Toronto restaurant recommendation

Best Hotel Bars 2010 as voted by BlogTO. The place I make a point to go to once a week is listed as #10.

Sadly I'm not in town as much to try some of the others.

Didn't like The Drake - I asked for a cocktail with premium vodka and the bartender (not the bloke in the picture) was lecturing on me how it would make no difference. I haven't been back since.

Hyatt Rooftop - only prefer for less than windy summers. I don't really get it for winters.

Eight Wine Bar - the interesting thing is even though they call themselves a wine bar but the few wines I chose from their list, they didn't have them and had to go find a substitute for me.

Four Seasons - I know I've been there but it was so immemorable that I don't even have a clue what I ordered and how it was.

Ate the Thompson Hotel's 'Corner Diner' this past Saturday night after the bar.

The food was terrible. Bland and overpriced.

So I'm continuing my survey of all the new gourmet burger places in town and thought I'd provide a quick report for those who care:

I went to BQM Burger Shoppe (Ossington/Dundas) on Saturday and the burger was awesome (medium rare sirloin burger ). Probably the best one I've had so far. Poutine was so-so but the fries were good. W Burger Bar on College@Yonge is a close second. I had the lamb burger and it was excellent. Need to try the beef soon. BQM and W are nice because they also serve beer...

I was disappointed with Burger Craft, Oh-Boy burger and Burger Priest. The burgers were not bad but not worthy of the hype they seem to be getting imo.

I was pleasantly surprised with Gourmet Burget Co (went to both Yonge/Eglington and Charles/Yonge) and also South Street Burger (many locations) despite being more corporate chains (and they don't have beer ). GBC gets the edge over South St. but SS is still a very respectable burger for a chain and light years ahead of all the frozen patty fast-food garbage out there.

Originally Posted by TRINI

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Ate the Thompson Hotel's 'Corner Diner' this past Saturday night after the bar.

You mean "The Counter"? I read somewhere the service was bad too. I can't say I can be convinced to go back to the hotel in general unless someone was treating me given all 3 places were underwhelming.

Originally Posted by EL72

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So I'm continuing my survey of all the new gourmet burger places in town and thought I'd provide a quick report for those who care:

I went to BQM Burger Shoppe (Ossington/Dundas) on Saturday and the burger was awesome (medium rare sirloin burger

). Probably the best one I've had so far. Poutine was so-so but the fries were good. W Burger Bar on College@Yonge is a close second. I had the lamb burger and it was excellent. Need to try the beef soon. BQM and W are nice because they also serve beer...

Did your waistline grow? W has a 5 slider sampler or something which might have been easier for you to try. But I've been there 3 times since it opened up and every time I go their draught beer is unavailable. I haven't been by awhile.

Stockyards at St. Clair and Christie: the best bbq I have ever had.

Originally Posted by Mulder949

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Stockyards at St. Clair and Christie: the best bbq I have ever had.
It's not bad, but if you ever find yourself ordering one of their sandwiches, I recommend you ask them to go easy on the mayo. They like to drown them. Also, sitting by the door is recommended unless you want your clothes to smell like fried chicken for the next month or so.

Originally Posted by EL72

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So I'm continuing my survey of all the new gourmet burger places in town and thought I'd provide a quick report for those who care:

I went to BQM Burger Shoppe (Ossington/Dundas) on Saturday and the burger was awesome (medium rare sirloin burger

). Probably the best one I've had so far. Poutine was so-so but the fries were good. W Burger Bar on College@Yonge is a close second. I had the lamb burger and it was excellent. Need to try the beef soon. BQM and W are nice because they also serve beer...

I was disappointed with Burger Craft, Oh-Boy burger and Burger Priest. The burgers were not bad but not worthy of the hype they seem to be getting imo.

I was pleasantly surprised with Gourmet Burget Co (went to both Yonge/Eglington and Charles/Yonge) and also South Street Burger (many locations) despite being more corporate chains (and they don't have beer

). GBC gets the edge over South St. but SS is still a very respectable burger for a chain and light years ahead of all the frozen patty fast-food garbage out there.

