Mill Street's The Beer Hall

Date Visited: Dinner on Thursday Jul 10, 2014

Company: Girls dinner date for 5

It's not often that my girl friends from high school and I can all find time to get together but when we do, it's always an occasion. I was very excited that for Summerlicious this year they wanted to hit up Mill Street Brew Pub in the beautiful Distillery District. It was a great place to catch up over delicious food and good beer. The sun was beaming this Thursday evening which made for the perfect patio weather. We drove up from Oshawa with some time to spare walking around the area. Mill Street had quite the line entering the place but we were actually in the wrong one when we told them about our reservation. They had another entrance for the 'Beer Hall' around the corner which had no line, but it was very confusing as they led us to our table which was visible from the original line-up outside where we were. The place is huge to be fair, but we had a nice table in between their inside and outside areas (missing the walls to separate the two). 

We took a long look at their beer menu while the waiter brought us some samples of Palomar Ale... with hints of chipotle and lime it definitely had a kick! I decided to get the flight which is an awesome way to try out a few of their beers! The service is nice here that they'll give you samples if you're not sure of what you want to order. Our waiter was extremely helpful but it really took him a while once we did order something from him to get back to us. We were waiting forever for him to get back to us to take our food orders and I accidentally asked him what the Soup of the Day was and he had to leave again and go ask! Eventually we all had our orders in and we can just relax and wait for the food.

For my appetizer, I ordered the Heirloom Tomato Salad with local organic heirloom tomatoes, pecorino fresco, torn basil leaves, olive oil, and beer reduction. Everyone else had gotten the Pretzels and Fondue so I wanted to try something different. My tomatoes arrived and my plate was so bright and colourful looking, it was a beautiful mess. The dressing was sweet but not too overpowering of the flavours of the ingredients. The basil really stood out in flavour but they were so fresh it's hard to complain. The tomatoes and pecorino combination was amazing also, I never had pecorino before so I was pleasantly surprised how light it is after finding out its made from ewe's milk. I was very glad I got this appetizer as the fondue was very heavy and the cheese was a bit crumbly.

For the main, I got the Beer n' Beer Kabob while everyone else got the Chicken Schnitzel... I wasn't sure if I liked Schnitzel but I'll have to try it one of these days... The contents of my plate seemed less compared to the chicken because the schnitzel was huge! My plate had two kabobs of braised beef, cherry tomatoes, pearl onions, and peppers with fennel apple slaw and roasted mini red potatoes on the side. The plate didn't look very full with the 3 portions all separated and all over the place. The kabob was nicely grilled and the beef was a bit tough but had a very nice flavour. The small onions and tomatoes paired well with the beef and everything was cooked consistently through. I couldn't really taste the apple in the slaw at all but it was a refreshing flavour.  The potatoes were also nicely cooked with a soft centre and light seasoning. 

And finally for dessert, they didn't have the Frambrozen Apple tart that I wanted but only the Homemade Butter Tart left. According to the server though it was still very delicious. It was a very cute mini butter tart (not sure why we were given spoons) that you could eat in two bites. Our server was right as it was still very delicious but not enough! There also could have been more filling in proportion to the tart. It was a nice sweet taste to end your meal but definitely left you wanting more!

Also note that the sun was coming down during the meal which was really annoying as it was right in our faces and we just had to wear sunglasses just to look at each other :(.

Food: 4/5 - Great meal! Left you decently full (we still got Gelato after but... you know) and I love the flavours they have in their dishes here.
Decor: 3/5 - Kind of a weird layout into their patio but I love the inside, great for large groups.
Service: 2.5/5 - Really took a while for our waiter to get us settled in, but once our orders were put in, they were pretty quick with the food.
Willingness to go back: 5/5 - Love Mill Street, would definitely go back, especially for Summerlicious.
Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://beerhall.millstreetbrewpub.ca/ 

Great Burger Kitchen

Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Sept 28, 2013
Company: Casual outing for a meal nearby with +Lilian, +Will, and his brother.

+Lilian and I had just come up from Oshawa, and were going to meet up with +Will and his brother for lunch near his place before heading out for our separate plans in the afternoon. We had originally planned to get Thai, but +Will wasn't exactly sure where the restaurant was located so ended up wandering and finding out that it was closed. We were at Church and Front so I suggested Great Burger Kitchen for lunch. I had only gone once before, late at night after St Patty's Day and really enjoyed their poutine, so I wanted to try it again to see if it was as good as I thought it was.

GBK is a promoter of organic and locally sourced food, the beef they use is also from naturally raised cows in Ontario. Their prices are pretty decent considering this. They have a range of different burgers and poutines to satisfy anyone's  preferences. For me, all of options looked delicious. Their menu is right on the wall beside where you order in large font which makes things easy for customers to read, but not so much decide what they want. They also offer a Burger/Poutine of the Day which is written on a blackboard below the menu and outside the restaurant that always looks appealing every time I walk by.

After we placed our orders at the counter, we found a booth to sit at. The restaurant isn't huge but it has enough space as only about 1 out of 5 tables has been occupied both times I've been here. Ours orders were made at a reasonable time by the one server at the counter, and we were called up one by one for our various foods. I ordered the Greek Burger with Feta, Tomato, Red Onion, and Tzatsiki. The bun was grilled lightly and the patty was cooked perfectly, it was just a classic and simple burger (with Greek toppings). The burger tasted great and the toppings were refreshingly fresh. In addition to the burger, we also got poutines to share. We got the Mexican Poutine with Salsa, Cheddar, Guacamole, & Sour Cream. This was basically having nachos, but with fries instead of chips. +Lilian pointed out that this was probably the healthiest poutine ever... due to the lack of gravy. There was a nice surplus of toppings for the fries but they still remained crispy. We also got the Poutine of the Day which had Bacon, Jalapeno, Salsa, & Cheddar. This was somewhat similar to the Mexican Poutine but with more of a kick of flavour. Both were good, but I probably wouldn't get them again in the future, need some sauciness to the poutine IMO.

Overall, this is a great place to come if you want something more than just a fast food burger, and are willing to spend a bit more time and money. I think it's still a great deal for what you're getting here because it's definitely cheaper than going to a sit-down restaurant. It supports the local farming culture and you can tell that a lot of work as gone into making your food for such a small place.

Food: 4/5 - Fresh, natural, and organic! Delicious AND you don't feel as bad eating it. 
Decor: 3.5/5 - Small but local favourite feel to the place.
Service: 3/5 - Good wait time.
Willingness to come back: 5/5 - I'm totally a fan of GBK, definitely would come back! So much more to try.
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://greatburger.ca/