TRAVEL: Honolulu, Hawaii: Roys

Location:

226 Lewers St
Honolulu, HI

www.roysrestaurant.com

After visiting Mama's Fish House in Maui three years ago, we didn't think anything could come close.  Let me tell you, Roy's comes pretty close!

I've never been to a restaurant where there has been such incredible attention to my dietary concerns!  Our server was worried that I would be in need of medical aid if I ate something I couldn't (dairy).

With that, the butter sauces came on the side and there was nary a smidgen of cheese on anything.

They started us off with edamame - nom nom nom- which disappeared in a matter of seconds.

Then, it was champagne paired with the ahi tuna, baby back rib and chicken spring roll appetizer, which was delicious (and this was pre-Kauai roosters, so I was still eating chicken).



Thank goodness I'm not allergic to nuts!!

Hello, macadamia encrusted opah! Get in my belly!



Served with simple but oh-so delicious potatoes and asparagus.  Paired with a white and red.



Salmon ginger sauce with cucumber and radish salad.  The fish was amazing, but the salad a bit too tangy for me.

For dessert, we had the chocolate souffle and ice cream and the macadamia nut tart.



Paired with ports, the chocolate souffle was divine!

The tart was overbearingly nutty but amazing for a couple of bites. If I hadn't already had the macadamia encrusted fish, this would have been heaven.



Service and presentation could not have been better; we had such an incredible time and were thoroughly stuffed and satisfied.

The washroom signage was super cute, too.





If you're on Oahu, check out Roy's, there are three locations on the island, and several more throughout the States.

LOCAL FEATURE: The Blake House

Location:

449 Jarvis St  Toronto

www.theblakehouse.ca

Open only three months, one of the last standing heritage structures (built in 1891) in Toronto  has been converted into a restaurant called The Blake House (previously, The Red Lion).

One of the three owners and brothers, Jim Vasilakakos sat down and chatted with us as well.  He described The Blake House as being "comfort contemporary"; a feeling we instantly felt when we arrived, as Jim himself greeted us at the door.



The interior is gorgeous...all dark wood, warm lighting and lined with giant black and white photographs from Jarvis Street in the 1800's.

We were blown away by the food; everything was so fresh and so tasty!  As Jim told us, they only buy local, fresh ingredients and everything is house-made.  So, our compliments to the Chef David Araya; thank you for a wonderful meal!


We started off with a local beer, Mill Street Original and an Okanaagan Shiraz...which was delightful.


10oz $3.75 - 20oz $5.75 - 60oz $15.95
Mill Street Original



Prospect Red Willow 8 / 23 / 35
Shiraz, Okanaagan






Had to try the poutine; how could you not?



Poutine 8
Hand Cut Fries and Cheese Curds.
Topped with Bourbon Beef Gravy.

We were warned about the large size, but were blown away by it in reality.  It was huge! For $8?!  And not drenched in gravy, we could actually taste the hand-cut fries.  I've personally decided it's a keeper.



Then, arriving smoking hot,  we had the Chicken Pot Pie which I was dreaming about ever since checking the menu prior to arriving at the restaurant.

Chicken Pot Pie 13
Root Vegetables and Roasted Chicken Smothered in
Herb Cream Sauce. Served with Green Salad.



It was one of the best pies I've ever had, not to say I eat a lot of pies, but the very best pie I'd had was in Edinburgh from the Pie Maker.  That's, Maker of pies and THIS was on par with THAT.



It was flaky and oozing with such a delicious filling, atypical from the usual potato and rubbery-and-questionable chicken filling.  You could actually taste the vegetables (and distinguish them!) from the chicken.  The green salad wasn't doused in dressing, either.



The bread and butter are both house-made, the butter changing every night or week according to the chef's desire:  Roasted red pepper butter one night (what we had),  sage butter, citrus butter...  Brilliant and well executed!

Maple Glazed Salmon 18
Roasted Atlantic Salmon. Served with Smashed
Seasonal Potatoes, Braised Leeks with Bacon Burre Blanc.

I found it refreshing to get potatoes (smashed, at that,  with salmon, 'cause usually you get salmon:

"seasoned with crushed black pepper and salt served on a bed of basmati rice with vegetables"

OR

"seasoned with a dash of dill and served on a bed of wilted spinach"....

I question a restaurant when they consider salt and pepper SEASONING.

This maple glazed salmon we likened to the way we cook at home: with flavour!  The crispy top and break-away center of the salmon was exactly the way I like it.  The sweetness of the leeks with the potatoes brings makes me salivate even as I write, as it was just melt in your mouth delicious.

