Epicure

Since so many restaurants had lineups we decided to give Epicure a try.

The place was empty when we arrived. Think it was around 8 or 9pm. Don't know if that's a good thing or not on a Saturday night but it did have a/c and that's the only thing that mattered to me at that time.

To start off we ordered the Paris pizza which came with smoked chicken, spinach, bacon, roasted peppers, portabello mushrooms, and mozzarella and brie cheese. It was delicious. Truthfully, we were hoping to eat at Pizzeria Libretto but since there was a 2 hour lineup forget that. Also there was no a/c in there well, at least I didn't feel it by the doorway. This pizza is not comparable to Libretto but it was pretty good.

Stonefire

This was the first thing that caught my eye when I entered the restaurant. I was tempted to snatch the plate and run right back out but my stomach whined for real food instead.

Casa Mendoza

I saw some reviews and heard that one of my favourite restaurant might be sold to a condo developer. Booooooo!!!

Therefore, I was compelled to blog about this hidden lil gem.

Casa Mendoza is an oasis hidden from the bustling streets of Toronto.

It is located close to Lake Ontario and offers a breathtaking view of the city's skyline.

I discovered this restaurant when I was searching for a place to celebrate my anniversary. I noticed that they had dinner and dancing along with a great view of the city lights. It sounded perfect.

When me and my boyfriend first arrived it didn't look so perfect on the outside. It looked like one of those bed & breakfast places you find along the highway.

Nevertheless, we walked in. We were warmly greeted by a hostess who then led us to our table. We asked for a seat by the window since the place was empty and we did come for the view but surprisingly, we were told the place was booked for the night. She wasn't kidding. After we received our first dish the place was piling with patrons.

The restaurant had a huge terrace out at the back of the restaurant. It faced out to the lake and there was a spectacular view of the city night lights. You can even clearly see the CN Tower lights illuminating from the skyline.

We started off with the escargot which was oven baked in mushroom caps with garlic, butter and mozzarella cheese. It was cheesy gooooood.

Here we have their home made gnocchi with fresh lobster meat and wild mushrooms in a dungeness crab cream sauce. It was divine. I couldn't get enough of this dish. It was the best gnocchi I have ever tasted. You can feel the tender loving care put into this magnificent dish.

Lastly, we had one of the house delights, a seafood platter for two. Our jaws dropped when our server brought this plate to our table. It was a huge mountain of seafood. Normally if you order a seafood platter most places only provide one of each shellfish. Here, they were not skimping. It was truly a house delight. There was lobster, tiger shrimps, sea scallops, mussels, calamari, and Alaskan king crab legs served on a bed of Spanish rice. It was scrumptious. However, we couldn't finish the seafood medley since there was just too much.

During the course of our meal there was a live musician playing the piano. It was a perfect anniversary dinner. Although the place doesn't appear elegant or glamourous it just has that warm intimate feeling that makes it perfect.

There was dancing at 9pm but we were stuffed and ready to go home and just unwind (well more like unbutton my pants lol) so sadly we didn't stay for the event. Hopefully next time we can make another trip. I just hope the news isn't true. I hope they will remain open for a very long time.

TOTAL BILL $133...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

JUMP Cafe

I was craving for chocolate cake so after searching on the yelp site I saw several reviewers recommending the SOMA molten chocolate cake at JUMP Cafe. It was one of the Oliver & Bonacini restaurants and it definitely did not disappoint.

Located in the Commerce Court along Wellington I got a friend of mine to join me on my sweet indulgence.

We were given complimentary bread basket and some sort of garlic tomato dip. It was yummy. I loved the huge tortilla chip.

My friend was hungry so she ordered the truffle ricotta gnocchi with wild mushrooms in a porcini cream sauce. It was fantastic although it doesn't look appealing here in the picture.

Finally the main event, my sweets.

We ordered the SOMA molten chocolate cake and the white chocolate cheesecake double-baked in phyllo pastry with a biscotti crust.

We started off with the cheesecake since we wanted to save the sweetest for last. O-MY-GOD it was the BEST cheesecake EVER. It was light and pillowy soft and not sweet at all. Normally with cheesecakes I take one bite and I am done however, with this one I just couldn't get enough of it. It was simply irresistible.

Now onto the finale.

