Toronto Restaurants

Mariachi

2008-04-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

Mariachi is a nice Mexican restaurant indeed. Located in the soul of Toronto, Yonge&Eglinton that is, it's impossible to miss it if you live in the area. Been there myself about 100 times.

If you are in doubt of what to order I would suggest to start with one or two tequilas. It's unbelievable how inspirational those shots can be :) Anyway, starting with a guacamole isn't a bad idea at all.

Sharing is good, as I'm trying to teach my daughter without much success, but Mariachi come forward here with with their delicious parillada para dos. Try this platter for two to sample some Mexican delicacies if the tequila won't help.

They also serve a couple of nice steaks, the Carne a la Michoacan, a 10oz strip loin braised in tomato sauce and the Carne a la Tampiquena that comes with an interesting chocolate-based sauce. They both come with rice but I'd suggest an additional side order of fried beans. The frijoles work great with pretty much every meat on the menu, especially with chorizo. The Mole de Pollo is another very good choice as well.

They also have a nice selection of seafood. I've tried a couple of them but I wasn't very excited. Maybe because I had the calamari soup with a side order of fried beans :) Not really.

After you're done with the shots may I suggest some beer? Michelada Dos Equis is the name of the game. Try this dark beer with salsa, Michelada style that is. Served in a pint with salted rim, sometimes even with ice! It completely redefined my idea of Mexican beer. As a matter of fact I can't have anymore Dos Equis if it's not Michelada. Salud!

Gonoe

2008-03-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

I went to Gonoe Sushi at least 200 times, so it's about time to write about it :) In my opinion, Gonoe is one of the best sushi restaurants in Toronto in terms of price/quality ratio. Of course there are other high-end sushi restaurants but then again I think it's pretty hard to beat Gonoe's price without sacrificing on quality.

I usually order sushi & sashimi a la carte, rolls and sometimes a salad and tempura. I don't remember once being there and not liking everything I've ordered. Everything is so fresh and tasty, no wonder I still go there almost weekly, even now, after more than 5 years from my first visit.

Usually they bring the Miso soup by default, with larger orders, a common practice in sushi bars, otherwise. There is nothing elaborated about the Miso soup but there are so many sushi restaurants in Toronto that manage to screw it up. Well, I don't know how these guys do it, but that soup tastes so good!

Uni, Unagi, Toro, Sake, Ikura, Amaebi, Tai are allways on my plate. If you order Toro, ask for blue fin tuna, they might have it and you gotta love it, if you like sashimi. If you go for salmon sashimi ask for a fattier piece. Sometimes you can get grilled Hamachi neck. That piece is so tasty you need more fingers to lick when you're done :) Just ask for it. It's not on the menu, although they are going to change the menu soon and they may add it.

If you like seaweed, try their salad, it's good. The soft-shell crab, or as my little one calls it "social crab" is very good as well. All the rolls are well done and tasty, pick whatever blinks at you :) Las Vegas, a roll with cream cheese is pretty good and you won't find a lot of places out there serving cream cheese based rolls. Classic rolls like ultra dragon, flying dragon or spider are just beautiful. The special roll is interesting as well.

I recommend this place wholeheartedly. If you feel like sushi and are around the Don Mills & York Mills area, then go for it!

Prague

2008-03-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

I prepared my gastric juices for a goulash and I headed towards Prague. I had it twice there, once as a soup, the other time as a "gypsy stew". I liked the soup but the stew was disappointing. So I wanted to make sure I wasn't too hungry last time, when I enjoyed so much the goulash soup. Well, I didn't have the chance to solidify my opinion about the soup: they were out of goulash. I concluded that it must be good and I ordered the tripe soup:) The link is for those who lived to read my blog and haven't tried the tripe soup. You guys missed 10% of your life:) Well, I'm not referring to Prague's tripe soup when I'm talking about your life :) Theirs is just the tripe version of their own goulash. It's a far cry from the original one. You can find a closer to reality tripe soup at Moldova restaurant although they still have to work on it... So I'm having this soup while dreaming at the goulash one. I said Prague goulash is pretty good but not as good as the one I had last year in Wattens somewhere east of Innsbruck. That, my friends, was the definition of goulash as per Le Larousse Gastronomique. Next time you go skiing in Innsbruck don't miss that little spot. Oh, you'll find it right away: within 1 km from the Autobahn exit.

Back to Prague, I chose the chicken paprikash as my main dish. It was ok, but then again, not as good as my wife's ;) I bet you can have a better one in an Hungarian restaurant. I'll let you know when I find it. So, don't order both, unless you haven't eaten in three days:)

The soup and the paprikash filled me completely so I had no room for desert. As a matter of fact I couldn't even finish the paprikash.

So, it's ok to check Prague for a quick lunch. Don't expect something extraordinary or authentic, just a nice and pretty generous meal.

Bar One

2008-03-24T03:15:00.000-07:00

Another Monday, another missed restaurant. This time I was heading for Caju, which is closed on Mondays. So I went to the next-door Bar One. I guess I was attracted by the look of the restaurant and once I stepped in I really liked the interior design. Oh, and the food wasn't bad either:)

The first thing I tried was the bagna cauda salad. I was curios about the breaded mushroom - spinach combination and the intriguing anchovy dressing. Although nothing extraordinary, I can say it was pretty good. An interesting mix nevertheless but, for some reason, it felt like a Cesar on steroids to me, even if they don't share one single ingredient:)

Pizza sorella was very good... the second time :) First time I said to myself I should try the original recipe. Like I wasn't sure if I liked onions in my pizza, after this attempt I just sealed my opinion:) You know, I just wanted to give it another try: well, I will never order another pizza with onion rings on it. On my second visit to Bar One I tried the same pizza without the onions and without the arugula salad on top. Instead I doubled the capicollo and the gorgonzola. Excellent choice! Add a pint of Creemore and you are set.

