Parts and Labour (Toronto, ON)

It was another gorgeous but chilly day in Toronto when I headed to Parkdale and met with a group of five girls for Brunch. This time around we had a reservation for one of my favourite spots in Parkdale, Parts and Labour. Even though it was not my first, second, nor third time at Parts and Labour, I was excited because I am always hunting for the perfect brunch spot in Toronto. I usually go for Parts and Labour for dinner and drinks, or just to visit "The Shop", a place that reminds of a high-school-basement-party with cool DJs, kitschy decor, and a hipster crowd. Anyway, today was my first brunch at the restaurant and I am happy that I went there. The layout of the space is great! Communal tables, long bar, and I just noticed today (there are two tables by the kitchen - four guests per table). The decor is modern, industrial. The bar has a gazillion light fixtures of different colours and heights, all with their wiring exposed.

If someone asks me why do I like Parts and Labour so much I will probably say..."because of the drinks". The food snob in me does not like to admit it but that's the truth. We were the first guests to arrive and as soon as we sat, I was eager to get the drink menu and order my favourite cocktail, the Western Hinny. Trouble is that they don't serve their dinner cocktails during Brunch, only Mimosas, but I am happy to report that our bartender was gracious enough to fulfill not only my wish but the wish of three other girls from our table. It is very nice when we find people who are willing to bend the rules here and there. We were all very grateful! Quality of service should be always stated in a restaurant review.

I had a steak and eggs with béarnaise sauce and home fries. It is needles to say that I barely ate the potatoes but I was very happy with my steak. It was tender and juicy. Just perfect! The other girls had the halibut with white beans, the french toast with poached pear, and the fried chicken (that one I tasted and it was very good).

I definitely I will keep coming back for more at Parts and Labour. It is not in my top five list of brunch places in Toronto but where else will I get a Western Hinny?

Brunch at The Saint Tavern (Toronto, ON)

If Sunday brunch was a religion, I would highly consider converting into it. Conversion to Sunday brunch would require you to accept the fact that you don't need to wake up early on Sunday, and therefore you can allow yourself to eat something that is heavier than just breakfast. Brunch brings to the table a few things that are worthy of worship such as eggs benedict, bagel & lox, and huevos rancheros. I love the concept as we usually have brunch with our friends, family, or loved ones; hence, brunch builds a sense of community. Jokes apart, going for brunch is one of the highest trends in the Toronto restaurant industry. In the past few months a few fine dining restaurants have added a brunch menu. I have a few favourites in the city but today I will focus on The Saint Tavern.

The Saint Tavern is located on Ossington St. near Queen St. West. We were a group of four and we arrived at the restaurant around 1:30PM. It was busy but we were lucky enough to get a very comfy table. The decor was modern and charming. Polished cement floors, old looking light fixtures, all black, white, and gray with a very-large-bar.

We started with the deviled eggs with chives, radish salad, and bacon. It was delicious and we were all fighting to get the last piece. I opted for having their grilled cheese sandwich with roasted tomatoes and salad. It was simple but perfect. The strong cheese was balanced by the tomatoes- so yummy! My friends loved their choices and we were all pleased with our waitress. I recall drinking copious amounts of coffee on that day and not eating ANYTHING ELSE after having that meal.

We spent a few hours at the restaurant and we had a great time! I would love to come back there for another brunch or maybe dinner one day. It feels good to be able to write a review like this one!

Osteria dei Ganzi (Toronto, ON)

Osteria dei Ganzi is one of the latest additions to the Toronto restaurant scene. The restaurant is located in an old mansion at Jarvis just south of Bloor. The décor was not pretentious but we could see some beautiful woodwork throughout the dining room. The patio looked great as well.

The crowd of Ganzi was very diverse. You could see young couples, groups of buddies, and large groups such as mine in the dining room.

They claim to be an authentic regional Italian restaurant but looking at their menu was quite hard to understand which region of Italy they were referring to as the menu was all over the place.

I had a fig, prosciutto and melon crostini with mushroom as an appetizer. It was barely eatable even through the crostini was perfectly crispy. I am not an Italian chef but as far as I know, Italian food should be simple and unpretentious. When you mix so many ingredients you not only go far away from the principles of Italian cooking but you also need to be extremely skilled and… that was clearly not the case.

Oh, and the restaurant website does not list the name of their chef, and my guess is because they probably don’t have one. That would explain a lot!

The pollo scaloppine (which in proper Italian is scaloppini di pollo) was good, I have to admit.

The staff was….young and inexperienced, or just plain inexperienced. I was not clear on how many tables our waitress was waiting on but it felt overwhelming to us. The whole process was sloooow. Unfortunately, I have very little sympathy for restaurateurs who don’t take their business seriously. Not having your staff trained on what you serve is unacceptable. Giving more tables to a server than she/he can handle is just not smart. We could have spent way more money if we had a server available and if they knew what they were serving. We all felt sad for our waiter scrambling to put together our bill. The dining experience felt very amateurish. I hate when I have to write reviews like this one but unfortunately that’s life. I would not return to that place.

