Caterers, Caterers, Canadian Cuisine, American Cuisine, Wheelchair-accessible Restaurant
Mark McEwan and North 44 are proud to launch the next generation of personalized catering. Whatever you want we can do. Whether the gathering be small or large, intimate or casual,...more...See more text
Reservations were made 6 weeks ago as most restaurants are fully booked near Valentine's Day. However, North 44 was 1/2 filled.
Our coats were quickly taken, we were quickly escorted to our table which had wide comfortable upholstered chairs. The service was very good for the exception that our server was very soft spoken and I had to ask him to repeat the specials 3 times. I guess the noise level in the restaurant didn't help much. North 44 has some nasty acoustics going on. It was soooo loud inside - people talking over each other, etc. Definitely not a place I would want to go to for a romantic dinner.
On to the food. Appetizers ordered were the Soup of the day, Lobster Bisque with 'blah..blah..blah" (couldn't hear the waiter), Quebec Foie Gras with other stuff that sounded like a lot on the menu but actually looked like a stamp on the plate. $24.95 for a teeny sampling? Well, as small as the serving was, the taste was really good, as was the texture. And I don't like anything with a ducky/goosey flavour...so this dish was surprisingly quite good to me. The lobster bisque had bisque foam on the top that tasted like lobster water (yuck). The bisque was seasoned perfectly for me and had a hint of cinnamon. The slices of seared? lobster (?) inside the soup was a nice surprise. The serving size was generous... probably too generous for such a rich tasting soup.
Entrees ordered were seared BC halibut in banana leaf. It arrived with a side of barely warm basmati rice. Also ordered was the braised beef short rib 'rubbed with spiced cocoa rub & served with soft polenta.
The halibat was unwrapped at the table. It looked impressive enough until you looked closely and noticed the whole top of the halibut was covered in slivers of fresh ginger. The fish tasted like ginger and not much else. As if that wasn't bad enough, the halibut was overdone. Severely overdone. The basmati rice was bland and tasteless...and cold.
The waiter, when informed, replaced the halibut dish with a quick cook entree of grilled Ahi Tuna - which was grilled perfectly and had good flavours, albeit, again, portion size was extremely small for $42.95.
The braised beef rib dinner was what I found most disconcerting. When the plate was brought over, I thought they had brought me another appetizer. The serving was that small! I would put the meat portion at 4 oz (maybe) . It sat in the middle of a pool of creamy polenta that was as soupy as cream of wheat. But...it tasted good. I didn't detect any of the 'spiced cocoa rub' flavour in the meat, but the dish did taste good and probably would have tasted better if there was more of it and maybe a few sprigs of string beans or some kind of veg. 2 'sauteed' strips of red bell pepper does not count as veg.
For dessert we ordered the Chocolate Bomb and Kashmiri Chai Brulee. Dessert was disgustingly sweet but was also well balanced with the tart fruit coulis spread across the plates.
The only alcoholic beverage ordered was a Lipstick Martini or Martini Lipstick. It was okay.
I don't know if my expectations were too high for this restaurant or if it's because I am a true foodie and a great cook that I expect that when I go out to eat in a restaurant the food will be better than what I can cook myself. I found only a part of that to be the case.
If you can't cook good food at home and you do want good food to eat, then I would recommend North 44. But bring money. Lots of it cause their meals are not filling. If it weren't for the delicious black olive artisan bread and endless water refills, I would have gone home starving.Read more
American Cuisine, Greek, Breakfast, Restaurant With Terrace, Restaurant With Bar
Mars Uptown Diner invites you to their dining room. You can even enjoy the sunshine on their terrace. They are open after-hours from Monday to Friday. You can get there by public t...more...See more text
Mars uptown is a classic diner with a twist -- it's got a fun mars / space theme to the decorum, and overall it's well kept, clean, and above average of what you can expect from the traditional greasy spoon type diner.
I ordered the traditional eggs benedict which came, as excpected, with two poached eggs, on english muffins, and peameal bacon, with some potatoes and a slice of orange.
Overall the presentation was good for a diner. The orange was sliced in twist and nicely displayed, the eggs benny were artistically smothered in hollandaise, and the potatoes looked greasily tastilicious.
So how was it? Well those benny fans among us will know how difficult it is to achieve the perfect benny. This was not perfection, but was above average, decent in every way. I'm still on the search for Toronto's best eggs benedict, but if I had to go back to Mars and have another I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
So first of all the waitress asked how I wanted the eggs poached -- a good sign. If they don't ask you know you're in trouble. Unfortunately, even though I asked for medium poached I got one medium and one hard egg. Not a meal breaker, but still not so great.
The hollandaise sauce was a little on the gelatinous side, but was flavorful, so I can forgive the consistency. It wasn't the best hollandaise I've had, but it certainly wasn't the worst either.
The peameal bacon on the other hand was awesome. I'm actually not a big fan of the peameal (I prefer standard), but they did it right -- grilled to perfection, and the slice thickness was just right too.
The english muffins were the standard affair -- toasted too lightly for my liking, but I don't get in a knot about the muffins unless something is terribly wrong.
The potatoes looked and smelled amazing, unfortunately they failed to deliver the same oral "oomph" that they give upon the first visual inspection. Maybe more spices would do the trick, or add in some cheese. They were fine though, it's not like I didn't eat them, I just wasn't wowed by them.
As for the service, nothing to complain about. The service was actually quite good considering the diner type atmosphere. Warm, friendly, adequate in speed.
So, to summarize, Mars is a decent diner with decent food at good prices. I wouldn't hesitate to go back if someone else wanted to go or I was hungry and passing by, but I'm definitely still on the search for a really killer benny in Toronto.Read more
Restaurant, Beer Store, Canadian Cuisine, Brunch, American Cuisine, Breakfast, Restaurant With Parking, Restaurant With Party Services, Restaurant With Terrace, Wheelchair-accessible Restaurant
The Granite Brewery has been brewing fine ales and great food at the corner of Eglinton and Mt. Pleasant for 18 years. Enjoy one of their 10 hand crafted ales brewed on site along ...more...See more text
We've been to the Granite Brewery a number of times as the food is always fantastic with generous portions. In addition to the delicious food, they have a good selection of their own brews. We especially enjoyed their Ringwood, a delightful blonde.
There are different atmospheres for different tastes, but at the Granite Brewery they have several to choose from. Two excellent patios, a bar, and a family restaurant area, all designed for comfort. The rear patio looks particularly amazing, but as it was raining, we'll just have to wait until next time to try it out. It should also be noted that the Granite Brewery has free parking with easy access. The Granite Brewery gets our highest recommendation and we will be back soon.Read more
South St. Burger invites you to their dining room. Explore a menu offering hamburgers and a fast food menu, priced at less than $10. Their atmosphere has been described as casual. ...more...See more text