Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill @ Yonge and Front

I'm usually not a fan of Oliver & Bonacini restaurants (I haven't been too impressed with their food in the past and on top of that, they're pricey!). However, the Cafe Grill on Yonge and Front felt like a better and healthier option than Fran's or any downtown Food Court (at the time).

Sandwich of the Day: Croque Madame with a mixed greens salad

Ooo grilled ham and cheese! You really can't go wrong with this combination and they used nice cheese with a fresh and bright salad on the side. 

Braised beef short rib gnocchi with Northern Woods mushrooms, tomato, Parmesan crème fraîche $18

Baked pasta! It doesn't really look appealing though. I thought there would be more braised short rib, but it was a mostly mushroom filled dish (I guess they were cutting costs and yet charging exuberant prices). 

The whole dish was okay, but nothing special. The portion was a little small for a $18 pasta dish even if it was a lunch portion.

We tried to redeem the meal with the Chef's platter of desserts

Clockwise from Top Left: Lemon Posset, Famous Carrot Cake, Blueberry Cheesecake and Toasted marshmallow raspberry brownie

I really enjoyed all the desserts on the plate! It was well worth the money spent. 

The lemon poppet had a nice tangy flavour from the lemon zest and the posset was cool and creamy. The carrot cake was fantastic! I loved the moist texture and cream cheese icing with shaved carrots on top. The cheesecake was rich and creamy and the blueberry sauce was a great complement. My favourite item was definitely the brownie! It doesn't get any better than raspberry and toasted marshmallows on a decadent brownie. Yum! 

Overall: It was a good meal, if on the pricey side and you can be in-and-out within an hour for a quick business lunch. Dessert was definitely worth it.

Website: http://oliverbonacini.com/home.aspx

Yours Truly

Yours Truly was one of the restaurants on my Toronto To-Eat list ever since it opened in 2012
 and when I saw on their Facebook that May was their last month for their Tasting Menu, I knew that this was going to be my last chance to try it. 

 

 
Appetizers: Tiny bowls of albacore tuna, pate between two buns and lamb on a leaf
I loved this as an appetizer! It was so interesting & different and everything worked really well together. 

  

Garlic Beignet and Mushroom Dashi Soup
Really cute tall shot glass soup - I liked that there were different levels to it: past the foam, there was the dashi soup broth then the mushroom at the bottom. The garlic beignets were lovely.

  

Octopus, oranges and speck

 
Really beautifully presented...portions were a little tiny.
The saltiness of the speck with the sweet and tart oranges was definitely a pairing that I didn't really see together, but it was okay. The octopus was a little gummy and boring compared to the rest of this visual feast.

 

Day lily, scallop, jelly and milk skin

It sounds almost experimental and yet, it tasted really good as one cohesive dish.
The scallop was sweet and was topped with the slippery jelly and wrinkly milk skin. I thought it was unusual pairing the day lily leaves but somehow it was a little more fragrant with it. I really enjoyed this dish.

  

Brisket with crisp onions and rice paper

  
Chentecler rouge with roasted hazelnut, cherries, onions and dandelions
Chicken thigh and breast medallions with pearl onions and roasted hazelnuts in a fantastic brown sauce. I really liked the dish, I just wished the portions were bigger. After we had this course, we knew we had to order more food:

 
Duck Ragu Pappadelle with beans and parmesan
The pasta was definitely home-made, but I wasn't a big fan of the duck ragu sauce and the big broad beans. This dish fell off the mark for me and it was a pretty expensive addition too. 

 
Dark chocolate, salted caramel powder, rhubarb and jelly
Definitely a lot of molecular gastronomy going on here tonight. The powders were concentrated, but sometimes I just like eating the original food item. I thought it was a well executed dessert, but this was one where I didn't feel like it was as cohesive as the other dishes.

Overall: As great an experience as this adventure with the tasting menu was, my friend and I both got food poisoning somewhere along the way from one of the courses. It just sucked that it was subsequently ruined by the runs (and in my case, a fever and an inability to keep any food down for a few days) causing me to really regret going to Yours Truly. It also hurt since our meal was pretty expensive ($55 per person excluding the extra course we paid for) and I can't help associating the cost as "one of the most expensive cases of food poisoning I've ever gotten (and the most miserable)". The restaurant is one of the most hyped places in Toronto and a lot of friends have raved about the food. Overall, I thought our meal was original and lovely, but I know it'll be a while before I'm brave enough to test the waters here again.

