George Restaurant

Date Visited: Late Dinner on Wednesday June 3, 2015
Company: AJ's Convocation dinner for 6

Last week, +Will invited me to dinner with his family to celebrate AJ's convocation from Queen's U. They had recently found out about my food blog and Will advised me I would enjoy the restaurant they chose for dinner. He gave me the link and told me to check out their interesting cocktails. The location was walking distance from Will's and had a very cool exterior with large tall door. Upon entering, the decor was a bit more fancy but with a modest atmosphere. They had an open kitchen which we were seated right next to with a mirror on the ceiling to see the chef's working stations. There seemed to be a lot of students in the kitchen learning as well.

We were explained a bit about the difference between their five-course and seven-course tasting menu, each contains an amuse bouche, 1 or 3 appetizers, fois gras, a red-meat course, a cheese course and dessert. The Seven-Course Tasting Menu was decided upon and I also got the George - 75 Cocktail for a drink. The cocktail consisted of Tanqueray Gin, Aperol, St. Germain Elderfower Liqueur, Champagne, and a dash of fresh lemon juice. I hadn't really had anything similar to it before but it was very delicious, not too sweet and a bit tangy. We also got some interesting bread for the table to start with some crisps that were very oily but delicious and different breads on the bottom.

Our first dish was the amuse bouche, a bite-size hors d'oeuvre. Mine kind of fell apart while they brought it out so AJ switched so my photo would look better :) It was a mushroom puree on top of grilled eggplant and chipotle mayo with Plum relish. Everyone enjoyed the flavour and it got our taste buds ready for the rest of the meal. This is also when we realized that we'll have to take notes of our dishes as they were way too complicated to remember. Most of the table received wine pairings for each dish so it was interesting to hear the sommelier speak to each of them.

So when our first dishes came, we knew we were in trouble for remembering ingredients as they decided to do two different dishes for our table of 6. The plus side was that that we were able to try even more dishes by sharing. We received a Potato wrapped Tuna and Sesame Crab Cake with Lentil Salad. I'm not usually a fan of Tuna but this may have turned me into a fan, the middle was so soft and the potato exterior provided a crispy edge, great textures. The crab cake was not like anything I'd had before, very rich in flavour while the lentil salad provided good balance.

Next, we had Salmon Tappanyaki with Saffon in the front and White Asparagus and Peas in the back and Steelhead Trout with grilled white Asparagus. The Trout had an mild flavour as I've never had it before but I definitely preferred the Salmon, it was cooked perfectly and was presented with interesting ingredients. I was surprised how un-fishy all of the seafood tasted as they were mostly raw.

Our last seafood dish was an Octopus Carpaccio over a Radish Carpaccio and Butter Lobster with Sesame Soya Noodles and Tempura. I adored the presentation of the Octopus, it was like a drawing on paper, the flavours were light and refreshing. I was happy to see an Asian inspired dish with the Soya noodles, it was the heaviest of all our dishes so far but have a variety of textures to keep it interesting. 

Next would be our Fois Gras plates, and once again our Chef decided to be creative and make two separate dishes. One was the Duck in a Mint Crepe with Buffalo Mozzarella with Fois Gras on top and Tomato Foam and the other was a Fois Gras on Sweetbread. So I read and seen a lot of videos about fois gras before so I was both nervous and excited to finally try it. So the duck was basically raw which made it very difficult to cut through and chew. It was probably my least favourite dish of the night, there was just a lot going on on the plate. The fois gras specifically was extremely tender and melts in your mouth, it tasted pretty much how I'd expected. It made it a bit harder to eat just knowing so much about the controversies over it. A few bites were do-able but I didn't think I could eat it all. The second dish was served over sweetbread, which I just Googled now to find out what it was. I definitely thought it was just chicken and sweetbread was the coating they used over it. It tasted very good though and I'm glad I didn't know what it was when I was eating it.

