Adrock75's Profile
Best Espresso in the city...
My personal favourites: 1. Bulldog--Perhaps the owner's mellowed; I've never gotten any attitude there. 2. Ezra's Pound on Dundas 3. Sam James Coffee Bar 4. Crema in the Junction.
And my guilty chain pleasure: The iced vanilla bean latte from Second Cup. Most high end places make mediocre iced lattes. They serve you either luke-warm lattes with insufficient ice, or put in so much ice, the drink loses all flavour if you don't drink it in 30 seconds.
The best bet seems to be the places that put double shots in then serve their iced coffee frappe-style (or would that just be "a frappe".
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Ezra's Pound
238 Dupont St, Toronto, ON M5R1V7, CA
Crema
3079 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6P1Z9, CA
Birthday LUNCH for two - need suggestions for a good, inexpensive place in Downtown, TO.
A third for the Gallery Grill. My favourite lunch spot in the entire city. Great for a special occasion, too.
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Gallery Grill
7 Hart House Cir, Toronto, ON M5S, CA
Sweet & Spicy! New Chineese restaurant at St-Clair & Christie
I'd second the recommendation for Taste of Thai House.
Ordered in from there last week, and all of the dishes were very good, and the Penang Shrimp Curry was outstanding.
The portions weren't large, but we enjoyed it a lot and will definitely be going back when we don't feel like cooking.
ISO Fresh Roasted Coffee,Daily in Toronto
A second to the rave for Coffeeholic. Excellent quality, very nice owners.
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Coffeeholic
922 Eglinton Ave W, Toronto, ON M6C2C2, CA
Delighful Fluffy buttery croissants
I concur with the love for Patachou croissants. Fantastic texture, slightly sweet flavour, among the best in Toronto.
Pain Perdu is a nicer place to sit (if you can get a table) and the croissants are pleasant, but often slightly over-baked.
World Class Bakers' croissant is outstandingly flaky on the outside, and soft in the middle, but the croissant had little flavour.
Slightly off topic, but the almond macaroons at Patachou are spectacularly awesome.
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Pain Perdu
736 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON M6C, CA
Patachou
1120 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W, CA
Help - forced to eat at Spring Rolls! Is there ANYTHING decent there?
The chain is much, much worse than back before it was a chain.
But every 6 months or so, I get a craving for their satay pad thai, with lots of extra hot sauce. It's one of the few pad thais I enjoy in the city, even if every once in a while, a shrimp is still cold in the middle.
The lettuce wraps are also tasty.
Green Onion on Dundas is probably too far away for you to suggest it as an alternate, and Mengrai Thai is a similar distance away, and not pan-Asian. But they're both very good.
Stockyards BBQ
I popped in to the Stockyards on Saturday, after having had a chat with the owner 10 or so days earlier, before they were open.
As noted above, they were sold out of a number of menu items, but those that I did try (the pulled chicken and the baked beans, plus samples of the sausage, limeade, and iced tea) were all very good.
The pulled chicken was tender and flavourful, and the coleslaw was a nice complement. The baked beans were very smokey and flavourful...maybe too strong for some, but I enjoyed them.
The service was warm and welcoming, and I'll definitely be back.
Ribs will apparently only be served on Fridays...I suspect there will be quite the line to get them before they sell out.
I'm very happy to have it in the neighbourhood.
Toronto Vacation Recommendations Needed
Downtown Chinatown is far from iffy--it just doesn't reach the heights of the Chinese food north of the city. For dim sum Rol San is consistently tasty, and kid-friendly (if very crowded on weekends).
The New Ho King is reliable, with huge portions at reasonable prices. Eating Garden on Baldwin is very good, and I'd recommend the Yung Sing Pastry shop, also on Baldwin, for a picnic outside, or for something to take away if you're going to Toronto Island or somewhere else with a packed lunch.
Around the corner on McCaul, I love the patio at Mangiacake. Warm service, fresh food, and a great patio.
Pho Hung is perfectly fine Vietnamese (in Chinatown), and if you're wandering Kensington Market, La Palette is a charming bistro, Torito is perhaps the only good tapas restaurant in the city, and there's any number of charming coffee shops and places to browse or graze.
Big thumbs up to Caplansky's. Ravisoups is also very good, but the ambience is lacking. A place to eat a very good soup quickly, then head out. Enjoy your trip!
Hidden gems on St. Clair W?
Actually, Coco Pan is surprisingly good. Very fresh japanese stir-fries, creditable soups, fresh dumplings, and very reasonable.
Think of a Made in Japan or Teriyaki Experience if the food were actually good. It took me years to set foot in there (it doesn't invite you in off the street), but since visiting, I've been back 3 or 4 times and it's been very good each time.
