Tosto's Quickfire Pizza Pasta @ Bayview & Eglinton

To celebrate the opening of Tosto's at Bayview & Eglinton, they gave out some coupons to try it out. 

I've tried the Tosto's on Bay and the food was okay (but oversalted). I'm hoping these dishes aren't as salty. 

It definitely wasn't as crowded as the Bay location for dinner on a Tuesday night.

Aragosta and Nero

Aragosta is a linguine with lobster, tomatoes, caper, chili flakes and parsley. Again, it was still too salty, but there was a lot of lobster and it had an olive oil sauce. The Nero is a squid ink linguine with shrimp, garlic, tomatoes, capers, parsley, chili flake and salmon caviar (which added a really neat crunchy and jelly texture to the dish). The Nero was interesting and not as salty as I thought it would be - definitely the better pasta of the two. 

Overall: The food was okay - it's consistent with the quality at the Bay location and there's less crowds. However, I still found the food very salty. 

Website: http://tostoquickfire.ca

Captain's Boil

When my friend suggested Captain's Boil for dinner, I thought it would be really neat! I heard all about the cajun seafood boil restaurant chain and I was excited to try it. 

I didn't really picture the mussels and shrimps we ordered in paper bags. It made sense when we started eating. You need space to spread out your seafood bounty and it's a pretty messy experience (but we got bibs, gloves and a roll of paper towel in case). 

Success! We devoured all the seafood (and a plate of rice) 

Overall: It was a great experience - a lot of fun and the seafood was really tasty. I would definitely do this again!

Website: https://www.thecaptainsboil.com

Mamma's Pizza

I've seen quite a few Mamma's Pizzas on my adventures around Toronto. I finally stopped into one for dinner tonight.

I like that collage frame.

Meatball sandwich

I didn't feel like getting pizza so my options were sandwiches or pasta. I opted for the meatball sub because I like meatballs and toasted bread. The sandwich was okay for the most part - I'm not a fan of their marinara sauce - it's a little too sour for my tastes. The meatballs were okay. 

Overall: It was pretty busy for a Tuesday night - I'm not sure the food is worth the prices here, but I did watch a lot of people get the gluten free dough - so maybe that's the draw?

Website: http://mammaspizza.com

Foodie Boy

In the food court of Pacific Mall, there were some signs that said Foodie Boy won a lot of awards for best Hong Kong milk tea (HK milk tea). So I thought it'd be worth a try even though one cup is pretty expensive. 

This is a small and it was almost $3

It was okay - it didn't really taste like the HK milk teas that I had in Hong Kong. It was smooth and creamy, but I don't think I'd pay that much for it. 

Coach House Restaurant

I've passed Coach House Restaurant a few times and noticed that it's only open for the breakfast, lunch and late lunch rush. I heard from people in the area that it's pretty good value for money, so I thought I'd finally try it out. 

Strawberry and Chocolate milkshakes in February

Why not? They were pretty good, but not really anything special (except their cheap prices). 

Hot Turkey Sandwich and Chicken Souvlaki

The chicken souvlaki was really good - tender white meat with spices and a heaping of fries and salad. I kind of missed roasted potatoes though - the souvlaki was thick and flavourful. 

I liked the food here so much, I came back the next day. 

Steak and fries and chicken parmigiana

The steak was a little tough, but it was a decent sized portion for the price paid. The chicken parmigiana had a lot of meat sauce, but it wasn't that good. 

Overall: Good value for money since the portions are quite big and the food is okay - it can also get busy, but the service is pretty fast. 

Website: http://www.coachhousediner.ca/

McDonalds - Fort Lauderdale

We made a quick Wi-Fi stop and picked up the drink for $1. 

American sizes are ridiculous - this was a large coke: 

I couldn't believe how huge this was - this could serve a family of 3. 

The Cheesecake Factory - Fort Lauderdale

I love coming to the Cheesecake Factory whenever I'm in the US! 

  

Bread basket - the brown bread is a sweet wheat and oat demi baguette and it's AMAZING. 

It was super soft and really tasty. 

Lunch portion of the Santa Fe Salad

My friend ordered the salad thinking that it would be a light meal and it ended up being huge for a lunch portion (and maybe not as light as expected). 

