evansl's Profile
Joanne Kates is leaving the Globe!
I for one will miss her as she was a nearly infallible guide - if she raved about it, it was a must avoid. She was the George Costanza of restaurant critics, if you know what I mean - what ever she says, do the opposite.
I exaggerate only slightly. But her views were obviously colored by many preconceived biases. The most notable was that if it was a Mom & Pop operation, she loved it. If it had more than one branch, she hated it.
Quick Reviews: Asian King & Copper Chimney
Asian King
This is possibly the worst Chinese restaurant food I've ever eaten experienced. The mu shi chicken was like eating straw. My wife and I took one bite of the Hakka beef and both spit it out. It was horrible gooey mass of disgusting something or other. I don't even want to think about it. Rating C with a bullett
Copper Chimney
I went there with high hopes given the reviews. The tandoori chicken kebabs were cooked well but were very bland. The beef vindaloo took me back a bit because although the menu warns you that it is hot, I was expecting Toronto "hot," which is tepid. But it really was was fairly hot, although not scorching compared to other Indian places I've been to in other big cities. Anyway, it was the very flavorful and the best dish we ordered. The rice was fairly good but the portion small. The naan was OK if a bit unusually as it might be called "thin crust naan." However, we ordered garlic naan, but there wasn't the slightest taste or smell of garlic. Overall, the scorecard reads one good, two adequate and two disappointing dishes. Not what I was hoping for. Rating B.
Rating Scale
A. Very good and will go there again.
B. So-so to Ok, but I'd rather try someplace else next time.
C. Bad. Avoid like the plague.
Best Indian Dining Options
Second the Amaya isn't so great sentiment. Below average food for above average price.
Anything good at Yonge/Sheppard?
Thai Bistro is terrible and dirty to boot. So Great started out ok but has gone down hill badly.
There really isn't a decent restaurant anywhere in the area. Chez Laurent is as good as it gets and that's only C+ at best.
Best Thing You Ever Ate - Toronto
I've never had "mind blowing" food in Toronto. But the grooviest would be the lamb tandoori at Cuisine of India circa 1998. It put my head in a really good place, man.
Best Thing You Ever Ate - Toronto
Based on these comments, I gave the veal sandwich a try.
You're kidding right? A piece of veal so thin that you can read throught surrounded by a fried batter. Edible, but that's about all.
Elle M'a Dit
I go to restaurants for food, so atmosphere and surroundings, décor and atmosphere are usually not very important. But there are limits, as my trip to Elle M'a Dit on Baldwin proved.
Upon arrival, you are led up a creaky stairway to the “dining room.” It is actually the living room of an old house. In its natural state. Nothing has been done to brighten or to decorate in the slightest. It is just four old plaster walls. The lighting is supplied by a couple of suspended light globes. With the plain wooden table, there isn’t even a white tablecloth to dispel the gloom. . It is the darkest, dingiest, depressing and vaguely unsettling place I’ve seen in a long time. OK, I maybe the food would make up for it.
It didn’t.
I ordered the coq au vin with spatezle. It was fairly good but not distinguished. However, the portion was small and it didn’t come any salad or greens. Astoundingly, they don’t even serve bread with the meal. My wife order baeckeoffe, a casserole of tasteless and tough overcooked meat cubes that has been cooked to death under a layer of equally tasteless sliced potatoes. At least she got a side salad.
The David Duncan House????
I agree. It has an kind of old school gravitas that is comfortable. If keeping up the the times means that it doesn't have organic, free range zuchini and the waiters don't address you with "Hi guys!". then, yeah, it is behind the times. Not every restaurant has to appeal to 25 year olds.
President's Choice Black Label
Every post in thread misses the point. Loblaw’s is doing what every many other businesses are trying to do – appeal to the upscale. That’s where the markups and the money is these days. A perfect is example is bread. Places like Cobb’s showed that there are plenty of people willing to pay $4-$5 for a loaf of bread. Now Longo’s, the Canadian Superstore and other have set up their own fancy bakeries selling their version of ridiculously priced bread. Pusiteri’s, McEwan’s etc shows that you can do the same with groceries in general. Loblaw’s would be foolish not to attempt to be a player in that market. Food has become like most things these days; there is no more middle class. It’s either upscale or downscale.
Looking for Grade A Risotto
Via Allegro wild mushroom risotto is the best by far. Not as al dente as in Italty, but no place in Toronto serves it as crunchy as the Italians like it.
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Via Allegro
1750 The Queensway, Toronto, ON M9C5H5, CA
Two Quick Reviews: Sukhothai & Cuiseine Of India
Given all the hyperbole and overhype typical of Chowhound reviews, I full expected Sukhothai to be another disappointment. Well, there must have been a sudden cold snap in Hell because the place was terrific. I don’t know about and don’t care about “authenticity.” I only care if the food tastes good. Sukhothai has the most flavorful Asian food of any description that I have had in Toronto for many years. The curry had a clean, zesty taste. I was disappointed when my wife order fried fish, since it would probably be boring. Not so. It was perfectly cooked with a breading that imparted a deep, rich taste. No idea how they did it. The only bad thing about the place is the remote location.
The new Cuisine of India on Yonge near Davisville bears absolutely no resemblance in either food or ambiance to the original. It is little more than a fast food place with fast-food and ambiance quality food..( I’m beginning to think that original went downhill so badly because the owners just didn’t want to be bothered keeping up a real restaurant.) Still, it is cheap and cheerful with large portions, so it makes a good quickie neighborhood value stop for an Indian-like substance. Just don’t expect anything more than McIndian food. I won’t bother with details of the meal. They got 3 out of 4 items that we ordered wrong, anyway. No worries. In a place like this, it probably doesn’t matter what you order.
