TRAVEL: Paris: Boulangerie Patisserie Coudrier Geffroy

Location:

77 avenue Kléber, Paris (16th Arr)

This was my First Taste of Paris:



I think I did well.

We stopped by this bakery on our way to our hotel...and they line-up was huge!  Am not surprised at all.  We wanted to go back again, but got distracted by some sort of tower in the area. ;)

NEW: Wanda's Belgian Waffles

Location:

252 Queen St E, Toronto

There's a new location of Wanda's Belgian Waffles right on Queen Street, across from the 2nd Cup.  It's a little kiosk within the Gardenview Grocery.

Perfect leading into fall!

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.

TRAVEL: London, ON: Raja

Location:

428 Clarence Street, London

www.rajafinedining.ca

Had a family anniversary celebration here.  The space is up-scale and elegant and nicely done up for large groups, such as us.

The service on the other hand, could use some tweaking.  Although it wasn't busy, our server took a while to come over.  Then he failed to correctly explain the lunch specials to us so that when we ended up ordering the lunch specials, thinking they were smaller dinner portions, we were surprised to find they really couldn't be shared at all as there was barely enough for one!

Only then were we told  that the lunch specials were "individual" portions not to be shared and that each special came with a side of rice, chick pea curry and salad.  Something we wouldn't have ordered had we understood the server.  They were also overly intrusive with the "How are you enjoying your meal?", "Can I take this away?" stuff.

As it is, I'm sure you'll agree it's the most annoying thing EVER, to have a server ask how your meal is WHILST your mouth is full of your very FIRST bite, forcing you to respond..."ITSFSFIIEN".

The papad chutneys were beautifully arranged.



The onion bhajis were lovely.



The side of rice, chick pea curry and salad.



I disliked that all the meat dishes were served with side salads, as well.  I find it so unappealing when Indian restaurants do that.  Pickled carrots and onions are much more appropriate and flavourful when eaten together.




Variety of naans and breads.


The other curries (not part of the lunch special)









Altogether, the flavours were good, but the portions were far too small for the cost of them ($15-20) and the service could be better.

Overdraught Irish Pub

Location:
156 Front St W., Toronto

Overdraught is what I like to consider a hidden gem of an Irish pub, situated underground right between Joe Badali's and Canyon Creek Chophouse.



Here you can find all the usual pub details: dark corners, cheery folk and most importantly, GUINNESS.

The fish n' chips and wings are just bonuses.









A great place for groups, especially on St. Patty's Day.

China Garden

Location:

7071 Airport Road, Mississauga

www.chinagarden.ca/

If you're ever in the west end of the city looking for some yummy chinese food, there's a little joint, that's one part ghetto and 2 parts awesome.  It's called China Garden.  Looking neither like China nor a garden, it does however, have some wicked hakka style chinese for $9-12 a dish.

Order at the counter then grab a seat...

It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes for your piping hot dishes to arrive!







A favourite whenever we're in the area, it's also open until 10:30pm on the weekends!

GANDHI’S ROTI: oh, the calories!

I'd really rather not look at numbers, but if you are of the sort that prefers to count calories....

Have your fill here.

YIKES!

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.

Mercatto

Location:

330 Bay Street, Toronto

www.mercatto.ca

I LOVE prosciutto on pizza...MMM....

Okay....am back.

My friend recommended this spot and she's one whose taste I can now trust!  Thanks Roobs! :)

Pizza: prosciutto, tomato, gran padano, mozza, arugula $15



Pasta:  Chicken, spinach, tomatoes $17



Salad: Arugula, pear, walnuts, pecorino $8



Such a pretty interior with the wood and the chandeliers, it's the backdrop for a first date (or not so first date) or even a girlie gathering.



Highly recommended!  They have two other locations:

15 Toronto Street

101 College Street

After Mercatto, we were off to KI, to MANGI some more!