BQM

It's Burger Week again! 

To get the $5 Chipotle Burger at BQM, you had to buy a drink and fries.  

I didn't feel like drink pop, so I decided I should just get a burger. 

The BQM Burger with lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, garlic aioli and horseradish.

The burger was okay and the fries were pretty good, but a little soggy.  I got the small size 4oz. for $6, which is a little pricey in my opinion. I've had better burgers (including Zet's).

Overall: An okay burger, nothing amazing even though I had their signature burger. I wasn't a huge fan of the horseradish though. By the way, the lighting in the picture does not reflect how I saw the burger or meal.

Website: http://www.bqmburger.ca/

Fernando's Hideaway

I still remember back in the day when Hernando's Hideaway was the best Mexican place in the city and my mom used to take me downtown on Sundays to eat their half priced nachos and other delicious Mexican food.  It used to be south of Wellesley on Yonge in the basement of an office building (and I believe it was under the LCBO). More recently, it moved to 591 Yonge and still serves the same Tex-Mex Food. 

Salsa and Chips

I must say that I was kind of disappointed by this. The flavours of the salsa were there, but since it was so watery it got a little washed away.  Also, it was a pretty small portion for two. 

Enchilada and Burrito combo $16.99

One chicken enchilada, one cheese enchilada and one beef burrito

I definitely don't remember this from my earlier memories.  The burrito was large, but the enchiladas were quite tiny. It was nice that there was so much sauce, but I felt like they were covering up the burrito and enchiladas rather than enhancing the food. In a way, I kind of wondered about this because we could have walked down to Burrito Bandidos and had two burritos.  This seemed a little pricey and not as satisfying. 

Overall: the whole meal didn't really stand out to me and I don't think I'll be back considering the pricing and the quality of the food. 

Website: http://www.fernandoshideaway.ca/

BB Cafe

With my more recent obsession with Persian food and add that with my fascination with desserts, it was really a matter of time before I started looking for places that would serve Persian sweets.
We happened to be in the Thornhill area and so we went to BB Cafe for lunch and sweets.

Pot of Tea and Pistachio Milkshake
 If you've been following my blog, you probably know I absolutely LOVE pistachio things.  So when I'm offered anything pistachio related - I will always get that option.  Part of the reason why I think I could become addicted to Persian desserts is because they put pistachio in everything.  The milkshake was rather creamy with tiny chunks of ground pistachios in it and it was topped with a whipped cream and sprinkled with pistachios - so it really was made for the pistachio fanatics. I liked it, but I felt that it was too heavy on the cream and didn't really have that amazingly sweet pistachio flavour I was looking for. (It could have done with a little more sugar and a little less cream).

Chicken panini and salad
The panini was great! Perfectly seasoned and juicy grilled chicken breast with some mixed greens, roasted peppers and tomatoes on a focaccia bun.
The salad was tangy from the balsamic and the tomatoes were ripe and sweet which made the salad quite nice.

Croque Madame and Salad
It looked a little sad on the plate...the salad was really good at least.

Pistachio Napoleon and Saffron Pistachio ice cream
Also a little heavier and creamier than I would have liked my dessert and there was some crushed pistachios on top of the dessert but not as much inside the dessert. The pastry was flaky and had a nice light touch.  The saffron pistachio ice cream was really cool! It was aromatic and really quite different from your typical ice cream.  The saffron flavour was a lot heavier than the pistachio.

Overall: Good desserts at BB Cafe - lots of pistachio varieties! The food was pretty good too and reasonably priced. The service was a little slow though, but it was difficult for the waitresses to have to deal with two floors of customers - so it was a little understandable.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/BB-Cafe-Pastry-Boutique-545805858800146/

Sassafraz

Sassafraz used to be the hot spot for celebrity sighting in Toronto during TIFF. The last time I was here at Sassafraz was years ago for Winterlicious and recently they decided to promote their business with Groupon. The promotion was 3 courses for 2 people for $69, which I thought was a great deal to go back and eat at the iconic restaurant in the heart of Yorkville. 

The distinctive yellow building

Gorgeous interior with a waterfall!


Appetizer

Ontario Artisan Beef Tartare
Amazing! The tartare was delicious and it was almost too pretty to eat. I loved the sunnyside up quail egg on the beef tartare and the taro chips were a nice touch.

Quail
Deliciously spiced with chermoula - tasty and succulent. Very yummy!

Main courses

Wild Mushroom Ravioli
Rich and earthy pasta dish


Atlantic Halibut
The fish was nicely done with some great garlic orzo and broccolini on the side.


Alberta Bison Striploin
Delicious! The meat was tender and the sauces were so tasty.  I liked the added crispy taro chips to give the dish some more texture and subtle flavour.


Ginger Frappe
Very interesting dessert - I didn't think I'd like it because it was a ginger dessert, but it was actually quite lovely.


Milk chocolate mousse
Milk chocolate + Mousse = Enough Said :)

Overall: Great meal at Sassafraz and it was even better value with the Groupon! I would totally recommend it for excellent food, service and ambiance.

Website: http://www.sassafraz.ca/

Richmond Station

Ever since it opened in 2012, I've always kept Richmond Station in the back of my mind as a place to try eventually.  For some reason or another, it just never worked out in the past (either my friends' schedules wouldn't match up, or I couldn't make the reservation in time for our group, or something else would come up).  I finally got them all together for a birthday celebration. 

