5Senses

Every girl should have a cake on their birthday... Make that a chocolate cake. I was lucky enough to get one from one of the best cake place in the city, well in my mind it is the best, but I am sure some would argue with me. 5 Senses is the place you go for decadence, the place you go for an overload of anything chocolate.
So in we walked and ordered a chocolate blackout cake. It looked so beautiful, so innocent. Almost plain in its brown robe. But you know that they say, the quietest ones are the most dangerous, I tend to agree. The first bite exploded in my mouth, so many different chocolate... So smooth and soft. The second bite made my eyes turn in their sockets in perfect ecstasy, at the third bite I was hooked and wanted more, more more...Unfortunately one cannot keep eating cake forever. Reason being: the cake doesn't last forever, the stores is not open 24 hours. A grave mistake on their part I think, but I guess maybe a bit better for my waistline. Although with a cake like that who thinks of waistline... That just comes after when everything has been devoured and you are left sitting on the couch going oula oula from the pain of eating too much.
In case anyone had any doubt, I recommend a stop at 5 senses about hmm I'd say once a day, but it may be very hard on the wallet, the prices are a little steep but oh so worth it. So if not once a day, at least reward yourself for every success, and treat yourself for every celebration. I think today, I am going to celebrate Wednesday, hump day. See you there!

Margarita perfection

There is nothing better to do to end a perfect day then have a perfect evening; and all perfect evenings must start with a perfect dinner. I know that it is a lot of perfect for one short sentence, and I know that perfection is hard to find. So I wont lie and say it was all perfect.. oh the day was, perfect that is, but the dinner not quite, although it almost was. The name was Margarita 's Fiesta Room, the place, Baldwin street. Oh and in case you don't know Baldwin, you should definitely start exploring, it is a great area for small, cosy wonderful food, but there I go, straying away from the subject. When we first entered the restaurant, latin music assaulted my hips and forced them to move of their own volition, left right, right, left, around, back and repeat. Although a tad embarassing at first, I was later happy to have burnt those few calories before dinner. First, I ordered a lime margarita, with salt rim of course. The glass they brought it in made me look small in comparison, and trust me, that is no easy feat. I almost had to use both hands just to lift it to my lips. I really did love the feeling though and oh the taste, well the fact that I almost emptied it on the first sip says a lot. Not that I was extremely thirsty though I was, or that I have a small problem with alcoholism ,which I don't, but that it was refreshing and had just the right amount of tartness. You know the kind that makes you screw up and crinkle your face , yet not so tart as to cause you worries regarding future wrinkles. So far, so good. I still had a big smile on my face, my bootie was still skaing, if only slightly so as to not get detected, and my tastebuds had been awakened and were eagerly awaiting the rest. We decided on one seafood tapa, namely the mussels in garlic and white wine sauce, I would say the name in Spanish if only I had learned the language, alas, I never did so I shall stick to English; and the original tacos. The food was quick to come, the mussels smelled great, and the tacos, although at first I was disapointed by the small size, that of a saucer as opposed to diner plate, ended up tasting quite wonderful. The meat was not minced but sliced, the tortilla corn bread, tasted just that, corn, it was in fact the best tortilla bread I had ever eaten. We inhaled the food. I am sorry we did, as maybe I would have liked to enjoy the taste a bit more, my excuse was, we were starving and our bodies refused to listened to our minds and tastebuds so they took control. After having put away the two plates, we decided to order another seafood tapa, the shrimps in tomatillo spicy sauce. Again it didnt last long. Although it was nice and flavourful, I got a tad tired of it after a few bite. Maybe it was my stomach rebelling against so much food, or my mouth rejecting the spicyness, whatever it was, it wasn't wonderful. It was not bad; don't get me wrong, it was tasty, just not the best spicy shrimps I ever had. But even saying that, I think I would order them again in the future. After all this, we wisely decided against desert. We lied against the booth, unbuttoned and unzippened our pant, and complained of fullness with oulas oulas. (Well. we did in our minds anyway, not very classy to do so in a public place. We did make up for it later on though.)
I would definetely go back to Margarita, even if it was a tad overpriced for the portion given. Service and ambience made up for it.
So go on and explore Baldwin street, and while you are there, do not forget to stop at Margarita's Fiesta Room and indulge yourlsef in soem margaritas and tapas.

Deaming about Dutch Dreams

Dutch Dreams has been a staple of summer for me for the last decade or so. And everytime I go it's like I'm a kid again. Even as I'm going there I think about what I'm going to have (even though I usually get mango), and the taste in my mouth, and the awesome whipped cream studded with fresh fruit.

For those of you who haven't yet tried Dutch Dreams it's one of those things that will stay with you your entire life. It's not just the made-to-order frozen yoghurt or the great selection of ice cream that will win you over, or even the amusing decor dominated by cow imagery. What wins you over is the entire experience and you just won't understand until you go there on a blistering hot summer day.

You can find Dutch Dreams at 78 Vaughn St at the corner of Vaughn and St. Clair.

