FEDup's Profile
Top line food in a fun atmosphere?
Both look great! Scampo's menu looks pretty fun, definitely a top contender.
Top line food in a fun atmosphere?
I thought I'd read elsewhere that Mistral was a good "corporate dinner" option, not top destination for a saturday foodie night?
Top line food in a fun atmosphere?
For some reason Craigie on Main just strikes me as more pedestrian. Maybe I'm inferring from the name but it makes me think of Steph's on Newbury etc. I guess I'm totally wrong on that?
Top line food in a fun atmosphere?
A friend is visiting from Toronto and we're hoping to have a great dinner out, fun atmosphere but fantastic food. We will be spending around $125/pp but would be willing to spend a bit more with wine and tip. I'm looking for top of the line food, talk about it the next few days food but nothing too formal and old fashioned.
We would be open to any style of food, aside from sushi/Japanese (otherwise I would be going to O Ya) and want something more interesting than a great steak. Within easy cab/walking/transit distance of Back Bay given our love of cocktails and wine.
I was looking at Aquitane, Menton's prix fixe, Erbaluce but hard to tell pricing and although we've eaten there before we loved Island Creek Oyster Bar and would consider going back. Neptune's is on my list to try but I'm worried about waiting outside in a line in the winter. Will they take your number and call when the table is available?
Many thanks!
suggestions for restaurants near westin copley
Eastern Standard is withing walking distance in the opposite direction of many of current suggestions in Kenmore Square. Probably mid-range pricewise.
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Eastern Standard
528 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
Late dinner in South End?
Just checked out the menu, looks great! I will have to try the corned beef and cabbage.
Late dinner in South End?
The dinner is actually for Friday, would that change anything?
Late dinner in South End?
Hi! I have a friend coming to visit from Toronto and we want one of our dinner's to be in the South End - problem is her flight gets in at 9pm. I'm pretty new to Boston myself but have managed to check out Hammersly's which was great, although a bit expensive (sauces to die for), Coppa (super yum), Estragon (casual and tasty), Sibling Rivalry (meh), and Giaccomo's (fun, cheap and tasty).
We are both adventurous eaters and love our wine. I would like to keep it in the mid to low price range as we're going to Neptune Oyster House on Saturday and will likely spend much more there. I'm more interested in good value, fun atmosphere and interesting food than any particular cuisine.
Any recommendations for a 10pm dinner, or should we head back to Coppa and hope the line isn't too long?
Dinner for one adventurous and one picky eater near Westin Copley?
Funny, Grill 23 is where we went when I was here interviewing! Predictable I guess, but the food was good.
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Grill 23 & Bar
161 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116
Dinner for one adventurous and one picky eater near Westin Copley?
I'm new to Boston, staying at the Westin Copley before moving in to my apt in Back Bay, and my boss will be visiting and wants to take me out for dinner. I'm a very adventurous eater and would like to start trying some of the great meals Boston has to offer but my boss is more picky, prefers steak and chicken, no seafood.
I've looked through other recs and was thinking of Coda, Brasserie Jo or Hamersly's Bistro. My hesitations are that Coda and Hamersly's look the most interesting to me, but Coda doesn't take reservations and I'm not sure Hamersly's has enough generic options.
Any thoughts? I would love any other suggestions, but would prefer to stay within walking distance of the hotel.
Many thanks!
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Brasserie Jo
120 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116
Any suggestions for Kitchener-Waterloo restaurants?
I've had several nice meals at Nick & Nat's Uptown 21. It's at 21 King in Uptown Waterloo.
They source a lot of their ingredients locally, and I would say their menu is an upscale bistro approach. I really enjoyed the choucroute garnie, and have had a couple of nice fish dishes.
They offer a prix fixe every night, with good selection. The menu isn't huge, but it offers nice choice. A good restaurant for Waterloo, fills a void that I think they're otherwise missing.
Unique Chicago Ethnic Foods?
I'll be visiting from Toronto for 4 days in February, staying at the James hotel near the million mile. I'd love to know what unique ethnic foods I can try while I'm there. Toronto has lots of great options including:
Thai
Vietnamese
Portuguese
Indian
Japanese
so if you can suggest other ethnicities that would be great. Or just any spots for awesome, Chicago-style food. Reasonably priced (up to $100 for two), as I'm bringing my sister on my dime!
