SPENCER'S AT THE WATERFRONT 

1340 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario L7S 1B1, (905) 633-7494, Mon - Sat 11:30 to close, Sunday 9:30 to close

Went to Spencer's at the waterfront in Burlington for my son's birthday.  There were five of us Monday for dinner.  We have been here before for drinks and apps, but never for a full dinner.  We arrived at about 7 and the restaurant was more than half full.  We were ushered to a banquette table which was comfortable for five people.  I ordered a couple of bottles of french Merlot wine and we began ordering apps, including the warm olive selection, lobster dumplings kaffir lime caramel, scallops and pork belly cider braised fennel.  They were all absolutely scrumptious!  We slowly savoured the apps and ordered our mains.  My son (birthday guy) and his girlfriend ordered the red fife and ricotta gnocchi with cauliflower chantrelles, poached egg, brown butter.  My wife and other son ordered the arctic char with cauliflower risotto, chorizo and brown butter.  I ordered the heritage chicken with salsify, gnocchi, sweetbread, maitake, brussel sprouts.  All of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals.

For desert my sons and my wife ordered the smores cheesecake covered in a chocolate shell.  My son's girlfriend ordered the sorbet. They raved about the delicious desserts.  My wife and I had the cappuccino and it was delicious.

The ambiance of the restaurant and its location added to the enjoyment of the evening.  Monday night when every one moved a little slower, made it enjoyable and calm, which allowed us to enjoy each other's company with no rush.

It was one of the best restaurant experiences I have ever enjoyed.  The only drawback was the cost.  But you only live once!!

lobster dumplings app

scallops with pork belly

warmed olive selection

arctic char and cauliflower risotto

chicken - absolutely divine

gnocchi with poached egg

foamy cappucino

selection of sorbet

smores cheesecake

http://www.spencers.ca/

BEDFORD ACADEMY 4 out of 5

36 Prince Arthur Avenue, Toronto, On., M5R 2J9, (416) 921-4600 Mon - Fri 11:00 - 2:00, Sat - Sun 10:00 - 11:00

Went to the Bedford Academy after seeing the BYOW ad on their website.  I emailed them to find out the details and they responded right away with the details indicating that I had to bring the receipt that showed it was purchased at the LCBO, come after 5 pm and pay a corkage fee of $5.  After checking the menu in advance online we had noticed that they called themselves a gastro pub.  The food was definitely different from a pub, but they had a laid back pub like atmosphere.

We came at about 6 pm and were greeted and seated in the dining area, which seemed cramped with too many tables.  We ordered some appetizers and the waiter opened the wine that we had brought.  It was a nice Chianti.  We shared our apps including calamari fritti with Chipotle aioli and pomes frites.  I ordered the dry rubbed char grilled pickerel fillet on a grilled vegetable salad drizzled with garlic butter.  The pickerel was awesome, but there were too many grilled vegetables in the bowl and they overwhelmed the taste of the fish ($19).  My wife ordered the butternut squash ravioli with caramelized apples and brown butter sauce ($16). She liked the ravioli, but it was in too much oil.  My son had the prosciutto wrapped beef tenderloin with truffled potatoes and seasonable vegetables, and he liked it ($19).

The room was very noisy due to a group that really should have been in the bar area.  Also, we were sitting at a very dark table and my flash wasn't working, so the only pictures I could get were of the room itself, and even these were very dark.

The service was very good, and I like the BYOW touch.  We will probably try the Bedford again either in the summer on the patio, or on a brighter day, when we can see our dishes.

We have been here many times since our first experience and have come to like the Bedford.  The service is excellent and everything we have tried here is fabulous.  They have improved their wine selection and have kept the $5 corkage on Saturdays.  Their specials are always unique and tasty and we find their prices reasonable.  We would recommend you try this restaurant.

http://www.thebedfordacademy.com/

EMMAS BACK PORCH 3.5 out of 5

2084 Old Lakeshore Road, Burlington, On., L7R 1E3, (905) 634-2084, Mon, Tues 11:00 am - 12 am, Wed 11:00 - 2:00 am, Thurs 11:00 am - 12:00 am, Fri 11:00 am - 2:00 am, Sat   10:00 - 2:00 am, Sun 10:00 am - 12:00 am

Went to Emmas with one of my sons for dinner.  It was about 6:30 on Friday evening and it was packed in the bar and restaurant area.  

It has a great location with a patio right on the lake and an outside bar that is open in the summer.  The inside has a large bar and dining area and a dance floor some evenings with a DJ.  

My son had about three pounds of wings, two pounds with lemon pepper coating and one with a curry coating.  They are relatively dry wings and he really enjoyed them - taking some left overs home with him.  I had a thinly sliced roast beef on a bun au jus and it was tender and delicious (the juice was a little too salty).  I ordered an ice tea and it really tasted like tea!  The manager came over and asked if we liked our choices.  He was talking to each table individually (this is a nice way to keep patrons coming back).

It is a large restaurant and is packed with a variety of ages - a friendly kind of place.  The noise was somewhat deafening but it was just laughter and people talking loudly. It was not a quiet place to have a meal on this particular night.  The prices were reasonable and the food was very good.  We will definitely be coming back.

great patio view even in fog

variety of clientele and very busy

excellent wings

melt in your mouth roast beef au jus

http://www.emmasbackporch.ca/

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/