Politica - 127 Strachan Ave.

Graham: A week ago Friday we visited Politica for dinner right after work (around 7pm). We sat outside on the patio under the huge umbrellas. Liz had the Quattro pizza and I had the goat cheese penne. We both really enjoyed our meals and decided to return to the restaurant last night with the camera so that we could blog our experience.

We headed out to the restaurant a bit later this week, around 8:30pm.


When we walked in the main dining room was full, and it was a bit too cold to sit outside, so we were seated in the second dining area at the back of the restaurant, near to the kitchen. Liz snuck a photo of the main dining area from our little room.


We ordered the house red wine, and the "Crispy Cornmeal Crusted Calamari" to start. Try to say that 5 times fast.



The calamari arrived fairly quickly, and had a very creative presentation. I could definitely taste the cornmeal in the batter. The squid itself was a little chewy, but had a nice flavour, especially with the lemon and red pepper sauce that was drizzled on top. We quickly polished off the appetizer, and ordered our main meals.

While we were waiting for our meals to arrive, the restaurant continued to fill up. Even our little room at the back became quite full, and the two waitresses were running off their feet. Some of the tables in our room were given bread, while others (such as ours) were not. After about 45 minutes of waiting, the waitress came over and told us that our meals would be out in "two more minutes". Fifteen minutes later our food arrived.

Liz ordered the pizza special, which was pepperoni, old cheddar, mushrooms, tomatoes, and chili flakes. Liz doesn't like spicy food, so she asked the waitress to "hold the chills", to which the waitress replied "hold the cheese, ok." Luckily for us that she repeated it back so we could catch her error immediately, or we probably would have had another half an hour waiting for them to correct the mistake.


This pizza (along with the one we had the previous week) was excellent. I ate two pieces, and the only thing I think was missing was the chili flakes. We probably should have asked for them "on the side", which also might have saved us 50 cents (more on that later).

I ordered the "Grilled Frenched Veal Chop". I'm not sure what the verb "frenched" means exactly. I was interested to see what a 30$ piece of meat tastes like.


I discovered a 30$ chop tastes much like a 10$ chop. It was tasty, but nothing special. The best part about this dish were the sweet potato french fries that the chop was served on top of. I've never had them before, the salty/sweet flavour is surprisingly good. I think we'll try to make them at home some day (and save ourselves 30$).


We completely cleared the table of food. We barely saw our server the whole meal. I drank my water and Liz's, and could have used a refill.

Eventually, the bill arrived, and it contained a little surprise:


If you click on the photo for a larger view, you'll notice that we were charged 50 cents to hold the chili flakes off the pizza. What's the deal with that? Is it a "chef inconvenience" fee? If anything we saved him some inventory and work. I just don't get it.

I now have really mixed feelings about Politica. Overall, the food ranges from fair to excellent, but some menu items are very pricey for what you actually get. The service seems to be variable, probably depending on what time you arrive at the restaurant. I do think we'll probably return to Politica in the future, making sure to arrive early and probably sticking to the pasta and pizza portions of the menu. They also serve weekend brunch which we might decide to try out sometime.

Summary
Politica
127 Strachan Avenue
(416) 366-0990
Price: 90$ dinner for 2 people
Rating: 3/5

Cafe Cinquecento - 791 King Street West

Graham: Just east of the intersection of King and Niagara, two doors down from the The Foggy Dew Irish Pub, there lies a small, easy to miss restaurant named Cafe Cinquecento.


Liz and I drive past this restaurant every day on our way in to work, and we've been looking forward to trying it for some time now. Yesterday we finally got our chance to dine at Cinquecento with some of our friends. We invited our two favourite couples to join us: Mira & Djula, and Ana & Milan.


We arrived around 2:30pm, and the place was pretty deserted. The patio out front looked very inviting, but unfortunately it was a bit too cold to sit outside in the shade.

Inside, the atmosphere is very warm and comforting. There is a bar in the main room with a very large cappuccino machine, and only has one beer on tab (Stella).


At the back of the restaurant there is a large chalkboard displaying the day's specials above a window to the open kitchen.


After ordering, the waitress brought out sliced Italian bread with oil and balsamic vinegar dip, which we promptly devoured. She brought a second round, which disappeared just as quickly.

Some excited talking and waiving arms caused a bit of an accident. No problem, waitress helped clean it up in seconds.


Ana ordered the Calamari Alla Positano, which is squid in a jalapeno tomato sauce.


We all sampled the squid, which was good, but possibly a bit overcooked (it was a bit rubbery). The sauce was very tasty. Mira favored this meal.

Liz: I found it a bit too spicy for me. The squid was a bit rubbery. If you're in a mood for a spicy seafood meal that's light, this might be good choice.

In my opinion the best squid we had so far was at The Bungalow Cafe.

For my meal, I chose the Saltimbocca Di Vitello: Veal Scaloppini with prosciutto and sage. It was served with a side of vegetables, carrots, potatoes, and some unidentified green vegetable that was not spinach, but not entirely unlike spinach.