Thanks!
help! Toronto vs. Montreal
No Asian in Toronto? Do you even know this city? Our Asian food with the possible exception of Viet destroys anything Montreal has to offer. And that's without going further into the GTA, where you can make an argument that Toronto could be one of the top 3 cities in the Western world to obtain Asian food in all its permutations.
NY's Best - unpretentious, fairly priced?
I'm going to be visiting NY for the fist time at the end of August with my bf. We're from Toronto, and have had some great food experiences across Canada and in Europe. We're looking for some recommendations of the must-visit places in Manhattan for a meal (not the hot dog and bagel places).
We like food of any culture, and are willing to pay for really great meals, but don't want to be sucked in by the name/celebrity restaurants. I don't know the city at all, but we're willing to travel for food.
Thanks!
Has anyone been to Bloom lately?
The last time I ate there was for Winterlicious in April. It was very good.
Au Pied de Cochon - The Book ... Bourdain writes the intro
I was able to find an english copy of the book in Toronto, at the cookbook store (it's actual name). You may be able to order it directly from there.
A Good Burger
I don't think anyone has mentioned the burger at the Rushton yet. Located at Ossington and Harbord. Delicious burger, described by a friend as meatloaf on a bun, which maybe isn't so far off. I grew up eating my dad's burgers which always had onions, spices and rolled oats added in, and this very much reminded me of home (although without the rolled oats). Very hearty, juicy and satisfying.
$9.95, comes with roasted potatoes and a nice salad.
waterloo+good food+where
Hmmm....maybe I'm mis-labeling the Waterloo Inn. I'm talking about the one on King Street, where the Plantation used to be. Hanna's is still on King near Erb, but it has moved to the other side of the street, in the Rude Native's old location.
I have been while it was called Hannah's Bella Bistro, that name has been around for quite a few years now. The dish that I remember being outstanding was the seafood linguine. They just PILED on the seafood, and it was with a great fresh tomato sauce.
chinese food in bloor west village
We live right around the corner from the Westwood Grill and regularly order hot and sour soup. It's not always consistent but it is good and warming on a rainy night.
We also enjoy the black pepper and beef schezuan noodles, and the salt and pepper shrimp are delicious. Those are our regular picks, as for the other items we've tried they've all been good to very good.
Thai food, our favourite is Simply Thai on Bloor. I really enjoy their curries.
For indian, we really like Curry Twist on Dundas around Quebec.
Perigee - a disappointment (LONG)
I was there on Friday with my bf, for an anniversary dinner. We went with the 7 course menu, with wine pairings. Total cost came to $570. Definitely not worth that amount of money.
We did enjoy our meal, and the experience, but there was nothing that really blew us away, and a few things that really bothered me.
My meal started with a tazmanian trout dish, which was by far my favourite for the night. I then had a crispy braised octopus salad, roasted breast of squab, terrine of foie gras, aged prime rib of beef, cheese course which was made up of a blue cheese (I forget what exactly) and then dessert was chocolate and raisin filled dumplings.
The trout was amazing, paired with fingerling potatoes, onions and rapini. I'm not sure if the great flavour came only from the fish or how it was cooked, but I loved it. The octopus salad was good, inventive but not too flavourful. It was served with charred corn and roasted peppers on baby romaine. There wasn't much overall flavour except for the char on the corn. The squab, again, tasted more of char than anything else. It was served with romano beans and onion purée. The terrine of foie gras was like butter, good, but for me a bit overpowering in its decadence. I enjoyed the popover they served it with. The prime rib was served with a tangy zucchini side, which I felt was a weird match up to the wonderful beef. The cheese came with a to die for date mousse, my second favourite after the trout. And finally, dessert was good but didn't blow me away.
After much discussion, we chose to go with the wine pairings. People responded to my question saying that the service was iffy, some had a good experience, others terrible. Ours was so-so. The wines were dropped off with a recitation of the type of grape, the vineyard, year and region that it came from. But there was no explanation as to why the wine was paired with the dish, if it would enhance certain flavours or cut the richness etc. Other experiences I've had led me to believe that the extra information is the norm. I found the delivery of the wine somewhat terse and unfriendly.