Market Crumble $6.00
Seasonal market fresh fruit and homemade oats baked
golden brown and topped with ice cream (ask your server)



How to describe this market crumble, made to order with blueberries and arriving smokin' hot and so fresh? Oh, I think I just did.

Crème Brulee $6.00
Baked vanilla custard topped with a crusted layer of
caramel and fresh berries



I don't usually order crème brulee, but lately have had cravings for it, and this was a remarkable one and unforgettable. I'd get it again.

The place was packed, even when we were leaving, a group of 25 showed up; but it was no issue to seat the large crowd as the open concept of the interior allows for big as well as intimate gatherings.  Our server Kaitlyn was gracious and efficient as well, not missing a beat.

We met with the other two brothers, Nick and Mike, as well; it was so nice to talk to each of them and learn how much it meant to them to preserve the history of the building.



It's evident in the interior design that the original stained glass windows and wood burning fireplace only add to the ambiance of the restaurant.   Their patio is possibly the largest in the city, as well.

With an upscale environment serving upscale food but with a down-to-earth vibe and certainly down-to-earth prices, we'd have to agree with Jim and his expression of The Blake House being "your home in the city".  Afterall, three hours later, we still weren't ready to leave.

NEW: O&B Canteen

Location:

330 King St W, Toronto

Another one of Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini's babies, O&B is part cafeteria, part full-service restaurant, with all the wood, glass and metal (and gorgeous pops of orange Le Creuset dishes) that entails opening up a restaurant these days, it's also in the new Bell Lightbox building.

In the company of several foodies, including Hobography, his family, AC, and AL who is our resident food and drink expert and founder of Foodies Toronto, our verdict is?

Well, O&B Canteen is no great shakes.

Here's what we ate:

I started with a Soltice Mojito (it's listed on the menu as such, but makes me wonder if they meant Solstice?)  with loads of raspberries - a juicy, refreshing drink with a hint of mint, I slurped every last sip, and not only because it was $10.



They have only two beers on tap:  Mill St. Tankhouse (sm $5, lg$7)  and Stella Artois ( sm $6 and large $8) and the sizes arrive in tiny glasses.  The wine was served in a slightly more reasonable portion.  The rest of the beers (more Mills St., Keith's, Bud, Guinness, Leffe etc.) are bottled.

The Steak Frites ($21) was the best dish on the table, but discussions were had on how it was cooked.



The "Chef's Daily Creation" was a hand-made pappardelle with some type of sausage and mushrooms, which took forever to arrive and once it did looked like an appetizer in size.



It didn't fare well in flavour either; I'd like to quote Hobo here on how it was:

"It was overcooked, bland and flavourless."

The Gallo Mussels ($18) arrived in a hot pot looking quite beautiful, as did the french onion soup; I can't vouch for the taste.

The Basket of O&B Artisan breads (with spread and olives $8), I wish had more craft to them...as they were, they didn't excite.



Hobo ordered the Chicken Liver Parfait (cumberland sauce, pickle, baquette $8) and ended up having to request several refills of "baquette" as there was decidedly more parfait than "baquette" and I think we'd have preferred the entire "baquette" instead of only slices of it.  Interestingly, you can find Michael Bonacini's Chicken Liver Parfait recipe, here.



The refills were also greatly needed since Hobo's fresh pasta didn't arrive for 45 minutes.

My All Day Breakfast ($14)  was decent - the sausages and bacon absolutely delicious but the potatoes were luke warm and the bread, kind of boring.  It didn't help that the butter and jams had to be requested several times before making an appearance and the hot sauce didn't make it to the table for a while.



The house-made "Canteen Catsup", spiced with cinnamon, coriander and celery seed, wasn't very good.  I think it's best not to mess with what Heinz has perfected.

The desserts, however, managed to impress.

The Lemon Posset w/ chantilly, berries ($6),  Soma Brownie w/vanilla ice cream ($7), Fresh Fruit w/ mint, lemongrass syrup and sorbet ($8), Espresso Affogato w/ almond biscuit ($5) Gateau Basque w/ vanilla ice cream ($7), were all divine;  each carrying a distinct flavour.  Muah!











Overall, I think everyone felt a disappointed.  While they've got the signiture O&B style down, the service definitely needs work.  It was waaaaaaaaay too slow for the type of idea they're selling.  If you're calling it a canteen, it should operate as one.

I'll give the service a few months and go back to try the breakfast and those butties...perhaps with Lurgs?

