Author Archives: markaaronpolger

Chez Cora

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Chez Cora/Cora’s 6250 blvd. Cousineau St-Hubert, QC 450-443-5624

Several locations across Quebec & Ontario, including:

Locations in Quebec

http://www.chezcora.com/Main-en/Trouver-en.htm#Quebec

Locations in the GTA

4120 Dixie Road,
Mississauga
(905) 624-1297

Unit 13, 16655 Yonge St.,
Newmarket
(905) 954-1317

277 Wellington St., West (at Blue Jays Way)
Toronto
(416) 598-2672

My dad & I went for brunch on Boxing Day 2004, and he actually chose the spot. I was quite impressed; I would not expect him to choose a restaurant like this. I�ve been to Chez Cora in a few other spots in Montr�al before, like on Peel St. and in Old Montreal, and have always enjoyed my experiences.

In Montreal, you have a choice of smoking vs. non-smoking, & as my father’s a smoker, he was happy that such a choice exists.

We walked in at the right time; within seconds there was a lineup out the door behind us. We were seated and got our coffees quickly. This place was mighty busy, as reflected in the volume coming from conversations throughout the restaurant. The dining area is open concept (what is the point then of differentiating smoking vs. non I don�t know), and is family friendly. Although the menus are in French, our friendly waitress Mado was bilingual, and able to answer our questions when my French failed me.

The restaurant is fully licensed (beer with your bagel anyone?), and specializes in breakfast and brunch. They serve all the standards like eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes & things like that, and after 11 they start to serve more savoury items like burgers alongside the breakfasts. They are most known for the massive portions of nicely presented fresh fruit that accompany most meals here, my meal having been one of them, (my father’s was not), as well as the always generous portions.

My father is not a frequent brunch goer, so he wanted a standard breakfast style meal. He ordered Eggs Maurice, $6.95 which is as close as one will get to a traditional breakfast here. His meal included 2 eggs, which he asked for over easy, sausages, potatoes, toast & baked beans. He initially said his eggs were perfect, and later changed his verdict to underdone. I�ll have to take his word for that as I do not eat eggs. We were both somewhat surprised by the fact that his �sausages� were actually hot dogs!?! How weird is that? The menu said �saucisse fume� which technically is the direct translation of a hot dog, but still it seemed odd. At least it was a jumbo. We asked the waitress to explain & oddly enough, Eggs Maurice happened to be the only meal on the menu that had hot dogs instead of a regular breakfast sausage. Oh well, it tasted fine. It was odd, but live & learn.

My meal on the other hand more closely resembled a typical Cora breakfast. My meal was called Sarrasin de Galette $8.95. This meal included 3 sausages (standard breakfast ones this time) wrapped in buckwheat crepes, topped with melted cheddar both inside & outside the crepe with mixed fruit on the side. My mountain of fresh fruit included watermelon, grapes, pears, apples, oranges pineapple, & kiwi all decoratively carved & was quite the impressive display. I was able to get them to omit the bananas � no problem 

My food was quite good, and the portion was so big I needed to take some of it to go. My dad gave a mixed review to the potatoes, but was very impressed with the baked beans, said they tasted homemade. I tried some they really were good! He said the beans were the best thing on the plate & his plate was so big, he couldn�t finish his meal either. His one comment was �everything is very good, but I didn�t expect hot dogs�. I�d have to agree with him on that.

All in all, this was a positive dining experience & I�ve been here before & will definitely be going back many more times. I’ve not yet been to any Toronto locations, however I�m interested to try them out soon.

Okonomi House

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23 Charles
416 925-6176

 

Definitely not vegetarian friendly at all. Vegetarians beware! Located right at Charles near Bloor right beside 7 West and across from the Manulife Centre, this cosy dim-lit 10 table space has been serving Japanese food for many years, claims my friend

The menu is 2 pages, very simple. It’s divided into main dishes, okonomi yaki [Japanese egg pancake], side ordders, beverages, and desserts. Main dishes include teriyakis served with rice and stir fried vegetables. Items include beef, chicken, salmon, yakiniku, tofu, and seafood teriyaki. Also included is a yakisoba and seafood yakisoba dish. All dishes are made with chicken or fish stock so let them know WAY before hand that you’re vegetarian. Side orders include miso soup (not vegetarian), noodle soup, stir fried vegetables, rice, green salad, seafood salad, sunomono, and edamame.