This dish tasted pretty good, but was not great. The layer of prosciutto added a nice bit of saltiness to the veal, and the vegetables were tasty, although I didn't care much for the mysterious green thing. Overall, the dish was nothing special, and yet it was the most expensive of all the meals ordered.

Elizabeth chose the special: Spaghetti with fresh clams in white wine sauce.


Liz: Out of all the meals we ordered at Cinquecento, this one was my favorite. I've been trying to find a pasta dish that's not covered in a creamy sauce but has a bit of cheesy flavour to it. I had a dish like this at Mike Ditka's Restaurant in Chicago and have been craving it since. This meal came pretty close to what I was expecting. The spaghetti were al dente and tossed in olive oil. There was white wine sauce at the bottom of the plate and i was able to dip pasta into it. This was much better than to have the pasta soaked with oily sauce. I enjoyed my meal and would order it again.

Milan chose the Funghi Pizza.


The thin crust was topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and mushrooms. The waitress also provided a hot-pepper oil for us to put on the pizza. I sampled this pizza, and really liked it, despite the fact that I am not the biggest fan of mushrooms. I thought the oil was a perfect compliment to the flavour of the sauce.

Mira ordered one of the lunch specials on the menu, the Cinquecento Panini with minestrone soup.


The panini contained prosciutto, provolone cheese, arugola, and tomato. Mira said she enjoyed the meal. I has a small piece of the sandwich, which like my meal, was good but nothing special.

Djula ordered the Tortellini.


The tortellini was cheese filled, and served in a tomato cream sauce with mushrooms and pancetta. Everyone tried a bit of his meal, and it was the clear favourite of all the dishes. The tomato cream sauce had a very delicious rich flavour. The next time I return to Cafe Cinquento, I will definitely be ordering this as my meal.


Considering the quality of the food, the prices are fairly reasonable. The food total came to eighty dollars, but with drinks, tax, and tip the total was one hundred and twenty dollars, about twenty dollars per person.

Overall, I really enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere. Unfortunately, I pass this restaurant often, and it never seems to be very busy, especially compared to its neighboring restaurant The Foggy Dew. I'm hoping that this place does not close down due to lack of business, because I'm looking forward to returning here.


Summary
Cafe Cinquecento
791 King Street West
(416) 203-9390
Price: 120$ for 6 people
Rating: 4/5

Niagara Street Cafe - 169 Niagara Street

Graham: When walking from King Street to the Old York Bar and Grill 2 weeks ago, we noticed a nice looking restaurant on Niagara Street. It looked really inviting, so we decided that it should be our next destination. So it happened that on a freezing cold Saturday evening we made our way to the Niagara Cafe for dinner.


We found the hours and single page menu posted on the fence in front of the restaurant. The menu advertises, "We proudly use naturally raised meats, organic dairy, and local artesian products".



Inside, the restaurant is essentially one fairly small room with tables tightly packed in. Brown paper covers each of the candlelit tables, and soft ambient music plays in the background. The atmosphere is warm and cozy, but due to the number of tables in the small room, I found the noise of people talking at other tables to be a bit distracting.



Before we ordered, the waiter brought us potato bread with roasted pepper oil and olives.


I've never eaten potato bread before, and it was delicious. The inside is a little more chewy and more dense than normal bread. The loaf was prepared with potato skins on the top, giving a flavour of baked potato. The oil and peppers perfectly complimented the flavour of the bread.

For my appetizer, I chose the grilled octopus with almonds in charred onion broth.



I had high hopes for this dish, but I found the octopus to be a bit too chewy (maybe this is normal for octopus?) and without much flavour except for the charred parts, which were bitter. The onion broth it was served in was also not exactly my taste, and had a bit of an unpleasant flavour.

Elizabeth ordered the soup of the day, which was parsnips with cream.


Liz: When I was little, my mom used to make chicken soup with carrots and parsnips. Oh, how much I hated parsnip! I would always pick them out, yucky.
So, when I heard that this soup was all parsnips, I just had to try it.

Either parsnips have changed, or my taste has. The soup had delicious sweet flavour, kind of like squash but I could definitely make out the parsnip taste. It was rich and creamy, perfect for a cold day. I would definitely have this soup again.

For my main course I chose the pork with white beans and vegetables.


The pork itself was perfect. On the top, the skin was hard and crispy, which went well with the juicy meat inside. Unfortunately, the sauce for this dish was ok, but not great. The flavour of whatever bean/vegetable combination it was made with really did not compliment the flavour of the pork. It's too bad because with a better sauce this dish would have been fantastic.

For Elizabeth's main course, she chose the duck breast with cabbage and spanish paprika sauce.


Liz: I was really hoping for duck not to be too greasy, but it was :( Grease seeped into the soup base so savory cabbage tasted greasy as well. Meat was juicy and flavorful and there was just the right amount of it. All in all, the dish was average. I would probably not order it again.


Overall, the experience at the Niagara Cafe was pleasant. The service and atmosphere were good, but the taste of the food did not dazzle us. I can't help but compare this restaurant to the Bungalow Cafe (our first review), which had better food for a similar price.

Summary
Niagara Street Cafe
169 Niagara Street
(416) 703-4222
Price: 80$ for 2 people
Rating: 3/5

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