Tony Roma's

Over the weekend my boyfriend took me to this restaurant called Tony Roma's.

To start off the meal we ordered the kickin' shrimp and onion loaf. OMG!!! The shrimp appetizer was fantastic. I never ate shrimp in a salad before. Actually I don't really care for shrimp to begin with but this dish was spectacular. I can't figure out what kind of dressing it was but everything was amazing. I ate everything all the way down to the last piece of green lettuce. Also it was even served in an enormous martini glass which made it looked appealing to eat.

Next their infamous onion loaf. Literally, it was a loaf of onions. Humongous Spanish onions breaded and deep fried served with some sort of creamy sauce. At first, we didn't know how to eat it. Did it break apart easily or do we have to use our knife and fork? Well it definitely did not crumble apart since it was one chunk of onions deep fried all together so we had to use our knives to cut through it. It was tasty but I think the onions could have been fried a bit longer to obtain that crispy crunchy texture. It was a bit on the soft side for me but still yummy.

For our entrees, we ordered the 8oz filet mignon and half rack of their famous baby back ribs. It was all delicious especially my ribs. It was extremely tender where one tug and the whole meat fell off the bone. It was finger licking gooooood. I can see why this is their signature dish.

Too bad I was stuffed to the max so no room for desserts. If you love ribs I highly recommend Tony Roma's. Also a must try is the kickin' shrimp. Man my mouth is watering just thinking about it. It truly is that good.

TOTAL BILL $80...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Wildfire Wasn't So Wild After All

A couple nights ago, I went out for dinner with my family.

I decided to take my family to Wildfire since I've been there before and I remembered it was a pleasant dining experience that I thought my family would enjoy. After all I did blog about it and rated it as "Eat Here Next!!!". But after that dinner think I might change my rating to "Once is Enough!" however, in this case, twice is enough.

We ordered the potato gnoochi with wild mushrooms, truffle oil, spinach & tomatoes, the butternut squash risotto topped with seared scallops, the 16 oz. Sterling Silver Rib Steak with a side of parmesan truffle polenta fries, and the back ribs with sweet potato fries.

I only have photos for 2 dishes since it was just too dark so the pictures didn't come out as great. But believe me it was not picture-worthy.

Where should I even begin?

My risotto wasn't too bad but looking at the picture do you think this is worth $28?! I certainly don't. It's just soggy rice and THREE pieces of scallops. There aren't even any vegetables unless you count that one stem of rosemary or thyme whatever that herb is. Can't believe they can be so stingy with rice. Just look at that portion. It's just baffling how they have the nerve to charge that amount for a dish of rice and be so limited with the quantity. I just don't see the justification in that. Also after eating the scallops the value for me dropped even more. It was extremely salty. At first I thought the risotto was lacking a bit in seasoning but later discovered that all the salt was actually hiding in the scallops.

My boyfriend's gnoochi was hoooorrible!!! It was suppose to be a vegetarian dish but he requested to add some beef to the dish. They gave him 3 thinly sliced pieces of tenderloin. Wow!!! That's definitely going to feed a starving 230 lb guy. Last time he ordered the steak but this time he wanted to try the pasta. Man both of us made the wrong choice. Both pastas were just a complete disaster. His gnoochi was too soft. It wasn't cooked al dente style. The only highlight of his dish was the mushrooms. But come on you can't make a mistake when it comes to cooking mushrooms.

Now onto my brother's steak. There was just too much fat. After removing all the fat instead of a 16 oz steak it probably turned into an 8 oz steak. At least my brother still enjoyed it even though it was less meat. However the polenta fries were extremely tasteless. Felt like I was eating plain old white styrofoam (not that I have but would imagine that's how it would taste like). That side alone costed $6. It was preposterous. I can't believe they really think those bland thick mush of cornmeal sticks were worth $6. How do they come up with these prices?!!

Now onto the last dish, the Wildfire back ribs which they claimed was awarded " best ribs in North Toronto". I certainly don't agree. The BBQ sauce was good but the meat did not fall off the bone easily. I think the ribs at Montana's is way better and for $25 you can get all you can eat. The Wildfire ribs costed $30 which is $5 more and it's not even all you can eat. At least Montana's was finger licking good where you don't even care how messy it is and you get so much more in return unlike Wildfire.

