ER2's Profile
Need help with Yorkville Dinner Recommendation
I'm afraid Avenue closed three or four weeks back as part of the general closure of the Four Seasons at the Yorkville/Avenue Road location. I'm told that there will be a similar place at ground floor level when the new Four Seasons opens at Bay/Yorkville but that won't be until sometime in July.
Need help with Yorkville Dinner Recommendation
It's to be called The Oxley and is located at 121, Yorkville. It's to be an upscale gastropub to cater, according to one of the owner's, for those who live in the area who don't want to have pricey, three course dinners every night. It has both a front and back patio. It's supposed to open around now.
Best Bread in Toronto
Has anyone tried Fred's Bread yet.? I haven't but a friend recommended their bread to me. She finds her Fred's Bread at the Rowe Farm outlet on Bloor and Bathurst. I'm not sure what other stores carry it. I think I'd like to give it a try.
which is your favourite Greek style yogurt, and why?
I clicked on the link and found this. Is this the same SKOTIDAKIS you had in mind?
A few brands that we know and like for regular yogurt made the worst Greek versions in our sample. On taste and texture, we disqualified Quebec-based Liberté's 0 per cent (“Thin, lumpy, chalky”), President's Choice 2 per cent (“Loose, runny spoonful of chalkiness”), and Skotidakis 9 per cent, which was too cheesy to our taste, and believe it or not, too rich to eat outside of dessert.
Tongue
Many thanks for all your suggestions but I live "downtown" (Bloor/Yonge) and was hoping for an outlet more in that area. I don't drive but am happy to take the TTC. Anyway, thanks again.
PS: I was looking to buy tongue rather than find it on a restaurant menu.
Tongue
Does anybody know where cooked and sliced beef tongue can be found? It's a dish I like from time to time but I can't recall having seen it anywhere recently.
Modus Ristorante
Two of us went about a month ago and our impression was was just the opposite.
I had the veal carpaccio for a starter and found it very pleasant but not not extraordinary. I then had the diver scallops for my main. These were excellent - perfectly browned on top and juicy and tasty overall. I thought they were the best scallops I've had in a while and it's a dish I order quite often.
As far as I remember, the service was quietly professional and we both enjoyed having comfortable chairs to sit in at a table which wasn't virtually a continuation of the table next to it. Above all, we relished being in a restaurant spacious enough to mean we didn't have to yell to keep a conversation going on between the two of us.
I think Joanne Kates has it at #8 on her best of new 2011 restaurants and we could see why. We plan to go back in the not too distant future.
ISO Best Pasta Sauce commonly available in Toronto
Sorry, plug, to take so long to get back to you. Yes, the sauce I'm talking about at Pusateri's comes in plastic tubs and usually has a shelf life of 4-5 days.
ISO Best Pasta Sauce commonly available in Toronto
When I used to make my own I would use the recipe found in Marcella Hazan's "The Classic Italian Cookbook". At the end of her recipe she notes (p.129) that the sauce "can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen". That's about the same time limit you'll find on the freshly made meat sauce at Pusateri's
Maybe there's a technique of bottling the sauce "properly" so it keeps for up to a year but it's a technique unknown to me..
ISO Best Pasta Sauce commonly available in Toronto
I regularly use the in-store made "meat sauce" which I buy at the Yorkville branch of Pusateri's though presumably it's available at their other stores as well. I used to make my own but found this a very acceptable substitute. As it's freshly made, it's got a short expiry date. What I've not used, I freeze in ice cube trays. This seems to work perfectly well
Luch or brunch this coming Sunday.
An old friend is helping me out with a task on Sunday morning and in return I'd like to take her for a nice Sunday lunch or brunch. However, I don't think we'd be able to make table much before 2.00pm.
By then she might be in the mood for a more old fashioned Sunday lunch like roast beef or lamb and for that sort of meal I assume we'd go to one of the downtown hotels - provided, of course, they are still serving that sort of meal at 2.00pm. We both live in the Yorkville area, so Annona, in the old Park PLaza, would be our closest hotel but maybe others have hotel dining rooms they like further downtown. (We have a car).
But what about brunch? Are there brunch places that would still be happy to see as as late as 2.00pm.?
Anyway, any suggestions about where to go to make this Sunday afternoon a pleasant , relaxing and enjoyable occasion will be most welcome.