Wonderful Yamoto or Fuzzy Chicken Slippers

There are many places where the food is good, other places where the food is great even more places where the food is blah, but it's rare that you can find a place where the food is... comforting. The kind of food that wraps you in its arm and make you feel safe and warm and happy. I would say almost like when you are still an unborn baby in your mother's uterus but, first, I don't remember the feeling and second well uterus and food shouldn't really be mentionned in the same paragraph (oups my bad) Anyway, I do tend to digress but I never stray away from what's important, THE FOOD.
The place where I (by I i mean we, but for expediary reasons it is I, plus I do like thinking I am responsible for finding such a gem. Of course it totally wasn't me, but you don't need to knwo that) found such marvel was Yamoto Japanese restaurant in Yorkville. Usually we would order sushi à la carte but as we weren't feeling so well, we kind of craved something homier. I ordered Katsu-don Don-buri, for those who don't know japanese it means, in my words of course, breaded meat on omelette over rice. ALso known as flavourful yummies. Not only was it exactly what I wanted but it was more then that. It was like coming home at night after a hard day at work, taking a bubble bath and then wrapping yourslef in your blankie (the ones we say kids carry around, but let's face it, alot of us adults have one too) slowly sipping either a nice glass of wine or a large cup of honey green tea.
As you all figured out by now, I am somewhat gluttonous and I like to try everything that finds itself on the table. Fortunately for me, the handsome man that was seating in front of me had ordered something that added the big fuzzy chicken slippers to the previous visual. He had in front of him something called Tempura Udon, desbribed (by me and him) as a broth with a taste that is similar to what ocean water would taste like was it unspoiled and boiled (warm and wonderfully seafood-y) add to that thick noodles and shrimp tempura and you get.. well you get something that makes you smile and love life despite your runny nose and sore throat. (Not an easy feat).
So, I will conclude this by saying, if you like comfortable, comforting wonderfully tasty food, try Yamoto, I guarantee you, you will come out with a smile and who knows, maybe with fuzzy chicken slippers!

Tokyo Kitchen, Toronto

I thought I'd write a quick note about Tokyo Kitchen; my absolute favorite spot for sushi in and around the Yonge/Bloor area. Located at 20 Charles Street, this little spot nestled underneath a parking garage has been a mainstay since I started working in the neighborhood. The lunch sushi special has some of the freshest and tastiest cuts of fish I have ever tasted at that kind of price. For a little more than $15 after tax and tip you get 10 pieces of amazing sushi, 6 rolls, and a bowl of homemmade miso soup. And unlike most other places that only give you the most basic fish, Tokyo Kitchen likes to include such specialities like butterfish, BBQ eel, or mackerel.

If you're ever in the neighborhood and want some quality sushi at bargain prices, I would highly recommend Tokyo Kitchen to you.

Terroni, Toronto

Just around the corner from my lady friend's apartment is a little spot called Terroni that I've been meaning to check out for the longest time. It has always caught my eye because of its simple but home-y decor and because it always seems to be packed to the brim with people lined up out the door.

We were lucky to get a seat quickly and ordered our food right away since we were both starving. The list of specials looked promising and I settled on a pasta with jumbo shrimp, asparagus tips, and a fresh tomato sauce. The pasta tasted was done al dente as I prefer it and the texture and of the flat, wide noodles was perfect. The standout on the plate however were the jumbo shrimp which were cooked with care and verily exploded with juiciness and sweet, delicate flavour. It's rare that I'm impressed with the way shrimp are prepared at a busy restaurant but I don't think I could have done any better with these if I had cooked them myself.

I had no room for dessert afterwards but I settled for a coffee just as a matter of course. The coffee, however, was a surprising delight. A single shot americano with a beautiful creme on top. Much better than the usual coffee I put up with at Starbucks or Second Cup or any of the other small places I stop at out of convenience rather than choice.

If there was a complaint about my experience at Terroni it would only be that there was not enough space in the small dining room. Although some might see this as pleasant and cozy, I found it to be a wee bit claustrophobic. I always felt a little hunched over and cramped even though we had the window seat and spare room on the side. I would say though that I'm reaching for complaints in this case. I don't think it will be a big concern for anyone else that decides to dine there.

You can find Terroni at 720 Queen Street West.

Brasserie Frisco, Toronto

Stopped into this place after getting a gift certificate for my birthday for a selection of restaurants. I hadn't even heard of Brasserie Frisco before and thought it was the most interesting of the choices. I would soon find out that my choice was not in vain.

Walking in, the atmosphere impressed me immediately. It certainly did not look like the kind of place you would expect to see in the middle of Toronto's dance club district to be sure. Rich wood and dark colors surrounded the place and quickly brought you into the illusion that you were stepping out of the city and into an authentic French brasserie.

Perusing the menu again I decided on coq au vin. It's a dish I regret to say I hadn't tried before today. When it appeared in front of me I had an instant smile appear on my face. The rich aroma of the jus wafting up from the chicken just made me breathe in deeply and savor every scent. The taste did not leave anythihng to be desired either with the flavours penetrating deep into the chicken.

I completed the meal with a creme brulée. Maybe I'm a little short on imagination but I always like to try it because it's always different wherever you go. In this case the crust on top was done prefectly. Not too thick, not too charred. And the creme was fantastic. It was one of the best I'd had in a long time, and after being dissapointed so many times it was a nice change to be pleasantly surprised.

I'd recommend Brasserie Frisco to anyone looking for relatively inexpensive brasserie food downtown.