cynalan's Profile
Eateries near AGO.
I know that it does not serve the asian cuisine you identified, but try dining at the restaurant at the AGO. It's called Frank and has been well reviewed on this board. I've dined there several times and enjoyed my meals immensely. Consider it, you won't be disappointed.
Il Posto- anyone been
I was very optimistic going into tonight's dinner at Il Posto. I had seen reasonably good reviews on this and other sites. Sadly, it wasn't to be. A group of 12 from my office attended for our annual Christmas dinner.
The Good - Service was actually quite good. Upon entering the restaurant, the maitre'd held the door, helped with our outer garments, drinks were quickly ordered and received and we were seated at our table. Timing was reasonably good as plates were cleared appropriately before next courses arrived.
The Bad - I guess a restaurant review shouldn't start with comments about the service. We're there for the food after all. Well, not again. I started with the prosciutto with buffala mozzarella appetizer. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, but at $18 I expected to be dazzled. I received a few thin slices of prosciutto on top of a couple of globs of mozzarella. Garnish was a piece of frisee... no style, no substance, no grace. For the main, I ordered the duck with raisin sweet/sour sauce. This had to be the wost duck I've ever had. It was over cooked, tough as shoe leather and served cold. Even the sides, such as they were... 1 small potato, limp spinach, 2 asparagus spears, and a slice of parsnip completely lacked flavour and were also served cold. I should have sent the plate back but did not want to make a scene in front of colleagues. Shame on me... I really should have.
Needless to say, I will not be gracing this restaurant again.
Oh, and to respond to your question Charles... yes, the veal liver was still on the menu. One of my colleagues ordered it and said it good, but not great. Also a bit on the cool side. How can a restaurant (that was not overly crowded) manage to serve cold food to a majority of the twelve of us?
Nota Bene - Any Comments
A couple of years back, Nota Bene was the hot spot to go. If memory serves, it was 2010 top new restaurant in Canada. I went many times that year and enjoyed it immensely. Sadly, I don't get to downtown Toronto as much anymore and have been sampling other new restaurants. I remember really enjoying the Boudin Noir dish and the duck salad. Has anyone been recently and has the restaurant kept up its standards? I don't seem to hear much about this one or David Lee (chef) any more.
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Nota Bene
180 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 2A1, CA
Grocery Chains - Favourites?
I'll second the motion for Fortino's. The three in Burlington are the stores of choice for my regular grocery shopping. They have a great selection of produce, meat, dairy as you've described. I also like the extended list of specialty items they stock, e.g. chinese, thai, mexican. I've found just about everything I need there. My fallback is Longo's should Fortino's not have a specialty product I'm looking for.
Has anyone actually SEEN this anywhere? (Product search in Toronto)
There are much better products available at local health/fitness stores. They have many varieties of protein shakes, whey products, etc. available... much more than your local grocer.
Foodstock - October 16th near Shelburne
Can't quite imagine how this will work with 20,000 people attending.
Molecular Gastronomy Ingredients
Thanks for the recommendation and link. I am looking forward to giving it a try.
Molecular Gastronomy Ingredients
Last week, I had a wonderful dinner at Alinea in Chicago. Having enjoyed the meal so much, I purchased the cook book. It is flush with wonderful ideas and recipes from Grant Aschatz. Many of the recipes apply molecular gastrononmy (MG) techniques.
Does anyone know where one can purchase ingredients for MG? Specifically, I would like to try a technique using calcium chloride and sodium alginate.
As always, advice is appreciated.
Recommended Restaurants - Chicago Mag Mile Area
My wife and I had dinner at the Purple Pig on September 14th. I guess we must have hit an off night as I was very disappointed with the dining experience. The food was nothing special. We ordered the braised pork shoulder which was decent, but the pork sweetbreads were a disaster. We received greasy, fried, breaded nuggets that could have come from McDonald's for all I know. One could not discern the base ingredient. They were greasy and flavourless... an extreme disappointment. Our remaining course, mussels with bacon could have been had at any road house. I'm glad we didn't have to wait in line for a seat because it definitely would not have been worth the wait.