If I didn't know to look for it, I might have thought Richmond Station was a tunnel to the Go Station or Parking Lot or something. 

 

Menu


Charcuterie Board
Beautiful presentation, but rather small portions for our table to share.


Muscovy Duck
Duck was nicely done, but rather on the expensive side for just a leg.


Braised Beef Ravioli
Yummy and pretty!


Brown Butter Poached Halibut
A lot of flavours and textures on this plate.


Stn. Burger


Sticky Toffee Cake
Interesting presentation - but I wasn't sold on this dessert.




Dark Chocolate Mousse

Overall: I found it to be a novelty to eat at Top Chef Canada Carl Heinrich's restaurant. The food was all plated beautifully, but I don't think the dishes or the experience really stood out for me. It was nice, but I found that the meal was rather on the pricey side and not particularly filling.

Website: http://richmondstation.ca/

5th Element

Another Groupon experience: I paid $40 for a dinner for two including two appetizers, two entrees, two servings of rice or bread, one side and two desserts. 

They put a butter sculpture of Venice De Milo in the front window of the restaurant.

 
Menus

First course: Appetizers

Left: Singaporean Chicken Tikka and Right: Chili Chicken
The Singaporean chicken came out on a sizzling plate with some basil leaves on top and cabbage on the bottom. Very tasty and a nice filling size for an appetizer. I loved the presentation, colours and flavours of the appetizer - delicious!
The chili chicken was good too, but rather spicy. Luckily, our waitress was very attentive and she helpfully refilled our water glasses quite a few times.


Complementary Mango Lassi shots
After all our water refills, I think the manager took pity on us and gave us two free shots of mango lassi to cool down the burning from the spicy appetizers.
Yummy with tons of mango flavour and yogurt to sooth us.

Second course: Entrees with rice and garlic naan

Basmati Rice, Garlic Naan, Butter Chicken and Madras Beef
Everything was so flavourful! The butter chicken and madras beef tasted great. The madras beef was on the spicier side, and while not overwhelming, it still had to be eaten with lots of rice and naan.
The butter chicken was smooth and rich in flavour with lots of sauce.


Decent sized portion

Third Course: Dessert

Pistachio Kulfi and Passionfruit mousse (?)
A great way to end the meal! The kulfi wasn't too sweet and it had a nice pistachio flavour (if a little diluted by the ice and cream) and raspberry is always a great complement to pistachio.
The mousse was amazing! So many flavours in one spoonful and it had a nice light texture to it.

Overall: I had a great meal at the 5th Element on Queen Street. I got fantastic value for money with the Groupon since the service was great, the food was yummy and I left happy and satisfied (especially with the pistachio kulfi and mousse dessert).

Website: http://www.5thelementt.com/

Me Va Me Kitchen Express

The new Me Va Me replaced Lick's Homeburgers as the new fixture on the corner of York Mills and Lesmill road and it definitely has a newer sleeker look than the previous restaurant:

I couldn't wait to try it and compare it to other shawarmas and the other Middle Eastern food I've been eating recently (which has been mostly sandwiches from North Express)

Chicken Shawarma

The first thing I noticed was that it was thinner than the sandwiches I usually get at North Express and we were only allowed simple fillings like hummus, red cabbage, lettuce, turnips, onions and tomatoes rather than awesome combinations at North like roasted eggplant, tabbouleh, olives, etc.  

I tried to load up my shawarma, but it was pretty tightly packed and not particularly impressive. Also, it was actually a little pricier than North Express. 

Overall: I thought it was rather pricey for shawarma here, but the place is super popular and they made our shawarma pretty fast. However, I would rather eat at North Express than here (even though North's service takes longer, I get more options in my sandwich so it's better value and tastier). 

Website: http://www.mevamekitchenexpress.ca/

Seven Lives

Mexican two days in a row! I was a little disappointed with the tacos the day before, so I wanted better tacos and decided to hit up Seven Lives (which came pretty highly recommended) in Kensington Market:

Simple take-out counter and easy to order menu

Baja Fish and Gobernador (tuna, shrimp and cheese)

Really delicious and fresh tacos! I liked the baja fish even though I wish it had a little bit more of a tang to it than from just the salsa and lime juice. The Gobernador was good too! 

Overall: Good tacos! If you have one that's more of a snack than a meal, but fresh and tasty since they do make it to order. Do note that there is limited seating in the restaurant, so you might have to wait around for a bit before a table opens up. 

Website: https://www.facebook.com/SevenLivesTacosYMariscos

Margaritas

Pretty Graffiti on Baldwin Street

There were originally two Mexican places on Baldwin Street: Agave y Aguacate (which closed recently) and Margaritas

 

They were offering a three course dinner (precio fijo) for $20: 

Mexican Street Corn
with crema, tajfa, queso de feta and sour cream

Pretty simple and tasty

The Moo Moo and Taco al Pastor 

The food was okay, I think I've had better burritos in the city (especially after that huge burrito craze with a ton of burrito joints opening up all around the city). I found the portions a little small for the price and dinner menu.

Part of a tostada

This was pretty good! Mmm guacamole. 

Churros

These were nice and crispy and the plating was nice. 

Overall: Okay meal at Margaritas, the restaurant was tinier inside than it appears outside and the service was a little slow, but overall it was okay. 

Website: http://margaritasfiestaroom.ca/