Vacation time! LaPortas in Alexandria, Virginia

On my 5 day vacation, I went down to Washington DC for some much needed R&R. Jason and I went to a restaurant in old town Alexandria, Virginia. We had a bit of trouble getting at the restaurant because we tried to get at it from the back, but that's impossible. There is a parking garage right by the restaurant though, and there was no parking attendant there when we showed up so we didn't have to pay anything.

This is a business casual restaurant, so I wouldn't suggest walking in off the street in jeans and a t-shirt. The restaurant is in the bottom floor of an office building, and looks like it could easily convert into an office space if it had to. Not the most appealing of atmospheres. Also, the patronage was definately older than most restaurants I go to.

I ended up ordering the salmon fettucini, and the sauce alone was delicious!! It was a dill cream sauce, I loved it! Our waitress was very attentive and friendly. We both ordered dessert, which was also quite good. The food here is definately worth the trip.

I think drinks + entree + dessert ended up costing us $30USD per person. Not too bad! (And I love the fact that sales tax down there is significantly less than it is up here).

So if you're ever in Alexandria, you should look this place up!

For more reviews, and an address, check out We8There LaPortas Reviews.

Spice of Life - A disaster in Port Dalhousie (last week)

A group of us (over 10) made reservations for a restaurant in Port Dalhouse - a town close to/in St. Catharines. From the outside, the restaurant looks like a cute place. It's got a nice patio too (that unfortunately couldn't be utilized because it was raining). Our group was put upstairs in the dining room. I had to use the washrooms, and I know that some people don't understand why I would talk about the washrooms in a restaurant review, but I believe that part of good atmosphere is having a nice restaurant. I thought that their restroom was rather grungy. The paint was peeling, there was paint on the toilet, and nothing looked clean. Though it did look like they tried hard to decorate the place.

Since we had arrived before 5pm, we were waiting until after 5 pm to order off the dinner menu. Before then, I split an order of spring rolls with 2 other people at the table, and they were amazing! They had potatoes in them, which is odd to me for spring rolls, but they were delicious!!

However it seemed that after 5pm, things went downhill. We ordered our dinner around 5:15, and had to wait a good hour and a half to actually get our meals. The excuse was that everything is made from scratch. Once the meals did start arriving, there was probably a 10 minute span from when the first person received their meal, until when the last person received their meal. Once I received my meal, I started to eat the mashed potatoes, and they were freezing cold! It was disgusting. I had to send them back to be reheated. Also, I had ordered my steak medium rare, and it was cooked well done. I don't want to know what the steak would have been like if I had asked for well done.

As if that weren't enough, once the bills came (we asked for seperate bills), they weren't actually seperate bills, and we had to figure out whose food was on which bill. My dinner ended up being on three different bills.

Needless to say, not much of a tip was left after going to this restaurant, and I definately will not be returning. For more reviews on Spice of Life, see Spice of Life ResToronto Reviews.

Final lunch @ Korean Grill House (Korean BBQ) in Toronto

My final day at work today saw a group of us at the Korean Grill House on Queen Street West in Toronto. I've been to Korean BBQ before and quite enjoyed it so I was looking forward to this restaurant. We had made reservations so once we got there we were seated immediately. Unfortunately, since each table has a grill in it (or more than one grill), you can't move tables around to sit with a large group. Our group ended up taking up 3 tables. We ordered the all you can eat meat, with extra short ribs. You're given quite a selection of food! There are all the regular Korean/Asian foods, like kimchi, sprouts, tofu and sticky rice. Then there was chicken, beef, and pork (as well as the short ribs) to cook on the grill.

That is the main reason for coming to this place. It is a lot of fun to cook your food, even though you may think that you could do that at home, so why bother coming to a restaurant. But the service here is excellent. They are very quick with bringing more meat, more rice, more drinks, more napkins, anything you need really.

The atmosphere is somewhat less appealing. I found it kind of dark and dingy looking, and the chairs aren't that comfortable.