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Purple Pig
500 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
the right places to go in chicago?
My wife and I had dinner at Alinea on September 15th. As the restaurant has been well reviewed, there isn't much point going into the details. The meal was fantastic with each course creatively presented with a veritable barrage of interesting ingredients. I took the wine pairings and my wife a few glasses matched for multiple courses. It was a thoroughly enjoyable dinner. For the final course, Chef Grant came out to create his dessert masterpiece on our table - frozen chocolate mousse with cilantro, pepper and banana sauces.
I noted a few reviewers mentioned rude, abrasive service. My experience was the exact polar opposite. The staff were impeccable, properly attentive, timing perfect, etc. Frankly it was a magical evening that I have no recommendations for improvement - well, maybe if someone else picked up the $880 tab. :)
Enjoy your evening. We sure did!
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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
Best Pizza in Chicago?
My wife and I tried a stuffed pizza at Giordano's (River North Area) during our visit to Chicago last week. On the positive side: lots of cheese and other ingredients. A small pizza (10") was more than adequate for two people. The pastry was light and flaky... almost like a pie crust. Not sure why, maybe the sauce, but I was just underwhelmed. Volume-wise there was a lot, however, it just didn't all come together. It was a bit bland and disappointing.
Dinner Recommendation near Cirque du Soleil
My wife and I are attending Totem tomorrow evening at the Portlands area of Toronto. We are looking for a dinner recommendation in the general area of the show. What say you fellow Chowhounders?
restaurants in Niagara on the Lake
Personally, I find Zee's very boring with mediocre service. I've previously reviewed this restaurant and found it to be overpriced by about $10 per entree for the meal delivered. I find their cuisine uninspired and pedestrian. The only positive is its location next to the Festival Theatre. Otherwise, go elsewhere.
Gluten Free Bakeries in River North or Mag Mile Area?
From a couple of Toronto Chowhounds - My wife was recently diagnosed as Gluten sensitive. Now she has to avoid anything baked with wheat, i.e. just about everything. Any recommendations for a cafe or bakery near the Ritz Carlton? We'll be visiting your fair city in a few weeks.
A rare NY steak from Canyon Creek Chophouse Burlington is tough to top for steak! Awesome!
You want a really good steak at a decent price in Burlington - try Spencers at the Waterfront. It's not the high priced version you'd find at Napoleans, Lord Byron or Prime but it's pretty darn good.
Fine Dining in Niagara region
This has been written about extensively. Try the following link...
http://www.chow.com/search?query=niagara+on+the+lake&board_name=Ontario+%28including+Toronto%29&from_date=1+year+ago&search_board_id=23&type=Topic
Best Tasting Menu in Chicago
I consider myself really lucky then... called Alinea on July 1 for a September reservation and got through on the second call. September 15 is the big day. I'm very much looking forward to the dining experience.
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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
Million Dollar Quartet Pre-Theatre Meal?
My wife and I will be travelling from Toronto to your fair city for the first time in September. This trip will give us an opportunity to fulfil another one of my gastronomic bucket list experiences... Alinea. I know that we're going to blow the budget, big time there but we are prepared and looking forward to it.
We will be seeing Million Dollar Quartet at the Appollo Theatre one night. Given that we are spending big $$ at Alinea, we are looking for a reasonably priced recommendation within walking distance of the theatre. My definition of reasonably priced would be mains (entrees)
Thanks in advance.
meh
Verona on King West. Absolutely the worst service and meal I've ever had. Waiter got both the app and the main wrong, when delivered - both were MEH! and nothing done by the house to address the issue. Not even a comp on the glass of wine. Never again!
In need of a chef for a dinner party i am hosting.
I used chefmike.ca for my wife's 50th and had a fabulous dinner... two thumbs up.
