VENTURA'S SIGNATURE RESTAURANT 3.5 out of 5

178 James Street North, 905-777-8490,   Open Tuesday to Sunday Noon - 10 p.m.

I and several of my friends went to Ventura's Restaurant on James Street North in Hamilton.  It is an authentic Portuguese restaurant that is famous for it's fish platters and Portuguese dishes.  It is a charming restaurant and quite large and comfortable inside (and very clean). We began with some rather ordinary buns, a variety of appetizer dishes including sardines, mussels, grilled calamari and shrimp.  We followed this with a number of Seafood Platters from their menu, which included lightly fried whiting, sword fish, jumbo tiger shrimp, mussels, rice and cubed potatoes.  Many of the fish items were not filleted and had bones that makes me rather hesitant and slow in eating.  The shrimp and whiting were good but not very filling. Unfortunately I am allergic to mussels and do not really like sardines, however the group appeared to enjoy them.

We completed the meal with Portuguese custard tarts (which are amazing) and espresso.  The owner Virgilio Ventura is a great host and very entertaining.  We had a number of bottles of Portuguese red wine.  We decided to go with a platter style serving, so our bill with taxes and tip was $40 each.

It was a good meal all around in a very nice Portuguese restaurant, with some good friends.

http://www.venturasignature.com/

MARINELLA 
360 College Street West, Toronto (416) 348-9200 
Decided to try a new restaurant on College Street in Little Italy, it was called Marinella.  We checked the menu on the board outside and it seemed to have some dishes we wanted to try.  We began with the usual request for a bottle of wine, Chianti and it was good ($40).  The meal began with a plate of homemade bread that was still warm, and definitely homemade.  The bread was accompanied with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.  Had to ask for another plate of it, it was melt in your mouth good.  We ordered calamari fritti and an olive bowl as appetizers to share, they were a reasonable price and very good.  The calamari were large and covered in a nice panko like coating and an accompanying tomato sauce which was not acidic.  My wife ordered gnocchi in tomato sauce (she has tried many gnocchi dishes in many restaurants) and she said it was very good.  I ordered the veal parmigiana with the standard spaghetti accompaniment.  I found the veal thin and delicious.  I cut it with the butter knife. The accompanying spaghetti tasted homemade (usually it is a filler to accompany the veal parmigiana), but this was different, it was definitely homemade and scrumptious.  We completed the meal with a cappuccino and shared a tiramisu that was homemade.  

When we first arrived the waiter told us that tonight's cooks in the kitchen were the owners mother and brother and that everything was homemade.  Well I had to agree, our meal  was delicious and tasted homemade.
    
I do not take well to acidic tomato sauces, but this was not definitely not an acidic tomato sauce (try Kit Kat's sauce and you will see what I mean).

In summary, this was a great meal.  The waiter was very efficient and deserved the larger tip.  The only drawback was that the restaurant owner had turned away at least a dozen people, saying they were booked for the night, yet when we left an hour later it was still mostly empty.  He lost possible return customers - I am not a fan of reservations!!

nice Chianti

fresh house made bread, olive oil and balsamic

large calamari with nice crust and tomato sauce

olive bowl appetizer

house made gnocchi

veal parmigiana and house made spaghetti

house made tiramisu

http://www.marinellasrestaurant.com

WEST TOWN BAR GRILL 3 out of 5

214 Locke Street South, Hamilton On., (905) 570-1412 ,  open 7:30 am to 2:00 am 364 days a year

It must be the fall season or thanksgiving that makes us want comfort food.  We decided to go out for a good hearty breakfast so we went to West Town Bar and Grill on Locke street in Hamilton.  We've been here before, but never for breakfast.  It was Thanksgiving Monday and the place was very busy, considering it was almost two o'clock in the afternoon (I guess most of the patrons had their Thanksgiving on Sunday instead of Monday, as we did).  Since breakfast was being served late today we were able to order. 

We both ordered the same meal, scrambled eggs, bacon, homefries, and twelve grain bread toasted. The waitresses here are always very efficient and friendly. The meal appeared within minutes and was hearty and cooked perfectly.  The bacon was evenly crisp, the scrambled eggs were evenly cooked and the homefries were not overcooked. All in all it is an efficient bar and restaurant with decent food, the only criticism, it needs a thorough cleaning and some updating inside.

wonderful bacon, eggs, homefries, 12 grain toast

http://www.thewesttown.ca/

ONE DUKE 

1 Duke Street, Hamilton, On (905) 540-3853, Open 11:30 - 12:00 or 1:00 weekends

On a cool October night we decided to get some good comfort food, so we went to One Duke in Hamilton.  We have been here before for their chicken and shepherds pie, but the menu has changed, so we tried some new dishes.  I had the special which was a fish fry of ocean perch, coleslaw and fries for 10 dollars.  My son had a chicken dish with a sweet and sour barbecue sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. I enjoyed the fish and coleslaw, but the fries were a little dry and tasteless.  I should have had the mashed potatoes instead.  My son really enjoyed the chicken, which was tender, with tasty sauce and great mashed potatoes. My son also tried a new featured beer with pumpkin flavouring.  I had a Kilkenny Irish beer. It was a good dinner on a cool fall night just before Thanksgiving.

