Forte Bistro

I bought a voucher for Forte Bistro and I was really looking forward to trying this place out. The menu is enough to entice anyone.

The bistro is located on Richmond street but I later discovered there was another entrance as well. From the outside the place looked pretty tiny but remember that saying "Looks can be deceiving" well it certainly applies in this case. The restaurant was huge with very tall ceilings and a whole lot of space.

The layout was of a u-shape. Here on one side was the sushi lounge. It was the other entrance I was mentioning about. I think it faces York street.

HOT BALLS @ Table 17

Finally, I was able to taste the infamous hot balls at Table 17.

My first time at the restaurant was for brunch and it was a great experience. For my second trip I went for dinner and it was even better or shall I say, HOT!

Me and my sister-in-law arrived around 6pm. The place was empty at that time but by the time our food arrived people were bustling in.

We attempted to grab a table by the window so I can get more lighting for my pictures but sadly it was already reserved. (Note to self: when making reservations request for table 22 not table 17 j/k actually no I'm not get table 22).

My sister-in-law got a glass of red wine that was recommended by our waitress, Mia. She was very informative and definitely knew her wines. My sister-in-law really enjoyed the wine that Mia had suggested.

After a few minutes of contemplation we began ordering.

First off the balls. It arrived rather quickly I have to say. I didn't even finish snacking on the complimentary bread that was given. I thrust it aside and began pulling out my iPhone.

Here is a closeup of the Arancino stuffed with mushrooms and Fontino cheese mixed with risotto. It was crispy on the outside and filled with warm yummy goodness on the inside. Also each ball was accompanied by a specific sauce. For this one it was the red sauce which tasted like salsa to me but still complimented the ball very well. (Ok every time I type ball I am just laughing at myself. It's just funny that's all I have to say.)

Our favorite one was the goat cheese dipped in wildflower honey. It was luscious. A perfect combination of the two differing flavors of tangy and sweet.

Here was a side of the seasonal green which was kale. Unfortunately this was not pleasant at all. In fact the first word that came to my mind was funky and not in a good way. My sister-in-law tried a few more bites thinking she would get used to the flavoring but eventually gave up. When Mia came to clear away the plates she asked us was there anything wrong with the kale. We told her that we didn't really like it. Later on we discovered that this was removed off of our bill. Wow now that is customer satisfaction. I couldn't believe that they took it off our bill. Unlike one experience I had where all the plates were hardly touched except for one bite and yet the waitress still didn't even bother to ask what was wrong while here Mia actually noticed and took the time to ask us what we thought.

Here was the Cavatelli. It consisted of house made ricotta and black truffle pasta with soffritto, brussel sprouts and hedgehog mushrooms. My sister-in-law enjoyed this dish.

Now this was my meal. The duck confit with lentils, pickled carrots and almond cream. It was magnificent. Even the smell of it was intoxicating. It almost turned my so-called vegetarian sister over to the dark side hehe. She kept commenting how amazing it smelled. Also once my fork broke into the skin she even heard from the across the table the crispiness of the outer layer. Moaning sounds of approval came involuntarily from my throat before I could even stop them. The duck was super tender and full of juicy flavor. My sister kept laughing at me because after every bite I kept saying "OMG this is so good."

Can you see how scrumptious it looks?

Or how about this picture? Just look at that piece of crispy skin.

Last but definitely not least was the Gateaux Elvis. Originally we couldn't decide between the Elvis or the pistachio tart so we ended up choosing the tart since it would be something new to try. Sadly, it wasn't available so we chose our second choice. It was mind blowing. The dessert looked like an ice cream sandwich yet it was actually 2 pieces of light airy chocolate cake sandwiched together topped with a scoop of peanut butter mousse and caramelized bananas. The cake wasn't rich at all and went perfectly well with the heavy sweet flavor of the peanut butter mousse. I can't believe it was mousse. To me it tasted like real peanut butter that you would get from a jar but more light and fluffy like whipped cream. It was a perfect end to a perfect meal minus the kale. I'm sure the dessert would have made Elvis proud. One more thing because they didn't have the tart that we had first asked for our dessert was on the house. Omigod. I was in shock in again. They really value their customers and try to ensure you have the best possible experience.

Also during the course of our meal I noticed Chef John Sinopoli came out to the dining room. I personally don't know him but I do remember his picture from the website and also coupled with the fact that he was holding a little pot and scooping out, which I believe was the special of the day, polenta with rabbit, and placing it onto each individual plate. Now that is a chef who is passionate about his food and actually comes out of the kitchen to serve the food himself. Amazing. Wished I had ordered the polenta but since my dining companion once again was still terrified of meat I decided against it.

I highly recommend this restaurant not because of the freebies I got but because of the excellent quality of food and the love and passion cooked into the meal. Thank you Mia and Table 17 for an exquisite dinner and an unforgettable dining experience.

