Serra

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378 Bloor W
(416) 944-9211

You want a trendy place with tiny portions, oversize plates, with a pretentious atmosphere, then try Serra in the Annex. With small glass tables, close together, the place serves Italian meals, very elegant and high-end cuisine at expensive prices. I had a pasta dish with tampanade and sauteed vegetables. Since I am on a low carboyhydrate diet, there was no problem since the portions were tiny. The bread was exquisite with different dips ranging from a spicy humus in a tiny little dipping bowl to a funky tapanade. The plates are oversize, the prices are ridiculous and the food is very very good. The pasta dish was fabulous, exploding with the aroma and flavour of olive oil, delicate herbs and spices, chunks of olives, garlic, tomatoes, artichokes, and grilled eggplant.

Marche Movenpick (now Richtree markets)

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For a list of Marche Movenpick locations, please visit this web site
http://www.richtree.ca/richtree-locations.htm

A paradise of food, a marketplace of wonderful dishes, pasta, soups, stir fries, grilled vegetables, wine and beer, farm fresh fruit and vegetables, heavenly desserts from chocolate truffles to orgasmic crepes and Belgiam waffles, and gift items like chocolate, candy, and boxed coffee and tea. There is something for everyone here.

This place serves a large variety that pleases even the most finicky eaters. Food ranges from steak and potatoes to pizza to pasta to mussels and seafood to healthy salads and grilled vegetables.

The game goes as follows: you enter this martketplace and the waiter hands you a ticket and a map of all food kiosks. Your ticket is your credit card for all of the food in this market. You are warned not to lose the ticket or else you will have to pay $100 or wash the dishes for a couple of days. You freely visit any food kiosk and choose whatever food you want to eat. You choose a plate size and vendors stamp your card and then you pay for your dinner at the end of the evening. In total, you will get charged over 30% in tax which sucks. [This includes the PST + GST]

The only disadvantage is that the place is noisy and it almost feels like a glorified food court. You hardly ever dine with your friends or family because someone is either eating or getting up to get more food. It is rare to have everyone at the table all at once

I always enjoy the same thing, a medium size plate of lentil salad with sesame oil and veggies and grilled mushrooms and zucchini and eggplant along with a corn salad and chick pea salad. I also order from the antipasto bar: grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, grilled mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes ($2.99 per 100 g)

I sometimes order a “made-to-order” fruit smoothie with bananas, strawberries, and other fruit. I can only complain that Marche Movenpick is damn expensive (because of the tax) There is underground parking.

Decor is like a closed in market with artificial plants, trees, waterfalls,
Water is served in a beautiful, kitschy fountain right by the entrance of the restaurant. Be warned, some nights there are lineups with waits up to one hour. Liquor licensed. Accepts all cards. A few locations across Toronto. Open 365 days per year from 7:30am-2:30am.

Fresh by Juice for Life

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Old location:
521 Bloor W, (416) 531-2635

894 Queen Street West
416-913-2720

New location on Bloor Street West :
326 Bloor Street West
416-531-2635
147 Spadina Avenue
416-599-4442

 Web site: www.juiceforlife.com, now (2009)- http://www.freshrestaurants.ca

Funky, colourful, cool, totally vegetarian and vegan friendly restaurant in the Annex, and another satellite location on Queen West. The food is expensive and completely vegetarian or vegan. The decor is trendy, busy, tables close together with little room to move around. The ambiance is funky and trendy. The tables are plain and the seats are hard and slightly uncomfortable.

There is a wide selection of fruit and vegetable juices and power smoothies and if you choose to dine alone, you can eat at the bar. I usually order a Power shake like the Chai Chiller, or the Date Almond Super Powershake, or the Blueberry Dreams. All shakes contain vanilla soy milk, bananas, other fruits, some protein and vitamin supplments, and other ingredients. I have been a frequent visitor to Juice for Life and I have always loved their shakes. 16oz shakes are $4.95, Super powershakes 16 oz are $5.95 and the larger sizes are $8.95 and $9.95 respectively. For my meal, there are items like a variety of funky salads, similar to Montreal’s Cafe Santropol and a variety of soups, salads, chili, veggie burgers, and fabulous, unique, and funky rice and noodle dishes. They also serve alcoholic drinks like beer and wine.

There are spicy Thai veggie burgers with Thai peanut sauce smothered on a veggie burger, and a variety of red bean, black bean, and Indian style chick pea wraps. If you want to add tofu steaks or a side of grilled tempeh, it costs an extra $1.00.

