Saturday, March 24, 2007

Old York Bar & Grill - 167 Niagara Street

On Friday evening, after a few drinks and some DDR (that's Dance Dance Revolution for you non-gamers), we decided to head out to our next destination "The Foggy Dew" at the corner of King and Niagara. We actually tried to get out here last Saturday for lunch, but there was a huge line up out front PLUS a cover fee for St. Patricks Day, so we decided to hold off.

We arrived at the pub, and found the place completely full. There was a Leafs game on, and we were informed by the waitress that there were no tables available, and might not be for a few hours (game was still in the first period). So after a short discussion, we decided to try out the Old York Bar and Grill, a pub on Niagara street that we had passed a few times, but have never visited.



This week, we were joined by our favourite couple Ana and Milan.



Inside, the bar is pretty small, about 7 or 8 tables, with a small stage beside the bar. A placecard on the table listed out all the acts that will be playing each Saturday, mostly bands I've never heard of. There is going to be an open mic comedy night next Saturday which could be very entertaining.


Milan ordered the special, which was Haddock and chips:


I had a small bite of it and it was pretty tasty, and not too greasy. Milan said he enjoyed his meal.


I decided on the "Veggie Beer Chili", because I thought it sounded interesting.:


Now, I'm usually pretty tolerant when it comes to spicy food, but this chili was still very hot for me. By the end of it, my tongue was burning and my face was sweating. Fortunately, I enjoy this type of food, but if Elizabeth had ordered it, she would not have been happy.

Liz: I scooped a pea size of chili and my tongue was burning for the next 10 minutes. Toooooo spicy for me.

The chili was mostly sauce and kidney beans, with some pieces of broccoli mixed in, and cheese on top. The taste of the chili was decent, but it would have been so much better if there was meat of some kind in there. It really felt as if something was missing.


Elizabeth got the Falafel Burger:


I actually wanted fries and there were 2 meals that came with the fries: special and burger.
Since Milan chose the special I settled for the Falafel Burger. Lucky me, falafel was yummy. Between the four dishes we ordered I liked my meal the best. Put some ketchup and mustard on it, perfect. Bun was not the freshest, so I took the top bun off. Fries were the typical bar fries, fried in old oil. I enjoyed the tasted of overcooked oil.....you know what I'm talking about.

Ana got the Jerk Chicken Wings:


The wings were served with a mix of rice and kidney beans. These wings were tasty, but also very spicy.


Oh, oh! I also tasted Ana's chicken wings. S P I C Y ! If you are not into spicy food do NOT order chili or jerk chicken wings. It burned my tongue.

When the meal was over, Milan wanted it to be his treat, but he only had a 500 billion dollar bill, and the bar couldn't make change, so we just ended up splitting the cost.


Overall, I'd recommend this place. The food was decent and reasonably priced. The bill came to just over 66 dollars for the four of us, including drinks. It's a great local pub.

I'd like to visit this place again in the summer, because I think they have a great patio and I really like that they are not located on a busy street.

Summary
Old York Bar & Grill
167 Niagara Street
(416) 703-9675
Price: 75$ for 4 people
Rating: 3.5/5

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Red Fuji Sushi - 930 King Street West - Toronto

Graham: Right next door to the Bungalow Cafe, on the north side of King, you'll find Red Fuji Sushi, a tiny sushi restaurant.


We came in and looked around for a "menu". The only thing available was the take out flyer, and the specials written on a whiteboard behind the counter. We sat down at one of the two tables to decide what to order.




At first we thought the selection provided by the take out menu was pretty good. Elizabeth decided on the Seafood Udon (aka #46), and I was going to have the Chicken Set (#42). When we tried to order these, the chef mumbled something like "take too long", and shook his head. So our initial choices were rejected and we sat down again to pick something more to the restaurant's liking.

Elizabeth: The were only serving sushi. Not sure why they have take-out menu.


For our second choice, Liz picked Ume Sushi (#24) and I picked "Special D". These were accepted and we sat back down while the chef made them.



We were planning on eating in the restaurant, but when the food was finished (after about 10 minutes) it was presented to us in plastic containers inside of a plastic bag. We decided to take the food home and eat there. The total price was only 24 dollars, which I found very reasonable.

Both of our meals came with Miso Soup, which tasted a bit more like salty water with rubbery chunks of tofu than the Miso I'm used to.

I didn't like it either. Too watery, not much taste to it.


I took a single bite of one of Elizabeth's sushi pieces (the salmon) and it left an unusual fishy aftertaste that I did not like.

The fish was cut very thin, and not too fresh. There was way too much rice in the sushi. Just like the miso soup, sushi was tastless. I eat 3 pieces and had to throw the rest away. For the reference I think that 'Japango', a small sushi restaurant on Elizabeth st. (Bay/Dundas area), is a bit more pricy but way better tasting.

I will not go back to Red Fuji Sushi. I give this restaurant 1/5 stars.


My sushi selection consisted of 6 California rolls, 5 salmon tempura rolls, and 3 inari sushi pieces. I have to say that I really liked the inari. It's the first time that I've tried it, and the sweetness of the inari along with the saltiness of the soy sauce and the heat of the wasabi was an excellent combination. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the rolls as much. They were covered in toasted sesame seeds, and tasted ok, but they were nothing special, and the two roll types tasted almost identical to each other.


