RED LOBSTER

20 Dundas Street West, Toronto On., (416) 348-8938, Lunch and Dinner, Monday to Friday

Went to Red Lobster on a very cold February Saturday evening.  It was located at the corner of Dundas and Bay street in a very nice office tower.  We have been to Red Lobsters many times and find that not many of them are surviving (probably because they are rather expensive for a chain restaurant).

Fortunately, while waiting to be seated we were given a buzzer and could wander in the warm mall.

It was Lobsterfest, which was a limited time special of lobster based dishes.

After being seated, with only a short wait, we ordered a bottle of standard valpolicella, while a basket of wonderful cheese and garlic biscuits arrived.  These were melt in your mouth delicious and we always enjoy them.  

One advantage of this type of restaurant is that you get a salad and main, as well as biscuits for one price.  My wife ordered the garden salad with balsamic dressing.

I chose the garden salad with a french type dressing.

Mark chose the caesar salad.

My wife chose the salmon New Orleans for her main.  It came with vegetables and a rice pilaf and she really enjoyed it.

Mark chose the double maritime lobster tails with garlic shrimp and mashed potatoes.

I had the same with a baked potato.

Both lobster dishes were accompanied with french beans and a dish of melted butter for dipping.  They were tender and cooked perfectly.  Although they appeared not to be filling, they were.  We found the food filling but expensive for the quality and portion.  The server was efficient but robotic and did not tell us we could have had a free main if ordering two lobster specials!  The restaurant was quite full and the atmosphere was warm on a really cold evening.

http://www.redlobster.com/

PIZZERIA LIBRETTO

221 Ossington Street, Little Italy/Portugal Village, M6J 2Z8 (416) 532-8000 Toronto On., Open for lunch and dinner. Do not take reservations.

We went to Pizzeria Libretto after a long walk from Dundas and Bay streets.  It was a very hot and humid Saturday on the first day of June.  We were famished when we finally arrived at Ossington Street.  Just around the corner was Pizzeria Libretto.

There is usually a very long wait, however we arrived at just the right time (around 6 pm).  We did not wait very long (they normally take your cell number and call you when there is a space for you because they don't take reservations).  We were seated at the window at a table for two, but even here it was a tight squeeze.

in a few minutes these seats were full

After we were seated we ordered a nice Ripasso wine and a bottle of filtered water.

The wine list here has a nice selection that is easy to select from.  We have  a habit of always ordering calamari if we see them in the appetizer list.  They were soft and layered on top of a sauce that was absolutely delicious.

After the calamari arrived, a nice plate of bread was delivered by our delightful waitress Sarah.  The bread was fresh and the olive oil and balsamic dip was scrumptious.  We followed the calamari with a bowl of warmed olives in a spiced oil.  They were fabulous!!

We decided to order the prosciutto and arugula pizza.  It did not disappoint.  The prosciutto was plentiful and the arugula was fresh.  This pizza is very similar to a pizza I have had in Oakville in a restaurant called Seven.  My wife did not like the sauce very much but enjoyed the pizza overall.  

We decide to split a tiramisu (which is house made).  It was melt in your mouth delicious.  Make sure you order it, even if you think you are full - it is not to be missed!

We completed our meal with a nice espresso and mellowed out for a while.

It is a narrow and tight place that can get very noisy, but that is to be expected.

By the time we finished our meal the restaurant was getting full.  We enjoyed our meal despite the cramped quarters and somewhat uncomfortable seating.  The food was fresh simple and delicious.  Our waitress Sarah was efficient and very personable.  We will definitely be back again to try another pizza selection.

http://pizzerialibretto.com/

HOT HOUSE CAFE

35 Church St. Toronto On., St. Lawrence Market/Old Town M5E 1C9, (416) 366-7800

Went to the Hot House Cafe on a  blustery winter night in February that included freezing rain, snow, sleet and rain all at once (the only thing missing were locusts).  We spent some time in the St. Lawrence Market (a fresh food market near the restaurant) before coming here, so we were hungry when we arrived.

