Play Cabana Cantina (Toronto, ON)

Warning! this is not a food review. This is pure venting after going to Play Cabana Cantina and having feeling completely neglected from the beginning to the end.

To start, we entered the place (half empty) and there was no one around to seat us. After waiting by the door for approximately 2 long minutes (already frustrated- it felt like forever), I walked in and asked waitress #1 if I could pick any table. She asked me to give her a minute (and looked at me as if I was bothering her). Then waitress #2 finally came, checked our reservation on the iPad, and showed us our table.

We did not have a drink menu on our table and that created another set of delays during the time we were in there as waitress #2 was too busy to come back and ask for our drink order.

We shared the corn dish (elotes a la parrilla) as appetizer. It was tasty but it could have been better if it was warmer and if we had received our drinks by then.

I had a Cuban mojito and wow, it took 10 minutes for them to deliver the drink but it was outstanding! Their margarita was equality tasty. It may took too long because it seemed that the bartender had to remake a pitcher for another table or maybe because waitress #2 took too long to get our drinks from the bar. Who knows?

For my main I had the burrito de mariscos, and the catch of the day was the tilapia. It was delicious but it felt more like an enchilada than a burrito (not a complaint just a remark- good food is good food even when they serve fish when I order pork). I tried the Poblano chillies with cheese, rice and beans and it was to die for. It was great to know that you can have a great vegetarian dish in their menu. Kudos for the chef!

I felt that the service was super slow and did not care about us and it ruined our dining experience. After waiting so much for our drinks I decided to time how long would take us to get our main (acceptable 12:34 minutes).

Oh, I almost forgot to mention what a struggle was to pay for the bill....the money could be on the table forever waiting for her to give us the change.

If I could provide a feedback to the owners of Playa Cabana Cantina, I would say, keep the chef, the cooks and the bartender. Get ride of your waitresses. They suck! They clearly don't care about your patrons. 

As I am able to provide a tip to 1000+ foodies in Toronto, I will say, get takeout from Play Cabana Cantina if you don't want to have poor service because the food is really good.

Now is out! Feels so much better :)

The Rock Lobster

We had dinner at Rock Lobster tonight and I have to admit that my expectations were extremely low. Here were the two plusses: they are located in one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city and they are a seafood restaurant (mind you I LOVE fish and seafood), other than that…… there was not much else to hope for.

Breakfast: Spinach salad with Macedonian feta, grapefruit, and candied pecan. A fried egg, all bran buds with yogurt and danActive, and coffee with milk

Lunch: Gyros on a pita with salad and tzatziki at Angelo’s Restaurant in Woodbridge. I have to admit that the food was better than I expected. I am not saying it was great but I was able to eat without complaining. The place was so not inviting, and the service was as close of the post-communist restaurants I have been to in Easter Europe.

Dessert: tiny chocolate mousse with decaf coffee


Dinner:
The decor of the restaurant was nice and modern. A lot of reclaimed wood, a nice bar, and teeny tiny tables.
The music was loud and having a conversation was not easy. It reminded me a lot of Grand Electric on that sense.
The food was not bad but not fantastic. The lobster cappuccino was good but very light, almost watery. It could be as well called lobster latte. The surf and turf stake tartare with chips was ok but very strong on wasabi and I tend to be concerned about serving raw food with very strong seasonings and it can usually hide bad meat. I have to confess that I felt well after eating the tartare. The chips were very flavourful though. The jerk crab and shrimp was my favourite part of the meal. The crispy maple pork belly with creamy spinach reminded me of sugar shack food....Not that great. In overall, nice place, good service, and some hits and misses on the food side. I would definitely go back to that place just to eat the jerk crab and shrimp and drink their 1$ wine per oz.

The County General

Eating well during the weekend is a challenge. Today was no exception. I had only two meals during the entire day. I cooked a Brazilian style brunch for my friends and that kept me ok until 7PM (after 1h of ice skating). I went to The County General for dinner and drinks, a small but great place on Queen & Ossington. They have a huge selection of drinks and the food menu is small but elaborated. The decor is intimate and the music was great. Super friendly staff! I would definitely come back.

Brunch: Yucca root with fresh spanish cheese, sweet potato with chourizo, fried plantain with manioc flour, carima cake, avocado shake, and coffee with milk.

Dinner: Fried Chicken tight sandwich with avocado chutney and pickled red onion and greens salad. Sooooo Yummy!!!!!!! I cannot forget about the wine and the air flight cocktail.

Porzia

Yucca, plantain, a fried egg, a brazil nut, and coffee with milk. That's what I had for breakfast today. Tomorrow I will be back to my low carb reality.



I was too lazy around lunch time, so I had a cereal bar to delay any cooking or travelling to the grocery store.

After lots of cuddling with my pillows, I was finally able to make to the local Wholefoods store. I did do my grocery shopping including but not limited to red and black quinoa, organic black beluga lentils, halibut, sockeye salmon, organic fruits and vegetables. When I got home I have a spinach salad with quinoa/zucchini/chickpea, and chicken salad. Worth the wait :)

My dinner experience at Porzia (http://porzia.ca/menu//) was very good. Amazing music, great ambiance, friendly service, nice desserts, and good food. I cannot say it was perfect but it was pretty good! The drinks were perfect, I have to admit.



I had an Eggplant Involtini. Think about a cannelloni, but instead of pasta, you have a very thin layer of eggplant around the ricotta and herbs. All on a light tomato sauce and some melting cheese. Yuuuuumy! They have a four seat chef's "breakfast bar" that I would definitely book for my next visit. The dessert was a very tiny but delicious rectangle of hazelnut chocolate mousse with crushed hazelnut on the top...... very delicious!


I did do some serious cooking today. Chicken Tikka Marsala, Cream of Asparagus, Daal, and Brussels Sprouts with bacon, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar... I cannot wait to eat it.