The cost of the food is a little pricey, but you leave with a full stomach (and then some!!!).

For more reviews on Korean Grill House, see ResToronto Reviews for Korean Grill House.

Birthday Dinner for Mom @ The Keg

The family went out for a birthday dinner at The Keg last night. This place is usually packed on the weekends, but on the weekdays its not too hard to get in. The accoustics in this place suck though, because you can hear the conversation of everyone around you.

We all ordered Prime Rib Classics, and we were told that there might not be enough prime rib left to serve us. How can The Keg possibly run out of prime rib? That should be illegal. Thankfully none of us were kept from that yummy prime rib. You can always count on good food at The Keg, but you do have to pay for it. However, you'll never leave without being completely full!

The service was ok. And we managed to grab some extra chocolate mints on the way out. I love those things!

For more reviews of The Keg, see The Keg in Mississauga ResToronto Reviews.

Easy Dinner in Etobicoke - Dundas Street Grille

I was in Etobicoke on Saturday hanging out with some friends and we decided to go to the Dundas Street Grille. The parking lot was surprisingly packed at 6pm. This place is definately a family restaurant. It is not by any means a trendy spot to dine. The average age of patrons is probably older than most other restaurants. We had to wait a while to be seated because it was so busy.

The menu was huge and the prices were low! We all ordered one of the specials, a turkey dinner. It didn't look too appetizing, but I thought it was pretty tasty. However, we did have a bit of a problem with the service. I ordered my drink soon after sitting down, but I had to ask for it again, and didn't get it until after I had received my dinner.

It was weird because around 7pm, the restaurant cleared out. There was hardly anyone left in the restaurant! I'm not too sure I would return, unless I was with my parents or my grandparents.

For more reviews on Dundas Street Grille, see the Dundas Street Grille ResToronto Reviews.

Also, after dinner we headed over to the Yellow Cup Cafe, which is a cute place that serves sandwiches, salads, all different types of coffee and desserts. It has a great atmosphere (and yummy coffee!). Check out the Yellow Cup Cafe ResToronto Reviews.

Bye bye party for me @ Bistro 222 in Toronto

So I only have a week and a bit left before I return back to the university world (no professional student comments!). A gang of us from work headed over to Bistro 222 on Richmond. It's in a weird area, because during the day there looks to be nothing on the street, but they are actually mostly clubs.

Anyways, we arrived there with dinner reservations for 6pm and headed upstairs to their rooftop patio, which was fairly full. The service up there was good. They asked if we needed more chairs, and empty bottles/glasses were cleared quickly. Around 7 we decided to go back downstairs to eat dinner. The restaurant was empty! What restaurant is empty on a Friday night at 7pm? But it was too late to back out.

Ordering drinks took a while. Infact, from my time of ordering to my time of receiving it was about 10-15 minutes. I ordered a Diet Coke, and what was placed infront of me was a can of President's Choice Diet Coke and a glass of ice. President's Choice Diet Coke is the cheapest of the cheap!! And I'm paying $3 for this? I could go buy 1/2 the case for $3!

When we try to order, the waitress isn't too sure what the soup of the day is. She also didn't know if you could replace fries with something else for your dinner. I tried to order steak, medium, and to replace the fries with roasted potatoes. I got a steak, well done, and fries. For the amount of money that it was, this should not have happened. Even if they had told me that I could only get fries, that would be better than telling me I could get roasted potatoes and give me fries instead.

Someone that had dessert said that it was very good. We perhaps all would have been better off eating only dessert!

For more reviews on this restaurant, see Bistro 222 ResToronto Reviews.

With a name like Superior, it has to be good?

I was downtown for some theatre on the weekend (Canon theatre), and walking along Yonge Street I saw the restaurant Superior, which is fairly close to the Canon. We walked into the restaurant and the entrance is fairly impressive. There is a massive wooden bar located to the left, and stairs to a second story section of the restaurant.