Sadly it wasn't as what I had expected. The molten cake was fluffy but too sweet for me. One bite and I was done. I can see why the scoop of vanilla ice cream was there. It did help tone down the sweetness still it did not satisfy my craving.

Funny how I came specifically for the molten cake but ended up falling in love with the cheesecake. It was truly worth the trip. Although I didn't get what I came for nevertheless I did discover another sweet treat. I would definitely JUMP to this cafe again.

TOTAL BILL $46...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Desserts Plus...RACIST HOST!!!!!!!!!!!

Never in my life have I EVER experienced something like this.

Tonight I went for dinner with my cousin at Desserts Plus located in Woodbridge. My cousin really likes to eat pasta so I decided to take her there since I have been there a few times and the food is extremely good and the portions are humongous.

I made reservations for 7:30pm. We arrived at the restaurant five minutes early. There was a huge crowd swarming by the entrance. I made my way through the crowd and tried to look for the hostess. There was no one around. Finally I saw a guy coming and telling other patrons that their table was ready. I went up to him and told him that I had reservations for 7:30pm. He brusquely said to me " Go to the back of the line. Other people have reservations as well." I was shocked and appalled at the way he talked to me but I went to the back of the line and waited.

Forty minutes later the crowd had dispersed and I was still waiting to be served. The rude hostess spoke to people surrounding me asking who had reservations yet he didn't bother to ask me even though I was standing right in front of him.

Finally I told him again that I have reservations and he replied once again in that cold demeanor that I have to wait a few minutes. He even gave me a dirty look like he was disgusted with me or something. I just did not understand why he was treating me like that.

There was this couple that came in and waited only 10 minutes before being seated at a table while at that time I had waited for forty minutes and the hostess still hadn't even acknowledged me at all.

I was fuming when I saw that.

Even the patrons next to me noticed it and were angry for me as well.

Finally, after waiting for over an hour the jerk came and told us our table was ready. But the way he told us made me even more mad. He just came and pointed his finger almost right up to my face and said "You come." How insulting was that?!!

If it wasn't for my cousin who wanted to try the place I would've left the instant that giant couple got seated before us. Yes I am nicknaming them the giants because they were super tall although I do have other nicknames for them as well which I am refraining myself from typing it here.

THE HOST WAS A RACIST. He is bald with glasses and a beard. He is the obnoxious one so you can't miss him. Me and my cousin were the only Asians there. I didn't see him treat the other non-Asians the similar insulting manner that he treated us so yes I am calling him a racist although I do have other names for him but at this moment the most fitting one is RACIST.

It's such a shame. This restaurant really does have fantastic food and very generous portions but with that kind of service it ruins the whole dining experience. I was so angry that I couldn't even enjoy the food. However, I still tried to salvage what was left and made it enjoyable as I could for my cousin's sake.

I had ordered the veal parmigiana with cheese manicotti and my cousin had the chicken marsala with vodka penne. My entree was really yummy especially the manicotti. It was freshly made and the sauce was divine.

My cousin's chicken was dry but the gravy sauce more than made up for it. It didn't taste like the typical gravy and I can't quite describe what it tasted like but it was really good. However, the penne had a strand of hair in it so my cousin asked for another pasta dish. She asked for the same pasta dish I got since she really liked mine however they ran out of the sauce so they replaced it with a rose sauce which wasn't too bad.

Since the location of this restaurant is hidden coupled with the fact that they don't even have a website I think most of their business comes from word of mouth. Believe me I won't be referring this restaurant to anybody. If you can handle the rudeness and long wait even with reservations then by all means go for it. As for me this will be my last and final trip. I really don't see this restaurant lasting long if they don't do something about the service. With so many other competitors in the food industry every little bit counts.

TOTAL BILL $45...ONCE IS ENOUGH NEVER EVER EVER AGAIN!!!

Sen5es finally awoken MY senses

This holiday I'm sooooo poor. I'm so broke I can't even go out out to eat hence not much to blog about lately since I've been hibernating at home.

The only place I went to recently this month was Sen5es.

Last time I went for lunch at the bakery location and it was horrendous. This time I tried the restaurant location and it wasn't a complete disappointment. Unlike my first experience this time I was much more happier when I left.

Here we were given complimentary bread and some sort of fruit salsa.

