Toronto restaurant recommendation

I had a very soft veggie pizza at Mercatto next to Rosewater.

No seat at all for Monday lunch (geez, and I thought I was going to the less busy one compared to Bay Street) so we sat at the bar. You ask for a glass of water, you just get the glass. I guess you pretend the water is in there. Menus were left sitting in front of me throughout the meal until they couldn't fit the dishes in. And then I checked my coat but they got the wrong one. Good thing I brought a chesterfield so I could point out I have a velvet collar.

Pretty crappy for a $40 lunch that lasted 60 mins.

Originally Posted by Spatlese

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First visit to Caplansky's last night. I ordered a ***** smoked meat sandwich and inhaled it....was unsure initially about the quality, so proceeded to order another one right after just to make sure. Yep, it's good.

Gold ... have been thinking about trying that out.

Here's two quite reco's:

1) The Stockyards - St Clair and Christie - These guys do some wicked slow cooked porchetta sandwiches, as well as bbq stuff a couple days a week. Good take-out option if you find yourself in the area.

2) The Local - Queen West just east of Roncesvalle. New-ish place, no reservations, but amazing food.

Originally Posted by fwiffo

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They had a chef at Lobby? All this time I thought it was just alcohol.

I had another surgery again..so I'm back to being on meds, no alcohol, and can't eat anything. Let's hear about some new Toronto places!

Trevor's Kitchen

Appetizer: Dungeness crab salad with cornbread pain perdue and tomato jam ($18)

Small dish, well presented. Surprisingly flavorful, I really liked the tomato jam. My only gripe would be if the firm wasn't paying for it as $18 is steep for a realllllly small app.

Main: Port braised beef cheek with sunchoke risotto and shaved foie gras ($27)

Yummy. The meat was tender and succulent and the risotto had just the right texture and taste to work alongside it. It was a fair amount of food which was a relief after the app. The port reduction was unfortunately a different temperature (cooler) than the meat which was slightly off-putting. Made what could have been a 9/10 dish closer to a 7.

- I also tried the duck which was interesting and tasty - they do a confit breast with a glazed leg as one dish.

Dessert: Creme Brulee

I've had better, but not much worse! Very creamy and a nice top layer as well.

Overall: There are better $100 meals in Toronto, but Trevor's has a nice ambience and is a great place for hosted events, etc. Very intimate space. Oh, and the waitresses may not be amazing at serving, but their looks allow me to overlook that.

They do an 8 course, 6 wine pairing tasting menu for $160.

Originally Posted by Phlexrayon

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Gold ... have been thinking about trying that out. Here's two quite reco's: 1) The Stockyards - St Clair and Christie - These guys do some wicked slow cooked porchetta sandwiches, as well as bbq stuff a couple days a week. Good take-out option if you find yourself in the area. 2) The Local - Queen West just east of Roncesvalle. New-ish place, no reservations, but amazing food.
I'll second both. Had a full meal from the stockyards and it was great. Just get there early they sell out of stuff. We had a full chicken, brisket, slaw and fries. I had a plate from local at the 1000 plates event at harbourfront and it was pretty good. Will head to it and provide a report, it is in my hood. Had another meal at Caplanskys, I am eating my way through the menu. I wil say it is always good, and some times great.We had: Matzo ball soup - not the best I've had, broth is very bland, balls were too mushy. Different families have different styles though. Borscht - this is always a winner, this time it came with big chunks of smoked meat. Coleslaw - one of the better ones I've had there, a good mix of oil/vinegar and not too many onions Smoked Turkey - I dare say it was better than the smoked meat. Knish - potato - pretty good, could have been warmer, but good Bread pudding - great flavour and texture. It was heated in a microwave though so the warmth was a bit weird.

Originally Posted by closetmess

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Other recent visits of mine just south of that area (all Ossington) are the Foxley for great short-ribs and ceviche, disappointing dinner at Deluxe, overpriced and underflavoured, and my usual hang outs at Libretto (wayyy better pizza than Terroni) and the Golden Turtle for the best Pho around.

I hit those few blocks of Ossington a few times last week. Twice to check out Jonathan+Olivia (didn't score anything at their warehouse sale). Once to try Libretto, which my mates and I agreed were the best pizzas we've had in a long while. And Tien Thanh for Vietnamese. I understand the proprietor worked at Golden Turtle or something along those lines before, but I digress. The pho was really good, far better than anything along the Spadina strip.

Originally Posted by doink

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I'll second both. Had a full meal from the stockyards and it was great. Just get there early they sell out of stuff. We had a full chicken, brisket, slaw and fries.

I had a plate from local at the 1000 plates event at harbourfront and it was pretty good. Will head to it and provide a report, it is in my hood.

