The Corner Place

Date Visited: Breakfast on Sunday Jun 21, 2015

Company: +Will

After an interesting night at the New Pornographers NXNE show at Yonge-Dundas Square, Will and I got up surprisingly early, hungry for some breakfast. Apparently it was too early for +Stuart, so we left him to sleep as we headed out to find a place to eat. I was around 10AM so I thought there wouldn't be a line at George Street Diner, but I was wrong. Next we went to try Le Petit Dejuner but it was randomly closed. We finally just kept on walking towards the St. Lawrence Market to try to find a place that was open. After passing the Jason George which wasn't open until 11AM, we came upon The Corner Place, somewhere I've never really taken notice of before. It was empty but they said they were open which was good enough for us. It was a bright and sunny day so we decided to sit on their beautiful patio overlooking the St. Lawrence Market.. 

Their board on the street advertised $3 Mimosas so we obviously had to start with one of those. They were a pretty good deal for the price, it was served in a champagne flute filled to the top and I've paid much more for a mimosa that size. It was delicious though which was most important of all. They had a lot of interesting options on their brunch menu, most containing a Mexican flair. I chose to have the Market Breakfast which was a Brioche with Peameal bacon, Fried Egg with Onion, Cheddar Cheese, Dijon, Tomatoes and Arugula. Our orders didn't take very long this early in the morning as the patio just started to fill up now. I loved the colours on the plate of my breakfast, it made me very excited to eat everything. The potatoes seemed pretty greasy but I like that they cut up bigger pieces of red potatoes. The brioche was quite the sandwich to try to eat, I didn't realize the egg was over easy so when I smushed it together, the yolk ran everywhere. I wasn't really expecting to get a sandwich in the first place when I ordered this but I was very happy with what I got, everything was cooked perfectly and good flavours. The fruits were a nice addition to have overall. 

I wasn't expecting much with The Corner Place as it was basically a last resort for brunch but I would definitely return! I was pleasantly surprised on how good our food was and at reasonable prices for the area.

Food: 3.5/5 - Lots of cool things to try here at good prices, especially drink specials!
Decor: 4/5 - Awesome patio for people watching.
Service: 3.5/5 - No complaints, really good.
Willingness to return: 4.5/5 - Definitely would come back for brunch or any other meal.
Overall: 4/5

Website: http://www.thecornerplace.ca/about

Burger's Priest

Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Jun 27, 2015
Company: Take-out with +Will Ives

+Will, +Alex, +Brian, and I had plans to see Jurassic World on a rainy Saturday afternoon in the Entertainment District before heading to a Birthday BBQ for the evening. After meeting at Scotiabank Theatre and seeing that our showing was sold out already, we decided to grab lunch before catching the next show. Will remembered that a new Burger's Priest had opened up in the area right by the Burrito Boyz/Smoke's Poutinerie building so we headed in that direction. Will and I went over to get burgers while Alex went to get a burrito.
Will and I climbed the steps and entered new and shiny new Burger's Priest location complete with a flashy sign outside. It had ample standing room on brand new hardwood and limited tables around the perimeter of the space. We walked up and took a look at the menu for a bit, I was a bit confused on what The Option and The Priest were. Apparently, The Option is two breaded and deep-fried portabello mushrooms with cheese in the middle. The Priest is The Option + a Cheeseburger which is what I ended up getting with a few more condiments. We found a table to sit at to wait for our burgers to be made... timing was an issue due to our movie so we headed straight back to Burrito Boyz once we got our orders. Surprisingly, Alex hadn't gotten his burrito yet... I thought ours would take longer but it must have took about 10 minutes (seemed forever!).

I unwrapped my burger to see a monstrosity of a thing to eat, I was dumbfounded on how to even begin the first bite! Nonetheless, I went for it, and it was amazing... cheese oozed out of The Option like lava... what a sight. Bite after bite, more cheese kept on coming out of no where, it was heavenly for me. I was very impressed on how contained and structurally sound the option was, hardly messy! The cheeseburger part was simple but also delicious, it was incredible how great these two paired up together. We shared some fries from Will's combo and they were pretty good too. Very standard but I enjoyed the size and soft texture, not so much on the crispy side.

I think everyone should try Burger's Priest, it's definitely worth the $10 you spend on the burger. I can't imagine coming here very often unless I wanted to become obese so prepare yourself for it!

Food: 4.5/5 - Wish I didn't have to eat it in a rush so I could savoir each bite!
Decor: 3/5 - Very clean and fresh, not much decor going on yet though.
Service: 3/5 - Wait time was pretty standard.
Willingness to go back: 2.5/5 - Worth bringing noobies to try it but I wouldn't regular the spot!
Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://www.theburgerspriest.com/

Kinton Ramen 4

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Jun 26, 2015

Company: +Will Ives 

Will and I had plans to go on an Escape Room double date in North York and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some good Korean food since we were in the area... little did I know that they had a Kinton Ramen down the street from where we were going! It also turned out that my dad brought back some take-out pork bone soup for lunch that day so I already had my Korean fix. I was very excited to try Kinton since I've heard the name so many times. 

