ki

Location:
181 Bay, Toronto, ON

www.kijapanese.com

**Updated with pics**

181 Bay, Toronto, ON

Went to Ki for a friend's surprise 30th birthday party.















Everything was paid for...the drinks, the appetizers and the cake! The sushi, the popcorn shrimp, the chicken wings...everything was absolutely delicious! You know I'm not a sushi connoisseur by any means but I tried everything and it tasted goooooood (and we'd already had dinner at Mercatto earlier!).

With it's gorgeous interior, it makes a nice date place...romantic with flattering lighting, haha.

Fusaro's Kitchen

Location:

147 Spadina Avenue, Toronto

Cost: $10-15 for lunch

www.fusaros.com

This is a long overdue post; I guess because it's such a frequented lunch spot for me that I simply thought I was having a home-cooked meal at times!

If you don't get there by 11:45am at the latest, be prepared to wait in a long line up that runs out the door!



The pre-made pizzas, sandwiches, quiches etc are all very good - a pizza slice will only set you back a few dollars and is way better than Mama's Pizza. I really like the croissant with chicken, olives and feta (a bit o' cheese never hurt anyone)...although it's a tad salty.



The panini's and pastas are made to order and add $2 for a side salad...



Their daily specials are listed on the fairly new blackboard on the side (Fusaro's has undergone some interior design changes in the last couple of years - going from orange walls with black and white photography to plain blue walls with the menus on blackboards - for a more minimalist look or realistically, more spatially accommodating for the sheer volume of the lunchtime crowd.



I've had many a pasta dish here and I have never had a bad experience.



I have heard from my yoga instructor however, that she gained weight eating the salads here (So, note to self, and to you reader). It's all that dressing - which they actually do put a bit too much of .

I even hosted a birthday brunch here a few years ago (the Evite was aptly titled: "Let's get some f*****ckiin freeeeeench toast" a la 40 year old Virgin).



Someone else got the calabrese, like so:



Salmon & eggs:



Eggs florentin:



Not a lot of people know about the brunch on Saturday, but it's lovely and not at all like the cafeteria-style-lunch-time atmosphere. The food, on the other hand, is just as good :)

Aji Sai

Location:

467 Queen St. W, Toronto

It seems Queen street is constantly reinventing itself...new restaurants...new condos....new yoga studios. There are the staples: Gandhi's, New York Sub, Subway and then the newbies: Leslieville Cheese Market and the maybe not so new anymore, Aji Sai Japanese restaurant.

These were the sorts of dishes we shared around...

I've been to Aji Sai twice now, and both times were hits...it's a great work lunch spot especially if you're one to share.

Lola's Commissary

Location:

634 Church Street, Toronto

Cost: Approx $25 pp

www.lolascommissary.com

I think seeing "sexy potatoes" on their online menu (although I think it's actually "sexy sweet potatoes"  on the menu) is what sold us to eat here. That, and the recommendation from a friend at work whose paintings also hang in the restaurant :)
Our gaggling girlie troupe landed on the (beautiful) Lola patio for brunch this past Sunday and never before have we been able to so freely enjoy a brunch in such a large group (8).  Mil"dread"'s wouldn't seat us, other brunch places don't take brunch reservations but at Lola's Commissary (open 6 weeks, now), it's not a problem. 



We took a while perusing the unique menu and daily specials which were such a mix of dishes that we had to take another few minutes to decide. 



 In the meantime we got some drinks...


The service is friendly and accommodating. The food is fancy brunch fare (a tad pricey but tasty to boot) and gorgeously presented!

As usual I got the (straight up - challah bread dipped in egg custard) french toast due to my loctose-intolerancy and not being able to stomach the cheesecake french toast.  I also got a side of fresh fruit ($6) and a side of sexy potatoes to share around ($6).



The other items ordered were as follows.

Multigrain waffles with a side of berries, dense and filling...



