LA CARNITA

501 College Street, Kensington Market Area, Toronto, On., (416) 964-1555, Open Sunday and Monday 5:00 - 10:00 pm, Tuesday to Sat. 5:00 - 11:00 pm

On a Friday evening in March, my son Mark and I decided we were hungry after viewing some cars for sale in Vaughan.  It was getting getting close to supper time and we felt like something not too heavy. We came upon La Carnita on College Street (famous for their tacos) and it seemed like the right choice.  The signage is terrible but Mark had been here before so he knew of it.

When we arrived the entry was full of people waiting for seating, fortunately we were able to sit at the bar rather than wait.

We reviewed the bar list for a quick pre-meal drink and I chose the strawberry margarita. It was tangy and refreshing and the bar tenders were great.

Mark had the Who Shot Ya, with bourbon.  It did have a kick to it.

After a couple of sips we reviewed the food menu.

We decided to choose a variety of tacos. Mark chose the crispy cotija and in cod we trust. While I chose pollo frito and carnita.  All of these choices were absolutely delicious.

We also decided to complete our meal with tortilla chips with ancho chili powder and quacamole.

The tortilla chips were crisp and tasty and the quacamole was exceptional.  All in all we enjoyed our meal here and would recommend it to anyone who likes good tacos.  They were unique and loaded with flavour.  It can get very crowded in a hurry here, but it is worth the wait.

http://lacarnita.com/

Wahlburgers
46 Blue Jays Way, Toronto On., (416) 489-8922, 11:30 am to 12 am 7 days a week
I went to Wahlburgers with my son Mark (http://www.markallen.ca/) after the auto show in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  It is located in the Soho Metropolitan Hotel.

It was a very cold evening and Family Day, so there were a lot of people around and not many restaurants were open in the area.  The result, Wahlburgers was packed and we had to sit at the bar.  It was a nice bright restaurant and we had a good view around us.

There is a large variety of seating here, which makes it feel larger than it is.  There is a balcony, bar seating, and long tables and booths.  However, there is far too much green and far too much Wahlburg here.

The menu consists of a variety of burgers and sandwiches, all about 10 dollars.  We both chose the Thanksgiving Day burger.  It consists of fresh ground seasoned turkey, stuffing, Paul's orange cranberry sauce, roasted butternut squash and mayo.

It was a nice burger, but very clumsy to eat.  The turkey was tender and delicious, but the sauce was messy and overwhelming, causing the burger to fall apart.  The patron beside me had the Portobello Mushroom Cap burger and was quite perturbed that the burger fell apart due to so much sauce.

Mark chose the fries and I chose the Sweet Potato Tots.  The tots were delicious!

Mark had a Wahlbrewski North (brewed by Mill Street Brewery), while I had some wine.

I had a couple of glasses of chianti.  All in all it was a reasonably priced meal that was good but not anything special.  The burger was small, the attitude was indifferent and we probably will not return.  There are many places in the city that have very good burgers and are more eager to serve them.


http://wahlburgers.ca/

DUKE OF YORK 

39 Prince Arthur Avenue, The Annex, Toronto, On. (416) 964-2441, Lunch, Dinner, Late Night 7 days a week

Went to Duke of York for nachos and beer on Saturday evening with my son Mark.  The Duke of York is located on Prince Arthur Avenue near Yorkville.  In a group of restaurants that include Bedford Academy, Fieramosca and Opus.  It is a very lively bar with a welcoming feel and easy going attitude.

The inside is warm, homey and is composed of a variety of different rooms and a nice bar.  There is an outdoor patio at the back that is open in the summer.  The downstairs was hopping with a birthday party and there were large groups coming and going throughout the evening.  There were many U of T students here, since it is located on the edge of the Annex and the University.

They have a good selection of beers, including the regular choices, as well as some craft brews and some UK choices.

Mark decided on a Moosehead.

I chose a beer I hadn't had in a while, Boddingtons Pub Ale.  It was cool, creamy and delicious.

We ordered  a small order of nachos, which although large were lacking in flavour, salt and cheese.  Despite a variety of toppings it was bland and dry.

We saw an large pretzel being ordered at the bar and decided to try one.  It was very good and filling and the cheese sauce was a good accompaniment.

