Thank you for this! May 11th looks like an interesting day to visit. Hidden Bench has some spectacular wines! I love Cheese Boutique!! Too bad their website is not up to date. Last summer, they introduced their gelato... which I found to be very tasty. Very European. FYI, my favourite cheese at CB is called Prima Donna. A hard, flavourful cheese, rich and full of flavour. Would love to hear what other Chowhounds like at CB.

I quite enjoy the beef tenderloin steaks.
Also, in the summer, they have a pound cake which is delicious.

I agree with you, Cyn. Astoria is my pick for souvlaki too. Their souvlaki is exactly how you describe thick, juicy and well-spiced and in my opinion, grilled to perfection . I prefer the pork souvlaki to their other variations. So good!

I have Zo rice cooker. Best thing ever! I've had it for the past 4 years and use it about once or twice a week. It makes life so much easier.
I got mine on Amazon.ca on sale. It comes with instuctions, recipes, a ladel and a measuring cup.

I really enjoyed the St. Lawrence Salad at Cafe Belong, recently. They had me at "brown butter vinagrette"...

earth Bloor West. Not a drop of pretentiousness. Always made to feel welcome.
Great thread!

+1 for the shrimp in lobster sauce.

In the west end, Cheese Boutique carries Vosges. I'm not sure about the Barcelona, but they definately have the bacon one

Thanks for this! I will definately have to check it out. The PB creme brulee is right up my alley!
I have to say, Bloom never disappoints! It`s a nice addition to the the 'hood.

Ended up going yesterday and wanted to recommend the Dutch Frites place in the Food Building. The frites were hand-cut, the chicken kroket was yummy (crispy on the outside and smooth in the middle) and for me, the hands-down winner is the GARLIC MAYO dipping sauce. Homemade goodness.

Tried a few other things here and there, but wasn't overly impressed. We preferred the bao to the tacos at Far East Taco, for what it's worth.

Oh! and a huge shocker is that Island Foods is a no-show this year!

Kimchi Soon Tofu (#3) at Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu near Bloor and Christie. Deeeeee-lish!

Hi folks,

I'm going to the Ex this weekend and am looking for some tasty recommendations.
I'm not into deep-fried butter or bacon-wrapped Mars bars or anything like that.
I just want good-tasting food.

So far I've heard that there's a vegan taco and a korean taco that are must tries.
I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to buy kimchi for home use. Which brand is best?
Anyone want to share their recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

I just wanted to share a little cafe I came across. It's called "Orange Alert", located at 298 Dundas Street West (Dundas and McCaul - across from AGO)... I was blown away by the cappuccino at this place.
To help you gauge... I consider myself a coffee-lover (grind my own beans daily) and I prefer my home brew to $tarbuck$ or Second Cup.
Back to Orange Alert: the friendliest barista ever. An older Korean man who knows how to make a serious espresso. I've since tried the latte as well which was also great.

I hope some of you get to try it and let me know your thoughts.

I just picked up a bag-full at the Sherway Gardens Farmer's Market. It was $1.50.

For sushi, Asa Sushi on Jane at Bloor is a sleeper hit for me.
Wings... IMO the Maple Whiskey wings at Brydens are the best in the area.
Patio: Globe Earth has a nice little rooftop patio
A bit west of BWV is a nice italian resto called Vibo. I quite enjoy the eggplant parm.
Not to be missed is the Cheese Boutique which is just off of South Kingsway, near the Queensway.

Totally agree with the Mistura rec. It's my go-to 'licious spot. The pasta is always great and they really know how to take care of their customers.

I think what your looking for is called "paan", in India. It's found in most East Indian groceries.

Bengali Sweets on Islington, just north of Albion.
3 for $1
Delicious.

They're back at the Etobicoke Costco. $10 for a large package.

The Kirkland brand pound cake from Costco is quite good. It's light and flavourful.

Just went to Que Huong today!
Holy SMOKES that's a good sandwich.

The bread.... wow.
Thank you sooooo much! I'll be back for sure.
They have a deal, buy 5 get 1 free. Boy are my colleagues gonna love me!

Que huong... is that the one next to Pho Dau Bo?
I'm relatively new to Bahn Mi. Any recs on which one to try at Que Huong? I'm going to be in the neighbourhood later this week.

No, I hadn't thought of that. There were 3 of us and we all ordered the chicken. Each of us had the same issue: tough meat (the breast was rock hard and difficult to cut with our knives) and bland (totally underseasoned). We were really so disappointed.
If we ever go back to Piri Piri, I'm going to stick with the bitoque.

Went to Piri Piri last night to ease my grilled chicken craving... ugh... I was so disappointed! We used to go there a lot a few years ago... now the chicken is bland and tough! So sad.

From now on, only Costa Verde on Oakwood, for me! They never disappoint.

Totally agree with CocoTo.
Vibo and Globe Earth were the first two restaurants that popped into my head.
Also, Bloom (Bloor and Windermere) is quite nice.

I wouldn't say these recs are exactly fine dining... but definatley good food and service.

-----
Vibo Restaurant
2995 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M8X1C1, CA

Island Foods at Dufferin and King is close by to where you're staying. It's a family run roti shop. I'm sure they have vegetarian options.
Tasty rotis and pepper sauce. I think it's about $7 for a roti.
The bone-in chicken roti is fantastic, just in case your bf is a non-veg.

Hi Graydyn,

I've tried 2 different Niagara wine tour companies in the past.
One was Crush Wine tours: http://www.crushtours.com/
and the other was Niagara World Wine tours: http://www.niagaraworldwinetours.com/...

They were both great fun and the people were really courteous and professional. In terms of wineries, both tour companies took me to about 4 wineries each. They were all a mixture of more well-known wineries (Henry of Pelham, Reif, etc) and smaller wineries (Featherstone, Marynissen, etc).

That being said, I preferred the Niagara World Wine tour as it was done by bicycle and I am very active.

LOL!
We couldn't decide. So I made some homemade pizza before we went out and we capped the night off at Rol San.
Great night!

-----
Rol San
323 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5T2E9, CA

Hello,

I was wondering if you TO Chowhounders had any suggestions for my upcoming "Girl's Night Out"?

We're a small group of 30-somethings who are looking to get all dolled up and enjoy a night of good food and dancing, this weekend!

We were hoping to start off on College St. Are there any recs?

Our criteria:
1) On College.
2) Good food
3) Budget: $50 pp (not included drinks)

Bonus points if we can bring our own wine.

Thanks in advance!
HPD