Belly Ice Cream - have you tried it??
It may only be available in the Avenue Road Pusateri's. I was in the Yorkville branch earlier today and there was no sign of it there.
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Pusateri's
1539 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5M, CA
La Societe
Three of us will be making our first visit tomorrow night for dinner at La Societe. However, it will be a latish dinner as we're going there after "Rigoletto" so won't be sitting down for dinner until around 10.30.pm. I'm afraid I don't know whether the full dinner menu will still be available by then. Whatever, any suggestions people have for special things to look out for would be most gratefully received.
Lobster Newburg
A friend of mine has just emailed me after his return from Boston saying that he had great time there and very much enjoyed having Lobster Newburg at a restaurant called Pier Four.
Lobster Newburg is a dish I haven't had in years. So is it available here in Toronto - or one its variants like Lobster Thermidor? Or are all those type of dishes regarded now as dreadfully old-fashioned?
Downtown Restaurants Open for Sunday Dinner
I suspect the confusion over whether or not Toca is open for Sunday dinner has been caused by their website, as the website says they are open on Sundays for brunch but not for dinner. Clearly this is no longer the case, as estufarian has demonstrated by making a booking there for Sunday dinner, but the change in their Sunday opening hours has not yet made it to their website. Maybe somebody should tell them.
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Toca
181 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON M5J 2H5, CA
Downtown Restaurants Open for Sunday Dinner
Many thanks for the suggestions so far.
Maybe my use of "downtown" was a little too restrictive. What I meant was a restaurant not too far from Bloor/Yonge either by car or cab. Both Globe and Chiado would fit this rather more expanded notion of "downtown".
So, estufarian, if you have other suggestions to make, I'd be delighted to hear them.
Downtown Restaurants Open for Sunday Dinner
Does anybody know if there's a list somewhere of which of the "fine dining" restaurants in downtown Toronto are open for Sunday dinner.? Or does anybody have a restaurant they would recommend for Sunday dinner?
I imagine most hotel restaurants would be open on Sunday evenings though I've just had a look at the Ritz-Carlton and they are not.
Anyway, I have to find somewhere to take two visitors for Sunday dinner on September 25. At the moment I'm somewhat at a loss so any help would be much appreciated.
Buca
Off to Buca for the first time tomorrow night. Any suggestions about what to try? Thanks!
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Buca
604 King St. West, Toronto, ON M5V 1M6, CA
Visiting Seatlle
Many thanks to firecracker, knowspicker, Bethwick, howard 1st and Leper for your kindly advice.
As it turned out, we only had two evenings in Seattle, not three as we had originally planned. On our first evening (Saturday) we went to Il Terazzo Carmine where I enjoyed a saute of local clams and mussels in wine and garlic, followed by some sweetbreads in a tasty sauce. A very pleasant room that was quiet enough for conversation. The service was attentive without being over fussy.The next evening (Sunday) we went to Ponti seafood Grill. I thought the setting was very attractive - it was a beautifully sunny evening - and the food was excellent. I had oysters to start with and the pan fried ling cod was very tasty indeed. Good service.
So thanks again for making our visit to your very attractive city so pleasant. If any of you are ever heading to Toronto, I'd be only too happy to return the favour.
Visiting Seatlle
In about ten days time, three of us from Toronto will be visiting your fair city for about 3-4 days - or more importantly nights - as far as dinners are concerned.
At the moment I don' know exactly where we're be staying but it will undoubtedly be a hotel in the downtown area. However, we will have a car.
It's a difficult question, I know, but where would you head for if you had to choose three different Seattle restaurants for dinner? I think at one of them should be a seafood restaurant as you are on the ocean whereas Toronto definitely is not.
We're all on the frostier side if fifty so have more "conservative" tatses. The kinds of places we go to in Toronto would be French bistro/North Amrican/International but usually not anywhere east of Suez. Also we also like restaurants where you can actually talk as, I'm afraid, the three of us all like to talk though we very rarely agree.
So any help any of you can give us in making this a memorable and successful trip would be very much appreciated.
Dining in Montreal.
Is this the right place to ask about dining in Montreal?
If so, then I'm meeting up with two friends from the US for three days in Montreal in a couple of weeks. It's not a city any of us know well so would be very grateful for pointers of where to go for dinner.
