Tag Archives: dinner

Cafe 668

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Having the distinction of NOW Magazine’s Best Vegetarian Restaurant is quite a feat. It is also quite an accomplishment considering Cafe 668’s low key atmosphere and dingy location near where Dundas West curves at Bathurst Street. Obviously, there is something special here.

My first visit did not result in the "wow" I had expected from the glorious ravings bestowed by NOW’s Steven Davey; however after my second try, I now see what the hype is about (now). Even the tea that was served before our first dish was delicious. I sub-conciously polished off several cups before realizing how much I was enjoying it. The menu itself is quite extensive, something I always find a tad overwhelming in Vietnamese restaurants. So without much perusal of the menu I quickly decided on a Hot and Sour Soup and from the "Chef’s Suggestions" list on the wall I chose the Hot and Sour Spicy Pad Thai. The heat was definitely present as about halfway through the soup the sniffles started. This continued while I started into the pad thai, slightly disguising the taste of that dish. After the spicy sensations dissapated I was really able to enjoy the subtle and aromatic spicing of the pad thai. Interspersed in the noodles were wonderfully cooked pieces of tofu, eggplant, mushrooms and other vegetables. This was hands down the best pad thai I’ve had in the city.

To my knowledge, there is only one server in the tiny establishment. My bet is he is also the owner and he definitely carries an air of dignity and respect about him. The prices are also very reasonable at Cafe 668 solidifyng it as a regular stop within my immediate locale.

A Taste of Manchester

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It’s always nice to discover a new, tasty restaurant. It’s even nicer to discover a new tasty, restaurant that’s opened right across the street from your office. Especially if the only other palatable restaurants are within driving distance. I guess that’ s what you get working in Scarberia.

Luckily enough I recently discovered just that thing in “A Taste of Manchester”, a Carribean fare establishment recently opened in the Warden/Eglinton plaza. Its small, clean room and sparsley decorated decor is still finding its place in this harsh suburb but the food has found a place for me– in my stomach.

Serving a variety of jerk and curried chicken, curried goat, and some different rotis I went straight for the jerk — an island favourite. My previous experiences with jerk have been unsatisfactory but for a quick lunch that is neither fast food nor fine dining this meal more than sufficed. The jerk had a slight kick but I think next time I will “turn it up a notch” with some fiery peppar sauce. With any many dish there is a choice or rice & peas, white rice , or ground provisions (not sure what that is) and portions are quite substantial.

I should say that at the moment the food appears to be served only in styrofoam containers…. hopefully this will change soon as the restaurant has barely been open a week. If it doesn’t, I’ll still go there but just take it right back accross the street to eat in my cozy, jailcell…. er cubicle.

7 West

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Last night I went to 7 West after a movie. There aren’t a lot of places that are 24 hours & decent, but this is one of them. They haev recently changed their menu, and so though the prices are not as cheap as they once were, there is more variety in the food, and it has been upgraded somewhat. I do think that $3.50 for juice is not quite reasonable. Our server was fabulous, very attentive, quick, and he was very flexible, allowing me to get an extra item on my salad – no problem. I ended up with a sandwich ($10) that contained prociutto, sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado & buffalo mozzarella. Thankfully, they were generous with their meat portion to the point that I had to take half of my sandwich home. The sandwich was accompanied by a massive salad, containing many types of vegetables & chickpeas . it was gooooood. My friend had the rose ravioli ($13)- her usual dish, and she liked the plate clean!

Despite the price increase, this was overall a positive dining experience, and little surprise, I will be back.

 

Ameer

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Ameer serves traditional Lebanese cuisine in “Little Arabia” at the corner of Warden and Lawrence. I decided to try this place for lunch after previously sampling some very good baba ganoush and hummus from here. It turned out to be one of the best middle eastern meals I’ve eaten in (greater) Toronto.

The interior of the restaurant is something you would imagine of a middle eastern restaurant. Arabic decorations, white tile, clean with soft, traditional music playing in the background. The place was empty save for a group of women celebrating someone’s birthday. Our waiter was very friendly and accomodated my desire of having a side of chicken shwarma with my vegetarian platter. My choices for middle eastern fare are quite boring and I tend to stick to the usual falafel and dips. There’s just something I love about this combination of food that always seems to be the best choice on the menu. The platter was HUGE and came with large helpings of hummus, baba ganoush, five falafel balls that were crisped to perfection on the outside but soft and warm inside, mild garlic dip, several tasty grape leaves packed with rice and assorted spices, and a large basket of pita bread. Each of these parts of the meal including the stuffed grape leaves which I do not usually care for were delicious. The extra side of chicken shwarma was tender and tasty as well. The only problem was that there was too much food.

Ban Vanipha

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From the outside, there seems something a little off putting about this Thai/Laotian restaurant. Perhaps it is the immediate area on Dundas West that it encompasses, not quite apart of Chinatown or Kensington Market but comprising its own little mini area with two other restaurants to the west. After dining here twice; however, all of my doubts have been neatly put to rest due to the delicious fare and thoughtful service that is provided.

My first visit, I was taken here by a friend for my birthday. I had never tried Laotian food before and I couldn’t even pronounce any of the items on the menu. Thankfully, my friend had recently been to Laos and knew exactly what to order. We took our time by sharing several appetizers , a chicken, vegetable and seafood main, and dessert to finish. I don’t recall exactly what each dish was but we were both duly impressed. The atmosphere of the restaurant is completely laid back and serene which is a nice respite coming off the busy Dundas strip.

