Anderson Valley Bourbon Barrel Stout

Malty of malt!

So much malt flavour.

Super dark in colour, and easy to drink, I would go for this again. 

6.9% ABV. Cheers to Casey for bringing this across the border!

Alvar

Alvar Chardonnay Gewurztraminer 2011

Tastes fresh, and very simple. It's not very sweet and not very dry either. Very drinkable as an accompaniment to a meal (currently consuming it with pasta), but nothing to rave about in my humble opinion. Chardonnay (and its weirdo mixes) are not my favourite anyway. 

Would I drink it again? Maybe... I didn't buy this bottle, so I don't know how much it costs... but maybe if it was cheap enough. This was a donation from my brother, so cheers to him! 

Eat Fresh Be Healthy

Eat Fresh Be Healthy (185 Dundas Street West, Toronto)
647-258-8808

Bianca found this place online, and it seemed to have good Yelp reviews. Based on the name of the restaurant, I thought it would be some sort of lettuce wrap place. Boy, was I wrong.

First off, the only option is prix fixe. You can't get individual items. Given that you get a three-course dinner for $25, I thought it was pretty reasonable in terms of pricing.

Silky shrimp bisque

I was pleasantly surprised that it came with a hunk of crab, too. The bisque itself was very flavourful and quite delicious. It was great because I was hankering for some seafood after visiting the new aquarium.

Bianca had the pan-seared quail appetizer. 

I tried a bit. It was pretty awesome. It was decorated with pomegranate, grapes, and starfruit. I think there was arugula or some sort of leafy vegetable underneath. There were two pieces, and Bianca seemed full after her first course.

Ontario braised lamb ribs

Bianca noted that the meat was quite tender and falling off the bone. I liked the presentation.

 Cracked spice rub chicken supreme

I liked the spices and the variety of vegetables that were served. I soaked each bite of the chicken in that meat juice on the plate. I'm not sure if it was because of my dunking or not, but no forkful of meat was dry.

Bianca's roasted butternut squash and coconut panna cotta

She seemed to like it.

Mango ice cream

I liked the wafers sticking out. 

Would I return? Yes! The food tasted excellent, the service was very friendly, and the prices were more than reasonable for what you're getting. The kitchen area is out in the open, and you can see the chef working hard at creating the meals. The establishment is a bit small, but we didn't have any trouble getting a seat on that Wednesday evening. It's a bit on the dark side inside the restaurant, but other than that, there are no complaints. 

Mexico Lindo

Mexico Lindo (1618 Bayview Avenue, Toronto)

(647) 436-4340

Nachos fiesta! We were really hungry. I was a fan of the peppers with the nachos.

Negra modelo.

Comes in a stumpy bottle. It was very drinkable. Goes down easy, and non-offensive. It's ever so slightly malty, and more sweet than bitter.

Mexican platter... or at least that's what I think it was called.

The rice is whatever. The refried beans are tasty, but I like refried beans. The chimichanga is my new favourite thing. I don't know what it's supposed to taste like, but I liked the one I had. 

Would I return? Yeah, I would. Mexican food is sparse in Toronto. The prices aren't too outrageous (for Toronto) and gives good portions. We had to wait a bit for service as we took the last table to make the restaurant completely full. I liked the food, and the menu items seemed straightforward. The environment is very casual.

Total damage: approximately $28 for my drink, meal, and third of the nachos. 

Reese Half Pound Cup!

Well, shit. My first thought was, "Is this for one person to eat?! I don't understand." It's about the size of an Oreo ice cream sandwich.

My second, more disgusting thought was, "I must eat one."

Homemade Goodness and Cake

Dinner at Jess's. Meat, potatoes, and green beans. What's not to like?

Cake! I believe this was a hazelnut cake by Dufflet. 

Wasn't as moist as I wanted it to be, but it satisfied my cake craving.

Cassava cake made by Ludie at work. It was still hot when she brought it. Hot and delicious!

Milagro

Milagro Cantina Mexicana (5 Mercer Street, Toronto)

416-850-2855

Hours: 

Mon - Wed: 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Thurs - Fri: 11:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Sat: 11 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Sun: 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

This place might just be one of Josie's favourites in Toronto. She always gets so excited about going.

The place was crazy dim and really, really loud. We had trouble hearing each other over across the large table, and Jo had issues hearing our waiter.

Cucumber margarita.

Apparently the cucumber sangria we got last time was seasonal, so I settled for this. It tasted okay and boozey enough.

Jess and Jo each got a mojito. Jess's had some sort of pepper taste in it and was very spicy. I thought it was a bit awkward in drink form, but she seemed to like it. They thought the regular mojito was very sugary.

Jess and Jo split the tacos al pastor: pork loin, pastor abodo, pineapple, cilantro, salsa verde. They were spicy. Very, very spicy. Jo didn't notice the pineapple in it, but Jess did. The regular order comes with two tacos, but the entrée-sized version comes with three tacos, rice, and refried beans.

These were my tacos, with one of Renée's fish tacos on the plate. Mine was the one with the z name. They looked a bit small. The pineapple went well with the green salsa (which had a kick). I actually think Renée's fish tacos were more exciting. The fish chunk was pretty big and crunchy, and her tortilla was white. 

Large vulve a la vida ceviche.

I liked it. It was just kind of swimming in citrus juice a bit, though. 

The bill

Not cheap.

Would I return? Sure. The food isn't bad and Josie really likes Mexican food, which is hard to find in Toronto. It's a bit expensive for what it is, though. If I remember correctly, I believe they do lamb pretty well. 