The three of us are all retired teachers, so nowhere too noisy or with live music. French/International preferred but ready to consider other cuisines. As it's a rather special meeting - we've not seen each other for five years or more - then price will not be a barrier.
Many thanks for any suggestions you can give.
Greek honey
I had some Greek honey the other day which I found very tasty but unfortunately that's all I know about it - that it was Greek honey. When I was down at the SLM yesterday I asked the honey guy there about Greek honey but he couldn't help as it's not something he carries - he didn't explain why.. So where would I look for it? On the Danforth maybe? Any particular brands I should look out for? Anyway, for anybody who has advice to offer, TIA.
Creme Fraiche
A number of recipes these days call for the addition of creme fraiche. However, I've never seen it in my local supermarket unless I'm looking for it in the wrong place. So where would I find it? And how much should I expect to pay?
Toca at the Ritz-Carlton
I only became aware that this new restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton was now open through an article in today's Globe's "Life" section on the cheese "cave" which is apparently part of the dining room.
Cheese apart, has anybody here yet tried it for lunch or dinner? Any comments?
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Toca
181 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON M5J 2H5, CA
Corkage fees
I'm sure, Estufarian, you are right and that the link is now taking me to the later, revised list..I've been looking around for an "edit" function so I could alter what's on my list but can't find one. Am I looking in the wrong place? Anyway, as I can't edit the list, please mentally make these changes:
1. Move Scaramouche into the first place on my listing.This, therefore, now becomes the "best" restaurant in Joanne's view which allows your to bring your own bottle and Nota Bene the second best.
2. Amend Nota Bene's corkage fee to $25 but keep the free after nine provision - as I like dining late, I find that very appealing.
3. Only Scaramouche but not Scaramouche's Pasta Bar is on the revised list. However, I've left the Pasta Bar on my list just to remind people it is there.
4.There are some well known restaurants which didn't even make it onto Joanne's top one hundred list. Jacobs and Co. would be one example. Someone has reported that they were there quite recently and the corkage fee was $40.
As this is supposed to be a list of restaurants in Toronto that allow you to bring your own bottle rather than just a list of the BYOB restaurants that appear on Joanne Kates's list - though that list proved mighty helpful - then space should be made for them . Maybe they could be listed separately under some title like "In Addition". Or is Jacobs and C the only restaurant that people can think of that doesn't appear on Joanne's list.? I suspect a number of steak houses didn't make it onto her list.
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Nota Bene
180 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 2A1, CA
Corkage fees
As I said, estufarian, I got to the list via a link provided on another post. However, I've just taken a second look at that list and it doesn't include Ruby Watchco, Cravings or Le Paradis but does include Suchi Kaji, Chiado and Queen Margherita Pizza. The reason that none of these appears on my list is that none of them allows you to bring your own bottle. And yes, on my list Scaramouche is at #2, so I think this must be the revised list you mention.
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Le Paradis
166 Bedford Road, Toronto, ON M5R 2K9, CA
Chiado
864 College Street West, Toronto, ON M6H 1A3, CA
Ruby Watchco
730 Queen St E, Toronto, ON , CA
Queen Margherita Pizza
1402 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4L, CA
Corkage fees
In searching around for a more complete answer to my friend's inquiry about corkage fees in restaurants which allow you to bring your own bottle, I was fortunate enough to find, on another thread on this topic, a link, kindly posted by CoCo.TO, to a magazine called PostCity which has a list of Joanne Kates's favourite 100 restaurants in 2010 in which she has duly ranked them all from 1 to 100. (I was very surprised to find Pastis at the top of her list but it doesn't allow you to bring your own bottle, so doesn't appear in my list). So here are the restaurants from her list that do allow you to bring your own bottle and what they charge in corkage fees. The order is the order in which the restaurants appear on Joanne Kate's list going from top to bottom. In other words Nota Bene is the "best" of the restaurants to allow you to bring your own bottle and Asian Legend the lowest::
Nota Bene: $40/free after 9.00pm.
Black Hoof: $25.
Centro: $35 (free Monday to Wednesday)
Cava: $30 (free on Sundays).
Zucca: $25.
Hoof Cafe: $25.
Splendido: $30.
