Courtyard Cafe in Windsor Arms

I like this thread! More suggestions please!

The best one I have had lately (but not quite recently) is at Lion on the Beach, and it came with excellent home fries.

Also at Ellesmere/McCowan, you can also check out St. Andrew's Fish & Chips for your search...it might even be in the same plaza! Known more for their fish and chips.

http://www.standrewsfishandchips.com/

-----
St. Andrews Fish and Chips
1589 Ellesmere Rd, Toronto, ON M1P2Y3, CA

Aroma on Bloor, near Bathurst

I've been to all of the restaurants/halls suggested and would rec Pearl Harbourfront for food, service, view, and nicest room, if budget permits. La Rosa is also quite suitable for your needs.

If you want to include Chinese restaurants, any that serve dim sum will serve tripe.

I heard somewhere that Milagro Restaurante (a Mexican resto in the downtown area) serves an excellent Mexican hot chocolate, although I haven't tried it myself, and the reviews for the restaurant in itself are quite mixed.

Soma's Mayan hot chocolate is good as a shot, but too rich for me as a comfort drink.

Jamie Express at the south end of the Market Village food court is pretty decent, quick, cheap and friendly. I like their green beans with minced pork and olives, and steamed chicken with fish sauce.

I believe you're talking about what used to be known as Marche's, with its "open-market" set-up and is a chain (nothing wrong with that!). It's a crowd-pleaser, in that there's something for everyone. They give you a card upon entry and you can wander around the different food stations to order whatever you want -- salads, pastas, pizza, meats, sushi, seafood, soups, desserts (crepes to-order, ice cream, cakes and tarts), I'm probably missing a few...

Nothing particularly spectacular and it's hard to find anything really "different" available, but it's pretty good if you are going for a social outing because of the wide array of choices. The food is fine, but the focus is probably more on your company. I usually get something from the seafood station.

If you know which one you are going to...the one at the BCE place is the biggest, and has a nice casual atmosphere.

Interiors:
Auberge du Pommier
Splendido
Corner House
Courtyard Cafe
Bistro 990 (if not busy, since tables are somewhat close together)
Mildred Pierce (R.I.P.)

View:
360 (I know, tourist trap, but it has one of the best views in town!)
Canoe

Of course, being romantic can have many definitions -- maybe you want oysters (can't think of a "quiet" oyster bar), foods that you can feed each other by hand (Ethiopian House), or great live music (some nights at the Courthouse, Alleycatz but can get pretty loud, or even the Rex!).

I really like the black forest bacon from Upper Cuts in St. Lawrence Market. It's $5/lb, and you can get it vacuum-packed if you want to store it a bit longer or throw in the freezer, but it doesn't last more than a few days in my hands (without sharing).

mmm....now I have bacon cravings...

Monsoon used to offer really great sweet potato fries with a chili aioli (I think). Not sure if it's still on the menu. Or if it's still as great.

-----
Monsoon
100 Simcoe Street, Toronto, ON M5H 3G2, CA

Costco has a really good "Fruit Medley" with huge chunks of fruit and some nuts. I've only seen wimpy dried fruit mixes at the cheaper bulk food stores.

Ghirardelli Double Chocolate, can be found by searching St. Lawrence Market, and some fine foods stores. It might be more widely available now, as some of their products can now be found in fairly mainstream stores (Shopper's Drug Mart?)

Would be extra rich and decadent with some good ol' homemade marshmellows (if only I could find someone to make them for me!)

Looks like this: http://www.amazon.com/Ghirardelli-Hot...

My current favourite is the Elysian Espresso, but I get it from Vancouver visitors.

If you want easily accessible (i.e. Starbucks) try their Ethiopian. I find it very smooth and never bitter (both french press and when using my espresso machine). If you're anti-Starbucks you can get a good Ethiopian blend from Balzac's in the Distillery District. They also carry it in "fair-trade".

The best coffee beans I had were from a friend returning from Cuba, but I can't remember the brand, just that it had maroon coloured packaging, and was fairly pricey compared to other Cuban goods.

I believe the gala ticket includes the 150 ft. buffet: "100 varieties of decadent chocolates, deliciously exotic chocolate desserts, chocolate drinks and chocolate infused foods" but they don't have set table seating.

http://www.thechocolateball.ca/ticket...

http://www.chocolatefestivalweek.com/

October 14-20 - Chocolicious at participating restaurants (none listed on site).

October 14 - Ultimate Chocolate Spa Party at ONE, Spadirect Wellness Center and Spa (Crowne Plaza Toronto Don Valley Hotel).

October 17 - The CocoCulture Fashion Show: Men in Brown, and the 9-1-1 Chocolate Relay (firefighters pitted against police and paramedics).

October 19-20 - It's a Wonderful Death By Chocolate at Mysteriously Yours Dinner Theatre

October 20 - The Chocolate Ball: Cocoa Cabana at Palais Royale (Cuban 40s and 50s jazz/mambos/cha chas theme with live band and chocolate buffet).
http://www.thechocolateball.ca/

I'm not sure about all of the events, but the Chocolate Ball is in support of breast cancer programs at the Princess Margarat Hospital.

price?

