[Toronto] The Forth

Location Review
629 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
(416) 465-2629
Website

Aptly named after it's location in Greektown Danforth, The Forth (@TheForthTO) is a new comer on the block, opening April earlier this year. Unlike its peers of close proximity, it is anything but a Greek restaurant, headed up by Brassaii's former executive chef Chris Kalisperas (@ChrisKalisperas). With a contemporary Canadian menu, inventative cocktail list, and a beautiful 8,000 square feet, multi-level dining area (yes there's an elevator!), The Forth is one that will impress all the senses.

The Bar

[Toronto] The Guild

Location Review
1442 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario 647-343-7288
Website

Located on the west end of the city in Little Portugal is The Guild (@guildresto), serving up contemporary Canadian cuisine. With Chef Mani Binelli in the kitchen (who is also the mastermind behind one of my all time favourite restaurants - Auberge du Pommier), I agreeably accepted an invitation to taste their new and improved menu.

The Guild

[Toronto] Azure Restaurant & Bar

Location Review
225 Front Street W
Toronto, Ontario
Phone:416-597-8142
Menu




Azure Restaurant & Bar has been around for quite some time. Located in the InterContinental Hotel (@ICTorontoCentre), the restaurant prides on delivering a modern Mediterranean fare using the best Canadian ingredients. The truth is, I've been here before. Around half a decade ago I visited during for a fixed-prix Summerlicious menu. I don't exactly remember how the dinner went, but the fact that it barely left a memory probably means it was nothing to write home about.

Fast forward to the present. When I was informed that Azure had been undergoing a full restaurant revamp (read lunch, dinner, dessert and bar menu face lift to be released), it struck some interest in me. I wonder how it is now? The only way to find out, was to make a visit to the restaurant and try the Summerlicious (@liciousTO) menu once again.

[Missisauga] &Company Resto Bar

Location Review
295 Enfield Place
Mississauga, Ontario
Phone:718-858-4300
Menu




Being a girl with no business far from Toronto, its not very often that i woiod venture too far outside the heart of the city. Unless there is some thing really special. So what was I doing out west in Mississauga on a Friday night? Well, that was just it; there was definitely something special here. Located just outside Square One shopping mall, is one of the few night clubs in Missausagea &Company Resto Bar. When I found out from Lien (@LienValesquez) that they had just a day ago revamped their menu for then summer, I decided to take a look and was impressed. Some interesting options, reasonable prices, Added to the fact that on Friday nights they have burlesque dancers to entertain you while you eat, and a dance floor to transition into a nightclub after dark, I didn't see why I wouldn't make the short trip out for an experience.

&Company Resto Bar

[Toronto] Reds Wine Tavern

Location Review
77 Adelaide Street West
First Canadian Place
Toronto, ON
Tel: (416) 862-7337
Menu

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending Vickie's birthday dinner (@kiki_BFF) at Reds Wine Tavern (@REDSWINETAVERN). Along with the company of 15 others, which included Justine (@foodigatorJ) and my boyfriend Rob, the restaurant crafted a pre-fixed menu for us. Normally I like having the flexibility of choosing my own dishes, but considering all the great things I heard about this newly renovated restaurant, I didn't mind it too much. And with the Executive Chef in the kitchen being Season 2 Top Chef Canada contestant, Ryan Gallagher (who by the way, was one I rooted for), I had some faith in the pre-set menu.

Reds Wine Tavern

[Toronto] Harbour Sixty Steakhouse

Location Review
60 Harbour Street
Toronto, ON
(416) 777-2111



Habour Sixty has been on my list of restaurants to try for a while, but seeing as it's not an inexpensive meal I've been holding off. To a point where I almost forgot that I wanted to try it. That is until a month ago when I wrote up my review on Jacobs and Co. People started asking me how it compared to  Habour Sixty, and it was like a lightbulb lit-up in my mind. I thought to myself "I must make time to try this!" And so I did, and the rest is history.

[Toronto] Jacobs & Co Steakhouse

Review Location:
12 Brant Street
Toronto, ON


I actually considered not blogging about my dinner at Jacobs & Co Steakhouse (@jacobsandco) because it was that one odd day where I didn't have my camera on me. And anyone that knows me, knows that it almost never happens. But my experience that night was so unforgettable that I thought it was worthy of a post; even if I didn't have the perfect pictures to do it justice. A big thank you to my boyfriend for taking these pictures on his phone, knowing that I might change my mind and need photos afterall. You know me too well! :)

Let's keep this intro part short so we can get to the part where I get to talk about the food. Jacobs & Co Steakhouse is probably one of the best steakhouses I've been to.