Scaramouch Pasta Bar: $30. (Another site says that the main restaurant also charges $30 but this doesn't appear on JK's list).
George: $30.
Lucien: $40.
Niagara St Cafe: $30.
Lee: $30.
Malena: $30.
Oro: $30.
Colborne Lane: $50.
Caplansky's Deli: $0.00
Grand Chinese Cuisine: $20 (varies depending on wine)
C5: $25.
Pangaea: $30.
Edo: $10-20(depends on quality of glassware needed).
Mengrai Gourmet Thai: $18.
Tutti Matti: $25.
Auberge du Pommier: $35.
Gilead Bistro: $20.
Romagna Mia: $30.
Chiu Chow Boy: $10.
Trevor's Kitchen and Bar: Free Tuesday and Wednesday; $35 other days.
L'Unita: $30.
Harbord Room: $30.
Simple Bistro: $10 Sunday-Wednesday;$25 Thursday-Saturday.
Edo: $10.
Celestin: $20, lunch; $30 dinner.
Noce: $35.
Frida: call ahead.
Ame: $30.
Morgette: $30.
Starfish: $20.
Fressen: $25.
Big Mouth Kee: $0.00
Ba Shu Ren Jia: $10.
Morton's: $30.
Brasaii:$25.
Tabule: $15 (free Monday and Tuesday).
Mildred's Temple Kitchen: $25.
Miga: $15.
Didier: $20.
Canoe: $35.
Drake Hotel: $25.
Asian Legend: $8.
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Tabule
2009 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4S 1Z8, CA
Celestin
623 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON M4S 2M9, CA
Tutti Matti
364 Adelaide St W, Toronto, ON M5V1R7, CA
Romagna Mia
106 Front Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 1E1, CA
Fressen
478 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V2B2, CA
Splendido
88 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON M5S 1G5, CA
Cava
1560 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4T 2S9, CA
Colborne Lane
45 Colborne Street, Toronto, ON M5E 1P8, CA
Mengrai
82 Ontario Street, Toronto, ON M5A 2V3, CA
Noce
875 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J1G5, CA
The Drake Hotel
1150 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J, CA
L'Unita
134 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5R2H6, CA
Centro
2472 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4P 2F5, CA
Edo
484 Eglinton Ave W, Toronto, ON M5N1A5, CA
Simple Bistro
619 Mount Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S2M5, CA
Harbord Room
89 Harbord St, Toronto, ON M5S1G4, CA
Grand Chinese Cuisine
655 Dixon Rd, Toronto, ON M9W1J3, CA
Chiu Chow Boy
3261 Kennedy, Toronto, ON M1V4Y1, CA
Nota Bene
180 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 2A1, CA
Caplansky's
356 College Street, Toronto, ON M6J, CA
Mildred's Temple Kitchen
85 Hanna Avenue, Toronto, ON M6K 3S3, CA
Ba Shu Ren Jia
4771 Steeles Ave E, Toronto, ON M1V, CA
Miga Restaurant
399 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K2P1Y3, CA
Oro Restaurant
45 Elm, Toronto, ON M4W1N6, CA
Big Mouth Kee
280 West Beaver Creek, Thornhill, ON L4B3Z1, CA
Zuccabar
299 James St N, Hamilton, ON L8R2L4, CA
The Black Hoof
928 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J, CA
Corkage fees
My neighbor has a very good wine cellar. When chatting to him yesterday, I asked him whether he ever took some of his own wines to restaurants which allow you to do this. He relied that he hadn't as he'd heard that corkage charges could be around $40-50 a bottle. Is this true.?Are there any "good" restaurants which charge less? I said I'd pass on to him any replies I get here so any suggestions would be much appreciated. Who knows, I might get invited to join him!
Queen Street Restaurants
Next week, two of us are heading out to see "Assassins" at the Theatre Centre which apparently is located at Queen and Dovercourt.. We always like to have supper before the show but neither of us knows that area at all, so any suggestions of somewhere nearby for us to have dinner? Our starting point for Queen would be Queen and Yonge. TIA.
Simple Bistro
Tomorrow night (Saturday) we have a dinner reservation at Simple Bistro. This will be our first visit. Any suggestions as to what we might try? TIA
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Simple Bistro
619 Mount Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S2M5, CA
