[Done] Toronto Summerlicious 2006: July 7 - 23

[flaming homer]

It's a regular yearly event now, yeah !

http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/streetfest2006_pre1.htm

Overlaps with the Street Festival: July 7-9

Get that fee-free Airmiles Amex to get "in front of the line"...

Edit: http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/streetfest/summerlicious.htm

[Andro]

wow, that's like almost 2month from now, huge heads up :lol:

[north77]

wow, that's like almost 2month from now, huge heads up :lol:

Thanks OP!

Today feels ilke the 1st day of summer in the GTA... what a scorcher.

[h00ch]

Where's the deal?

[reflex]

Where's the deal?

Check out last year's Summerlicious event. Basically a good meal at a good restuarant for a lower price than usual.

http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/se/restaurants.nsf/summerlicious

[mlc2000]

Damn, just booked Spamalot for July 28.
Would've been nice to get a decent priced meal with my $105 seats. >:(

[CHINAdeals]

mmmm ahhh summer licious

i've heard Canoe has a wicked view

i've been to Barootes great food..fair price (w/ summerlicious) a much more 'older elderly' crowd..but great stuff

[trixR4kids]

thanx for the heads up, at least i now have sth to do :D

[Geil]

Every year the same!!!!
................
perfect for a cheapo anniversary HARHAR :lol:

BTW Nectar was great!

[flaming homer]

For those of you that REALLY like to plan ahead, Winterlicous 2007 dates are also released: February 2 - 11, 2007

Be sure to mark it into your Google Calendar...

[Ohboiya]

canoe ... good view ... food is less than mediocre ... definitely not worth the money when you're paying full price but somewhat worth the summerlicious price ONLY b/c of the view

mmmm ahhh summer licious

i've heard Canoe has a wicked view

i've been to Barootes great food..fair price (w/ summerlicious) a much more 'older elderly' crowd..but great stuff

[Ryan]

Posted! Thanks!

[McLaren]

Anyone have any good recommendations?

[Gundam]

1055 restaurant. this is not the most famous one like canoe. i have been to this restaurant twice during winterlicous and summerlicous. they have really delicious food and huge portion.

[liquid_paper]

menus are up!

http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/se/restaurants.nsf/summerlicious?OpenForm

[kiwi1214]

Went to North 44 and JW's Steakhouse during Winterlicious and they were both great!!!

[MADster123]

My comments from previously checking out a couple of winterlicious/summerlicious restaurants...

Brassaii: Huge portion. Decent food.
Canoe: Pretty big portion. Good food. Great evening view!
North 44: Medium portion. Great service. Excellent food.
Pangea: Very small portion. Decent food.
Reds Wine Bistro: Medium portion. Good food. Good service.

[Leonie]

anyone has any idea when will the booking start?? AE front of the line??

[msfroh]

anyone has any idea when will the booking start?? AE front of the line??

Summerlicious Home (http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/streetfest/summerlicious.htm)

Amex front of the line -- June 20th and 21st. General reservations begin June 22nd.

[evoviii]

My comments from previously checking out a couple of winterlicious/summerlicious restaurants...

Brassaii: Huge portion. Decent food.
Canoe: Pretty big portion. Good food. Great evening view!
North 44: Medium portion. Great service. Excellent food.
Pangea: Very small portion. Decent food.
Reds Wine Bistro: Medium portion. Good food. Good service.

I have to disagree with canoe being good food, at least compared to the other $35 menus from other summerlicious restaurants.

North 44 is been the best in terms of food and service combined. My bi-annual favourite.

I agree with Pangea being quite small, made me feel like it was for models who don't eat much.

Bymark had the best dessert during winterlicious this year so i'll probably try to go again.



Need to choose a couple new ones, leaning towards 1055 and braisaii

[Eyeman]

My comments from previously checking out a couple of winterlicious/summerlicious restaurants...

Brassaii: Huge portion. Decent food.
Canoe: Pretty big portion. Good food. Great evening view!
North 44: Medium portion. Great service. Excellent food.
Pangea: Very small portion. Decent food.
Reds Wine Bistro: Medium portion. Good food. Good service.


North 44 was OK, but not great. I'ver been to 4-5 fancy places at 'Licious and the food has never been great and sometime downright poor - i e Centro. Either they cheap out for 'Licious or the places aren't that great to begin ith. Either way, I've given up on the whole business.

[evoviii]

I definitely agree they cheap out at some places. But if you look and compare their regular menus to some of their summerlicious menus, some items are the same and some dishes are made especially for summerlicious.

If you want their best food, I think you would have to go for it at regular prices. Summerlicious is more like a tourist draw/sampling of what the restaurants have to offer. For me and my friends, it's become an annual tradition and it wouldn't be as fun if we were to go normally.

[Electricute]

the restaurant in the royal york hotel is very nice. I also went to the windsor arms for lunch that place is very fancy, portion was fair, food was good.

However one place I DO NOT recoomend, is KIT KAT. We made a reservation for the place. When we got there, it's like having a restuarant in a bachelor apartment, the place is tiny. The door is litterally 2 feet wide. Got to our table which was cramed between 2 other tables, where the 2 other couples were actually touching you because you were so close to them. My gf was fed up and we left. I can't imagine the night being very enjoyable

[guest14358]

How's food at Canoe? I know it has a great view but how about the food?

[Gundam]

How's food at Canoe? I know it has a great view but how about the food?

food and services are excellent. all the reservation are usually filled on the 1st day for AE card holder. i tried to call their phone line and didn't get through for over 1 hour. then i walk up to canoe that morning to write down my preferred time and number of people. they called me back in 2 hours and gave me my reservation.

[evoviii]

I swear it's the same menu for canoe from last summer or at least the pork tenderloin

[403GL]

Planning to visit toronto during this time,..does anyone have suggestions for summerlicious restaurants that are for a younger crowd (25-30)...ie. contemporary look, better ambience, music, attractive younger crowd... ;)

[403GL]

and..err...of course good food is of importance as well... *ahem*...

[ieatkittens]

Anyone have any suggestions for a great vegetarian meal?

[guest14358]

Planning to visit toronto during this time,..does anyone have suggestions for summerlicious restaurants that are for a younger crowd (25-30)...ie. contemporary look, better ambience, music, attractive younger crowd... ;)

I am around your age and me and my friends all loved North 44. It was the best!!!

[junkbuggy]

They sure took their sweet time to post the menus.
Canoe's service and view make up for anything that you may feel they lack in taste (although I thought it was pretty good).
Pony Bistro's food was decent, but beware their lack of AC.
Pangaea has wonderful ambience, though the portion sizes are a bit small (good for those on a diet). And their menu is actually good stuff, not just cheap salmon.
Matignon was a huge disappointment. No ambience, service was soso, location was this tiny house modified.
La Maquette is a coin toss. Some years they're good, sometimes just mediocore. If you can get a reservation in their solarium, that's a treat.

[guest14358]

Any more suggestions on what restaurants to try this year?

[403GL]

thx daydreaming...From the other reviews in this thread, North 44 seems like a safe bet. I'll try to book this week.

[Rosico]

Auberge and the Corner House are great.

[junkbuggy]

Since someone asked, might as well post. Here is the link to find the listing of restaurants and their menus:

http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/se/restaurants.nsf/summerlicious?OpenForm

[charliebrown]

hmm...not as much interest in the Food & Drink thread, so i'll ask here

narrowed down to 2 places, any opinions?

BOHO
392 Roncesvalles Avenue
416-516-7446
Visit www.toronto.com/boho

Trapezzi
505 Danforth Avenue
416-465-8778
Visit www.trapezzi.com

[ieatkittens]

Almost every restaurant advertising vegetarian has fish for the veggie meal :(

[LondonAwaits]

Almost every restaurant advertising vegetarian has fish for the veggie meal :(

I didn't know kitten was vegetarian :lol:

[ieatkittens]

I didn't know kitten was vegetarian :lol:

The girlfriends the vegetarian, I eat whatever I want :D

[morpheiz]

starts today!

[Pyro]

The girlfriends the vegetarian, I eat whatever I want :D
i know how it is man

are there any restaurants that dont necessarily confirm you have an amex card?
:D

[[H]ackerK]

North 44 is a disappointment for us last time, poor service and small portion.

Canoe the view for sure is great, the food is pretty good as well

Era Ora, I like that place for some reason. Dessert is great (one time we get a treat for desset platter!)

Any comments on these places?
- Fred's not here
- Rosewater Supper Club
- Katsura
- Urban

[dmxlite]

Thanks for the post, I have a friend that's going to Toronto next month, I know he'll want to check this out.

[Kosh]

ackerK']North 44 is a disappointment for us last time, poor service and small portion.

Canoe the view for sure is great, the food is pretty good as well

Era Ora, I like that place for some reason. Dessert is great (one time we get a treat for desset platter!)

Any comments on these places?
- Fred's not here
- Rosewater Supper Club
- Katsura
- Urban

I went to rosewater supper club. I loved the building nice and elegant. Sevice was good and the food was good.

[simms]

i'm going to check out canoe, bymark and the strip house.

Any thoughts on the last two? And when do they start taking reservations?

[Ashtangi]

Did anyone get through to Canoe or Bymark yet? It's been busy all morning - just wondering if they are actually open, or have the phones off the hook.

[charliebrown]

i'm going to check out canoe, bymark and the strip house.

Any thoughts on the last two? And when do they start taking reservations?

Went to striphouse during the last winterlicious

Same building as Filet of Sole
Same (almost) menu as Filet of Sole
$10 extra compared to Filet of Sole

Both menues have lots of choices...food is good, not great. Desserts were quite disappointing

[Ohboiya]

Did anyone get through to Canoe or Bymark yet? It's been busy all morning - just wondering if they are actually open, or have the phones off the hook.

hahahaha. You need a phone with multiple lines ... a couple years ago it took me about half an hour and 6 phone lines to get through. I kept opening up a new line and hitting redial.

Good luck ... but as others have suggested ... try going to the restaurant and making the reservation in person.

[[H]ackerK]

Canoe Ph # screw up? Just get thru twice, and a recording was saying this number is reserved for share technology canada.... For more info please call 4168655010

??!!

Seems like Canoe's exchange is totally screw.. Both 416-307-3322 and 416-364-0054 get the same message.. weird.

[HighFlyer]

ackerK']Canoe Ph # screw up? Just get thru twice, and a recording was saying this number is reserved for share technology canada.... For more info please call 4168655010

??!!
I got that too.

[g-squared]

does anyone know whether we;re supposed to call the summerlicious number now 416-3073322 or their regular dining number? cos when i called the summerlicious number..it tells me to call that number again which makes no sense.

but when i call eht regular #, it says to call the summerlicious # so there's no menu. but if we're using AMEX the fine print says that we contact the restaurant to book teh summerlicious reservations. i'm confused!

[Ashtangi]

It must've been a recent thing - I called 20 minutes ago, and got through to a recording from Canoe - I assumed that they weren't open yet.

[highwind7777]

there is -no- way they're open already. it's way too early in the morning for restaurants

[g-squared]

i got the menu too when i called..but apparently the 'summerlicious' line isn't open yet..the regular line is..but since we're all do summerlicious.......

anyways, the restauratnt opens at 11:30, but i called auberge at 9:30 and made my reservation.

maybe Canoe is just being snotty :P

[donaldtin]

Fred's not here:

Huge portions, good service, a bit crowded, worth a visit.

http://community.webshots.com/album/398870857JMFcxE

ackerK']North 44 is a disappointment for us last time, poor service and small portion.

Canoe the view for sure is great, the food is pretty good as well

Era Ora, I like that place for some reason. Dessert is great (one time we get a treat for desset platter!)

Any comments on these places?
- Fred's not here
- Rosewater Supper Club
- Katsura
- Urban

[pipolchap]

CANOE: "All curcuits are busy, pls try again later"

[rvs007]

Got through to Auberge... they are not asking for AMEX card number so non-AMEX card holders can probably go ahead and book today.

[g-squared]

Got through to Auberge... they are not asking for AMEX card number so non-AMEX card holders can probably go ahead and book today.

that's strange, they asked me for my AMEX :confused:

[donaldtin]

The Strip house.

Went there when they still have a small menu... the beef... alberta highriver region... can't beat that!

When i was there:
Prime rib: usually its very tender but mild taste, but this one.. extreme tender but with strong favour!