Lunch portion of Spaghetti and Meatballs

They had really yummy tomato sauce and these two huge meatballs - talk about value for money here!

Lunch portion of Chicken Piccata

So much chicken covered in cream sauce and pasta - it was AMAZING but so heavy with all that cream. I felt like this was as heavy as a 3 course meal on the cruise. 

Renee's lunch special with soup, sandwich and a salad

Can we talk about great value here? A full bowl of soup with a sandwich usually is a meal in itself, but they've also added a salad! It was probably the healthiest lunch option of all the items above and it was pretty good. 

And of course, we can't forget the main attraction - Cheesecake! 

I totally bought in to the un-subtle marketing on the back on the menu: 

However, we had to get our table to split this cake because it was so rich.

After eating a bit of this, I came to the conclusion that this cheesecake is my favourite cheesecake so far. It was a rich, decadent hazelnut and chocolate explosion in a cheesecake form with that lovely graham cracker crust and whipped cream on the side. OMG it was so good. 

Overall: I love this place for the following reasons: a) it's great value for money; b) it's delicious and everything I've tried has been really good;  c) there's something like 250 items which means there's something for everyone; and d) there's amazing cheesecakes (enough said). The only downside was that we kept losing our waiter - it was pretty busy, but I would've thought that they'd be trying to get us out of the restaurant sooner after we finished our meals (it took a while before we were able to pay). It was funny because I almost forgot that we had to pay for our meal since we were no longer on the cruise - it was like a push back into the real world (not happy cruise world). 

Website: https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

Royal Caribbean Cruise (Day 8) - Allure of the Seas (West Caribbean)

Our last meal before we disembark in Fort Lauderdale and head home. 

We went to our favourite quick service breakfast place on the ship: Park Cafe for one last panini and smoked salmon meal. 

Fruit cups, cantaloupe cups, yogurt with granola, smoked salmon salad, pressed panini sandwiches and a breakfast sandwich. 

The panini sandwiches were so good with pesto, melted cheese and meat. Then they had that perfect crispy crust on the outside. The smoked salmon salad didn't really have that many ingredients after a while (there was quite a line on the last day). 

Overall: I loved the eating experience on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas! Granted, it's my first cruise and this is all I can go by, but I thought the quality and quantity of the food on the ship was fantastic. There were so many delicious things every night that it's hard to pick a favourite meal because every meal was phenomenal. It'd have been even better if I didn't get seasick, but that's cruise traveling for you. Be prepared for seasickness and eat amazing food in full all-you-can-eat style. It's also amazing how you don't have to worry about paying on the ship - everything can be charged to your room and you can settle up at Guest Services or through your credit card. Royal Caribbean makes it a pretty seamless process for you (which is amazing considering there's probably 5,000 passengers on board with you). 

Royal Caribbean Cruise (Day 7) - Allure of the Seas (West Caribbean)

It's our last full day on the ship at sea. I'm a little sad this is almost over because I don't think I've ever eaten so well on vacation. 

 Of course, we're going to go all out on the last day. 

Royal Caribbean also entertained half the restaurant with Po from Kung Fu Panda (apparently this was a kids and family experience that cost a bit extra). 

Ripe cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon and pineapple from the buffet bar. 

Eggs Benedict with Canadian Bacon (i.e. back bacon)

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon 

I saw that they had smoked salmon under the omelettes section, so I thought I'd asked for the eggs benny and they delivered! 

Chocolate banana pancakes

Wow - so many pancakes! They were light and fluffy, but a lot to eat in one sitting. 

SNACK

Boardwalk Donuts was open most of the day, but I didn't try it until the last day for this donut:

Key Lime Donut

Another of my favourite flavours: key lime. Unfortunately, this donut didn't really taste like key lime, but it was tart and sweet. 

LUNCH

We passed by Solarium Bistro/Samba Grill a few times in our explorations of the ship and we finally got around to eating here on our last day. Unfortunately, I also learned that I do get a little queasy and sick at the front of the ship (which explains why there weren't usually a lot of people here). So I had a "light" lunch and then proceeded to go back to my cabin in hopes that I could sleep off the sea-sickness. 

