Sunday 26 August 2012


NAPOLI PIZZERIA 3.5 out of 5

5485 Ferry Street, Niagara Falls On., L2G 1R5, (905) 356-3345

Went to Napoli Pizza to have dinner recently.  The meal began with homemade focaccia bread and flavoured oil,  it was delicious.  We ordered a fine bottle of Chianti.  We followed this with an appetizer of large grilled shrimp ($15) for 10 very scrumptious and meaty.  I had a main of homemade spaghetti with rapini, homemade sausage and peperoncino.  It was good and a very large portion.  It was so large it could have fed two people easily.  The pasta went well with the rapini and the sausages had a hint of anise in them.   My wife had the Gnocchi Toscana which were made with handmade ricotta, parmigiana and escarole  gnocchi in a mascarpone cream sauce.  Unfortunately we had no room for desert but we did have cappuccinos and they were a great finish.  The service was outstanding and very professional, however through no fault of theirs they had to keep apologizing for missing ingredients and adjustments that had to be made to some of the menu items.   All in all Terroni in Toronto is a far better restaurant with better quality pastas and more variety of pastas.


homemade spaghetti with rapini and homemade sausage


5 large shrimp each, they were delicious




Tuesday 14 August 2012

PANE FRESCO 4 out 5

A great place to have lunch - the best bread pizza I've ever had.  Try the Prosciutto and Brie square or the pepperoni square.  These are always coming out of the oven fresh because this place is so busy at lunch.  Their daily special salads are always extraordinary though a little expensive.  The cannoli and chocolate croissants are melt in your mouth scrumptious.  It is a family run business and they seem proud of their product (rightly so). 

BEACH BIRD 3.5 out of 5

  • After searching for restaurants in the beaches we decided to try the Beach Bird. We went straight through the restaurant to the back patio. It was a glorious late afternoon in the shade. We started with the fried calamari, which came with a curried mayo and were excellent (although not enough). I had the corn crusted halibut which came piping hot with garlic mashed potatoes and crisply steamed vegetables. My wife had a generous portion of salmon which also included mashed and vegetables. My son had the steak sandwich, that came with fries and a salad. We had a bottle of Valpolicella Ripasso which was very generously priced. We enjoyed everything and found everything arrived hot. We will definitely come back again.


    We came back again a couple of weeks later and it 
    was the same!


Monday 13 August 2012

STANDARD PIZZA AND PASTA BAR 



We come here regularly for the lasagna and their calamari. Both are the best we have tried in Toronto. Consistent every time we come. Reasonable prices and reasonably attentive service. One of our favourite restaurants in Toronto. Valpolicela Ripasso is reasonably priced here. They also make a great Capuccino.
The patio here is large and heated and very spacious. The inside is hip and clean. It can get very busy very quickly on the weekends.


lasagna, bread and Ripasso wine, yum






The Standard Pizza & Pasta Bar on Urbanspoon

PRIME STEAKHOUSE AT THE WINDSOR ARMS 4 out of 5





We decided to choose Prime for Summerlicious because it offered good choices for the price $45.  My wife and I had the Kale salad and Salmon. The Kale salad was huge but a little boring. The crusted salmon was a very generous portion and the accompanying sauce and potatoes were very good. My son had the 10 oz steak and it was perfectly cooked.  By the way everything arrived very hot and steaming (I like my food served hot, especially fish).  We each had a different desert ( my wife's ladyfingers in strawberry sauce were delicious but very sweet).  Overall, the amount and quality of food were good value as a price fix for summerlicious.  The service was very good and friendly.  But it is the ambience of the dining room and the hotel that contributed most to the experience.



