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/ 

Cali Eats: James' Beach

Date Visited: Dinner on Wednesday Apr 16, 2014
Company: +Stuart, +Alex, & +Laura 

During our day in Santa Monica/Venice Beach on our California road trip last month, +Laura wanted to check out the fish taco place from the movie I Love You Man. We had quite the walk from the Santa Monica Pier to Venice Beach but was finally able to find it after asking for some directions from locals without knowing the restaurant name. It was very empty when we got there even though it was dinner time. They have a sheltered patio with heat lamps and another indoor section about the same size with a large bar centralized in between, catering to both sides.
We were seated on the patio, but it was still chilly enough outside that the heaters had to be turned on. I'm surprised how many restaurants in California do this as it seems so counterproductive to me, but I guess locals like to enjoy their outdoors. Our waiter was very friendly and started us off with a plate of raw veggies and dip. The veggies we got included snap peas, radish, and jicama which were very refreshing and a light starter while we waited. We also had a fun time trying to think of the name of the white vegetable we were eating, which we ended up asking the waiter who also forgot and had to ask and let us know it was Jicama! He also offered us a second plate while we were waiting. 

For drinks, we all split a pitcher of White Jose's Sangria at $33. The pitcher was more like a large mug or stein and filled about the four of our glasses evenly, it was topped with some cherries and orange slices. It was a refreshing drink with the slight taste of alcohol, not overpowering, and not too sweet either. 

So for our main dishes, everyone got their famous Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos but I wanted to try something different on their menu as I wasn't really feeling tacos. They all thought I was nuts as we came to this place specifically for the 'best fish tacos in Venice Beach' (according to I Love You Man). I instead, got their Turkey Burger, which made me the center of some teasing for the remainder of the meal. I must admit though, when their Tacos came, it looked incredibly delicious. It wasn't prepped for them and had all the sides on the plate with a whole piece of mahi mahi ready for them to create themselves, I loved that. The Turkey Burger however, wasn't a bad decision, but it probably wasn't the best turkey burger Venice beach had to offer. The patty was constructed nicely but I was expecting a thicker smaller burger which looked more home-made, and the flavour was average. The fries however were extremely delicious and so crisp. It was a pretty plain meal for me. Do I regret not getting the Fish Tacos? Probably... but I can't reaallly answer that until I try them.

Food: 2/5 - OK turkey burger, very fresh ingredients in all their dishes though.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Nice atmosphere, a bit classier but still relaxed environment. Got a bit busier by the time we were leaving.
Service: 4/5 - Great service, very friendly waiter.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Yes for sure I would try their Fish Tacos next time I was in Venice Beach :)
Overall: 3.5/5
Website: http://www.jamesbeach.com/

Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill

Date Visited: Summerlicious Lunch on Saturday Jul 6, 2013 
Company: Party of 9, SJ reUnion

Summertime is upon us which means for me, reunions over Summerlicious meals! I checked out many of the menu options online and we had decided on Pure Spirits because I wanted to go to a seafood restaurant and they had a nice variety of dishes to satisfy the different tastes in our group. Pure Spirits is also located in the nice Toronto neighbourhood of the Distillery District which I thought would be a nice hang-out location prior or post lunch.

It was an extremely hot Saturday afternoon so we decided to sit on the patio to enjoy the beautiful weather. We had made a reservation for 12 people that apparently they could only do two tables of 6, but our group on the day of was only 9 which they were nicely able to accomodate. Their patio area was huge and I was checking out other people's foods and drinks on the walk to our table. Their drinks all were very pretty and they had a nice selection of Sangrias, Mojitos, and Virgin Cocktails all which were around $10 and $5 for the non-alcoholic drinks. I ordered a Rose Sangria that was $11 and quite pricey IMO but I usually don't order girly drinks like that so that might be their average price. It was very delicious though with pieces of green apple and lemon floating in the drink, but it wasn't as sweet as I was expecting it to be.
For the foods, I decided to go for the seafood dishes to  get the full experience of the oyster bar. Many of the other customers seemed to be having the mussels and it looked like a good portion size. After we placed our full order, we had a nice basket of rolls to enjoy. I've actually had never had Mussels Provencal before and was very excited to try them as I've only had them prepared in Chinese dishes. What I enjoyed about them after having a taste is how flavourful they were and the unique flavour they had. Who would think that the combination of white wine, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs would be so delicious? The broth was quite salty but I assume that is to get the flavour in the mussels because they were fine. The rolls were perfect for dipping the extra broth in, but I couldn't have too much of that either because of the saltiness.

For my entree, I ordered the Haddock and Chips. It was quite the toss-up between that and the Jerk Chicken Sandwich but I think either choice would have been good  because everyone seemed to be satisfied with their food well into the meal. The fish was extremely hot as it probably came straight out of the deep fryer and it didn't help with the beaming sun either which really exposed the oiliness. The haddock was very tender and just a nice looking piece of fish on the plate. The homemade tartar sauce didn't impress me much because it didn't have too much flavour, it was mostly mayo. There wasn't many fries on the plate either but it was a very filling amount overall so I'm glad they didn't try to overload you with it. The dill coleslaw was very refreshing and light, I'm usually impartial to coleslaw but this was a much needed complement to the dish.

To finish, I had the Peanut Butter and Cream Pie which was pretty unique, I've never had anything like it. The pie crust was quite sturdy and you could just eat everything inside without breaking the hard crust at all. It was topped with a rich peanut butter and a custard-like base. There was also a raspberry sauce at the bottom that gave the dessert a nice sour berry flavour. I wasn't really a fan of the peanut butter, I found it too sweet and had to have extra of the other elements to balance it out. It was a cute little dessert and concept but I wasn't the biggest fan. The custard was very good (but I love custard), but everything else was just okay. I found the combination of flavours kind of random and didn't find they went well together.

Food: 3.5/5 - Very satisfying Summerlicious meal :)
Decor: 4/5 - Large patio and cool interior.
Service: 3.5/5 - Waitress was really good to us!
Willingness to come back: 3.5/5 - If i was in the area, I'd definitely try to drop by but it is quite pricey. 
Overall: 3.5/5
Website: http://purespirits.ca/