New york steak: usually it's a bit "chewy" but with strong favour, but strip house, tender with favour!

i love both of them!

but then they are using the same kitchen as filet o sole and the other one.. whcih produces almost the same food... it's $10 more but more steak choices..

i will go there agian for sure if you r steak lover!

http://community.webshots.com/photo/396009499/1396009950046851030yKysyf

http://community.webshots.com/photo/396009499/1396009925046851030pYJcCN

http://community.webshots.com/photo/396009499/1396010072046851030QUKvqN

http://community.webshots.com/photo/396009499/1396010095046851030ChtWLN

http://community.webshots.com/photo/396009499/1396010048046851030gZqmpG

http://community.webshots.com/photo/396009499/1396010124046851030NPMvBb

i'm going to check out canoe, bymark and the strip house.

Any thoughts on the last two? And when do they start taking reservations?

[jc-fury]

just booked at North 44. didn't ask for amex number either

[g-squared]

Anyone been to Byzantium, Jump or Kit Kat bar&grill?

[sigh...]

Got through to Auberge... they are not asking for AMEX card number so non-AMEX card holders can probably go ahead and book today.

Booked Auberge at 9:20 today, they didn't ask for AMEX as well...

[morpheiz]

Don't go to kit kat, their food isn't that great and the ambience isn't as good as the other ones.

[weebg]

Just booked Auberge and they asked for the first 4 digits of my Amex.

[guest14358]

I have been trying to call By Mark for 20min now and the line is still busy. Did anyone get thru?

[g-squared]

Don't go to kit kat, their food isn't that great and the ambience isn't as good as the other ones.
thx morpheiz!

did anyone get through to Canoe? i've been calling all morning and every time i manage to get through to the menu, they tell me to call the number that i DID call already..so i press the meny for regular a la carte reservations...and it hangs up on me???

anyone w/ the same problem>

[Ashtangi]

I'm getting the same - Bymark has been busy for the past hour, and Canoe just disconnects if you press the option for a la carte reservations.

[wpooh888]

I have been trying to call By Mark for 20min now and the line is still busy. Did anyone get thru?

same here

[weebg]

Didn't Canoe not pick up the phone till later (around noon), in past *licious events? Can anyone remember?

[YLSF]

If anyone gets through to Canoe please post.. I will wait until someone else has made a reservation before I keep trying!

They need some kind of online reservation system.....(with HEFTY servers ;) )

[wpooh888]

WOOHOO ! Got through to Bymark ! :D

[g-squared]

If anyone gets through to Canoe please post.. I will wait until someone else has made a reservation before I keep trying!

They need some kind of online reservation system.....(with HEFTY servers ;) )

LOL same here, i'm just gonna go in person to book later this afternoon. i have no patience for this. I'm not so worried about the other restaurants, cos last year i got Auberge and Bymark w/o AMEX..but Canoe was already sold out the first day reservations were opened to the public! :-0

[HighFlyer]

I got through on the special number, but it bounced me to the regular reservations, and then to someone's mailbox that didn't subscribe to the voicemail service :confused: :mad: I'm just going to drive there during my lunch break.... the cost of parking and gas will be well worth it compared to the aggrivation of trying to get through on the phone.

[Jetran]

Anyone else get through to North 44?

[Ohboiya]

For those that are booking today and don't have AMEX ... don't be surprised if they don't ask you to show you an AMEX card when you arrive.

Would be pretty embarassing if you're on a date and they refuse to serve the summerlicious meal and you have to pay regular pricing ... hahahahahahaha!

[rvs007]

Anyone else get through to North 44?

Yes, I got through about 10 minutes ago. Used the last number redial feature of my office phone to get through.

[rvs007]

For those that are booking today and don't have AMEX ... don't be surprised if they don't ask you to show you an AMEX card when you arrive.

Would be pretty embarassing if you're on a date and they refuse to serve the summerlicious meal and you have to pay regular pricing ... hahahahahahaha!

You mean "don't be surprised if they ask you to show..."

I've been to several years of summer/winterlicious events and have all booked using AMEX front of the line. Not once did they tell me I have to use my AMEX card to pay for the meal. I doubt they care what form of payment I use as long as I pay for the meal!

[morpheiz]

For those that are booking today and don't have AMEX ... don't be surprised if they don't ask you to show you an AMEX card when you arrive.

Would be pretty embarassing if you're on a date and they refuse to serve the summerlicious meal and you have to pay regular pricing ... hahahahahahaha!

Do you really think they care?

[sigh...]

Anyone else get through to North 44?

Got through North 44 around 5 minutes ago....Asked for full AMEX #...

[guest14358]

I have been calling By Mark for almost 1h now...still no luck >:(

[HighFlyer]

Do you really think they care?
It can still happen though. When Amex first sponsored the front of the line program, none of the restaurants asked for an Amex card number when booking.... now some of them do (at least randomly).

[Ashtangi]

WOOHOO ! Got through to Bymark ! :D

Were there still quite a few times available?

[morpheiz]

It can still happen though. When Amex first sponsored the front of the line program, none of the restaurants asked for an Amex card number when booking.... now some of them do (at least randomly).

It was a reply to his post regarding paying for the meal and asking for Amex.

[Ohboiya]

lol ... yeah ... that's what i meant.

and i agree ... they don't care what u pay with as long as you pay ... but before they seat you ... they may ask to see if you're truly eligible for the amex benefit you're taking advantage of. happened to me at truffles and some place on college.

You mean "don't be surprised if they ask you to show..."

I've been to several years of summer/winterlicious events and have all booked using AMEX front of the line. Not once did they tell me I have to use my AMEX card to pay for the meal. I doubt they care what form of payment I use as long as I pay for the meal!

[HighFlyer]

It was a reply to his post regarding paying for the meal and asking for Amex.
Right. I should have been more clear... what I meant to say was that there is still the chance that you can be asked to produce the Amex card upon check-in or when the bill comes.

[wpooh888]

Were there still quite a few times available?


Sorry I was only interested in 1 specific time so I didn't ask which times were available.

[morpheiz]

I see. I guess there's that possibility of them enforcing it for Amex. I just booked one at Strip House, and they asked for first four digits of Amex. I think the first four digits of Amex is the same for everyone right...?

[HighFlyer]

I think the first four digits of Amex is the same for everyone right...?
3733 (AeroplanPlus Gold)

[pipolchap]

I see. I guess there's that possibility of them enforcing it for Amex. I just booked one at Strip House, and they asked for first four digits of Amex. I think the first four digits of Amex is the same for everyone right...?

3733 Amex Blue

[rvs007]

3733- AMEX Airmiles

[yoshi838]

3732 for me...

Anyways, still trying to call the restaurant I want... busy busy...

[morpheiz]

3732 Amex Costco

[morpheiz]

Anybody have any luck with Canoe?

[raymeowmeow]

I got it in Canoe.. I gave them the time and name.. when they asked me my phone number and suddenly the phone line dropped on their side.. I hope they did put down my name and time.. I have to call them again to confirm... :mad:

[Ashtangi]

Anybody have any luck with Canoe?

I just made a reservation about 15 minutes ago - no problem getting a Saturday night dinner. But I still can't get through to Bymark!

[jc-fury]

i was pretty lucky...just got through to bymark on my second try

if you have a large part (6 or more) all the fridays and saturdays are booked up but if its anything smaller than that i think they still have a lot of room

[rp]

Anybody have any luck with Canoe?
Yes I just did! A luncheon reservation is made after on hold for 10 minutes!

[jc-fury]

I just made a reservation about 15 minutes ago - no problem getting a Saturday night dinner. But I still can't get through to Bymark!

how long did it take for you to get through?

[highwind7777]

been redialing canoe for the past 1 hour. still haven't gotten through.

strange tho, sometimes i get to a machine that tells me to call "416-307-3322" for summerlicious bookings, but that -is- the number i am calling. odd.

[junkbuggy]

Burned 15 minutes of cell phone minutes on hold to book my reservation at Canoe. Didn't ask for AmEx number.

Got through North 44 on second try. Didn't ask for AmEx number either.

Good food, here I come

[Ashtangi]

how long did it take for you to get through?

It took me about 10 minutes, but then you get put on HOLD for another 10-15 minutes ..

[Leonie]

just forget about Canoe.. their phone system messed up.. it forward the option "1" to CIBCmellon... it is reaching one of my friend's co-worker...

[highwind7777]

wow. got a voice saying "all circuits are busy, please try again later"...

:(

[Gundam]

If anyone gets through to Canoe please post.. I will wait until someone else has made a reservation before I keep trying!

They need some kind of online reservation system.....(with HEFTY servers ;) )

they were haven't some technical problem with their phone and it just works 30 minutes ago. I was standing there in person for a walk-in reservation. unfortunately, they only take 15 walk-in per day and it's full already.

they also limited their summerlicious time slot to the following:
monday - friday:
lunch 1:30 pm
dinner 5:00 pm and 6:15 pm

saturday and sunday:
no lunch:
dinner 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm

no summerlicious on July 22.
If you want to go in person, they have a stand that you can write on starting 10:00 am

[Leonie]

Burned 15 minutes of cell phone minutes on hold to book my reservation at Canoe. Didn't ask for AmEx number.

Got through North 44 on second try. Didn't ask for AmEx number either.

Good food, here I come

which option did you choose?

[Ashtangi]

they were haven't some technical problem with their phone and it just works 30 minutes ago. I was standing there in person for a walk-in reservation. unfortunately, they only take 15 walk-in per day and it's full already.

they also limited their summerlicious time slot to the following:
monday - friday:
lunch 1:30 pm
dinner 5:00 pm and 6:15 pm

saturday and sunday:
no lunch:
dinner 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm

no summerlicious on July 22.
If you want to go in person, they have a stand that you can write on starting 10:00 am

Are those time slots, or actual sitting times? It can't be right, because I got a Saturday night reservation at 7:00 pm.

[kiwi1214]

My bf walked in to Canoe earlier today and got a reservation for 2 for dinner at 7pm for a Sat. night.

I called ByMark for the past 1h hour and finally got thru. I got a Sat. night dinner for 2.

[guest14358]

What # are you guys calling for Canoe?

thanks

[HighFlyer]

What # are you guys calling for Canoe?

4163073322

[sigh...]

Finally got through Canoe, was on hold for 15 minutes...didn't ask for AMEX

[Gundam]

Are those time slots, or actual sitting times? It can't be right, because I got a Saturday night reservation at 7:00 pm.

that's what it said on their binder in front of Canoe. May be it's between those time slot

[HighFlyer]

they were haven't some technical problem with their phone and it just works 30 minutes ago. I was standing there in person for a walk-in reservation. unfortunately, they only take 15 walk-in per day and it's full already.
Thanks. I was going to go in person, but after seeing this, I tried the phone again and got through. Got what I wanted, and was asked for the '3733'.

[Ashtangi]

Finally got through to Bymark, but now I'm on hold again ..

[highwind7777]

i'm on hold at canoe right now. been on hold for 6 minutes.

it took me about 10 minutes to get through to EPIC (royal york hotel). they asked for my full amex number (not the security code tho) and expiry date. sheesh lol

[wpooh888]

wow North 44 didn't take long . . 2nd redial.

[jc-fury]

everytime i do get through to canoe i get this "all our circuits are busy"

i though their phones were fixed...anyone still getting this?

[weebg]

man, Canoe is frustrating. I've been calling consistantly for the last hour, and every once in a while, I get through, but then get a recorded message saying "All circuits are busy. Try again later." and then it hangs up.

[weebg]

I had called the regular restaurant number and got through immediately. However, the hostess said that you HAVE to call the 416-307-3322 number to book for summerlicious. She said that they have other people in the "back" taking reservations for summericious.

I didn't want to push my luck, so I politely said thank you and hung up.

Still calling after an hour. Luckly I have a headset at work. I looks like i'm almost busy still. :P

[M-e-X-x]

booked all 7 of my restaurants.. yes SEVEN lol...

but 5 will be axed when my group decides which one to go to that night :evil:

and 1 is w/ my parents on my b-day :D

[wpooh888]

booked all 7 of my restaurants.. yes SEVEN lol...


I have 11 and counting :cheesygri

[fayenet]

Which restaurants are you guys gonna go? Maybe you can share with us?

I'm gonna try:

1. Canoe
2. Auberge du Pommier
3. North 44
4. Bymark



What else is good?

[YLSF]

I have booked 2 so far...

Decided to try Epic and Mildred Pearce... Took me a while to get through to MP , Epic was on first call...

I tried North 44 last summer and Canoe last summer also. I tried Auberge du Pommier last winter... I will probably go back to Auberge du Pommier next winter and ask for a "fireplace" seat :)

[weebg]

fingers are aching after hitting "redial" so often. :P It ONLY took about 1.5 hrs. I wasn't on hold for too long though - maybe 30 seconds.

Booked for a Saturday evening no problem. The hostess said that for a table of 2, you have 1.5hrs to finish your meal.

