Kensington Cornerstone

Posted on June 21, 2012 by TOFoodReviews Staff in Kensington Market

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1 star

- The Kensington Cornerstone offers a gluten-free menu.  It has gluten-free beer.  It has a cute patio and it’s painted to look like a circus tent.  I chose it for all of the aforementioned reasons.  It checked a lot of boxes on my list.  I won’t be going back.

This past weekend found me turning another year older, and because I’ve been experimenting with a gluten-reduced diet as of late, I decided my birthday dinner should be had at the Kensington Cornerstone.  I looked at pictures.  I perused the menu.  I read reviews.  It all seemed positive.

It was a beautiful evening, so I was happy that we snagged a spot on the patio.  We had to wait awhile for our drink order to be taken, but at this point we were still taking in our surroundings, people watching (Kensington offers some of the best), and trying to catch passing bubbles being dispensed from somewhere across the street. 

Just when I was at the point of helping myself to my neighbouring tables’ pitcher of beer, our waitress appeared.  The up side to the wait was that we had enough time to choose not only our drinks but our meals, so we placed all of our orders to make up for lost time.  While we had intended to order one of their pitchers of sangria (and/or mojitos, and/or margaritas), we all ended up opting for beer.  My girlfriend and my mom split a pitcher of Upper Canada Lager, while I decided to try one of their 4 gluten-free selections.  I figured having a wheat beer with my gluten-free meal would be like washing down a pie with a diet pop, so I stuck to my guns.  I’ve had what Nicklebrook has to offer in the line of GF beer, so I was looking forward to trying a new one.  I asked our server what the most popular one was, and she pointed me in the direction of a red ale by La Messagre that operates out of Montreal.

When our drinks arrived, I took that first sip so full of hope, and for a split second I thought I was going to have the chance to gloat in the face of my girlfriend (I know, I’m nice aren’t I?) that my beer didn’t taste horrible.  I didn’t have that chance.  Did I just drink beer?  Or did I just suck on a penny?  Even I was a bit confused at that point.  It started off so well, but then finished with a strong metallic and bitter taste that seemed to coat my tongue and the back of my throat.  Bitter…just like I was at that point.

So by this time about 30 minutes had passed since we ordered.  Our thirst was quenched but we were more than peckish.  Thank goodness our server was coming our way!  But instead of food, she came bearing bad news.  My girlfriend would not be dining on the stuffed peppers that she had ordered as they had run out, and for some reason, they just thought to tell her now.  Not only would we have to wait even longer for our food, but our plan to share our meals was scrapped as we now both had the pulled pork sandwich coming to us. 

(Sound of clock ticking) 

Another half hour passed and our meals finally arrived.  As hungry as I was I couldn’t make it through my sandwich ($13).  It looked appetizing enough, but the pork wasn’t nearly as tender as it should have been (I’ve been spoiled by the likes of Fidel Gastro lately), and the sauce was a bit of a turn-off, being too heavy on the tomato and cilantro.  The gluten-free bread was quite good, and even had a bit of a cheesy crust but unfortunately it had been sitting in pork juice, so it was now more of a sponge.  Yes, a pulled pork sandwich should definitely be messy, but you should still be able to pick it up. 

My mom was impressed with her salmon ($18), but she wouldn’t complain if there was a gun to her head.  It did look good though, and the portion was generous, so not all was lost. 

Looking back on it now I wish I had just scrapped the GF diet and stuck with an old faithful restaurant.  What was I thinking trying to eliminate carbs for my birthday dinner?  Why did I go out of my way to both experiment with a restaurant and deprive myself of something I love on my special day?  Who does that?  So while I’m not taking the blame away from the restaurant, I will share some of it with them…but only some as the service was really what ruined our experience.  Maybe the food wasn’t amazing, but the fact that we had to wait so long for it was the added insult.  The servers themselves were lovely girls, but somewhere back in the kitchen, the ball was dropped. 