Il Fornello

Locations:
214 King Street West, Toronto
207 Queens Quay West, Toronto

www.ilfornello.com

The Queens Quay location of Il Fornello was where we first discovered the delicious Cookoothama Shiraz. With such a funny name and the child-like hand impressions on the bottle, we were intrigued. It's now a house-hold favourite.


The food is reliably good at Il Fornello; I never can complain and having been several times to both the Queens Quay and King Street locations. It's one of those places I didn't even think to review.

I love their pizzas for their unique combinations and nice size.
I love the Prosciutto and Fig pizzas.



Their pastas are hearty but for those (read: me) who like things more spicy or flavourful, even THEIR spicy is not enough.






The dishes are on the pricier end for Italian food ($15-25 for a main), and I think I prefer the Queens Quay location a bit more as the servers are not as harried, but for a pre or post-theatre meal on King street, Il Fornello is a safe choice where everyone can be satisfied.

Amaya Express

Location:

1574 Bayview Avenue, Toronto

The "real" Amaya was closed for lunch and only opened at 5pm so we went express!

Looking like a somewhat modern-retro (isn't that an oxymoron?) cafeteria, we were the only group sitting inside the restaurant; the rest were outdoors on the patio.  We felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! Our server was quick to take our orders and ORDER WE DID!

Spicy Fries:

Mango Lassi:

Lamb Biryani

Sweet and Sour Eggplant

.

Malai Fish

Chicken Vindaloo

Amaya Prawns

Roti

Naan

I was in the company of like-minded gourmands (including A&M who we met back in my "SAD" King review) and we all agreed that the dishes were excellent in flavour and presentation.  Those spicy fries were a highlight and are only superseded by the ones had at Haldirams in Delhi!

LOCAL FEATURE: 360 Restaurant

Location:

CN Tower, 301 Front Street West, Toronto

The 360 Restaurant at the CN Tower has a magnificent revolving view of Toronto and is located more than 351 metres (1,151 ft) from the ground.  The subtle rotation of the restaurant takes a few minutes to get used to but the changing landscape takes no adjustment at all!  It's quite simply, stunning!







In addition to their dinner menu, they also offer prix fixe menus and as we were happy to discover, a whole vegetarian menu !  Everyone at the table was very pleased and it didn't take us very long to decide what to eat.  Orders placed, we feasted on their magnificent bread basket while we leisurely enjoyed the view.



When our dishes arrived, it was clear that everything was not only exceptionally presented, but we also felt well taken care of.

CRISPY EGGPLANT “PARMESAN”
WITH BUFFALO MOZZARELLA
Piquillo peppers, beefsteak tomatoes, grilled asparagus, cherry tomato jus
$35



 PAN ROASTED WILD BLACK COD
Wilted Swiss chard, preserved orange, fennel pollen, black olive vinaigrette $38



 PAN SEARED FILLET OF ATLANTIC SALMON
Toasted almond and ginger vinaigrette, steamed baby bok choy, shiitake scented brown rice $35



BLACK TRUFFLE HONEY GLAZED BONELESS HALF CHICKEN
Fennel and olive oil mashed potatoes, summer squash, cider jus $35



A lovely Birthday treat!



The 360 Restaurant is definitely a special place to bring your favourite person (or people) or if your quest is to impress!  And make sure you are there at sunset..it's absolutely breath-taking!



The night view ain't too shabby, either ! ;)



Highly recommended for visitors but I think especially if you live in Toronto, 'cause chances are you've taken the La Tour CN for granted!  It really is a wonderful architectural and engineering wonder of the world, in our city.

Frugal Fare #6: The Banknote

Location:
663 King Street West, Toronto

The Banknote is one of those work-lunch and after-work dinner/drinks places serving up burger & beer type meals in a bank setting.  Yes, aptly named The Banknote, as it used to a bank, they still have the ol' vault in the back and teller booths.  If that ambiance doesn't suit you, there's always their cosy patio on the King Street side.

It's a great place for post-rock-climbing eats as Rock Oasis is just around the corner!  I'd choose this over The Wheatsheaf, if you were wondering. :)



Burger and fries special



Pasta of the day:



Eggplant Parm Burger:



Penne:



Chicken Burg:



Fish n' Chips:

O&B Canteen NOW OPEN + O&B Cafe, Oakville

Locations:

O&B Canteen: 330 King St. West, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto

O&B Cafe & Grill: 240 Leighland Avenue #235, Oakville

The new TIFF building's restaurant is now open - here's their menu online. It seems to always be packed in there and one day I will try it.

Not too long ago, we dined at the O&B cafe & grill at Oakville Place. Here, some shots.