[morpheiz]

That's not right. I'd hate it if someone told me how long I can take to eat my meal as a patron. i don't see why they have to treat summerlicious customers any different.

[Ohboiya]

Been to all four but never during a Summer/Winter Licious. Try Boiler House in the Distillery or Truffles in the Four Seasons.

My fave in terms of ambience was the restaurant in the Windsor Arms Hotel.

If you're going to North 44 ... I'd recommend a bottle of Opus 1 ... unbelievable and also unbelievably priced ... $500 / bottle but it only costs $125 at the LCBO. They also charged us $11 for ice when we went ... no one noticed it until we reviewed the receipt a couple days later.

Which restaurants are you guys gonna go? Maybe you can share with us?

I'm gonna try:

1. Canoe
2. Auberge du Pommier
3. North 44
4. Bymark



What else is good?

[403GL]

finally got through to north 44 but they asked for my AMEX #... so no dice..looks like i'll have to wait till thurs

For you guys without an amex, how did you get a reservation there?

[kareshi]

get an amex

finally got through to north 44 but they asked for my AMEX #... so no dice..looks like i'll have to wait till thurs

For you guys without an amex, how did you get a reservation there?

[silvermist99]

i've been calling canoe now, been calling for 20mins still cant get thru :( whats teh 2nd best resturant? LOL

[messie]

Called this morning and made reservations at a couple random places..

When I called Oro Restaurant I was asked for my full AMEX cc # and expiry date. I was told to call 2 days prior to confirm how many guests, and if i don't show the day of, I will be charged based on how many guests i had confrmed.

I've been to winter/summerlicious and have never been told that before.. and i've actually done a couple no-shows with nothing charged before...

Anybody been to Oro? is it really so good? it's such a breeze to get thru.. not like canoe or bymark...

[silvermist99]

finally got through to north 44 but they asked for my AMEX #... so no dice..looks like i'll have to wait till thurs

For you guys without an amex, how did you get a reservation there?

I just got thru, the guy only asked me if I have an amex i said yes and that was it.

[403GL]

get an amex

Thanks tips, why didn't i think of that before?

[403GL]

I just got thru, the guy only asked me if I have an amex i said yes and that was it.

Cool,!..I'll try back later, i got better things to do than press redial redial redial.

[HighFlyer]

Cool,!..I'll try back later, i got better things to do than press redial redial redial.
I just called now and got through on the first ring. Didn't ask for Amex# either.

[Ohboiya]

I just got thru, the guy only asked me if I have an amex i said yes and that was it.

as i posted before ... don't be surprised if they ask for your card to prove that you really are indeed eligible to be going to the front of the line in making your reservation ... and then when they say sorry .. you have to order from the regular menu ... would be embarassing if you're on a date and the restaurant you're at is something u wouldn't normally go to ...

[403GL]

I visit toronto at least once a year, but never been to winter/summerlicious.. Are all these restaurants as super busy as they seem like they're gonna be?
And is that a list of the "best" restaurants in Toronto? Worst case scenario if I dont come around to booking a listed restaurant during that time, I dont want to get stuck with a crappy restaurant choices. And my trip to TO pretty much coincides with the festival.

[cheukiecfu]

as i posted before ... don't be surprised if they ask for your card to prove that you really are indeed eligible to be going to the front of the line in making your reservation ... and then when they say sorry .. you have to order from the regular menu ... would be embarassing if you're on a date and the restaurant you're at is something u wouldn't normally go to ...ehh.. u just copied the exact same thing u said 2 pages ago?
next time.. just put this link:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3475111&postcount=75
hahahh.. way faster..

[silvermist99]

as i posted before ... don't be surprised if they ask for your card to prove that you really are indeed eligible to be going to the front of the line in making your reservation ... and then when they say sorry .. you have to order from the regular menu ... would be embarassing if you're on a date and the restaurant you're at is something u wouldn't normally go to ...

eugene go online!! i got my dad's amex #.. will it work if I bring that on that day to show them i have amex then pay wtih my own mastercard?

[guest14358]

LOL...I really don't think the restaurants would check upon you for your Amex card when you get there. I have one but never was asked to show or pay with it at North 44, JW, Truffles...etc.

But it is unfair how some people who don't have Amex card but get reservations today.

[403GL]

LOL...I really don't think the restaurants would check upon you for your Amex card when you get there. I have one but never was asked to show or pay with it at North 44, JW, Truffles...etc.

But it is unfair how some people who don't have Amex card but get reservations today.

No kidding, they should have a President's Choice Mastercard Front of the Line event sometime haha

[Ohboiya]

lol ... it should be fine ... as i said ... it doesn't matter what you pay with ... well ... tehcnically it should ... and you won't always be asked .. but i was asked twice two years ago (didn't go to any last year)

eugene go online!! i got my dad's amex #.. will it work if I bring that on that day to show them i have amex then pay wtih my own mastercard?

[Leonie]

finally.. done all the reservations for myself and friends at Canoe... only 1 reservation per call.. which I think it is fair.. so I called in 4 times to get everything done..

[silvermist99]

lol ... it should be fine ... as i said ... it doesn't matter what you pay with ... well ... tehcnically it should ... and you won't always be asked .. but i was asked twice two years ago (didn't go to any last year)

I'm applying for an amex card now just to be safe.. mwhahhahaha

[[H]ackerK]

So far I have got

- Fred's Not Here
- The Strip House (not what you are thinking! :cheesygri BTW, last time we went there for lunch, and was servered dinner size!! no kidding)
- Rosewater supper club
- Urban
- Booked Canoe for lunch. Only 2PM seatings are left and going fast. While I was on the line, someone took the last seat on the day I initially picked.. and have to try a few other days before get a time slot...
- Bymark (finally get thru.. but for dinner even on weekdays only 5:30 or 9PM time slots are available.. darn)

-- I have done booking... and now just wait for the bills to burn a hole in my wallet.. sigh.

[silvermist99]

I just applied for an american express airmile card on www.americanexpress.ca

& got accepted .. woohoo my card will be here in 10 days for summerlicous lol

[morpheiz]

On hold for Canoe now.. it doesn't seem like it's that hard to get through.

[guest14358]

On hold for Canoe now.. it doesn't seem like it's that hard to get through.

Trust me, it's hard! I have been calling for 2h now :(

I just got through Canoe now and the girl who picked up my call said walk-in reservations will be done in the end of the say. So she said it's not like those walk in poeple would get what time and which day they want right away. They have to wait til the end of the day.

[[H]ackerK]

Trust me, it's hard! I have been calling for 2h now :(

Bymark is hard as well... I am now on hold... wish me luck!

[[H]ackerK]

I just applied for an american express airmile card on www.americanexpress.ca

& got accepted .. woohoo my card will be here in 10 days for summerlicous lol

you don't really need amex to pay. but is good to get one anyways. ;) esp since you took the advantage of amex front of the line booking

[mhleung]

:cheesygri Yes! I got Bymark...but, not my picked time slot and number of guests...

Well at least I got a reservation done...but one of my friends won't be so happy if I ask him/her to drop out...decisions, decisions...

[g-squared]

walked into canoe to book..hostess/manager said that they don't accept walk ins -_- i'm wondering if they're 15/day is up or if they accept at end of the day. they told me they don't accept walk in and that i should call. i have a feeling that it's because i'm a student :mad: and so they decide to 'shoo' me away.
anyways
i'm pissed and i give up calling.

is it really that worth it to go to canoe? i'm pretty disappointed w/ the way they're handling this-__-

and for those who booked multiple times at canoe...*shakes fist*
j/k maybe i'll have better luck next time

[403GL]

I just got a reservation for North 44 and told them I had AMEX (even though I don't) so hopefully it works out in the end. Since I only have one day to spare, I actually want try out Canoe instead. It seems pretty cool! - 54th floor?! I dont think we have any restaurants in Calgary (besides the Calgary Tower) let alone an office building that is 54 stories...

So if anybody wants to trade reservations to North 44 for Canoe for Wed July 12 9pm, let me know,...it doesn't matter to me, it just seems that Canoe has cooler concept. I"m just a bit discouraged by Canoe's phone system, and i dont want to spend long/d money to be placed on hold for that long

[Gundam]

walked into canoe to book..hostess/manager said that they don't accept walk ins -_- i'm wondering if they're 15/day is up or if they accept at end of the day. they told me they don't accept walk in and that i should call. i have a feeling that it's because i'm a student :mad: and so they decide to 'shoo' me away.
anyways
i'm pissed and i give up calling.

is it really that worth it to go to canoe? i'm pretty disappointed w/ the way they're handling this-__-

and for those who booked multiple times at canoe...*shakes fist*
j/k maybe i'll have better luck next time

I was the 15th person this morning to sign-in for the walk-in reservation at around 11 am. The 'shoo' a few people away while I was putting down my information. They said call-in will have 1st priority, I am still waiting for them to confirm my reservation.

[[H]ackerK]

walked into canoe to book..hostess/manager said that they don't accept walk ins -_- i'm wondering if they're 15/day is up or if they accept at end of the day. they told me they don't accept walk in and that i should call. i have a feeling that it's because i'm a student :mad: and so they decide to 'shoo' me away.
anyways
i'm pissed and i give up calling.

is it really that worth it to go to canoe? i'm pretty disappointed w/ the way they're handling this-__-

and for those who booked multiple times at canoe...*shakes fist*
j/k maybe i'll have better luck next time

No. not because you are a student. it would be unfair for those people who have been trying to dial thru all morning and afternoon if you can just 'jumped' in.

A friend of mine who works downtown and tried to show up in person to make the booking last time was told the same thing as well.

[chlorine]

Is anyone else getting all circuits are busy, please try again later for Canoe?

[rp]

From my experience in the past three years, usually on the last week of Summerlicious or Winterlicious, if your time is flexible, Canoe usually have some cancellations that they can fill in with the last minute callers for the day of the luncheon slots. So do not give up until the last minute!

[Ohboiya]

is it really that worth it to go to canoe? i'm pretty disappointed w/ the way they're handling this-__-



No ... not worth it. I've never been there for Winter/Summer Licious but have been there a number of times. The view is great but the food is nothing spectacular. There are a lot of restaurants that have the same or better quality of food .. you just won't have the view of the Toronto Islands.

But for the view, go to the CN Tower, or Manulife (forgot name of place) or the Hyatt. Heck ... even the condo I live in has a fantastic view of the lake.

[rvs007]

Since I only have one day to spare, I actually want try out Canoe instead. It seems pretty cool! - 54th floor?! I dont think we have any restaurants in Calgary (besides the Calgary Tower) let alone an office building that is 54 stories...

If you are from out of town, I highly recommend Canoe over North 44. The view alone is worth it!

[403GL]

If you are from out of town, I highly recommend Canoe over North 44. The view alone is worth it!

Even though the concensus is that the food at Canoe sucks, I'd expect that the food everywhere else during Summerlicious couldn't be the best it could be simply because the same course is being prepared over and over again in mass quantities.

I'll try calling Canoe tonight after work and book for the same night as I did for North 44,...and if I do get spot at Canoe, someone can have my spot at North 44...just use my name or something like that

[[H]ackerK]

Not sure why everyone said Canoe food sucks, I have been there many times and still fails to disappoint me (my friends and family) so far.

However North 44 does disappoint me, for their food & service. And not to mention there is no view to even talk about it.

So I will still vote Canoe over North 44.

[rvs007]

There will always be people who don't like Canoe and there will always be people who don't like North 44. Food tasting is very subjective so you should also consider the atmosphere, especially if you are a tourist.

I took my brother-in-law to Canoe in May and he enjoyed both the food and the view.

[silvermist99]

I got thru to canoe finally, on their website it says you can park at the td tower for free on weeknights & saturdays.. does this apply for summerlicous too?

[mjdavila]

I have 11 and counting :cheesygri


oh man.. you guys are addicted..

think about it..

Food wise: Gourmet Cooking for 11 of 19 days = sickness and weight.

Money Wise: Let's assume 11 reservations for diner for 2 people. Let's assume you each have a $5 drink. That's $40 per person plus tax and tip. $50 per person. $100 * 11 = $1100. And that's a minimum.

That's A LOT of money...

But I'm not complaining... I think it's great.. go for it.. actually I'm a little jealous... Good times...

But still seems a little crazy.

[wpooh888]

oh man.. you guys are addicted..

think about it..

Food wise: Gourmet Cooking for 11 of 19 days = sickness and weight.

Money Wise: Let's assume 11 reservations for diner for 2 people. Let's assume you each have a $5 drink. That's $40 per person plus tax and tip. $50 per person. $100 * 11 = $1100. And that's a minimum.

That's A LOT of money...

But I'm not complaining... I think it's great.. go for it.. actually I'm a little jealous... Good times...