I tried to arrange something with Sassafraz a couple years ago, right before their kitchen burnt down. They had some good menus but I thought they were a bit on the pricey side ($70+ pp and guaranteed minimum cost of something exorbitant like $1500 depending on the room booked). When I passed by during Nuit Blanche it looked great and the staff were pretty welcoming to passersby! (loss of snob appeal??)

Linda? It's small but can accommodate a larger group at the back, and menu is pretty inexpensive - great value. Love the decor and always excellent service.

Tatami room at Ematei or Nami (japanese)

Wait...I'm not sure what you mean by touristy.....

What about coffee shops? I'm on the fence and inconsistent on this. Sometimes I drop my change in the tip jar, sometimes I use a cash card and don't want to dig out change. I feel more inclined for complicated drinks or if I'm planning to stay and they'd need to clear off the table when I leave, but not for a "tall-bold" or "regular double-double" to go.

Going to go soon. Anything specific on the Starfish menu that I *must* order? Everything sounds good...

The brinier the better, but I always forget which ones I enjoyed. Suggestions on which oyster plate I should try?

I also thought the hummus platter was the best course. Some people had the cucumber and chickpea salad, but that was basically all that it was -- diced cucumbers and chickpeas, and some mint.

I think the dancing part would be fun if you went with a semi-rowdy (or at least enthusiastic) group, but if no one in your group participates I can see it being a bit boring.

....I'm really looking forward to trying out the coffee here!
Does anyone know if they have internet service? Is it a place that you can stay for an hour or two, or is that not so welcome?

I ate at the Sultan's Tent last month and the food was okay. My party had the $40 prix fixe menu (careful, lots of "up-grade" items with added costs), and I had the harira (hearty & spiced tomato broth), hummus, braised lamb shank,and moroccan treats (some cookies and orange slices with cinnamon?) for dessert.

It might just be because I'm not a big fan of the heavily spiced foods - each course had a very similar taste to my uneducated palate, and the lamb was very very fatty (I've never made this complaint before!). It didn't help that the main course came after the lights went out for the belly-dancing show, so I couldn't see what I was eating. I wanted to know what veggies I was eating, but I couldn't tell by the taste or texture, so some sight would have been helpful. The tent area is beautiful and the show itself was fun! The mint tea was quite cleansing after a heavy meal, and the service was friendly.

It was a fun experience and definitely geared for group outings, but not a delicious one.

Yay, I've been waiting for them to open and then forgot about it. How does the coffee compare to Aroma up at Bloor?

It's a shame about your poor experience! Maybe the host got flak from the kitchen and took it out on you. Not a good excuse for being rude to a potential customer though.

My SO and I went to grab a late meal at Sushi on Bloor (a cheap and casual resto in Toronto, ON) after watching a film. We checked the posted hours and saw that we had about 20 minutes left before close, and they usually get orders out promptly. We walked in and were told by the hostess that they were closed, sorry. Okay, maybe their kitchen is closed, so we made to leave. Apparently their manager had just walked out as we were walking in and heard her, so he turned around saying, "no no no, we're still open, come on in" and chastised the hostess in front of us. Awkward!

She told us we'd have to order everything at once, as the kitchen would be closing down after preparing this last meal for us. (sort of brusque, but we weren't put out) The other staff all looked at us and the thought of having my food spat on went through my mind...eeps! We ordered easy-to-prepare items and the server brought everything out, telling us to take our time as he had lots of things to do to close shop.

So we had a mixture of patience and impatience when trying to eat out near closing time. Definitely something I'd rather *not* make a habit of! Although our server tried to make amends and not rush us, we did feel like we needed to eat and leave quickly.

In Toronto too.

For dinner, I usually give 15% (used to just double the tax, round up to the nearest dollar) unless the service is exceptionally good or bad. For lunch I tend to go to inexpensive places when I do go out, so I might add a dollar or two more.
For dim sum, usually between 10-15%. Although considering how many ppl actually serve us, would it be "fair" to give more?
At higher-end places I'm more inclined to tip 20%, where the price point is astronomically higher. I wonder how I got trained to think like this.

Wouldn't think of giving verbal praise in lieu of a real tip though..

Specifically MALT vinegar on fries! I've heard it's a Canadian thing... used to have an order of that and a hot chocolate with my sisters after ice skating lessons.... =)

Marks & Spencer's Shrimp Cocktail Chips (aka Prawn Cocktail Tapioca Snacks)
- always excited when someone is heading out to HK or Europe, since M&S closed shop here in Canada =(

Lay's and Ruffles All Dressed
Kettle Chips Sea Salt & Vinegar

Congee Wong is a decent solid restaurant for its price point for congee and quick cantonese-style foods. Another one that is similar in menu and value is Congee Queen at Leslie/Steeles. They might have the same owners... Congee Queen has a bunch of "super bowl" congees, mainly seafood. I like the one with the wintermelon and seafood. For the smaller congee servings, I like the sliced fish and pork liver. Their menu is a bit more eclectic, with pad thai and whatnot in addition to the rice noodles and stir-fry dishes. Really quick service - we usually get our orders within 5min of ordering!

I didn't know you could get a whole french press at Starbucks... THANKS for the tip!!

When I want a coffee that I know will be the same consistency from franchise to franchise, I go to Tim Hortons for a regular, or a double-double (two milks, two sugars) if I'm feeling splurgy (with the cals). It's not great coffee, but it's good and never burnt tasting.