The bread was delicious! So cutely packaged in a little metal box with little covered butter pots (reminded me of the packaging we used to get on airplanes back in the day).

This location of O&B has a really nice, quiet patio, designed in sleek woods and metals and clean lines.

Okay, but back to the bread. MMM MM mmm....warm, soft, and with a dab of butter...melted right in the mouth.

Did I mention the bread? It was soooooooooooo good!

To start us off we got the popcorn shrimp, which was AMAZING!  Very greasy though, but they'd already thought of that, placing the deep fried shrimp on a bed of crunchy filler crispy noddles which soaked up all the excess oil avoiding making the plate look slick.

Didn't really need the miso mayo it arrived with, the shrimp was just perfect on it's own.

We enjoyed a glass of Lillypilly Shiraz and a local beer.

Okay, so now, after quite some time had passed (and much bread had been consumed) another server arrived at our table with someone elses order: a plate of mac and cheese and a beef burger.  We noted to ourselves that our own server was too busy chatting it up with the couple (who appeared to be regulars) next to our table to notice this mistake on their part.

We send the food back and finally our server comes over and to compensate asks us if we want soup or salad...we chose salad and received a delicious spinach salad with sugar-coated pecans and thinly sliced pears...mMMmmmm MMM! Not exactly a healthy salad, I  assure you, but welcomed nonetheless!

Finally our meal arrives:  a chicken burger with fries and a margarita pizza. Boy, was the burger ever tasty! Usually when one orders a chicken burger, one gets a bland hunk of chicken breast with sorry looking grill marks on either side. Am I right? This, however was actual ground chicken, like we make at home. Very moist and juicy; I'd get it again in a heartbeat. Did I mention it came with bacon? Yesssssss!

The pizza had a super thin crust and was very light and non-greasy. Great tasting and a nice change from the burger.

The food was fantastic, our server was not.  Even by the time we were ready for the bill, he was still chatting it up with the regulars.  We didn't even get water refills once or asked how our food was.  When he finally did bring us our bill, it was the wrong one!  Yay!

Still, I'd go back for that shrimp.

The Wine Bar

Location:

9 Church St., Toronto

So, clearly I missed the boat on Jamie Kennedy's Wine Bar, instead this place is now known simply as The Wine Bar.

And, I know I've said it before and I should've listened to me:

If a restaurant is EMPTY, go somewhere else.

The Wine Bar was eeeempty.

The Wine Bar

Aside from the wine (good thing it's called the Wine Bar), this place is a disaster!

Oh, and I still don't get "tapas" - small portions are not for me.  I love food and I love seeing LOTS of it.

First the positive:

The service.

Very attentive, polite, accommodating to dietary needs.

The negative:

We ordred the grilled flatbread (with house smoked chicken, tomato and mozzarella) and requested less mozza, to which our server suggested he could do less on one half and no mozza on the other if that was preferred.  Great! Perfect.

The flatbread arrives and the chicken looks a bit pink in the low-light.

Flatbread

The taste?   Awful.  The chicken truly is pink, is bad cuts of  meat, and doesn't taste at all fresh.

The next thing we had ordered was the artic char (smoked) - with arugula.  The smoked artic char arrived looking...smoked. And fishy smelling - fresh fish should never smell fishy - and overly salted.   Were we ever grateful for the salad!

Smoked Artic Char

Then there was the scallops - OMG!!  Both of our upset stomachs the next day verified what we'd thought all along:  neither the scallops (nor the fish or chicken, for that matter!) were fresh.  One bite of it was all we needed - it tasted like the bottom of the bay, like how you'd imagine a fish tank tasting.

Scallops

And the wine?  Besides the fact that we thought it was $10 for a glass (turns out it's $10 for a TASTE and $22 for a glass!) they were both very good.

Menu

Needless to say we drank every last drop of the wine, mostly to rid ourselves of the terrible food flavours.  Soooo gross, you guys!!  And we were so sick after!

I must admit I'm glad the portions were so small!

We ended up having to go for dinner again after that meal.
We headed over to JUMP where we KNEW we'd get incredible food, wine and service.

Cafe Cinquecento

Location:

791 King St W., Toronto

www.cafecinquecento.com

Went here for a friend's birthday, one who is a trusted foodie with great taste, and she was right.

I loved the atmosphere and the service and the story behind Cafe Cinquecento.

The Fiat 500

Cafe Cinquecento

The menu left me absolutely TORN...there were many routes I wanted to go: there was pizza, pasta, the specials...and then....I saw BRICK PRESSED CORNISH HEN.