In particular, after a couple arrived and sad next to us that many staff in the restaurant seemed to know, the service dropped off. At one point, our main courses arrived, and our wine hadn't been served yet. Not so terrible, except that the wine steward was standing right next to us chatting to the couple. It took him a few minutes to realize we were missing our wine, at which point he excused himself from the couple, gave us our wine, raced through his explanation, then went back to the couple and apologized to them!!! I was pretty livid after that. It didn't help that he then proceeded to serve all of the wines after our courses arrived for the remainder of the evening.
They did give us complimentary champagne for an anniversary toast, and the chef and staff were all very friendly in the kitchen. But the fact that I found only one dish outstanding of 7, and paid top dollar for the food, is a huge disappointment to me.
We both walked out of the restaurant feeling disappointed that we had spent the money, and will not be back to this restaurant. In contrast, we went to Splendido last year and were blown away by the majority of our meal. The wine service was amazing, and overall it was a much better experience for the cost.
waterloo+good food+where
I was just in Waterloo and had a great burger at The Grill, at University Plaza. I believe it is the one mentioned above, drug free, Canadian beef.
We also went to a wonderful indian restaurant, right behind the Waterloo Inn, called Masala Bay. It was on Regina.
Also, I haven't been recently, but when i attended Waterloo I quite enjoyed Hannah's Bella Bistro. It is on King Street, right beside the Waterloo Inn. Another good restaurant is Soleil, beside the old distillery which is now condo's, off Erb. Both a little pricier ($15 - $25 mains) but good for a celebration dinner.
Perigee - to wine or not to wine?
Hey guys,
I'm going to Perigee tonight (wooot!!) and I'm trying to decide if the wine pairings are worthwhile in addition to the 7 course menu. My brother-in-law went there a month or so ago, and although he enjoyed the wine pairings, said that he wouldn't get them again....without any great reason.
It's going to be me and my bf, we both love wine and could easily put away a bottle or two over the four hours, so we would likely spend the same amount or more as the cost of the pairings. But if the pairings aren't great, it will probably be just as enjoyable for us to buy a bottle.
Thoughts? And thanks!
Best popcorn popper uses least oil or butter?
Whirley Pop? Never heard of it, but I imagine it is just like the one I have. A pot you put on the stovetop, with a handle that you turn to keep the kernels moving. I LOVE it. Perfect popcorn literally every time. And it pops much much faster than using any other method. I also use very little (or no) oil in mine. And top with salt and pepper. Yum!
Specialty wine/spirit shops in Toronto?
I'm looking for a specific type of Taylor Fladgate port (called chip dry - it's a white port) that we bought originally in Portugal. My mom loooves it and I thought it would be nice to surprise her with some for Christmas. However, the LCBO does not carry it, and in fact doesn't seem to carry any (or many) white ports at all.
Does anyone know of any specialty shops in Toronto that might have this in stock?
And if anyone has white port at home, I highly recommend mixing it with Tonic water and lime slice....very refreshing and tasty drink.
Bistro 990
The food is great. Everytime I've been it's fresh and tasty. My sister, who is vegetarian, loved the pho when she went with me. The first time she was able to try it. I thought it was pretty good for a vegetarian version. I personally am a noodle junkie and so have tried various noodle dishes, all successful.
Le cruset French Oven , buy it or not?
I have a large dutch oven style pot, and love it. Direct from stove to oven, holds heat really well, easy to clean. I've been considering getting a stove top grill as well.
However, I can't compare Le Creuset to other enameled pots as I've never tried them.
I would suggest that you do not purchase your pot at William's Sonoma as the prices there are outrageous. I found mind at Homesense (in Canada.....similar to TJ Maxx I think, only for housewares) at 50% of the WS cost.
where to buy quinces in Toronto
Hmmm....I called Whole Foods and they said they didn't have any. Thanks for all the suggestions! I did get in touch with Fresh & Wild (Runnymede & Bloor area) and they said they have some, but failing that I'll test out your suggestions.
where to buy quinces in Toronto
Can anyone tell me if they've seen quinces around town? I have checked with a few grocery stores and they've never even heard of them!
Thanks!
Spaghetti and Meatballs
I really enjoy the meatball sandwich at Foccaccia, the take out lunch version, not the sit down fancier one. There are a couple of italian ladies who serve, and their pasta is quite good as well, although i've never seen them actually service spaghetti with their meatballs, I'm sure you can get pasta with them.
The meatballs are nice and moist, with good flavour.