The egg white frittata (goat cheese, mushrooms, spinach and hemp pesto)

 

Eggs Lola: poached eggs, ancho chicken, torillas, avocado, creme fraiche



Lobster and goat cheese omlette



Roasted trout with quinoa and tabouli



 Beef hash brunch feature

 

Therese DeGrace (executive chef) came out to greet us which was super. She's wonderfully warm and took the time to chat with us, which was really pleasant and so uncommon in the city!


The interior of Lola's is sort of industrial chic with brick, wood, high ceilings and tall windows. 



The paintings in the dining hall lend a certain mellow sweetness to the vibe with the upstairs catering to more of a loungey atmosphere with funky retro seats and laminated fantastical art on the walls.



Even the washrooms are spa-like and immaculate, with artwork adorning almost every surface (including a wall outside the restaurant).



The complimentary Nutella Cheesecake dessert was delish and perfect split eight ways.


Lola's is a definite must-try in the Bay/Bloor area - the patio alone will make you want to spend your whole afternoon there. We certainly did! And unlike so many other places in the city, our patronage was welcome! We're already planning our return!

Dimmi Bar & Trattori

Location:

140 Cumberland St, Toronto

Cost:
$9-15 for a pizza

www.dimmibar.com

We walked around for about an hour before deciding on a place to have dinner. Somehow the places on Yonge St. (Green Mango, Friendly Thai) didn't appeal to us and Craft Burger further North didn't entice everyone. Finally, after checking the menus at Nervosa Trattoria and Hemingways, we decided that Dimmi's had the best options (or maybe by then we were just really, really hungry).

(I didn't want to lug my giant camera along all day, so these photographs are courtesy of my friend A.R.)

We ordered a couple of pizzas to share around: The Bruschetta ($9), the Funghi ($15)...and the Margherita ($11) to go. And my friends got the calamari ($12 which came with a side salad); they claimed it was tasty and filling (I refuse to eat calamari after a horrible - mostly exaggerated- life-changing experience).

The Bruschetta pizza was quite tasty and moist which was what was lacking in the Funghi mushroom pizza. The Margherita also tasted good (flavourful with the basil, which I love) on the drive home (I had to try a slice!).

Our service was attentive in a nice, non-intrusive way...perhaps the standard for Yorkville restos? All around a quaint little restaurant in Yorkville with, I'd say, reliably good food.

Zimbel's Cafe

Location:

410 Adelaide Street West

In place of Mosaic, there now is Zimbel's Cafe! It must be hard for them to get everyone's attention being hidden away in such a quiet street as Adelaide especially with Timmy's on the other corner and Le Gourmand and Starbucks dominating the Richmond/Spadina area. However, I think business will pick up 'cause they're really good!

They've done a great job with the interior design - love the Eames furniture - and photography on the walls. They also are a catering company and cater all sorts of events from Weddings to Corporate Lunches to Film Sets and have been in the business since 1981.





(Above photo courtesy of Andrew Zimbel)

The teas are from Language of the Leaf and yummy (pricer than Le Gourmand though but it's loose-leaf and Le G is known to mix up my Earl Grey with Earl Grey Green tea and not have the water hot enough sometimes).



The food is tasty at Zimbel's, as well. From the muffins, croissants and the banana bread (with sunflower and cranberries = excellent!) to their lunch menu (I had the salad with grilled chicken once), it's all very fresh and good.

And the service, although still novice, is getting there.



Great place to try out instead of your usual coffee/tea train destination!

***My friend who recently tasted the "knee buckling" brownie had this to say about it:

"To classify its deliciousness and sugar power, I'd say it was a spectacular punch to the back of the head, kapow!" - Mack Carruthers

Wanda's Belgian Waffles

Location:

331 Yonge Street, Toronto



I love that this is called a cafe, yet there's barely enough standing room for two! Meant to be more of a street vendor (order through the window) this little 'cafe' serves up the best waffles I've ever had from the street! Forget morning breakfasts and brunches, you can pick up a tasty hot waffle after a horrible dinner at Salad King and be totally content.