The Okonomi Yaki, an egg pancake fried with vegetables with your choice of either beef, chicken, pork, bacon, vegetable, shrimp, squid, scallop, ($5.25-$5.85) or seafood deluxe ($9.95).

Unfortunately the vegetable okonomi yaki is made with fish stock so I was stuck ordering the tofu teriyaki ($6.05)but the teriyaki sauce is fish vbased so my dish was flavoured was soy sauce, how tasteless and salty.

Okonomi House also serves plum wine, saki, and a variety of Japanese and domestic beers ($4.40-$8.50). I’ve notived that many Japanese restaurants do not meet the needs of vegetarians. It seems all of their vegetable dishes include a lot of beansprouts but no real vegetables. For example, I ordered a side of stir fried vegetables ($2.95). In terms of vegetables, there were very few brocolli and carrot, but most of the vegetables were bean sprouts which are not that filling, mostly containing water and fibre. Daniel ordered the Salmon Teriyaki which came with Salmon marinated in a nice sauce. He loved it. It came with rice glass noodles, rice, and some vegetables. I think he was very happy with his meal. He also ordered a beer as well [The Japanese Sapporo $4.10]

Excellent prices, all under $10.00 and excellent, well informed service. Thank goodness the waiter told me about the fact that hardly anything was truly vegetarian.

Unfortunately, I do not think I’ll go back to Okonomi House since there are no dishes for me there and although service was great, they were not accomodating or flexible. Accepts credit card and Interac. Open late. Liquor license.

Sidhartha, The

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The Sidhartha – Fine Indian Cuisine
1450 Gerrard St. E
416-465-4095

30 Eglinton East
416-485-5552

See also East Indian, Little India, Yonge/Eglinton

My general impression of Sidartha was that is was significantly nicer in atmosphere than one would expect from a dinner buffet at $9.99! The lunch buffet runs at $7.99 and I’m sure it is just as nice. You can dine in or take out, which I think is fantastic for a buffet. Of course, itf you take out, it’s just the 1 plate, but still, how much can you eat, really? If buffets are not your thing, there is an extensive menu to order from.

My friend & I went for the buffet & it was really good, we kept finding more & more things to eat that we practically stuffed ourselves silly. There were both meat & vegetarian options, pakoras, chicken tikka, vegetable curry & much more. My friend Shane really loved this restaurant – he hadn’t even finished his dessert & he said how much he was looking forward to his next visit. Now that’s the sign of an excellent dining experience!

The really nice & unusual thing about this place is that despite the buffets & great prices, the atmosphere was warm & inviting, they decorated each table with real flowers, instead of fakes, & the big surprise – it was QUIET! What a relaxing way to eat!

All in all with taxes & tip the meal came to $26. Sidartha also caters & has banquet facilities for 100 people. They also do free delivery on orders over $30.

Paradise Ethiopian and Canadian Cuisine

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950 Danforth Ave
(416) 416-406-6342

Located right at Danforth between Jones and Donlands, this cosy Ethiopian restaurant serves up traditional Ethiopian dishes, most under $10.00. Wendy and I went for dinner last Friday night and we had quite the adventure.

First of all, it was quite amusing to see such a small menu (only 2 pages) that consisted of one chicken dish and mostly lamb dishes and one popular vegetarian dish. The whole menu was shameful since it was full of atrocious spelling errors. How funny and incredibly embarassing.

The other thing that we found out right away was that our waitress did not understand any English. She tried though, but she could not fool us. She did smile a lot and say “yes” very often but we could have asked her if we could bomb the restaurant and she’d smile and say YES. We could have asked her to give us all the cash in her register and Wendy and I could be sure she’s say YES. We expected the ambiance to be tacky and cheesy but it was not. With authentic acrylic paintings of typical scenes in Ethiopia and calm African-inspired music, the setting seemed perfect but was made slightly tacky by the big screen TV at the corner of the restaurant that featured basketball. How tacky!

