slants's Profile
Truffle Oil in Toronto?
its terrible .... tastes like chemicals ... do yourself a favor and trek out to cheese boutique for the real deal
Cocktails before Marben - Friday.
yeah .... sorry ... should have been specific when i mentioned goodnight ... its really only good before about 1030 ... when its still relatively quiet ... otherwise it turns into a bit of a zoo ... theyve really been slacking on their restrictive capavity policy ... it doesnt help either that they only have one real bartender for the whole place
Cocktails before Marben - Friday.
the prices at the thompson are ridiculous ... try goodnight ... decent unique drinks ... a bit pricey but not anywhere near as bad as the thompson ($27 for 1 finger of balvenie anyone?)
YOU GOTTA GO TO BARQUE FOR BBQ!
everyone is entitled to their opinion but i encourage everyone with regards to any resto to taste w their mouth and not their ears ... lol
YOU GOTTA GO TO BARQUE FOR BBQ!
its worth the trip even w/out seeing the menu .... food is AMAZING .... i love to bbq at home but this is way better than anything i could ever do .... def get the miami ribs!
Toronto Wedding Venue Help!
we did the national ballet school .... 4k rental ... no minimum spend ... used en ville catering (great - local - organic) ... and heres the real money saver .... SOP! .... we purchased and drank our own booze ... that saved a tonne of dough right there
Unique/Gorgeous Wedding Venues in Toronto & Area?
canoe can accomodate 110 comfortably .... i looked ... too bad i had 160 .... we ended up @ the national ballet school in the atrium .... it was wicked ... we used en ville who were terrific and great to work with .... it cleans up very well .... with all the lights off and just the donor wall on and some accent lighting on the columns its a very elegant modern space
Looking for the holy grail - cheap healthy and very delicious restaurant for a casual weeknight dinner
definitely jean's vegetarian on the danforth at greenwood ... nothing over$15 and so tasty i dont even notice that its vegatarian (i'm a heavy carnivore)
Need "Get To Know You" Date Help
letteri in yorkville .... quiet , anonymous, dim light ... i met my someone there for the first time 7 months ago and now we're engaged! .... hopefully it works for you too!
L'atelier de Joel Robuchon [London] Reviews?
they replied ... pretty typical response with a twist ... offered a freebie as is usual - bu there;s the classy part ... i told them i probably wouldnt be back in london anytime soon so they immediately refunded the service ... kinda restores my faith in them ... enough to at least give them a second chance
L'atelier de Joel Robuchon [London] Reviews?
letter sent ... id really like to see what they say ... i always judge restos based on how they handle a tough situation such as this ... i already told them im not expecting anything of a "freebie" nature ... im on a plane back to toronto tomorrow anyhow ,,, it would be simply nice to have at least an acknowledgement or some form of apology
L'atelier de Joel Robuchon [London] Reviews?
i should have ... to add insult to injury when the bill first came they had charged us for 4 tastings at a table of 3! ... they were clearly scared of us by the end of the meal ... im a fairly large guy and i wasnt really being too quiet about how i felt ... the managers kept pointing at us and discussing ... it seemed like they didn tknow what they should do ... also quite ridiculous were the amount of servers behind the bar who spent the entire evening sampling wine w patrons when the 4 guys on the floor were run off their feet ... you guys are right ... i should send a letter of complaint ... i think i will forward tehm my post
L'atelier de Joel Robuchon [London] Reviews?
went last night ... quite possibly my worst fine dining experience ever ... and that's saying something as i am quite the forgiving diner.
the night started well enough ... mojitos of various flavours on the patio w great olives. in fact i was so impressed w the olives i felt it was gonna be a great night ... i had just come back from madrid where we ate a lot of olives btu these things were killer!
then to the meal ... we decided to go the tasting menu route ... skipped the wine pairing since clos maggiore the night before slayed us with the generousity in their wine pours and ordered a bottle of sancere .... the "somellier" was awful ... all he could do was point out bottles and their regions ... when asked for a suggestion he would give a million different picks ... it's his job to suggest ... don't be so shy ...
then the meal ... started out ok ... there was an amuse of foie and some jelly topped w parm foam in a shooter glass ... nice light and tasty ... then it all goes downhill
being a michellin starred venue ... the service was woefully inept ... they stuck us at a table in a corner and the waiters would keep bumping my chair and not even apologize ... when they would deliver the dishes, my two companions would get theirs and mine would arrive a good 2-3 minutes later
there was first a pea soup with some crouton in the middle ... ive had better out of a can ... i think it was pea soup ... the waitress never really told us
then there was a puree of asparagus topped w a tomato granite in a martini glass ... an acidic pile of mush that tasted like blended grass ... i took two bites (the second to give it another chance because i couldnt believe how bad my first impression was) and had to stop ...