ISO: GTA Bread Making Class
Maybe a bit far from York Region, but Pane Fresco in Burlington offers bread making classes. This small bakery offers some of the best breads in the west GTA. Although I've never tried one of their classes, I've heard from someone who has that they are quite good. Class sizes are small giving lots of personalized attention.
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Pane Fresco
414 Locust St, Burlington, ON L7S, CA
Blacktree Menu Question
I have a real affinity for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (SB). I love the grassy, herbal overtones of the region. To give you a frame of reference, Cloudy Bay, Oyster Bay, Kim Crawford are a few of my everyday favourites. At Blacktree, I discovered another SB from a small winery that was new to me...Appleby Lane, from the Marlborough region. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a couple of cases when i attend the Small Winemakers Club dinner. Blacktree serves this one by the glass.
Blacktree Menu Question
Hi Charles,
Estufarian is correct. The only time that I had a tasting menu at Blacktree was when the restaurant was bought out for a special function - the Small Winemaker's Club several months ago. (Tried bear for the first time!) The restaurant is simply too small to be able to plan and do prep for a tasting menu. I am a regular customer and other than a special function have not had the pleasure. Never the less, do yourself a favour and go. You will not be disappointed. This restaurant is one of my all-time favourites and without hesitation I would identify it as one of the best in Ontario.
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Blacktree
3029 New St, Burlington, ON L7N, CA
Any waterfront resto recos in TO??
Not Tornoto, but Spencers on the Waterfront in Burlington is a great restaurant. The do a great Sunday brunch. Breakfast items are served buffet style, and 3-4 lunch/brunch items are served made to order, e.g. prime rib, lamb rack, salmon steak, etc. Location overlooks Burlington Bay and the food is pretty good too. It was recently written up in the Toronto Star as one of the best waterfront restaurants in the GTA.
Best Thing You Ever Ate - Toronto
Although not Toront, but it is GTA, my personal fave is a seared foie gras at Blacktree in Burlington. It was served with cherry, port wine reduction... absolutely to die for and the best foie gras I've ever had.
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Blacktree
3029 New St, Burlington, ON L7N, CA
What's with cupcake mania?
It's got to be more than personal preference. It's a trend that has caught on across North America. Cupcake mania is everywhere. On the savoury side, this is the year of chipotle, on the sweet side - cupcakes continue. Just trying to understand why.
Looking for a fine dining in west area
Absolutely no question that Blacktree is the best restaurant in the area you defined. Close second would be Quatrefoil. Just be aware that the price points at these restaurants are high but worth every penny for a fine culinary experience. Blacktree tends to present dishes that are a bit more fusion cooking (on the creative side... think unusual combinations and foams) whereas Quatrfoil tends more toward traditional french cooking. Cannot go wrong with either one.
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Blacktree
3029 New St, Burlington, ON L7N, CA
What's with cupcake mania?
Maybe my comment may be perceived as heretical or sacrilegious, but... I fail to understand this recent mania over cupcakes. I see new shoppes opening everywhere, theme focused shows on the Food Network, etc. I just don't get it. What is so special about a cupcake? As desserts go I've always found them mediocre and unimpressive... a miniature cake, sometimes with a filling with a far too sweet frosting on top. Give me a fine french pastry any day of the week over a cupcake. If someone can enlighten me as to what I might be missing here, please do.
Night It Up and Waterfront Night Market 2011
If you break it down to its simplest element of ribs served on styrofoam, I can see your point, but these summer festivals are so much more than that. Personally, I look forward to Burlington Ribfest each Labour Day weekend. "Canada's Largest Ribfest" may not be a culinary masterpiece but what is does provide is a great day or night out for a group of friends to gather in a park, sample a wide variety of ribs, have a few brews, listen to a couple of good bands and soak up some atmosphere. All this while contributing to a good cause, i.e. helping the local Rotarians raise funds for charity. So while I enjoy a fine night out a Colborne Lane, Splendido or Blacktree... Ribfest also has its place in my culinary calendar. And the ribs are pretty darn good too!!