Run by a father and son team:



I've read some complaints about the sanitary conditions of the joint (not washing hands after taking money) but when we went and as you can see in the pics, gloves were worn throughout.



Sure it's a bit messy and gooey if you order the ice-cream and strawberries on top, or if you wait a bit too long to eat it (like in our case but still damn tasty!):





I'd say it's a marvellous way to grab a fun treat split between friends!

Ichiban Sushi

Location:

262 Queens Quay West, Toronto

www.ichibansushi.com

When we lived in the city, one of the closest sushi restaurants to us was Ichiban Sushi; we were constantly ordering in from there (or dining in).









For reliably standard sushi, Ichiban doesn't go wrong.

Product: Ricepod Wasabi Mix

From: Fresh & Wild

Location:

69 Spadina Avenue (King & Spadina)

Cost: $2.99

My friend just offered me some of this. 



It says it's 'spicy' on the package but I know spicy; I laugh in the face of spicy. Bwhahaa.



I had two that were stuck together and my head just exploded. 

It's raeally hared to teaype with brain awell ovwer teh kyewbaord.

Salad King

For this review of Salad King, I've invited one part of the wonderful couple (and fellow bloggers) I dined with at SK, to contribute her take on this restaurant which will be up soon.

~~

A couple of the neon lights in the "Salad King" sign were out when we went - so it read "SAD KING" ...which is absolutely APT for this dump of a restaurant that 275 of you on Urbanspoon claim is the best Thai resto in Toronto.

Are you kidding me?  Where else are you people eating that this has become the place to go for Thai??!

To start, we ordered the Papaya Salad (which boasted "dried shrimps"...the salad that came to our table had non-existent dried shrimp (must have been so dry that it shriveled away?) and a garnish that had black spots on it.  Good start, right?







 

Our "medium" heat Shrimp Delight ($8.95 - Shrimps, bell peppers, onions, yellow bean sauce, chilli sauce, lime juice, steamed rice) arrived with neither heat NOR shrimp (nor delight for that matter!) and plenty of accompanying liquid "spicy" water. We weren't aware we'd ordered soups?





 

The Spicy Fish dish ($8.95 - Red cod fillet, lime leaf, carrots, onions, bell peppers chilli, garlic, shallots, palm sugar, steamed rice) came with hardly any fish although what was there certainly was still swimming..in a pool of oily liquid!

 





 

 

And the Evil Jungle Prince ($6.75 - Egg plant, baby corn, peas, carrots, onions, chilli sauce, lemon grass, bamboo shoots and steam rice) which was supposed to contain eggplant and veggies came with one tiny piece of eggplant, plenty of frozen peas and a generous portion of WATER!



How disgusting.

I asked the server whether the dishes were always that watery - to which she replied 'yes that's how they are made'.  I told her it was a disappointing meal to which she shrugged and moved along to serve the next table of assembly line patrons.

Salad King will forever be SAD KING to me - it's the worst thai food I've ever had and I'm really sorry that so many of you think that that's what Thai is supposed to taste like!  I'd really love to see where else the 275 of you are eating and stay the hell away from those places!

Craft Burger

Location:

573 King Street West, Toronto (this review)

Other location:

830 Yonge Street, Toronto

Cost: $10 burger combo (includes can of pop or water & fries or onion rings)

www.craftburger.com

It used to be El Penco. *Sniff sniff* how I loved El Penco...the chimichangas were so cheap and so good. And the sandwiches were always made with love.

Craft Burger's burgers are made with...hands.





As much as I still do miss El Penco, I have to say Craft Burger is sloooowly winning me over. I still dislike the interior cramped-ness; eating in makes me feel claustophobic (somehow it always looked way bigger when it was El Penco..*sigh*).