The average price for lunch and dinner entrees are the same $7.95-$10.95 and that’s expensive for a rice or noodle dish. Most of the dishes comprise of rice and a medley of vegetables. Some dishes I love are “The Beach”, “The Buddha”, “Ninja”, “Dragon” “Green Goddess”, “The Warrior”. There are a variety of delicious wraps: “The Kathmandu Wrap”, “The Black Bean Burrito”, “Red Bean Adzuki Wrap”, and the “Grilled Vegetable Wrap”. It’s important to add grilled tofu steaks or grilled tempeh if these dishes do not offer them. The grilled tofu and grilled tempeh is “to die for.” Some of the dishes are distinctly Asian and some are Indian in flavour.

The restaurant used to have a more “political” feel, that is, animal rights propaganda used to be placed on the walls and there are some anti-meat posters alongside the juice bar. Since opening its first restaurant on Bloor near Bathurst in the Annex (in 1995) the animal rights propaganda has literally disappeared over the years. As of 2004, there are other “Fresh by Juice For Life” locations at Queen near Spadina, and Queen near Shaw (where the old brunch place “Triple X” used to be. Since 1995, the Juice for Life has since changed brands to “Fresh by Juice for Life” and has basically become mainstream, with proper tables, booths, and fancy mirrors and cool and funky artwork on the walls.

There are a couple of booths in the back but most of the restaurant are composed of tables. The restaurant staff are eccentric and funky and most of the clientele are students or artists in their late 20’s. The food is fresh, portions are decent, but the prices are high for the type of food in this trendy, hip eatery.

Grapefruit Moon

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968 Bathurst Street
(416) 534-9056

Grapefruit Moon is a neighbourhood spot north of the Annex, at Bathurst near Dupont, owned and operated by the Moon sisters. They have a liquor license. It?s friendly, relaxed and has a warm neighborhood feel. Music, food, service and prices are all affordable.

It has a limited menu with a few selections. Only contains between three to five tables and serves home cooked food. Serves mostly vegetarian selections and the menu is quite small but there is much diversity in the selections.

Some vegetarian options include carrot ginger soup, quesadillas with choice of fillings, organic salad, veggie burgers, TLT’s – tempeh, lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

Funky, artsy decor and nice outdoor terrace (summer). Special brunch available on weekends. Highly recommend for the couple seeking a quiet intimate setting.

Friendly Thai, The

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500 Queen W
(416) 366-1221

Very funky, exotic ambiance, dimly lit, soothing, calm, atmosphere. They have a variety of mildly spicy, spicy, and very spicy authentic Thai dishes with many vegetarian selections. On my first visit to The Friendly Thai in September 2001, I ordered the vegetable stir fry with cashews and the portion was large and there were so many vegetables, it was a paradise for me. The sauce was wonderful and I was quite full. On my other visits, I had the vegetarian hot and sour soup which was very piping hot, very spicy and very fresh and flavourful. I then had the green vegetarian curry ( they also serve a red curry) with tofu and vegetables. Portions are decent and the food is fresh and tasty. Most items contain fish sauce or anchovy paste so if you are vegetarian, please notify staff. They are very accomodating.

Prices are reasonable, some below $10.00 but expect to pay between $10-$15 a plate. Very large menu with a vegetarian section. Many locations in the city but surprisingly does not have that “restaurant chain” ambiance. This particular location is in the heart of Queen West between Spadina and Bathurst.

Annapurna

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1085 Bathurst Street
416-537-8513

Annapurna, located right at Bathurst and Dupont, in the upper Annex, is considered one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in Canada. They serve healthy vegetarian and vegan food in Indian and Italian style. Some items to mention are three soups made fresh everyday, including French onion soup. Other dishes include the Masala Dosa, a south-Indian crepe filled with spicy potatoes, lentil puree, served with coconut chutney. They also have fresh fruit smoothies (lassis) made with yogourt, soya milk, or fruit only. I have ordered a medly or Indian dishes here and have always left feeling happy, light, and refreshed. This food will not make you feeling bloated and full but feeling energized as the food is light and healthy.

As mentioned on other reviews, Annapurna has been serving tofu and bean sprouts before it became North American trendy.

Decor is plain and simple, in a cosy, intimate dining area of less than ten tables, surrounded by books and literature on meditation, spirituality, in an earthy green and earth-toned decor. The menu is contains food that is additive-free, low salt and low fat.

