Black Camel

Note to self: Black Camel serves breakfast in the morning till 11am. After 11am they serve the regular menu. Also you cannot order from the breakfast menu even if it's just 20 minutes after 11am. Breakfast menu is available only breakfast time and the regular menu is available after 11am.

I learned it the hard way. I tried to get the best of both worlds but failed miserably. Oh well I tried.

Located directly in front of Rosedale station, this little sandwich shop is always bustling with people. Luckily I was there early so it wasn't busy at all.

When I arrived there was a girl walking in and out carrying boxes after boxes of fresh bread. Perfect timing for me.

With a menu of less than 10 items this place specializes in sandwiches and they make it right. One of the best sandwich places in the Yorkville area.

I have had their pulled pork shoulder sandwich but I think the star is the beef brisket.

I wanted to try the pancetta with steak sandwich but it was only sold during breakfast time so I settled for my regular slow roasted beef brisket sandwich topped with their special BBQ sauce, caramelized onions, and sauteed cremini mushrooms. Utterly delicious. But I didn't realize till I got home that I had forgotten the Fontina cheese. Man oh man it's not a sandwich unless there's cheese. Oh well it was still tasty.

TOTAL BILL $10...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Ginza

Ever since Benihana my friend still never had her sushi fix until we went to Ginza.

I have only been to the uptown location before so didn't know whether the Yorkville location would be any good.

When I was browsing through the menu I noticed that they offered Thai food as well. I don't remember seeing a Thai menu at the uptown location but still decided to stick with the sushi since I liked the sushi at the Yonge location.

For the starter we ordered the crab sumono which was basically seaweed salad with pieces of crab meat. It wasn't the typical seaweed salad but this was delicious. The crab meat actually tasted sweet although it looked like imitation crab so I'm not quite sure if it was imitation or not but it was yummy. Along with the starter here is the catepillar sushi which was pretty refreshing. It was BBQ eel, avocado and crab meat all wrapped in a layer of fresh green cucumber.

The rainbow sushi pizza was really delicious as well. It was a mixture of salmon, tuna and some other fish over a deep fried rice pancake.

When the sushi first arrived it didn't look like much. Aside from the spider roll, all the rolls appeared pretty tiny. Me and my friend didn't think it would fill our stomach but we were wrong. We were stuffed to the max. After we were done we couldn't even move.

Other rolls included red dynamite roll, firecracker dream roll, sunshine roll and jungle roll.

The sushi was mediocre but out of everything we ordered my favourite was the crab sumono and the sushi pizza. Maybe next time I'll give the Thai food a try since I rarely eat Thai food. The last thing I ate that was even considered Thai food was a green curry dish however, I didn't find it that appealing but then again I don't really like coconut so maybe that's why I wasn't too fond of the dish. Maybe I'll try red curry next. Guess we will see. Sue I'm still waiting to try that Thai place you were recommending. Let's see if I like that curry dish since we all know how much I "love" curry hehe.

TOTAL BILL $64...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Crepes a GoGo

I've never been to Paris before but at Crepes a GoGo it sure felt like I just walked right into the city of l'amour.

For a while my friend has been dying to try the creperie place so finally we got to "gogo" for some crepes today.

Upon entering the restaurant we were warmly greeted by the waiter with a "Bonjour!". Felt like I entered a cafe in Paris. Never have I been greeted in French before. The place is really tiny and it was packed. The seating was very limited. I think it can only seat up to a maximum of 18 people. Luckily didn't have to wait long for a table.

Their limonana is a must try. I was reading the menu and the waiter recommended it. He offered a small sample and asked whether I would like it hot or cold. We got both and I have to say it was definitely something I never tried before. It was a mixture of lemon juice, cane juice and fresh mint leaves. All made from natural ingredients. At first when I saw the word lemon I was hesitant whether to try it since I don't like lemons nor even lemonade for that matter. But thought I would give it a shot. It was very refreshing and sweet. I think the sweetness came from the sweetened organic cane juice so it was not citrusy at all.

While waiting for our food, I was listening to the staff speaking in French. I was attempting to see how much I could decipher but given it's been quite some time since I last took those French classes in high school I couldn't make out anything. Also coupled with the fact that they were speaking pretty fast I didn't have a chance at all so I diverted my attention to the live music. There were musicians playing that accordion theme you would normally hear in a movie of a cafe in Paris. Don't think I'm describing it correctly. Let's just say the music was lovely and went perfectly well with the Parisian ambience.Wonderful setting for a first date or in my case, a place to hang out with a friend.

The crepes were freshly made right in front of you. I was able to snap this photo right from my seat. Love my iPhone 4. I was able to zoom in without having to move an inch.

We ordered their signature crepe which was called the Big Ben, rolled with mozzarella and raspberry jam. It was delicious. The crepe was paper thin and although the filling was very little however, it was packed with full of flavor so it made up for the small portion. Sorry didn't take a picture since there were people waiting for a table so they were standing right next to our table and casting their shadow over my food. But I was able to take a picture of the other crepe we ordered. Here is the crepe Mademoiselle filled with goat cheese, red onions, smoked salmon and maple syrup. It was tasty but it was a teaser. Just wanted more but we couldn't eat too much since we had our massage appointment right after so it was suppose to be a light lunch. This was truly the right place for it. But I left yearning for more.

If you are looking for a Parisian experience then I highly recommend you to "gogo" to this delightful shop. French speaking staff, French music and sweet and savoury treats is a perfect way to start off the day. When you leave you might end up speaking Francais for the rest of the day.

Merci Sue for recommending this hidden Yorkville gem. We have to "gogo" again and this time it will not be a teaser:P

TOTAL BILL $19...MANGER ICI LA PROCHAINE!!!

Lola's Commissary

Finally I got to try the brunch at Lola's Commissary.

It was sooooo worth the trip.

Located in Yorkville, this little slice of heaven is the perfect place to head to for brunch on a Sunday morning.

How I found out about this place was when I was watching the show "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". The competitor specialized in making guava stuffed french toast. After watching that episode I was salivating for some stuffed french toast. I tried googling it and couldn't find any place in Toronto that would serve that specific type of french toast. I stumbled upon Lola's and saw that they had cheesecake stuffed french toast. I never tried that before so I added the place to my list. Finally I was able to make the trip.

Here is their special cheesecake stuffed french toast with fruit compote.

It was delicious. Definitely satisfied my craving.

This is now #2 on my list of favorite places for french toast. Still at number one is Bonjour Brioche's baked french toast. Believe me, Lola's is not very far behind.

We also ordered the Eggs Lola. It consisted of poached eggs, ancho chicken, avocado, la vaquita (sheep's milk creme fraiche) all wrapped in a tortilla along with a side of sexy potatoes, which is a mixture of regular potatoes and sweet potatoes all dressed in some sort of herb seasoning with a little cajun kick. We also ordered a side of smoked bacon.

The food here was divine. I can see why it was a full house when we arrived.

Great food. Great ambience. Great place to start off the day with some comfort food that will leave you smiling all day long.

TOTAL BILL $30...EAT HERE NEXT!!!