Website: http://yours-truly.ca/

East Thirty-Six

My friend and I were catching a show at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts and we wanted to grab a nice dinner nearby. After some research, we found East Thirty-Six just recently opened in the area and we decided to try it out.

It seems pretty cool from the outside (and it's super close to the Sony Centre)
 

 

Menu

  

Razor Clams with citrus, mint, chili, fennel and pink peppercorn

 It looked like a feast for the eyes! The dish was plated beautifully and it looked really appetizing.
Until:
  

So...there wasn't a lot of razor clams - the abundance of stuff on the razor clams shells turned out to be more vegetables than clam meat. It was nice and refreshing with the citrus and mint, but not particularly filling.

  
 Duck Confit with duck egg, maitaki and pecorino semolina $19

The duck confit was nice with a crispy skin. The egg and semolina was an interesting mix. I thought it was an interesting combination, but probably not something I would order again. 

  
 Shortrib with parmesan grits, brussel sprouts, horseradish $21
  The shortrib was an interesting dish - I'm not too sure I liked the grits with the horseradish and brussel sprout combination. It also wasn't a particularly filling combination either (and it was a little on the pricey side considering the portion). 

Overall: The atmosphere and interior of the restaurant was nice and the menu looked interesting, but the food was a little disappointing and pricey. 

Website: http://eastthirtysix.com/

Il Fornaro's 25th Anniversary Dinner

I really like going to Il Fornaro for classic, consistently delicious and reasonably priced Italian food. 

So when I saw the promotional email celebrating their 25th Anniversary with a 4 course dinner for two for $39 (regularly $79), I knew I couldn't pass up this deal! The promotion ran from May 15th to June 15th and came with three shared plates. 

    

Flatbread and roasted eggplant humus to start! Yum!

 

Shared Caesar Salad

The salad was evenly tossed and made with their homemade Caesar dressing. 

Pretty big sharing portion (which I love about Il Fornaro!)

    

Left to Right: Shared Rose pasta and Shared Marinara Pasta

I love Rose pasta - it's so creamy, sweet and delicious! On the other hand, the marinara was tangy and piquant from the tomatoes. The pasta was perfectly al dente and topped with a ton of parmesan cheese! Delicious!

  

 Atlantic Salmon

The fish was really flavourful (and according to my Grandma, it was done much better than Paisano's salmon). The capers were a nice touch to add a sharp and salty taste to the sweet grilled Salmon. The vegetables were nicely seasoned and cooked. 

  

 Chicken Supreme

The chicken was stuffed with mushrooms, pine nuts, apricot and goat cheese giving it an earthy taste. If you're not a fan of the goat cheese, it'll probably be overwhelming. However, I liked the stuffed chicken, it was juicy with a nice crisp to the outer skin and the filling was pretty good.

  

Veal Osso Buco

 I definitely remember the osso buco being much bigger with lots of meat, but the center cut veal was tender and tasty. The sauce was delicious too! 

  

Chicken Parmigiana

 This was a huge portion of Chicken Parmigiana. They definitely didn't skimp on this - it was a large breaded chicken breast topped with baked cheeses and fresh marinara sauce. 

  

Cheesecake and Tiramisu

The blueberry compote was nice and the cheesecake was rich, but the crust was a little too hard to be fully enjoyable. The tiramisu was heavily flavoured with liquor and the layers were a little too soft and mushy. 

Overall: Great meal for a fantastic price at Il Fornaro! Still one of my favourite Italian restaurants in Toronto. :D

Website: http://www.ilfornaro.com/

Lindt Store @ 5th Avenue - NYC

I'm a HUGE fan of Lindt Chocolate. Surprisingly less of a fan in recent years (I think they've changed their ingredients or something because it doesn't have the same addictive quality it used to have). However, if I see a Lindt store, you can guarantee I'm going to make a stop to take a look around.

 

 OMG! There's so much VARIETY! There's like barely anything in Canada in comparison. 

I love the Caffarel brand, so this was really exciting for me to see more of the Italian chocolate brand. 

 The chocolates are priced by weight. I spent $31 on this bag $36 per kilo (and I grabbed one of everything I thought I would like).
When I went to the counter, the helpful sales associate told me that if I bought $50 worth of chocolate that I would get this bonus pack of Lindt Dessert bars:

So I went back to grab more chocolate. Haha


More of the ones I thought I would enjoy...

