IL FORNAIO 

3790 Las Vegas Boulevard South, New York-NewYork Hotel and Casino, Breakfast 7:30 - 10:30, Sunday- Thursday Lunch/Dinner 11:30-11:00, Friday-Saturday Lunch/Dinner 11:30 -12:00am, (702) 740-6403  

Located in New York New York hotel and casino, Il Fornalo is a great place for a fresh pasta dinner.  We discovered it after visiting another restaurant here and decided to try it.  It was awesome!

We ordered a nice Chianti to start 

This was followed by a nice order of calamari fritti 

My wife had the Cannelloni al Forno filled with rotisserie chicken, sun dried tomatoes, ricotta, pecorino, smoked mozzarella, and topped with organic spinach, bechamel, marinara and mushrooms - they were unreal

I had the ravioli with squash and walnuts Cappellacci Di Zucca- it was heavenly - the pasta was obviously house made and the brown butter sage sauce and tomato sauce with crispy sage was very tasty!  We found the portions satisfying and the prices very reasonable here!!!

My wife finished with a nice Cappuccino 

I had a double long espresso and it was great

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal here and will definitely return when visiting Vegas.  We highly recommend you try it when you visit Vegas!!



http://www.ilfornaio.com/lasvegas

BECCO 

355 W 46th Street, New York, Hell's Kitchen New York, New York (212) 397-7597

Located on restaurant row in the Theatre District of Manhattan (West 46th Street).  Becco is part of the Bastianich chain owned by the famous television chef Lidia Bastianich and her son Joe.  It was opened in 1993 and since then has been a staple in the theatre district.

It is composed of many intimate areas just below street level.

We made our reservation rather early, since we were booked at a jazz club nearby for 8:30, but we were in no hurry.  We enjoy good Italian food and had lots of time.  We were ushered into one of the rear rooms that had a large skylight and was almost like eating al fresco.

It was early, so the restaurant was quiet, however it did not take long to fill up.  Our table was prepared with nice linen napkins, an incredible bread basket that included a variety of very fresh breads (the breadsticks were our favourites).  There was also a nice variety of spiced olives and a rich herbed butter in olive oil - very unusual but very tasty.

The wine selection here was outstanding and large.  All wines were priced the same $29.  This alone was worth the visit!  

We selected a wonderful Valpolicella Ripasso, it was smooth as silk.  There were so many good wines on this list - it was hard to choose.

In viewing the menu, we saw that there was a price fix available for $23.95, which included salad and a choice of 3 different pasta varieties available that evening.

We decided to go a la carte and chose caesar salad and a main from the extensive menu.  Only a portion of which is shown below.

Caesar Salad

My wife selected the calves liver. The liver was pan seared with bacon, caramelized onions, crispy polenta, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was was melt in your mouth perfectly cooked.

I chose one of the evening's specials veal scallopini done in a butter, wine and sherry sauce with capers and lemon.  It was divine and very rich in flavour.

It was accompanied by a garlic and olive oil spinach side dish.

We completed our meal with a strawberry cheesecake (I could not believe they did not have a tiramisu or tartuffo).  We did however eat the cheesecake so fast I forgot to take a photo of it.  We completed our dessert with delicious Cappucino coffees. 

By the time we left, the restaurant was jammed to capacity!

We really enjoyed our meal here - however it was much too hurried, we barely had time to savour each course and the bill arrived on our table.  I would recommend they retain an area in this large restaurant for those not in a hurry for a Broadway show.

http://becco-nyc.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/

SIAM DISH 

7-1477 Lakeshore Road, Burlington On. (905)632-2525, Sun. to Thurs. 11:00 am to 9 pm, Fri. and Sat. 11:00 am to 10:pm Delivery 7 days a week 4:00 to 9:00 pm

Located near the intersection of Lakeshore and Brant Street in Burlington, Siam Dish is a Thai restaurant that has a small outside patio in the summer.

We came to Siam Dish recently and tried their appetizer assortment for two, which was a great light meal with lots of flavour.  We began with their house red which was light and easy to drink.

The appetizer selection platter for two is a great choice for $14.95. It consists of a couple of tasty calamari, chicken satays, two spring rolls, a couple of deep fried shrimp and shrimp surrounded with hard noodles.

This dish is accompanied by two different and very tasty sauces.  One of them is a sweet chilli sauce and the other is a Thai peanut flavoured one.

We also came back to try their chicken Pad Thai and it too was delicious and flavourful and only $9.95 including soup and spring roll or 2 spring rolls.

The interior is themed in Thai and is clean and simple.

They have a very good tea selection which is $3 for a teapot.

http://www.siamdish.ca/

BLUE ELEPHANT PUB AND RESTAURANT 

90 Norfolk St. Street South,  Norfolk On. (519) 428-2886 

A group of us went to the Blue Elephant Restaurant and Pub on a Friday afternoon for an early dinner. It is located in Simcoe Ontario.  It is quite a large space and has a good variety of spaces.  

It has it's own brew store where you can buy beer that is brewed in their own brewery on the premises.

Daily specials are posted at the entry which makes it easy to see them in one place.

A rather large collection of craft brew bottles and cans is displayed in the bar area.

They have their own brewery that can be seen through a viewing window.

A couple of rooms are used for evening dinners.

The bar area is a good size and with a good view of the patio in the back.

The menu begins with a brief description of the brew house and its philosophy.  The menu is easy to follow and includes most typical pub dishes with a few twists. The prices are reasonable, with most mains costing less than 20 dollars.

The menu explains how the establishment has evolved over the years and become the first brew house in Norfolk County.

The menu is easy to follow and has a good variety of offerings with nothing over twenty dollars.

One of us began with a cosmo martini.

One of us began with a white wine.

the rest of us had a red wine.

One of us ordered the quiche special with onion soup. She liked the onion soup, but found the quiche rather ordinary.

One of us had the quiche special with spinach salad and feta and she enjoyed both.

Two of us had the fish and chip dinner one had one piece the other had two.  It was a typical fish and chip pub meal.

I had the lake erie whitefish pan fried in butter with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables.  This was a pretty good meal except the fish could have been hotter.

There is an outdoor patio with a variety of seating.

All in all it was a typical pub experience with a few twists and an interesting craft brewery.  We will come again when in the area.

http://blueelephant.ca/