JUNIOR'S 

1515 Broadway, New York New York (212) 302-2000, 6:30 to midnight every day.
Located at 1515 Broadway in Manhattan, Juniors is a great spot for breakfast and any quick meal.  We came here every morning for breakfast on our NYC visit because it had very quick service and good food - especially the breakfast and the cheesecake.

There is a patio space and a large indoor space to choose from.

We had breakfast that included bacon, eggs, toast and tomatoes. I chose scrambled eggs.

 My wife had her eggs easy over.

We finished our breakfast with a good strong coffee and a couple of complimentary house made cookies. 

It was a convenient location next to our hotel and we also tried it's next door location that specializes in their famous cheese cakes and other delights.

Junior's is well worth a visit if you are near times square.

 
http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/our_restaurants/times_square/

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/

AND COMPANY RESTO BAR

295 Enfield Place, Mississauga On., (905) 808-2112, Wed. 6:00 pm to 2:00 am, Thurs. 6:00 pm to 12:00 am, Fri. and Sat. 6:00 pm to 2:00 am, closed Sun. Mon. Tues.

Located in Mississauga, close to Square One shopping plaza is a vibrant restaurant and nightlife venue called And Company Resto and Bar. 

It is unique in the fact that there is a lovely comfortable restaurant, a sleek bar with a couple of televisions for chilling, a lounge area that includes a dance floor with comfy couches, grand piano and a DJ station. It even has a large rooftop patio for those long summer evenings!

After being seated by the friendly and smiling girls at the door we began to review their new menu. Their menu was entirely designed and executed by their new Executive Chef Ron Stratton.  He came with over 20 years of experience working in a variety of fine dining restaurants all over Canada.  The menu focuses on "fine familiar" cuisine, which basically takes conventional dishes and adds imaginative touches to their ingredients and presentation.

We selected a nice California Zinfandel that was moderately priced and very nice.

My wife chose for her appetizer the Crispy Thai Calamari with a pickled vegetable salad and green curry coconut veloute.  The calamari were delicious and the sauce was very light.

I chose the Jumbo Tempura Shrimp with seasonal vegetable and rice wine vinegar.  The shrimp were very large, the tempura coating was thin and the asparagus was tender.

For her main my wife chose the Salmon Wellington.  This dish consisted of a salmon fillet, enclosed in a light puff pastry, fresh buttered seasonal vegetables and red wine jus.  It was quite dramatic on the plate and the flavours were delightful.

For my main I chose the Chicken Parmigiana.  It consisted of two substantial pieces of Ontario chicken, marinated bocconcini, San Marzano tomato sauce with egg pappardelle.

This was a fine example of a familiar dish being elevated with just a couple of different ingredients and presentation.

Our dessert was shared and was quite different in it's presentation and ingredients.  It was called Brownie Banana Split and consisted of a dark chocolate brownie with a banana spring roll, seasoned berry compote, ice cream and sorbet.  It was a great ending to a wonderful dinner.

We found the servers, our waitress Lizzy (who was efficient and took good care of us the entire evening) and management to be very friendly and inviting.  The music was upbeat and current. The management mingled and socialized with patrons and this was very nice to see.  I should point out that we were invited by Basel - their marketing director and our meal was complimentary.  I think from our comments about this venue and the food you will get a good picture of our experience here.  We enjoyed our evening and are looking forward to returning again.

http://www.andcompany.ca/

CHEESECAKE FACTORY

Forum Shops at Caesars, 3500 S Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Nevada, (702) 792-6888, Mon-Fri 11:00 am to 11:30 pm, Sat-Sun 10:30 am to 12:30 am

Beverly Hills, 364 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, Ca. (310) 278-7270, Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week and late hours Fri. and Sat.

We went to two cheesecake factories while on vacation.  One was in the forum shops area of Caesars, the other was in Beverly Hills just off Rodeo Drive.  They are absolutely amazing restaurants!!

CAESARS

While examining their giant menu we decided on a nice Berringer Cabernet Sauvignon which is sold here under their label.

After we ordered our wine, a basket of fresh breads arrived at our table.

Their menu is quite extensive and varied, which makes selection so hard, however my wife and I chose the same dish, herb crusted salmon.

Despite being so covered in herbs, it tasted divine and not a bit over done.  The mashed potatoes under the fish were melt in your mouth and the asparagus spears were cooked perfectly and not mushy.  This meal was excellent!

Normally I avoid dessert after such a large portion, but since it was the Cheese Factory, I had to indulge.  So we examined the dessert menu of cheesecakes and other desserts.

Since the mains were so large we decided to split the dessert and chose the Tiramisu cheesecake.  It was light not heavy and spectacular!!!

My wife accompanied it with a coffee and I had a double espresso.

The meal was incredible and any dishes I saw come out of the kitchen were impressive.  The price was very reasonable for what we had.

BEVERLY  HILLS

We also managed to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory near Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills - it too was amazing!! 

My wife had the fetuccine alfredo it was divine!

I had a half turkey sandwich and salad (the pic did not turn out well).

 We absolutely enjoyed both cheesecake factories and would certainly return.  They are well run, have great food and service and are very reasonably priced - a winning combination!! They have become one of our favourite restaurants!!

http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/