So they seem to have nice pizza, interesting salads and classic pasta. Also their website presents their cuisine as mainly from southern Italy. It looks to me like they are Italians so I was hit when I overheard the following conversation at a nearby table:

- So what would you like today?
- I was thinking to have some pasta.
- All right, so would you like penne or spaghetti?
Then, right away:
- I mean, the short ones or the long ones?

Isn't funny for an Italian to say that? Well maybe they are not true Italians after all:) I will have to go again to try their pasta and I may figure it out then.

Anyway, I would say, if you are in the neighborhood and you want to have a good pizza, try Bar One.

Noce

2008-03-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Elegant and Beautiful. A hidden gem with a hidden entrance:) I had to go back and forth on Queen and Walnut to find the main entrance. I guess they want to keep that Osso Buco just for them:) Yep, I had the Osso Buco alla Milanese for lunch. It's on their dinner menu but I asked for it and they were kind enough to serve it to me at lunch.

I love Osso Buco and I won't miss the chance to try it when I see it on a menu. Well, with just a few exceptions :). How was it? Great, elegant and beautiful! A serious veal shank, juicy and tender on a nice bed of risotto alla Milanese that immediately filled the air with a nice scent of saffron.

You know, I really like the scent of the fresh-ground pepper and the special taste it adds to a dish. I can have it with almost anything, so when my plate came to the table, I asked for it. It's the first time in my life when instead of a "Sure" I got a "Why?":). Ma per que signore? Try it first and let me know if you still want pepper on it. He was right. The dish was wonderful and it didn't need anything else.

The carpaccio di manzo with shaved parmiggiano and arugula was just enough to get me ready for the Osso Buco. Nothing special about it, just tasty and happy that I was pairing it with a glass of Tuscany red.

The Osso Buco takes about 20 minutes to be served, so I had enough time to check their cutlery :). Elegant HEPP flatware, clean and shiny, which looked very nice on the white tablecloth. Although I had Osso Buco in so many places on two continents, this was the only spot where I got to use a spork to enjoy the bone marrow. And that was a very nice old-looking spork, as well.

Noce is a very nice restaurant, maybe a bit expensive but for the great dishes and its great selection of wines, I totally recommend it.

Terroni

2008-03-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

WOW! I'm ashamed though. I lived in Toronto for over ten years and I've never been to Terroni. Until now, that is. This must be one of the best italian restaurants in Toronto. Everything is great: the food, the people, the ambiance. Even the simple bread and oil are so delicious. It just feels good to be there.

As a matter of fact, I was heading for Little Tibet on Queen West but I forgot they were closed on Mondays, so I ended up at Terroni... again :)

I had the carpaccio di struzzo for appetizer. Incredible! I must admit: I never tried ostrich carpaccio before, but this one was just fabulous. Sprinkled with truffle oil, it was just great. I had on the side their bread and extra oil. That made me finish the carpaccio a bit too fast. I wonder if I wasn't a bit too hungry for this delight. Anyway, this carpaccio is really good! Did I say that before?

Then the lasagna came. Oh. My. God. The best lasagna I ever had! White lasagna. When I was about half-way into it I ordered the second one. Yes, that good it was. I was full after the first one but it tasted so good I had to have it. The only time, in my recent memories, I had this feeling was in Lugano when, at midnight, I had two 15" pizzas one after another. The spinach lasagna is not on their regular menu, but when you see it on the menu, go for it! I also tried the tortelloni, which is very good as well.

So far I've only been there at lunch time and I have a little piece of advice for you: if you don't want to wait to be seated, go after 2pm. If you're lucky you may get a table within 10-15 minutes during regular lunch hours. If you go by yourself, sit at the bar. The guy at the bar takes good care of you: order a second 5oz glass of wine and you'll get a 7oz ;)

Next time I have to try the pizza and their deserts. I will also have to give it a try at dinner time... I think I saw a Brunello di Montalcino from 97 on their menu...

Well, yeah, I didn't have time to check the washroom, I was too busy eating :)

Politica

2008-03-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

Second time at Politica. Yes, I have to visit at least twice a restaurant before I write something about it. Moreover, I order the same thing twice to convince myself first time wasn't an accident. Paranoia? I guess so. Some form of it. I'm obsessed with good food, that's for sure!

So I tried the quattro formaggi pizza. Not bad. If only they could make it "Italian size". Anyway, it went down pretty well with a pint of Stella. Not the best pizza I ever had, but I would say a pretty decent one.

I usually don't do this, but I ordered spring rolls as appetizer. I was kind of intrigued by their presence on the menu since Politica has a declared Mediterranean profile. To be honest, I didn't find something interesting in the appetizers section anyway. I liked the small rectangular plates they serve the rolls on, though.

The interior looks OK, but doesn't have anything special. I guess they could work a bit on the interior design. First time I've been there, I sat next to a what it looked to me like a DJ desk, I wonder what's going on there at dinner...

I guess they should work on that bathroom too. It really has a neglected look and doesn't inspire cleanness. And that's too bad because the designer did a really nice job by leaving the old rock foundation visible.

Overall is OK for lunch, unsophisticated menu items at decent prices. Will I go there again? Not very soon. There are too many other interesting places I have to try first!