Our peak of the courses were the red meats, I received a Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Asparagus and Sweet Potato while Will got the Beef Tenderloin with Cheese and Peppercorn. There was also some Pesto and Gnocci on the plate for sure but our waiter kind of stopped after the first part, I think he forgot what it was. Will and I were both happy with what we got so we weren't sure if we were going to do halfsies on this one. The Lamb was spectacular, pink on the inside but subtle flavour and so tender. The sweet potato were in sheets and stacked on each other, so creative and fun to eat, not to mention it accentuated the flavour. Will cut me off a piece of his steak, it was too rare for my usual liking but tasted pretty tender. The gnocci was an interesting addition but tasted great.

Our second last plate was cheese which is something I've never experienced before. This time they gave us three different types instead of two. I had the Pasturized Cow's milk with Apples and Pecans. The cheese was very creamy and thick almost like brie. The flavour was very tart so it was nice to pair with the other various things on the plate which were all generally sweet.

And finally, our desserts! We got three different ones again this time. Both Will and I were lucky to receive the Chocolate Souffle with Mandarin Tea! I thought at first it was Lava cake but once you broke into it, it was so soft, creamy, and held together. The Mandarin flavour was quite sour, all the sweetness was left to the chocolate. I didn't really enjoy the texture the cookie crumbs added to the plate, a bit unnecessary for me. I also tried some of AJ's Lemon Pie, it was so sour but actually tasted really good as it had equal sweetness, very lovely.

As an end note, I think everyone had a fun and enjoyable time at George Restaurant, I love discussing food over a meal and we were able to do that with this tasting menu. It offered so much variety and I don't think anyone wouldn't have enjoyed it! A foodie's dream meal :)

Food: 4.5/5 - Experienced so many new flavours and all done brilliantly.
Decor: 5/5 - Very classy, interesting decor and views into the kitchen.
Service: 4/5 - Mostly knowledgeable, a few staff weren't very detailed with their descriptions of the food.
Willingness to go back: 5/5 - Great experience and would love to return.
Overall: 4.5/5

Website: http://www.georgeonqueen.com/

Canyon Creek Chophouse

Date Visited: Winterlicious dinner on Wednesday Feb 11, 2015

Company: Reservation for 6

Canyon Creek Chophouse was the restaurant I chose for this year's Winterlicious dinner with university friends. It was between that or Joe Badali's which were right next to each other and in hindsight, I probably should have chosen the latter. It was a packed night when I entered the restaurant around 6:45PM, they didn't have our table ready until 7PM on the dot. We were seated at a table in the far most corner of the large maze-like restaurant close to the kitchen. Our table for 6 was a very tight squeeze and was probably meant for only 4. When we were looking at the menu, we noticed that they didn't even give us the Winterlicious page and had to wait a long time for a waiter to return and then request it. Once we ordered, we got some warm, fresh bread with honey butter to start, so delicious.

For the appetizer, I got the Potato Dill Soup, creamy potato, diced garlic pickles, with sour cream, chives, and fresh dill. The presentation was nice and the soup looked pretty good but after the first few sips, all you can really taste is pickle. I didn't even read that it would have little pieces of pickles in the soup, I thought it was just going to taste of dill. It was a really weird combination and just didn't work for me. Near the end of the bowl, all that was left was basically pickles. The proportions were really off and the broth and potatoes were lost in the flavour.

I ordered the Peruvian Chicken, marinated and grilled double chicken breast, roasted red jacket potatoes and red peppers in aji amarillo chili sauce with jalapeno crema for my main. I was thinking about getting the Striploin but the waiter told +Gisele that it came medium-rare and they couldn't change that?? I'm glad though because when we did get some steaks, they were all different portion sizes. The Chicken looked like the better option, larger portion and lots of colour on the plate. Unfortunately, it didn't taste as good as it looked. The chicken was really dry and rather plain, they tried to dress it up with the sauces but made it too spicy. There were a lot of flavours from all the sauces but I'm not quite sure what I was eating as you couldn't taste the chicken at all. The fresh peppers were a random and unnecessary addition to the plate. The only redeeming part of the dish was the potatoes which were a bit crispy and everyone at the table seemed to enjoy them.

Finally, for dessert I ordered the Chili Chocolate Pot de Creme. I was warned prior to my visit that that dessert it has a kick to it but I was still intrigued and wanted to try it for myself. The chocolate taste of it was great, rich and thick, but the chili slowly creeps up at the back of your throat. It kind of scared me so I only had it in small bites while others downed the thing and got the kick all at once. I really wish it didn't have the chili part because it did taste pretty good but left a weird taste in my mouth.

