Peechie's Profile
Afghan food?
Bamiyan Kabob Restaurant.. see http://www.chowhound.com/topics/358561 for more feedback.
It's an awesome place.
Chowhounding in downtown Toronto?
Oh while you're in Eaton Centre, I would suggest trying the "Soup Original Nazi" in the Northend food court (it's the one Seinfield got their character from, or so I heard). Expensive buy pretty good soup (I had lobster bisque, my friend had italian wedding). Soup comes with fruit and baggette.
Jewish Restaurant - anyone?
WOW! THANKS everyone.. some of you are a wealth of info! (embee, especially)
Unknowingly, I've eaten Jewish food before - Jerusalem, to be more specific. Some of the stuff was good and to my liking. Unfortunately, I'm lactose intolerant so couldn't try everything.
I will certainly visit some of the places recommended!
Jewish Restaurant - anyone?
Toronto has a big Jewish community but I've never been to or heard of a Jewish restaurant. Is there such a thing around? Or do most dine at home? I'm curious to try. Any recommendations?
Chains you're tired of making excuses for?
HaagenDazs, I understand that you are anti-chain restaurants and probably won't be caught dead in any of them. I'm curious, what do you (and those similar to you) eat on a daily, weekly, monthly & yearly basis? Humour me, will ya?
Chains you're tired of making excuses for?
I think in your discussion, you miss a very important aspect of the whole equation and flow of things.. the target market, the customers, the people who enable these "poor quality, packaged food" places to survive. There is a simple demand for it... whether the reason is consistency, convenience, the uniform, the chairs, the whatever.. the point is.. there is a market for them. For every person that hate McDonald's there are 10 more than loves it. Facts of life.
I don't hate that we have chain restaurants, I dont like all of them but that's my taste. I won't snub my nose just because someone else loves a place I don't.
I've been to my share of hole-in-the-wall gems, five star restos and everything else inbetween.. I have an appreciation for all of it. There is a time and place and need for everything. Facts of life.
Where are you going for Winterlicious?!
Yup I have!
We're going to Tutti Matti, Provence Delices, Mildred Pierce and Aqua.
TORONTO LIFE 2007 - DO YOU TAKE THE RATINGS SERIOUSLY?
I too love the Toronto Life food reviews and I look the restaurant up before trying it. But I don't always take the star system to heart. I think they offer a good idea of what's good out there but taste and preference is so personal. I would really have to try the place out and decide if I agree or not with their opinion. In the past, I've noticed that a place they rate highly, I didn't enjoy that much. So this kind of discrepancy happens. You shouldn't worry about it. =)
I haven't tried Romagna and Hillebrand Estate Restaurant(I dislike Hillebrand Winery - terrible experience) so I can't comment about their current quality of food and service. But just as how a bad restaurant can get good, a good restaurant can get bad.
Also bare in mind that the reviewers are professional food critics and look for different things than the regular customer.
Hope this doesn't discourage you from chowing well =).
Chowhounding in downtown Toronto?
I didn't know about Solferino~! Have to try it sometime. =)
We always end up going north or west when we're craving Gelato. And yeah, La Palamo isn't as good as it use to be the last time I was there, I thought it was a one time thing. Guess not! I go to Hollywood Gelato unless we're dining in the West end.
What is up with Sunday's
Chefs need days off with families too. I always thought that resturants closes on Sundays or Mondays (or both). And even if they don't close, the primary chef may not be making your meal - so why bother?
TO show off Toronto, you don't need to eat at all the high-end places.. =) can be creative and take them to the more local favourites. Your parents are here to visit you, so time spent with you is probably more important than at any fancy restaurant. My opinion.
Chowhounding in downtown Toronto?
regarding your list, I would make the following edits and comments..
BREAKFAST:
sunset grill, - delete, this location isn't really worth it
mimi's,
Chinese traditional buns,
king's noodle house,
jumbo empanada,
Add:
Senator - 249 Victoria St, near Dundas
Daybreak - 399 Church Street, NW corner of Carlton and Church
LUNCH / DINNER:
burrito boyz, - Great place! Sounds weird, but try their Halibut burrito. YUM!
black camel,
naz's falafel,
salad king, - go earlier or sit in dining room (more pricy but has reservations. good for dinner as well)
pho hung, - good choice for good pho and grill meats. Some of the other food I'll skip.
yung sing,
queen mother,
forestview Chinese,
nguyen houng,
mother's dumplings, - its a good find. Go early and try their roast beef noodles in addition to other favourites.
peter pan,
solferino,
terroni,
mercatto.
Add:
California Sandwiches - 244 Claremont Street
- very popular family run joint that's hidden from everything. Try their Veal with your favourite toppings (onions, mushroom, cheese, sweet peppers etc). Go early or be prepared to wait during peek hours.
Etopian House - 4 Irwin Avenue, near Yonge Street
- worth the experience if you're up for this type of food.
Love at First Bite - 96 Gerrard Street East, near Jarvis
- Downtown NY style pizza
As for Gelato - don't know any near you but if you want to venture off.. 2 places:
Hollywood Gelato - 1640 Bayview Avenue, south of Eglinton near Manor Road... has amazing gelato.
La Paloma - 1357 St Clair Avenue West, near Lansdowne is a bit of a far travel for an out of towner but also has a wide selection of yummy gelato.
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
OH NOO..really? I think I went in 2002/3. It was so good, the whole experience. *sigh* too bad. Yet another fab eatery down the drain.
Mother's Dumplings - A Real Chowfind
From the list? Probably Dumpling King.. In Chinese it's (Dong Pik Gai Gee Wong) North East Dumpling King.
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
Sunset Grill is not what it use to be and not all Sunsets are made equal.