The waiter brought us some bread in a basket with butter.

We began by ordering a nice French Merlot.

Then we ordered fried calamari, with a hot sauce and creamy chive dip.  They were crispy and we liked the hot sauce.

My wife had the crispy chicken stir fry with broccoli, strips of chicken, red and yellow bell peppers, bean sprouts, and snow peas in a sweet and sour sauce, served over basmati rice.  It was delicious and huge (but should have included more chicken).

I had the barramundi pan fried fish fillet with garlic and parsley mashed potatoes and crisp carrots and beans.  The fish was very hot and tasty and the mashed potatoes were great.

Overall, it was a good meal that was filling and very reasonably priced.  I would return and try something else of the menu to see if it was as good.  The service was very efficient.  The manager came over to ask if we were enjoying our meal (a nice touch).  The restaurant became busier as the night went on.

http://www.hothousecafe.com/

LA BETTOLA DI TERRONI 

106 Victoria Street (at Richmond) (416) 504-9998 Toronto On. 

We had dinner at La Bettola Di Terroni on a beautiful Saturday night in January.  My son Mark was at the Terroni on Adelaide and was told by the hostess there was a one hour wait (even though he saw a lot of tables empty).  Myself and my son Thomas decided to try our luck at La Bettola, which is only a couple of blocks away at the corner of Victoria and Richmond.

We got lucky - one of the hostesses here at Bettola actually made a real effort to have us seated in a packed house (unlike the hostesses at the original Terroni on Adelaide, which seem to treat customers like crap). She found us a table for four by doing some juggling of tables.
We were greeted by a friendly waiter who was patient with us, since three of us were waiting for Mark, who left the Adelaide Terroni (not very happy), to join us here.  The hostesses at the original Terroni should be given lessons in customer service!!  I have been there many times and found them very pretentious and uncooperative.

We began by ordering a bottle of Refosco.

A rustic bag of bread arrived at our table with olive oil for dipping.  

Mark and I decided to order appetizers so he ordered crab cakes (polpette di granchio) and I ordered Sicilian deep fried rice cones with mozzarella, peas and veal ragu (arancini di modica). The arancini were delicious, but I have had better crab cakes.  The appetizers were very small for the price and in the future I would stay away from them - they were not worth the price.

crab cakes

Sicilian rice cones (arancini)

Mark, Thomas and I decide on Agnolotti filled with shredded beef, we have had them before.  They were delicious, very rich and just filled with wonderful tasty shredded beef.  This time it appeared to be a larger portion than in the past (we all agreed).  

Katie had the cavatelli alla norma (hand made cavatelli with fried eggplant and ricotta salata) it was delicious and filling.

We were so satisfied there was no room for dessert, although we saw many going by our table that looked fabulous.  It was extremely noisy in the restaurant, which needs some noise reducing materials that are softer.  We have been here before and will probably return again.

http://labettola.ca/

SAIGON  PARIS BISTRO

12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Fort Myers Florida, (239) 936-2233

Decided to go out to breakfast before leaving Florida.  So we went to the Saigon Paris Bistro, next to the Seven Lakes Fort Myers community that we were staying in.

We arrived hungry and ready for a hearty breakfast.

One of us ordered the peach filled crepes.  They were filled with a pasty peach goop that looked a bit like baby food - instead of canned peaches or fresh peaches.  At least there were some fresh fruits on the side.

One of us ordered the cream cheese crepes filled with raspberry and cream cheese.

Two of us had the French Combo, which included two sausages or two bacon strips, eggs, french toast and a side  of fresh fruit.  It was a typical big breakfast, however the french toast was very light and quite good.  One of us had the eggs scrambled and one of us had the easy over eggs.

It was a typical breakfast selection that was made more palatable in that the price was two for one.  The service was very good and the server Patricia was well known in the area.



http://www.saigonparisbistro.com/index.html