Bistro '67

Date Visited: Lunch on Friday Apr 3, 2015
Company: +Stephanie

Bistro '67 is a restaurant I've been wanting to visit ever since I heard about its existence. It's unique because it's a teaching restaurant apart of the Durham College campus which focuses on local farm ingredients. They happened to be open on Good Friday which excellently timed with trying out their lunch menu as they are usually only open for dinner on Saturday during the weekends. I made a reservation for 2 at noon and drove into a fairly empty parking lot at the College's Centre for Food. I took my time walking around the building a bit before heading up to the second floor where the restaurant was located. It's a very new building with large windows and modern decor. I was the first one in the restaurant and the waitress seated me to one of the side tables beside the large glass walls with the bright sun shining in.

When +Stephanie arrived, we took a look at the menu which was filled with quite a few sandwiches, salads, and hot plates. I decided on the Muffulleta, layers of salami, mortadella, ham, Edwardsburg cheese with spicy relish. Their Soup was a Carrot and Coconut with a cilantro creme and bacon bits which I also opted for because it sounded amazing. We really enjoyed talking about the restaurant and how cool it looked. They even had a screen which projected a live video of the chefs making our food in the kitchen!

Our waitress was also sweet and told us about their drink specials but all I was craving was a caesar. She brought me the Caesar '67 in a long, tall glass and it looked pretty appetizing. I thought the juice was a bit too thick, maybe they used tomato juice and not clamato? The spiciness was on point though.

Our lunches came extremely quickly (only ones there still!). I wasn't quite sure what to expect with the Muffulleta (never heard of the word before) but it looked like a very large panini with lots of meats in the middle. What they stated on the menu was exactly what you got. I thought there would be a bit more toppings in the sandwich, not just the relish. There was a lot of meat and the cheese was nicely melted but though the relish was salty, it didn't add much flavour. It was a bit plain for my liking, I could probably whip this up myself if I had a panini press... but at $13, I can't really complain.

The Soup on the other hand was a different story. The combination of carrot and coconut was creamy and delicious, I didn't mind the little pieces of carrots in there either. The creme on top was a bit spicy and added another complexity to the soup. The bacon bits were minimal but huge, each one was a treat. The temperature stayed consistent throughout and I really savoured each spoonful.

Food: 3.5/5 - Sandwich was not impressive but the soup! Reasonable price though.
Decor: 4.5/5 - Loved the decor, simple, spacious and lots of natural lighting.
Service: 4.5/5 - Extremely quick... but we were the first ones there :)
Willingness to go back: 3.5/5 - For sure, dinner is pricier but it's a unique gem in the Durham region you got to support.
Overall: 4/5

Website: http://www.bistro67.ca/

Le Papillon on Front

Date Visited: Winterlicious Dinner on Sunday Feb 8, 2015
Company: +Will

Will and I had originally planned to have a Winterlicious lunch at Le Papillon on Sunday but we ended up cancelling the reservation late minute. We were still in Waterloo and just decided to stay for lunch there instead. I really wanted to try their famous French Onion Soup which was one of the entrees during lunch and not dinner so I was pretty disappointed... Once we got back to Toronto in the afternoon, we Netflix-ed The Interview and then realized it was dinner time already! I suggested we just find somewhere nearby to grab Winterlicious and Will was actually down to try Le Papillon's dinner menu so we headed here for some french cuisine even though I couldn't have the soup.

We've never really noticed the location before even though it's in an area we walk by quite often. Upon entering the restaurant, you really get a rustic feeling from the high ceilings, brick walls, and dark wooden accents. It also came off a bit fancier but with some charm to make it less itimidating. We were placed at a table near the bar which separates the front and back sections of the restaurant. You can't really tell how large the restaurant is until you enter the back section. Our waitress was very sweet and gave me the best news of all when she said that you can switch the appetizer soup for the French Onion for an extra $5. We got some bread to start but it wasn't the best. It was hard and dense and the packaged butter was rock hard.


But of course I had to order the French Onion Soup to start, it's considered one of the best in the city. The bowl didn't look very large but it was actually very deep. I tried to get a photo of some cheese drooping and soup underneath but as soon as I punctured the top, the soup burst out and almost overflowed. The broth was the perfect thickness, temperature, and taste, I was very impressed. The cheese was gooey but most of it sank to the bottom and I was left with a lot of difficult cheese to eat at the end. My only complain was the little burnt pieces of cheese at the top, I could really taste the burnt flavour even after it being drenched in the soup.

For my main, I ordered the Duck Confit, duck leg confit with wild berry sauce, potatoes and market vegetables. I don't think I've had proper duck confit before so I was pretty excited to try it. The presentation was very appealing, the leg was larger than I was expecting and placed on a colorful bed of sides and sauce. The leg was very tender and the sauce accompanying it was just superb. The combination of the creamy mashed potatoes, sweet sauce, and some duck was just heavenly. Definitely up there on one of the most memorable dishes I've ever had. I wish I hadn't been so full from the soup to fully enjoy every bite of it.

