thanks for the ideas guys, have been to Enoteca and its not what I'm after this time ( i wasn't taken with the food, although you are right it would probably work for this group)...I"m going out on a limb and trying JaBistro- I don't know that it'll fit the scene bill, but i'm excited about the food and it is my birthday after all....hope they like it ;$

Hey all, am planning a birthday party with 6 girls, half love food, half care more about scene, would love to make em all happy...thoughts? downtown to west end is fine, price point is not so important but not looking for super high end. Thought about Salt but we've done it so many times, and we were just at Grove assuming Daisho is a no for a group this size on a Saturday....hrm. I'm lost!

not sure what 'excellenty oo' means, i was meaning to type that the whitefish was good and the pork was excellent-

we went to The Grove for anniversary dinner last night and I have to say I thought it was great. Only two complaints I would make is that almost every dish would have benefited from a flake of maldon or two and that the place was unfortunately warm. The food is really pretty and you may notice that the menu lists ingredients, but not flavors or spicing so the menu reads less exciting than what is put in front of you, in my opinion.

they brought us fries with an indian-flavor ketchup (big beefy fries, crispy on the outside, lovely on the inside!) and a cold indian-flavor soup as amuses (hugest amuses EVER)

We had:
Mushrooms, poached egg, and snails on toast 7
“ Quo Vadis “ eel sandwich 8

loved both these dishes, I would say the best use of snails that i've had.

then:
Tomato, melon, radish, buttermilk 9
Corn soup, potted shrimp, Summer savory 9
Beef, celery, samphire, horseradish 16

the tomato and melon I didn't care for. just too mushy, good flavor but no texture variation- the corn soup was so good and ended up feeling a bit like a grilled cheese (in the best way) when you got the toasts in the bottom with the soup. The beef was tartare and it was so good...SO GOOD! Not traditional but I thought it was terrific and so did my husband.

And THEN;
Whitefish, fava, smoked tomato, mustard 17
Pork, shrimp, peas, radish 19

the pork was SO good- the whitefish was excellenty oo-

the service was flawless! highly recommend and will go again!

I can't say between the saint and bestellen, haven't done either, but can definitely say NO to enoteca, campagnolgo much better. Foxley is very special, IMHO the fish is so good (the meats aren't).
Good luck with your guest...its hard to gt the happening buzzy vibe with high quality food sometimes eh?

how about Campagnolo? Foxley's?

i think you are right about the note of hostility and I can;t imagine why it's there. I think it's quite rude of the host of this evening (corporate or otherwise) to invite a guest without their mate. I work for a small company, we would never do that. Especially if the night is to honour your husband, it should be a pleasure for him to attend- with his mate!

Hi guys, I'm a Toronto Hound coming to Vegas for my sister's 40th. we are looking at Alize for a chef's tasting menu for her birthday dinner- thoughts? I hear the view is awesome.
Also wondering about these famed buffets. Buffets would never occur to me as a dining option at any other time but people keep saying that they are just ridik in Vegas and we really should go. What are your thoughts and what would you recommend (if any?)
TIA
numma

as a server in formal settings, I was always trained that the oldest woman (or only woman) at the table orders first and you go around from there.
it may make people uncomfortable if you are the only woman at the table and you don't order first, it is not jumping in or hogging- it is following a socially accepted norm, which, like stoplights, help us all know what to do. When you break the norm, confusion may ensue. :)

Please tell me you are exaggerating for a good story? I cannot imagine a serve making a remark even approaching this and if one did, I would probably lose my cool. Give us more details, I am rapt.

i felt there was something strange about this place. Something funny about the menu, how it is laid out and the pricing. For instance, my husband had a fish dish, listed and priced as a main, that was by no means a main. some of the plates are quite small and seem they need accompaniments in order to comprise a main, but the menu doesn't 'say' that (directly or indirectly through layout etc...)
For us, there was a disconnect between the sparse room and the style of food. I can't quite put my finger on it. I'd be interested to see if anyone shares my thoughts or can articulate them more clearly?

I like Origin, nice vibe, great room, good food for the most part- I vote for the burrata and the ceviche :)

I work in the area.
Don't know how healthful it is as they refuse to post NI ( bad sign?), but the Thai Express on St. Clair (east of yonge) does all their curries and stirfrys as veggie options (good veggies) or with Tofu. harvey's is new to the area and does a veggie burger as well. (same style)
Retro Burger (south of st. clair, west side of yonge) has a veggie burger which is actually pretty good, but it depends on what you like for a veggie burgers (this is meat-style, done on the same grill as the meat I think judging from the taste).
Andy does veggie dogs on a corner east of Yonge. I can't say they are great but sometimes its fun to go to the hot dog cart in the summer.
The Salad Selection at Druxy's (basement of St. Clair center) is a more affordable, reasonably sized and fresher option than the stuff at Freshii (south of Heath, west side of Yonge), although both are possibilities for veggie lovers.
PIzzaiolo has veg pizza options (south side of St. Clair, west of yonge)

not a lot of superhealthy choices in this area....I end up bringing my lunch most days, but these are some options i've found.