All in all it was a typical pub experience, with a typical pub atmosphere and food selections.  The service was okay, the nachos needed serious improvement to have any taste.  The curried wraps that were passed around as hoers d'oeuvres were very tasty though.

http://york.thedukepubs.ca/index-home.php

WENDEL CLARKS CLASSIC GRILL

380 Brant Street, Burlington, On., (905) 633-9217, Lunch, Dinner, Late Night

Went to Wendel Clarks on Brant Street for dinner on Tuesday evening for my son Thomas's (http://rebuildhamilton.com/) birthday.  This was my second visit here.  When we arrived we were ushered to a booth on the main floor (there are two floors here).  

We reviewed the menus and started with a couple of draft beers.  They were cold and refreshing. 

We decided to start with a couple of appetizers, so we ordered calamari.

We also ordered tempura shrimp in a Thai sauce.

For our mains Thomas (birthday boy) ordered the pulled pork sandwich with mashed potatoes.

I ordered the same sandwich with an accompanying caesar salad (which I had tried on a previous visit).  This time the sandwich tasted like it had a different flavour which seemed odd.  The caesar was just an ordinary caesar.

Katie, my son's girlfriend, had the Wendel burger which included cheddar, bacon and an large onion ring.  She also ordered the sweet potato fries.

My wife ordered the Haddock Crunch with chips.  It was big on crunch but little on haddock!

The meals were rather ordinary in a restaurant that was more like a recreation room filled with Wendell Clark mounted photos and televisions.  The service was rather slow and some of our food did not arrive hot.

http://www.wendelclarks.com/index.php

SARCOA 

57 Discovery Drive, Hamilton On.  (905) 528-5757, Lunch, Dinner, Late, Tuesday to Sunday, Dinner only Monday

After giving this restaurant time to settle and get over the hype of it's entry to the Hamilton restaurant scene, we decided to go for dinner on a beautiful Sunday evening in early August.  This restaurant has a wonderful large and complex patio, consisting of various table arrangements, and seating configurations including couches and pods.  It is worth the visit to sit on this patio, even at the large bar that anchors it.

Since we did not have reservations, we had to wait for a while in the bar area until a table became ready, so we had some wine and watched the boats go by in the bay.  It was a beautiful evening to be on the patio.  My son Mark (http://www.markallen.ca/) had a rum and coke, a perfect bar drink for a sunny evening.

The bar tender serving us was friendly, efficient and made us feel comfortable as did all the staff at this restaurant!!  When our table became ready, we took a look at the menu.

We ordered a nice Chianti to share.

My wife and I decided to start with the Caesar salad.  It was absolutely delicious with a wonderful balance of real smoked bacon, lemon, croutons and Parmesian.  

Mark, my son decided to start with quinoa fritters with romesco and quacamole.  They were scrumptious, with a lot of flavour.

For our mains my wife and I decided to have the pasta special.  It was the house made fettucini with roast chicken and parmesian, tomatoes and sprouts in a light sauce.  It was outstanding and we both enjoyed every morsel.  We would order this again if it was on the menu.

Mark ordered one of his favourite combinations, not often seen as a main, seared scallops and pork belly, with sweet pea puree and rhubarb-daikon slaw.  It was very good.

My wife and Mark decided to try a desert.  My wife had the cheesecake. It was heavenly - though a little small.

Mark had the vanilla gelato.  It was sweet and tasty.

It was a wonderful meal on a beautiful evening.  

If the weather or the season changes there is a beautiful interior to this restaurant as well.

The food, the service and the location make this restaurant worth a visit.  We will definitely return.

Well, we returned exactly a year (August 2 2014, approximately 7 pm ) later.  The attitude had changed.  There was a snotty girl receptionist who told us there was no way we would be able to get in without a reservation (which we tried to make about 3 o'clock the same day).  This was such a different attitude from just a year ago, when we were allowed to drink at the bar until a table became ready!!  We saw many empty tables both inside and out!!  So, we went to Spencer's in Burlington (a far superior restaurant by most standards) and were welcomed with open arms - they too were very busy but made an effort not to turn us away.  We had a wonderful table on the patio overlooking the lake and spent a lot of money there!!  Sarcoa needs to get back to the attitude they previously had, sooner or later it will lose patrons!!!!  I have seen tweets and stories of patrons who will not return because of the attitude here!!

http://www.sarcoa.ca/