Flo's Diner

Location:

70 Yorkville Ave., Toronto

www.flosdiner.ca

Granted, it has a lovely rooftop patio, and the fabulous diner-look going, but the food is average, if not below average and the service ins non-existent.



I had Flo's Big Breakfast - Belgian waffles, 2 eggs, sausages, bacon, home fries $10.95 and "Freshly squeezed orange juice".   While the waffles were were lukewarm, it wasn't terrible.



Beerhogger had a Coke Float (!)



and a GRILLED CHICKEN with sundried tomatoes. Fried mushrooms, fried onions & basil on foccacia bread $8.25



The sandwich was uber bland and the chicken was pink in parts and chewy.  Gross?  Yes.

While it's fun to dine at a 50s diner, if the food (and service) were more 50s-like, we'd be talkin'.

The Magic Oven

Location:

6 Wellesley

When green chillies underly an innocent tandoori chicken pizza, you KNOW the chef knows his biniss.

As he should at THESE pizza prices!!

Smelt flour or no smelt flour...I hope these pizzas have some magic in 'em 'cause they're expensive!

Not a fan of the Liberty Village location as I got sick twice as a result of their lunch time slices, but the Wellesley location made for a wonderful dinner with friends. Very cosy atmosphere, we had almost the whole (tiny) restaurant to ourselves. And those hidden green chillies? We were in tears 'cause the menu made no mention of them. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to see green chillies in anything, so they were tears of joy.

We've also had MO pizzas ordered into work, and as delish as they are, the four pizzas we ordered came to something outrageous as $100 and there still wasn't enough to go around. Sometimes, you just need a bunch o' $9.99 pepperoni pizzas.

Launch of Beerhogger!

It's Toronto (First Ever) Beer Week! (Sept 20 - 26), thus the launch of BEERHOGGER!  There will be beer news and reviews, brewery tours, beer recipes;  all contributed by Beerhogger and his guest bloggers!

To commemorate the occasion (and because we're celebrating a birthday) we're going to The Cloak & Dagger (394 College Street) for, what else? Beers..and possibly Beersshhh...by the end of the evening.

Check out the other venues for Toronto's FIRST Beer Week!

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: Steamy?

Location:

147 Spadina Ave., Toronto

Where Double Dragon used to be now stands something called STEAMY?  

Steamy: Asian Tapas and Grill

So glad DD is gone...the food was disgusting there. I got sick once and never went back. And I believe Lurgs had WORMS in her meal, but I'll let her tell you about it.

Will check out this new strangely named STEAMY and bring back more info! :)

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?

Product: Pita Break

I was recently sent a large box filled with  Pita Break products: a variety of One Bun pitas and Lavash "Flax and Honey" crackers.

Now, it's no secret that I like to eat, so it was almost instantaneous that I broke into the Lavash cracker box!  It just so happened that I'd just met up with some friends for after-work beers, and these crackers were the perfect snack for the walk over to our Chinese restaurant for dinner.

Slender maybe, but quite "Lavash" in size, the nutty, natural, fibrous flavour would appear to be rather tasteless, but instead is quite the opposite.

Full-mouthed and double-fisting the crackers, all of us agreed they were addictive!

The pitas?





Are quite simply, fabulous.  And the variety that they have is astounding!

My favourite is the Breakfast Pita: Cranberry Orange.  They were so good in the morning and as a snack (of which there were many while these babies were around) they were perfect with a bit of almond butter and/or jam (usually both, who am I kidding?).



My hubby preferred the Apple Cinnamon.



And because we often like making breakfast egg sandwiches the Breakfast Muesli was perfect for this.



And let me just say, what an ingenious idea to make hamburger buns THINNER!!!

Hooray, right? These sandwich and burger buns didn't last very long; especially with my husband's home-made burger recipe; they work together so well!

What's better than the thin hamburger bun?  The OneBun Hot dog bun - not only thinner, but like a taco, sits neatly on it's side. Love it. And multigrain, to boot!