For the starter I had my eye on the truffle spaghettini with lobster bolognaise, summer truffle and chervil. It was truly exquisite and a complete tease. It was so yummy but so little that I wanted more. It was a great start to the meal. So far I was impressed.

For the entrees me and my friend ordered the crispy duck breast with king oyster and shiitake mushrooms and the sea bass with risotto. The duck wasn't crispy at all. The first few bites were good but after a while it tasted a bit too gamey for me. The fish and risotto were perfectly cooked but could use a tad more seasoning.

Since Senses is known more for its desserts we had our eye on the molten chocolate cake. Man oh man was it a perfect sweet ending to our meal.

The chocolate cake was amaaaazing with the chocolate oozing out of the cake. It would have tasted even better if the cake itself was fluffy but the filling more than made up for the lack of fluffiness.

Overall, the food was good but pretty overpriced. One thing I do have to complain about is the service. Our waitress only appeared at our table twice throughout the entire meal. First was to take our order and the last was to give us our bill. I noticed she was much more attentive to the other tables and when it came to our table she was a bit on the snooty side. The manager/supervisor checked on us more than the waitress. It wasn't even busy either so there was no excuse for the poor customer service level.

The only reason I would return would be for the truffle spaghettini and the chocolate cake.

What a combo lol.

TOTAL BILL $94...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Desserts Plus

Nope it's not a dessert place. It's actually a cozy little Italian restaurant in the heart of Woodbridge. Located along Weston Road, this friendly joint is a favorite neighborhood spot for a family meal. Humongous portions at very reasonable prices no wonder why there's constantly a lineup at this restaurant.

Last night was my second trip to this eatery. I left with a doggie bag and enough food for lunch AND dinner the next day. Just look at the pictures. I still feel full just looking at it.

The fried calamari was crispy on the outside but not enough flavor on the inside. Don't know why it's so hard to find perfectly seasoned calamari. Nonetheless, my boyfriend pretty much inhaled the starter since he was hungry.

For his entree, he ordered the gnoochi since he was craving for it. It was cooked perfectly. Not too mushy and not over done.

I had the veal sorrento with eggplant, mozzarella, tomato and gravy with a side of pasta in an onion and bacon tomato sauce. It was delicious but oh so much food. I really enjoyed my pasta. It was cooked al dente and was full of bacon flavor. Sounds fatty but I don't care it was yummy.

Like that wasn't much food already, we also ordered a pizza with pesto sauce, mushrooms and prosciutto. What can I say we order with our eyes rather than our stomachs. Besides, we all know pasta dishes normally taste even better the next day.

In order to get a table at this traditional Italian restaurant, your best bet is to call ahead and make reservations otherwise you will be waiting for quite some time since the portions are huge and people take their time eating it.

On a side note I like to thank my boss for my new iPhone 4. If you notice, the pictures are far more clearer than my previous pictures. No more blurry pictures here. Thanks boss I love my iPhone:)

TOTAL BILL $55...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Terroni

Oh...My...God!!!!!!!!!! I now claim Terroni as the BEST place for FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE. They have by far the most amazing chocolate cake oozing with dark chocolate floating in a pool of white chocolate ganache. The name of it on the menu is Torta Calda al Cioccolato which I cannot pronounce but it was definitely memorable. One word to describe this cake was ORGASMIC. That's the first word that popped in my head. Every bite that me and my friend took it sounded like... well let's just say we really really REALLY enjoyed that cake. Funny thing was that I ordered the hazelnut gelato for myself since I figured one of my friends was ordering the cake and another was ordering gelato with a shot of expresso so more variety to sample from. Man oh man I wished I had ordered the cake all for myself. Instead I kept stealing a few bites from my friend's dessert. Thanks Viv for being so kind enough to share although I know you wanted it all for yourself:)

Normally I start from the beginning but this was just too good to leave it till the end. It just shows you how much I just love this dessert.

To start from the beginning, I went out for dinner with 2 of my girlfriends on a Wednesday night. They chose Terroni located in midtown close to Yonge and St. Clair.

One of the girls marked it as her territory so nobody else was allowed to claim it as their "pizza spot" nor even take a bite of her pizza. Wow she must really like this place to be making those demands. Now she has got me curious as to what was so good about this place?