But still seems a little crazy.

Not going to all of them of course :cheesygri Just making sure I have options available. I will of course let RFD know of any openings that may arise due to my cancellations :cheesygri

[[H]ackerK]

don't forget there is a review (http://www.32avenue.com/blog/toronto.shtml) web site done by RFDers (found the link in last Winetrlicious)

However I checked a few review seems bias and not sure how trustworthly is the review. Also the lack of photo on the food or the place is kinda turn off to read the long reviews... just my 2 cents.

[[H]ackerK]

Not going to all of them of course :cheesygri Just making sure I have options available. I will of course let RFD know of any openings that may arise due to my cancellations :cheesygri

Damn you! ;)

[wpooh888]

ackerK']Damn you! ;)

Now I have to get back to work . . :lol:

[simms]

Seems like Bymark and Canoe have the same busy signal.. I've been listening to it all day.

[guest14358]

Just a question for people who went to Canoe before for licious events. Do they give you windown seats?

[m3talslug]

The food at those places isn't bad. But for the price you're paying it is. The dinner is not a cheap dinner. 35$ and it's not like you can order water with that. + wine + tax + tip, you're looking at about 80$ a person.

For an 80$ meal it sucks. I went there last year to both North 44 and Canoe. It's not worth it for what you get in taste and satisfaction of a meal.

On top of that, when you're forking that much cash out... it's insulting to be served such SMALL portions. I'm a mid sized person (160lbs/5'10" and I don't eat much relative to someone my size) and let's be fair, the actual ingredients make up a very SMALL COST of the meal. The cost of the meal (to the restaurant) doesn't go up by much if they make the portions 30% bigger and it would definetly make the patron 100% happier.

For 80$ I could eat MUCH better somewhere else in terms of quality and quantity. I'm not filthy rich where I wouldn't care about dumping that kinda money for an unsatisfactory experience.

ackerK']Not sure why everyone said Canoe food sucks, I have been there many times and still fails to disappoint me (my friends and family) so far.

However North 44 does disappoint me, for their food & service. And not to mention there is no view to even talk about it.

So I will still vote Canoe over North 44.

[Gundam]

I got thru to canoe finally, on their website it says you can park at the td tower for free on weeknights & saturdays.. does this apply for summerlicous too?

yes, free parking applied to winterlicious when I went last year. they gave me a card to get out.

enter canoe parking from wellington st.

[M-e-X-x]

fyi, auberge du pommier is booked up for every dinner spot... i just called to book for a regular reservation this weekend, and got an automated message saying they're booked completely on summerlicious dinner nights.. lunchtime spaces are limited

[joongpark]

After holding for 45 Minutes, I finally got a dinner reservation for 2 at Canoe.

I booked for Friday evening at 5:00. They say I have to be out by 6:30....that's next reservation.

I wanted to book for 7 or 8 so I can watch sunset but After 6PM reservations are fulled booked until end of the festival.

Too bad...I am happy I was able to get the reservation at all.

Do I really need Amex card? I don't have one.

[ash101]

Just a question for people who went to Canoe before for licious events. Do they give you windown seats?
Yes for small table max. 4 ppl.

[ginabobolee]

finally got through Canoe,,,,,,,,
but put on hold for 10 mins now
hopefully they won't hang up on me.....
(they said their reservation line is from 10-6)

by the way, I find out that calling from extion phone can't compete from direct line

I called like 2 hours in the office and coudln't get through
It's my 2nd dial at home and got through
so I guess this says that people who don't have direct lines don't even need to bother to call

[HighFlyer]

by the way, I find out that calling from extion phone can't compete from direct line

I called like 2 hours in the office and coudln't get through
It's my 2nd dial at home and got through
so I guess this says that people who don't have direct lines don't even need to bother to call
by extension phone, do you mean the ones that you have to dial '9' to get out? I got through on the 5th try.

[ginabobolee]

by extension phone, do you mean the ones that you have to dial '9' to get out? I got through on the 5th try.


really? then my theory is wrong then. I didn't even have to tial 9 but when people call me, they have to dial ext #

anyway, I got the reservation for 4. The lady was actully very nice. They had me in their system. I only been there once, that's wired.

[aquariaguy]

really? then my theory is wrong then. I didn't even have to tial 9 but when people call me, they have to dial ext #

anyway, I got the reservation for 4. The lady was actully very nice. They had me in their system. I only been there once, that's wired.

Hopefully they didn't write down "bad customer" heheheh

[ginabobolee]

Hopefully they didn't write down "bad customer" heheheh

.....................now you got me worried

[Gundam]

Just a question for people who went to Canoe before for licious events. Do they give you windown seats?

they just called me back to confirm my walk-in reservation. i asked if i can get a window seat. the lady said she can put down the request, but there is no guarantee that i will get it. i booked a tues for 5:30 and the said i can have the table until 7:45. wow, more than 2 hours

[baz5]

I'm trying to phone from Winnipeg and I'm getting "The called party, did not answer."

[trek_junkie]

got a reservation for 4 at Jump this morning.

[M-e-X-x]

got a reservation for 4 at Jump this morning.

i'm going there on the day of my b-day :) gotta love a birthday during summerlicious :D

[trek_junkie]

also got reservations for bymark and the drake hotel.

[baz5]

Anyone have any recommendations for a good italian restaurant DT?
Thank you.

[aristocrat]

Just booked Strip House for lunch. Is it a nice place that's worth going?

[guest14358]

they just called me back to confirm my walk-in reservation. i asked if i can get a window seat. the lady said she can put down the request, but there is no guarantee that i will get it. i booked a tues for 5:30 and the said i can have the table until 7:45. wow, more than 2 hours

They called me back too but thank god I called them at around 2pm on Tue. to get Sat. dinner. The lady said the Sat. dinner spots were all out on the first day so when she called me back, she couldn't have reserved Sat. night for me. So phoning in is still the best option!!! I also asked for window seats and she said it shouldn't be a problem since most windown seats are for 2 to 4 people.

[creatine]

Really...I just called Canoe and got a Sat reservation.

[[H]ackerK]

Just booked Strip House for lunch. Is it a nice place that's worth going?

Yes, we went there last time and dinner size steak was served for lunch! We were so stuffed afterwards.... and it was very good meal as well.

[aristocrat]

ackerK']Yes, we went there last time and dinner size steak was served for lunch! We were so stuffed afterwards.... and it was very good meal as well.

Thanks! Their lunch and dinner menus seem very similar...$15 cheaper for lunch. :)

[aristocrat]

Any one gone to EPIC at Royal York Hotel?

[charliebrown]

Thanks! Their lunch and dinner menus seem very similar...$15 cheaper for lunch. :)

check out the menu for Filet of Sole

for dinner, it's $25 vs $35 (same building, i've been told it's the same kitchen)

[donaldtin]

Yes, went there lsat winterlicious... the food was EXCELLENT... plating is 1st class.. portion is small though, dessert is OMG good! .. atomsphere is nice... waiter SUCKS!.. i guess it's coz we r eating winterlicious but not regular meal... lots of ppl there are eating regular meals though... for over $100 / person of coz.

Any one gone to EPIC at Royal York Hotel?

[joongpark]

Really...I just called Canoe and got a Sat reservation.


What time is your reservation? I could not get any evening reservation...sux. Wanted to watch sunset.

[ghettogal]

If I book Table for 8 and only 6 shows up..do we have to pay for the extra 2? Or when is the latest time we can change reservations w/o being penalized?

[ghettogal]

If I book Table for 8 and only 6 shows up..do we have to pay for the extra 2? Or when is the latest time we can change reservations w/o being penalized?

nm...I asked and I can cancel out of reservations...

[mytimewillcome]

Hi folks!! If anyone cant make their reservation for CANOE or NORTH 44 let me know! I was out of town and missed out on reserving early!!!!!!!! Im looking for a table for 2!!

[Demon_Twinz]

check out the menu for Filet of Sole

for dinner, it's $25 vs $35 (same building, i've been told it's the same kitchen)


FIlet of SOLE is garbage .. it's disgusting .. it's disrepect to yr taste buds .. it's horse do do mix'd with cow poo poo in a bowl of green mexican vomit

go to Mc'D's and save yrself $20 .. same thing


I'd recommended La Maquette for summerlicious ... underrated .. good food, great service ..view is comfortable if you sit in greenhouse area $35 i believe

[sfu_engineer]

FIlet of SOLE is garbage .. it's disgusting .. it's disrepect to yr taste buds .. it's horse do do mix'd with cow poo poo in a bowl of green mexican vomit

go to Mc'D's and save yrself $20 .. same thing


I'd recommended La Maquette for summerlicious ... underrated .. good food, great service ..view is comfortable if you sit in greenhouse area $35 i believe
Care to explain why u don't like Filet of Sole? Two people I know are recommending it.

[tg82]

just came back from Bluestone Bistro on Hwy 7 near Main street, Unionville.

Very good food. $30 bucks and i had the Quail, Lamb and Chocolate Caramel cake.

I'd recommend it if anyone's interested.

[ginabobolee]

FIlet of SOLE is garbage .. it's disgusting .. it's disrepect to yr taste buds .. it's horse do do mix'd with cow poo poo in a bowl of green mexican vomit

go to Mc'D's and save yrself $20 .. same thing


I'd recommended La Maquette for summerlicious ... underrated .. good food, great service ..view is comfortable if you sit in greenhouse area $35 i believe

yeah, I liked the food last time I went, so I am going this time again. Something about Filet of Sole that I don't know?

[ArthurN]

I booked for Pinocchio twice. I went last year and it was really good. They added a veal dish this year that I have to try. Sounds yummy

Looks like Saturdays and Fridays were all booked up though (unless you want Saturday at 10PM :( )

I tried Filet of Sole last year too and I liked it ... not sure why the other poster gave a horrible review

[cheapbastage]

....
I tried Filet of Sole last year too and I liked it ... not sure why the other poster gave a horrible review

Must be a cattle farmer not a fisherman ;)

[ArthurN]

heheh

[jerryhung]

Anyone that already went get carded for Amex? that would be kinda funny if a fine dining restaurant refused service because a person didn't have their card!

AFAIK, no restaurants require you to pay by AMEX

[Sinical]

It doesn't start until Friday anyway

and I doubt that anyone cares if you use an Amex as long as they get their money

[Gundam]

Anyone that already went get carded for Amex? that would be kinda funny if a fine dining restaurant refused service because a person didn't have their card!

i booked during the first 2 days for AE member, only a few of the restaurant asked me for my AE number. canoe never asked for it. when i pay for meal last year, i used my visa instead.

[Samsonhsc]

Do you guys think it is too late to make a reservation, I mean excluding places like canoe, North44, Bymark. I dont have a amex card so i gave up the idea of summerlicous but now i want to go........

[Gundam]

Do you guys think it is too late to make a reservation, I mean excluding places like canoe, North44, Bymark. I dont have a amex card so i gave up the idea of summerlicous but now i want to go........

some restaurants will have reservation left if you go on weeknight and you only need AE to reserve during the first 2 days. you can check canoe if they have any cancellation. I usually book 1055 restaurant if I need last minutes booking and their food were great & huge.

1055 Restaurant
1055 Yonge Street
416-482-8485

[guest14358]

Do you guys think it is too late to make a reservation, I mean excluding places like canoe, North44, Bymark. I dont have a amex card so i gave up the idea of summerlicous but now i want to go........

I am sure some people will cancel their reservation the last min. May be you can call the restaurants now and let them know if anyone cancels, let them call you.

[ArthurN]

I made a few reservations this morning. Excluding the really popular places, I am guessing that a lot of them have tons of reservations left.

[newbi]

hey guys, me and my gf r planning to go to summerlicious

here is the list that we've been thinking about

Signatures Restaurant
Rosewater Supper Club
Pony Bistro
Oyster Boy
Noce
Monsoon Restaurant and Lounge
JW's Steakhouse
Fat Cat Bistro
EDO
Corner House Restaurant
Café California Restaurant

.. I m kinda leaning towards JW's and Corner House, have anyone tried any of these on the list? and wats the status on reservations for all the restaurants?

[freakygirl]

it's too bad a lot of the summerlicious restaurants are not open for lunch on sundays! that's the only day of the week that we are all free :(

i'm still looking for a place! hopefully spaces are still available!

[sumrandomguy]

it's too bad a lot of the summerlicious restaurants are not open for lunch on sundays! that's the only day of the week that we are all free :(

i'm still looking for a place! hopefully spaces are still available!


i actually have a reservation at Toula for this coming sunday at 1230 so just make a few calls and see if they have sunday lunch.

has anyone been to Toula yet? their menus still aren't up yet.....

