I am soon going to be driving from Toronto to London and back on a very frequent basis and am hoping that the Danish Place at Sunset Villa proves worthwhile.

I love Danish smorrebrod and as it is difficult to find I am optimistic that this place will provide something tasty and unusual.

Do any 'hounds have opinions or experience here?

It appears to be open for lunch and dinner Thursday to Sunday.

Also make sure you know how much you can bring.
I can't tell you what the limit is but it isn't much.

Are the wings breaded?

Ben & Izzy's is now open!

Had the Pastrami ($9.95) which was excellent. Very juicy with a perfect amount of smoke.

They are still working out kinks and some items are not yet available i.e. soups, burgers, latkes.

The big surprise is that they have a 16 oz. USDA Prime rib steak for $29.95. The same that the fancy butchers sell for $30/lb.

The staff members are very pleasant too!

The Grand Opening is scheduled for May 7th.

Thanks again for a great tip!

Tried them at lunch yesterday and they were certainly the best I have ever had.
1. The fragrant curry powder was properly cooked so i didn't get the dry, grainy mouth feel.
2. The serving of shrimp (large 31-35s I think) was very generous. About 11-12 pieces.
3. The quality of the juliened ham was an unexpected surprise.

I finished with the Durian Puffs which I also loved!

I would not recommend Les Pates Vivantes (5). It served the greasiest, saltiest and worst asian food I have ever encountered.

Le Trumilou to me is very meh, but very cheap and all that entails.

Le Relais de l'Entrecote is awful and not cheap. Try Le Severo for infinitely better steak, frites and wine for about the same price.

I love Les Papilles, Breizh and Dans les Landes.

I had a Seinfeldesque "Poopies Pizza" experience at Septime and for some reason the soup is always served tepid.

I agree with Mangeur that Saturne is a great mini splurge.

The chili oil flavoured with star anise is exceptional.
Also, try the deep fried pork chop, which is very generous at about $6, and the 6 very large wings (unsauced) at about $5 could be the best and cheapest in town.
I recently had the Congee with shrimp (about $5), 5 very large and tasty shrimp.
I have not had the deep fried calimari but see a lot of it coming out of the kitchen.

Don't forget Folia Grill 1032 Pape.

The Chickery is using a gas rotisserie, providing tables, cutlery etc..

The Loblaws chicken is a loss leader. It is used to induce you to spend more money in the store. I don't think you can buy a Beretta chicken for $10 raw. Besides, in my experience, Loblaws likes to cook them 'til they are dry.

Today is day 12 and while they are still not where they want to be the signs are encouraging.

The chicken was good quality and tender but just barely cooked and the skin was not crisp. IMHO the first duty of the skin is to be mahogany coloured and rendered crisp. Admittedly this is not easy to do without overcooking the bird. It should also rest for a few minutes so that you don't get a large puddle of jus on the plate.

The gravy was a bit bland, disappointingly under seasoned and not quite "chickeny" enough for me. With all that rendered fat they should be able to improve it.

With a little tweaking they should be able to nail it and I hope they do.

There are different specials every day. Yesterday their excellent chickens were $2.49/lb and the 1 litre chili was $4.99.

The half pound burgers are now $6, bacon, cheese, mushroons and caramelized onions at no extra cost. Available Monday to Friday 11 am to 1:45 pm.

Penrose does the ultimate artery clogger English style chips.

Slightly thicker than standard frites and fried in beef tallow.

Didier does first class frites.

Another good thing about Easter weekend, Folia will be open regular hours so only closed on Sunday.

About 8 oz.

I would simply ask.
I tried it once and thought it was a bit salty and much overshadowed by the chicken gyro and more recently the pork.
Restaurants are often fairly clever at figuring out what sells and what doesn't.
I think they still had biftekia on the menu a week or so ago and I know they have all the other ingredients.

Must be Drouant.

They will happily put the half dozen fries on the side or leave them out altogether. Just ask.

I get my gyro open faced, i.e. on a plate unrolled, and eat it with a knife and fork. That way I get a little pita, pork, veg. and tzatziki with every bite and a better chance of retaining my dignity by avoiding tzatziki on face, hands and lap because my next stop is inevitably the Danish bakery 4 doors south for the incredible almond pastry.