We started off with the grilled calamari. It was placed over a bed of salad. It was well prepared but lacked a bit of seasoning for me.

Next our entrees.

One of my friends had the seafood tagliolini. It looks like a lot with the pile of pasta and bunch of mussels lying around but when I actually looked closer aside from the mussels there was one of everything else. Hence, one scallop, one shrimp and one squid. Wow that definitely is a seafood medley since technically there is a variety of seafood in the mix. Not impressed there; nonetheless, my friend said it was delicious. The pastas were freshly handmade so it made up for the limited quantity of seafood.

Next here were the 2 super thin crust pizzas. I can't remember which pizza my friend had ordered since there was a wide variety of options and on top of that I can't even pronounce the names; however, I do remember mine since my pizza was supposedly a house favorite recommended by the waitress, the smendozzata. The toppings were tomato, mozzarella, homemade spicy Italian sausage, gorgonzola and red onions. At first it didn't look appealing to me with the patches of green which looks like something was rotting but looks are definitely deceiving here. It was delicious. All the pizzas were prepared in the traditional wood burning ovens.

The portions were really good here. I couldn't finish my pizza so ended up packing it in a doggie bag. My boyfriend ate the leftovers when I got home and he said it was good.

The food at Terroni was good but the highlight of the meal was the cake. Going to make another trip next week solely for the chocolate cake. I'm drooling already just thinking about that tasty chocolate delight. Mmmmm...chocolate:)

TOTAL BILL $95...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Vertical

Vertical was definitely a hit. I've been to this restaurant a few times and it still was truly an amazing dining experience each and every single time.

Tonight's dinner was certainly memorable even though there was one dish in particular that was not pleasant at all.

Me and my friend decided to start off the meal with 2 appetizers. We chose the octopus with fennel, potato & saffron, bread crumbs & parsley puree and the berkshire pork terrine with acorn squash, saba, sprout and candied lemon salad. The octopus was well prepared and very well seasoned. Also the potatoes were scrumptious as well. Something so simple yet it was very delicious. It was the highlight of our night. The pork was tasty but didn't compare to the previous appetizer.

For our entrees we ordered the ravioli butternut squash with ricotta, spinach, parmigiano fonduta and fresh herbs and the tagliatelle with clams, bottarga, lemon, olive oil and garlic. Unfortunately due to the dim lighting my pictures didn't turn out very well. Sorry no photos here. The ravioli was exquisite. Creamy, full of flavor and just irresistible.

The tagliatelle, which I can't even pronounce was a different story. My friend took 2 bites and she did not like it at all. When it came time to switch I poked my fork into the clam and dabbed it in the sauce before putting it into my mouth. Immediately I made a face. It was horrendous. The sauce tasted like a mixture of shellfish which have been marinating in its own juices for weeks. It was not appetizing at all. I was voicing my opinion to my friend when a waitress overheard our conversation and asked us what was wrong. I told her I was very unhappy with my dish. It was just plain awful. She sincerely offered to take away the dish and let us order another item. I normally don't like to do this but in this case I just couldn't bring myself to take another bite.

I ended up ordering the cannelloni with spinach, oyster mushrooms and ricotta in a tomato sauce. It was much better. The waitress came over and asked if everything was okay and this time I told her it was definitely better than the last dish. My only criticism of the cannelloni dish was that the pasta itself was paper thin where it felt like I was eating a savory crepe rather than a pasta dish. But the waitress told us that is how it is normally prepared in Italy. Guess I am more used to the Canadian standard where bigger is better. Other than that it was tasty. The pastas were freshly handmade which was another bonus.

For dessert, I had my eye on the zeppole which is Italian doughnuts stuffed with pistachio pastry cream covered with sprinkled cinnamon sugar and a caramel sauce to dip in. It was divine. Truly luscious and a perfect ending to the meal.

Aside from the one awful dish, the remaining dishes more than made up for that one bad apple. Also the attentive and friendly staff welcomed our criticisms with open ears.

TOTAL BILL $90...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Coco Lezzone

Last night, I travelled to Little Italy, along College Street West, to have dinner with my cousin at a charming little restaurant called Coco Lezzone.

Upon entering the restaurant we were warmly greeted by the hostess. He was very friendly and asked us how we were. I replied, "I'm cold and hungry". He laughed and said "Well, you came to the right place then."