Overall, I'd say while this restaurant is very cheap, you do get what you pay for and the quality is definitely a bit lower than average. I don't think I'll be going here again.

Summary
Red Fuji Sushi
930 King Street West
(416) 603-9992
Price: 24$ for 2 people
Rating: 1/5

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Bungalow Cafe - 934 King Street West - Toronto

Graham: Walking east from the King/Strachan intersection, on the north side of King is the newly opened Bungalow Cafe. The outside of the restaurant is very inconspicuous and it's easy to walk by without noticing it.


When we arrived, just after 7pm, we found the place pretty empty. There were two people at the bar, and no-one was eating. It wasn't clear whether or not they served dinner, as it looks like it might just be a drinks/snacks kind of place. I really liked the interior, painted dark red with ambient light and candles on each of the dark wooden tables.

The waiter, a young friendly guy, took our coats and seated us near the bar.



Before giving us the menus, the waiter explained that this was just their second night open. He said that things were still getting off the ground with the restaurant and that the selection would be limited. This kind of putt me a little on guard, and I wasn't sure what to expect. He probably shouldn't have said anything at all because I actually prefer a simple one page menu to a ten page book. The one thing that was a bit unusual on the menu however was the lack of prices.


I chose to get the Fried Squid to start and the Rack of Lamb for my entree. Elizabeth chose the Pistachio encrusted Goats Cheese as her main course.

The waiter brought out some bread with chick-pea spread for us to try while we were waiting. The bread was nothing special, but the spread was tasty.

Elizabeth: Sorry Graham, I would have to disagree. I'm used to restaurants serving Italian bread with whipped butter. Bungalow Cafe however chose to serve whole grain bread with garlicky humus spread. A more sensible and healthier choice. I award them ****/5


Next came the fried squid. Usually when I get fried squid at a restaurant, it's pretty greasy and very chewy. This squid however was very juicy and not greasy at all. It was presented on a large plate wrapped in a piece of cucumber with some dipping sauce on the side. The big chunks of calamari were filled with some butter and lightly breaded before being fried. The dipping sauce, made from green apples, complimented the squid perfectly. I've never had squid like this before, and this was definitely better than what I'm used to.


I agree about the squid. It almost felt like a butter melting in my mouth. The supple sourness of the green apple sauce toned down the greasiness I often taste in fried squid. Excellent choice for the sauce! Once again I award this meal ****/5

After finishing the squid, I observed the restaurant a bit while waiting for the main course. A small group of people had come in to sit at the bar. It looked as if they were friends with the owners. The music really did not fit the atmosphere, Bad Company's "Feel like making love" was playing pretty loud, followed by some old Neil Young. One of the owners was sitting at the front window scraping at something along the edge, while the two others were discussing how the napkins should be folded on the tables. You could definitely see that they were still working things out.

Yeah, the music choice struck me as odd. The color choices: deep dark reds and browns call for a more jazzy type music. It felt as if music catered more to the bar than dining crowd. On the other hand it creates a sense of personality and uniqueness, especially if you notice crooked frames on the wall leading to the bathroom.

The main courses arrived, and like the squid, were presented very nicely. The rack of lamb was served on a bed of potatoes, with some green vegetables on the side, and a red wine sauce. The lamb was rare, which was perfect for me, but probably not for everyone. Everything tasted fantastic, the lamb was very juicy and the potatoes were perfect.


Liz talk about your cheese

Mmmmmm....I loved my dish! Pistachio crusted goat cheese. Cheese was just the right zestiness. The crust was easy to break with the fork so the cheese didn't get squished as I ate it. The inside was warm and creamy.
I never had roasted beets before. I do like pickled beets though and roasted beets had a similar taste. As for the baby greens..... what can I say not a baby greens fan. As a matter of the fact it's one of my least favorite foods, but I did manage to take two bites.
Just for the goat cheese I rate this dish a perfect *****/5


Since there were no prices on the menu, we decided to try and guess what the total bill was going to be. Along with my 2 pints of Kronenbourg and Elizabeth's cappucino, we guessed about $80 before tax. We were pretty close.


One weird thing.. there was no tax on the bill. Not that I'm complaining.


At the end, despite the strange selection in music and the kinks that are still being worked out, this place has exceptional food, and I think it holds alot of potential. I will definitely eat here again.

Same here. I definitely recommend this place to people who are looking for good quality food, and are tired of yuppie catering atmosphere. I think this restaurant is perfect for tourists.


Summary
Bungalow Cafe
934 King Street West
Price: 80$ for 2 people
Rating: 4/5

Friday, March 2, 2007

Introduction

Elizabeth and I live on King St. West in Toronto, Ontario. After several months of fighting with the builder to fix problems with our condo, we finally moved in last fall. Winter came on quickly and we never really had a chance to get out and explore our neighbourhood before it got cold.


The weather is finally starting to warm up a bit, so last night we decided we'd like to get out and try to learn a bit more about our area. Specifically, we want to try out the local restaurants and see how they are.


We've decided to start from our condo and work our way eastward, trying out every restaurant on King street from west to east, with the exception of fast food places, or chains. We'll try to do about one restaurant a week.