After we begrudgingly paid our bill, I decided to throw the whole GF thing out the window and head to Ronnie’s for a bottle of (gluten rich) 50 to end the night on a positive note. As we sat there on the patio I couldn’t help but stare across the road at The Grilled Cheese.  Oh, what could have been.

- Rebecca

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Our Most Popular Reviews of 2011

Posted on December 17, 2011 by TOFoodReviews Staff in Feature

- As 2011 is drawing to a close, it seems like a good time to reflect on all that we’ve done in the past year. We’ve been to bunch of great events, we’ve met a lot of great people, and above all, we’ve eaten at a ton of places throughout this fine city. In all that eating, we’ve found some new favorites, and we’ve been to some places we’d rather just forget about all together. But, like with any type of long term relationship, you only remember the good times. So, in no particular order, here’s a look back at some of our most popular posts from 2011 (even though they aren’t all places we loved):

Drake BBQ
The Mugshot Tavern
Hey Meatball
Guu Izakaya
Bamburger
Banjara
O’Noir
Globe Bistro
Earl’s Kitchen and Bar

La Hacienda

Posted on August 28, 2011 by TOFoodReviews Staff in Trinity Bellwoods

1 star

- Meh. You’d think that there wouldn’t be much to be said about greasy Mexican food, but that doesn’t seem to be true in La Hacienda’s case. Not on my part though; they’ve got a pretty decent reputation online, particularly where weekend brunch is concerned. The Internet is full of lots of reviews, lots of check-ins, and lots of positive feedback.

I’d say most of that good stuff online about them is dead wrong.

La Hacienda is a decent little place at first walk-in: cozy, dimly lit, mismatched old furniture, the kinda place you’d expect to find on this stretch of Queen West. With a mostly-covered back patio full of comfortable seating and nicely placed greenery, it seems like the perfect place to hide on a Sunday afternoon.

But one thing is for sure, it isn’t the perfect place to eat. The menu is mostly unimaginative with few signs of thought or effort. Boring chicken and beef burritos and greasy chorizo hash is what you’ll be eating. Almost everything comes with a side of their store bought corn chips and homemade salsa, but again, that salsa isn’t made with any degree of love or passion either; just a bunch of cubed tomatoes with little seasoning. La Hacienda sure doesn’t have the fresh-chopped tomatoes, bright cilantro, spicy peppers, and killer guacamole you’d expect of a Mexican joint. There’s barley anything authentically Mexican at all.

Perfect for a hot, Sunday afternoon, they also serve in-house made Sangrias by the glass or pitcher. Unfortunately, they’re far from perfect too. Cheap red wine, mixed with pre-frozen orange juice, and few bits of floating fruit, it’s again, a big miss from the freshness most people associate with Sangrias. Call me crazy, but for 6 bucks a glass, I want some fresh-squeezed orange juice and fresh slices of orange and limes cut specifically for that purpose. I want the red wine in my Sangria to have flavour that compliments citrus, not just be whatever is laying around and was recently opened.

On this particular day, La Hacienda was brutally understaffed with one server and one cook; hardly enough to accommodate the back-patio alone, nevermind the front of the place. While still friendly, the server was obviously struggling to keep everyone happy; never returning to check on how people liked their food, which I assume they didn’t. She was so busy in fact, that I didn’t even have the heart to tell her how crappy everything was for fear that one misguided detail like that would throw her off her game completely.

Seriously, this place is should be on your avoid list. There is absolutely nothing special, or Mexican for that matter, about it at all. It’s just greasy, over-priced, ‘Mexican’ themed food served in a hipster shop on Queen West. If you’re looking for authenticity, you’ve got a ton of other way-better options in this city.

- Andre

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Margarita’s Fiesta Room

Posted on August 26, 2011 by TOFoodReviews Staff in Downtown

1 star

- Margarita’s Fiesta sounds like it should be a delightful, authentic, and fun Mexican dining experience. I had extremely high hopes for this restaurant. As a self-professed Mexican food addict, I could not wait to try this place out. But unfortunately, Margarita’s Fiesta was no party at all.