After we were given our menus, my cousin caught a glimpse of the drink menu and decided to order a martini. She never had a martini before so we decided to ask our waitress what her recommendation would be. Both of us like our drinks sweet so she highly recommended the mango martini. It was gooooood. Definitely not strong at all. Tasted like sex on the beach except substitute the cranberry juice with mango juice instead.

While waiting for our food, I noticed the restaurant was more suited for a romantic dinner with the dim lighting and the red velour drapery along with little candles on each of the tables. Definitely not the right place to have dinner with your cousin but oh well what can you do.

For our entrees we decided to order from the pasta section since that was the only section that caught our eyes. Here is the Capellini with tiger shrimp, scallops, mussels and fresh parsley in a white wine tomato sauce. This was my cousin's favorite dish. I thought it was good except for the overcooked scallop. It was a bit chewy for me. Other than that everything else was tasty.

My favorite dish was the cajun lobster ravioli with sundried tomato, roasted garlic and baby spinach in a rose sauce. It was truly spectacular. My only criticism was it was not enough. I was suppose to only eat half and share the remaining half with my cousin. But didn't realize that when I gave her the dish there was only ONE ravioli left. The rest was just sauce. I didn't realize it till she told me. The place was dimly lit so I blame it on the lighting. Good thing was my cousin preferred the capellini dish over the ravioli so I just let her finish the rest of the pasta.

Overall, the food was delicious however the portions were small since I was still a bit hungry when I got home. But if you're looking for a place for a romantic date then this is the place to be.

TOTAL BILL $61...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

St. Lawrence Market

For a few weeks now me and my 3 best friends have been planning to make a trip to the St. Lawrence Market for some great eats and shopping. It finally happened on Saturday afternoon.

Here are pictures of our food adventures.

Our first stop was for this sandwich place located on the lower level of the market called Mustachio's. There was a huge line but guess also because it was lunch time and it was a weekend.

We bought a veal sandwich and a chicken & eggplant one to share amongst the four of us. The sandwich was gigantic. One of my friends got overwhelmed by the enormous size and was stuffed after finishing her portion. As for me and my remaining friends we were still yearning for more.

We bought fish & chips from some place on the upper level but it wasn't that great hence not worth taking a picture. The batter was not crispy at all and just didn't taste that great.

Next I was craving for an almond croissant since we were seated right in front of all the freshly baked goods. Just look at the photos isn't your mouth watering already??? Who doesn't love the smell of freshly baked goods. We ended up buying an almond croissant, a chocolate croissant, an apple turnover and an almond pastry filled with marzipan. It was all decadent and oh so delicious I wished I bought more to take home for myself.

I wanted to buy turkey sausage sticks but couldn't find one stall that would have them. Each place I went to they kept redirecting me to another stall and after going to 4-5 different meat counters I ended up leaving empty-handed.

I used to buy the turkey sticks from the farmer's market on weekends at Yorkdale mall but now that the mall has altered its image to a more upscale shopping centre the market no longer exist on weekends. Right now I am still searching for an alternate place to purchase those turkey sticks.

Lastly was this pasta counter tucked in the far back corner on the upper level. This place had a nonstop traffic flow of people. I never bought freshly made pasta before so didn't know how much to buy. The cashier told us that one strip of ravioli was good for 2 people so I ended up buying 2 strips of each ravioli flavor. The three flavors were seafood, spinach and cheese. I also purchased 2 containers of meat sauce. All of it came to a grand total of $42. WOW!!! Just for pasta and meat sauce. Wouldn't it have been better for me to just order it at a restaurant for that price? But since there were people coming from all directions I guess it was a reasonable price since I saw everyone grabbing several bags for themselves like it was potato chips or something.

Here is the machine pressing out the freshly made pasta. Can't get fresher than that right? Hopefully the pasta and meat sauce is worth the money.

For my next trip, which would probably be in the summer, I definitely want to eat the veal sandwich again but this time with cheese. I can't believe I forgot the most crucial component of any sandwich, the CHEESE!!! To me it's not a real sandwich unless it has that melted gooey cheesy string sticking between the bread and the meat. Hopefully next time I won't forget it again.

EAT HERE NEXT!!!