Bamiyan Kabob - Afghani Restaurant
Against fear of turning yet another little treasure into another over crowded mediocre affair, I feel that Bamiyan Kabob is under exposed and deserves some respect.
Nestled amongst fast food joints and mini marts in a small-off-the-main-road plaza at 62 Overlea Blvd near Don Mills and Eglinton, Bamiyan is a definite chow pleaser. From the casual dining room and self serve atmosphere one would never guess than the staff behind the open kitchen and counter would cook up such a delicious assortment of Halal Kabobs. All the meats (lamb, beef and chicken breasts) are cooked tender and just right. Dinner portions are served with a generous amount of long grain rice which at first glance seems dry but is moist and delicious, salad and roti at a very reasonable price ($8-$15). One would find it difficult to finish everything on their plate.
While the meats are delicious, there are vegetarian options available and sometimes the rice and roti is enough to make me want to go back.
Try it.
Mother's Dumplings - A Real Chowfind
Hiya, yup at that plaza. I can't remember what the colour is.. maybe green, maybe red? They have a "feature" table in the front window that resembles the japanese style of sitting.. your foot is in the pits and looks like you're kneeling. I'll drive by there sometime and let you know.
Anniversary Dinner Theater Dist
My experience at Urban was very different. The food is mediocre and completely ruined by the unfriendly and unprofessional staff. I definitely won't go back.
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
LOL, no offense taken. To be quite honest, I was very excited when I found out that Eggspectations was gonna come to Toronto. I kept raving about this all day breakfast place in Montreal to my friends and when I took my friends to the Eaton location, I was mildly disappointed. It wasn't how and what I remebered it to be but my friends enjoyed themselves and at the time the server was cute and friendly =). But every time I go back, it seems to get worse. So I know what you mean by mediocre touristy place.
Mother's Dumplings - A Real Chowfind
LOL, small world indeed. I normally go to the dumpling house at Midland and Finch (not sure what the english name is). They serve similar things with a wider variety of northern chinese dishes. The best part is, they have juicy pork mini buns. Although, some things are a bit skeptical but their dumplings have been consistently good. The soups for the noodles tends to be too oily for my taste though. So yeah, the noodle soup at Mother's Dumpling is much better. As for the pancakes, you ate them all so I won't know =).
Mandoo are different from the dumplings offered at Mother's Dumpling though - not a very fair comparison.
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
true, and point taken. I forgot about the initial request after reading all the suggestions.
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
Oh, I completely agree. Eggspectations at Eatons isn't great by any measure, but if you're in that area and need to fuel up - why not? I like the smoke salmon Egg Benedict.
The Eggspectations in Montreal is much better.
Mother's Dumplings - A Real Chowfind
I didn't even get to try the green onion pancakes (sold out). So was the Chives and egg pancakes =( I did try their pork green onion roll though, wasn't bad.
Small world for you to be there at the same time. LOL. I wonder if I can guess which table you were... let me think.. We ordered the Chive and Egg pancakes but they didn't have any. So you must be there before us. So, if you were still there when we were there, you would be the table in the middle of the room(a couple) who was eating Kimchi... I thought it weird that they were eating kimchi at dumpling house (didn't go to website so didn't see the claim to "best kimchi ever").
Am I right?
Mother's Dumplings - A Real Chowfind
I agree that Chinatown isn't what it use to be and quality have been declining steadily. The server was friendly and I expect them to be considering this is a family run business. They certainly have more vested interest in being nice than the $7.75 hired help. That said, there is a place for restaurants such as Mother Dumplings in every neighbourhood. And you're right, the food was tasty and cheap. If I am in the area and wanted dumplings I would go there again.
Sometimes, these "rave" reviews may be the downfall of smaller restaurants because they can't handle the extra out-of-area customers while maintaining their quality. In the end, everyone suffers.
So I am saying, don't make the trip just to go there, but if you're there, go for it.
Anniversary Dinner Theater Dist
I've been to "Forget About It" a couple times found it good. Food is consistent and the server remmeber us even though our visits were weeks apart!
http://www.forgetaboutitsupperclub.ca/
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
If you haven't been to Eggspectations, you could try that too. It's not as good as the original Eggspectations in Montreal but it's not bad. I find the service inconsistent though.
Eggspectations is at Eatons near Shuter, where the old radio station use to be.
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
Oh, I heard about le Petit, it's very homey. My friend loves it, but then again he lives across the street. Haven't been to it myself.
best breakfast joint in Toronto?
Yeah, breakfast at Senators is on the main floor. You could try their crab cakes, not the best in town but it's tasty. Depending on the day, be prepared to wait. If you're looking to impress at breakfast, this would be better than Daybreak.
Mother's Dumplings - A Real Chowfind
I tried this place yesterday and wasn't as excited about the experience as many of you are. The dumplings are good, but not really worth the trip for us (we're in Scarborough & Markham). There are places around this end of the city that offers similar quality dumplings.
In addition, many of the dumplings we ordered they didn't have (the server came back 3 times with apologies!). That's not really acceptable for me, sspecially when one of us is a vegetarian and they only had 1 vegetarian dumpling remaining at lunch time.
I must say, I liked the roasted beef noodles. It's better compare to the other places I'm thinking about.
Overall, if i'm in the area and craving dumplings, I would go back but won't make the trip especially for their dumplings.
need update on 2 ayce places in scarborough: ten ichi & sushi home
What about Wasabi on Silver Star Blvd or HWY 7? It has an extensive menu and food is good for an all you can eat places. Service is not consistent though. Always busy, suggest making reservations if you go on weekends.
I dont do AYCE japanese anymore.. if you want to try a non-AYCE japanese I suggest Miyabi on West Beaver Creek and HWY 7.
