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!

TRAVEL: Palm Beach, Charley’s Crab

Location:

456 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, FL

www.muer.com

Our first place to dine in PB was Charley's Crab...a highly recommended restaurant along the beach.





Apart from the Guinness that was poured out of a bottle (egh)...



the sandwiches we ordered were amazing and I'm not a huge sandwich person! (We quickly realized that most of the lunch fare in PB was sandwiches and/or burgers.)

Our server suggested the Bistro Chicken Sandwich with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, field greens & balsamic vinaigrette, which looked like this:



and tasted great although it was a bit heavy on the goat cheese (for me, but then I don't do cheeses well). The second sandwich, the Chili Dusted Ahi Sandwich - chargrilled with bacon & pepperjack cheese, and honey mustard aioli, served with French Fries and coleslaw was kick-ass!



Juicy and very filling!



We got it with green beans instead of fries, and I could have done without the slaw entirely. Still a very satisfying lunch for a day at the beach.

TRAVEL: Palm Beach, Hamburger Heaven

Location:

314 South Country Road, Palm Beach, Florida

Cost: $25 for two

Hamburger Heaven is a cute little diner in Palm Beach and one of two places suggested to us to get breakfast in the area - I'm sure there are more joints to grab freshly squeezed OJ, but HH was super close to our hotel and the beach which made it perfect.

We didn't make it in time for breakfast the first day...missed it by more than a few hours (breakfast is served until 11am and we were there around 3!), but our lunch consisted of what we considered to be makeshift breakfast dishes...ie. quiche (eggs and spinach) and fruits!

It was gloooooooooorious!!!! Ta DA!





And we thought we'd try the special of the day - Blackened tilapia on salad....my oh my was it ever delush! SO glad we missed breakfast! It was the perfect 3pm meal!



We did make it in time for french toast and eggs the next day though! And they remembered us and sat us in the same booth - so sweet! The service was amazing, they didn't make any fuss seating us in a booth even though there were just two of us and even though they had a lineup later for lunch with groups of four waiting. It just reminded me of horrible Mildred's Temple Kitchen and their huge a** fuss of seating us!

We had freshly squeezed OJ (how could you not?). Omg you guys, soooo good!



The eggs, toast, side of potatoes and....bacon....



I always get french toast for breakfast...and these were tasty (I have to admit Testa's was better, though especially with their serving of fruit on the top) but I was loving the giant Texas style toast.



The breakfast was all very good but I think it's called hamburger heaven for a reason and we really wanted to come back for one of their burgers but they were closed on Sunday, our last day there! Oh well, next time for the hamburger! We ended up jokingly calling this place Hamburger Helper but it truly is a little taste of heaven.

PYO: Berries!

Location:

9365 10th Sideroad, Milton/Halton Hills

www.andrewsscenicacres.com

So, this was my second time at Andrews' Scenic Acres in Milton - the first was for pumpkin' picking.

As we walked in (***update***no admission fee), we were told that there were strawberries and raspberries ready for picking - and were given two baskets - a larger one for the strawberries and we were told to hop on the berry bus which was just coming down the road.

So, we hopped on and were taken down a little way to the strawberry fields. Upon our descent I asked one of the three teenagers where the best place would be to start picking. She directed us to the far end of the fields and said we'd get some good strawberries there and for the raspberries to go equally as far behind a thicket of trees. So we set off with our baskets in hand. The farm was fairly crowded; full of people doing the same thing. We didn't see too many berries but we plucked quite a few that we thought were decent.



We noticed that the strawberries weren't that big and decided that what we'd gotten was enough and went on in search of the raspberries.



Near the raspberry bushes, we saw more strawberry fields and what's this?? GIANT strawberries!!



Why, it seemed that girl sent us off in the wrong direction - perhaps to scatter the crowd? Boo. There were far better sized strawberries in this location. Too bad our basket was almost full! Nevertheless, we plucked some more and then went to check out the raspberries, which were plentiful towards the back of the raspberry rows.



We went through the aisles and finally discovered some really nice fat ones, ending up with a juicy basketful.



Then we hopped back on the berry bus which stopped to pick up some people in the blueberry fields - I didn't know we could pick blueberries too, so we decided to get off the bus and look for some blueberries (my favourite!). The bus tried to take off while a family (the mom had a baby in her arms) was still climbing on board, which I thought was irresponsible, as did everyone else who shouted at the driver (just a young boy, again).

I had no idea blueberries were so gorgeous! Some didn't look ready but we managed to find a nice batch that were. Yum!



After this, we jumped back on the berry bus and back to the farm.