We can't get enough of these pitas..they're all -natural, preservative free, kosher and made in Toronto.   And they even won the Best Lunchbox Item and Best Snack for the Canadian Live Foundations LIVERight Awards.

Congratulations you guys, I'd have to agree.

LOCAL FEATURE: Crepe Delicious

Location:

100 City Centre Drive

www.crepedelicious.com

If it's not pancakes or french toast for breakfast, it's crepes (from scratch) at our house, so to receive two packs of Crepes De Licious mix in the mail was quite refreshing.

The mix was very easy to use, having only to add milk or water, and they turned out quite well, chewy in texture (whole wheat flour), vanilla-esque and buttery in flavour (shortening).

 

Our recipe for making crepes uses very little, if any, oil and our crepes turn out a lot thinner.  With the mix we found it a tad difficult to get rid of the powdery bits.

That said, if you're not a crepes-from-scratch person, and you like a good crepe, these packages are worthwhile.  Better yet, you can just go OUT for crepes and visit your local Crepe Delicious!

We did that, too.



There's a little kiosk of Crepe Delicious at the Square One Mall.  With breakfast crepes, paninis, savoury andsweet crepes.





Ian and Michael were the talented young specialists on hand for whipping us up some yummy crepes: savoury and sweet!



I don't care much for savoury crepes in general, but the Caesar Chicken ($7.95) one made for us was quite good, and packed with filling.



The sweet crepes is where it's at.  Nutella?  Yes, please!
The Tuttie Fruitte ($6.99) was absolutely divine and made far better than even the crepes we had in Paris!









Nyum Nyum.

They use all fresh toppings, so much so, that they run out of popular ingredients such as apples and panini loaves.  It's a kiosk afterall; it would be great to see this place get it's own restaurant as it was busy and has only a limited number of stools.  Most customers got the crepes to go anyway, wrapped up neatly in foil.   For the busy shoppers at Square One this type of kiosk probably works better than a dine-in restaurant, especially since you can smell the crepes a mile away and can have it as a snack or a meal.

We wanted the Crunchy Caramel $5.85 but they had run out of apples so Ian, who is the resident expert at that location, having been there two years, made us a custom super-duper, nutella-banana-caramel crepe!









I'll post up our own home-made crepe recipe, but until then, if you happen to stop by a Crepes Delicious, try the nutella/banana crepe!  You shan't be disappointed.

Mill Street Brewery

Location:

55 Mill Street, Toronto

www.millstreetbrewery.com

For beerfests and the like, Mill Street Brewery has the capacity for the people and the beers.

Check out their Ontario's first "Original Organic Lager" for a light and hoppy flavour.

I'm now more interested in their new Lemon Tea Beer and this contest they're having.

Fresh

Location:

147 Spadina Avenue, Toronto

www.freshrestaurants.ca

As is the case with a lot of food-related businesses these days, the word "fresh" embodies all that is "organic" and "new" in our age of health-consciousness.  If it contains the word FRESH chances are people will gravitate towards it.

And Fresh, the restaurant chain, is vegetarian, another kick in the meat-balls of society.  But remember people!  Vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean healthy!

Of course, vegetarians and/or vegans love Fresh, and rightly so.  Why?  'Cause Fresh doesn't use butter, dairy, eggs, honey or other animal by-products,  so those with food allergies or dietary concerns can be assured they're eating....none of those things.

I can't speak for the nutritional part of it, since oddly Fresh doesn't provide a nutritional breakdown of their food on their website.  See for yourself and decide for yourself.

I can only speak for the flavour of Fresh and what I'm saying is:  it doesn't do much for me.

I do like their sweet potato fries and peanut sauce, but find both very greasy.





The Buddha Bowls are bland and tasteless and as my fellow blogger, Lurgs likes to joke, "It just needs CHICKEN!"

The veggie burger is dry and full of grains.  It's certainly hearty, but definitely does not satisfy my tastebuds.



I'd definitely eat at Fresh if I had to, but it's not somewhere I'd seek out for lunch or dinner.