[fuey]

I booked Wildfire for this sunday lunch.

[YLSF]

I am looking for a good spot for lunch... I haven't been to a winterlicious/summerlicious for lunch before.. prefer something downtown....

[dreamcatcher]

i actually have a reservation at Toula for this coming sunday at 1230 so just make a few calls and see if they have sunday lunch.

has anyone been to Toula yet? their menus still aren't up yet.....

I was there for dinner 2 weeks back. $150 for dinner for two excluding wine. Ordinary food but great view from 38th floor of Westin Harbour.

[[H]ackerK]

Summerlicious starts today!!

Going to rosewater supper club for lunch today... Not sure what to expect, since all review I have read are extream on both ends of the spectrum....

[hoyoto]

Hey, some people cancel their reservatoin at North 44 for tomorrow night. I just booked 4people at 5:30 PM. they still have 5Pm and 9PM available.

my summerlicious begins :D

[hoyoto]

:D just got another reservation at canoe

[YLSF]

I called yesterday and asked about the menu. I received it in the e-mail today. I converted it to normal text to read easier (was in gothic before)


TOULA DINNER AND LUNCH MENU

HORS D’OEUVRES
Beef Carpaccio,Polenta Cake & Wild Mushrooms,Quiche Of Salmon

1` Course Spaghetti with Plum Tomato Sauce Fresh Basil & Extra Virgin Olive Oil ~*~*~*~

2` CourseChoice of:

Saffron Risotto Cake With Jumbo Tiger Shrimp & Scallop in Red Wine Vinegar Marino Salt

~*~*~*~Milanesine Of Lamb Dressed with Tomato Concasse’ & Roasted Potato

Dessert Classic Toula` Sorbet
~*~*~* ~

Coffee,Teas


Sorry.. formatting is a bit off , but, you get the idea... Seems like good value. You get Spaghetti (although with a plain red sauce) plus a choice of 2nds and then dessert... I am not too impressed by just a "sorbet" but, the guy on the phone said that the dessert may change day to day.

[charliebrown]

Monsoon tonite; not sure what i'm gonna pick yet...


roasted tomato salad with thai basil and chilled tofu
or
kobe beef tataki with asian slaw

market fresh seafood bouillabaisse with red miso and wasabi rouille
or
roasted muscovy duck breast with gingered peaches and green tea soba noodles

chocolate heaven
a warm chocolate cake with a silky soft center served with fresh berry compote
or
Osaka tiramisu
green tea chantilly cream, sweet azuki red bean paste and chocolate shavings


Will post report next wk :)

[littlemonkey]

Went to EPIC for lunch

I had the smoked salmon and avocado salad, very delicious!

I had the duck confit with carrot mash. Duck was a little salty the carrot mash was interesting, it has some spice in there and I couldn't put my finger on it...not bad

I had the panna cotta, it was supposed to be laced with cassis, but I didn't taste any of that flavour, the berry panna cotta was slittly sour, but not bad.

Overall, about a 7/10

It was a $20 lunch.

edited to added, I just booked the Brant house for dinner on July 12th and the 21st. I loved their winterlicous dinner, so here's hoping the summerlicious is a hit!

[bunnyfoo]

Went to Jump for lunch today. The service and food was excellent! The waiter said that we could mix and match from between the regular menu and the Summerlicious menu but we just ordered from the Summerlicious. He also made it seem like you didn't need a Summerlicious reservation in order to get the menu ... I had the Caesar, Mahi Mahi and Strawberry Rhubarb crumble and my friend had the Butter Caesar, Chicken and Chocolate Cappucino Stack -- I thought the portions were quite big, for lunch anyway. I really liked the dressing they used on the salad that came with the main course! I thought the butter chicken was a little on the dry side but maybe that's because we came closer to the end of lunch? The cinamon ice cream was a little too sweet on its own but perfect with the crumble. The place was about 1/2 full at 1:30 pm but I figured that would happen on a Friday.

Next on Summerlicious is dinner at Epic... looking forward to reading some reviews :)

[M-e-X-x]

nice! going to jump for dinner on monday.. my b-day :)

usually, that's how it is for the O&B group of restaurants.. they don't discriminate who can or cannot order off the *licious menus... makes it easier for them to be honest since they can prepare much less items than they normally would have to

[[H]ackerK]

ackerK']Summerlicious starts today!!

Going to rosewater supper club for lunch today... Not sure what to expect, since all review I have read are extream on both ends of the spectrum....

The place was pretty nice... Food was great. Except they keep mixing up our order with other 2 tables next to us. They only get it right at the third time.

Overall, beside the service, it was great. And even for the 'double' mixed up, the staff were very polite and nice.

I would give it a 8/10

[greenapples]

My friend booked an reservation at North 44 awhile ago, using his AmEx. He finally got through with Canoe, so he gave me his North 44 reservation. I called to confirm the reservation, only to find out that his name wasn't in the book. So the receptionist just booked a reservation for me anyways.

It's a good thing that I called.

[charliebrown]

Monsoon tonite

6:30 sitting; place wasnt full even when we left (possible others knew to avoid the place???)

waiter offered two possible upgrades: $5 to change appetizer to some salmon dish, and $11 to upgrade to a angus steak

My choices:
roasted tomato salad with thai basil and chilled tofu
or
kobe beef tataki with asian slaw

market fresh seafood bouillabaisse with red miso and wasabi rouille
or
roasted muscovy duck breast with gingered peaches and green tea soba noodles

chocolate heaven
a warm chocolate cake with a silky soft center served with fresh berry compote
or
Osaka tiramisu
green tea chantilly cream, sweet azuki red bean paste and chocolate shavings

Tomato salad was ok...didnt really noticed it was roasted; sauce was quite nice with the tofu

Duck breast was rather bland...food was definitely not even warm (room temp at best)

DESSERT was an absolute disaster...friend tried the tiramisu and said it was much much better

(they also took the other appetizer -- apparently, they thought kobe beef tataki = finely chopped raw beef; but it came a bit seared as opposed to raw and was too chewy for their liking)

Overall, atmosphere was a bit lacking (dont know how it won awards for best interior design)

Food: 6/10
Presentation: 9/10
Value for money: 5/10

[poorwingman]

Went to the strip house last night. Admittedly, I don’t have the finest palette but I do eat out a lot so here are my 2 cents..

I had
1. Baked Lobster & Crab Soup
2. Surf & Turf – Roasted Alberta “High River” Region Certified Angus Filet Mignon with Pan Fried Stuffed Soft Shell Crab & Lemon Hollandaise with Duck Fat Roasted Garlic Rosemary Potato
3. Crispy spring roll stuffed with chocolate with strawberry compote

My gf had
1. Bacon Wrapped Roasted Divers Scallop with Chipotle Remoulade
2. Lobster Linguine - Roasted East Coast Hard Shell “Canadian” Lobster, Salmon Filet & Deep Sea Scallops, Sauce “Americane”
3. Chilled Mango Soufflé

Thoughts on my meal
• Can’t go wrong with this soup, especially with the puff pastry on top – but they also have this at many other restaurants
• I ordered the filet mignon medium rare and it came out too rare. The bacon around it wasn’t crispy. Perhaps I could have sent it back but I was starving and that wasn’t going to happen
• The soft shell crab wasn’t very appetizing. It looked gross and it lacked flavour. So you’re probably better off going for the strip steak if you’re looking for meat
• Potatoes fried in duck fat? Being asian, this sounds like a dream come true. But they over did it with the duck fat. The potatoes came out so greasy that my steak was sliding all over my plate. Perhaps this was done to exaggerate the duck flavour
• Compote is just like a strawberry jam or the strawberry toppings you put on sundaes but with real strawberries. The crispy spring roll was a crispier version of a crepe rolled up as a cigar with chocolate inside. The chocolate was interesting because it wasn’t sweet enough for my preference (or maybe that’s just my bourgeois palette)

Thoughts on my gf’s meal
• Bacon wrapped scallops – 4 in a serving.. what’s not to like? Bacon, scallops.. mmm. The chipotle remoulade didn’t add anything. It’s like the Cajun mayo dip you get with swiss chalet perogies but not as good(bourgeois palette)
• The linguine was the best dish of the night. It had half a small lobster, 2 pieces of salmon, 4 big dense scallops and the pasta itself was pretty good too
• The mango soufflé was nice

Overall thoughts
• Wasn’t memorable
• I wouldn’t go back with my gf but if my friends wanted to go, I’d just get the lobster linguine
• Service was very good. The waitress was knowledgeable and the food was prepared in a timely manner

[poorwingman]

FYI, the strip house is only taking orders from the summerlicious menu while this promotion is on.

I wanted to order an additional appetizer off the regular menu but was not able to do so.

[rn9]

Had dinner last night @ Auberge - called during the day and they were able to give me a reservation for 7pm (!!!!)

My choices:
$35 Dinner
plus taxes and gratuity

Amuse Gueule

Chilled Heirloom Tomato & Melon Gazpacho
avocado and peppered lime yogurt
or
Spinach Salade Provençal
sun dried tomato, Niçoise olives, toasted pine nuts and basil pesto vinaigrette



Suprême de volaille
grilled chicken breast on a fricassée of fèves and onions with a lemon verbena and honey fond
or
Roast Veal Striploin
endive and shaved pear salad with blue d'Auvergne cheese, toasted walnuts, pickled onions and warm port wine jus vinaigrette
or
Tuna Pochée
olive oil poached yellow fin tuna on a crushed potato and parsley salad with minted peas, candied lemon and shaved fennel



Steamed White Chocolate Pudding
Bonacini farm rhubarb and strawberry sorbet
or
Sour Cream Panna Cotta
pistachio crisps and blueberries


For the appetizer, go for the gazpacho - it was delicious (tried a friends)
the veal was FABULOUS and i think better than the tuna (no one in my group had chicken) - dessert - both were yummy.

Overall:
Service 10/10 (felt VERY high class, they were very polite and treated us very well, also parking is included - they validate your ticket for you)
Food: 10/10 - i REALLY enjoyed the veal - it came with thinly sliced pears, blue cheese and endives - delicious!
Overall 10/10 - I would put it in the same category as Pangea and better than North 44

[rvs007]

Had dinner last night @ Auberge - called during the day and they were able to give me a reservation for 7pm (!!!!)



I was there tonight for a 7:45pm dinner and they had at least two tables empty in the terrace throughout our meal... probably cancelled reservations.

[[H]ackerK]

Went to the strip hous for lunch today, and for sure you can't go wrong for $20!!!!

We started with baked lobster & crab soup, and it was great. beside the saltyness, you can also taste the sweetness from lobster & crab.

then I had the prime rib and my other friends had the seafood salad. The prime rib is one of the best I had for a long time. It was almost or even better than Ed's Warehouse many years ago. It is soft and almost melt in your mouth. Yet it is favourful and juicy. (except with some fat, which nowadays I try to avoid, but when I was younger, that would be perfect!) The seafood salad was pretty good looking and smells good. There was rock lobster tail, soft shell crab etc

For dessert, I have the chocolate spring roll thing... and the sweetness of the chocolate just match the slight sourness of the strewberry. my only complain is the choice of egg roll skin, was a bit tough, it should be either more crispy or should use a lighter shell (like crapes, or rice paper)

The stripe house once again did not disappoint me.

I give it a 9/10 for both food and value.

[Space_chic]

I went to Alize Saturday during the Yonge Street Festival- Yonge & Eglinton area.

The resturant was small and cozy.
Awesome service and they were really friendly.
The food was really good.
Dinner price was $25.00

I had the Lentil & bacon soup, Filet of sole with cream sauce along with some green beans/carrots/potato wedges and then chocolate ice cream.

I was looking at their reg menu, not too bad prices for entrees ranges from I think... $14-$30, depending what your getting. They also have a Steak price fix where you get 8oz steak along w/ soup/salad and dessert for $26.90 or 10oz steak along w/ soup/salad and dessert for approx $29/$30. Which I think is a pretty good deal!

[fatpiggy]

Gave up my reservation at Biff and instead went to Canyon Creek Chophouse at Brimley and Progress on Saturday. Canyon Creek did not participate in the Summerlicious but they are having a special which is very similar to the summerlicious. For $25, I got:

a choice of salads,
Prime rib roast or top sirloin steak or roast chicken or salmon filet c/w one selection of side dishes
brownie with ice-cream;
tea or coffee.

The restaurant was packed that night. The service was good. My wife had the prime rib which was delicious. My sirloin was really really tender and juicy. The only drawback, I think, was that there was no gravy with my steak. I didn't go to steakhouse very often so would someone tell me if this is the way to eat steak?

The desert was huge size too.

