1st time in Chicago-Picky Eaters-Dinner Suggestions Please

Thanks for these great suggestions. OK going to try to pursuade the other couple (who is star struck by the R's) to skip RPM, maybe for Cafe Spiaggia as its been mentioned a number of times.

I like the Publican Quality Meats option. If nothing else we may do a lunch spot on Sunday and do the Publican to go as we leave on Sunday and will be missing dinner. Unless a good to go option at Midway?

Thanks again for all the input. Really appreciate it.

ciaociao1 in Chicago Area

1st time in Chicago-Picky Eaters-Dinner Suggestions Please

Thanks for all the replies. I would LOVE to ditch the other couple as they are so inhibited. Lucky they are fun otherwise. Coming from Toronto, an awesome foodie city, I am ok to skip any high end steak houses as we have excellent ones here. However something like the Purple Pig is a unique experience. Glad to hear we can bring them along for our Sunday lunch.

We are all early risers and have breakfast included at the hotel so we will be looking for more lunch than brunch on Sunday (Publican looks more breakfast type foods...)

So no mention of Quartino's? Mistake?

Hoping RPM is ok. It's the one place the other couple would really like to go.

ciaociao1 in Chicago Area

1st time in Chicago-Picky Eaters-Dinner Suggestions Please

We are visiting Chicago in late June for the weekend. 2 of the 4 of us are fairly picky eaters and only really like steakhouse or Italian for dinner. One of the nights we are going to RPM Italian (the new Rancic resto- any thoughts)

Other night we are debating about Captial Grille, Custom House Tavern or Quartino's. Your help would be greatly appreciated. I heard Captial Grille is expensive and may not be worth it? I would do Quartino's but Italian two nights in a row?

Also for Sunday lunch my husband and I (the adventurous ones) will separate from the other couple.

We are thinking either Purple Pig or The Gage. Also would love input.

Also we are staying at the Hyatt Regency.

Thanks so much in advance.

ciaociao1 in Chicago Area

Restaurant opened on a Sunday afternoon- west end TO/DT Toronto?

Hello

I am picking up a friend from the airport on a Sunday around 4pm. Looking for a great resto (price range moderate) open around 4:30pm on a Sunday for a late lunch/early dinner.
Would like something somewhat fun or unique or good menu- not a chain restaurant. Willing to do Queen West, King West or anything in downtown area since her hotel is right in the financial district.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

kipling and the kingsway, anything good in the area?

Not clear on where you mean by Kipling and Kingsway...they don't really meet up. Maybe you are thinking Kipling and Queensway? If you mean the Kingsway area (around Bloor & Royal York) a suggestion from me would be La Veranda Osteria- Italian food, great imo and directly across from Royal York subway stn

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Kingsway Restaurant
510 Ferguson Ave, Haileybury, ON P0J1K0, CA

La Veranda Osteria
946 Royal York Road, Toronto, ON M8X 2E5, CA

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Wedding venue input - Canoe/Park Hyatt/RCM

I have done a corporate event at the Thompson with relative success but not my favourite place. The latest place I have booked and can't wait to see how the function goes is Malaparte which is the Oliver & Bonocini private space on the top floor of the TIFF Lightbox. It's the new hot venue, I love the decor inside. No need for furniture rentals...a fantastic long patio with views of the city and I thnk O&B is a fantastic caterer with lots of options and fresh interesting ideas. Just my two cents worth.

Also I have used Victor Restaurant in the Le Germain Hotel Mercer St. with much success. They do an awesome job of "Taste of Canada" my clients seem to adore. It's very hip in there as well and close to parking/hotel rooms.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Options near Bloor & Kipling?

There is also Dundas St. Grill across from Kipling Subway Stn and Medium Rare.
It's good diner food- I always go and get grilled cheese with bacon, fries with awesome gravy.
Service is super fast, prices very reasonable. They also serve all day breakfast.