We were seated on the first floor of the restaurant, near the middle of the restaurant, and were one of 3 other tables full in the entire restaurant. This was slightly weird, as it was noon and the street was very busy, so why was there no one in the restaurant?

The menu was very limited, and I was pretty disappointed with it. I didn't know what half of the items were, and the things I did know were not quite to my taste. This is definately not the place to go for people that want simple food. I ended up ordering the steak sandwich, which was pretty tasty. Our waiter was attentive, as he should be since no one else was in the restaurant.

I would return to this place if they beefed up their menu. For more reviews on Superior, see ResToronto Reviews for Superior on Yonge.

Friday Night Blahs - Dinner at Swiss Chalet

Unlike most other residents of Mississauga/Toronto, I had no plans to visit the cottage on the long weekend of the Civic Holiday. By about 7pm, there was hardly anyone left in town! We didn't want to cook dinner so we headed over to the local Swiss Chalet. We can't get enough of their chicken!

When the parking lot is close to empty, take this as a sign that there is no one in the restaurant! I think there may have been about 5 other families in the restaurant in total. And just a note for those with young ones, this Swiss Chalet location has a kids area for you children to play!

I got my favourite, the double leg dinner, which was great as always. I think our waitress was fairly new, as she seemed to forget about us once dinner was brought out. We had to signal to her to get us refills.

This restaurant is by no means an up scale restaurant, but for family dining it serves its purpose.

For more reviews of this Swiss Chalet, see ResToronto Reviews for Swiss Chalet on Leanne Road.

Dinner on the warmest day of the year - Baton Rouge

By the time I got home from work, I was too warm to do anything. I decided to head out for dinner up to Hart Land in Mississauga to a somewhat new restaurant up there called Baton Rouge. I had been to the Baton Rouge at Eaton Center and wasn't too impressed, but I thought I would give this one a try with an open mind.

The biggest downfall to this restaurant is its prices. For the atmosphere, services, and food it provides, it is way too pricey. A steak runs upwards of $25 and the prime rib is over $27. I am a prime rib fan though, so despite the price I decided to try it out. It was delicious, and the portion was way too big to finish in one serving. It would be better for my wallet if they reduced the portion sizes, and hence the prices. That would give this restaurant the extra edge and probably kick it up a rating or two in my book.

Our waitress was ok. There really wasn't much to complain about with her. The acoustics in the place were weird though. The ceilings are high, which I think carries the sound weirdly and at times I had trouble hearing my waitress. Also, the booths are slightly elevated, which makes you feel like you're peering down into other tables around you.

Given the high prices, I expected a mint after my dinner. Maybe I've just been spoiled with good restaurants recently.

Overall, a good meal, but too pricey.

For more reviews on Baton Rouge in Mississauga, visit ResToronto Reviews for Baton Rouge.

Sunday Lunch at Shopsy's in Mississauga

My mom and I decided to go out for lunch today. Someone had recently left a review for Bobby's Hideaway in Streetsville, so we decided to try it out. I haven't been there since they remodelled their restaurant, so around 12:45 we took off. When we arrived, the parking lot was completely full! There was not one parking spot to be hard. That should be a testament to their food/service!

We passed a bunch of other restaurants heading north but most of them were closed. We eventually found ourselves north of the 401 on Erin Mills Parkway, in an industrial section of town. There was a new mall built there and it has about 4 restaurants. Shopsy's is where we ended up. Being an industrial section of town, there weren't many people in the restaurant. This ment that we were seated quickly, and our server was attentive. I ordered a club sandwich, which although it was a little dry, was just what I expected. Their fries weren't the best fries in the world, but they were ok. We also tried the onion rings, which were better than the fries. The food is a little overpriced, but I expect that from Shopsy's. As for the atmosphere, it was kind of sterile, but it as clean.

For more reviews, see ResToronto Reviews for Shopsy's in Mississauga.