I wouldn't regret giving up my reservation at Biff and I saved $10 too. One more thing: The girls at reception and the waitresses are very pretty!!

Canyan Creek will have this special until July 17.

[Junkguy]

Um, they don't usually put gravy on steak... you're probably thinking of prime rib :-0

[Gingergirl]

Hello All:

Went to La Bruschetta on Friday at Lunch. With a bottle of San Pal a capp and an expresso Lunch for two came to 58 bucks ( the water was $6.50) The food was eeh! Nothing to write home about and they screwed up the salad order tried to make us think we ordered the mushroom salad when I hate fungus so no way would I have ordered it. But then the rest of the meal waiter kept checking it to make sure right- not sure if this was done to seriously check or in a scolding manner. It was cute but not what I would consider a prime restaurant for Summerlicious

Tonight I am going to the Old Mill. I hope for 35 per person it will be nice and worth it.

I have Strip House reso's as well for next week. Tried to get in last year and was booked. Couldn't get into North 44 or Canoe as they said was completely booked the next day.

Maybe I'll try for tonight at North 44 for a cancellation :) cancel the Old Mill

[Coolers]

I also went to Strip House on July 8th with a party of nine others. All in all, the meal was very disappointing. I have no problem paying full price for nice restaurants, and Summerlicious allows me to sample different ones at a very reasonable so that I might return later on. I feel as if many restaurants forget this and (perhaps not intentionally) leave Summerlicious guests with a sub-standard memory of their establishment.

We arrived 15 mins before our reservation for 8:00pm, and had to wait a further half an hour before being seated. We weren't too pleased, but they gave us a bottle of red wine on the house. Nice touch on their behalf, as some more expensive restaurants have not done that for us for similar wait times.

For the appetizer, I had the baked lobster soup. I had expected something like a bisque, but it was soup-like in consistency. This wasn't a problem, but there was an excessive amount of salt in the soup, to the point where all 8 of the 10 people who ordered the soup left it half-eaten.

This was followed by the surf & turf entree. It was prepared medium-rare, just like I requested. However, several complaints about this dish: 1) I found the cut of beef to be sub-par; 2) the soft shell crab was much too salty; 3) the entire dish was much too cold; 4) the side of potatoes weren't too oily as an earlier poster mentioned, but the coldness of the dish was nevertheless detrimental to the overall experience. My girlfriend has the seafood linguine, which I tried. My guess is they left it in the oven to keep it warm while the rest of the entrees were being prepared, because the scallops were very chewy, and the lobster was lukewarm and tough.

Lastly, they were out of the creme brulee I wanted, so I had the Belgian chocolate spring roll. It was not appetizing in the least. The consistency of the chocolate reminded me of crap rolled in a spring roll pastry, and then deep fried. My girlfriend has the mango souffle, which was lacking mango flavour. Had I not seen the menu beforehead, I would have never guessed.

All in all, I was severely disappointed since the menu looked great on paper. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they're not equipped to handle a party of our size, but I likely won't be returning to find out for sure. Nevertheless, we had a female server with an Irish accent :confused: who was great.

[YLSF]

I had to cancel my Toula reservation because I didn't notice they had a "Dress code" in effect until about an hour before our meal. My friend showed up at my place in shorts! Anyway, we ended up going to Urban instead (on King st) for lunch. It was decent for the money. My friend ordered salmon and his seemed to be cooked well but there was a couple a few seats down that sent theirs back because it was not cooked enough (raw still). I glanced at ths people sitting next to us and they both ordered the salmon and they appeared to be undercooked also (although, they didn't seem to mind).

For dinner, we went to Coco Lezzone (Sp?) on King St. I would NOT go there during their normal menu (Seems really pricey for the type of atmosphere). Oh, and I was happy to be on the patio because the back area of the restaurant seemed to smell funny.... It wasn't a bad experience for summerlicious but not my most memorable.

[aristocrat]

[QUOTE=Coolers]


For the appetizer, I had the baked lobster soup. I had expected something like a bisque, but it was soup-like in consistency. This wasn't a problem, but there was an excessive amount of salt in the soup, to the point where all 8 of the 10 people who ordered the soup left it half-eaten.
[QUOTE]

Someone I knew had the same soup for lunch there, and it was too sweet. Guess the chefs weren't very consistent.

[[H]ackerK]

[QUOTE=Coolers]


For the appetizer, I had the baked lobster soup. I had expected something like a bisque, but it was soup-like in consistency. This wasn't a problem, but there was an excessive amount of salt in the soup, to the point where all 8 of the 10 people who ordered the soup left it half-eaten.
[QUOTE]

Someone I knew had the same soup for lunch there, and it was too sweet. Guess the chefs weren't very consistent.

When I was there for lunch it is just right. The saltyness did not cover the sweetness of the seafood favour.

I guess each person may found different level of acceptable saltyness/sweetness...

[[H]ackerK]

The Strip House

Grilled & Roasted Seafood Salad
Rock Lobster Tail, Roasted Lemon Butter Soft Shell Crab, Deep Sea Scallop, Mussels & Calamari on Mixed Greens, Asian Peanut Dressing with Crispy Noodles
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4479/2183753010052576475vijbfvph0eb.th.jpg (http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2183753010052576475vijbfvph0eb.jpg)

Slow Roasted Alberta “High River” Region, Certified Angus Prime Rib of Beef
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/5543/2602905590052576475etlehuph3uj.th.jpg (http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2602905590052576475etlehuph3uj.jpg)

[[H]ackerK]

Fred's not here

Grilled Gulf Shrimp “Lollipop” with Thai Dipping Sauce
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/8462/2302060640052576475cyhhvtph0rf.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2302060640052576475cyhhvtph0rf.jpg)

Ontario Pork 3-Ways – Grilled Heidelberg, Ontario Stemmler’s Garlic Sausage, Grilled Chipotle Chili Rubbed BBQ Pork Ribs & Roasted Crispy Suckling Pig with Curry Quinoa, Mango & Roasted Almond Salad
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7461/2593304750052576475lycodhph9dq.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2593304750052576475lycodhph9dq.jpg)

Duck 2-Ways – Slow Roasted Duck Confit & Chinese BBQ Duck Breast with
Asian Mixed Greens & Crispy Noodle, Peanut Soy Dressing
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/6340/2538307490052576475caezqnph0ww.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2538307490052576475caezqnph0ww.jpg)

Chocolate mousse cake
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1230/2010057880052576475bmnkhwph9tx.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2010057880052576475bmnkhwph9tx.jpg)

[sfu_engineer]

ackerK']The Strip House

Grilled & Roasted Seafood Salad
Rock Lobster Tail, Roasted Lemon Butter Soft Shell Crab, Deep Sea Scallop, Mussels & Calamari on Mixed Greens, Asian Peanut Dressing with Crispy Noodles
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/4479/2183753010052576475vijbfvph0eb.th.jpg (http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2183753010052576475vijbfvph0eb.jpg)

Slow Roasted Alberta “High River” Region, Certified Angus Prime Rib of Beef
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/5543/2602905590052576475etlehuph3uj.th.jpg (http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2602905590052576475etlehuph3uj.jpg)
Thank you for the pics! I will do the same when I go to Strip House

[guest14358]

Post your reviews please!

[chicadam]

Canoe

Service 8/10
- Everyone got their food at the SAME TIME - 8 of us. Each plate was described and delivered by 4 servers.
- Wrong bill though... odd.
- Really courteous, no attitude. We weren't the conservative bunch thats for sure... but it was too quiet in there, we injected some energy into that place.

Food: 8/10
- Appetizer the smoked salmon and the goat cheese salad was good, the soup was okay.
- Main - tenderloin was great, well cooked. Tuna was good.
- Dessert - Cheesecake was nice almond base and was soft. The chocolate cake was a little sweet for me but nice and warm with a bit of spiciness.

Ambience: 8.5/10
- Very dim and romantic. Lighting was well placed and just the right amount.
- A contemperary design but still confortable.
- Cloudy day, didn't really get to enjoy the view.

Overall 9/10
Didn't have faith in summerlicious after Truffles... The crappiest experience ever. Basically, Truffles just gave me a $60x2 cold happy meal. A 3 star restaurant that thinks its a 5 star.

Canoe was really amazing and would definitely like to try another now. And maybe go back on a regular night. I heard its about $300 for 2.

[chicadam]

I also went to Strip House on July 8th with a party of nine others. All in all, the meal was very disappointing. I have no problem paying full price for nice restaurants, and Summerlicious allows me to sample different ones at a very reasonable so that I might return later on. I feel as if many restaurants forget this and (perhaps not intentionally) leave Summerlicious guests with a sub-standard memory of their establishment.

We arrived 15 mins before our reservation for 8:00pm, and had to wait a further half an hour before being seated. We weren't too pleased, but they gave us a bottle of red wine on the house. Nice touch on their behalf, as some more expensive restaurants have not done that for us for similar wait times.

For the appetizer, I had the baked lobster soup. I had expected something like a bisque, but it was soup-like in consistency. This wasn't a problem, but there was an excessive amount of salt in the soup, to the point where all 8 of the 10 people who ordered the soup left it half-eaten.

This was followed by the surf & turf entree. It was prepared medium-rare, just like I requested. However, several complaints about this dish: 1) I found the cut of beef to be sub-par; 2) the soft shell crab was much too salty; 3) the entire dish was much too cold; 4) the side of potatoes weren't too oily as an earlier poster mentioned, but the coldness of the dish was nevertheless detrimental to the overall experience. My girlfriend has the seafood linguine, which I tried. My guess is they left it in the oven to keep it warm while the rest of the entrees were being prepared, because the scallops were very chewy, and the lobster was lukewarm and tough.

Lastly, they were out of the creme brulee I wanted, so I had the Belgian chocolate spring roll. It was not appetizing in the least. The consistency of the chocolate reminded me of crap rolled in a spring roll pastry, and then deep fried. My girlfriend has the mango souffle, which was lacking mango flavour. Had I not seen the menu beforehead, I would have never guessed.

All in all, I was severely disappointed since the menu looked great on paper. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they're not equipped to handle a party of our size, but I likely won't be returning to find out for sure. Nevertheless, we had a female server with an Irish accent :confused: who was great.

Strip House is not a good place regularly... so I wouldn't expect much from their summerlicious.

I went there twice on regular nights. The food was disappointing. I would give it 2 stars at best.

[pipolchap]

Canoe

- Main - tenderloin was great, well cooked. Tuna was good.




I really loved (and recommend) the seared tuna, perfer it well above the tenderloin. everything else was decent.

Had an excellent meal last friday. My wife and i really enjoyed it. Maybe because we polished a bottle of wine, we had a great time!

For those going to Canoe that may not be seated near the window, go a little early and get seated at the bar and enjoy the view. The lake was beautiful.

[cheukiecfu]

I think we should consolidate all review posts in one thread..
this is how it was for the past events..
they have already started one in the food sub-forum..

just my 2 cent..

[Gundam]

I think we should consolidate all review posts in one thread..
this is how it was for the past events..
they have already started one in the food sub-forum..

just my 2 cent..

lemme check for the review for canoe, i am going tonight.

[muffin]

Does anyone know which restaurants do lunch on the weekends? Thanks! :cheesygri

[trek_junkie]

going to Bymark on Friday, I'll report back after dinner. Going with 3 friends, so I'll report on their views as well.

[newbi]

going to JW's steakhouse tonite, will post review after!

[hoyoto]

lemme check for the review for canoe, i am going tonight.

me too, going tonight :D

[Praetorian]

Canoe

Service 8/10
- Everyone got their food at the SAME TIME - 8 of us. Each plate was described and delivered by 4 servers.
- Wrong bill though... odd.
- Really courteous, no attitude. We weren't the conservative bunch thats for sure... but it was too quiet in there, we injected some energy into that place.

Food: 8/10
- Appetizer the smoked salmon and the goat cheese salad was good, the soup was okay.
- Main - tenderloin was great, well cooked. Tuna was good.
- Dessert - Cheesecake was nice almond base and was soft. The chocolate cake was a little sweet for me but nice and warm with a bit of spiciness.

Ambience: 8.5/10
- Very dim and romantic. Lighting was well placed and just the right amount.
- A contemperary design but still confortable.
- Cloudy day, didn't really get to enjoy the view.

Overall 9/10
Didn't have faith in summerlicious after Truffles... The crappiest experience ever. Basically, Truffles just gave me a $60x2 cold happy meal. A 3 star restaurant that thinks its a 5 star.

Canoe was really amazing and would definitely like to try another now. And maybe go back on a regular night. I heard its about $300 for 2.

How do you give an overall grade of 9/10 when all your scores are 8's and an 8.5? :confused: :confused: :confused:

[[H]ackerK]

Does anyone know which restaurants do lunch on the weekends? Thanks! :cheesygri

The Strip House!