[Chicago] Joe's Seafood, Prime Rib, & Stone Crab

Location Review:
60 East Grand Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

MENU

The story of Joe's starts in Florida almost 100 years ago in 1913, when Joe Weiss opened up a small lunch counter on Miami beach. This iconic beach-side spot established its claim to fame through their Florida stone crabs. In fact, before Mr. Weiss, nobody even knew that stone crabs were edible. With it's huge success, two more locations have surfaced, one being in Chicago. Drawing its reputation from the original location, the menus are almost identical, allowing patrons to experience the Floridian jewel of a restaurant without the long flight down south. Anywhere there is great seafood, count me in!

[Toronto] Auberge du Pommier

Location Review:
4150 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario

Auberge du Pommier

I have been to Auberge du Pommier on several ocassions, and have loved the experience every time! Belonging to the Oliver and Bonacini Restaurants family (along with Canoe, Jump, and LUMA,  to name a few), this French restaurant is located just north of york mills on Yonge Street. From the outside, the restaurant resembles a cozy little courtyard house complete with a garden, white picket fence, and a very charming cobblestone walkway. While it looks like a small on the outside, it is deceivingly spacious on the inside! The decor is simple and quaint with its neutral colour theme, fireplace, and stone walls. a romantic ambiance coupled with excellent food makes this the perfect date night spot!

[Toronot] Marquis Lounge and Bistro

Location Review:
92 Peter Street
Toronto, Ontario
(Major intersection: Adelaide St. W and Spadina Ave)





Not too long ago, my company held an employee appreciation event offering some discount tickets and vouchers to certain attractions and restaurants. I ended up picking one up for Marquis Lounge and Bistro for $10 which came with four 50% off dine in vouchers. The restaurant is actually located on the 2nd floor of a Hilton hotel. Walking into the restaurant you will notice

Mill Street Brewery Pub

Review Location:
55 Mill Street, Building 63
Toronto, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Lakeshore Bvld E & Cherry St.)

 MENU

My family and I were in the Distillery District the other day and despite raining we had a pretty good time. Kind of sucks that everything except the restaurants close at 5pm on the weekends. Because of that we ended up having an early dinner. Since it was my parent's first time at the Distillery, I felt it would be appropriate to eat at the brewery!

Cafe 28

Reviewed Location:
10 East Wilmot Street
Richmond Hill, ON

This restaurant is one of those places that serves chinese-style western cuisine. It's run entirely by chinese people, as are most of the customers that come here. The place is actually quite small, but the ambience of dimmed lights and elevator music makes it kind of comfy. While the menu is mainly dominated by western style items, they also have several chinese dishes like baked casseroles and fried rice. We decided to order a mixture of both styles of cuisine.

The western dishes came in set dinners, served with garlic bread, soup or salad, drink, and dessert. They ran out of garlic bread so we this potato patty instead.

Left: Salad with Fruit, Right: Clam Chowder

It's hard to see from the picture since the soup was unstirred, but it actually came with a lot of clams. The soup was the right consistency, but didn't taste creamy. Most likely thickened with cornstarch. The salad was your regular bagged salad with some fresh grapes, diced melon, and strawberries. The dressing was the most interesting part. It was a tangy strawberry dressing.

Left: Lemon tea + Egg Custard Pudding, Right: Potato Patties

Not much to comment here. Everything tastes exactly as it probably looks. Everything standard.

Top: Baked Pork Chop Rice, Left: 8 ounce steak, Right: Rack of Lamb

Though the plate used to serve the baked pork chop rice was very hot when it was served, it didn't taste like it was baked at all. It was no different than sauce over rice. The sauce itself was very salty, and the pork chops were slightly dry. Definitely did not enjoy this dish. The two grilled meat dishes however, were much better. You could tell the meat isn't top notch quality, but it was cooked perfectly to our "medium rare" order. I actually really enjoyed the mash potatoes that came with both these dishes. They were these partially mashed red skinned potatoes with a garlicky butter sauce. They were so good that I opted to eat the potatoes instead of the meat near the end of the meal when I was getting full. I think that says a lot considering I grew up being taught that you should always eat the most expensive stuff (ie. the meat) when you start getting full.

I actually quite enjoyed this place. The prices were actually rather inexpensive given the food quality and service. It's no classy hotel meal experience, but I'd say its definitely on the higher end of the moderate price range restaurants.