Our waiter was also the hardest person to get a hold of, +Stephen was coming late and we wanted to put an order in for him but he was no where to be found. +Gisele said it was the worst service she's ever experienced. He was always friendly when he was around, but he was never there. Either way, I don't think it could have redeemed our meal at Canyon in any way. It's sad that the best part of the meal is the free bread and honey butter.

Food: 0.5/5 - Terrible meal, didn't enjoy any of the three courses.
Decor: 2/5 - Very standard looking chain restaurant.
Service: 0/5 - So bad, I'm not even sure if we had a waiter.
Willingness to go back: 1/5 - I would never recommend it to anyone but I've seen so many great reviews on this place so I could be convinced to return.
Overall: 1/5

Website: http://canyoncreekrestaurant.ca/

Vagabondo

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Feb 14, 2014
Company: Valentine's Day Dinner with +Will

Last year, I was looking for restaurants to go to for Valentine's Day and Vagabondo's $55, 4-course, fixed-price dinner really caught my eye. This year, I linked +Will two different restaurants' menus to choose from and he picked Vagabondo's, forgetting that we went there last year. I was happy to go again though because I had a great experience the first time around and now, I had an opportunity to blog about it! I made a reservation on OpenTable, a great site to make reservations and earn points for dining for many restaurants in Toronto and other cities!

Vagabondo is in a bit of a odd location, not really on the street but in a square. It's pretty noticeable though if you know where you're going as there's a large sign outside. The interior was decorated well for the occasion with tons of red and white balloons. We were immediately greeted and taken to our table. The restaurant is large with many different rooms, and we were placed in a small one with about 5 other tables. The placements of these tables were pretty close to each other so I felt a bit squished especially because we were also right against the wall. A waitress gave me a balloon upon entering and I tied it on my chair but I was worried it would keep hitting the guy behind me (that's how close we were to each other) so I stuffed it under the table instead. Anyways, we ordered Spearheads to drink which is one of their beers offered on tap which was described to us as a Toronto local brown ale. 

Once we placed our food orders, we were immediately brought some warm bread with olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, and butter to start. I loved that they gave the oil and vinaigrette in their bottles (which fit perfectly together, so cute) for us to pour on our plates ourselves for dipping. The bread was great, so soft on the inside, it felt like it was just baked. Shortly after, our first course arrived, the Bruschetta Feta! I remembered when I had this last year, that it was literally the best Bruschetta I'd ever had before. I'm happy to say that it still is. The perfectly toasted baguette was loaded with tomatoes and feta. They were very generous with the toppings and literally pack it on! The tomatoes are so flavourful and lightly brushed with olive oil. The bread doesn't crumble and the toppings don't fall everywhere when you bite into it which is a nice change from previous bruschetta experiences I've had.

For my second course, I choose the Gamberi Coco, tiger shrimp dipped in coconut batter served with honey garlic sauce. The plate came with two large deep fried tiger shrimp on a bed of arugula and the sauce on the side. The shrimp was very hot and pretty large. I loved the coconut flavour with this dish, not something I've had before. The honey garlic sauce was also delicious, an interesting but tasty combination! I would never think to pair those together but it made for a nice appetizer.

There were many good choices for the main dish but I had to go with the Fettuccine Pescatore, pasta with fresh mussels, clams, king crab, tiger shrimp, jumbo scallops and calamari cooked in a tomato basil sauce. The dish was huge when I saw it with large clams topping it off and an empty accompanying bowl for the shells. The pasta was excellent, it was hand-made and the texture was a bit on the hard side which I enjoyed. There were so many mussels, calamari, shrimp, and clams in the pasta, the thick tomato sauce was complemented well with the seafood. There was only one jumbo scallop in my dish and it was awful, it was so hard I couldn't even eat it after one bite. The king crab was also disappointing since there were only about 3 small sections cut of it, so very little meat. No complaints about the rest of the seafood though, they were great. I left just under half of it to take home because there was no way I could finish it and still have room for dessert. I also had a bite of Will's medium-rare filet and it was very tender, I enjoyed it a lot.