[guest14358]

Does Canoe offer free parking for summerlicious?

If not, how much is the parking?

[Gundam]

Does Canoe offer free parking for summerlicious?

If not, how much is the parking?

canoe offers complimentary parking after 5:30 pm. enter the parking on the north side of wellington.

[jc-fury]

Would also appreciate parking tips for both Canoe and Bymark!

both bymark and canoe offer complimentary parking at the TD tower parking

[donaldtin]

****... really?? i paid $7 for parking!

both bymark and canoe offer complimentary parking at the TD tower parking

[rvs007]

both bymark and canoe offer complimentary parking at the TD tower parking

It's free parking after 5:30pm on weeknights. Not sure about weekends.

[donaldtin]

Here's the pic link to my Bymark experience last night. Tues Jul 11

http://community.webshots.com/album/552178756QbAAFq

Atmosphere: 9/10
really really nice dining area, except a bit crowded and noisy due to the high volume of customer

Food: 8/10
The quantity is not small at all... even "large" compare to the licious programs.. so it's not like someone mentioned before with insulting portions.. as for quality wise.. it's good... but not good enough to throw me off the table.

Service: 9/10
Waiter is friendly, quick service.

Overall: 9/10
Very enjoyable experience.

[guest14358]

Here's the pic link to my Bymark experience last night. Tues Jul 11

http://community.webshots.com/album/552178756QbAAFq

Atmosphere: 9/10
really really nice dining area, except a bit crowded and noisy due to the high volume of customer

Food: 8/10
The quantity is not small at all... even "large" compare to the licious programs.. so it's not like someone mentioned before with insulting portions.. as for quality wise.. it's good... but not good enough to throw me off the table.

Service: 9/10
Waiter is friendly, quick service.

Overall: 9/10
Very enjoyable experience.

Thanks for the review. Can you please be a little more specific on which dish was the best? I am going in a week so I would like to know which was the most impressive dish and so on. THANKS

[jc-fury]

It's free parking after 5:30pm on weeknights. Not sure about weekends.

yea...its after 5:30 on weeknights and all day saturday...not sure about sunday though

all you have to do it grab a ticket when you park and bring it with you. when you're finished dinner show the hostess and they'll give you the parking voucher so parking is free

[jc-fury]

Thanks for the review. Can you please be a little more specific on which dish was the best? I am going in a week so I would like to know which was the most impressive dish and so on. THANKS

I went to bymark yesterday (july 11) too but it wasn't crowded at all (7:30 reservations).

I had the crab cakes, burger and mousse cake. they were all pretty good. no one at our table got the salad so can't vouch for that but dont get the chicken pasta. my friends got it and they said it was really bland cause it was just cooked with butter and there was hardly any chicken in it at all. i think the halibut should be okay..i think its the same one as north 44 which was okay but not amazing.

just make sure you choose the mousse cake for dessert...it was so good i ended up eating my friend's cause he was too full to finish it.

went to north 44 on july 7 and it wasnt as good as bymark (by alot) so if you're comtemplating between north 44 or bymark go to bymark for sure

[trek_junkie]

I went to bymark yesterday (july 11) too but it wasn't crowded at all (7:30 reservations).

I had the crab cakes, burger and mousse cake. they were all pretty good. no one at our table got the salad so can't vouch for that but dont get the chicken pasta. my friends got it and they said it was really bland cause it was just cooked with butter and there was hardly any chicken in it at all. i think the halibut should be okay..i think its the same one as north 44 which was okay but not amazing.

just make sure you choose the mousse cake for dessert...it was so good i ended up eating my friend's cause he was too full to finish it.

went to north 44 on july 7 and it wasnt as good as bymark (by alot) so if you're comtemplating between north 44 or bymark go to bymark for sure

thanks...i was thinking of getting the chicken pasta, but I'll probably go for the halibut instead.
I was going to get the mousse cake anyways:)

[guest14358]

I went to bymark yesterday (july 11) too but it wasn't crowded at all (7:30 reservations).

I had the crab cakes, burger and mousse cake. they were all pretty good. no one at our table got the salad so can't vouch for that but dont get the chicken pasta. my friends got it and they said it was really bland cause it was just cooked with butter and there was hardly any chicken in it at all. i think the halibut should be okay..i think its the same one as north 44 which was okay but not amazing.

just make sure you choose the mousse cake for dessert...it was so good i ended up eating my friend's cause he was too full to finish it.

went to north 44 on july 7 and it wasnt as good as bymark (by alot) so if you're comtemplating between north 44 or bymark go to bymark for sure

Thanks for the review! Was the burger better than hailbut?

What was the choice of ice cream for the dessert? Was the mousse cake sweet? I don't like super sweet dessert.

[Gundam]

It's free parking after 5:30pm on weeknights. Not sure about weekends.

i got into the parking lot at 5:23 pm yesterday. picked up the parking voucher from the canoe hostess and the parking attendant didn't charge me anything extra for going in before 5:30.

[aristocrat]

Anyone went to Filet of Sole?

[donaldtin]

i ate the crab cake (GOOD), actually.. very good

then chicken pasta, as the previous post say, u hardly find any chicken... but then the pasta is above avg, like... cook perfectly. the sauce is a bit plain, like a broth kind of thing, but it's not bad... then with some sort of mushrooms. and then i had ONE piece of lobster mushroom (dont' know if it's called that... it's orange colour, always used in iron chef)

then i tried a bit of the halibut, it's decent, nothing really special, my mom said it was good.

then i tired a bit of the burger too.. cook to the style of your request, i found a bit dry inside, but then i try that after i finished the pasta, so may be a bit cold and dry already, the comment was good as well.

as for desert, all 6 of us ordered the mousse, very nice.. the plate was HUGE though... like.. larger than the main course plate by a lot!

service was really good i must say.


Thanks for the review. Can you please be a little more specific on which dish was the best? I am going in a week so I would like to know which was the most impressive dish and so on. THANKS

[jc-fury]

Thanks for the review! Was the burger better than hailbut?

What was the choice of ice cream for the dessert? Was the mousse cake sweet? I don't like super sweet dessert.

I didn't have the halibut from bymark but I had it when I went to North 44. I think its the same dish since both restaurants are from the same company and the ingredients are pretty silimar from what I remember but I'm not positive. At North 44 the halibut was okay but it might have been becasue I had pretty high expectations.

I didn't think the mousse cake was really sweet. It has like 2 layers of dark chocolate cake in between the mousse so it wasn't too sweet and the blood orange sauce was kind of sour and bitter as well.

My friend go the ice cream which was four small scoops of chocoate vanilla and two other flavours. she said the mousse tasted better.

[ryeguyh]

Went to North 44 yesterday reservation @ 7:45pm party of 3. We arrived there at 7:40pm expecting a table but was told there would be at least a 15min wait. The hostess told us to take a seat upstairs and wait. Being it was the first time we all didn't realize it was only tables upstairs and didn't know (until later in the evening there was a bar and lounge ) we decided to go walking along yonge street. Passed by Centro (which didn't look busy) and about 1/2 hour later we were seated upstairs. Ordered a half bottle of Chanti red which was so so. I had the Salmon, Tuna and Chocolate dessert.

Salmon Dish. (Comparing this to 1055) : Nice big round plate salmon in rose shape with sliced white radish/turnip. (Very good 9/10)

8:15pm
Water
Bread and butter

8:30pm
Red Wine Served
Ordered

9:00pm
Oval Shaped dish
4 small pancakes with a strip of mayo and then 4-5 sliced smoked salmon and 2 herbs. Can't go wrong with smoked salmon but portion and presentation was not that impressive. (6/10)

9:45pm
Main Course Seared Tuna
Oval Shaped dish
Shanghai Bok Choi on the left
Some white dressing
Seared chunk of tuna with dark sauce (soy sause?)
2 triangle fried drumplings (ginger?) (it was hot, peppers?)
(8/10)
Tuna was cooked med/rare which was good. It was seared on the outside giving you BBQ taste and the inside was rare. Good combo. Not too salty but very flavourful. Complaint just took too long. Even ther waitress said it took too long to us and they had a full booking.

10:15pm
Dessert
Round deep soup plate
Ice Cream on top of a choclate cake with greem herb
Middle hard toffee of some sort
Bottom Chocolate fudge cake.
Dizzled in fudge. and fruit sauce
(8/10)
Tahitian Ice Cream tastes like normal vanillia ice cream to me (sorry)
The hard toffee was hard o break and would just squish the cake at the bottom. Technique, you had to use your fork and break a piece off before cutting down to the cake. Chocolate had very good sweet flavour but the sauce was very sour. You had to mix it together.

10:30pm
Paid and out.
End $60 per person.

Overall eh, expected more and yeah my friends and I went to mc d's before going cuz we knew we won't be filled up and the delay for the table...
Atmospher: Loud
Lighting: Cozy but lights dimmed twice
Waitress: Awesome came back to check everytime, replacing utensils. Even folded the hankchief when one goes to the washroom. Would we go back? Just experience it. Thats about it for now so many other place to try.

[lixstix]

Thanks for the review! Was the burger better than hailbut?

What was the choice of ice cream for the dessert? Was the mousse cake sweet? I don't like super sweet dessert.

My bro thought the burger was better than the halibut (we shared a bit). The halibut was a bit dry and the outside was kind of cooked to a point where is was dry/crispy. My bro said that made it hard to cut b/c the outside would just stick together and he'd end up shredding the fish instead of cutting it.

The burger is definitely more filling. But, it's basically just a stylized burger. The mushrooms on the burger were really melt-in-your-mouth soft though. And the mayonnaise (aioli?) that came with it was quite tasty. The onion rings that came with it were huge, but there were only 3. Very crispy, but a bit too oily for my liking (I was getting stuffed from them).

The mousse cake wasn't too sweet overall. But I found that it would fluctuate from sweet to sour/bitter depending on when you tasted the blood-orange. My bro had the soft meringue, but his wasn't soft? (not exactly sure what would constitute a soft meringue, since all meringues I've seen are hard). He said he preferred the mousse cake. Can't comment on the ice cream as neither of us had that.

[lixstix]

Anyone went to Filet of Sole?

Filet of Sole's pretty good. I went there in a group of 5 on the first day at 7pm. Atmosphere is definitely not as nice as restaurants like Bymark, North 44, etc. but it wasn't bad. The restaurant was really small though.

Out of the appetizers, our group either chose the Baked Lobster & Crab Soup or the Baked Escargots Stuffed Mushroom in Garlic Parsley Butter & Cheese. The soup was definitely better than the escargots. Although a bit salty for my liking, it was really good. I really like the puff pastry they put ontop, and I even found myself dipping the free bread they gave to sop up the rest of the soup at the bottom of the bowl.

For the main course, we had the Seafood Linguine “Marinara”, Roasted Filet of Chilean Sea Bass, Baked/Steamed Wrapped in Parchment Pouch Filet of Lemon Sole, Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna, and the Roasted Salmon Filet. Out of these 5, the best was surprisingly the seafood linguine. All dishes were good, but the linguine was probably the most filling. The smallest dish was probably the sea bass.

For dessert, all of us except one had the chocolate mousse cake while one friend had the creme brulee. The chocolate mousse was a lot better.

The service was so-so. Our waiter was a bit slow and we were waiting longer than expected for our dishes. Maybe it was b/c they were busy (the restaurant was full at the time). Refill of bread was slow, while the refill of water was inconsistent. Also, we ended up waiting a a bit for our change b/c our waiter thought we didn't need any (he would've got a 50% tip of that's the case).

Overall, it's a good place to go to with a large group of ppl since you have so many choices. For the really nice restaurants, I prefer going with smaller groups. And in comparison to other summerlicious restaurant offerings, you get quite full on the $25.

[aristocrat]

Filet of Sole's pretty good. I went there in a group of 5 on the first day at 7pm. Atmosphere is definitely not as nice as restaurants like Bymark, North 44, etc. but it wasn't bad. The restaurant was really small though.

Out of the appetizers, our group either chose the Baked Lobster & Crab Soup or the Baked Escargots Stuffed Mushroom in Garlic Parsley Butter & Cheese. The soup was definitely better than the escargots. Although a bit salty for my liking, it was really good. I really like the puff pastry they put ontop, and I even found myself dipping the free bread they gave to sop up the rest of the soup at the bottom of the bowl.

For the main course, we had the Seafood Linguine “Marinara”, Roasted Filet of Chilean Sea Bass, Baked/Steamed Wrapped in Parchment Pouch Filet of Lemon Sole, Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna, and the Roasted Salmon Filet. Out of these 5, the best was surprisingly the seafood linguine. All dishes were good, but the linguine was probably the most filling. The smallest dish was probably the sea bass.

