Avenue Open Kitchen

Friday Mac & Cheese Special

A huge portion of mac & cheese for their daily special. It was made with a few different cheeses and they didn't skimp out on the cheese. The salad was nice to balance out the heaviness of the mac & cheese.

Website: https://aveopenkitchen.ca/

Zet's Restaurant

July 19, 2018

Chicken Souvlaki dinner 

Huge portion of chicken souvlaki and lots of rice and salad for a take out portion. 

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Zet's Homeburger

Delicious as usual: a huge beef patty and all the condiments you want (including tzatziki)

November 21, 2015

Zet's went through a bit of re-branding and changed their colours! The theme is now black and gold. 

We decided to try some other stuff on their menu (since we usually get the burgers). 

 

Chicken Souvlaki Dinner

It was a huge portion for $15! The grilled chicken breast was super juicy and delicious and together with their spreadable tzatziki sauce - it was fantastic.  The salad was really fresh too with lots of feta and the potatoes and rice were great compliments to the whole meal. So good! 

November 22, 2014

Finally! I've been meaning to come back to Zet's for years! (1) Because whenever I talk about burgers, I somehow always bring up Zet's and (2) They have amazing burgers and they make it even better with their tzatziki sauce. The problem? They're in Mississauga near the airport which is pretty far for me. Despite all my trips, I'm always in too much of a rush to and from the airport to actually swing by Zet's and grab a meal.

8oz Homeburger

The classic! A huge burger patty with fresh ingredients and a butter and toasted bun. And of course I got the Tzatziki sauce which just made it so much better! It's still as good as I remember! The prices went up a bit, but the portions are the same gigantic size.

Banquet Burger with cheese and bacon

October 23, 2011

(Photo courtesy of Google Streetview)

I LOVE Zet's!! It's a super far drive for me to get there but it's totally worth the long trip out to Pearson airport for their burgers and chicken souvlaki. They make a great Tzatziki sauce and you can put the sauce on your burger too! (I substitute it for mayonnaise and ketchup in my burger). The portions are HUGE and you really get bang for your buck there. A hamburger (with a 5 oz patty) is $3.80 and a 8 oz Homeburger is $5.50 and they're put on massive toasted buns and garnished just the way you like it (don't forget the Tzatziki sauce!!!). The chicken souvlaki is $13.95 but it's huge! you have a separate plate of salad and these massive overgrown potatoes (double the size of Jimmy the Greek's).

Overall: I definitely recommend this place. It's super convenient if you're ever near the International Center or just near the airport - it's open 24 hours and it's quick service, what more could you ask for???

Website: http://www.zets.ca/

Mel's Diner - Waterloo

Throw back to my school days at Waterloo!

I used to love their skillets

Ultimate Skillet (top) and French Skillet (bottom)

The ultimate skillet was onions, peppers, ham and mushrooms with cheese on top - a savoury combination. However, the French skillet is my favourite with crispy chicken, swiss cheese, onions, peppers and hollandaise sauce - AMAZING!

Website: https://www.melsdiner.ca/menus

Charlie the Butcher - Buffalo

A lot of Torontoians come down to Buffalo, NY for outlet shopping since outlets are so much cheaper in the US than in Canada - so we went on a 3 hour road trip to Buffalo!

Once we crossed the border, we headed straight to Charlie the Butcher for their famous Beef on Weck.

 The Original Location

Very cute diner style place

Beef on Weck $6.99 and Pulled Pork Sandwich $6.49

The buns were really interesting with the kosher salt and some sprinkled caraway seeds on top - it was also really salty. The beef was rare and there was some horseradish already in it (which surprised my taste buds since I didn't expect it). I think it was an interesting roast beef sandwich, but nowhere near the best roast beef sandwich I've had and it wouldn't be something I'd come back to Buffalo for. The pulled pork was slightly better (mostly because it wasn't as salty), but it was still kind of boring. 

Website: https://www.charliethebutcher.com

Mickael Déjeuner-Dîner - Lasalle, Quebec

The bus tour had 4 different stops in Quebec City - depending on the package chosen, you could stay in a few different places: Fairmont Château Frontenac, another hotel in downtown Quebec City, a hotel a little outside Quebec City or a hotel outside of town. After we picked up the last group, the bus dropped us off at this plaza with a Chinese buffet for breakfast/dinner. We opted out of the buffet and went to Mickael Déjeuner-Dîner instead. 

 

Casserole Mickael

Scrambled egg strips - that's one way to serve a casserole or skillet. The stuff under the scrambled egg strips was okay - there wasn't a lot of hollandaise sauce though, which I found disappointing. There was also a LOT of fruit on the plate - which is kind of nice. I got this omelette because I felt that I hadn't been eating a lot of veggies and fruit and this totally satisfied my requirements. 

Crepe

Casserole Delight

This looked a lot more normal with the eggs over easy. There was also a lot of food under the eggs - mostly a lot of potatoes and sausage.  It's also nice that it came with a mountain of fruit. 

Viande Fumee sandwich with salad (Smoked meat sandwich with salad). 

We didn't really get to eat a lot of smoked meat on this trip, so my friend tried to make up for it here. 

