Posted by Jessica McLaughlin in middle eastern, restaurant review on July 8, 2007 at 1:36 pm

A La Turque
559 Church Street
no phone
Wraps for two with all taxes and tip: $12

I was hungry for something quick and cheap, so I decided to swing by A La Turque. It’s right around the corner from my place and I’d been meaning to check it out for a while now.

Waliking into A La Turque reads a bit like an advertisement for Turkey tourism. The posters lining the wall are reminiscent of something you might see at a travel agent’s office. The place is rather tiny with the food counter up front and five or six tables at the back with ten or so chairs available, if you choose to eat there.

The presence of any sort of traditional menu is suspiciously absent. There are a few pictures of the meals on the outside window and a few pictures of other meals on the inside above the cook tops, but no prices and no other food list.

Posted by Jessica McLaughlin in indian, restaurant review on June 24, 2007 at 7:39 am

Nataraj
394 Bloor Street West
416-928-2925
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip: $35

On Saturday night I was in the mood for two things: a stroll along Bloor and Indian food. My boyfriend and I figured we’d encounter an Indian restaurant somewhere in our travels, so off we went, and along the way we found Nataraj. We’ve enjoyed a few meals here in the past and thought this was a great place to curb my craving.

Nataraj is located near Bloor and Brunswick and is easy to walk past if you’re not paying attention. Luckily, it’s usually quite busy, so there's often a line-up out the door. The place isn’t big on décor; fairly plain walls with turquoise green table clothes, not overtly Indian in feeling, but clean and bright. But I’m never one to get overly touchy about design when the food is good.

Posted by Jessica McLaughlin in bistros, restaurant review on June 17, 2007 at 1:22 pm

Kubo Radio
894 Queen Street East
416-406-5826
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and wine: $90

Yes, somehow I ended up sitting pretty close to celebrity chef Susur Lee on my first visit to Kubo Radio. But before I get to that, here’s how I ended up eating there in the first place. I don’t spend a lot of time on the east end, so when I knew I’d be out on Queen East for a concert at the Opera House, I decided to do a little online investigating for an interesting restaurant to have a nosh at before the show.

Personally I enjoy a restaurant with a good website. When I don’t spend a lot of time in the neighbourhood I’m heading to, it’s a huge help, and Kubo Radio has a nice little site with all the information I was looking for: menu, location and an overall sense of what the place is all about. With all the information I needed, I called up my fellow concert-going gal pal and she sounded as interested as I was in trying this place out.

Posted by Jessica McLaughlin in pubs and bars, restaurant review on June 10, 2007 at 3:58 pm

Rose and Crown
2335 Yonge Street (at Eglinton)
416-488-5557
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and beer: $45

I’m constantly looking for the Yonge-Eglinton area to redeem itself to me. I try to give the area a chance since my boyfriend lives there, but frankly, I’m sick of people raving about it. Maybe I’m the only one hearing the raves, but I could really get behind a Toronto that doesn’t even have a Yonge and Eglinton. Okay, so maybe I’m being a little harsh, but this area has always really ticked me off, and Rose and Crown just added to my argument against Yonge and Eglinton.

Posted by Jessica McLaughlin in indian, restaurant review on May 27, 2007 at 3:49 pm

Ghandi’s Cuisine
554 Queen Street West
416-504-8155
Rotis for two with tax, tip and drinks: $25

It’s been at least six months, maybe a year, since I’ve come up with a good excuse to treat myself to a roti at Ghandi’s Cuisine. So when I was heading to the west end to buy a couple of concert tickets at Rotate This, how could I not go? I mean really? How? Exactly.

If you’ve been there recently you’ll notice they’ve spruced up the joint a little – a new coat of paint, some new tables, a newly printed menu hanging over the counter. Fancy. Well, not quite. It’s still pretty dive-y. Let’s face it; you’re not there for the ambiance. Get your roti and carry on with your day (i.e. leave the place, eat at home, find a bench, anything). There are very few seats inside and they’re often full. But this time of year, it gets pretty hot in a joint like that. I feel for the staff working all day in that tiny kitchen.

Posted by Jessica McLaughlin in french, restaurant review on May 20, 2007 at 1:57 pm

Crêpe It Up
507 Church Street (also located at 95 Front Street East)
416-916-3558
Crêpes for two, with bottled water, and some change in the tip jar: $13

Saturday afternoon I had a wicked sweets craving and heading to the convenience store and grabbing a chocolate bar just wasn’t going to cut it. I was in the mood for something a little more elaborate. Ever since I moved to this neck of the woods, I’ve been meaning to “crêpe it up,” if you will, but no one ever wanted to go with me, and I just didn’t feel like going alone. So I called my brother and this time I was able to convince him to join me.

It’s a pretty small joint with enough room for a dozen or so people to sit – a few counter seats and white tables with white fold up chairs, and some interesting original art on the wall. Most of the real estate of the small establishment is taken up by the counter where all the fixin's and the griddles for the crêpes are lined up.

Posted by Jessica McLaughlin in pubs and bars, restaurant review on May 13, 2007 at 2:22 pm

Cadillac Lounge
1296 Queen Street West
416-536-7717
Lunch or dinner for two with beer, tax and tip: $40

It’s hard to miss Cadillac Lounge if you’re out walking along the Queen West strip of Parkdale, unless of course you find half a car mounted to the front of a building to be the norm. The inside of the small bar is packed with cozy leopard print/grandma’s best plastic-covered sofas, and rock and roll memorabilia is screwed onto the wall, but I usually walk right through there and straight back to the patio (part of it is even heated and open in the winter). The patio is huge and the Cadillac theme continues with a massive painting of a pink Caddy on one wall and a few Caddy-style seats scattered around. But mostly it’s your average patio, with beer banners and beer umbrellas and beer coasters – you get the idea.