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Medium Rare
5241 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M9B, CA

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Wedding Venue

Depends on your idea of affordable but I would recommend Rosewater Room (private space beside Rosewater Supper Club)

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Resto near TIFF Bell Lightbox for tomorrow Sat Feb 12

Would recommend Victor Restaurant in the Le Germain hotel on Mercer (1 block south of TIFF) I like their menu, they have the option to do a "Taste of Toronto" menu and it's hip in there.
Prices are moderate for the area.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Best Chicken Parmigiana Take-Away in Toronto

Not a big fan of La Rose Bakery personally.
My suggestion would be Espresso Bakery on Dundas between Kipling and Islington. In a strip plaza on north side across from post office. BEST chicken parm. The owner Pina is great. She will give you the chicken and can give you the toppings on the side if you ask. I often order from her for dinner parties. Her chicken is nice white meat with perfect breading. Good prices too.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Reviews of Eatertainment and 10tation for Conference Catering

I have used both. Our large firm perfers 10tation. I have used them for large events including a 200 person client event recently. We often use them for our client events, conferences and sometimes just for a boardroom lunch.
They always give outstanding service and the food is top notch. I especially like they always work with my budget and have new inventive ideas.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Catering for a Conference

Hi Otonabee

Funny I just read your original post today and was going to recommend 10tation. I use a bunch of caterers in Toronto (depends on location) but whenever given the choice I ALWAYS chose 10tation. My clients have always been happy with their quality, pricing and quantity. They also work with my budgets which I like.
Glad you also had much success with them!

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Need advice on restarurants GTA with beautiful interior for formal pictures

Did a recent event at Victor Restaurant at the Le Germain Hotel on Mercer St (which is just south of King and John)
The decor is almost all newly reno'd from the TIFF film festival and it's very chic hip. Once the sun set the lighting and candles made the place spectatcular and I remember thinking great backdrop for photos.

The food was super and clients were happy. They also do this tasting menu of "Toronto neighbourhoods" that I thought was a neat idea. We sent a out of town group there recently on their own and they LOVED the Toronto neighbourhood concept.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Royal York and Dundas restaurant recommendations--within, say a 5-10 minute drive?

Ediblethoughts...personally think (as do most of my friends and family who are local to Etobicoke) that Casa Barcelona is the biggest rip off. Not the greatest food and way overpriced (plus lousy service). That's just my 2 cents.

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Casa Barcelona
2980 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M8X1B9, CA

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Victor Restaurant at Le Germain Hotel- fantastic

I just did a client event at Victor Restaurant last week. The room is suitable to hold up to 80-100 reception style.Might be even more if you want formal seating?
We had 50 people casual reception style and people are still raving about it. What makes it a particular good find is the restaurant just went through a renovations making it more hip and modern with couches and great benchs along with the regular restaurant seating.

Also they were very helpful with a menu. Since many of the clients were from the US and Europe the owner suggested a "high end" poutine station with braised short ribs. It was a HUGE hit with everyone.

All the food was fantastic, they did such a beautiful job with the cheese tray no one wanted to eat it.
The service was top notch and the owner was on top of everything.

I'll be using it again soon for client events but also want to go there personally.
I saw they are doing this very cool tasting menu - Tastes of Toronto. You can pick 4-7 dishes at difference price levels and each dish is reflective of a part of Toronto like little Poland or Koreatown etc. They menu changes every week I think. Great concept.

Anyhow prices are a bit more than moderate but given the food quality, worthwhile.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Royal York and Dundas restaurant recommendations--within, say a 5-10 minute drive?

For really good Italian take out I like Lenny's on Dundas just east of Islington.
Great bugers at Magoo's on Dundas at Royal York (Bruno's plaza)
Also good on Bloor St is the Thai place - My Thai Kitchen.
Personal favourite in the neighbourhood is La Veranda Osteria on Royal York near Bloor (across from RY subway St.)

Hope this helps.

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My Thai Kitchen
3080 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M8X1C8, CA

La Veranda Osteria
946 Royal York Road, Toronto, ON M8X 2E5, CA

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Mississauga/Etobicoke restaurant for family dinner

My recommendations would be Solstice near Port Credit (Lakeshore and Clarkson). If you wanted to do Etobicoke I would suggest La Verranda on Bloor and Royal York (just a bit out of your range)

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

ISO: Great scallops in GTA (prefer west end resto)

My husband has requested a "great grilled scallop" place for our first anniversary. He is not interested in anything with fancy sauces etc just the basic amazing taste of a fresh, perfectly grilled scallop.

Can anyone make some recommendations? I would prefer west end Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga but can travel GTA as well.

Other caveat is we would probably go on a Sunday night.

THANKS!!

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

South of Temperance

I went with a group from work last Tuesday evening. We ordered a number of appetizers to share and then I got a burger for dinner.
Appetizers that were great were calamari & quesdilla. The ones that were just "ok" were short rib poutine and mini sliders.
My burger was not great at all, had a weird spicy taste to the meat. Maybe it was just me.
Service was slow but our server did her best and the place was RAMMED. The thing i detested was the music was blaring and I mean "nightclub loud" at 5:30pm so much so that I had to shout to the person beside me and there was no opportunity to talk to the people across the table from me. For this reason, likely not to return soon.

