Hi,

I'd like to take my wife and baby to a small town not too far from Toronto to buy some great lunch food and then have a picnic somewhere. I am planning this for July 29. Any towns with great market/prepared foods and park areas spring to mind?

Sam

Hi,

I don't normally need help knowing where to eat in Toronto but I'm unsatisfied with what I've come up with so far and am hoping someone out there will show me the light.

My dad is turning 65 and we'd like to go to a restaurant to celebrate. There will be 6 adults and a 1-year-old. Price is an issue. Ideally entrees would be $25 or under. But we'd like the setting to be conducive to a celebration - but also accommodate a baby.

We were thinking French or Italian, though other options are also a possibility. We all live downtown, and for the baby's sake would like it to be fairly close to home. So far, we've come up with Le Paradis, Le Select and Big Ragu. Le Paradis is closest to home but the others are fine, location-wise.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Sam

Looking for guidance for great vanilla-vanilla cake. Recommendations?

Bagel World. Hands down.

Really? Nothing? So far I'm down to Harbord Room. That is all. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

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Harbord Room
89 Harbord St, Toronto, ON M5S1G4, CA

Could anyone suggest a restaurant that features fresh ingredients and great salads - and is open for dinner on Sunday - for my parents' 40th anniversary?

I was really impressed with the mac and blue cheese at Harbord House (not to be confused with Harbord Room, which is good for other things).

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Harbord House
150 Harbord St, Toronto, ON M5S1H2, CA

My wife and I stayed at the Little Inn at Bayfield right after our wedding... three years ago today. It was a gorgeous setting, a fantastic inn, and the food was excellent. I suspect the area gets very busy during the summer. But over the Thanksgiving long weekend it was quiet but still alive.

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The Little Inn
Main St N, Bluewater, ON N0M, CA

Thanks everybody! Coming from Toronto, I've honed my jay-walking skills, so 4 lanes of fast-moving traffic doesn't scare me. I also really appreciate the restos-by-cab suggestions.

Much appreciated!
MS

Thanks for the suggestions, Bryn. I'm really up for anything. I'll be working long days so I really look forward to dinner afterwards. I'm coming from Toronto so Alberta beef would be a nice treat! I don't want to spend hours eating, but anything delicious would be welcome.

Hi,

I will be in Edmonton for a few days next month, staying at the Delta Edmonton South on Gateway Blvd. Can anybody recommend something decent nearby for solo dinners? I don't mind taking cabs as long as I'm not traveling too far.

Thanks,
Ian

Hello!

Any recommendations for me? I am from Toronto Canada and will be spending about five days in Penrith and then another 5 days in the Brighton-Le Sands region of Sydney. I won't have a car and on most evenings I will have very little time to travel for dinner. I haven't seen very much at all on these boards about those two areas.

Any help is appreciated!

El Almacen is a new Argentinian cafe that opened on Queen West at Dovercourt. I haven't tried it yet but I hear they are serving alfajores, various flavours of mate, etc. etc. Here is a recent CH thread about it: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/682503

Last week my wife and I went for lunch at the Gourmet Burger Company on Charles St. While the burgers didn't impress us all that much, the sweet potato fries and especially the onion rings sure did!

The sweet potato fries were small enough to be crispy (really crispy) but thick enough to taste like sweet potato.

The onion rings were not dripping with grease, and there was such a nice beer taste to the batter that we didn't feel like we were just swallowing mounds of slimy grease, which is the case with so many other onion rings.

GBC's onion rings are now my favourites in the city - claiming that spot from People's Foods. Their sweet potato fries are pretty close to the top also!

Granville Moore's looks like fun. But Litteri's closes too early to get to for dinner. Anything else nearby for dinner? I'll be in the area for three nights.

Hi,

I will be coming to DC for the first time next week and staying at the Courtyard Marriott at New York and Florida Aves. I won't have too much time in the evenings for a decadent dinner but I would like to eat well! Any thoughts on great dinners in that area?

While I recognize this thread will hopefully benefit more than just me, I am male and feel quite comfortable walking around Brooklyn in the dark. Any reason why I shouldn't?

Thanks for those suggestions. I'll be staying at the Avenue Plaza around 13th Ave. and 45th St., I think.

I will be in Borough Park for a few days working. I won't have much time to travel for dinner. Are there any restaurants in the area that people could recommend for great dinners?

A co-worker recently went to Kenya and has been looking for restaurants in the GTA that serve similar fare. Anybody know of any?

Hello Edmonton!

I'll be working in Edmonton next week, staying at the Chateau Nova Hotel near the City Centre Airport. Just wondering if there are any restaurants that I MUST get to while I'm there? Bonus points for walking distance but I'm willing to take a cab to great food.

Thanks!

Hello,

My colleague and I will be working in Fort Collins for three days and then spending one night in Denver.

We won't have time for any long, indulgent meals in Fort Collins but we will be needing to have a working dinner each night. Any recommendations for good, solid dinners but not overly formal in Fort Collins? We will have a car.

After our three-day workshop we'll have one night in Denver (near the airport). We'll still have our car and will be able to have a longer, more food-centric meal. What do you southwest (!) 'hounds suggest for one dinner in Denver?

Thanks,
Sammy

My wife and I are throwing a New Year's party and are wondering what to have on hand to drink. Neither of us drinks very much but we have a pretty well stocked bar that we'd like to tap into at the party. What are the best mixes to go with:
vodka
rum
rye
gin
tequila
Frangelico
Amaretto
brandy
Cointreau
triple sec
etc.
etc.
?

Anybody know the story on Boba? I called to make a reservation today and the message said, "Unfortunately Boba is closed. Please do not leave a message as it will not be retrieved." Sligthly ambiguous, I thought, but "don't leave a message" doesn't sound good. I've never been to Boba but have only heard great things.

Moonsally and I have been saving the gift certificate (for two months) for a perfect night. Now that we found one, we seem to be SOL! Any thoughts on the gift certificate before we use it to wipe up the spilled milk?

My wife and I recently ate at On the Forks. What a great experience! We kept comparing it to what you might get in Toronto, and the value at OTF was incomparable.

Our server showed us the menu, which included no category divisions (i.e., appetizers, mains). She said we should each order approximately three dishes, and that the dishes near the top were generally smaller than those at the bottom. We followed obediently and ended up with 6 main-sized dishes! My root vegetable salad was one of the best salads I've ever had! None of the dishes disappointed. I ate so much that night, I hurt afterwards. And if I remember correctly, it was barely over $100 with tax, tip, dessert and a glass of wine. Highly recommended.

Rice Bar is fun but not nearly as delicious as Matahari Grill or Boulevard Cafe. Boulevard Cafe is pretty consistently great, as is 93 Harbord.

Hello!

Wondering what people consider to be the restaurants with the best salad selections. I immediately think of Fresh and Fressen. Points given for freshness and creativity. Bonus points if the rest of the menu is just as great.

This is coming second-hand, from my parents. They wouldn't lie but they confuse easily... They went to Eleven yesterday for brunch and lo and behold it was gone! It's now The Garden (or some such thing) and they appear to be trying to put that whole Brad Moore thing behind them. Can anybody confirm this?

I'm really not trying to spread rumours, but when I walked past the restaurant today (Bloor location) there was newspaper covering all of the windows. Anyone know what the cluck?

Dessert Trends makes a beautiful and delicious cake. Even if you order in advance, though, expect some amount of disorganisation when you go to pick it up.