love that they let you customize your Sangria because this way you get exactly what you like!
To start, I choose the Catfish Lafayette which were deep-fried breaded morsels of catfish with a sweet chili sauce and chipotle-type mayo on the side. The pieces were very light and bite-sized for dipping and sharing (although no one else wanted to try them). The catfish was very tender and steaming once you bit in. I really enjoyed this dish, the flavour was nice with the different sauces and wasn't too heavy to start off the meal (despite how it looks).
For my main, I had to get the Southern Fried Chicken and Waffles, it was the reason why we came! They had a lot of great options to try on their Winterlicious menu, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to finally try the southern combo of chicken and waffles. The plate came with 2 drumsticks, 1 thigh, 4 waffles, a small salad, and 3 sauces on the side (sweet chili, syrup, gravy). It was an overwhelming looking plate filled with lots of colour and appeal. I first smothered my pancakes with the maple syrup then did the same with the gravy and chicken. I don't mind my foods (sweet and savories) mixing at all so that was the only way I found to eat everything! The pancakes were heavy and filling so I had minimal bites of that and focused on the chicken during the meal. The chicken was extremely juicy and cooked perfectly. The skin was crispy but could have had more flavour, I think KFC or Popeye's chicken has more than Harlem's. It didn't seem very southern/Caribbean either. The gravy was a delicious addition to the chicken though and gave it a bit more oomph. In the end, I was actually underwhelmed by the taste of the dish and the maybe the hype? I think the novelty of having chicken and waffles was more big of a deal than actually eating it. I'm not the biggest fan of waffles and syrup to begin with and I thought it was just a filler on the plate. The chicken was good (not great) but it would have been better paired with a different side.
For my dessert, I got the Almond Chocolate Kisses with no idea what to expect with the name. It ended up being a small chocolate cookie decorated with icing sugar. It was crisp and hard on the outside but moist in the center. The almond flavour was very prominent but the chocolate was very rich and I couldn't even finish this small dessert.
Food: 2.5/5 - Overall, food was a bit bland for a restaurant known for flavourful soul food. Extremely filling though!
Decor: 3/5 - Liked how it looked but wayyy too hot in there!
Service: 2/5 - Mediocre, a bit slow.
Willingness to go back: 1/5 - Would maybe go to the other location as it's closer but nothing pulling me back here.
Overall: 2/5
Website: http://www.harlemrestaurant.com/#underground
Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Oct 12, 2013
Company: Thanksgiving weekend reunion lunch with +Elliott, +Stanley, +Will, +Brian, & +Alex
While planning a reunion lunch during the long Thanksgiving weekend with some friends, I was trying to decide what area of Toronto was best for everyone to meet as we're all located in different areas of the GTA. While the toss-up was between Don Mills and Yorkdale Mall, both with great restaurants, Yorkdale had the easier accessibility. I tried to make a reservation on the Thursday before the planned date and JOEY responded back that their large group reservations were full and usually book up weeks in advance. This made me worry because I know how busy their Eaton Centre location is for dinner. Either way, we decided to go for a walk-in as I really didn't believe it would be full on the long weekend. So we all gathered one-by-one outside the restaurant at Yorkdale and went in to discover that the place was only about half-full to my delight.
We were seated immediately in a large booth as a server came to take our drink orders. JOEY is considered a more upscale, but still casual dining place with locations across Canada. They do cater for the more ritzy crowd and I notice that they have many young good-looking employees staffing the restaurant. This location was huge with TVs everywhere and an upstairs as well. It was a beautiful day so the sun was shining through the many large windows to show off the sharp decor of the restaurant. It couldn't have been a more fitting day to get a Summer Sangria which was on special for $6. The sangria was filled with berries and some orange coloured slush, which made it even more delicious than a regular sangria. I loved this drink and is probably my favourite sangria I've had at a restaurant so far. It's sweet and fruity where you can't even taste the alcohol :)
Their food menu is very extensive with a variety of culture (Sushi section) but also to sticking to classics. There are many interesting options and prices are mid-ranged. I wasn't feeling too hungry so I decided to just go for the Soup with Salad. The Soup of the Day was some Chicken, Vegetable, and Rice mix and it was very tasty with many seasonings. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't even fill the bowl all the way to the top and the soup was hot, but not steaming which I would have preferred. The House Salad was delicious, topped with almonds, feta, random shaved vegetables, and a house vinaigrette that wasn't too heavy. It also came with some Garlic Bread, it was a pretty big piece and the bread was nicely toasted and soft on the inside.