A Family Favourite - Peter's on Eglinton

This is one of my family's favourite restaurants. We make return trips here all the time and never get sick of it! Usually there is a line to get in, but if you wait late enough (or you go on a long weekend), you can get in fairly easily. The average age of waiters and waitresses is quite a bit older than any other restaurant. And you can tell that these people are experienced. They have also been working there for a long time because every time we return, we see the same people.

The inside of Peter's has chandeliers, multiple types of wallpaper, stained glass, but is still somehow appeasing to the eye. Or maybe I've just gotten used to it.

Their most tried item on the menu by my family is their deli sandwiches. These sandwiches are so big that they are impossible to eat like a real sandwich. Peter's puts other restaurants to shame in terms of proportion and value. We always come home with a Styrofoam container because we can never finish our meal. But if you aren't in the mood for a deli sandwich then there are tons of other items on the menu that you could have. I had the fish and chips, which I think is the first time I've tried it. The fish was light and fluffy, which made it possible to eat both pieces. I also really enjoy the open faced roast beef sandwich. They also provide you with buns before the meal (which I don't suggest eating, you need to leave room for your huge meal!).

For more reviews on Peter's, see ResToronto Reviews for Peter's on Eglinton

After Theatre Lunch - Bistro 333 in Toronto

After a day at the theatre, some friends and I decided to go for a very late lunch/very eary dinner. It was just after 4pm and the restaurants in the Entertainment District were just starting to open. We wandered along King Street looking at menus to decide which restaurant to visit and settled on Bistro 333.

We were the first patrons inside of the restaurant (there were a couple on the patio). I can't imagine this place when it is busy, it must get fairly loud because it's a very open space. Our server was pretty good, but I noticed that when another group came in, they got glasses of water an bread to start their meal, which we did not. But our meals came in record speed. I guess it helps that we didn't order anything fancy. Two of us ordered ceasar salad, and one ordered a chicken mango wrap. My salad was great, the dressing was homemade and vinigrette based, like real ceasar should be! I also tried some of my friends fries, which were great.

For more on this restaurant, check out ResToronto Reviews for Bistro 333.

Summerlicious at Barootes Casual Dining

A group of us went to Barootes Casual Dining for Summerlicious. It's the restaurant right over Quotes Bar & Grill (and I think they are owned by the same people). While Quotes is more like a place to grab a quick lunch, Barootes is a definately for dining.

It was raining when we arrived, and we were graciously offered a place to put our umbrellas so we didn't have to take them with us to the table. We were seated quickly because we had made reservations. The person serving us drinks wasn't very good, and thankfully he wasn't our server. He forgot what drinks people ordered, and for the orders he did remember, he gave the drinks to the wrong person. One thing I thought was funny was that rather than telling us to wines they had specially, they told us we could go up to the bar and look at them. I'd rather be told than go running around the restaurant.

The summerlicious menu had food that I was interested in, so I didn't even look at their regular menu. For $25, I had crab cakes, steak & fries, and tartufo! The steak was probably the beste part of the meal, but the tartufo was very good too! The service throughout the meal was consistent. For the most part, our water glasses were topped off (near the end, they weren't). When multiple people paid with credit cards, we had enough pens on the table for each person. Little things like that were handled very well.

As for the atmosphere, the place is fairly dark because it has dark stained wooden beams running across the ceiling an it isn't well lit except for at the tables. I loved the paintings on the wall. They were all very colourful, and very interesting!

This was a good experience, and I would return to check out their regular menu.

For more Barootes reviews, go to ResToronto Reviews for Barootes.

Go train not running? Dinner downtown at Marinela's

I, like tens of thousands of other commuters, was affected by the freight train derailment earlier this afternoon and had no way of getting home. So rather than try to quickly find a way to get home, I made a reservation at a little Italian restaurant called Marinela's. I hate the heat, so I sat indoors, but they have both a curbside patio and an upstairs patio that offer seclusion and charm.