$0.50 per Lindor (Strawberries and Cream, Citrus and Salted Caramel - all not available in Canada yet).
I really liked the Strawberries and Cream and Citrus white chocolate Lindor Balls because they were sweet, but not too sweet and I love strawberries and citrus flavours.

 
 
 Caffarel does an amazing rich and nutty gianduja chocolate. I could have done without all the pretty wrappings, but the chocolate is fantastic!
 
Lindt's Fioretto's especially the peach one was delicious! I recommend these chocolates (I should have stocked up on these - even my Grandma loves them).

Other delicious treats:  Caffarel's Gocce di Sole (jelly candies) are SO GOOD! I got one of each: arancia (orange), limone (lemon), lime, pompelo (grapefruit) and mandarino (mandarin orange)

Now on to the rest...I didn't enjoy these chocolates:

Strawberry cheesecake Lindt was awful! It tasted like cheesecake but it went terribly with the chocolat.
The green Lindt chocolate was a gianduja with hazelnut paste and a hazelnut inside, but it was nowhere near the creamy and flavourful texture of the Caffarel brand.
The last chocolate in the picture was a Wildberry yogurt eisdesser with blueberry, raspberry and blackberry over a yogurt cream. After eating this, I don't think yogurt creams should ever be used in a chocolate. 


Eis Dessert Caffee is a white chocolate square with a very strong espresso flavour. I couldn't figure out if I was eating a chocolate or eating a coffee bean

Other chocolates I didn't really like: Lindt Roulettes - the Fondente chocolate felt really thick and heavy and the Latte wasn't really memorable; Lindt Bastoncini - some were okay, but most were not very good; Lindt's Noccionoir & Gianduja boules - it's just not the same deliciousness as Caffarel (Caffarel's my new standard for gianduja).
Chocolates I really detested: Lindt's Milk & Dark Mozartkugein - I thought it would have been okay since it was a praline chocolate with a pistachio marzipan, but the marzipan was just too overwhelming for my tastes (being pistachio didn't save it cause I hate marzipan) and Lindt's Knusper nougat creme and nougat - probably the same situation I thought a crunchy chocolate with nougat would be fine, but I couldn't get over my dislike of nougat.

Overall: So it was a really grab-bag, some chocolates and candies I absolutely loved and couldn't wait to eat more of and there were others that I suffered through.

Website: http://www.lindtusa.com/

Eataly & Madison Square Eats @ Madison Square Park - NYC

It was such a gorgeous day! So we decided to walk down to the Flatiron building and check out Eataly.

 Triple berry gelato
A tangy & sweet icy treat on such a hot day.

 
 Sour Cherry Gelato
I actually really liked this sour cherry flavour! It was tart and had a hint of that cherry cough syrup flavour. Really yummy!

Website: http://www.eataly.com/nyc-gelato/

After we checked out Eataly, we went back outside to the colourful patio umbrella covered area to do some exploring at Madison Square Eats:

Madison Square Eats
   
 When we saw the Momofuku Milk Bar, we got really excited! One of the things that we wanted to try in New York was the Momofuku Crack Pie and voila! We found it at Madison Square (and saved ourselves a subway trip).



A slice of pie was $5.50
  
It was really buttery and sweet. I wasn't really expecting all the sugar in the pie. (I actually thought it was an ice cream cake slice or something). It's interesting, but it wasn't really addictive the way I imagined a crack pie would be.  

Well - at least we tried it!

Website: http://www.madisonsquarepark.org/things-to-do/calendar/mad-sq-eats-2014

The Gastro Bar at 35th buffet breakfast - NYC

Restaurant.com had a deal on The Gastro Bar at 35th where you could buy a $100 gift certificate for $40.
 Unfortunately, we weren't able to try the Tapas at night, so instead we spent it on the buffet breakfast.

The breakfast buffet was $17 per person

Pancakes, syrup, fresh fruit (cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple and strawberries), eggs, potato hash, sausages
I was a little sad that the syrup wasn't maple syrup (I've been spoiled by Canadian restaurants). The pancakes were kind of crispy at the bottom (i.e. overdone); the eggs were buttery; the potato hash was really good (despite being a little drier than usual because they were sitting at the buffet for a while). 

Cheese and meat plate, croissant, muffin and danish
I wasn't impressed by the baked goods and the cheese and meat plate tasted a little weird to me.

Overall: A rather pricey breakfast, but if we didn't have our gift certificate - it would have been much worse. I think they do much better at dinner than breakfast based on the crowds at night (unfortunately this was our last day in NYC).

Website: http://www.gb-35.com/