Finally, our meal was finally ending with the Chocolate Lava Cake. It was a cute sized little cake packed with chocolatey goodness. There was the sauce coming out from the top and nothing really came out when you broke into it. Will said that you really had to get to the middle for it to come out. It was great though, the perfect end to the meal. I only had less than a quarter of it and asked for it to be packed up but unfortunately the waitress had dropped my lava cake! She was very sweet and said they can make another one but I really didn't need to take it home so I said no. 

Overall, I had a wonderful romantic meal at Vagabondo. I must say that the waitress was extremely attentive the whole night and always made sure we had enough water and asked us how we were doing. It was a bit much at times but definitely no complaints about service or wait times for food. The $55 fixed price dinner was definitely worth it, great value for delicious food as I know their menu is normally quite pricey.


Food: 4/5 - Overall great food here, they know how to do the simple things right!
Decor: 3/5 - Nice place but a little too packed, expected for Valentine's day though.
Service: 4/5 - Would be perfect service, minus the dropping of cake and asked us how we were a bit excessively.
Willingness to go back: 3/5 - Love their Valentine's menu options, wouldn't say no to coming again but wouldn't initiate it either.
Overall: 3.5/5
Website: http://www.vagabondo.ca/

Harlem Underground

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 

Mambo Lounge

Date Visited: Summerlicious Dinner on Monday Jul 16, 2013

Company: Reservation for 4 ladies to enjoy some Cuban food on a hot day

Currently, this is my last planned Summerlicious meal of 2013 and this season has been the most meals I've had in one round! I've had such a great experience trying new restaurants in unfamiliar parts of town, I'm really glad that Toronto has something like this twice a year :)

Anyways, the girls and I made a reservation at Mambo Lounge in the Danforth for our second Summerlicious meal together. Mambo Lounge is an authentic Cuban tapas restaurant that has live music on the weekends. We were excited for something different and hoped we'd get a flavour of Cuban culture as well. 

It was a sweltering day in Toronto and I was a bit nervous when +Clare told me we got a table on the patio. As +Stephanie and I left Broadview subway station, Mambo Lounge was only a few steps away on Danforth. There was no patio in the front, but an open wall with tables lined-up leading to the bar, and then the patio was at the very back. The patio has a backyard feeling, as you see neighbours of the old 3-storey houses BBQ-ing on their balconies. It was very spacious and shaded, with little decorations all around.

We started off with drinks and I ordered a Pina Colada. Every drink on the menu was at least $9 which was quite steep in our opinion, especially for 1-2oz of alcohol. Apparently they have authentic Mojitos here but I tried it and thought it had too much mint. I'm not a mojito fan anyway, but +Clare said she's had better and that it needed more sugar. +Stephanie ordered the Mambo Cocktail which was a crazy concoction of every type of liquor with some grenadine and lime... she didn't enjoy it. The Pina Colada though was very tasty and flavourful with a fresh piece of pineapple on the side. There was quite a bit of foam at the top unfortunately which didn't exactly make it worth $9.

To start, I ordered the Tropical Salad that consisted of mixed greens, tomatoes, avocados, and mango topping with a mango balsamic dressing. I found that some of the mixed greens were a bit wilted but the other toppings were very fresh and ripe. The mango balsamic added a kick of flavour to a somewhat simple salad.

For my main dish, I ordered the Bistec con Yuca, medium-well. I was pleasantly surprised when the steak arrived, the yuca fries formed a little hut that the steak was placed on which made the dish very appealing. We all noted how large our portions were, especially compared to some other Summerlicious restaurants we had visited. Everyone wanted to try my yuca fries, they smelt so delicious! They were seasoned with spices and very tasty, thick like taro but more stringy. There was a 'jus' at the bottom for the steak with what seemed like mushroom and onions sautéed, but it was hard to tell. The sauce was very mild, I was expecting a lot of 'Cuban' flavour and spices but it didn't live up to my expectations. The steak was also quite tough, it was more well-done than medium. But overall, it was a splendid dish as the fries and steak with jus went perfect together. This dish is usually $25 alone, so I definitely got my money's worth on it.