-----
Retro Burger
1450 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4T 1Y5, CA

we get ours at bruno's at St. clair/Yonge

agree with Origin- sounds perfect

i occassionally hostess at the restaurant my husband is chef at, and use Open Table. Canceling /rebooking weeks in advance is a none issue. calling if you can't make your reservation makes you seem like you give a fig about other people, canceling repeatedly on the evening of is noted and makes you look bad.

I haven't had it in a while but the veggie burger from Hair of the Dog was awesome.

we were there last night as well- had:
the quenelles
the cantaloupe salad
the oxtail
the duck confit
the breem
the beef crudo
the sardines
and fries.

the cantaloupe salad was meh, the dice doesn't work for me and changes the flavor, the sardines were a little ho hum and the preserved lemon didn't come through (although my friend thought it really hit her, so I presume it depended on which bit you got) mine needed some acid.

duck confit, the breem and the oxtail were big hits with all four of us at the table. perfectly seasoned (for me), simply presented, like your mom made but way better (sorry mom). the oxtail in paticular felt like a sunday supper.

Service was great- unobtrusive, efficient and welcoming. my friend is gluten intolerant and the waitress was informed and helpful without making a big fuss.

we had about 9 glasses of wine, two desserts and a coffee- the bill came in just over $300 with tip. I thought it was great and would definitely return. I really liked the room, it feels so cozy like you are in a library or a wine cellar.

If your partner is Celiac, you might want to call the resto, rather than taking someone's word for it here- just a suggestion.

Debu's is excellent Indian and will deliver- http://www.debusaha.com/

We do Satay on the Road (Bayview) for Thai- its pretty good.

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Satay on the Road
2003 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5M, CA

second cava!!

If you think it, it is a fact. How does that work?

the truth is, most of our friendly social situations hinge on everyone following the rules....even if someone is a dear friend, over time they will wear you down with behavior like this because you begin to realize that what looks like careless/absentminded behavior is symptomatic of a very selfish, self - centered outlook on the world. Everyone deserves a chance, and certainly if these two had never behaved so rudely before or since, I wouldn't worry about it. If there is any kind of pattern whatsoever, I would indeed write them off.

this is the thought that I had too...I would feel quite angry regardless of the reason, this is just so rude.

I find it odd that you complain about your money being there where people can see it. You are in a restaurant. Everyone knows what the items cost. Everyone is paying. I think this is incredibly persnickity and complaining to the manager will likely get you mocked, though hopefully not to your face.

this is making laugh, mcsweetbreads has become a joke in our house, the nickname for this style of sweetbread- fried and battered and nowhere near as amazing as they can be. I haven't had the hoof ones, but I feel i had the type you are describing- too many times!

Maybe I'm being hard on it, but I felt this place just didn't deliver. We had the bison two ways and the root veg calamari. The tartar bison was great but the shaved bison was boring. THe root veg calamari was fine, but it is fried veg, I mean I didn't find it that exciting?
Then we had the perogies- hard to eat and really just not very good. The 8-hour steak was overcooked, the 'cakes' that came with were FANTASTIC. The lamb was overcooked...the gnocchi, which fell flat from the description provided, I felt like they really enticed me with the interesting description but it just didn't come through on the plate.

working a buffet can be much harder than waiting tables in terms of sheer hustle required. clearing mutliple plates, keeping the table clean, keeping everyone watered and so on can be a challenging task. The hardest shift I worked at the resto I used to work at was the Friday Night Seafood Buffet. Holy cow!
Also, people who tip really poorly on a breakfast buffet-that's just mean! Just because the bill may be quite low, that person did the same amount of work as someone on a lunch/dinner buffet (yes this applies to eating off the menu as well, I don't see why you would ever tip someone who gave you competent service less than $5). Breakfast buffets are hard! People are cranky!

just had a terrible meal at lucien!

I had the funniest experience recently.
I went to the restaurant where my husband is the sous. I do this from time-to-time and eat at the bar alone, just to check it out and enjoy the food, see what is up with the staff gossip, etc...
There was a table of four behind me on a fairly quiet night, so i heard a lot of what they were saying. I often zone in on people talking about the food because it is pretty hard to get unbaised, honest opinions out of people.
They had the cold pea soup with a sour cream garnish- I know what goes into this soup and how hard it is to make a soup that is absolutely delicious-
First, I hear a diner say, "well this is just gazpacho, isn't it? No big deal. This is a gazpacho!"
and i hear one of his tablemates try it and reprimand him that it is far more than gazpacho, not a gazpacho at all, etc...
Then he says, "well, it certainly wouldn't be hard to make- jeez, you just toss peas in a food processor- no biggie!" and he proceeds to hold forth about how anyone could make that soup at home and why would you be paying $7 for it and so on...
It was killing me. I wanted to take him back to the kitchen and show him how the soup was made, or at least see him try to create what he was eating by simply putting peas in a food processor! At least somebody at the table seemed to know enough to know what went into it, and to discern the difference between it and a poor version, but it was pretty funny.