My second visit here was different from the first. Instead of sitting and “dining”, we ordered and ate quickly. The staff were quite attentitve to our needs and sensed that we did not desire to have a long drawn out meal. The quality to sense what pace the customer wants to eat is difficult for wait staff to master but can be crucial to enjoying a meal.

This time around I remember we ordered the Khao Glum for an appetizer which was black sticky rice and beans wrapped in a banana leaf with a side of spicy sauce. A tad difficult to share, but tasty nonetheless. For our main course we shared two dishes. A chicken dish called Ping Gai, was, according to the menu, spiced “Laotian style”. I’m not sure what that means exactly but it was very well seasoned and came with a delicious coriander sauce. We also had a shrimp dish called “ping gou yai”. The tiger shrimp were huge and juicy and came with grilled zucchini and a grilled tomato. I would have preferred to take my time, but my friend was in more of a rush. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable meal and I will be happy to return here again.

Armenian Kitchen

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1646 Victoria Park
416.757.7722

A few blocks to the north of Armenian Kitchen, on Lawrence Ave. E between Pharmacy and Warden is what is known as “Little Arabia”. With tons of Arabic shops, bakeries and restaurants, some of who’s names are written only in Arabic, this area is truly unique and contains several well hidden gems. The Armenian Kitchen, by contrast caters to a more diverse clientele though still serving traditional and authentic middle eastern fare. Through all my searching for decent food to eat in Scarborough, the name of the Armenian Kitchen has come up the most.

For lunch, I settled on a typical vegetable platter with hummous, baba ghanoush, tabouleh salad, and labouneh – a thick, yogourt dip and pita. The hummous was smooth with tahina, the baba was creamy and garlicky but not overly so, and labouneh which I had never tried before was a wonderful addition. The pita bread was fresh, flat and soft and tabouleh salad was a good contrast to the dips.

Armenian Kitchen also does take out and I will surely be coming back here to take some dips up north.

Athens Pastries

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509 Danforth Av
(416) 463-5144

Located right in the heart of the Danforth, right near Chester subway, this pastry shop serves a limited menu of quick pastries, take out only, [ you can order and sit down at the 5-10 tables but they do not serve you]. In the summer they have a small but cosy terrace that sits about 4 small tables. Sells mostly spinach, cheese, and cream pies, and sells other light dishes, as well as an assortment of North American, Greek, Turkish, coffees as well espresso and cappucino and other shi shi poo poo coffees. They also sell a large variety of soft drinks. They always have a sign saying “Help Wanted” which is weird [maybe the management treats the staff crappy] In any case, the food is good- not greasy, but yummy…I always order Spanakopita, which is Spinach and Feta Cheese pie wrapped up in Philo Dough. The lighting is quite bright and staff are friendly.

Chai

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 1575 Bayview Avenue
(416)483-9512

Recently, I’ve become enamoured with the idea of visiting restaurants in less hyped areas of the city. One such area is the Bayview/Mt. Pleasant area between St. Clair and Yonge. Every time I drive through here, which isn’t often, I notice several upscale yet untrendy lunch and dinner joints. Working only a 10 minute drive away in Scarborough, I decided to try Chai on Bayview just south of Eglinton.

With a nice little patio that was crowded upon our arrival, I was nicely surprised by someone, who I believe was the owner, come out and set up a table just for us. With a lunch special of a variety of gourmet sandwiches and the soup of the day, I decided on a roasted veggie sandwich and a hot and sour soup. My sandwich, served on foccacia, consisted of the typical roasted eggplant, and red peppers and goat cheese. It was quite average and so was the soup. I believe my lunching partner felt the same.

Lately, looks have been deceiving. I hope things improve or I am going to revert back to the regular tasty restaurants.

Belly Busters

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3447 Yonge Street
(416) 489-6051‎

This hole-in-the-wall submarine shop along Yonge St. just south of York Mills has legendary status amongst my brother and his friends. They especially like to “hit” this place late at night when they are red-eyed and suffering from a bad case of the self induced munchies.

After hearing the praises of these subs for so long I popped in for a take-out order one rushed Friday evening before heading up north to the family cottage. Trying to remember four separate sub orders for people with selective tastes was not an easy task; but with the help of the owner who also prepared the submarines I was able to get everything right. I have a soft spot for restaurants where the owner also prepares the food while cohorting with the patrons. It shows a sense of pride, dedication and intimacy that is missing from larger restaurants (see Mystic Muffin review)

I must admit, I am not the biggest sub fan, but my turkey/bacon sub was generally quite good. Really, I only have Mr. Sub and Subway to compare it to so I can say this is the best out of those three.

Churrasco Of St Clair‎

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679 St Clair Avenue West
 (416) 658-0652‎

Affectionately known, at least to my family, as “Churassco”, this Portuguese eatery has been a take-out staple for many years in the mid town area. The term churassco actually refers to the way in which the chicken is prepared. I could not describe to you in earnest how that is, all I know is that it is delicous.

Walking into this establishment, located just east of the intersection of St. Clair and Christie, a blast of hot air hits you as dozens of butterflied chickens are visibly being grilled in plain view of the salivating customers. Orders of half or quarter chicken are available, each of which coming with a generous serving of small round potatoes and a heap of white rice. Chicken sandwiches are also available but they work better for lunch. Ribs are available though I have never tried them. If you like spice, be sure to ask for some hot sauce to dip the chicken or potatoes in. The potatoes are also particularly delicious and it never hurts to order an extra helping (unless of course you are watching your carb intake).