As for my dessert, I had to order the Torta la Chocolate (I can never say no to chocolate mousse). It was such a gorgeous plate when it arrive, with the Piroline on top and accented with whipped cream and strawberry with caramel. It was very rich and creamy, I loved every bite. Apparently Costco sells this cake, as +Stephanie has seen it before. It's a bit disappointing knowing that they don't make their own but I'm a bit happy knowing where I can get this now :)

Food: 3/5 - Great portions but average food.
Service: 2.5/5 - Very friendly, but had to ask a few times for water.
Decor: 2/5 - A bit tight on space in the main area, but patio was nice. Kind of tacky.
Willingness to come back: 4.5/5 - I would definitely come here for a tapas meal or Licious again! Not for drinks though.
Overall: 3/5

Website: http://mambocubano.ca

Calabria

Visited: Dinner on Wednesday Mar 13, 2013
Company: Meeting up with +Will Ives after work at Fairview Mall

If you're someone who knows me, you'd know that I like to plan ahead like no tomorrow. So knowing that I was going to be in the 404/Sheppard area, I had to look up all the surrounding restaurants and find websites/pictures to see how legit they were. I can't stand being situations where I get somewhere and realize that it's super sketchy or that it's been closed and they hadn't updated their website. Calabria was literally one of the only legit restaurants I found that wasn't Asian (wasn't feeling it); not surprising though as it's the North York/Scarborough area.

Their website had a 20% dinner coupon and their Facebook page advertised cheap pints and half price apps until 3PM-6PM. They also had a picture of the place on the website which showed it to be pretty big and not in a sketchy strip plaza. Good enough reason for me to go...

It was quite busy once we arrived, just around 6PM so I assumed people trying to catch the cheap apps. Seems like a nice neighbourhood place with a wholesome crowd. They had a nice warm fireplace near the entrance and there was an open kitchen with the pizza open in the back which was nice to see. We got a comfy booth for two although I felt that all the table placements were really awkward. 

We started off with Bacon Wrapped Scallops as the appetizer, a compromise  between Will and I. Most of the apps were seafood and Will isn't a fan and only wanted buchetta or the chicken wings. We went for this as it was sort of a combination of both. I'm not really a fan of bacon, only because I think the flavour is too overpowering when I eat it with things and that it's overrated. These were quite enjoyable though, cooked perfectly, the bacon was crispy and the scallops were soft and not overcooked. It came with a small salad which I thought was a nice touch of flavour and the tomato complemented well. There was a side of seafood sauce which I found was odd, I've never had seafood sauce with scallops but it wasn't bad, could have used a hint of lemon juice to make it less sweet.

I ordered the Stone Baked Asiago Pizza and Will went for the Lasagna as per usual. The pizza was pretty big when it came out, you could probably share it with two people and be decently full. I really enjoyed the crust and dough of the pizza, it had a distinct flavour and not too thin crust. I think I probably would've been happy if it was just a cheese pizza. I really enjoyed the tomato sauce but wish there was more of it. The chicken wan't too flavourful and I forgot that I'm not the biggest fan of sun-dried tomatoes haha.

I obviously also tried Will's lasagna and and it was surprisingly delicious! Extremely meaty and the pasta was really soft. The tomato sauce was so good and had a nice sweet flavour, I assume it was the same one they used on the pizza. Good amount of cheese and nice portion size. I think I would opt for a pasta next time. "Lasagna was the obvious choice" according to Will.

Ended the meal with the Chocolate Truffle Cake, they only had a few items for dessert but enough variety. The cake was extremely delectable, I basically ate the whole thing and Will had 3 bites. I really enjoyed the vanilla and chocolate mousse combo paired with the chocolate cake, so good. Pretty light but rich with chocolatey goodness flavour. 

With our coupon, we paid $40 everything included which I thought was a good deal for the amount of food we got. Very good pricing for some decent Italian food, especially if you're in the neighbourhood. We also got 4 coupons which were basically the same deals I found on the website.

Food: 3/5 - There were plus and minuses but overall good, fair-priced food.

Decor: 2.5/5 - Spacious and classic but there was something about the layout.

Service: 3/5 - Good wait times between each dish

Likeliness to come back: 3/5 - Wouldn't go out of my way, but if I was in the area... also got those coupons.

Overall: 3/5

Website: http://calabriarestaurant.ca