We decided to check out the playground area as my 9 year old niece was with us and wanted to play, and then we decided to get something to eat at the food stand...a hot dog and a veggie burger.

Now, we were seated near the food stall, and close to the entrance and were just about to begin eating...I was literally starting to take a bite out of my hot dog, when this man came up to us and scolded us for not having paid for our berries first. I was like...huh?Wha?

He said we couldn't just buy food and eat before paying for the berries! I was absolutely dumbfounded, "Excuse me?" I said. To which he replied that once we got off the bus we were to pay for the berries immediately and that's what they tell you on the bus when you get off. At this point I started to get annoyed by his tone and accusation of what, stealing the berries? I told him that we were going to obviously pay for the berries and were not aware that we had to pay for them before doing anything else on the farm and that nobody on the berry bus (or at the entrance, for that matter!) bothered to mention this and that I could go in and pay right then and there! At this, maybe feeling bad for accusing us of stealing, he half-heartedly said we could finish eating first. I decided it would be best to pay and get that done, so I started to head to the barn to pay, and saw him following me. Honestly? I turned to him and told him that I thought he'd been quite rude and that he shouldn't have assumed that we were stealing the berries because we had really been having a nice time at the farm enjoying the warm weather and he'd completely ruined the experience for us.

Once inside (and once I paid - $28 for all three baskets) I asked to speak to the owner of the farm and this young man turned up. I told him what had happened and he apologized and said that the older man who had yelled at us was in fact the owner and that was how he was. I told him how unfortunate it was for him to have dealt with the situation the way he had as it had really brought a damper to the day.

Once outside with my baskets (the handles now stamped with smiley faces on them indicating that they were paid for) I went back to my hot dog!

I was trying to get a bite of the damn thing when the older man showed up again! I think he must have either spoken to (his son?) the young man inside and realized how rude he'd been 'cause he started apologizing for his behaviour and saying that people often visit the farm and steal the berries and leave the baskets lying around. I told him that I understood but he should rather execute a better system of paying for the berries or employ more people to guide the visitors instead of going around accusing honest citizens of theft.

He agreed with me and apologized again and said that other farms had more people and that he should perhaps do the same. I reminded him that nobody on his berry bus had mentioned anything about this nor had they said anything at the entrance, so he should really make changes to that system if he wanted people to comply.

He did offer to give me a fresh hot dog but at that point I just wanted to eat the one I had (it was about 3pm by this time and I still hadn't eaten!). Still, I thanked him and told him that this wasn't our first time on his farm and that we loved coming to it and that I totally understood where he was coming from, and so there were no hard feelings.

We left it at that, and then my niece did the pony ride that was offered there and we left.



I'm not sure how many people know of the payment policy, but there you go, now you know and do comply with the rules unless you want to be told off in front of everyone for just trying to have some lunch at Andrews' Scenic Acres!

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.

Truscott Italian Bakery and Deli

Location:

2425 Truscott Dr, Mississauga ON

I'm sure you will agree, there's nothing quite like freshly baked bread; the smell, the taste, the warmth, it's all so very good! 

I definitely heart bakeries. When I was growing up there was a lovely little bakery called Hot n' Crusty where the breads were baked fresh every morning; it was always such a treat to go there.

Recently we discovered Truscott Italian Bakery & Deli - a quaint little bakery right in the middle of a parking lot on the border of Oakville/Mississauga. It's been there only eight years yet it appears as though the parking lot was built around it.



I imagine though, that the past eight years have been enormously successful judging from the steady stream of customers at 8 in the morning! 



The cappuccino on the patio sounded like a great idea!



The breads! Rows of crusty, floured, multigrained loaves.  I wanted to try them all...and in due time I will, but to begin....we got some fresh buns, croissants, and this:



Spacatelli....which I've never had before, but which was undeniably fresh (and still warm!!!).

The trays of muffins, pies, cookies and pastries were astounding!

 



I've yet to try their hot-table items, but I got their mini cakes/tarts for a tea party recently and they not only looked pretty they were pretty delectable, too.



Then there's their deli meat counter which boasts a variety of European meats, the huge selection of pastas (I recently purchased some corn pasta [gluten free] and added to it the all natural Mediterranean Garden's "fiery hot arrabiata" pasta sauce, which was fantastic), fancy imported drinks (lemonades and juices), farmed fresh eggs, and of course a massive collection of olives and olive oils!  Heaven!

With our morning breakfast made complete with the addition of a divine "elephant ear" - stuffed full of chocolate - we were ready to start the weekend!



I'm sure many start their weekends this way and I for one can't wait to do it again!

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!

Foodhoggering

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