For dessert, all of us except one had the chocolate mousse cake while one friend had the creme brulee. The chocolate mousse was a lot better.

The service was so-so. Our waiter was a bit slow and we were waiting longer than expected for our dishes. Maybe it was b/c they were busy (the restaurant was full at the time). Refill of bread was slow, while the refill of water was inconsistent. Also, we ended up waiting a a bit for our change b/c our waiter thought we didn't need any (he would've got a 50% tip of that's the case).

Overall, it's a good place to go to with a large group of ppl since you have so many choices. For the really nice restaurants, I prefer going with smaller groups. And in comparison to other summerlicious restaurant offerings, you get quite full on the $25.

Thanks!

[jenn_176]

Anyone know the dress code for North 44???

[lixstix]

Anyone know the dress code for North 44???

Most places (at least the nice ones) are business casual. Although, you'll occassionally see the casual dressed family here and there, but that's expected during summerlicious time. The only bad thing is that ppl who dress up in t-shirts and shorts stick out like a sore thumb.

[GoldieTiger]

Went to North 44 yesterday reservation .....

I'm going there tonight, I'm wondering is there a designated parking for North 44 or did you go to a lot or street?
TIA
Goldie

[greenapples]

I'm going there tonight, I'm wondering is there a designated parking for North 44 or did you go to a lot or street?
TIA
Goldie


There's valet .. but I don't think there's a specific lot for it.

I went to North 44 yesterday ... wasn't what I expected. Food and presentation was mediocre, the lights were too dim, the people there were nice, but our waitress wasn't exactly the best. Don't think I'm ever gonna go there again.

[Demon_Twinz]

i culdnt' get a booking .. so i went on normal a la cart price

hm... 4 course with intermezzo and pre sweet and chef treat

food was 8.5/10 .. it was good .. and well presented .. i dont' think it was anything too amazing ... quality to be better

[-=Wraith=-]

do you have to make a summerlicious reservation or is it just any normal reservation?

[rvs007]

I'm going there tonight, I'm wondering is there a designated parking for North 44 or did you go to a lot or street?
TIA
Goldie

There is a Green P parking lot on the east side of Yonge Street, one street north of where North 44 is located. It's like a 1-minute walk. And of course, there are on-street parking all along Yonge Street and in some of the side streets as well.

[guest14358]

Went to Canoe for Summerlicious last night and it was amazing! I went to North 44 and Truffles last year and by far, Canoe is the best. The servers were really professional and polite and quick. We got window seats so the view was great. We ordered a cocktail and it was very well made, way better than what I expected it to be.

The sweet corn soup, pork and chocolate cake were the best out of what we had.

[silvermist99]

I went to canoe last night it was pretty goood.. but only because I wasn't full when I went haha.. I knew the protion were going to be small.

I'm thinking about going for lunch on the weekend, what are some good places w/ bigger portion? I'm thinking about striphouse


edit: this is for mon-tues lunch.. which striphouse isn't open :( any other place?

[aznsupafro]

I jus went to Jump cafe and bar (one of canoe's sister restuarants) for summerlicious yesterday. It was really good!. decor is awesome! food was great and service was even better... i'd give it 9/10

heres some pics
http://photos-764.facebook.com/ip006/v34/3/116/72603093/n72603093_30527764_1319.jpg
http://photos-766.facebook.com/ip006/v34/3/116/72603093/n72603093_30527766_2136.jpg
http://photos-770.facebook.com/ip006/v34/3/116/72603093/n72603093_30527770_3812.jpg http://photos-771.facebook.com/ip006/v34/3/116/72603093/n72603093_30527771_4230.jpg http://photos-778.facebook.com/ip006/v34/3/116/72603093/n72603093_30527778_7289.jpg
http://photos-779.facebook.com/ip006/v34/3/116/72603093/n72603093_30527779_7700.jpg

since canoe is sold out, jumps a pretty good alternative

[M-e-X-x]

I jus went to Jump cafe and bar (one of canoe's sister restuarants) for summerlicious yesterday. It was really good!. decor is awesome! food was great and service was even better... i'd give it 9/10

since canoe is sold out, jumps a pretty good alternative

haha right...

went there on my b-day this past week for dinner.. the only good thing about it is the service.. but that's expected of the O&B empire...

food is either too salty or too sweet, but that's the american style of cooking that they push at jump...

[YSF]

I agree with your comments. We went the same night and had a window seat as well. The restaurant staff treated us very well the same as any regular paying customer. Very good experience.



Went to Canoe for Summerlicious last night and it was amazing! I went to North 44 and Truffles last year and by far, Canoe is the best. The servers were really professional and polite and quick. We got window seats so the view was great. We ordered a cocktail and it was very well made, way better than what I expected it to be.

The sweet corn soup, pork and chocolate cake were the best out of what we had.

[rs77]

My two friends and i went to the old mill yesterday and we thought it was great. It looked like they seated all the summerlicious folks together which was cool because we got to see some of the dishes before we ordered. I got the salad with walnuts, the chicken and the berries for dessert. My friends got the creme brule and i traded and just absolutely loved it. We also ordered a bottle of red and tea/coffee with our dessert and our bill came out to $65 each and that was leaving him $25 tip...i would definitely suggest the old mill...9/10

[neospice]

My two friends and i went to the old mill yesterday and we thought it was great. It looked like they seated all the summerlicious folks together which was cool because we got to see some of the dishes before we ordered. I got the salad with walnuts, the chicken and the berries for dessert. My friends got the creme brule and i traded and just absolutely loved it. We also ordered a bottle of red and tea/coffee with our dessert and our bill came out to $65 each and that was leaving him $25 tip...i would definitely suggest the old mill...9/10

$25 tip, Wow!

[slippy]

I jus went to Jump cafe and bar (one of canoe's sister restuarants) for summerlicious yesterday. It was really good!. decor is awesome! food was great and service was even better... i'd give it 9/10
since canoe is sold out, jumps a pretty good alternative

thanks!
just booked a table for wednesday
seems pretty easy to get reservations now

[McLaren]

I can't make it to the ByMark dinner this Sat. anymore. Anyone wants the reservation? It's for 2. PM me if you want it.

Why do you keep making reservations and then end up cancelling them if you're not going to go?

[kiwi1214]

Why do you keep making reservations and then end up cancelling them if you're not going to go?

I was going to go with my bf but we broke up last weekend? I was just being nice so you don't need to talk rude to me.

[Geologic]

I was going to go with my bf but we broke up last weekend? I was just being nice so you don't need to talk rude to me.

I think there are plenty of RFD'ers who are willing to go with you. :lol:

[baz5]

I was going to go with my bf but we broke up last weekend? I was just being nice so you don't need to talk rude to me.

Easy killer,
"Why do you keep making reservations and then end up cancelling them if you're not going to go?"

That's not very rude.

[methyl]

If someone is considering cancelling a dinner reservation @ Canoe on Friday 21st, please let me know, I'd love to go.

Thanks

[jc-fury]

went to Canoe for lunch and dinner - dinner sunday july 16 and lunch monday july 17

both were really good but if anyone has reservations for lunch between mon to fri parking is going to kill if you park at the TD tower (we didn't know where else to park) it's 5.50 every 20 min. lunch was only 20 per person (excluding drinks) but parking cost us 24. :mad:

[Gundam]

went to Canoe for lunch and dinner - dinner sunday july 16 and lunch monday july 17

both were really good but if anyone has reservations for lunch between mon to fri parking is going to kill if you park at the TD tower (we didn't know where else to park) it's 5.50 every 20 min. lunch was only 20 per person (excluding drinks) but parking cost us 24. :mad:

all parking lots around canoe are expensive. if you are willing to walk a little bit. there are parking meters on wellington east of yonge; on front east of bay street. I believed they cost $2 per hour. the cheapest parking lot will be behind novotel hotel, you can enter to the parking lot 1 street south of front and yonge. they only charge maximum $8 between 8 am to 6 pm.

[methyl]

So yeah, if someone is considering cancelling a dinner reservation at Canoe today (Friday), please let me know, I'd love to go.

Thanks

[[H]ackerK]

Here's the pic link to my Bymark experience last night. Tues Jul 11

http://community.webshots.com/album/552178756QbAAFq

Atmosphere: 9/10
really really nice dining area, except a bit crowded and noisy due to the high volume of customer

Food: 8/10
The quantity is not small at all... even "large" compare to the licious programs.. so it's not like someone mentioned before with insulting portions.. as for quality wise.. it's good... but not good enough to throw me off the table.

Service: 9/10
Waiter is friendly, quick service.

Overall: 9/10
Very enjoyable experience.

Went to Bymark last night.. and here is my 2 cents...

In short it is completely disappointed. totally not worth visit. First of all the ladies room is a complete mess, water on the floor and toliet paper everywhere. Salad is a total rip off, crab cake is the only good thing all evening. The fish is inconsistent, either too dry or too salty. (BTW, we found a piece of plastic tape in one of the fish plate) The burger is a complete joke, it is atleast better than mcdonald, but not much better than burger king. For crying out loud, there isn't even a slice of bacon or cheese :| . The texture I found it to be way too soft (fluffy) and kinda disgusting. The onion ring is a total turn off, it is so oily and I can only finish two. Dessert is just so-so, nothing worth talk about. The place is so bloody noisy, like having dim sum, once I leave the place my ears were ringing.

For $35 is better spend at canoe or other places. Btw, bymark has the same owner as north 44, and that should raise a flag.....

Oh one more thing, the dishes absolutly have no 'Wow' effect but disappointment.

A peek at the regular menu, the class they wanted to be in with the high price tag doesn't seems to match what I have experienced.

Added to the insult, I wonder if they use msg in their cooking, because everyone seems thirsty afterwards....

Atmosphere is OK, if and only if the place is not so noisy.

[Alvito]

I was going to go with my bf but we broke up last weekend? I was just being nice so you don't need to talk rude to me.

I'll be your boyfriend and go with you :D

mclaren is an ass :P

[[H]ackerK]

I can't make it to the ByMark dinner this Sat. anymore. Anyone wants the reservation? It's for 2. PM me if you want it.

Sorry to hear about that. but the truth is you don't miss much of not going to bymark.

[Galasius]

For anyone looking for reservations at North 44, I just cancelled at 5:30PM reservation for tomorrow (Saturday) for 6 people.

Happy Dining!

[HighFlyer]

Went to the Canoe for dinner today. Almost forgot about the free parking, but was reminded to take a validation voucher at the entrance. The place was full, so we got the row after the window seats. There were a lot of diners with summerlicious menus. Service was prompt and professional. Had the salmon for appetizer, pork tenderloin as main course, and the cheesecake for dessert. Overall food quality, taste, presentation was excellent. 9/10.

[chicken_little]

Went to Bloom yesterday.

First of all, our tables had no tablecloths and it looked like the interior designer went nuts at EQ3. I started lowering my expectations at this moment.

My gf had to flag down our server twice. Once to ask for the cocktails menu. The second time to ask for the cocktails menu again. He gave her a wine list the first time. Hello.

When the cocktails menu did come, the list looked like it was conceived of drinks that may have been popular in the 70s or 80s. My gf ordered a sangria for goodness sake. I looked for a mojito and gave up in disgust. Merlot it is for me.

For starters, our bread came with whipped butter still in those little plastic individual containers. I started thinking how much classier Bymark was putting their cut of butter in a dish. Then I started thinking of Swiss Chalet and how much cheaper dinner would be there. Their butter is also individually served in little plastic containers.

I started with the cornmeal encrusted calamari. After the first bite, I started thinking how much better the salt & pepper squid is at Congee Wong.

My main course was the baby back ribs and fries. I got an entire 4 ribs and a handful of fries. The chip truck outside my office makes better fries. And that's $3 with gravy. Bloom gave me homemade ketchup instead. It tasted like pureed salsa with too much sugar.

Dessert was a chocolate ganache tart. It tasted like someone melted hershey chocolate inside a tart shell.

Final verdict: two disappointed thumbs down. This place tries to be pretentious without having anything to be pretentious about.

[ginabobolee]

I have a reservation for 5 at strip house for tomorrow lunch. I can't go because something came up. Anyone wants it, please pm me.

[trek_junkie]

i'm going to the Drake hotel tonight for dinner? Anyone been there? Recommendations?

[trek_junkie]

i went to ByMark last weekend. I enjoyed it. The portions (well the Bymark burger was quite large), I almost didn't have room for dessert. The best part were the crab cakes IMO. They were small, but very tasty. My only complaint was that between the crab cakes and the burger (and onion rings), was too much fried food.