To note: They don't split bills, and there's a disclaimer on the menu that informs the customer of their spicy food that they do not alter. There are vegetarian and vegan options.

(Pictures by Jo, except for the really crappy one - I took that one.)

Cheeeeers!

It seems as though I've been drinking a lot... oh well. Cheers!

This green drink is made from 1/4 of an English cucumber, ice, 1.5 shots of sake, 1 shot of vodka, and 1 shot of pear juice. I brought out the blender for the summer. Tastes like... salad. I'll drink it!! :D

Rum Rampage!

Rum, mango juice, coconut water/juice = great!

Will make and drink again!

Piña coladas!

Tried this out before I got coconut milk. 

The coconut water wasn't strong enough for the rum.

Blended, it's frothy, tropical fruity, and quite delicious. It was way better tasting the second time I made it. I was a bit heavy-handed with the rum on the first try due to what I cool the "after work pour". Cheers! Next time I try with cream of coconut if I can find it. :P

Adios!

I brought my gin and curaçao over to Club Jo's and the drink recipe she looked up was adios  muthaf*cka! It is rum + vodka + tequila + gin + curaçao + ice. I feel like it's five drinks in one.

It tasted super alcoholic... but not bad. I just thought it needed some sugar. Then I realized the curaçao that Dana gave me was not the ~17% alcohol flavour shot that we were used to. This real stuff that is from Curaçao (the country) is actually 30%. 0_o We added some ginger ale, and everything was good.

Ema-Tei

Ema-Tei (30 St. Patrick Street, Toronto)

(416) 340-0472

Bianca and I had been going through random food site lists for izakayas downtown. The first one we went to seemed more of a sushi joint than it did an izakaya. So we walked all the way back to our old stomping ground on St. Patrick to try out a restaurant I remember seeing in the area. 

It looks legit enough.

Yam tempura. It was decent. I would've preferred more crispiness, but perhaps we let it sit for too long before digging in. I did appreciate the fact that we were given individual tempura sauce bowls. No germ-sharing for the win!

That's so Asian!

Kimchi soup thing and black cod.

I really enjoyed the soup thing. The kimchi taste was more subtle than I had expected. The bowl had a lot of stuff in it. The piece of black cod seemed larger than what I've been given at other izakayas. It was also delicious, as black cod usually is. 

I would've had more food pictures, but I got hungry and forgot to take them.

Would I return? Yes. I enjoyed the food. The prices are comparable to most other izakayas in Toronto. 

Total damage: $52-something for the both of us. There was kimchi soup thing, a beer, yam tempura, black cod, tako wasabi, and something else that I'm forgetting...

Larb Pretz

I would like to know what Larb-flavoured Pretz tastes like. Furthermore, I would like to know what larb is.

Beau's & Bridgehead

No. 9 Winterbrewed Coffee-Amber Ale.

I'm not going to lie... I bought this because of the funny-looking abominal snowman character and because the bottle said, "winter". 

Jo: Smells like coffee.

Me: Tastes like coffee.

Jo: With a Coca-Cola aftertaste. 

That pretty much sums it up. It was pretty good; I liked it. It had minimal alcohol taste, and very strong coffee taste. 

More Drinks!

Bottoms up!

I feel so terrible about mixing my añejo tequila. It's so wrong... but it's the only tequila I have and I probably need groceries more than more alcohol at this point. I currently have three types of vodka in my stock, but only one type of tequila.

I think this is my drink right here: gin, lime juice, 7Up/Sprite.

Kim Po

Kim Po Vietnamese Restaurant (550 Highway 7 East, Richmond Hill, Ontario)

905-763-8338

Hours: 

Mon - Fri: 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Sat - Sun: 10 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

I remember going to this place before the renovations. It looks waaaay better now than it used to. 

Rare beef and beef ball pho (half eaten).

The broth a lot of flavour, and the noodles are cooked just right. 

Jo's order looked really good. That bread-type stuff was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with just a slight bit of chewiness.

Would I return? Yes. The pho prices are more or less standard (around $6-7) and I wouldn't mind trying their other stuff. I enjoy the pho soup.

Drink

This is what happens when I get bored. 

Sake, pear juice, Disaronno. Tastes good to me!!!! I had to play around with the amounts for a bit, making me a bit tipsy... and when I finally found a combination I enjoyed, I didn't make note of it. That just means I'll have to play around with those ingredients some more next time. That nutty flavour is pretty strong.

Overall, this makes a pretty damn sweet drink - like something of a dessert drink.

Man Doo Hyang

Update: This place no longer exists. In its place is some other Korean restaurant. :'(

Man Doo Hyang (6068 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

416-512-2007

It's been a while since I've visited Man Doo Hyang. There was one visit where the broth was lacking in flavour, and I stayed away for a while. On the return to Yuna Kim, I ordered a bowl of handmade noodles in soup and split a plate of deep-fried dumplings with Renée. The broth was flavourful, the noodles were of the correct density, and the fried dumplings were very large. Bonus: staff was super nice and polite. 

Would I return? Yes. 

Total damage: approximately $12.

Sake Drinks

Ice, sake, cucumber, lime juice.

Sake, cucumber, pear juice, lime juice.

Sake, cucumber, lime juice, 7Up.

I think sake, cucumber, lime juice and simple syrup would have been best... but I was too lazy to make simple syrup. The sake, cucumber, lime juice combination works well for me. I think this would be awesome in the summer.