This restaurant here is a perfect example of how you are paying for the ambience rather than the actual quality of the food. After this experience I just don't ever want to return again despite the fact my first time was a better experience. With so many other restaurants to choose from you're only given one chance to prove yourself. If they really have a true passion for food then every dish that comes out from their kitchen should be prepared at their best. Well that's how I think it should be otherwise why open a restaurant in the first place?!

TOTAL BILL $152...ONCE IS ENOUGH!!!

Wildfire

I bought a fabfind voucher ($25 for $60 worth) for Wildfire Steakhouse & Wine Bar so decided to make reservations at the place.

I went with my boyfriend to celebrate our monthly anniversary. I was looking forward to trying this place out since during the last summerlicious I didn't get the chance to do so .

When we arrived at the place we were greeted warmly by the hostess who held the door wide open for us. The decor inside was very trendy and modern decorated with rich red mohagony wood which made it appear a bit posh.

We ordered Escargots Provencal drenched in a herbed butter sauce with roasted garlic and shallots, the soup of the day which was French onion soup, Surf & Turf with a side of peppercorn sauce along with a side of sauteed mushrooms, and the New Zealand Lamb Rack crusted with plantain. The food was exceptionally well-prepared and well-seasoned. It was also moderately portioned so definitely worth making a trip for.

The total came to $160 minus our $60 voucher which came to $100.

I think it was worth every penny.

Wildfire is celebrating their 8th Anniversary with a special promo where you can either receive $25 off your bill when you spend $100 or more before taxes OR receive 2 FREE desserts with the purchase of any 2 entrees.

Also after 5 validations you will receive a $100 Wildfire Gift Certificate. You just have to remember to bring the coupon for each visit to get a stamp.

Offer ends Oct. 31, 2010.

Either pick up the coupon from the hostess or click here to print it.

So far I have one stamp hopefully I can make another trip but with my long list doubt I can find the time.

TOTAL $100...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Fred's Definitely Not Here

I went to Fred's Not Here for summerlicious and boy was I disappointed.

I wanted to try out this restaurant because the menu had a lot more options than what the other restaurants were offering and from reading it it sounded pretty good. Boy was I so wrong. More doesn't always mean better.

I went with 5 other friends. The plan was dinner and concert. By the way it was a Lady GAGA concert and I just have to say she was AMAAAAAAAZING!!!!!! Sorry off topic here but I just love her music.

Now back to my review. This was all the way in the summer so kinda sketchy on the details here but will try my best to remember.

We ordered crab and lobster soup, seafood spaghetti, steak with Duck Yukon gold frites, grilled whole Branzino and the mushroom risotto with truffle oil.

Sorry I only took 2 pictures because well the others weren't even worth a shot. Guess that's how much I didn't like the food. So here is the lobster spaghetti and grilled Branzino. Doesn't really look that appetizing does it.

Overall the food was just ok. There was seasoning, unlike Stonegrill, however just didn't have that pizazz I was expecting.

Guess whoever wrote up the menu did a good job at making it sound tasty and inviting but the cook just couldn't deliver to fulfill my expectation.

Now my only issue with this restaurant was when it came to desserts. We saw this flourless chocolate belgium cake on the menu and instantly we all knew what we wanted for dessert. Unfortunately, due to an error on the menu the dessert was not suppose to even be on the list.

We were extremely disappointed since we had our hearts set on this decadent cake. The waitress was extremely apologetic and offered to speak with the manager to see if anything can be done. However, the manager didn't display the similar regretful feelings as the waitress when he approached our table. He just said in a cool tone that it's not on the menu and that we can only choose what is on the other menu. First of all it's not our fault a different menu was given to us. Secondly they should hold up their end and give us what is presented on the menu. If they can't do that at least show that you are regretful that you can't fulfill our request. Don't be rude about it since we are the customers after all. Also it was a party of 5. Doesn't he know that referrals are what restaurants strive on. So 5 people with 5 mouths imagine how word will spread quickly about an awful experience or the fact that I will be blogging about it.

Basically I would never return to Fred's Not Here ever again nor recommend it to my friends. Not only was the food just below par but the service was what ended it for me.

TOTAL BILL $240...ONCE IS ENOUGH!!!