Toronto restaurant recommendation

Went to Caplansky's Deli on College this past Friday.
Pretty amazing smoked meat sandwiches they have there, as well as some other awesome dishes.
Sandwich + Soup or Fries or Salad = $11. Which is enough, but I had to get a second sandwich ($8).
Their poutine is pretty hearty, the gravy has smoked meat in it too.
My bill ended up around $30, but that's because I had a beer.
Their dessert menu is quite amazing too, each item was around $5-9.
Definitely a must try if you are in the area.


Also, been meaning to try Copacabana, glad everyone is giving it a thumbs up.
Gotta get there soon.

Originally Posted by sjg22

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When to Ame on Friday night on Mercer. Was actually quite good and the service was better than expected (then again, I went after work around 8 and it was maybe 1/3 full, so it might be a different story when busy). Overall, the food was better than I would've expected and I quite enjoyed the rolls we bought (esp. the Spicy Tuna and the Spicy King Crab).

I went to Ame too but on Tuesday night.

We had an early dinner before the hockey game. I had some salmon sashimi and the butter fish. I skipped out on tempura or any of the salads, which were $10+. Somehow paying for $10+ salad at a Japanese place doesn't seem right.

They try to promote their menu like Ki by encouraging you to share. The only problem is their dishes are pretty big. There was really no space for two entrees in a two person table to "share" anything. And the entrees are good sized portions. My friend got fish from the robata grill which came out with the entire fish + head intact (not a shock to me, being someone who fished before). They Ramen and rice seem like rip offs as sides. There's a thing called "sushi" rice, which apparently is just the rice they use to make the sushi rolls.

Sakes seemed a bit on the expensive side - especially the bottles. This didn't look like the regular LCBO stuff. They serve it in the little wine tasting/scotch tasting glasses. 4 sake each + entree and sushi worked out to about $170 + tip.

Went to Bottom Line after that to catch the game + more booze.

Wednesday night was at La Paletta. I *REALLY* wanted to get the horse tenderloin but the fact that it's only served rare-medium rare freaked me out a little. I ended up getting the bison meat which was tough. I don't know who cuts this meat but it was bigger vertically than horizontally. My friend got her trout, which she thought was good. Escargot and a simple green salad as starters. About 6 glasses of wine + brandy + 3 course meal = $160 + tip.

good reviews, fwiffo

youre right about that W burger bar being rubbish. what are your favourite places to drink on a budget, if you ever do?

Originally Posted by oman

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good reviews, fwiffo

youre right about that W burger bar being rubbish. what are your favourite places to drink on a budget, if you ever do?

Drinking and a budget don't usually mix. But last year I would go to Bar 244 after work. It's usually dead until 8pm, and in my opinion, not a hole in the wall. Crocodile Rock (across the street) compete with them on price a lot so it depends which day you show up to save .25 or .50 a shot but as I don't want to be caught cougar hunting I stay with this one; $3 rail, $3 domestic bottle.

There are plenty of places around the Annex (the infamous school hang outs come to mind) that do $10 pitchers or $4/pints but as I'm not a beer fan and not so much a domestic beer fan, I usually skip out on those. Dear God, my boss (who is a woman) convinced me to go to Maddy's one evening and that was the last time I've been in one.

I read a lot of hype about W - but it turned out to be wholly unremarkable. Chaps on this thread go to more trendy unwritten places

Bloor Street Diner for brunch on the weekend. Couple of things. The window section is suffocatingly hot and took me a good 10 minutes plus a glass of water and cocktail to acclimate without sweating profusely (and I wear suits in the summer). Even though the place looks slightly better than before, the food is declining. I had a smoked salmon benedict and the salmon came off rubbery. The benedict at least had a runny egg. My mate had a turkey quiche with some bacon in it which I tried to convince him is turkey bacon (God knows what it is considering he's religious that way). Cocktail was served and taken away (bloody hell it's 12pm, give me a chance to order another one). Coffee was refilled only once. Water was never refilled. Bloke across from me ordered a steak, had it returned, then had it come back without new cutlery and then I think he had another problem which by this time, the waitress showed up to happily take his dining partner's plate; cutting her tip in half.

Otherwise, I've been laying low since I'm in poverty this week, drinks at Fairmont and a quick jaunt to New Treasure for some (bad) dim sum on Dundas. Surprisingly, I didn't die of food poisoning.

I had a vegetarian date so we went to Hot House Cafe (also she didn't want to walk too far from the subway line). I had never been to this place before but it seems like one of those "family" places. Volume at 8pm is about half of what Irish Embassy is. I also forgot to use OpenTable, which sucks because I missed out on points.

I had a vegetarian buttersquash ravioli. It was okay - not great, not inedible. Portions were on the bigger side. Entrees were your typical fish, steak, chicken, so I skipped those. The plates are ridiculously hot; you can burn yourself. They had a decent amount of scotches for a faux Italian place. I had a lemon mascarpone to end and a spanish coffee which was served with a fist sized full of whipped cream.