Friday night on Baldwin Street is a lively place with an excess of restaurants, all of them boasting lots of patios, people, music, and conversation; Margarita’s is no exception. They have a cozy patio out front, a larger patio on the roof, and tons of colourful umbrellas and luscious plant life. Add in the sounds of the Gypsy Kings, and it’s enough to lure anyone in.

The restaurant is quaint and decorated with traditional Mexican and Peruvian artwork, and the restrooms are an art gallery in and of themselves, a fitting homage to Mexico’s own Frida Kahlo and her incredible self-portraits. Sounds fun! I know! But that was where the fun stopped…

When we arrived, we were greeted with a grunt, and then pointed to a table on the lower patio. When we asked if we could be seated upstairs, we were told it was closed, only to see guests seated upstairs within the hour. Not a great first impression…

It took a solid 15 minutes before we saw anyone willing to accept our drink order of a pitcher of sangria ($24), which arrived with more ice than wine, a few apple slices, and little flavour. Ever the optimists though, we decided to overlook those and a few small details, and we were anxious to try the food.

We decided to start with their ‘famous’ nacho chips and guacamole, which arrived only minutes after ordering. The quick arrival slightly redeemed the long wait for cold drinks on a hot Friday night, but the fact that plates, or even napkins, were almost impossible to come by brought us back. Apparently, according to our server, cutlery is reserved for the special people who order entrees.

Almost a half hour later, we were finally allowed to order our mains, after numerous sidelong glances and polite ‘excuse mes’ to our server. Between the three of us we ordered the Chicken Taco Salad ($12), Chicken Quesadillas ($11) and Vegetarian Enchiladas ($14), each with a side of salad and/or rice. When our meals finally arrived, they were much smaller than I expected, especially for a Mexican restaurant, which is normally known for their large portions size and abundance of extras like salsa, cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce; none of which found their way to our table.

Our meals were okay, but certainly not noteworthy. The taco salad was crispy and fresh, but lacked the colourful palette of ingredients normally found on a taco salad and was overall, a little bland. The quesadilla was small-one tortilla cut in half-with a meagre side salad and no additional toppings to speak of. The enchilada was a decent sized portion, but swam in so much grease and oil, it was difficult to find the substance of the actual meal, which was supposedly green peppers, onions and cheese. Overall, we were really quite disappointed with our drinks and our meal. On top of the unfriendly and snail-like service, I was very underwhelmed by my experience at Margarita’s Fiesta.

If you are looking for a fun, friendly and rewarding Mexican dining experience, be sure to try out Ahora on Dalhousie Street the next time you find yourself in our nation’s Capital, which is Ottawa by-the-way;) Until then, I will be on the lookout for a Toronto Mexican restaurant that lives up to what a Mexican restaurant should be.

- Janine

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Drake BBQ

Posted on March 21, 2011 by TOFoodReviews Staff in Liberty Village

O.Noir

Posted on March 17, 2011 by TOFoodReviews Staff in Downtown

1 star

- For those that don’t know, O.Noir is that unique place where you dine entirely in the dark. Yes, it is completely pitch-black, and no, your eyes will not eventually adjust. You can’t see a dam thing down there in O.Noir’s dark and dingy basement dining room.

O.Noir is easily one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had in Toronto, not just because the food and service were awful, but also because I left the place feeling ripped off. O.Noir took a concept that could have been interesting and did absolutely nothing with it. It was nothing more than eating crappy food in a dark basement room with the lights off.

