THE KEG STEAKHOUSE AND BAR 

165 York Street, Toronto, On. (416) 703-1773, Open for lunch Mon - Fri, dinner and late night every night

The four of us went to the Keg on York Street in downtown Toronto (near city hall).  We have been here many times before.  It was boxing day, so the office crowd which usually fills this bar and steakhouse to the brim on a Thursday after 5 was not here.  It was relatively a quiet evening.

The inside of this keg, like all kegs, has a comfortable feel.  There is a fireplace that invites you to enter on a cold evening.

The interior is always easy on the eyes, even though it is quite dark.

My wife and I began with a caesar salad.  As always it was cool and crisp.

My son Thomas had the sirloin oscar - the toppings of scallops and shrimp were delicious- however under it the steak had a lot of gristle in it and parts were inedible.  The garlic mashed potatoes are always a good choice (they are delicious).

My son Mark began with the escargot stuffed mushrooms, which always smell and taste delicious.

For his main he had the creole chicken, it had a nice amount of scallops on it and he found it very good.  The vegetables were nicely cooked.

My wife had the salmon (she has had it in Kegs before) it was delicious and not overcooked.  It came with a small caesar and nicely cooked beans.

I had my usual sirloin dinner.  My steak was undercooked (I like mine medium).  The baked potato was nicely cooked and delicious.  The mushrooms and vegetables were very good.

We completed our meals with their signature dessert Billy Miner Pie.  It is delicious and even if you feel full it is light and easy to eat.

We came to the keg to have dinner to celebrate my wife's birthday and I indicated that to the waitress as we were being seated.  In previous visits to the Keg (on the Esplanade) we were asked if we were celebrating anything and when we told them we were celebrating our two boys' birthdays, they provided a complimentary dessert and a handwritten birthday card (see my blog entry for the Keg on Esplanade).  We found this Keg a little less personal and lacking in service this time.  Maybe it was just an off day, we always enjoy any Keg we go to.

https://www.kegsteakhouse.com/en/locations/ON/toronto/york-street/

HARBORD HOUSE 

150 Harbord St. (647) 430-7365 Toronto On. Sun - Mon 11 am to 11 pm, Tues - Sat 11 am to 1 am  Serving brunch Sat and Sun and Holidays

Went to the Harbord House with the gang (six of us) for dinner on Saturday evening.  We had walked and biked (using Bixi bikes) by it a number of times in the past, so we decided to try it.  It is a very homey atmosphere on a winter's evening and just screams - have some comfort food.  

We began by ordering a couple of bottles of California Cabernet Sauvignon and one of us had the St. Ambroise oatmeal stout beer. 

The menu choices here are quite varied for a pub (gastropub) and include a range from French onion soup to chicken wings, to pulled pork sandwiches, to grilled arctic char.
We decided to share some apps so we ordered a couple of plates of calamari and a couple of plates of buffalo shrimp.  The calamari were rather small and ordinary, but the buffalo shrimp and the sauce they were in was delicious.

calamari with lemon aoli dipping sauce

crispy buffalo shrimp in tasty cocktail sauce

We decided on a variety of mains.  Carolyn had the vegetarian chili in tomato sauce with jalapeno bread.  

Katie had the house mac and cheese with cheddar, jack, and ermite cheeses, with herb and garlic crumb topping, served with organic greens.

Mark and Tom had the Berkshire pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries and coleslaw.

My wife and I had the potato crusted Jail Island salmon fillet with lemon horseradish cream, herbed basmati rice and grilled asparagus.  We really enjoyed this dish.

We were seated on the second floor of the restaurant which meant that our food had to be carried up the stairs (some of it could have been a little hotter).  The server was constantly going up and down the stairs, but she was fairly quick with our table.  The food was quite good, we found it flavourful and filling.  The atmosphere was quite homey and warm.




http://www.harbordhouse.ca/hh/