Our server explained it to me as follows: they cook the hen with a brick placed on top (exactly how you imagine) so that it cooks both sides crisply and keeps all the moistness within (like so).

I was convinced.

And pleasantly surprised.

Gallo al Mattone: Brick-pressed Cornish hen [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="576" caption="Gallo al Mattone: Brick-pressed Cornish hen $19"][/caption]9

Everyone else's meals looked wonderfully put together as well, and although it all took a while to arrive, to be fair there were 20 orders made!  In the meantime we enjoyed rounds of bread, bowls of mussels and anitpasto plates.  Yum.  There was a spicy salami on there that was very memorable.

Antipasto Grande: Cured Italian meats, grilled vegetables, grilled seafood and spiced olives [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="576" caption="Antipasto Grande: Cured Italian meats, grilled vegetables, grilled seafood and spiced olives $18"][/caption]8

Calamari con Salsa di pepperoni: Grilled calamari with roasted red pepper sauce on a bed of arugula [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="576" caption="Calamari con Salsa di pepperoni: Grilled calamari with roasted red pepper sauce on a bed of arugula $13"][/caption]3

Salmone al Ferri: Grilled salmon fillet with a side of orzo [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="576" caption="Salmone al Ferri: Grilled salmon fillet with a side of orzo $17"][/caption]7

Costoletta de Vitello: Veal chop grilled with fresh herbs [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="576" caption="Costoletta de Vitello: Veal chop grilled with fresh herbs $18"][/caption]8

The only dish that didn't stand out was one of the specials: The tilapia on a bed of risotto with sausage.  Which, at least, four of us agreed, was bland and the sausage tasted like Oscar Myer weiners. 

Tilapia risotto special

But, the wine was flowing and it was simply a lovely evening of celebration.   There also suddenly appeared a lovely vase of red roses for the centre of the table!

Roses for the birthday girl!

And, I'm still astounded that the birthday girl picked up the whole tab!!

TV, the next one's on me!

Gandhi's Roti

Location:

554 Queen ST W, Toronto

Cost: $6.95 - 12.95

www.gandhicuisine.ca

* A huge thanks to Lurgee from My Little Sweatshop for lending me the use of her Canon to capture these shots. 

There's no reason to really review a place as well known and loved in the city as Gandhi's.

'Cause if you're willing to wait 1.5 hours for your roti, then you must like it. 

All I can say is that when we finally brought our  14 (!) pre-ordered rotis back to work, there was absolute SILENCIO in the kitchen while we ate. 

Oh yeah, and we got a free juice-box for ordering 14 rotis!  For $150 worth of roti business (not counting all the other business we've given them) they could have at least thrown in another juice-box, come on!

Frooti

Chicken roti $8.95 + tax = $10.50, a great alternative to the creaminess of the butter chicken.  I like the medium hotness.

Chicken roti, medium


Butter chicken roti - very creamy and rich.

Butter chicken, mild

Malai Kofta roti - veggie/cheese balls in a creamy curry in a roti

Take-out container

Malai Kofta

Needless to say, it was ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz around the office after that!

Grand Opening: Compass Lakeside Grill & Lounge

Location:

2340 Ontario Street, Oakville

So I was invited to attend the VIP Grand Opening of the latest waterfront resto in Bronte's Harbour:  Compass Lakeside Grill & Lounge.



When we arrived just after 8pm, Compass was out of food so I can't make any judgments on that however I can comment on the drinks and service.

At the bar, after waiting for quite some time, I requested a glass of Cookoothama wine and was told that it wasn't being served that night but two seconds later it was served to someone else! Awesome.



Then we asked for a regular coke and a rye & coke. What we received was a watered down coke (so much so that it didn't taste like coke at all) and a scotch and coke. They served us Grant's Whisky (scotch) instead of Canadian Club (rye) which was the brand of rye we specifically asked for. Thanks.

The view from the restaurant is amazing, overlooking the Bronte Harbour.



Likewise, the patio is quite nice with the large windows giving a clear view of the interior of the restaurant from outside.



So much so that we witnessed the martini guy conjuring up the martinis by dipping his bare hands into the jar of olives. Classy.



After a few perfunctory photographs of the dull blue and brown interior we were out of there.



Time?

8:20pm.

Where did we go eat after?

Thai Senses.

Where we got some actual food and attentive service.

Moxie’s, Yorkdale Mall

Location:
Yorkdale Mall, 1 Yorkdale Road, Toronto

Moxie's has the lowest lighting possible, which is really no excuse for bad photos, and these really are the worst pics ever, so I'll just leave you to them whilst I turn away.