Now the service is amazingly...bad: My chair leg was kicked by my waiter twice. Also I had old fashioned glasses tossed on the table with the liquid jumping in and out of the glass at least three times. We left around 9:30 and there was no hostess to say goodbye to us - walked straight out like a Swiss Chalet. Good thing I didn't use coat check. My dining partner thought I was making the waiter nervous, although I made no special requests and never complained.

godam fwiffo you eat out more then ron jeremy.

thanks for the reviews, I'm going to have to read through some of these and check 'em out.

I am (un?) fortunate enough to eat out pretty much every night. This week was BQM, Union 72, and Julie's Cuban. I'm too lazy to post full reviews right now, but in short: BQM - good for a pint, nothing more. Union 72 - slow as hell service but great mains and odd (Hungarian?) but good wines. Julie's Cuban - go here a lot, but have decided to stick it in the summer only category. Good shrimp dishes and rioja viejo.

Originally Posted by Master-Classter

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godam fwiffo you eat out more then ron jeremy.

Well, I've been cutting back due to lunch meetings, my general state of poverty (luckily bonuses come out soon at my company) and the fact that I promised I would try to hit the gym once or twice a week without showing up drunk

Originally Posted by closetmess

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I am (un?) fortunate enough to eat out pretty much every night.

It's only unfortunate if you find yourself waking up every night thirsty for a gallon of water

Had dinner at hank's. It is in the old Jamie Kennedy Winebar location, next to teh new wine bar. Food is Ontario based southern US cooking.

Dinner for two was:

Beet Salad - very good
Corn bread -ok, not a fan in general though
Beef Brisket - horseradish creme frais needed more kick
Fried Chicken and waffles - skin was good, maple syrup flavour was nice, needed more waffle.
baked mushrooms - very good
coleslaw - very good

Buttermilk pie - ok, the plum jam that came with it was awesome
Carrot Cake - passable

2 beers each - creemore and a beaus

Cost was $110 plus tip.

Food quality is high, portion sizes are just right, room is relatively nice, really laid back, did not rush us out even after e paid the bill, it was not too busy.

Went to La Coquine for dinner last Thursdaye evening. Located on Yonge Street just south of Eglinton, it's a French restaurant with a good smattering of Italian and other European dishes. Nice atmosphere and very busy from 7pm onwards, the wait staff are knowledgable and despite being packed to the rafters, never rushed or hurried us at all. I had an excellent caprese salad to start with a wild mushroom ravioli as my main and a flourless chocolate torte for dessert. My wife's selections were similar and with a glass of wine each it came in under $100 for two.

Originally Posted by doink

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Had dinner at hank's.

Hmm - I should check this out. However, I passed by thinking it was more like a cafe than a serious dining place. Maybe I have it all wrong.

Originally Posted by The Domino Effect

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Went to La Coquine for dinner last Thursdaye evening...a flourless chocolate torte for dessert.

Oi I can only imagine how rich that is. Have to be a diet these days

Originally Posted by closetmess

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This week was BQM, Union 72, and Julie's Cuban.

I'm burning a few days off at the end of March so I *have* make it out to Ossington and be hip like you chaps.

Originally Posted by fwiffo

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Hmm - I should check this out. However, I passed by thinking it was more like a cafe than a serious dining place. Maybe I have it all wrong.



Oi I can only imagine how rich that is. Have to be a diet these days

I'm burning a few days off at the end of March so I *have* make it out to Ossington and be hip like you chaps.

My 30 second guide to Ossington - where I live, eat, play.


If you haven't been to Foxley, that is the place to start - Ceviche and short ribs.

Rare beef pho at Golden Turtle for lunch. Good hangover cure I've found.

Levack Block - perogies. Might be the best I've had.

Watusi for good drinks and bar snacks - the won tons are great.

Painted lady - their beef brisket is legit.

Libretto - can't miss, best pizza in Toronto.

Delux - I'd skip altogether, although try the duck confit if forced.

30 seconds flat.

Originally Posted by closetmess

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My 30 second guide to Ossington - where I live, eat, play.

I'm pumped! Next week is it!

Friday was at Bishop & Belcher off Bloor/Church - the platter was shite and lukewarm (lukewarm fried stuff yum!) and not too many good choices in beer or scotches.

Going to try to hit a pub tonight..(I know it's crazy). Tomorrow was thinking of Guu Izakaya or Lucien.

Originally Posted by fwiffo

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I'm pumped! Next week is it!

Friday was at Bishop & Belcher off Bloor/Church - the platter was shite and lukewarm (lukewarm fried stuff yum!) and not too many good choices in beer or scotches.

Going to try to hit a pub tonight..(I know it's crazy). Tomorrow was thinking of Guu Izakaya or Lucien.

Do Guu instead of Lucien. I've yet to have a great meal at Lucien.