Laura's Resto Diary: $$$

Showing posts with label $$$. Show all posts

KOKO Share Bar

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/koko-share-bar-toronto#hrid:GMb9wzkEzOPGtigM2yc_PA

To try.

One of the only more classier restaurants on Baldwin, although I do like Bocca as well, Bodega typically serves really good french food, esp for lunch and dinner, but on this Valentine's Day, Alexey surprised me by going here for Brunch!

I didn't even know they had brunch. It was quite good. Quiet at 11:30am, but being inside the house, wooden floor and fireplace made it really romantic.

We started with the Foie Gras. Thought we'd splurge on Vday. It was super filling and super yummy. Their house speciality they said.

I forgot to bring my camera, and I'm impressed with the Iphone photos, given the proper lighting.

The menu selection included some omlettes, salads, pancakes, french toast and eggs benedict. I can't resist not ordering the eggs benny.

Plenty of home made hollendaise. Eggs perfectly cooked on top of peameal and on a croissant (i love when they do that).

On the side wasn't potato, it was radish, which was a healthy change.

But I really disliked the bak choy that was on the side. And it was kinda dirty (i know it won't kill me, but if I see it, it upsets me).

I don't get my a regaulr green salad wouldn't do.

Alexey got the pancakes. and THEY were the "best pancakes I've ever had"

They don't look like much, but these blueberry filled pancakes were moist, and not dry, and filled with sweet goodness. And the super french cream and maple syrup were awesome.

The Drake

Brunch menu didn't look so amazing, but would love to try the dinner!!

http://www.thedrakehotel.ca/_ftp/menus/dining.pdf

- Oysters 6 for $20
- BBq Smoked Ribs
- Beef Brisket
- Chicken Fricasse

- DRakE BURgER

Kerr Farms’ beef, bacon, white cheddar and

russian dressing with hand cut french fries 16

- Braised Beef Perogies

- Mac Cheese sides

and daily specials

Lunch in the Lounge looks okay too

Enoteca (Hong Kong)

I'm having a hard time catching up with ALL the restaurants that I ate in, in Hong Kong. But I'm slowly getting there.

This great little tapas restaurant is on Elgin, in Soho. My friend Fanny picked Enoteca, and it was a nice surprise. I'm usually apprehensive about tapas that it will be expensive per plate and not filling at all, (from some other experiences in Toronto)

It was pretty affordable and ended up to be about $40-50 per person CDN.

We started with a melted brie appetizer. The brie was warm and melty, with a steamed/roasted garlic on the side (that didn't taste like garlic at all). The Toasted brioche type bread was crunchy but soft in the middle.

We also got an appetizer platter. Shrimp, Calamari, Olives, garlic pesto bread, and some other seafood.

This was my favourite. The lamb chops with a goat cheese on top. It was smokey and juicy.

This was a fish with creamy sauce. It's been so long I can't remember :(

The Blackened Salmon, with a Aioli. It was really good, crunchy, but soft and semi cooked in the inside.

For dessert, we got a molten chocolate cake.

Escada - Macau

While walking around the old city near Senado Square, we passed by this restaurant while looking for Caravela. We went back to it for a quick lunch before heading out of Macau.

I don't know much about Macau/Portugese cusine to know what to expect, but we heard that African Chicken in Macau is a must try. It didn't seem prevalent in any menus, so we thought that Escada is special enough to serve it.

The chicken was covered in a type of spicy peanutty paste. It was really good, and I wish I wasn't sick so I could have enjoyed it. If someone out there knows if this IS authentic, or what it's supposed to look like/taste like, please comment.

We also ordered a salted codfish. I saw this in most menus, and thought we would try. There were different dishes, but the waitress was suggesting for 'asian' people we would like 'wet' version, rather than the dry.

It was very very very salty. Too salty. Difficult to eat with out the side of white rice.

Is it supposed to be like this?

Superior Restaurant

I came here twice before, once on a pre-formal dinner party in high school, and once again with parents. I always liked the food here, and it seems like a staple in the middle of downtown Toronto.

I've come across it again while looking for a pre-theatre place to eat. It would be nice choice if you want something a bit higher level than 3 brewers, or Jack Astors.

http://www.superiorrestaurant.com/menus.html

Buca

New restaurant that just opened hidden beside Cheval. Authentic Italian food. Karmen suggested I should try because I like Terroni so much. Same owner as Brassaii

See the Toronto Life Review below.

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On a cold Saturday night, we visited the restaurant. Hidden behind in the alleyway, a glass door invites you to go downstairs and try some authentic Italian food. The menu had so much variety. Although a little hard to read, unless you're familiar with Italian phrasing, and in addition to the dim lights, the appetizers are on the right, and the cured meats (in house) and cheeses to the left. It seems like the menu changes on a a regular basis, so i'm excited to try this place in the future.

2 room in the restaurant, one with a very high ceiling, with exposed bricks, give a really rustic feel. A smaller room at the back for more intimate dining, I guess.