Also, it's really, really cheap. Almost the definition of a hidden gem.
Hot Tip: Best Meals in Hamilton
Glad to see I'm not alone in the love for the Harbour Diner.
A question: Where is the Chicago Style Pizza? I've never noticed it, and I've spent a good chunk of each of the last 30+ years in Hamilton.
The Hunan House is extra-old school. We used to go there before Le Chinois opened, which was 10 years before Crystal Dynasty opened. IIRC, the Ants Climbing Up a Tree and the Garlic Shrimp are stand-outs.
For coffee, although it's a chain, the Williams down by the water has an absolutely outstanding setting. Their espresso is perfectly fine. Once it's no longer excruciatingly miserable out, it's worth a walk...
Yay, Hamilton!
I have fond memories of Bronzie's for chicken wings--I was there in 1991 when i heard Magic Johnson had contracted HIV--a less fond memory than the chicken wings.
Shanghai Cowgirl...what happened?
This was exactly my experience.
I first went to Shanghai Cowgirl right when it opened, and for a bunch of years afterwards, pre-Bovine, or just for a good quick bite in the neighbourhood.
I went back last year and was relatively appalled at the increase in prices and average (at best) quality. I think the veggie shanghai noodles are 9 or 10 bucks, and it's more if you want chicken.
For a moderately sized, not as good as it used to be meal.
It's probably still decent (how badly can you screw up burgers and grilled cheese), but it's gone from one of my favourites to a 'general avoid'.
What's your most disappointing dining experience?
1. Perigee: Party of 8 had the tasting menu. It's not that the food was bad, it's just that nothing was memorable, and the wine pairings were mailed in, at best. A waste of time and money, even if we had a good time. That was about 4 years ago...maybe it's improved.
2. Hero Burger: Shouldn't their burgers taste good? Again, it's not that they're terrible, per se, but they're just not very enjoyable.
3. Chippy's: Their fish and chips were perfectly decent--it's just that my expectations were very, very high.
I have had good experiences at Southern Accent and Foxley--it's a shame to hear others haven't been so lucky. I could never be disappointed by Joe Badali's as I would never expect anything other than deeply mediocre, over-priced food there.
need scotch suggestion -- LCBO
The Highland Park 18 was far too smooth and bland, to my taste. I felt I had wasted my money on it.
In terms of value, the Balvenie 10 year old (or the 12) are well within your price range and very very good. The 10 year old is about 1/2 the price of the 15 year old Balvenie mentioned above, and much better than 1/2 as good.
Glenmorangie is another high-quality, good-value bottle, with several variations (port cask, sherry cask iirc, etc.)
Happy hunting!
Hot Tip: Best Meals in Hamilton
Most things here appear to be about Toronto, but for those folks passing through or living in my home town here are couple of suggestions:
1. Crystal Dynasty. Corner of Cannon and Bay Street. Better than just about anything on Spadina, and the food is always fresh and tasty. The wor-wonton soup may be the best won ton soup I've had anywhere. The service is sometimes, shall we say, "indifferent", but that's the only negative.
http://www.restaurantica.com/on/hamilton/crystal-dynasty-chinese-restaurant/23000323/
2. Harbour Diner: 486 James Street North. Some folks on this board liked this place quite a bit under previous management. New owners have had it up and running for about 6 weeks. I've been for both brunch and dinner and it is awesome. I would love to see a place like this in Toronto, but I think the rent here would preclude their combination of low prices and awesome food.
The cajun crab eggs benny I had was outstanding, and the meatloaf, while still comfort food, is several cuts above the usual. Also, home made pie! And a full breakfast for $4. And Turkey Wings. Yay, Hamilton!
http://www.harbourdiner.com/menu.html
3. Mac Roni's: 1560 Main Street West. Solid, straight-ahead Italian that is again good value for the money. Frequently packed, my favourite item is the bruschetta on calabrese ring. This place is fresh and flavourful and consistent. It's not innovative, but it will always satisfy. Couldn't find a good web link...
Any other recommendations? Ben Thanh? 1010 Bistro? Tim Horton's?
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
I love the coffee at Niche, just west of Bathurst on Queen, north side. The food's good too, and I the house-made ketchup is a nice touch.
I have the sense that the Boom at St. Clair and Oakwood is better than the one on College that's gotten no love from posters. I've been 4 or 5 times "up north" and it's been very good every time, although the last two times I've been there my eggs requested over-medium have been delivered over-easy.
The Wychwood Art Barns Farmers Market has some great snacking options, including Cafe de Olla (a mexican coffee/cacao hybrid from one of the booths), but it's only open 9-12 on Saturdays.
On the late and lamented list: Noon on Bathurst near Dupont and Xacutti. Their brunch was fantastic.
