Need a reccomendation for holiday work dinner!

I've been given the task of choosing the place, price is around ~$70 pp, location is Downtown Toronto (Queen, King West, Bay st etc..)

Help me out in choosing a place, and maybe recommend me some notable dishes?!

Thanks.

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Woo Buffet Restaurant

just found this:

http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/woo-buffet-restaurant

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Joey Don Mills?

Yeah, I had the high rise burger w/ mushrooms and aged cheddar.. not a bad burger but they refused to cook it med-rare.. my friend had the NY strip loin and it was kinda flavorless... but the waitresses and ambiance make up for the food.... i would go back.

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Lunch at DonMills and Lawrence

Yep.. the food is average, but the waitresses are the best looking i've ever seen at a restaurant... nice ambiance for business lunches/dinners..

i recommend!

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Trip to Buffalo N.Y. what grocery items would you bring back? (moved from Ontario board)

Diet Mountain Dew for sure..!

papagorgio in General Chowhounding Topics

Sushi Takeout - near Eaton Centre (Dundas & Bay, Dundas & Yonge)

avoid ninki sushi... not fresh (rice or sashimi)

it's not THAT hard to get the rice wrong.. but they're rice was terrible.. uni was bitter, portion small and not very fresh...

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Niagara Falls Vacation Recommendations

I really recommend 17 Noir in the fallsview casino... fresh fresh sushi & sashimi.. they also have a great soba noodles..

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Uni lovers near King and Spadina

I've had some amazing uni at Fune on simcoe, but it was delivered that day so I guess I was lucky... fyi, avoid the uni at Sushi Time on Queen.. it's from China, and its barely passable..

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Sushi in the PATH

I don't think people are looking for 'cheap' sushi exactly, because sushi obviously has a price floor.. but for the average price (which is a little less than what ta-ke charges for their dinner set) people are looking for more exotic fish..

having said that, and having eaten at a few sushi places near the PATH, ta-ke did throw in a few interesting pieces in their set dinner such as large scallop, salt water eel and bonito... which made it more of a value IMO.

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Authentic Sushi Place?

I haven't tried Mikado but the sushi chef at Zen recommends it...

My personal faves in order:
Zen
ta-ke
Ichiriki
sushi 930
japango

the following are so-so (in order)
sushi marche
ematei
fune
sushi time

beyond these, i dont need to mention any others...Hopefully I can try hiro, hashimoto and kaji in the near futur.. :P

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Niagara Falls Restaurant

I had dinner at the Sushi& Oyster resturant in fallsview casino.. for me, that is as best as I could find in Niagara...

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Authentic Sushi Place?

I went to sushi marche yesterday and I got the sushi dinner w/ the kamikaze roll.. the fish was some of the tastiest fish i've had BUT the kamikaze roll was terrible.. and their menu is pretty limited price wise...

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

John Lee's Omi - The paper is off the windows

http://flickr.com/photos/endy_/sets/72157608095475960/

i hope im not stepping on any chow houders toes..... i probably am..

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

John Lee's Omi - The paper is off the windows

I'm really interested in their a la carte menu... for someone who has tried it, how does it stack up to other places?

..someone posted a few pics of their 'new' omi experience on flickr...

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

zen for birthday sushi?

I was at Zen a few days ago, and I got quite full and satisfied off their a la carte menu. Because your friend is a big eater, I would stick to that because they have great items that would most likely fill him dollar for dollar as opposed to the omasake.

I wouldnt reccoment Japango just becuase of the really small cramped (and sometimes loud enviroment) and also their rice is kind of bland. (but I only have one experience with them to draw from)

With regard to Michi, i find their portions small-er than average places.. great quality though!

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Takesushi, Daio or Toshi (even though I really want the new Omi)

I was at Japango a few days ago.. I got their chirachi and otoro nigiri.. I wasnt too impressed with the rice temperature/sasoning.. the otoro was a *bit* chewy, but the chirachi was excellent.. especially their BC tuna and Spanish red snapper..

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Mid-priced Japanese?

I eat at Ematei on St. Paterick yesturday and it was really tasty, and the interior was very authentic! the sushi chef's were very friendly, and so was my waitress .. and the uni was top notch (my personal guage of sushi resto quality).

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Sushi Island - little review

Well different places have their strengths and weaknesses.. but overall I would say Echo Sushi is at the top (but last time, they're service and quality kind of disappointed me)

i'll be in Whitby this weekend and I hear Nippon is the 'place to go' so i'll tell ya'll how it stacks up..

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)

Sushi Island - little review

I actually went to Sushi Island a little over a week ago, and I must say it was not that great. I have been to basically every AYCE sushi resto in the GTA and area.

Sushi Island:

Pros:
-Salmon skin is second best I've had in an AYCE resto
-White tuna sashimi extremely fresh and tasty
-Friendly staff

Con's:
- The rolls that contained VERY little fish (10% of the roll) the rest was rice and tempura batter
- The rolls that were suppose to contain cream cheese or cheddar had no cheese flavor
- The waitress (who used ONLY her memory) missed around 10 of 25 orders.
- The sashimi orders took a long time to arrive, and after 1.5 hours, we were pressured to finish even though our orders were not arriving.
-The menu was large, but it contained very little variety, and many combinations of the same ingredients.

I'm sure i am missing other pro's and con's however, overall, the experience was not that great. Basically I felt as if I had eaten 10+ rolls of vegetarian sushi.

papagorgio in Ontario (including Toronto)