Roast beef, fish, eggplant parmigiana and a wrap

The food was pretty good, but the queasiness that came from being in the front of the ship as we navigated slightly choppy waters made this meal a bit of a write off for me. 

Windjammers had a massive cake thank you. (Really I think we should be thanking them for exceptional service and delicious food)

LATE LUNCH

Sorrentos and Cafe Promenade also have snack food around the clock.

Sorrentos' Margherita Pizza

The pizza was super cheesy, but I wasn't a big fan of the crust. 

Pesto pizza

Unfortunately, I felt like there were better options elsewhere. 

Strawberry tart and a crayfish roll

The crayfish roll was okay - there was a lot of sauce. It would have been even better if it was a lobster roll, but I imagine all the lobster went to making the lobster dinner on formal night. The strawberry tart was pretty good. 

Roast beef and cheese sandwich and a cheesecake pop
The sandwich was pretty good.

DINNER

 
Scallops
This was a great start to dinner - the scallops were perfect and so sweet and tasty with the nice crumble on top.


French Onion soup
A nice cheesy and flavourful soup

Chilled pineapple and lychee soup
It was basically a delicious smoothie in a soup bowl.


Turkey dinner
I didn't think we'd get Thanksgiving dinner on the boat - but they delivered and it was really good!
So much turkey meat.


Lamb shank
The chefs on the Allure of the Seas do a really amazing lamb - this was fall off the bone tender and packed with flavour.


Key Lime Pie and Frozen Strawberry Souffle
The key lime pie was lovely! The souffle was kind of like strawberry ice cream in a cup.


Apple Strudel and Pear Chocolate Crisp
Both were good ways to end the meal.

Royal Caribbean Cruise (Day 6) - Allure of the Seas (West Caribbean)

It's our day in Mexico and I have a dream date with some Bottlenose Dolphins! 

I had to make sure I started my day off right at Park Cafe. 

BREAKFAST

Prosciutto panini and Smoked salmon and arugula bagel

Loading up on those carbs and fish since I'll be using a lot of energy to swim with dolphins today (maybe I should call this the dolphin diet)! 

Fruit cup, croissant and breakfast burrito

Yum!

LUNCH - at Chankanaab

After swimming with dolphins and seeing the manatees up close, I saw down for a buffet lunch. 

Nachos and cheese, carnitas tacos, mini burrito and rice

The food was okay - but I definitely missed the cruise ship options. I've been so spoiled! 

Beef and carnitas on tortilla with fresh papaya

The papaya was AMAZING - it was super ripe and so tasty. I took as much as I could without drawing weird looks from other people. 

SNACK 

When I eventually got back to the cruise ship, I went to the Windjammer to pick up some food and I ended up getting all these sweet snacks: 

Strawberry cupcake and strawberry white chocolate cookie! 

WOW - I'm loving this strawberry theme. The cupcake was so moist and the strawberry cream was delicious! The cookies were soft and sweet. 

Cupcake, lemon tart, cheesecake, chocolate cake and a chocolate cookie. 

I grabbed some desserts for later. 

DINNER

 

New England Clam Chowder

Pretty good if a tad watery. 

Spinach dip - I loved that it had that nice crust from the oven. Yum!

Seafood ceviche

Beef Carpaccio

Yum! Best appetizer by far. 

Strip Steak with garlic butter

Roasted Rack of Lamb

This was a great lamb dish - it was tender and not too gamey. The sauce was fantastic with the delicious lamb meat. 

Gyoza and filet of sole

I didn't really like the gyoza - something about it just tasted weird. 

Pork Scaloppine Oscar

Conchiglioni pasta

I didn't really like this pasta - the shells got a little dry on the outside and the sauce seemed too watery. 

Warm chocolate cake, panna cotta, ice cream and strawberry kiwi pavlova

I got to try another new type of dessert - pavlova which is really just a meringue. I wasn't a big fan of this either. The chocolate cake was good even if all the ice cream melted. 

Two tone praline finger

Pretty good! I wasn't sure if I was going to like it and it looked really weird, but the praline was yummy.