First off, the food at O.Noir is horrible. It’s just glorified, hotel banquet food. You know the stuff: salad with balsamic vinaigrette, pre-cooked steam-table-held vegetables, chicken with coriander sauce. It was all of those boring old courses served at weddings and buffets in the 80s and 90s; there’s nothing imaginative going on in the kitchen here. The food had absolutely no bearing on eating in an environment void of light. You’d think that if they were going to block your sense of sight, they’d want to serve food that would heighten your other senses, like food with strong aromas or flavours. Nope. Just unthoughtful, crappy food. In a way, the food was so bad that I’m glad my other senses weren’t heightened by the lack of light.

I ordered the ‘surprise’ menu. I mean really, why wouldn’t I? I’d like to at least try to see if I could use my ‘enhanced’ senses to not only guess but also to better appreciate whatever it was I was eating. For me, the ‘surprise’ was that I still don’t know what the hell I ate. No one ever told me. I sort of assumed that once we were finished eating, the server would have at least told those of us that ordered the surprise what it was we ate so that we could confirm our suspicions. But nope. He just took our plates away without any explanation at all.

Speaking of our server, he was one of the worst in the biz. Not only did he not bring us anything to drink until we were finished our first course and constantly get our orders mixed up, but he was inattentive and bored; I don’t blame him though, it’d be hard not to be bored down there in the dark dining pit of O.Noir. He often left us wondering where he was, not because we were in the dark, but because he often left the room or crept up behind us.

The seating arrangements leave you feeling bored and isolated too, especially if you’re part of a group. In a dark environment, you’d be better off sitting at a round table so that everyone can be part of the conversation. Our seating arrangements at a long, rectangular table left those on the end of the table feeling isolated and alone.

Sitting near the entrance to the dining room sucks too. Believe it or not, the servers actually signal that they’re entering the room by banging on the door. We must have heard it 40 or 50 times. In a room that is supposed to heighten your senses, this seems absolutely ridiculous. Surely there must be a better way to enter the room and make sure that no light enters. If there is, O.Noir didn’t figure it out, or they didn’t care. They just decided to stick with the loud banging.

Although we couldn’t see anything, a quick feel confirmed that we were using those cheapo hotel-style metal chairs and wooden tables. I mean, I know we can’t see anything anyways, but if our senses were supposed to be heightened, then surely our sense of touch should be a part of that. You could argue that because you’re eating in the dark, the restaurant doesn’t need to spend as much on the space, but I’d argue that because you’re eating in the dark, the restaurant needs to spend more on the space and everything in the environment needs to be taken into consideration.

On the way out, the bartender asked us if we were staying in the attached hotel, and right then, it all made sense to me; this place was taking up the old banquet facilities of the hotel. It explains the strange layout the dining room has and the trend of hotel food and furniture. It confirmed one thing for me: if you’re going to have a restaurant where your guests eat in the dark, then the space definitely needs to be built specifically for that purpose. There’s little doubt that because they didn’t, O.Noir sees little repeat business. People come for the novelty, but likely leave disappointed.

O.Noir offers nothing more than eating crappy banquet food in a dark basement with the lights off; absolutely nothing more than that. The pitch-black did nothing to make the experience better or heighten my senses in anyway. I was just eating crappy banquet food in the dark.

Seriously, avoid this place. There’s a ton of other amazing restaurants where you won’t leave feeling ripped off. While I certainly won’t be going back to this place, if someone else was to spend some actual time and money making this an actual sensory eating experience rather than just eating in the dark, I’d definitely check it out.

Perhaps the best way to leave this is with this quote about O.Noir taken from a Toronto Star review: “It’s hardly shocking that the food at O.Noir is not particularly good. If it were, they might turn the lights on and run a real restaurant.”

- AB

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Lou Dawg’s Southern Sandwiches

Posted on January 17, 2011 by TOFoodReviews Staff in King West

2 stars

- Food, like fashion, has a lot to do with trends. Every couple of years some new ingredient or dish seems to capture the attention of cooks everywhere. Someone does it well, and then soon niche restaurants seem to be popping up everywhere.

A number of years ago, it was the burrito, soon the poutine became chic.
Lately it seems like everyone needs to prove they have the best Southern-style barbeque.