Oh, I'm also not a fan of the fries; do they have sweet potato fries?



The Classic Burger is $5.65 or you can do the combo for $10 and get a can of pop or water and fries or onion rings. I've yet to try anything BUT the classic burger though...old habits die hard (I've only been to CB twice). I hear the cookies are some of the best in the city?! Is this true? Somebody tell me. I also hear the veg burger is amazing....again, will have to test out this theory...someday only though 'cause lookit how delish this is:





It's a tasty burger. I wouldn't say it's the BEST burger in town 'cause I wouldn't know. You'd have to tell me which is the best. Down the street at Banknote you can get a pretty decent burger combo that's mighty good, too.

But how about the size of the onion rings:



At those sizes, I think there were only a couple of onion rings in the bag.



So is it open late for dinner? (A friend of mine responded with: "Then it should be called Craft Dinner"...haha, she is so witty, that one.) And the answer is yes, they're open till 10pm (Mon-Thurs) 11pm (Fri-Sat) and 9pm (Sun) and it's much tastier than Kraft Dinner (some may disagree).

David's Tea

Location:

336 Queen Street W, Toronto

Cost: $6.50 for 50g

www.davidstea.com

Beside the well-known Rivoli on Queen St. there is a sliver of a store that looks like it could be an urban bubble tea cafe. It's urban alright, but not bubble tea. The place is called David's Tea and it boasts over 100 varieties of loose-leaf teas.

The first time I walked in, I wasn't greeted by any of the upbeat staff which surprised (and offended) me, although I must admit I sort of liked perusing the shelves of tea cups and pots and eyeing the wall of stainless steel tea canisters labelled 'pu'er', 'earl grey', 'rooibos' without being harrassed.

The next time I went in admittedly intrigued by the tea offerings and expensive fancy tea pots, I was offered a little ceramic shot glass filled with a peach-something-or-other tea. A tiny droplet hung off the side of the cup, which I scooped up and tasted fully expecting some pleasant orchard peach flavour. Instead, I received the bitter taste of dishwashing detergent! It wasn't a taste the peach tea could wash away after either, that's for sure. Once again I left with a bad taste in my mouth, this time, literally.

Then Spring came along and whilst on a break with some coworkers, we were greeted with a $2 special iced tea stand outside the store. We decided to try the almond spring tea (black tea, almond oil, toasted almonds, rooibos, chocolate, caramel, vanilla and coconut). This time, I luckily didn't come close to tasting any utensil cleaning substances, but found that it was a tad too vanilla-y and and also a bit bitter. It needed loads of cane sugar to sweeten it up for me.

Then one day, I finally bought some loose-leaf tea: Earl Grey, Zing Me Tea and Kiss my Lips. The Earl Grey is good - perhaps not as strong as I'd like, but it's reliable. The Zing Me (chinese black tea with ginger bits and lush pieces of peach and apricot) is just fantastic! It claims to induce "an instant feeling of well-being" and I have to say that it truly does! Must be the peaches or the ginger. I've yet to try Kiss my Lips (chinese black tea, vanilla, peppermint, chocolate bits and spicy red peppercorns) but I loved the minty chocolately smell. In fact it looks like potpourri so I'd probably be just as happy putting it in a bowl and air-freshening my work space. **update** The Kiss my Lips was a definite dud. Overly strong minty smell and aftertaste with a muddied hint of chocolate. Definitely not recommended. I'd much rather bite into an Aero mint chocolate bar.

I've also been fascinated by the tea pots at David's Tea, especially the Brewt which I've seen at work firsthand and find completely marvelous, but most of them range from $25 - $75 and $179 for the svelte Eva Solo Tea Maker (!).

I also feel $6.50 is a bit much for only 50g of tea, and if I had more tea experience I'd be better able to voice an opinion, but it does seem to be a popular choice in the area (even coffee houses such as Dark Horse Espresso has started serving it).