I was really disappointed with GBC on Yonge/Eg...especially for the price of it. It was basically just really greasy and kinda flavourless. Also, they were sold out of chocolate milk

Originally Posted by tomgirl

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I was really disappointed with GBC on Yonge/Eg...especially for the price of it. It was basically just really greasy and kinda flavourless. Also, they were sold out of chocolate milk

You should hit up Loblaws. 4l Neilson for $5

Originally Posted by Redwoood

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You should hit up Loblaws. 4l Nelson for $5

For realsies? I don't even know what I'd do with that much chocolate-y goodness...

Carisma today east of Yonge and King past King Edward.

Lunch consisted of a virgin caesar, tomato juice, pinot grigio, a grilled calamari split between two people, which they did for us. Then entrees proceeded to an arctic char, not too heavily seasoned so it still had a fish taste, although that might turn some people off. I had the veal scallopini with grilled eggplant and buffalo mozarella. Mozarella was great. Grilled eggplant, I didn't think it was any better than I have ate elsewhere but Joanne Kates raved about it. Scallopini was above average.

I liked the cutlery, which was wedgwood and the service. The only fault was picking up our coats. Our server had no idea where the maitre'd put our coats so we had to hunt and it's not easy given even my chesterfield is being picked by many gents in the city.

The portions are healthy but I did wish some were smaller so you can actually finish it. According to the papers, this place used to be Il Munio or something midtown.

Cappucino was nothing to write home about.

$95 + tip for lunch for 2.


Evening was spent grabbing a pint at Cambridge Club, then dinner at Hernando's where my dining mate and I grabbed whiskeys which is a rarity at a faux Mexican place (???), and then grabbed cognacs at the Bottom Line watching the Leafs lose ($43+ tip).


Every place was booked up for Christmas parties from Yonge and Front till St. Lawrence. I even strolled into O&B trying to get something.

I was home for a week over American thanksgiving (am in Colorado now) and my friends took me to a new place on Dundas West that was very very very good. Hipster, yes, but excellent food and good wine list. It's called Brockton General, menu changes often - comfort food, a lot of root vegetables, stew, meat tapenades, etc. Very good. http://www.brocktongeneral.com/

Lai Wa Heen for dinner yesterday.

Beef with scallions in hot casserole
Tea-leaf-smoked chicken with jellyfish.

The beef is not your usual casserole dish, more like they stir-fry it and then toss it into a hot casserole at your table. It was tasty, but nothing special.
The chicken is served slightly warm, not hot, the jellyfish cold. The skin has a very interesting taste due to the smoking. Interesting dish.

Overall, an ok evening, but not for the faint of heart in terms of fat consumed.

I wanted to dislike it, but parts and labour is really good. Have eaten there twice and both times very good food, excellence service and friendly wait staff that answer lots of questions and don't mind asking the kitchen if it can do small subs.

Best dish by far is the homemade candy tray.

They also have a good selection of cocktails.

Expect to pay $120 for dinner for two, tax, tip and a few drinks in.

Went to the Corner House Restaurant for dinner.
Being a converted residential building, it's a bit small and crowded and somewhat dark.

I had the butternut squash with potato puree soup, and the veal chop on garlic mashed potatoes with mushroom ragout. My companion had the lobster bisque and the Elk tenderloin on risotto and root vegetables. The food was quite good overall, the soups were very flavourful, the bisque had more than just the usual sprinkle of lobster (that you would find in many other places). My companion was especially fond of the Elk and the risotto; my dish was good, with the sauce being the highlight.

Unfortunately, the service was not up to the level of the food. The owner/hostess, probably in an attempt to create a familiar atmosphere, provided unnecessary commentary wrt how much of the food had been consumed by us. Much more annoyingly, the waiter seemed to think of himself as some kind of comedian, treating us with a kind of condescension that almost ruined the evening for us, especially me.
I was close to leaving or asking for an alternative server.

So overall, the poor service diminished what would have otherwise be a great experience, but the food was good enough to warrant another visit.

Bisto 990 tonight. My usual haunt. Wonderful as always.

Veal chop done medium. Not bad, but wish I went with the filet, especially considering price. Friend had rare duck and loved it.