On a recent Saturday night, I had the opportunity to eat at Lou Dawg’s; Southern Sandwiches at King and Portland in the Entertainment District. Nestled in the basement, Lou Dawg’s seems to be punching above its weight. It has a fairly small front of house, and on this night, a third of that front of house seemed to be taken up by an impromptu stage while the sound and light guys were setting up. And once they did, it was loud! Not only that, it wasn’t even music. The sound system was blaring an audio feed from the football game projected on the large screen on the opposite wall. Despite that, the place was buzzing. Pretty much all the tables were full and the young-ish crowd that was there seemed to be happy enough, with tables full of plates and pints.

With our large order placed at the bar, we watched a group clear out and quickly snagged the table. No sooner did he drop off our pints did our food arrive. It was super quick, and it couldn’t have been more than five minutes. My guests and I ordered the gamut of the menu: pulled chicken, beef brisket, and pulled pork sandwiches with potato salad, coleslaw and a ‘Loutine’ (poutine with pulled pork). Everything looked great…

The pulled pork had a pleasant smoky flavour and was quite juicy and moist, but after a couple of bites it seemed to be very one note; there wasn’t that nice tang you get with true southern barbeque. The pulled chicken was very dry. This is a dish most people have difficulty doing well, and I don’t think Lou Dawg’s is any different. It seemed like it had been sitting around for a while… waiting for someone to order it… The beef brisket was popping with flavour. It was succulent, with just the right amount of fattiness. If you’re there, I highly recommend it.

Side dishes is where Lou Dawg’s really shines. Their coleslaw is creamy, sweet and crisp, with dried cranberries and raisins. And the potato salad? Truly made with love. It burst with flavours of dill and mustard seed, and the potatoes were cooked to the perfect texture.

The small poutine was quite a large portion. The fries were as they should be: crisp and fresh tasting with a hefty salting. If the cheese was curds, you couldn’t tell. They had lost all of their consistency from over heating. The chicken gravy was way too salty and overpowered the mild flavour on the pulled pork.

Overall, Lou Dawg’s didn’t live up to the hype. I’ve had better Southern barbeque at places that don’t specialize in it, and way better at places that do. Coupled with that, the restaurant seemed a little unsure of itself. Is it trying to be a restaurant? a sports bar? or a neighbourhood performance space? or just a hangout for friends of the staff? This indecision usually sounds the death knell of any place. So while the sides and brisket made it a place worth returning to, there wasn’t much keeping me from going somewhere else.

- Guest Contributor

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Mr. Greek

Posted on November 19, 2010 by TOFoodReviews Staff in The Danforth

1 star

- I know some people are going to completely disagree with my 1 star rating here, and to be honest, 10 years ago I would have thought the same; but considering how much the culture of Greek food on the Danforth has evolved in the past 10 years, Mr Greek seems to have been left far, far behind.

Mr Greek has slid to becoming nothing more than a glorified cafeteria. That might actually be giving it more credit than it deserves though, because I’ve been to some cafeterias that aren’t absolutely horrible.

I remember stopping in there in the past and having some pretty decent souvlaki, but what you’re presented with now is nothing close to decent. The souvlaki is tough and tasteless, the rice is lukewarm and overcooked, the vegetables were likely previously frozen; bottom line is, this is in no way an accurate representation of what Greek food is in Toronto. Add in the sweaty, pushy serving staff, and you have an all around poor dining experience.

I actually complained via email last time I went, and I promptly received an email back from the owner full of profuse apologies and promises of a better meal, nicer service and an overall better experience if I returned. Although I appreciated his effort, the last thing I want is to be forced another meal there. I know restaurants can have a bad day, and I’m willing to overlook that. But from what I saw, this was just another day in the life of crappy restaurant living of its achievements in the distant past.

On a street with as many options as the Danforth, there’s absolutely no reason (or excuse!) to end up in this joint.

- Andre

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