Overall: I think this was definitely a better choice than the Chinese buffet, but I probably wouldn't make the trip out here even if I was in Quebec. 

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

Keedy's Fountain & Grill - Palm Desert

Day 2's Pre-Coachella meal was at Keedy's, an old-school diner in Palm Desert, California. 

 

These are old diner prices too! 

Fresh fruit bowl

Lots of delicious seasonal fruits like strawberries, watermelon and bananas. 

Taco Salad with Beef

I loved the taco shell! It was so crispy and crunchy and they packed the salad with so many fresh ingredients. There was guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and it was all topped with nicely seasoned ground beef. It was really good and so much food that I felt like I didn't have to eat lunch or dinner at Coachella. 

Website: http://keedysfountaingrill.com

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/

Upper Deck by Fran's

Fran's is a popular diner style restaurant chain in Toronto and they recently renovated their upstairs space into a brand restaurant area: the Upper Deck. 

Really cool decor!

They had some really interesting shareable plates/appetizers

Fried Ravioli and Chicken and Fries with gravy

The fried ravioli was different - I'm not sure I really liked it. The fries were okay, but they didn't really work with the chicken and the green onions and gravy were strange. 

 

Chicken and Waffles

I split this order with my friend and they were nice enough to split the order into two plates as well! 

The waffles were pretty good, but the chicken was a little strange - instead of a crispy fried chicken skin, it was a battered chicken outer layer? The syrup was okay, but it didn't really work for me. 

Overall: Interesting experience - it's a lovely new space and I think they're still working out the menu. Hopefully, they sort it out soon! 

Website: https://upperdeckbyfrans.com/eat/

Art's Cafe - SF

Cute neighbourhood cafe run by a nice Korean couple. I actually came here twice (the first day for breakfast - April 26 and the second for brunch/lunch - April 27). 

 

The cafe is quite tiny, but super busy and there's diner chairs only. 

The diner table had laminate on top of these postcards from customers who've travelled around the world. Very quaint!

Hash brown sandwich with sausage and scrambled eggs with toast. 

The food is simple, quick and filling - no frills here. 

Interesting hash brown sandwich: the hash browns were nice and crispy on the outside like a potato latke but thin. 

Daily breakfast special: Pancakes, two eggs and sausage

The pancakes were huge, but unfortunately rather bland and flavourless until you poured the syrup on. 

 

Art's club sandwich with fake crab meat and avocado and bacon and a ton of fries

Pretty good with toasted bread - all this food for under $10! 

Overall: Good, cheap, quick and simple diner-style food at Art's Cafe! I can definitely understand why there's a line-up outside most days. 

George Street Diner

We've been driving by here for weeks on our way to George Brown College for Culinary Arts 1. 

Last week was the first time I noticed the bright red George Street Diner. 

This week, we decided to get downtown early so that we could try their Irish style breakfast. 

 

Except we ordered Huevos Rancheros:

Two eggs, chorizo sausage, re-fried black beans, guacamole, cheese, home fries, tortilla, salsa and sour cream. 

It was okay probably not the most amazing huevos rancheros I've ever had, but it was definitely a little strange to be going to an Irish diner to have a Mexican farm breakfast.  It was a rather hefty portion and luckily the two of us decided to share because we couldn't eat all that food individually and then go cook and eat at cooking school. 

The waiters mentioned that the Irish soda bread was great here, so we got a side order of Irish Soda Bread to try it out and it was DELICIOUS! I would definitely come back and eat this again. 

Overall: Friendly, quick and helpful service and good filling portions of food. Love the Soda bread! 

Website: http://thegeorgestreetdiner.blogspot.ca/

The Lakeview Restaurant

February 20, 2015

Deep Fried Mac and Cheese Balls

Crispy on the outside and ooey gooey mac n' cheese on the inside. 

I thought they were a fun and playful appetizer. 

Coney Fries with Chili, cheese and sour cream

Lots of meaty chili on top of the fries and melted cheddar cheese. The chili was a little dry though - it was mostly just ground beef on top, which is nice - but I would have liked the sauce to soak into the fries to make everything tastier.

June 12, 2013

After seeing this place on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, I was pretty excited about checking out this diner. I had to start with the featured drink on Triple Ds:

Apple pie milkshake $7.50 and Mimosa $4

Awesome vanilla milkshake with chunks of cinnamon apple pie blended in. 

The pie was delicious in liquid form (as well as solid). 

Cornflake chicken: double breasted with melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion + storehouse BBQ sauce on a sesame bun

The cornflakes add a nice hard and crunchy texture to the chicken breast.  The fries were okay.

The Lakeview clubhouse stack: classic double decker with cornflake chicken, strip bacon, lettuce, 

tomato + sweet chili mayo on whole wheat bread. Upgraded the side to classic poutine.

The clubhouse was pretty good: the chicken was juicy inside and crunchy outside. 

The poutine had real cheese curds, but a salty gravy in a small bowl. 

Nutella cheesecake pie

The cheesecake was a nice rich chocolate hazelnut with a great pie crust.

Overall: The restaurant has the whole diner feel, but the service was modern and fast and the food was classic with a twist. I thought that it was okay overall. 

Website: http://thelakeviewrestaurant.ca/