Sabai Sabai (Toronto, ON)

It was on a Friday afternoon that I found myself at the AGO wondering at some Sorel Etrog sculptures. I knew that hunger would eventually come and I knew where I should go to grab a bite but for some reason I thought that marvelling at something I enjoyed would stop the process of hunger- It did not work.

It was past 1:30PM when I headed to Sabai Sabai, a Thai restaurant not too far from the AGO. The place was quiet, I had just skipped the lunch hour rush. I was offered to pick any place at the restaurant but I chose to stay at the bar. Somehow, I am used to travel on my own and I usually pick the bar seats. When I was about to sit, I heard someone calling my name. I was being rescued from the loneliness of that empty bar. It was a fellow foodie friend who had the same very idea than I. Take the day off and have lunch at Sabai Sabai.

Sabai Sabai had an european vibe. It could be transplanted to many cities I have been to. Very lax, modern, but with a subtle vintage touch. Our waiter was very young and friendly. My friend was having a Mojito... wait... a Thai-Restaurant-Mojito? Anyway... I asked for a cocktail advice and ended up ordering a midnight monsoon. The mixture of thai basil, lime, and ginger was refreshing. Perfect for that warm afternoon in Toronto.

I had the house made panang curry with rice. They had Basa fish and shrimp as protein options, and I was advised to get the fish. The origins of panang curry are not very clear to me as some say it comes from Malaysia and some say it comes from Laos, even though the best panang curries I had were at Cambodian restaurants. Go figure it!

I checked the level of spiciness of the dish with our waiter and he explained to me that it was on the mild side. It was somewhat expected as panang curry is one of the mildest Thai curries out there, so I had to ask for more heat in my dish. The cook got my description very well and gave me SPICY (just below Thai Spicy). The fish was great!

Chef Nuit is certainly doing an excellent job. It was a great lunch! I hope her dinners are as good. It feels good to write a good review!

Samuel J. Moore (Toronto, ON)

Tuesday is the new Sunday!

I always believed that Sunday was the best day to dine out in Toronto but I guess that I was WRONG. Tuesday is a much better option. We arrived at the Samuel J. Moore on a Tuesday evening and we got to share the entire restaurant with two other tables. By the time that our food arrived, the chef was working only for us. Now talk about having a private-dining-experience!

In the neverending search for the best burger in town, I had to try their chopped sirloin with bone marrow burger. It was juicy, flavourful... almost divine. The rosemary aroma was present but extremely subtle. The fennel catsup was unexpectedly good, just if we had flown business class from Frankfurt to Sidney with a brief connection in Mumbai.

I am not a trained sommelier but when my red wine came (extremely chilled), it did shock me as the ideal serving temperature for red wines is between 14ºC to 18ºC... but again, who am I to talk about wines...

The staff was attentive and the music was great. We enjoyed the tunes from Craft Spells and the quasi magic experience of having the dining room to ourselves.

The chocolate terrine with sea salt and pistachios was delicious!

Samuel J. Moore... I would definitely come back for seconds.

Vive Languedoc! Biff's Bistro (Toronto, ON)

Last tuesday I went to Biff's Bistro with a few foodie friends to try their Vive Languedoc! menu.

We were greeted with oysters and some refreshing libations inspired in the south of France (bien sur). Pastis with rosemary, sparkling water, and orange slices. Not bad huh?....Besides the fact that I hate Pastis and I am not very fond of rosemary, it was a hit!

I usually do not eat oysters in Toronto but Biff's is usually a reliable source and I have never got sick after eating there. They were delicious!

We had a four course meal paired with wines from the Languedoc region. Just for the record, Languedoc is a former province of France (and I have to admit that I have never set foot in there). The old region is now comprised by the regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France.

If you have never tried wines from the Languedoc region, I would recommend you to try. My favourite was the Crémant de Limoux, but yes, I am bias as I am a huge fan of Champagne and Cava. The sommelier did do a very good job!

Our meal was.... ok. I would love to give you the full menu (with the proper terminology) but I forgot to take a menu with me. The appetizer was a light salad with a beautiful cod and potato gratin with cheese on the top. We had a delicious escargot dish that was my favourite, and pork and fois gras wrapped in pork fat for our main course. The dessert was a creme brulee (too runny to my taste but nice in flavour).

The restaurant was nice as usual, the company was great, the wines were good and so were our food. It did not wow me at all but we had a good time. Would I come back to Biff's? Of course! I love their oysters and their nice atmosphere but I don't think I would go to another event.