The location looked pretty small from the outside and like your typical noodle bar. We entered to the staff yelling (welcoming) us in and were seated for two at the bar as the rest of the place was already full. It was pretty hot where we were as the staff was right in front of us preparing the soups. It was definitely interesting to see but it made a difficult to talk with all of their yelling. It was a fun atmosphere though and made for a lively dinner.

The menu is very easy to understand, they direct you step-by-step how to place an order and I went with the Regular Original Pork Broth with Thick Noodles and Pork Shoulder. We watched all the orders being made and it was fun being on the front line for that to see their process. I was a bit surprised on how fatty the broth was when I first got it, especially for a regular. Nonetheless, the broth tasted good, pretty rich. The pork shoulder was delicious, such amazing flavour with each bite! The egg was also cooked perfectly, still a bit runny on the inside. The noodles were also amazing, excellent quality and fresh. I can see why Kinton has built up such a good establishment, they really use the finest of ingredients.

Food: 4/5 - Excellent ingredients, only complaint is the fattiness of the broth.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Very clean and simple with wooden decor.
Service: 4/5 - Quick in turning customers over, fast to get the ramen.

Willingness to go back: 2.5/5 - Lots of options to try, would try to go to another location.
Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://www.kintonramen.com/

Arkadia House

Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Jun 20, 2015
Company: Walk-in for 6 with the girls pre-bridesmaid dress shopping

In preparation for +Joslynn's wedding, the girls and I planned a date to go into David's Bridal to try on some bridesmaid dresses. Our appointment was just on a Saturday afternoon just after lunch so I decided to find a place for all of us to eat beforehand. While looking, I was pleasantly surprised at all the options I found, there were a ton of nice places to try in the industrial area. The bride made the final call in getting some Greek food.

We all met at the restaurant just before noon and the large restaurant was empty at this time. We got a big round table for 6 in the centre of the restaurant. We all admired the lovely decor and how fancy and cultured it looked. We got some bread to start as we checked out their menu. The butter we got was rock hard though so it was very difficult to spread over the bread. Most of us chose something from the lunch menu as the prices were cheaper than dinner and we probably couldn't finish all the food from a dinner plate. The waiter was very friendly and was attentive as he needed to be.

I ordered the Chicken Souvlaki with Greek Salad and Potatoes and the portion size was perfect. Everyone also thought the plates the food was served on was super cute. The chicken was very tender and juicy, great flavour also. I'm not a fan of very thick tzatziki sauce but the flavour was delicious despite this. The potatoes were pretty boring, not enough flavour and a bit dry. The greek salad was delicious, the dressing was thick, creamy, and rich if that's what you like! It was a good authentic meal at a reasonable price.

Food: 3.5/5 - Authentic and good flavours.
Decor: 4/5 - Spacious with lots of lighting and Greek decor!
Service: 3/5 - Really good, only a bit slow at the end to get the bill.
Willingness to go back: 3.5/5 - Would definitely go there again!
Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://www.arkadiahouse.com/

Portico

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Jun 19, 2015
Company: +Will

Will and I decided to go for a nicer dinner to catch up after a few crazy weeks. We've passed by Portico which is attached to the Cambridge Suites Hotel many times but have never eaten there. I was looking for places in the area and decided to make a reservation to check it out. It was not busy at all around 7PM on a Friday as I think we were the first ones there for dinner. The decor is very classy and has an atmosphere for finer dining, very fitting for the hotel scene. Their water is infused with various fruits which was pretty cool and different from the classic lemon water.

Their menu was pretty limited with only a few options and all on the pricier side. Once we ordered, we got some buns to start. We got about 3 which was an odd number, and all of them were different. Nothing to special about the bread, but they had two types of butter which were really good.

For my main, I had the Seafood Riscotto with Sautéed Tiger Shrimp, Sea Scallops, Sweet Pepper, Leek, Roast Tomatoes, and Garlic Lobster Butter. The plate was huge but the portion was smaller than I expected. I didn't love this dish, the riscotto was plain with just a tomato sauce and it could have been cooked more thoroughly. There were only 2 scallops which were overcooked which made them hard on the sides. The shrimp was really good and large but the flavour wasn't quite there overall.

Will ordered Portico’s Famous Pad-Thai, I had a bite or two but I could hardly find any noodles in there, lots of veggies! But the flavour seemed on point and Will enjoyed it.

By the time we were done, a few more people where there, mostly from the hotel as they seemed to be on business trips by themselves. The enjoyed the setting as it was very quiet and the waitresses were very attentive. Surprisingly good service!

Food: 2.5/5 - Not my favourite and a bit pricey
Decor: 3/5 - Super fancy and clean but a but too much so...
Service: 4/5 - Great!
Willingness to go back: 1/5 - Definitely wouldn't go out of my way to return, much better restaurants in the area.
Overall: 2.5/5

Website: http://www.porticorestaurant.ca/