TOTAL BILL $76...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Table 17

782 Queen Street East

(close to Broadview)

416-519-1851

Table 17

I rarely go to Leslieville but when I do go so far it's only been for brunch. I love brunch. Even though it's a combination of breakfast and lunch still I love the fact that you don't have to wake up so early for it. I noticed that Leslieville is filled with numerous spots for brunch.

I decided to give Table 17 a try. I have to say it did not disappoint at all.

Here is the Sloppy Giusseppe. I have no clue how you even pronounce that second word but it was yummy. It included two fried eggs served with Bolognese sauce and fried polenta and a side of green salad.

The 2 remaining plates were the French toast with cinnamon creme anglaise and a few pieces of fresh berries and a grilled Cuban sandwich which consisted of Black Forest ham, house roasted pork and Havarti cheese with mustard and pickles and a side of fries. It was all delicious. My favorite dish out of all 3 was the French toast. Although it was a bit burnt it was light and tasty. I love sweets so this was a great treat in the morning. To me, it was my reward after a 90 minute hot yoga class. I am not at all flexible nor can I tolerate hot temperatures but that hot yoga class was a killer. All of my efforts and hard work wasted with this meal but oh so worth it. I just can't say no to good food.

We also ordered 3 sides with which were the thick cut double smoked bacon, Merguez sausage and potato rosti. My favorite was the potato rosti. It was crispy just the way I liked it. It's so fattening but tasted so good.

Lastly, we ended our meal with a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. Originally I wanted the cinnamon bun however, they were all sold out or something so we settled for the cheesecake instead. The crust was flaky but the filling was not that great to me. Then again when it comes to cheesecakes I never really like the filling I always head straight for the crust. Yup I'm a crusty kinda gal.

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

Table 17

782 Queen Street East

(close to Broadview)

416-519-1851

Soho Bistro

Last Thursday I went out for dinner with a couple of friends.

After receiving my menu, I was overwhelmed by the variety of food options. My friends decided to go with the prix fixe menu but me being the curious one I just had to look at the regular menu to see if there was anything better to order. I just couldn't decide there were just too many to choose from. So I decided to keep it simple and order from the prix fixe menu as well. However, even looking at that menu I still couldn't decide. After much deliberation I finally settled on the prix fixe menu.

To start off the meal here were our appetizers. Grilled calamari on spicy rice and sesame vinaigrette and crab cake atop of stir fry vegetables. The calamari was under seasoned and the rice was not spicy at all. It was just drizzled with sesame oil. What happened to the salt? That's all that was needed to give it some flavor. The portion itself felt like a meal rather than an appetizer. I don't normally complain when I am given too much food but this I could have done with just a smaller portion since it was lacking in flavor. Unlike the calamari, the crab cakes were seasoned quite well. There was also carrot, ginger and potato soup but wasn't worth a picture since once again it was missing some seasoning. Just tasted like plain carrot juice with a bit of salt and ginger in it.

Here were our entrees. Duck confit on garlic mashed potato with fresh herb glaze, smoked chicken with sundried tomatoes and cremini mushroom risotto, and pan seared Atlantic salmon with dill caper crust.

My risotto was yummy after the first few bites but then eventually I kind of got bored of it. Just look at my plate it's just one big pile of saucy rice. No matter how many spoonfuls I ate it never appeared to go away. Felt like the rice kept magically reappearing out of thin air. My friend's duck confit was delicious. As for the salmon it was mediocre. Nothing special to me.

Now onto the final course, our desserts.

Chocolate-caramel pecan torte, duo mousse and flourless chocolate cake. Out of all 3 my favourite was the chocolate cake. It was light and fluffy. The pecan torte was definitely full of pecans but a bit too much for me. My mouth got tired from biting into all those nuts. As for the mousse I'm not a really big fan of mousse to begin with. I don't even like eating icing as much in cakes. I like to eat the fluffy cake part rather than the cream and all. Yes this is one of my strange quirks. Just like when it comes to beef patties. I like to eat the flaky yellow pastry but the meat itself I just scoop it out and toss it away. Why don't I like it? I don't really know. I just know that I don't. Weird, uh?

Ok enough rambling about my peculiar behaviour.

I would like to give a special thanks to my friend Nina because without her camera I would never have gotten these beautiful photos to post on my blog. Although I did have to spam her a bit till she finally cracked and emailed them to me. Now the question is will she ever bring her camera out to dinner again? Then again will she ever go to dinner with me again??? Guess we will soon find out since we are suppose to go out again next month.

My conclusion for Soho Bistro. Although some dishes lacked seasoning still the remaining dishes were good enough to make me want to return. Next time I will try out their brunch menu. Maybe out on the patio this time but guess that won't be till next year since winter will soon be around the corner. I hate winter. Summer please come back so I can sit in a patio. Pretty please.

TOTAL BILL $92...MAY EAT AGAIN?!