From Toronto, looking for advice.

Going to be in DC in March for work, one night only.

Looking for suggestions on where to eat? What is your favorite dinner spot ?

Thank you!
Daniel

Finally had the opportunity to check out the resto last Friday night. Arrived just after 6 and was able to get a table with ease for 4. We decided to order a few apps to share, had the white bean and sardine spread, the marinated lima beans and the potted animal (which was a pork terrine). Also ordered a second order of bread, which is no longer St. John's Bakery but is made over at Woodlot.

All were great, I loved the lima beans. For meals, two of us got the duck breast which came on a bed of sour cabbage, and also included beets and a nice mustard seed sauce. The duck was perfectly cooked, pink in the centre with a super crispy skin. The cabbage and beets were also delicious. The other two in my party had the pasta dish which was also really good. I didn't have it so can't remember what was in it (I remember walnuts was a component).

Also had the honey pound cake for dessert which came with a squash cream (super good).

Overall a great meal.

I agree with Beast.

Their burger is amazing, had it last week, it will not disappoint.
I had it with aged cheddar (no pemeal) and the side of tatter tots.

The Pig's Head pasta is also worth a try.

Really? I was there for a group function last summer (I think it was June) and our bill didn't exceed $700. Maybe they do that during the Holidays. And I agree, the $2500 is outrageous!

My vote goes to Canoe, if you can request a south facing window table, the view cannot be beat. The food is usually pretty decent, a bit overpriced but decent.

I'm not a big fan of Terroni but their location downtown (on Adelaide I believe) has a great private room. The light installation over the table and Herman Miller chairs is worth it, you just have to struggle through a sub-par Southern Italian meal.

Thanks for the info, may try to go tonight. Sounds delicious.

Has anyone been yet?

Haven't seen any reviews, except for the small write up on Toronto Life's website:

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/dail...

Guy Rawlings, who has worked for Cowbell, Celestin and if I remember correctly Black Hoof is their chef.

Looks interesting.

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Brockton General
1321 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1Y1, CA

I went again this week (Monday night) with friends from outside the city.

And I had a totally different experience.

Arrived at 7ish, restaurant was about 60% full. Sat down, had to wait for about 10 minutes before anyone came to the table, when they did, waiter brought miso soup and water, didn't ask if we wanted tea. Had to flag him down again to place our order. Salad came out about 10 minutes after we ordered. Our food about another 15-20 min. later. Service was disorganized, they had two servers both who didn't seem to know what to do and couldn't stay on top of their tables.

Ordered the sushi dinner, and upgraded to a deluxe roll instead of the standard california roll. Two others at the table ordered the sushi dinner (one upgrade, one not). Fourth person ordered the sashimi dinner. Sushi came out, first thing we noticed was how much smaller the sushi was compared to last week. I upgraded my roll to the Sushi Couture Roll, can't remember what was in it, but it's delcious (they charged me $7 to upgrade to that roll instead of $5). My partner ordered the dynamite roll, which okay, a bit too much roe slathered on top.

Nothing wrong with the quality of food overall (fish was still super fresh, good selection of different types), but a huge difference in the size of the rolls (about 40% smaller) plus service was pretty disorganized and chaotic. I did notice that the sushi chef (originally from Japanago) wasn't there as well as the other guy who seems to be a part-owner. Let's hope the next visit is more successful.

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Sushi Couture
456 Bloor St. W., Toronto, ON M5S 1X8, CA

I second this. Cherry Bomb's almost crossiants are delicious. They bake them in-house, usually you can snag a hot one between 9 and 10am (at least of the weekends). Very very good.

Heavier almond paste on the inside, light, rich and buttery pastery.

Went for dinner last night.

Was really happy with the quality and freshness of the sashimi, for the price I can't imagine SC can be beat (16 pcs. of sashimi on a bed of rice for $13.99). Also had the spicy tuna roll with crunch, the rice on this role was a bit off, overcooked I think. They comped us a sea urchin roll, which was one of the best things we had.

Place wasn't super busy, it was about 55% full midway through our meal (whereas Sushi On Bloor was lined up out the door). Service was attentive and fast, we were in and out in about an hour. Defs my new favourite place in the Annex area.

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Sushi On Bloor
515 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S1Y4, CA

After numerous glowing reviews and reccomendations from friends, we finally tried it out. Got take out, had the porchetta/rapini sandwich and pulled pork. Side of fries. Wasn't impressed at all, the bun used for the pulled pork was your cheap grocery style wonderbread hamburger bun. By the time we got home (10 minute walk) the sauce/juices from the pork had made the entire sandwich soggy, had to eat it with a knife and fork. They really need to use a sturdier bread for the pulled pork, something with a thicker crusty outside. The porchetta sandwich was also disappointing, the porchetta was dry and didn't have much taste. Fries were good, but lukewarm by the time we got to them.

Next time I'll try the ribs, seeing that is what people seem to really like, and will try to eat there so the food doesn't get cold.