FLOUR AND BARLEY

3545 Las Vegas Las Vegas Blvd. S. (702) 430-4430, 11 am to 12 midnight 7 days a week.

Located on the Linq behind the Flamingo Hotel and Casino is a large, reasonably priced restaurant.

It has a large interior and a very large patio.

We sat on the patio and ordered a litre of their house red. 

The menu has a nice variety of choices.

We decided to split the arugula and kale salad - it was amazing, the ingredients were unique and included artichokes, mushrooms and pine nuts.  It was large and easily split.  The flavours were fabulous!

My wife had the grilled salmon with broccolini and roast potato in a lemon caper sauce.  It was a large meal but very tasty.

I chose the shrimp scampi in a garlic lemon sauce with spaghettini.  The shrimp were large and very tender.

This was a good meal and good value in a nice location on the newly developed linq.

 

http://www.flourandbarley.com/

SERENDIPITY 3

3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S., (877) 346-4642, 9 am - 10 pm, except Fr. and Sat 9 am - 11 pm

Located outside Caesar's Palace directly on the strip Serendipity has a variety of offerings to dine on. 

There is also an inside restaurant - but we decided to enjoy the Las Vegas weather and sat on the outside patio.

The menu has a good variety of choices - we came for breakfast.

They also have an amazing drinks and desert menu.

My wife chose the 2 pancakes and they were gigantic!!

I chose the Central Park Omelette (they didn't have egg whites) that included spinach, swiss cheese and avocado.  It was served with breakfast potatoes.

The meals were rather expensive for breakfast at $18 each and it seemed they tried to justify this by serving very large portions that were difficult to finish.  We finished with coffee but did not finish our meals.

 

https://www.caesars.com/caesars-palace/restaurants/serendipity-3#.VfjNpyiJUTM

DAL TORO AT LAMBORGHINI

3325 Las Vegas Strip, Palazzo Hotel and Casino, (702) 437-9800, 8 am to 10 pm every day

We came here after seeing their sign posted at the entry $9.99 breakfast.  We decided to try it and we were glad we did.  It was a normal size breakfast with just enough food to make us ready for the day without overdoing it.

Located in the Palazzo hotel and casino, it fronts right on the strip with a lovely view and location.

We both selected the basic breakfast, my wife chose eggs easy over.

I chose scrambled.

The dollar pancakes were delicious and the meal was just the right size! We came back a couple of times here - it was very good for the price.  We will come back again when in Vegas!

 

http://www.daltoro.com/las-vegas/

PIER 39 FISH AND CHIPS 

3305 Fairview Street Unit 9, Burlington On., (905) 407-0565

Three of us had an urge on Thursday evening for a plate of fish in chips.  Thomas had seen a line up going into a brand new fish and chip restaurant in Burlington, so we decided to try it.  It is named after pier 39 in San Francisco which has an abundance of fish restaurants.  

After reviewing the menu we realized most items here are deep fried, so we ordered a couple of small appetizers; cheese sticks to share and deep fried mushroom caps.

Although the  cheese sticks were tasty and the sauce was quite good, there weren't enough of them for the price charged.  The deep fried mushrooms however were worth their price and were quite filling.

Thomas, Katie and I ordered the same main - halibut and fries.  It came with a vinegar based coleslaw, which is unusual with fish and chips, we usually see mayo based coleslaws with fish.  However, it was crisp and tasty.  The fish was rather ordinary and the fries were soft, but on the whole it was a pretty good choice.   

The restaurant is very new and not yet licensed so we had a coke.  The server was polite and efficient.  There is potential here, but I think they need to have some broiled options to attract a regular crowd.  Deep fried fish and chips are really the item of choice in pubs.  Hopefully as the restaurant matures they will look at some other methods of cooking besides deep frying.

There is a nice space on the side for a future patio, so hopefully they will get their license soon.  They also need to update their website.

http://www.pier39.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