One Duke has changed hands and appearance over the years but it has finally found itself, unfortunately it needs a bit of renovating, it is looking very tired and it has a lot more potential. It was almost full and the two waitresses were working hard to serve a large number of patrons.  Unfortunately the large patio was closed, due to the cool night, but it is a good spot on a warm night.

long patio for good weather

busy bar area

chicken with garlic mashed and grilled asparagus

fried ocean perch with fries and garlic bread

      

Rickards Cardigan ale, pumpkin flavour

                                                         http://www.oneduke.ca/

CANYON CREEK CHOPHOUSE (Front Street)

156 Front Street, Toronto (416) 596-2240

We used to come to Canyon Creek for their bacon wrapped scallop appetizers and grilled chicken caesar salads.  This time we thought we would go the whole way and get a full meal.  It was a very busy night in the city, with a Yankee game letting out and Nuite Blanche getting started, so we were lucky to get seated at all.  We haven't been here in a while and tried some new appetizers namely asian nachos and fried calamari.  The asian nachos were delicious and very large compared to others we have tried elsewhere.  The calamari were tasty and the chipotle aoli was spicy. They also serve a bread basket here with a honey butter that is absolutely delicious.  

Three of us had the grilled chicken dinner, one with a baked potato and two with rice pilaf. They were accompanied by nice salads.  One of us had the prime rib on a bun with a kind of dip au juice and he really liked it.  The chicken however was over grilled, very dry and absolutely tasteless, while the accompanying vegetables were kind of skimpy and bland.

If I were to come again I would stick to the great appetizers and burgers and skip the full meals - especially the chicken.
The service was very efficient and professional. The restaurant is very comfortable.  If they could only improve their mains they would be competitive with the Keg.

large asian nachos

comfortable interior and seating

nice Californian 

bread with honey butter

accompanying caesar salad

grilled chicken dinner with baked potato

fried calamari

grilled chicken with rice pilaf

http://www.canyoncreekchophouse.com/home.php

ANTICA PIZZERIA & RISTORANTE 3.5 out of 5

5785 Victoria St. Niagara Falls On (905) 356-3844

While wandering the Niagara Clifton street menagerie of noise we came upon a patio that was quite busy and saw some very nice dishes being served, so we decided to return again and try this restaurant.  I had heard that their pizza was famous in the area so we tried it.  It was excellent.  There is nothing like a wood oven pizza.  It was definitely not an assembly line operation.  The service was quick and efficient. We ordered a pizza that included pepperoni, mushrooms, bacon and and cheese.  It was loaded with toppings and very filling for a wood oven pizza. The crust was not too thin and was a good size for two people.  It went well with a glass of wine.  In observing other patrons I noticed generous plates of gnocchi, veal parmigiana, and pastas.  

This is a rather large restaurant and is usually very busy.  It is one of the best restaurants in the Falls and I will definitely return again to try more on the menu.

anticapizzeria.ca 

IL FORNELLO (King St.) 3.5 out of 5

214 King Street West (416) 977-2855  Hours Open 11:30 Mon -Fri , 12:00 Sat -Sun

We have been here a number of times and have not been disappointed.  This time we came just before the peak hours. It can get very busy here, because it is next to the Princess of Wales Theatre in the Entertainment District.  Despite the fact it is quite a large restaurant, it fills up very quickly after 6 pm and it is recommended to have reservations.  Since we were early, we were served very efficiently and quickly.  We began, as we always do here, with their olive bowl of marinated black and green olives and crostini, which we shared (a delicious and inexpensive appetizer).  We ordered a nice Ripasso wine, at a reasonable price, and decided to try the salmon dinner.  It was delicious and extremely hot when it arrived (I like my fish hot).  It was a generous portion of fish and was perfectly cooked.  It was accompanied by a lemon garlic dipping sauce (served on the side).  The rest of the plate consisted of a generous portion of  French beans and fingerling potatoes.

We completed the meal with desert.  My wife had a slice of cheesecake which was soft and delicious.  I had the raspberry chocolate tartuffo with whipped cream.  We also had a cappuccino and espresso.

although it is a large restaurant it fills quickly

olive bowl with garlic, rapini, and crostini

Ripasso wine and olives, a great combination of flavours

grilled salmon, French beans,  and fingerling potatoes

raspberry, chocolate tartuffo with whipped cream

lfornello.com