Prime Steakhouse on Urbanspoon


Food for Pleasure Toronto restaurants

http://www.windsorarmshotel.com/Prime/





Wednesday 8 August 2012

ANNONA at the PARK HYATT YORKVILLE  

4.5 out of 5

We came here specifically to have the Summerlicious menu and it was quite tasty. We began with the lobster and green pea fritters and they were yummy. My wife had the pan seared halibut which she thoroughly enjoyed. I had the grilled 8 oz angus rib eye steak which was tasty and cooked perfectly medium. The accompaniments to both mains were well matched and nicely done. We had a choice of 2 deserts and they were just the right touch and very rich. It was very good value for 35 dollars . Service was attentive without being too eager.  The bread basket accompanying the meals here is unique and varied. Summerlicious is a good gateway to explore restaurants as we would never have ventured into this one without it. The result is, we found a very good restaurant which we will soon return to.
Well it hasn't been long 2 weeks in fact after summerlicious and we came back.  Like the last time the greeting and seating was quick and efficient.  This time we chose our meal from the menu not price fix (although they do have one regularly).  We began with appetizers, my son and I had the scallops with preserved lemon and caper sauce warm beets and arugula.  They were delicious but slightly cool (I like seafood to be very hot when served).  My wife had arugula with Bosc pear salad, parmigiana regianno  in lemon grapeseed dressing - it was heavenly.  My son had the surf and turf which included a 4 oz fillet medallion, shrimp and scallop peppercorn jus,  lobster mash with spring vegetables.
My son enjoyed it thoroughly, though the steak may have been slightly undercooked.  My wife had the chicken with seasonal mushrooms with steamer creamed potatoes and seasonal vegetables, everything on her plate was delicious.  I had the special,  a combination of grouper and blackened cod with asparagus and pommes croquet - absolutely delicious and very substantial.  We had a nice bordeaux with the meal and decided on Proseco instead of desert. At this point the waiter realizing we had not ordered desert brought a complimentary martini glass filled with strawberries and cointreau for us to share- it was a nice touch.



Annona











chicken with seaonal mushrooms and steamer creamed potatoes



combination of grouper and blackened cod with asparagus and pommes  frites


scallops with preserved lemon caper sauce warm beets and arugula
Annona at The Park Hyatt Yorkville on Urbanspoon

http://hyatt.com/gallery/torphannon/




BYMARK 

4.5 out of 5

One way to try restaurants of this calibre is summerlicious. This is a very expensive restaurant. We came as a foursome my wife and I and my son and his girlfriend. It gave us a chance to try a variety of things offered. My wife and I had the chilled zucchini soup with crab salad and garlic chips - it was substantial and delicious. My son had the Carpaccio with endive St Augur , herb croutons and ranch dressing, his girlfriend had the Albacore Sashimi with shaved and pickled radish and both thoroughly enjoyed the apps. For mains I , my son and his girlfriend had the Duck Confit and Seared Scallop with sweet peas, cauliflower, northwood mushrooms, passion fruit and duck sauce. The duck was juicy and very tender, the scallops were perfectly cooked and the mushrooms were scrumptious. My wife had the Tomato Braised Chicken with white beans, artichokes , roasted red peppers , cracked olives and oil. The chicken was very tender and tasty, the white beans were over salted and the rest of the ingredients blended well. For desert we had each of the three offerings and all were delicious. Service was attentive and the Chianti we selected was like liquid silk. All in all it  was a great way to experience Bymark. We will definitely try it again.




Bymark on Urbanspoon

bymark.ca




BLOOR STREET DINER  

1 out of 5



The calamari were dried out. The limes served with them looked like they were stored in a desert. The half chicken dinner had little meat and was tasteless. Server seemed like she was just going through the motions and she had no personality. The ravioli were passable, the pulled pork sandwich was overpriced. Would not come back despite the great location, best patio in the area, movie and meal deal, until things change around here.  Came here a year ago for the movie and meal deal and the pasta with shrimp was quite good - when we asked about it, the answer was "we change our menu all the time".  We'll see.


SORREL     4 out of 5                   

One of the best restaurants in Yorkville. We began with a bottle of Chateau Pey La Tour Bordeaux which is always a good selection with a rich dinner. We had the fried calamari as an appetizer - they were tender and flavourful. My wife had the linguine with pesto and asparagus - it was delicious and substantial. I had the veal scaloppini with white wine lemon and caper sauce (the sauce was wonderful). We had a coupon for a free desert and had the tiramisu which was just enough to share. We completed our meal with a glass of Prosecco. It was an enjoyable meal in a very calm cool restaurant where the server matched the ambiance. Looking forward to returning soon.


IMG00495-20120526-1658.jpg
veal scaloppini,  white wine lemon caper sauce,
fingerling potatoes and french beans 

Tuesday 7 August 2012

THE BANKNOTE BAR AND SUPERGRILL 

3.5 out of 5


The Banknote has good food cheap. Have eaten here several times and had the half bbq chicken - it is always excellent and filling with an awesome bbq sauce unlike any other I have tried.  It comes with good garlic mashed potatoes and crisp steamed vegetables. You don't need an appetizer. However, the calamari and shrimp are good choices. Five dollar chianti wine on Saturdays adds to the treat. Good Value.


Banknote Bar & Supergrill on Urbanspoon