Thanks for the tip atomeyes.

Both the Hot and the Sweet and Hot are excellent with great complexity. The difference between the 2 is the addition (low on the ingredient list) of pineapple and honey. The sweetness is very restrained.

Got them at Culinarium an hour ago and now have beads of perspiration betraying my indulgence.

They are obviously hand made and in the same quality range as the Frontera sauces which is about as good as it gets.

I also bought the Smokey El Paso red pepper jelly by Perth Pepper and Pestle which I think is outstanding too. It is fairly mild and smokey with roasted garlic.

Now open Saturday 'til 7:00.

I don't have to worry about nodding off at my desk!

Hope everybody doesn't show up at once.

Great idea!

Dumpling places normally have vinegar on the table congee places don't, but you only have to ask. Then try a chili oil vinegar mix.

I am hoping some 'hounds will take one for the team and critique the wings at Congee Queen.

I am hooked on Star as well but mainly because I like the wait staff. For purely a food experience the Queen wins. The cooking is somewhat more refined and it becomes quite obvious since the menus have about a 90% overlap.

But please try the Queen"s wings (in deference to this thread). Get them plain and use the truly exceptional chili oil, the chili sauce or take a little bottle of Franks, Tabasco or whatever!

Atomeyes, do you mean Congee Queen on Lawrence just west of Don Mills?

I have had the wings at both Congee Star and Congee Queen and the Queen wins by a mile, in fact they could be the best wings I have ever had in a restaurant with the caveat that the only sauces are chili sauce and chili oil and of course no raw veg or dip.

That is a bit less reasonable than it once was!

Nevertheless, a $100 bottle at the LCBO would list at roughly $250 + $75 T&T = $325 in the restaurant which makes the corkage look like a bargain to me.

Presuming they still have the reasonable BYO policy it is also a great place to take the killer bottle of wine you have been saving for a great piece of beef.

I eat Wicked Thai Chicken Soup at least twice a week particularly when I have leftover roast chicken which I dice and throw in while reheating gently. It could do without the rice which I consider filler.

I hope someone will knock it off which I don't think would be difficult. A variation of Tom Yam Gai I think.

What calories? LOL

That is indeed the mint to which I was referring!

Yes, Steve is still there, I didn't ask about the longer term.

Thank you all for your help. We went to Yang's, partly because I have been there for quite good Dim Sum 6-7 times though not in the last year or so.

The entrance to the place is starting to look a bit worn and sloppy around the edges. It was about half full at 7:30 and we were seated at a table for 6 closest to the door and cold draught.

We ordered Stir fried Green Beans with Shrimp and Pork, Cubed Beef Tenderloin with King Mushrooms and Nuts and Sweet and Sour Tiger Shrimp.

The Beans and Beef arrived at the same time, both barely warmer than room temperature. The green beans were over cooked and very limp, the beef and mushrooms with some cold cashews strewn about might have been more interesting served hot. In both cases any wok hay disappeared out the kitchen exhaust 10 minutes earlier. We chatted away amiably and picked at the food finishing about half.

About 30 minutes later the waiter walked by and said "Shrimp coming soon, sorry". They did arrive a good bit warmer than the previous dishes. The 4 shrimp were huge and the sweet and sour pretty competent but not exciting in any way (this one was not my choice!).

So, we had a great time chatting about everything, generally ignoring the food and proving once again that good company and conversation can transcend poor food and indifferent service.

Yang's appears to have stopped caring, the above 3 dishes and 2 steamed rice were $72 inc. tax. We were the last to leave at 9:30.

Your advice is invaluable as always Wahooty. Thanks

Thanks Charles, but if I had a 41 year old bottle of Riesling I could probably just order in!

Casa Imperial isn't really out of the area, but LWH won't work this time and could be touchy about BYO.

Thank you Charles and Caitlink very much.

I think Casa Victoria and Yang's might have a little less hustle and bustle than Emperor and less distraction might be better this time.