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/

Taste of Istanbul

Groupon was having a local deals sale and when I saw the deal for Taste of Istanbul's 6 course meal for 4 people for $110, I couldn't resist trying it. 

 

Our six courses included: cold appetizer, soup, hot appetizer, main course, dessert and coffee or tea

Clockwise from top: Patlican Kizartmasi (fried eggplant salad), babaghanouj (babagannush) and Pilaki (kidney bean salad)
Everything was pretty good and the portion sizes were really very filling. The pita and the babaghanouj were good (the babaghanouj would have been better with a little more salt), but my favourite was probably the eggplant salad - delicious and so tasty despite being chilled. Everything was fresh and flavourful in our first course.

  
Tavuk Corbasi (Chicken soup) and Kuzu Corbasi (Lamb Soup)


Mercimek Corbasi (Lentil soup)

Of the soups, the only one I would recommend is the lamb soup since it was the most flavourful and aromatic. However, if you're not a fan of lamb, then the lentil soup would be the other choice (the chicken was really watered down and tasteless).


Kalamar (Grilled Calamari)
The grilled calamari was good! Nice, juicy and tasty with the Cacik (tzatziki sauce)
The portions were also huge! A sure sign of lots of food to come if the hot appetizer was already so big.


Lahmacun (Turkish Pizza)
Crispy flatbread topped with ground beef and lamb, onion, garlic and spices. I'm not too sure if there was a sauce on this, but I thought it was better without anyways. A very meaty pizza with lots of crunchy flatbread. The tomatoes and onions were a little odd on the side of the pizza, but the lemon actually made the pizza taste better. Very interesting.


Sultan Izgara (Sultan Grill) for One
An assortment of grilled meats (beef, chicken and lamb). This dish was probably the best value for money on the menu, but it was so much meat with kobideh, lamb chop and chicken breast kebab. All well done and rather tasty with the spices.


Sultan Izgara (Sultan Grill) for Two
Some minor differences: there was a meat patty (chicken kefta?), ground beef kebab and everything in the Sultan Grill for one.

The Sultan Grill came with a side and we got bulgar pilaf, which had this really interesting texture and flavour that I thought worked well with the meat. It seemed really hearty.


Inegol Kofte (beef served with spices, pilaf and roasted vegetables)
The meat was more on the well-done side, but still tasty. The rice pilaf portion was pretty plentiful.


Turkish Coffee
Very strong and a little less bitter than an espresso shot since we could add sugar. Personally, I preferred the tea (which was the tea they served at the beginning of our meal anyways).


Baklava
Walnuts, sugar syrup, pistachios all drizzled in honey and wrapped in a phyllo pastry. A little too sticky and sweet for me.


Different baklava
Another dessert with shredded phyllo and layers of nutty paste. Not as sticky and sweet as the one on top, but I wasn't a fan of the shredded top layer.

Overall: I found that I enjoyed my meal at Taste of Istanbul. It was a lot of food (especially meat), the service was good and it was good value for money for the Groupon experience. It was really a five course meal, but I thought the food was tasty and the portions were huge.

Website: http://www.tasteofistanbul.ca/turkish-restaurant-toronto-doner-shawarma.html

Imperial Buffet

It's been a long time since I've been to a Buffet in Toronto. Usually buffets aren't places I would go to eat because they may have a huge variety of things to eat, but I find the quality and standards of the food are not really up to par.  

Quite the variety here: sushi, pigs in a blanket, cha siu, mussels, crab salad and a lobster tart

I would say the only things I would go back for was the sushi - but buffet sushi just isn't the same quality as the sushi you would get at a Japanese restaurant. 

Eggplant, stir-fried beans, tempura, ham, Shanghai fried noodles, snail, lobster bisque

The fried noodles were okay. The rest was not very good. 

Sausage and Grilled pineapple

The grilled pineapple was really good especially coated with cinnamon on top. 

Fruits, nanaimo bar, eclair, lime pie, tiramisu and crepe with mango ice cream, whipped cream, strawberry jam, chocolate sauce and syrup

I saved room for dessert and unfortunately, dessert disappointed me too. I liked the mango ice cream and the fruits, but that was about it. 

Overall: The buffet was expensive (for a Sunday lunch) and the food wasn't that great either. I think Imperial Buffet just reminded me of all the things I don't like about buffet restaurants and I probably won't go back again. 

Website: http://www.imperialbuffet.com/

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/

Garrett's Popcorn - Chicago

Chicago Mix Popcorn

Small Bag of Chicago Mix

Surprisingly huge bag for a "small bag" of popcorn - Good Value! 

I like the concept of sweet and cheesy popcorn and I can totally see why it's one of Chicago's best foods because sweet and savoury are delicious together. 

Now, Garrett's is one of those reputable popcorn places (and they're EVERYWHERE in Chicago). We both agreed that we needed to bring some home for family, friends and coworkers to try - so we bought two bags. The popcorn lasts 2 days - so we made sure to eat it fast. 

The caramel was really good - if very sweet. However, the cheese popcorn was weird tasting - like cheetos with butter. I could sort of see how this combination works, but I wasn't really a fan of them together since the caramel tasted sweeter with the cheese popcorn and the cheese popcorn was a little greasy and strange. 

Website: http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/