Our dishes were served within 3 minutes so i suspect some microwaving was involved. I ordered the vegetarian special for $10- which included a split pea curry type dish, a spicy orange lentil curry, a cabbage and potato curry, a spinach type curry, salad, and tasteless salt-free feta cheese. When we asked the waitress what this mysterious dairy product was, she said “yogourt” and we looked at her in a weird way.

Her permanent smile remained locked and we asked her to check to see if it was Feta cheese. I was certain it was salt free feta cheese. Afterall, it’s on the Danforth and the Danforth is known as Greektown. When she came back, she told us it was feta cheese–according to Wendy pretty awful feta cheese.
Wendy ordered the Doro Wat, a dark chicken in a dark curry with a hard boiled egg in the middle ($10). Wendy was not impressed since she wanted chicken breast and not chicken leg and she hates eggs of all types.

Our food was fresh, healthy, tasty, and very filling. All dishes were served in injera bread, thin flat sour dough sheets that capture the food since cutlery was not used in Ethiopian cuisine. We ordered drinks Mango nectar ($2) and soda ($2). All prices include tax so our bill came out to $22 including drinks. Not bad. The only problem was when we received our bill, we got two bills, one with the prices before tax and one bill with the prices after tax. Both bills came out to be $28.14 but we added up the prices after tax to be $22.00
What a frustrating experience.

The waitress could not communicate with us as her English skills lacked considerably. She also could not add as our bill came out to a completely different price than expected. What a funny and frustrating experience. Wendy and I agree that we’ll probably not go back to Paradise Ethiopian and Canadian cuisine. Although the food was good, the service was out of the ordinary and the staff were slightly aloof and spaced out. I found that the waitress who did not speak any English made it difficult to convey what we wanted. Even in multicultural Toronto, basic English communications skills is somewhat important, isn’t it?

Babylon

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 553 Church
Phone: (416) 923-2626

Situated on Church street north of Wellesley in an old 3 storey century old brick Victorian house, this place is an unpretentious place to relax and unwind. They have over 250 flavours of vodka Martinis, all home made from marinated and flavoured vodkas. All Martinis are $8.50. The menu is very small and limited. They serve a typical green salad, french fries (thinly cut and home made) perogies, caesar salad, hamburgers and some sandwiches that are perfect for late night munching.

Don’t expect a full course dinner at Babylon as the emphasis is on the drinks. They also serve beer as well. Cosy and comfortable with an operating fireplace on the main level, exposed brick, leather couches, small tables, intimate enclaves where friends or couple can chat privately, and an all around intimate setting. Some Martinis that caught my eye were the Chocolate martini with creme de menthe and coconut, The Fag Hag, Mango, Peach, Lime, Green Apple, and other fruity and lollypop flavours. Open late, accepts all credit cards.

7 Numbers [Wendy]

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Mark & I went to eat at Seven Numbers Danforth the other day, and discovered just how quickly this new location has become a local favourite. In fact, we showed up without a reservation, we just went on a whim, & had to wait about 30 minutes for a table as the place was really crowded, but it looked like a fun dining adventure, so we didn?t mind. Once seated, we studied the menu posted on the blackboards which changes daily. This is one of those Italian restaurants where everything is ordered separately, & is itemized by Antipasti, Primi, Secondi & Contorni. Family style dinners are available for 5 people or more (I suspect only with reservations). In fact, reservatioins are required for 6 people or more.

I started my meal off with a nice glass of Valpolicella ($9). I scoured the antipasti selection & considered many of the options such as pan fried calamari, prosciutto with figs salad, pan fried olives & focaccia, cheese plate ? the possibilities were plenty, & finally I decided upon the buffalo mozzarella with bresaola & truffle oil which was melt in your mouth fantastic ? I chose well, though I?m sure I?d have felt the same way about any of those other options.

There was again a decision to be made about my main course? I considered Rosa?s ossobuco, the grilled long & thick Italian sausage, the grilled tuna w/spicy tomatoes or the tilapia fillet, and decided upon the Veal Braciola (wrapped veal with spinach & romano cheese baked in tomato & white wine). I am not generally a veal person, but this was really good & had a bit of a spicy kick too ? nice to warm you up on a cold night. Now, as I stated before, things need to be ordered separately, so when you order the veal, that?s it ? no side dishes included at all (i.e. rice, potatoes vegetables, salad ? nothing) so, I ordered a green salad to accompany my veal. It was a simple mixed green salad with an herbed balsamic vinaigrette, & surprisingly substantial for $2.

