ROLLY ROCKET'S 

470 King St. West, Hamilton On. (905) 393-3555, Open for Lunch, Dinner, Late night 7 days a week.

Decided to try Rolly Rocket's for dinner. This restaurant has been around for a few years now and has a regular following in the downtown.  It is basically a bbq ribs and chicken kind of place that is very informal and kitschy.  It has picnic tables for furniture and rock music in the background. 

The menu has an extensive list of bbq items. The interior is furnished with picnic tables and is very informal.

There is a bar that extends around into the pool table area.

There are rolls of paper towel on the tables reminding you that your hands  will get messy.

For my meal I chose 2 pounds of wings one in mild sauce and one in dry rub.

My son Thomas chose the pulled pork dinner.  It came with 3 pulled pork sliders, sweet potato fries, coleslaw, a maple covered cornbread biscuit and a cup of baked beans.  It was gigantic and he had to take the leftovers home.

All in all it was a good hearty meal.  We were full and everything tasted quite good.  The coleslaw was especially tasty.  They have karaoke on Fridays!



http://www.rollyrocketsbbq.com/index.php?pg=home

SCADDABUSH KITCHEN AND BAR 

382 Yonge Street, in the Aura Condo, Toronto, (416) 597-8838, Mon-Wed and Sun. 11:00 am to 1:00 am, Thurs. - Sat. 11:00 am to 2:00 am,  

Having been by the new restaurant Scaddabush a couple of weeks ago we decided to try it on a Sunday evening.  It is a large and complex restaurant with many seating choices.  

We examined their menu - which is quite large and selected some choices.

We decided on a nice Ripasso wine to start.  It was nice and smooth.

Having reviewed the appetizers we decided on sharing a plate of fried calamari.  The coating was good but they were quite chewy.  

For his main Mark decided to try their chicken avocado BLT on freshly baked flatbread, tomato, pickled red onions, romaine, piccante aoli and house fries.  He really liked it but found it was a lot of food.

My wife had the grilled tomato caper salmon with a white wine sauce, parsley butter potatoes and green beans.  It was delicious and nicely cooked.

I decided on the pasta (which is made in house daily).  I decided to try their pasta called Zucca which was a butternut squash ravioli with grated Grana Padano cheese, hazelnut butter cream sauce, roasted squash and fried sage.  They were melt in your mouth delicious and it was quite a large helping.

The service here is efficient and friendly and the atmosphere is upbeat.  Our server was personable and efficient and when I mentioned that the calamari were very chewy he talked to the manager, who then took it off our bill.  This was a nice touch and an indication that they are concerned about their reputation and customer service.  The wine was reasonable and the prices for the food were also in line with the market.  Worth returning to to try other selections on the menu.

http://www.scaddabush.com

LE PAPILLON ON FRONT 
69 Front Street, St. Lawrence Market/Old Town (416) 367-0303 Closed Monday, Mon. to Thurs. 11:30 to 10:30 pm, Fri. 11:30 to 11:00 pm, Sat. 11:00 to 11:00 pm,  Sun. 11:00 to 10:00 pm

After trying several times to make a reservation on Saturday evening (we usually call too late) we finally were successful.
It is a beautiful space with exposed brick, aged woods and floor and blends into the St Lawrence Market area well.  

We found the wine menu and food menu very easy to follow.

Basically there are several nice appetizers, crepes and mains.  Also, there are a couple of specials on a board at the entry.
We decided to start with a Bordeaux that the waiter recommended.  It was an outstanding 2010 vintage red Bordeaux and not very expensive.

For appetizers my son Mark (http://www.markallen.ca/) chose the Crevettes, shrimp sauteed in a tarragon garlic butter broth.  They were large and perfectly cooked and the sauce was divine.  We later soaked up some of the broth with bread (that arrived late).  

My wife and I chose the Escargots smothered in garlic parsley butter.  The escargot seemed smaller than I remembered them from a previous location they occupied.  Nevertheless, they were delicious.

My wife and I also ordered a shrimp appetizer to share and they were great.
For our mains Mark ordered the pork tenderloin from the menu with a forestiere (bacon and mushroom) sauce with potatoes and vegetables. He really enjoyed it.

My wife and I chose from one of the specials it was a pan fried ocean perch with vegetables.  It was delicious. The fish was tender and sweet and perfectly cooked.  The rice was a good match for this fish.

We really enjoyed our meals here and will definitely return to try some other choices on this extensive menu.  The only criticism we had was the appetizers were not served hot enough and we received our bread after the appetizers.  Hopefully next time we will leave enough room to try their desserts.




http://www.papillononfront.com

EAST THIRTY-SIX 

36 Wellington St. E. St. Lawrence Market/Old Town, Toronto, (647) 350-3636 Open for Dinner and Late 7 days a week

Located in the St. Lawrence Market area of Toronto, East Thirty-Six is the third restaurant change in the same building. Previously it was the Lucien, then changed to Olde Town Bistro and Oyster Bar.  Although now it has a new name, it seems to have a similar menu as the previous Oyster Bar.  It appears to follow a similar philosophy - do only a few items and do them well.  The menu is rather limited and encourages sharing.

We decided to begin with a nice red Cotes du Rhone and it did not disappoint, it was smooth and delicious.

We decided to get started with some bread and olives.  They charge $3 for some crusty pieces of bread and butter, which seemed a little chintzy for a restaurant like this. (We ate a couple of pieces before this pic was taken)  

The olive selection was delicious for $4 and had some unusual types of olives, including a small one that tasted lemony.

We then ordered an appetizer each and shared them. Mark (http://www.markallen.ca/) ordered the Cailletes (made of various pig organs and marinated in red wine) sitting on a small piece of toast.  They were very tender and melted in your mouth.

My wife ordered the e36 salad with castelfranco, kale, endive, ricotta salata aioli, focaccia, it was very good, but it was the only salad available.

I chose the cauliflower with capers, preserved lemon, brown butter, hazelnuts and parsley.  We all agreed they were different and flavourful.

We decided to each try a different main.  Mark had the duck

confit and he loved it.

My wife had the halibut with artichoke, white wine, lemon and fennel.  The halibut was perfectly cooked and the sauce, which seemed more like a soup, was filled with a variety of flavours too hard to identify.

For my main I selected the braised beef shortribs with brussel sprouts and pureed potato in red wine sauce.  It was delicious the meat was tender and the bone was removed, however it could have been hotter, it arrived on the lukewarm side.  It was very filling.

We shared a dessert of a very dense chocolate cake that was drizzled with caramel and covered with nuts.

We enjoyed our choices here, however, there are not enough choices available for us to come back.  The service was efficient and the flavours of our food were great but the menu is very limited.

http://eastthirtysix.com/