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.)

Ka Chi

Ka Chi (414 Dundas Street West, Toronto)

416-598-3222

Hours: 

10:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. daily

So apparently this place has a few locations. One is actually around Kensington market, just around the corner of the location we went to on Dundas Street West. I guess they're just that popular.  

Their bird logo looks frantic.

The prices seem pretty average for this type of food.

Monique's order of pork bone soup.

 The pork looked pink and really tender (not raw nor overcooked). She seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. 

Standard Korean complimentary side dishes.

I split ten pan fried beef dumplings (#8 for $5.95) with Amanda. 

They had some darker edges, but I like the slightly burnt thing. I didn't really like that some of them were broken, but they were passable. The spicy soy sauce is a must.

We also split the stir fried rice cake with bulgogi (#18 for $8.50). 

We were debating between the spicy version and the version that we got. I think we were both glad that we picked what we had. That sauce was intense, and I'm not so sure that the awesome flavour would have come through as much in the spicy one. It was so good that we both took some of Monique's rice to sop it all up. The beef was also nicely cooked. There were also some glass noodles in there.

Andrea's spare ribs on a sizzling plate looked pretty good too.

Would I return? Yes! I'm drooling just thinking about that bulgogi sauce. So meaty and delicious tasting. The decor is a bit gaudy, but it looks clean - especially for a Chinatown area restaurant.

Kelsey's

Kelsey's (8715 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario)

905-326-6003

kelseys7049@cara.com 

Popcorn shrimp ($9.99).

Jo was really craving something deep-fried. These breaded shrimp were super textured and crunchy. I really enjoyed the deep-friedness of it all, but Jo thought that it should've been more flaky. The red spicy Thai chilli sauce was some sort of sweet chilli. I preferred the white cilantro lime sauce.

Lemon pepper shrimp pasta ($9.99).

This was off their 15 minute express lunch menu, where they advertise that "lunch is ready in 15 minutes or it's free!". It was pretty good. I liked the cheese on top, and there was a good amount of plump shrimp. It was a perfect lunch-sized portion. 

Jo's beer-battered fish and chips weren't that great. The batter was crispy, but the fish was overcooked and dry. The fries were nicely seasoned, though. 

We split a pitcher of Canadian, and our server poured the first two glasses. She overfoamed Jo's cup, but apologized for it. I poured the next round and realized that the pitcher was a lot heavier than it looked.

Would I return? Yes, it's okay enough, but I need to remember that this was the place with the sobering cocktails. We were going to order fancy drinks until Jo reminded me of the cocktails that sobered us up from the beer buzz we had last time. And I'd stay away from the fish and chips.

All Star Wings

All Star Wings and Ribs (10520 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario)

905-737-4917

Hours:

Mon - Thurs 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.

Fri 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Sat 4 p.m. - 2 a.m.

Sun 12 p.m. - 1 a .m.

Spicy lemon wings

Picture by Andrea.

It had a pretty strong flavour, more spicy than it was lemon. The wings weren't bad; they had a good amount of meat on 'em.

This place has a ridiculous number of TVs hanging all around. In fact, the face of the person facing me was framed by TVs. It's good for watching sports games or being distracted. 

The annoying thing about the menu is that it lists all of the wing flavours without providing descriptions. Some are self-explanatory, but some are so unguessable that you'd have to ask the server what's in them. 

Would I return? Sure.

Total damage: $13 for my wings.

Alice Fazooli's

Alice Fazooli's (155A York Boulevard, Richmond Hill, Ontario)

905-709-4280

Hours:

Mon - Wed 11:30 a.m. - 12 a.m.

Thurs 11:30 a.m. - 1 a.m.

Fri - Sat 11:30 a.m. - 2 a.m.

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

I don't remember what these drinks were... but they were citrus-flavoured, and they had apple chunks.

I think they were pretty good... if I remember correctly.

Deep-fried ravioli.

Andrew loves these. Probably because they're deep fried.

Pizza.

I don't remember what this tasted like. It had a thin crust, and all I remember is that they have a visible wood oven that made me want to order pizza.

I honestly can't remember much from this particular visit as it was so long ago. It was before they became just Fazooli's.

Total damage: can't remember.

Man Doo Hyang

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

416-512-2007

It's been a while since I've been to this dumpling restaurant. Most of it hasn't changed; they still have the picture of Yuna Kim in her "future trophy wife" shirt (classic) and they still have complimentary dumplings.

Complimentary appetizers.

I liked that there was actual crunch to the kimchi vegetables. My taste buds are also partial to daikon radish. The mini dumplings are a great start to the meal.

Homemade noodles in broth. $5.99.

I get this every time. I really do like their handmade noodles. It's got the right amount of bounce to it. The broth has enough flavour for me not to require any additional sauces. And just like on previous visits, it's still filling as ever. Lorne, who is rarely full from anything, was full when he was done his noodles with dumplings in them (and his share of the deep-fried dumplings).

Deep-fried dumplings. $6.99.

The last few times we were here, we had to pre-order these because they always ran out by the time we were there, but there was no issue this time. These crispy, monstrously-sized, optionally kimchi-flavoured delights came out hot and fresh.

Would I return? Yup. It feels authentically Korean and I'm a sucker for their handmade noodles and giant dumplings, especially the deep-fried ones. I think their domestic beer is now $2.99, unless I was reading the sign incorrectly... I was guessing because it was all in Korean on the wall. It was pretty empty except for a few takeout orders on the Thursday evening that I went. Just as well... as long as they stay in business and have enough room for me and my friends.

Twister

Twister (5586 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)
416-225-2465
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 2 p.m. - 4 a.m.
Fri, Sat, and holidays 2 p.m. - 6 a.m.

We didn't really eat here. We mostly just drank beer and sang. Beers were all $5 (domestic and imported). 

The people here are super friendly. The beer orders came within seconds of ordering them. It's useful to know that the last call for alcohol is 2 a.m. 

Would I return? Yes. The room and drinks aren't super rip-off, and the people who work there were extremely friendly. Oh, and I was pretty amused when a staff member exclaimed, "See you tomorrow!" as we left.

Total damage: For the four of us, the room on a Friday was $25/hr. I don't know how many hours we spent, or how many beers we drank, but the total came up to $220 or so.