They cure their own meats in a back room near the smaller dining room. you can choose 3 or 5 different types $15/25. It includes pork, lamb, and other delicacies.

We spent forever deciding. The Waiters were patient and VERY knowledgeable about the food.

From the appetizers we ordered the "garlic balls", or more officially, the Bread Knots or Nodini.

Crisp on the outside, tender on the side, infused with garlic, butter and sea salt. (I apologize for the weird orange photos, it was VERY dim in there, and no candles)

We also ordered the Crispy Artichokes. I'm not a fan of Artichokes, but it was yummy. But just an Artichoke tempura.

The Cervello Lamb sweet bread was SO flavourful and tender. Not sure what it was covered by, I believe a cured meat. Dip was a type of salsa.

For the mains, we decided to share because we wanted to try it all. I couldn't resist my favourite Spaghetti Alla Corbonara, with some pigs belly, mounds of cheese, black pepper and fresh hen's egg. They mixed it at the table. It was amazing, a bit salty, but the al dente pasta and all the flavours, was the best I've tasted.

The Gnocchi was the best. I should have listened. The best Gnocchi I think I've tasted. With Gorgonzola cheese sauce, with walnuts, the Gnocchi, was pillowy and incredibly soft. The crunchy walnuts was a perfect compliment.

The duck egg tagliatelle with duck ragù was okay. Salty a bit, but very full of flavour.

For dessert we shared a Calonni (not Canneloni). YUM... filled with a chocolate custard, and on top of Earl Grey infused sauce it was incredible.

I think this is my new favourite restaurant. And Terroni, i would love to go again. I feel like eating all of this all over again!!!

And i like the lights

Just opened: Buca

The brains behind Brassaii, Jacobs and Co. and soon-to-be-opened The Saint are adding yet another restaurant to their empire, this one tucked away in the alley beside Cheval on the ritzy King Street strip. The week-old Buca is serving Italian fare by executive chef Rob Gentile, a former sous-chef at One, Bymark and North 44°.

“The kind of food we do here is what you’ll eat at the family table in Italy. It’s the food I grew up with,” he says, sitting in Buca’s dimly lit back room, which will open to diners next week (Penelope Cruz enjoyed a private dinner when she was here for TIFF last month). He’s flanked by hanging meats that he cures himself. Every Thursday, an entire animal is brought in, and every part of it is used; even the pork fat is used to make shells for cannoli.)

Daily menus are printed and date stamped each morning. Prices are in the standard King Street range of $15 to $25, and the dishes fall into the usual categories: antipasti, pizza, pasta, meat, fish, small plates, raw. On the day we visited, dishes included an Ontario heirloom tomato salad ($12) with Gentile’s 30-year-old vinegar; duck egg tagliatelle with duck ragù ($18); and funghi pizza ($18) with lobster, mushrooms and mascarpone. Vegetarians need not be intimidated by the giant leg of prosciutto near the entrance; there are plenty of veggie options on the menus.

The space in which all of this is served used to be a boiler room. Co-owner Peter Tsebelis says he netted the place in November 2006 but had to delay the opening due to a moratorium on liquor licences in the area (it’s not just Ossington that’s too hip for the city). It’s easy to imagine that this was a 19th-century utility space; the old brick walls remain, set off by dark woods and bare light bulbs—the kind more commonly seen in a mine shaft. Though the restaurant looks effortlessly put together, the before picture is quite tragic: there was no floor, just sand and a giant boiler that had to be taken out in pieces. “The architecture of the place is very simple and clean,” says Tsebelis. “Much like the food.”

Buca, 602 King St. W., 416-865-1600.

Madeline's

used to be Susur. Still under his direction.

Looks fusiony. http://www.susur.com/madelines/menu.html

Crispy garlic Cornish hen with 17

gorgonzola cheese sauce and
sautéed apple

Hand rolled spinach ricotta 18

gnocchi with garlic, chili, basil,
pine nuts, portobello mushrooms,
lemon juice, aged reggiano and olive oil

Slow cooked pork belly with 17

celery root, potato, cilantro
seedling and currant jam

Toronto Life Review: (2.5 Stars)

Even though Susur Lee is busy with his Manhattan project, he has held on to his old place on King West, reinventing it as a simpler spot that can run without him. Named for his mother, the restaurant has undergone an opulent make-over, creating a mood that’s somewhere between a cozy Moroccan tea room and a New Orleans bordello. Lee’s long-time sous, Dominic Amaral, is chef and collaborator on the menu of European apps that begins with Welsh rarebit toasts, the molten cheese-and-beer mix spiked with summer truffle compote. The recipe for braised pork belly comes from the eponymous Madeline: the meat is sweet, paired with currant jam and potato-celeriac mash. A hold-over from Susur, the small, eclectic wine list is full of cult producers, but, with few bottles under $80, it’s disconnected from the restaurant’s scaled-back intentions. Mains $18–$25.