BnB (Burgers and Bistro)

Visited: Dinner on Friday May 3, 2013

Company: Party of 8 for +Stanley's weekend home from NYC.

I don't exactly remember where I found out about this restaurant... it just came up somehow while I was browsing for places to have dinner for +Stanley's 'return to Toronto' weekend. But the day before we were going, I was doing some research and I became a little bit skeptical about the restaurant. Mostly because it is situated inside a hotel, I was worried that it would just be overpriced, mediocre food. Either way, we headed to the Sheridan Hotel on Friday afternoon (after +Stanley got drunk after one beer) to find BnB. 

Even walking through the lobby of the hotel, we saw a wide range of people, from the super classy to average Joe's. We were somewhere in between varying in outfits from hoodies to business casual. The restaurant was definitely on the classy side, but that's pretty expected for the Sheridan Hotel.

I was debating getting a burger prior to dinner but they looked pretty good as they were being served to other customers. I decided to get the Chicken Burger Caprese, with a side of sweet potato fries. When we all got our burgers, I noticed that the toppings were all over the place, cheese covered half the burger while the red pepper was on the half. The actual chicken patty was definitely frozen prior and felt very processed, like something I could get from the grocery store. +Gisele pointed out that the burgers were also very charred, as the flames in the kitchen were very high. She also didn't enjoy how messy her Steak and Egg Burger was to eat, with the egg yolk running all over.I think the bun was the redeeming quality of the overall burgers, I really enjoyed the flavour and variety of seeds on it. However, +Will created his own burger and didn't like the bun he chose. I also tried his milk shake but found it extremely sweet. The creativity of the burgers were also enjoyable, there is a unique combination of toppings on each. I surprisingly thought the arugula added a lot to my burger... at least the toppings were fresh. +Brian's Bison Burger with the drunken cheddar was an interesting looking meal to say the least. The sweet potato fries were average at best but +Alex's Chipotle Mayo really added a nice spicy kick to them. 

I was lucky to find a 20% off coupon online for this place so i was pretty happy with that. We paid $20 each for our meals. But my prediction prior was fairly accurate, the restaurant attempts to serve high class food and prices for the hotel crowd but falls short in crafting their food in the most important details.

Food: 2/5 - Nice toppings and bun but how can you mess up the main part of the burger

Decor: 2/5 - 'Hotel class', fancy but not my crowd

Service: 2.5/5 - Not the fastest, but might have to do with our party size

Likeliness to go back: 0.5/5 - No desire

Overall: 2/5

Website: http://www.bnbtoronto.com/

Bob's Bulgogi

Visited: Lunch on Friday Apr 26, 2013

Company: Got take-out for myself while working from +Will's

I was first introduced to Bob's Bulgogi by +Will, and for those who aren't aware, his preferred choices when we're deciding where to go to eat is always Bob's and mostly because it's the closest food place in proximity to him. Usually we would try to go there on weekends, but it was a rare occasion to find it actually open, especially last summer when they were going through some construction. So of course when i was working from Will's on Friday, there was talk of Bob's and since I knew it would be open, I decided to get some take-out during my lunch break.

At first look, it's quite the hole in the wall, situated in between a corner store and waxing place? It has only room for about 4 people to sit and eat, so it's definitely a take-out place. It was pretty busy on Friday at noon which was something I hadn't seen before, only having gone on weekends prior. The kitchen is quite open which is nice, so you can see your food cooking. They have individual containers of vegetables portioned off and a large container of marinated meat you see them take to cook. They also offer complementary miso soup on the counter you can serve and they ask if you want kimchi as well. The one guy taking your orders is really nice, and the other guy just cooks.

I ordered the Spicy Beef Bulgogi for the first time. Will always got us the chicken before and even though it's still good, it is definitely no signature Korean beef bulgogi.  I got back to Will's to have the food and it was really nice just to sit, eat this by yourself, and enjoy. The portion size was generous and they have a nice amount of rice under the meat. It wasn't too spicy and the sweetness was perfect. The beef was so tender and flavourful and there was a nice mix of veggies in there too. It's hard to want to order anything else, but I saw them cook an order of noodles and that looked amazing too.

Food: 4/5 - Does bulgogi justice.

Decor: 3/5 - Extremely small but open kitchen is nice and clean.

Service: 3/5 - Super nice guys working the place and remembers your orders.

Likeliness to come back: 4.5/5 - I've been converted.

Overall: 3.5/5

Website: none

Santouka Ramen

Visited: Early dinner Sunday Apr 21, 2013

Company: Had planned to go after the Jays game with group of 8

With the popularity of ramen growing as rapidly as it has in Toronto the last year, I knew I had to go big for my first experience. I had heard about the hype of Santouka from +Gisele and +Mohan both recently, a noodle bar with people lining down the street to get in and raving reviews everywhere. I was rather excited to taste the epic-ness of this crazed ramen finally, and to experience it with both foodies and non.

When we arrived, there was only one group in front of us, but it was always a worry to be in a group of 8 going to a restaurant with very limited seating. We were told it would be a wait of 5-10 minutes, but really depended on how fast people would be. Waiting in line was quite an interesting time, being asked for money by strangers and getting chirped by someone on the bus for waiting in line to get into the restaurant. The anticipation was building, as were our appetites  Luckily, everyone stuck it out and waited to be seated rather then getting sushi instead :P.   

You can tell from the menu that they aren't messing around, with only four ramen choices and some rice dishes, it's pretty obvious what you should be getting. I decided on a combo to try both. I chose the Shio Ramen which is their signature dish and because I like creamy broths, paired with the Negi Meshi Rice Bowl which I had found out that is topped dried bonito which is a fish (not a vegetable as believed by +Mohan). There is also a minimum order of about $10 in case you were interested in waiting in line just to get an ice-cream. +Jérémie also requested that I point out that butter is $1 on the menu.

Ok, now on to the ramen... They were actually pretty quick with the orders and were presented quite appealingly. I was so excited but had to take a few photos for the blog first... but with that wait, that first spoonful of broth was just heavenly. The taste was very rich with flavour and not too creamy, I don't even know how else to describe it. The temperature was so perfect though, they have that down to a tee. The noodles were good but nothing special, and the toppings were an interesting combo but fun to try with the group discussing what things were. I got quite full from it after a few bites though, maybe it was the salt? I know others had complaints of the fattiness of the meat and in the soup but I think that just comes with Asian cooking. The rice was...rice but I didn't quite enjoy the bonito flakes, it was a lot more fishy then I had hoped so I was basically just having rice with green onions, and that's just weird. I would just go for the ramen next time, the portion was decent sized for myself and didn't stuff me but maybe for others it was too small. I couldn't see myself coming for a meal here, maybe when you're only a bit hungry. 

So that was my first ramen experience... I think after a few more go's, I'll enjoy it more and may have better reviews? Just like all foreign foods, you have to acquire a taste for it and even though I enjoyed the ramen, I don't understand the hype for it. Maybe all the other ramen places are bad and I just don't know because I went straight for the best, but I guess I will find out eventually. Looking through the photos, I definitely crave ramen but it didn't leave that much of a lasting impression on me. What did everyone else think?

Food: 3.5/5 - Good ramen, okay rice.

Decor: 4/5 - Clean, simple, tight, super Asian.

Service: 4/5 - Very friendly staff, I was actually surprised they weren't stuck up and were really nice to us noobies.

Likeliness to come back: 1.5/5 - Would like to try the other broths, but wouldn't wait in line for this.

Overall: 3/5

Website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/en/