+Will and I also ordered Cheeseburger Sliders to share. They had pickles and a secret sauce on them and it was all it needed really. They were so cute and easy to eat but smaller than I had expected. Nothing too special about them, it was an okay dish. They came with side of chips which were a bit bland as it had no seasoning.
Food: 3/5 - Dishes weren't bad, fresh ingredients all around though.
Decor: 5/5 - Loved the decor here, so elegant and chic.
Service: 2/5 - Took quite long to get our dishes.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Would definitely check out JOEY's again! Perfect place for a classy get-together.
Overall: 3.5/5
Website: http://www.joeyrestaurants.com/
Date Visited: Summerlicious Lunch on Saturday Jul 6, 2013
Company: Party of 9, SJ reUnion
Summertime is upon us which means for me, reunions over Summerlicious meals! I checked out many of the menu options online and we had decided on Pure Spirits because I wanted to go to a seafood restaurant and they had a nice variety of dishes to satisfy the different tastes in our group. Pure Spirits is also located in the nice Toronto neighbourhood of the Distillery District which I thought would be a nice hang-out location prior or post lunch.
It was an extremely hot Saturday afternoon so we decided to sit on the patio to enjoy the beautiful weather. We had made a reservation for 12 people that apparently they could only do two tables of 6, but our group on the day of was only 9 which they were nicely able to accomodate. Their patio area was huge and I was checking out other people's foods and drinks on the walk to our table. Their drinks all were very pretty and they had a nice selection of Sangrias, Mojitos, and Virgin Cocktails all which were around $10 and $5 for the non-alcoholic drinks. I ordered a Rose Sangria that was $11 and quite pricey IMO but I usually don't order girly drinks like that so that might be their average price. It was very delicious though with pieces of green apple and lemon floating in the drink, but it wasn't as sweet as I was expecting it to be.
For the foods, I decided to go for the seafood dishes to get the full experience of the oyster bar. Many of the other customers seemed to be having the mussels and it looked like a good portion size. After we placed our full order, we had a nice basket of rolls to enjoy. I've actually had never had Mussels Provencal before and was very excited to try them as I've only had them prepared in Chinese dishes. What I enjoyed about them after having a taste is how flavourful they were and the unique flavour they had. Who would think that the combination of white wine, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs would be so delicious? The broth was quite salty but I assume that is to get the flavour in the mussels because they were fine. The rolls were perfect for dipping the extra broth in, but I couldn't have too much of that either because of the saltiness.
For my entree, I ordered the Haddock and Chips. It was quite the toss-up between that and the Jerk Chicken Sandwich but I think either choice would have been good because everyone seemed to be satisfied with their food well into the meal. The fish was extremely hot as it probably came straight out of the deep fryer and it didn't help with the beaming sun either which really exposed the oiliness. The haddock was very tender and just a nice looking piece of fish on the plate. The homemade tartar sauce didn't impress me much because it didn't have too much flavour, it was mostly mayo. There wasn't many fries on the plate either but it was a very filling amount overall so I'm glad they didn't try to overload you with it. The dill coleslaw was very refreshing and light, I'm usually impartial to coleslaw but this was a much needed complement to the dish.
To finish, I had the Peanut Butter and Cream Pie which was pretty unique, I've never had anything like it. The pie crust was quite sturdy and you could just eat everything inside without breaking the hard crust at all. It was topped with a rich peanut butter and a custard-like base. There was also a raspberry sauce at the bottom that gave the dessert a nice sour berry flavour. I wasn't really a fan of the peanut butter, I found it too sweet and had to have extra of the other elements to balance it out. It was a cute little dessert and concept but I wasn't the biggest fan. The custard was very good (but I love custard), but everything else was just okay. I found the combination of flavours kind of random and didn't find they went well together.
Food: 3.5/5 - Very satisfying Summerlicious meal :)
Decor: 4/5 - Large patio and cool interior.
Service: 3.5/5 - Waitress was really good to us!
Willingness to come back: 3.5/5 - If i was in the area, I'd definitely try to drop by but it is quite pricey.
Overall: 3.5/5
Website: http://purespirits.ca/