The atmosphere of Marinela's is great. It's a very small restaurant, with only about 12 tables inside (that I could tell of anyways), maybe even less, and a long bar. There are lights and dried herbs attached to the roof, and a great view of the patio. The restaurant is basically in an old house.

It is a little pricey (pasta mostly costing over $15 and steaks costing over $30), but it is worth it! There is also about a page of wines (mostly Italian, not surprisingly!). I ordered a starter of brushetta, which although it isn't the best brushetta I've ever had, was still delicious! Very fresh.
My main course was the chicken fettuccine. The sauce that this pasta is served in is devine. It is a cream sauce, but there is something about it that makes it super tasty. There were also mushrooms and tomatoes in the pasta.
And of course, I couldn't resist the dessert! I had a tiramisu. Although it wasn't as good as my pasta, it was still a nice way to finish the meal.

Also, most of the other patrons decided to use the patio, so the main dining area was very quite.

The only downside to this restaurant is that all the parking near there is very expensive. It could cost you $10 for a Friday night to park just for dinner.

I would definitely go back to this restaurant (infact, this was my second time returning). And, I did manage to make it home!

For more information, see other Marinela's restaurant reviews.

Bistro 100 - World Cup Food in Mississauga!

A couple of my friends and I went out to watch the final World Cup game, and we didn't have an easy time of it!

We first went to Coopers Pub. There wasn't a seat left in the place to be had! We have gone there before for round robin play and enjoyed it. We turned around and headed south-east.

Stop 2 was the Rooster & Firkin. When we got there, there were only 2 groups of people sitting infront of the projector screen showing the game. These 2 groups took up the entire space infront of the screen and there was no place left to sit! I did overhear one of the members of these groups asking to turn up the volume - they have volume at Coopers. Then the bartender said "Then go to Coopers!". That was our clue to leave.

Stop 3 was the Mad Hatter Olde British Pub. Once again, absolutely no seats! Although, I wish we had arrived there on time because they had both a projector screen and an HD Tv!

By now, we were about 10 minutes away from game play. One of my friends and I remembered there being a pub inside of a Holiday Inn way up near the 401/403. This also happens to be where we watched the previous World Cup final (because it was one of the few places we could find open at 7am). So we found good seats at Bistro 100. It was freezing cold when we got there, but thankfully they turned down the AC for us. The place kind of reminded me of someone's finished basement. It had a bar and a widescreen tv. The server was fairly good, although he did have one slip up. He removed my friend's plate while she was watching the game (her not realizing it was gone), but she wasn't finished. He made up for it by bringing her a brand new plate of food! The menu was more for dinner than it was for lunch. And it was fairly expensive. More expensive than it should have been. I had a burger however, and it was very tasty! Also note that drinks are not free refills! I wouldn't go back, but for a tired traveller it's not a bad place to go to.

Palm's Court - Mississauga Casual Restaurant

The family went to Palm's Court Restaurant today. There were 5 of us in total. Whenever I visit this place, I wonder how anyone managed to find the restaurant, let alone venture into it. It's in a strip mall diagonally across from the hospital, and it looks like a hole in the wall. Yet when you get inside, it's not bad looking. We were seated immediately. Most of the patrons of this restaurant are ederly. I'm not too sure if this is because the restaurant is in an area where the population is older, or because it is near the hospital.
Our waitress was kind of slow, but she did a fairly good job. However, when she brought the drinks, she managed to drop one of the wine glasses onto a plate and smash it into pieces. She was very thorough about removing anything that could have glass in it, except for one thing - the wine itself!! It's like she didn't mind re-cleaning stuff, but she didn't want to waste the money on the wine. Most of us had the roast beef dinner. It was cooked well, and had a nice selection of potatoes and vegetables along with it. It was a good sized portion.
The price wasn't too bad. I believe it was around $25 per person (full meal and drinks).
Overall, I give it a 7.5/10

For more reviews on this restaurant, see Palm's Court ResToronto Reviews