Someone at our table had fish tacos and loved them and the person beside me ordered salmon boulibase(sp) and said it was fantastic.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

South of Temperance

Where exactly is this place? I walked by the general area twice recently and did not see it. Is it on Adelaide? I left Mercatto on Bay St last week, walked along Temperance and south on Sheppard (that itty bitty st between Adelaide and Richmond) and then west on Adelaide towards York. Still stumped where it will be?

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Mercatto
15 Toronto Street, Toronto, ON M5C 2E3, CA

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

West End - Ethnic Food

Two thoughts from me:
On Eglinton, west of Renforth before Dixie (in Planet Bowl mall) is Prince Japanese Steakhouse,...very good tappanaki which is a cool take and new experience with an Asian slant.
On a diferent spectrum, Wally's Restaurant on Dundas near Kipling for German/Ukrainian food.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Needed: Private Venue for Company Dinner in DT TO core for Accountants

I have to book the same type of dinners all the time for an investment bank with similar service/food high standards.
Successfully for me:
Stratus- 36th floor on Wellington St. near Althetic Club. Fully Private at night- GREAT view of the lake!
Reds- not sure if they have a room for 50 though
Biagio's- used back room or spectacular patio for our group (King & Jarvis)

We are using Forte at Richmond & York- new restaurant with funky decor, they are allowing us a buyout during the week for 60 people, cocktail area and dinner.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Family reunion help!

This might be out of the way but we have used Solstice Restaurant in Missisauga (Lakeshore and Clarkson Rd) for recent grandfather's bday and a baptism.
We use their private room which I think holds up to 60 ppl.
Menu always FANTASTIC. We pay about $35-40 depending on event and usually they allow for three entree choices and two dessert choices.
They are located in a strip mall so plenty of parking.

Owners are three brothers who are very involved in making it a good experience. We love going there whenever we can.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Best Fish and Chips in the West

Lived in Etobicoke all my life and have tried McNie's, Kingsways F&C and Westway F&C. I still think the best quality halibut and crispy fries is at Renforth F&C (Rathburn and Renforth just west of 427)
I think the price of a fish/chip combo is about $8.75

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Kingsway Restaurant
510 Ferguson Ave, Haileybury, ON P0J1K0, CA

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Panini press?

I have the Breville- bought it from WS and I am not happy with it as the one I tried from Cuisanart. My aunt loaned me her Cuisanart which hooked me on a panini press to begin with. To me both the same in terms of quality, even temps and cooking surface. Where Breville falls WAY short is you can't remove the grills from the press itself (Cuisanart you can) and also there is no On/Off switch on my Breville so you have to plug in and out if you want it off. Cuisanart there is a switch.
Seems like little things but after grilling a chicken one night and then scrubbing grills while electric cord is dangling was not fun.
I plan to sell my Breville and buy a Cuisanart soon.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Project Panini

I regularly have panini parties. It takes a bit of effort to get the ingredients prepped but the panini part is great.
Most successful combos:
goat cheese, grilled chicken & roasted red peppers
black fores ham, brie and honey mustard (some like with grilled red onions too)
tomato with provolone-- to spice this one up sometimes I do grilled veggies with provolone
procuitto with any hard cheese (moz, provolone)

Will look forward to hearing others.....

ciaociao1 in Home Cooking

Looking for GREAT Italian restaurant vaughn / thornhill $$$

My current favourite that is great in my eyes is Maestro Roberto's. NE corner of Weston Rd and Hwy 7 (in the strip plaza)
There is another place I can't remember the name in the plaza NW corner of Rutherford and Islington...same plaza at St Philips Bakery.

ciaociao1 in Ontario (including Toronto)

Decent and quick lunch near Fashion Outlet Mall, Niagara Falls/Buffalo?

Thanks Houdini. Both sound like they might do the trick!

ciaociao1 in New York State (exc. New York City)

Decent and quick lunch near Fashion Outlet Mall, Niagara Falls/Buffalo?

A group of us women are heading for a shopping weekend in Niagara Falls/Buffalo from Toronto.
We have a spot for dinner but we are looking for a lunch spot close to the Fashion Outlet Mall or near Military Rd.
I know there is an Applebee's in the mall but I can't stand that place so it's up to me to find something cheap and cheerful (and quick) for lunch. I would have liked Cheesecake Factory (I know a chain but a decent one esp for lunch) but it's too far at Walden Galleria. We are sticking close to Military/Transit Rd for the day.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

THANKS

ciaociao1 in New York State (exc. New York City)