Had another meal at Caplanskys, I am eating my way through the menu. I wil say it is always good, and some times great.We had:

Matzo ball soup - not the best I've had, broth is very bland, balls were too mushy. Different families have different styles though.
Borscht - this is always a winner, this time it came with big chunks of smoked meat.
Coleslaw - one of the better ones I've had there, a good mix of oil/vinegar and not too many onions
Smoked Turkey - I dare say it was better than the smoked meat.
Knish - potato - pretty good, could have been warmer, but good
Bread pudding - great flavour and texture. It was heated in a microwave though so the warmth was a bit weird.

Try the poutine (with smoked meat gravy...)

The hamburger is pretty good too but I only had that once since they were out of smoked meat.

Originally Posted by Spatlese

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I hit those few blocks of Ossington a few times last week. Twice to check out Jonathan+Olivia (didn't score anything at their warehouse sale). Once to try Libretto, which my mates and I agreed were the best pizzas we've had in a long while. And Tien Thanh for Vietnamese. I understand the proprietor worked at Golden Turtle or something along those lines before, but I digress. The pho was really good, far better than anything along the Spadina strip.

Yeah, there is a big rivalry between the 2 owners, they used to be partners at Golden Turtle. I like both but GT just has my loyalty for some reason.

At J+O I got a white BoO short sleeved button up ($25!), black Rag&Bone (kinda short) shorts ($30!), and white Corpus jeans ($20!). Can't wear any of it til summer but will be a nice surprise having forgotten about em by then!

Tonight - unofficial opening of District Sushi in Leslieville. Will post tomorrow how it goes! [ http://www.districtbistro.ca ]

Who do you folks go with? My work mates and I are downtown and they don't like going out to Ossington or anywhere far.

I don't know anyone who lives out there - well I know one but he's attached.

Originally Posted by fwiffo

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Who do you folks go with? My work mates and I are downtown and they don't like going out to Ossington or anywhere far.

I don't know anyone who lives out there - well I know one but he's attached.

I work downtown but live in the West end, along with many of my friends and others in the 25-30 *somewhat* upwardly-mobile crowd. I sincerely believe it's the best place at my age and stage - amazing food, great bars (Jazz at Reposado, dancing at Levack Block) and best shopping (Jacflash, Jonathan + Olivia, Sydney's, Deluxe, etc.)

Originally Posted by closetmess

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Yeah, there is a big rivalry between the 2 owners, they used to be partners at Golden Turtle. I like both but GT just has my loyalty for some reason.

At J+O I got a white BoO short sleeved button up ($25!), black Rag&Bone (kinda short) shorts ($30!), and white Corpus jeans ($20!). Can't wear any of it til summer but will be a nice surprise having forgotten about em by then!

Tonight - unofficial opening of District Sushi in Leslieville. Will post tomorrow how it goes! [ http://www.districtbistro.ca ]

****! i was supposed to go with a friend on sunday but got smashed (on ossington coinidentally) and was too hungover to go! now i regret it.

Originally Posted by closetmess

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I work downtown but live in the West end, along with many of my friends and others in the 25-30 *somewhat* upwardly-mobile crowd. I sincerely believe it's the best place at my age and stage - amazing food, great bars (Jazz at Reposado, dancing at Levack Block) and best shopping (Jacflash, Jonathan + Olivia, Sydney's, Deluxe, etc.)

yeah it is a great place to party. generally cheaper then club district etc and a much better vibe obv. though every once in a while i get the urge to go to super slutty college bars like brunny. just dont tell anyone i said that.

District Bistro - 806 Queen St. E.

Cool venue in "up and coming" Leslieville, was at their unofficial opening last night.

They had set out a bunch of platters of various rolls, but I also ordered asparagus rolls and the red dragon which was tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber topped with salmon sashimi.

All I can say about the sushi was that every piece I had was amazingly fresh, it was tightly rolled and you could distinguish every flavour. Nothing was poorly done, I hope this place can stay in business as they won't get too many "walk-by" customers, although they do offer a full take-out menu.

Other notables were the eclectic atmosphere (big projector screen wall playing old black and white movies, good DJ spinning in the corner with a good array of music, and a very nice wooden backsplash behind the bar made the whole atmosphere very inviting).

They also have Sapporo and Blanche de Chambly on tap, which was nice.

The only drawback was the (albeit attractive) waitress was not very familiar with the menu and wasn't terribly professional - we'll give her the benefit of the doubt for now given it is such a new place.

All in all, would go again and stay for an apres drink as well.

This article is a bit old but I thought I'd share it: http://www.torontolife.com/daily/dai...rant-closures/

I did notice a few of the ones on the list closing down. One would think you'd want to at least rake in some of the Christmas cash before turning off the lights.

Worth looking into O Noir. You eat in complete darkness, served by blind waiters/waitresses. Food is delicious, experience is one of a kind, and it isn't too pricey. http://www.onoir.com/TO/frames.htm

Res at Opus. Anyone been?