at this point the service starts getting really bad ... they started popping up over my shoulder and inbetween my companions' heads ... literally! ... they wouldnt say a word ... stare at the finished or half finished dishes that we clearly no longer eating ... and just walk away! .... wtf?
then we had a scallop
then a foie
then the quail (if this is their signature dish they really need a revamp- teriyaki chicken anyone?)
a sorbet
and a mousse
the entire time the same basic errors were happening over and over ... there would keep serving two dishes and wait a good 2-3 minutes to serve the last ... glasses were constantly empty to the point where we would serve ourselves
when we ordered tea ... my pot of darjeeling came out in relatively short order ... 10 minutes later at which point i was nearly done did my friend;s pot come out ... we wanted to order more wine with the last main course (the quail) and told out waiter so - he dropped off and wine list and didnt return to take our order until dessert!
at 110 quid a head plus drinks and 12.5% auto grat the whole experience was bizarre to say the least ... i cannot for the life of me understand the recent second star they gave this place ... the food was definitely not good ... everything was mushy - it was like a tasting of baby food ... and dont even get me started on the oompa loompas they had serving us ... im pretty sure management knew we were dissatisfied ... but looking over and pointing at us didnt solve anything ... i would have been completely satisified with the evening had i simply been asked by a manager why we werent enjoying our food (which the half eaten dishes should have been a clear indicator of) and been able to voice our dimay.
shame really ... because of this evening i have lost all desire to visit any other robuchons .... i was quite looking forward to my meal too .... thank good the drunk bankers who will eat anything so long as there is plenty of drink to go along will keep filling the place and thus keep it open.
end rant (LOL)
Lakeview Restaurant - Anyone been?
i went last week ... 2am ... 3 sheets to the wind ... still the food was GROSS ... worst grilled cheese and poutine EVER
Shang, in Thompson LES
i was also there monday night ... however i had a slightly opposite take. i think the room is AWFUL! ... terrible detailing and what's up with the crooked lamp in the middle of the room. service was also wonky. i sent back a bottle for the first time in my life because it was clearly off. instead of bringing another bottle the waiter seem to blame us for choosing the wrong wine and suggested we choose another. the food however was good. we had almost everythign on the menu and thought it was quite good. being chinese i have always had a problem w asian fusion. but susur lee has never disappoitned. i found the menu to be steeped in contemporary cantonese flavors. i have always found that he basically takes everyday chinese resto food and takes it up a notch. i LOVED the pork belly - we call that mui choi cao yuk. the cuke salad is very reminisent of a cold jelly fish app we have at banquets - hoi jeet pai. i could go on and on but susur lee is quite true to the best of hk style/cantonese asian cusine and does it well.
oh - one other thing - why the hell did they have plated on the table that they take away and replace without having ever been used? ... and the weighted chopsticks drove me nuts. and why the need to present us w our forks/knives/napkin? .... just put if out before i get there!
all in all thought it was decent ... for those not familiar w his previous establishments shang is closer to his more pedestrian "lee" as opposed to the higher end susur which served more haute cuisine.
Korean
il bun ji has seriously gone downhill ... it's now changed its name slightly ... the food is awful ... the bulgoki tastes like boiled beef and the spicy octopus is covered in a mixture of ketchup and tobasco ... i used to love this place - but no longer ... i think it may have actually changed management
offal - where to buy?
apparently charlie's meats on broadview is the source of offal for a lot of the resto's around town
First Time at Norma's
skip the foie brioche french toast thing .... blech .... terrible ... the juice is great though ... but it better be @ 9$ a glass
John Lee's Omi - The paper is off the windows
i went agian last night ... has john doubled up on the serving sizes? ... it was already gut busting before but THIS TIME! ,,,, holy crap ... the food was great ... it was all amazing but we had to eject! .... we told them stop and just bring the bill .... stuffed to the gills! ,,, seriously though ... we used to share a plate between two of us ... now we each got our own .... thanks for the generosity john but its too much food.
HELP!! - Need Recs Near Markham and Ellesmere TONIGHT
maple yip is at sheppard and midland ... just make sure to show up before 7
New Poutine Chain above Burrito Boys
yes ... and its better than anything that you'll ever have @ smokes .. but its not really a poutine ... its like mc donald's fries that are bordering on crunchy covered in butter and lobster SO GOOD!
New Poutine Chain above Burrito Boys
line up was out the door and down the street ... got a pulled pork w bacon .... so good so far ... free pop shoppe soda w purchase today ... one of teh better putines ive had ... prolly second only apdc's foie poutine in mtl
New Poutine Chain above Burrito Boys
i work pretty much across the street ... we're heading over at 1130!