For dessert, I went for the Traditional Cheesecake which was topped with some whipped cream, fruit sauce, and chocolate sauce. The slice of cake I got was pretty small (not that I needed more), like the smallest slice they could cut for someone. The taste was good but didn't blow by mind, it could have been more creamy and cheesier. The graham cracker bottom had an excellent flavour though. I also wish they had a bit more fruit drizzle on it as I got one piece of berry and it gave the cheesecake some personality paired together. The waitress also wouldn't take my dish until I finished my last bite of cheesecake, it was hard but I did it. She was super friendly and also said I picked the perfect menu :)

Food: 4.5/5 - Amazing meal, haven't stopped thinking about it since.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Very spacious, warm, and romantic.
Service: 4/5 - She was a bit chatty but extremely friendly and not annoying.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Definitely, I'm a bit intimidated by french cuisine though so Winterlicious was a good time to go.
Overall: 4/5

Website: http://papillononfront.com/

Cali Eats: O3 Bistro & Lounge

Date Visited: Late Dinner on Saturday Apr 12, 2014

Company: Walk-in for 5 

During our first night in San Francisco, we stayed at the HI near City Centre and decided to go to Smuggler's Cove, the famous rum bar which was just only about a 10 minute walk away. On our way, we decided to stop somewhere for a late dinner, a mission which seemed easier than it made out to be. After passing by a few restaurants, we finally decided to stop at O3 which situated at a busy intersection with very little people but a lot of traffic going by. We weren't looking for a nicer place like this but it was all that we found!

There was only about 2 other parties at the place as it was pretty late on Saturday for dinner. The place was very nicely decorated, clean, and modern. They had a variety of Thai cuisine on the menu from the classic pad thai to more authentic dishes. Their prices were all pretty reasonable, I guess which is standard for Thai food... $11 for Pad Thai is like every restaurant. I decided to be a bit adventurous as I wasn't extremely hungry and ordered a Pork Tom Kha Noodle Soup, which is Coconut milk soup, mushroom, tomatoes, bean sprouts, lemongrass, galangal, Kaffir lime leaves, green onion, and cilantro. I wasn't sure what exactly to expect but was pleasantly surprised with our meals. 

The presentation of all our dishes was very well done, I loved the huge soup bowl mine was in and all the colours present. The pork was very tender and went well with the broth... I was a bit unsure because the waitress seemed surprised I wanted pork with the Tom Kha and I wasn't sure how the pork pieces would be either. The overall flavour of the soup was very rich and milky, but not too salty. The spiciness was the perfect amount and really enhanced the flavours of all the unique vegetables. It was a great dish to warm your stomach and leave you pleasantly filled. I was pretty impressed with the portion sizes and prices because it seemed like a very classy restaurant which made me skeptical on going there with our budget.

Food: 4/5 - Was a bit adventurous with my choice and it paid off, all the other orders seemed delicious also.

Decor: 4/5 - Beautiful restaurant with dark wooded furniture and unique decor, seemed so fancy for how reasonable the prices were.

Service: 3/5 - Pretty typical for an Asian restaurant, wasn't too overbearing... actually quite friendly.

Willingness to go back: 3/5 - If I was passing by, I wouldn't object to eating here again!

Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://o3restaurant.com

Remezzo Italian Bistro

Date Visited: Dinner on Wednesday Nov 13, 2013
Company: Walk-in for four

Being in the Scarborough area for work, some friends and I randomly decided to meet up for dinner afterwards as they also happened to be in town that day. After meeting up at STC for some browsing, we drove to Remezzo, an Italian restaurant nearby. It's in a small plaza with a few stores, but right beside a huge Asian grocery. +Will had drove there earlier as he had come straight from work and had a table waiting, not that it was very busy. The place is very spacious with many sections, and most tables seemed to be family gatherings.

They had their specials of the day written at the front but when I asked the waitress what they were, she had a hard time recalling them, not the best waitress. We decided to split Bruschetta to start and I also ordered the French Onion Soup. The wait wasn't too long for our appetizers. The Bruschetta came in 6 pieces which was perfect because only 3 of us ended up sharing it. The bread was nicely tasted and there was ample amount of tomatoes, very simple and delicious. The French Onion Soup also came shortly after and it looked extremely delicious in its little bowl. There was tons of cheese on the top layer and wasn't overcooked, it stayed hot throughout. It was very stringy though and I had a hard time getting down to the crouton part right underneath. Near the end, I also found all of the onion bits together at the bottom of the broth. It was +Stephanie's first time having it but she thought it was too salty. Overall, I think it was a bit messy but a great French Onion Soup.  But I would definitely get it again, it wasn't too expensive and loaded with cheese and onions.

For my main, I wanted to get the Eggplant Parmesan which was a special that day but the waitress forgot to mention that it was all out and had to return to re-take my order. Instead, I ordered the Linguini Di Mare. Our main dishes were brought out right as we were finishing our appetizers. The Linguini had scallops, shrimp, and scallops mixed in with a tomato-basil sauce. There were tons of seafood in the pasta which I enjoyed, you could really taste the flavour as the tomato sauce was pretty light. The shrimps and scallops were very big while the clams were small but there were tons of them in the dish. I took some of it home as I was pretty full from the apps but the portions were a good size as everyone finished their dishes.

Food: 3.5/5 - Mediocre but tasty food at reasonable prices!
Decor: 3/5 - Cozy, family-friendly restaurant with tons of space.
Service: 1/5 - Our waitress was so bad, but the food came quickly.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Definitely would go back for some delicious Italian without breaking the bank!
Overall: 3/5
Website: http://www.remezzo.ca/

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/