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Sukhothai
274 Parliament St, Toronto, ON M5A, CA
Cuisine of India
1992 Yonge St, Toronto, ON , CA
Looking for Hershey's Cocoa
No it's not. There is vast difference between sing cocoa and chocolate. They are very different foods. Chocolate is largely fat. There is also a big difference between Fry's and Hershey's - they taste nothing alike.
Someone also mentioned getting Droste in the GTA. Really? I'd love to know where. I haven't seen it here for at least 5 years and I've looked hard.
Frozen Yogurt in T.O?
Toppings? Frozen Yogurt is like cheesecake - if it need toppings, the then the stuff isn't that good to start with. I've not found anything that tops Swiss Master straight from the machine. It actually tastes like yoghurt.
Do people seriously like Mandarin?
Lai Toh Heen is dreadful.
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Lai Toh Heen
692 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA
Looking for a nice upscale place for an engagment party Indian food preffered
Amaya is just plain awful. Not even mediocre. Awful.
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Amaya
1574 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4G3B7, CA
Rolling Rock Beer
Rolling Rock is one of the best mass-produced North American Beers. OK, so that's faint praise. But its big selling point was always the "pony bottles." Haven't seen those in years.
Best Indian in Toronto - where is it?
I don't know of anything better in GTA than Nirvana.
Miller Tavern - Are you kidding me??!
The food at Miller's Tavern is not terrible, just mediocre and overpriced. When they send out their coupons, it's well worth the visit. The other factors is it has to be taken in context of the utter lack of good restaurants in the north part of the city. Compared to what else is available, it's not that bad.
Come to think of it, this is the first year and a long time that they didn't send them out.
Yonge/Steeles reco
Agree that Indian Kitchen isn't so great. There really isn't anything much in that area.
Tutto Bene is quite good, but that's not Yonge/Steeles, more like Yonge/Hwy 7. The fact anyone would mention it shows how bad the picking are at Yonge/Steeles.
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Tutto Bene
8133 Yonge St, Thornhill, ON L3T2C6, CA
The Indian Kitchen
7330 Yonge, Thornhill, ON L4J1V8, CA
scones in Toronto
Their OK, but the pumpkin ones are best. Anyway, they arent' really scones, despite what Starbuck's calls them
Wine discussion from LCBO
The bargain of the year was Monasterio De Las VIÑAS RESERVA 2005, $12.95. It tasted like wine 4-5 times the price.
Unfortunately, we weren't the only people who noticed. They LLCBO across the province sold out in about 3 weeks.
Winterlicious - Majority terrible, why people still bother going?!!
There are two kind strategies apparently used by 'Licious restaurants:
1. A regular meal with the dessert thrown in free.
2. A special menu using cheap ingredients in cheaper dishes.
Over all, my experiences have been far better with "licious type 1. At least you are getting the regular food, even if the deal isn't that great. You can't fool Mother Nature. There is no free lunch. In fact, you are lucky to get a slightly discounted lunch.
BTW: Anyone charging $35 for a hamburger is gouging the customer so badly that they can afford to give away a few side dishes
Winterlicious 2011 menus are out
Went to Pangea several years ago and it was the worst 'Licious experience I've had out o about a dozen: poor food and very slow and hostile service.
Brief Review Peacock Express
Those looking for some vestige of the recently closed Cuisine of India will not find it at Peacock Express. Even though Peacock Express is an offshoot, the food is far worse than C of I even on their most off day. It was one of the worst Indian meals I’ve ever had in Toronto.
Tandoori Chicken. A scrawny piece of obviously reheated and dry chicken on a vast quantity of rice. I suspect that they cook the tandoori dishes elsewhere and reheat them on site.
Beef combo plate. The small pile of beef was curiously sweet, making it fairly unpleasant. The side veg dishes were so-so. It was also served at room temperature.
Butter chicken. Bland.
Kebabs. So-so. Probably the least offensive and the best bet
The food was a major major disappointment. Another problem minor annoyance is that the prices were also slightly higher than on the web site and they even charged more than was on the menu. It probably doesn’t matter, because I don’t expect the place to last long. Not only is the food poor, but who in the world would be dim enough to open a take- out restaurant on block where there is no parking? It is impossible to do a quick in and out, especially during weekdays making it fairly inconvenient because there is absolutely no place to park or even to stand nearby.
RIP Cuisine of India
Yes, it went sadly downhill. It might have started when the squabble caused part of the staff, including the chef as I reacall, to splinter off and start Indian Kitchen.
Anyway, their curries were OK, but not anything special. Their tandoori dishes were the stars and I don't expect that they will do well on takeout.
Loblaws I hardly know you....
I've never seen Loblaws charge more for buying 1. Metro is the only major chain that does it.
Loblaws I hardly know you....
Loblaws has gone downhill badly, but Metro has become the worst supermarket in Toronto (except of course for Food Basics) since it changed from Dominion. Everything you say is true. You forgot to mention that when they have a multiple buy (2 for $3, etc), they are the only store in Toronto that charges you more if you buy only 1. When they mark down stale bakery goods, they don't mart therm down by half. It's usually $1, then is generally 25%.
The final straw was when they started expecting you to slice your own bread. I went to see the manager and asked him what the Metro retirement benefits are. If I'm going to be an employee, I want to know my compensation package. This constant downloading of employee work onto customers has gotten completely out of control. I see that Loblaws is starting to do the same thing.