I finished my meal off with a citrus tarte with semi sweet chocolate. I loved the flavour combination, but found the crust on the bottom a bit overcooked. My Americano was a nice accompaniment to the tarte.

All in all with taxes & tip my portion of the meal came to $46 which isn?t too bad when you consider all I had. If you aren?t paying attention, your bill can come as a bit of a surprise as all of the individual elements look so cheap on their own (i.e. $9 for the buffalo mozza, $9.5 on the veal, etc, but it does all add up.

The food was quite good, the service was friendly, the atmosphere was warm, despite the volume level. This is not a place to have a quiet conversation, as you will find yourself yelling just to be heard by your dinnermate across the table. The buzz is distinct. The one thing I found a bit off-putting was the fact that when I attempted to pay in cash, the waitress said they didn?t have change, that they did not have a cash register or float? WTF?!? All restaurants have floats, you have to have a variety of payment options available for your customers. At no point was the statement made to provide exact change only. I did not want to put it on a credit card & it didn?t look like the type of place to have interact. There was no way I was giving her a $14 tip on a $46 bill. I sent her back to look for more & of course she found some change.

Other than that oddity, the meal was pleasant. I would go back, and bring a credit card.

 

 

Omonia

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426 Danforth Ave
416-465 2129

 

Located right on the Danforth at Danforth at Arundel near Chester subway station, next door to another famous Greek establishment Kalyvia. Known to the community as a traditional Greek dining establishment since 1978, this place holds over 200 seats spread across 2 dining rooms, looks old, rustic, and woody, looks kind of dark, need brightening up, [maybe a renovation?], looks kind of 70’s or 80’s, comfortable cosy ambiance, with wood chairs and comfortable tables

The kitchen is open and exposed to patrons. Pedestrians can see what’s cooking from the street. Omonia offers catering and delivery. Place can be rented for special events. In the summer, there is a 140 seat outdoor terrace, open during the summer

There are some vegetarian items, in a vegetarian section of the menu (Vegetarian mousaka, Vegetarian pita, Spanakopita (4 for $7.95), Hummus (excellent but slightly oily for $5.95), and Green/Greek Salad

Accepts all cards, friendly service, casual, and very unpretentious crowd

Cultures [chain]

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 416-626-6868
<br />The West Mall,
<br />M9C 1B8
<br />416-860-9313
120 Adelaide Street West,
M5H 1T1
416-204-1592
505 University Avenue
M5G 1X3

416-364-1215
Toronto Dominion Centre
416-486-5312
43 Eglinton Avenue East,
M4P 1A2

416-863-0647
Standard Life Centre,
M5H 3T9

416-865-0535
Royal Bank Plaza,
M5G 2J6
416-921-5732
175 Bloor E,
M4W 3R8
416-927-1544
2 Bloor Street West
M4W 3E2
416-495-1511
416-593-9647
317 Dundas Street West,
M5T 1G4
200 King Street West,

Cultures is similar to Quebec’s Fontaine Sante, a casual, affordable healthy alternative to fast food. Conveniently located in most food courts in downtown Toronto Cultures offers quick and healthy salads, sandwiches, wraps, quiches, smoothies, and fruit salads for business people who are on the go but want something healthier for lunch than just burgers and fries.

I went with a friend to the location at King and University, conveniently located on the ground level of the building. Sometimes located on its own on the first floor of most office towers, away from food courts, Cultures caters to business folk who are counting their calories and who want food that is not fried but fresh and contains green leafy vegetables. Cultures also offers freshly squeezed juices, healthy soups, wraps, pitas, quiche, frozen yogourt fruit smoothies, and healthy sandwiches.

