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Toronto restaurant recommendation

doink

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Did the 15 course chef's table tasting menu at colborne lane, pure gluttony. You sit in a private room next to the kitchen with a window to watch the action.

Here is what I remember, not necessarily in this order:

Salmon sashimi - served with tapico balls and other decoration
Asparagus soup - presentation was very nice.
Scallops
Cuddlefish
Artichoke salad - with pickled leeks
Miso glazed cod - a signature dish, had it there before and other places, I have determined I don't like cod.
Stripped bass - very meaty and delicious, with vegetables
Farro risotto - with sheep milk cheese as thickener and morels

Lemon based intermezzo - lemon curd and sorbet.

Me - beef tenderloin - with beet and vegetables
Her - hen

Cheese course - spanish cheese, candied pecan, fig terrine

Nitrogen frozen milk chocolate, saffron and olives, sounds weird, flavours worked well together.
Table made nitrogen mango sorbet with black sesmame cake
Coffee Bomb

Only flaw is that the wine list is not as inventive as the menu.
 

fwiffo

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Monday - Le Commensal (bbq hang over from the weekend so no meat)
Tuesday - Sushi & Bento around Elizabeth & Dundas. At peak lunch hour, I got a table for 4 when I only had 2 so it was nice. The place needs a new A/C though.
Wednesday - Happened by Japango since you chaps have all been raving about it. Unfortunately my lunch date didn't like more than half the sushi for 2 we got so I ended up eating most of it. It was pretty nice - this place turns over very quickly. I think I was done eating in 25 minutes. Getting your bill is a challenge though. I didn't think the portions were tiny. I was pretty full from a late lunch till 9pm actually.
 

fwiffo

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I'm not sure if this means Roosevelt Room is doing poorly or they're still having trouble selling the place as a restaurant but here's a 10% off coupon and VIP "front of the line" access - which means you don't have to bribe the bouncer?

10% off at Roosevelt Room

Anyway, thought someone might find it useful.
 

doink

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Originally Posted by Toronto34
How much did all that come to?

Sounds great


It was a gift so I am not 100% sure, I think it was $175 a person plus tax and tip and wine. They have a less expensive tasting menu in the dining room.
 

GQgeek

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Summerlicious has started. If i wanted to pick 5 restos, which should they be? (for dinner)
 

fwiffo

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Mmm..don't pick one that's doing Summerlicious?

I don't mean to be pretentious since everyone here knows I eat at some dives, but Summerlicious always remind me of booked up restaurants that serve prix fixe menus that have nothing to do with the real menu and often are cookie cutter ingredients or dishes that are mass produced in the back. Furthermore, there's always some jerk during the main seating times who thinks a $45 3 course meal means the waiter needs to grovel on his or her knees to get the unimaginative steak he ordered cooked to perfection.

But..that's my experience.
 

TheButler

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I would have to agree with this. Summerlicious is not useful as any sort of gauge of how good the restaurants actually are. Or, vice-versa actually.

Its good for dragging people out for dinner who don't dine out much though.
 

EL72

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I agree that Summerlicious menus are not the way to experience fine dining in Toronto. That said, I've had some great meals during summer/winterlicious but the trick is to stay away from the big names like Canoe, Centro... which are probably all booked anyway, unless you want the 5pm seating. I was dragged to Canoe once during summerlicious and it was entirely forgettable and very different than at other times. The last time I was at Bymark for lunch during summerlicious, I didn't order the prix fixe since I like their $35 burger that is obviously not on the prix fixe menu.

I prefer to go to some of the smaller, neighborhood places that I like (e.g. 7 Numbers, Lolo...) but then you don't really need a $25 prix fixe to go to these places. So in the end, I agree that it's just an excuse to go out to dinner so don't get your hopes up expecting to be blown away by the culinary experience and just go to places you want to try out.
 

fkl118

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I went to Ruby Watchco on Saturday night:
http://rubywatchco.ca/

It's Lynn Crawford's new restaurant on Queen St East. She was there cooking, though she seemed to be constantly interrupted by picture-takers and autograph-seekers. Food is served in table d'hôte style with the chef selecting the fixed menu for the night ie it changes daily.

The restaurant is somewhat small; I think it holds a maximum of 50 people. It was packed by 7 PM. It's also a little loud in there but not uncomfortably so.

Dinner was four courses: we had tomato and trout salad to start, then the main course of slow roasted pork loin with risotto, grilled mushrooms and vegetables and fennel and squash salad, then a local sheep's milk cheese plate, and finally brandied cherry smores for dessert. The food was really excellent. You could tell the ingredients were fresh and well selected. I'd definitely recommend this restaurant and I'm sure I will be back.

The cost is $49 per person which I found very reasonable, especially for a "celebrity chef" restaurant. The total for two people including 2 cocktails, tax and tip was about $150.
 

fwiffo

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Originally Posted by fkl118
The cost is $49 per person which I found very reasonable, especially for a "celebrity chef" restaurant. The total for two people including 2 cocktails, tax and tip was about $150.

Any local ingredients in the cocktails?

I finally made it back to Foxley without my date throwing up before the first course - actually I brought a work mate this time so it worked out fine. Had the arctic char ceviche and the beef short ribs + around 4 rounds of drinks worked out to $77+tip. It's actually hard to get the drinks since the service is frenetic in the back patio. There are only two people and they seem to do everything.

Then headed across the street to The Painted Lady - I've never seen the place dead, but Tuesday night seems to have done it. I also didn't know it was cash only so we grabbed three Johnnie blacks and left (think it was around $42).

Hoofed it up to Yorkville for a night cap before I sent someone off uptown.
 

Toronto34

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Was at Canoe for summerlicious last night.

Not impressed at all, food was average and not very interesting.

Still came to 150 plus tax and tip, even on the summerlicious menu.


Overall dissapointing, first time at canoe so dunno if I can comment yet about the food on the regular menu.
 

fwiffo

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I was at Sushi Queen Izakaya today. This one replaced Mochuzuki (okay I have no idea how to spell it) at Elm & Bay. It's basically the same space - I heard it was Chinese owners. Service was friendly but spotty. One person's bento box came out about 10 minutes earlier than another person's (although we were still on soup & salad so it wasn't a bother). During the whole time, we didn't get water. In fact the person who refills the tea comes over, sees there are no cups and keeps walking. It looks like this place does things by volume - every lunch combo was huge. I didn't have a chance to check out a la carte. The sushi & sashimi was okay. Some of the filler roles were pretty much all rice. I tried half a salmon teriyaki and it wasn't too bad - had a nice grill flavour. $22+tip.

Right now they're doing a la carte menu 20% off if anyone is on a budget.
 

GQgeek

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Originally Posted by EL72
I prefer to go to some of the smaller, neighborhood places that I like (e.g. 7 Numbers, Lolo...) but then you don't really need a $25 prix fixe to go to these places. So in the end, I agree that it's just an excuse to go out to dinner so don't get your hopes up expecting to be blown away by the culinary experience and just go to places you want to try out.
Hmm. I need to find some of these places that are good and worthwhile, but not crazy expensive. I like to treat myself to high-end places once in a while, but i like to eat out weekly and can't afford high-end every week. You know any good italian places that aren't too far out of the way? Oh and i've got a date friday with a girl that doesn't drink... If anyone has ideas i'd love to hear them. I hate sitting in coffee shots (don't even drink coffee). it's a first date... PM me if you don't want to derail the restaurant thread.
 

Toronto34

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GQ, Why not try a dessert place?

Some nice places open late, and nothing gets the girls worked up like some nice chocolate, thats for sure.

Desert --------> the sexshh
 

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