The food is cheap, vegetarian, flavourful, and very creative. I ordered the daily special – a plate of soy spaghetti with a zesty tomato sauce. It was about $5.95. They have Indian drinks called Lassis (a yogourt shake with mango, plain sweet, or plain salty) and some traditional Indian dishes. They also serve non-Indian vegetarian dishes as well. Every dish is made so healthy, light, and fresh, one may forget that this place is vegetarian. This place is non-political, non-ideological, and not trendy. Prices are quite low ($5-$8 for an entree).

Insomnia

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563 Bloor St. W., 416-588-3907

Located right in the Annex at Bloor and Bathurst, this bistro/bar/cafe is named for its late, late hours. The kitchen cooks till 3:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. “Tapas” here means caesar, mesclun and Greek salads, along with crab cakes, soup and calamari. My friend ordered a thick tortilla soup and he said it was very tasty. I did not eat anything but I did take a look at the extensive menu.

They serve many French dishes, like an eight-ounce strip loin with peppercorn ($17.00), Mediterranean dishes (capon stuffed with spinach, peppers and chèvre which is $16.00) and Asian (curried mussels are $8). As you can see there are no vegetarian healthy dishes for me, so the hell with them. They do serve pasta dishes ($13.00–$15.99) and thick-crust pizzas ($11.00–$12.00).

Generous desserts are led by a flourless chocolate cake known as the Climax ($6.00). Prices are way too high for me and there are not enough vegetarian dishes but I may try this place again in the near future.

Green Room

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296 Brunswick Avenue
(416) 929-3253

Open Mon 12am-2am, 11am-2am; Tue-Sat 11am-2am; Sun 11am-12am

Hidden behind Future Bakery in the Annex, this place can be categorized as grungy, earthy, funky, smoky, and ecclectic. With mismatched chairs and a dark, pub-like ambiance, this casual bar/cafe is a great place to hang out and enjoy some decent vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes, all at a cheap prices.

Quality is not high, but most patrons go for the alcohol, not the food.  Green room, like its sister cafe Red Room, offer a large variety of beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages.

Serre Picasso

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6810 St Jacques St
Montreal, QC H4B 1V8
Phone: (514) 484-2832

Open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, Serre Picasso has been serving up a large variety of North American fare for the past 25 years. With affordable prices, huge portions, and specializing in HUGE complete breakfasts. Located in the West End on seedy St. Jacques, on the 90 bus route, near Vendome metro station, this popular all night hang out for teenas, psot-clubing, and St. Jacques folk is right next door to a strip club. Ambiance is very low, if not kitschy and seedy.

With a large selection of unhealthy vegetarian options, and great all-inclusive breakfast specials. Breakfast specials are served the whole day and include eggs and bacon, pancakes, French toast, and Belgian waffles. Breakfast is not the only thing on the menu. They serve submarine sandwiches, pizza, steaks, hot dogs, hamburgers, souvlakis, Caesar salads, pasta and much, much more, there’s something for everyone at the Picasso all-night diner. Sits more than four hundred diners in this restaurant, divided into 4 sections. With a laid back ambiance, a diner-type decor, this family-style eatery is worth the visit. Accepts all cards.

St-Viateur Bagels

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263 St-Viateur west
(514) 276-8044

 

This renowned Montreal landmark has been in business since 1957. Located right on St. Viateur across from Arahova in the Mile End neighbourhood, this place is so busy making bagels for all of Montreal and other cities in Canada, they stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

I’ve been eating St. Viateur bagels since I was a kid. The big debate in Montreal is : Which bagel is better. I must admit I do not have much exposure to the competitor “Fairmount” having eaten St. Viateur all of my lfie. When I taste them side by side, I always thought they tasted identical. The uniqueness of Montreal bagels is that they are boiled in honey water, then baked in wood burning ovens. Bagels are tasty and somewhat healthy but unfortunately, they are equivalent t 4 slices of bread.

There is no place to sit as it’s literally the baking premises for all of Montreal and beyond. St Viateur also delivers to Ottawa and Toronto. They are open 24 hours and you can buy bagels by the dozen, half dozen, or singles. You can buy a spread (hummus, white fish spread, herring, tzatziki, smoked salmon (lox) and cream cheese, as well as an assortment of sodas, juices, Jewish desserts, like Jewish style cakes, pies, and danishes. Only accepts cash