The place is set up like a type food court restaurant: cafeteria style. Usually containing about 10-15 tables, most Cultures are clean, spacious, and have comfortable seating. For lunch that day, I ordered three choices of salad for $4.99 [good price!]-consisting of chick peas and corn in an Italian viniagrette, brocoli and celery in a sweet paprika dressing, and marinated vegetables. Other salad options included a fresh medley of vegetables as well as pasta salad

Other meals include chicken and fish sandwiches on a variety of breads, wraps, frozen yogourt in a cup, frozen yogourt smoothie. Complete meals with drink under $7.00

Rashnaa

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307 Wellesley Street East.
416-929-2099

Rashnaa is an intimate little South Indian and Sri Lankan restaurant right on Wellesley near Parliament. Very unassuming and modest in design, with non-kitschy decor, very cosy, and romantic. It is a great place to bring a first date who loves South Indian cuisine.

Rashnaa is formally a small workman’s Victorian house on two levels. The first floor contains about 10 small tables with an upper level with one table and bathrooms. The upper floor contains one table that sits 4 and bathrooms. There is a large backyard terrace that is beautiful.

Opened for 15 years, Rashnaa’s reputation as one of the finest South Indian and Sri Lankan restaurants has been established through word of mouth. With high quality, vegetarian friendly, affordable and fresh cuisine I can tell you I had a very satisfying experience

When Daniel and I went there for dinner, he had the butter chicken with vegetables and a potato curry. I ordered the vegetable delight, a medley of potato, eggplant, and breadfruit curry (in a coconut curry sauce), a green pea and cashew curry (YUM), a lentil curry, and a spinach curry, that comes with basmati rice (I omitted the rice and ordered roti instead). The waiter was impressed that I opted for vegetarian dishes that he brought out samples of other South Indian curries: a delicious roasted beet curry with coconut curry sauce (to die for!) and a curried eggplant that resembled traditional Jewish eggplant.

The food and service was fabulous and my dish was only $8.95. There are many options for vegetarians as well as a variety of wonderful breads (naan, and various vegetables rotis). Most curries are made with ghee or coconut milk (specific to South Indian dishes). Ghee is clarified butter, very rich and may be difficult on the stomach. Accepts credit card. Casual ambiance. Licensed.

Crepes A GoGo

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I happened to be around St. George & Bloor looking for lunch. I could see many standard spots like Tim Horton’s, Harvey’s Swiss Chalet, etc, & then it caught my eye Crepes A GoGo – I knew I had to go. This restaurant is on Bedford, just a few steps south of Bloor on the East side of the street. The French music played outside lures you in and sets the tone of your upcoming adventure in food.

This same music is played inside & which contributes to the décor & the warm, friendly & inviting French café atmosphere, complete with postcards & photographs of Paris adorning the walls. Patrons are greeted by Véronique, the owner of the establishment who also helps the indecisive like myself place their order. Most people ordered in French! Ha! This place is a true oasis of French culture in the heart of Toronto.

There are both sweet desert crepes and savory meal crepes, both in set combinations or you can customize your order. 98% of the menu is vegetarian, they do offer tuna or lox on a couple of the crepes. The crepe prices range from $3.75-$5.95, and they also serve sandwiches on French bread for $4.95. There was no need for plates, as the crepes are served in a paper bag, ideal for take out. It works fine too if you want to eat in. The beverage selection includes coffee, cappuccino, limonata, orangina, V8, etc. This is not a licensed establishment.

Talk about "fast food" – my crepe was ready before I sat down! I ordered La Popeye baby spinach, mozzarella, & your choice of egg or mushrooms  I took mushrooms. It arrived piping hot & delicious. It was quite filling at a reasonable $5.95. I chose the very best bevvie on the menu – apple cider from Normandy. This was $2.75/ glass or $8.50/bottle (the size of a wine bottle!) This was sooooooo delicious; I could easily sit there & drink it all day! This drink had no sugar or preservatives & just apples & it tasted very fresh & bubbly, well worth the visit on its own!

The restaurant is currently fairly small, 4 tables, but evidently they will be expanding due to its increasing popularity – and for good reason. The food was excellent; the service was speedy, warm & inviting, friendly which somehow is reflected in the patrons who frequent the establishment. People were relaxed & comfortable chatting with other patrons, one even offered to help someone pay for their bill when they were a few cents short & definitely not your everyday café.

My trip to Crepes A GoGo left me feeling refreshed & relaxed, as if I had been transported on a mini-break to Europe. This place is well worth frequent repeated trips! Definitely check it out.