HOT HOUSE CAFE

35 Church St. Toronto On., St. Lawrence Market/Old Town M5E 1C9, (416) 366-7800

Went to the Hot House Cafe on a  blustery winter night in February that included freezing rain, snow, sleet and rain all at once (the only thing missing were locusts).  We spent some time in the St. Lawrence Market (a fresh food market near the restaurant) before coming here, so we were hungry when we arrived.

The waiter brought us some bread in a basket with butter.

We began by ordering a nice French Merlot.

Then we ordered fried calamari, with a hot sauce and creamy chive dip.  They were crispy and we liked the hot sauce.

My wife had the crispy chicken stir fry with broccoli, strips of chicken, red and yellow bell peppers, bean sprouts, and snow peas in a sweet and sour sauce, served over basmati rice.  It was delicious and huge (but should have included more chicken).

I had the barramundi pan fried fish fillet with garlic and parsley mashed potatoes and crisp carrots and beans.  The fish was very hot and tasty and the mashed potatoes were great.

Overall, it was a good meal that was filling and very reasonably priced.  I would return and try something else of the menu to see if it was as good.  The service was very efficient.  The manager came over to ask if we were enjoying our meal (a nice touch).  The restaurant became busier as the night went on.

http://www.hothousecafe.com/

KIT KAT 

297 King Street, W. Entertainment District, Toronto On., (416) 977-4461

My wife and I went to the Kit Kat restaurant after a long afternoon in the Auto Show at the Toronto Convention Centre.  It has to be the worst laid out convention centre in the world.  We walked for miles.  Needless to say we were hungry for a good meal.  After walking down to the King Street restaurant strip we decided to see if we could get into the Kit Kat without reservations.  The weather was nasty this Saturday night, it was a virtual blizzard in the downtown.  Luckily we got inside and were able find a spot in a short line waiting to get in, thanks to John Carbone, the owner manager who promised he would get us in without a reservation.  

We have been to this restaurant many times before.  I have even eaten at the short and narrow bar.  

After waiting for a while, a waitress came around and took our coats and hung them up.  Shortly after this we were seated at a table for two.

We sat directly across from the open kitchen.  If you look carefully you will see a tree trunk just beside the kitchen near the stairs - yes it is a real tree!

It was a good vantage point, though it felt like a highway.  We noticed how well the chefs enjoyed their job and were comfortable with all the staff, who kibitzed with them all evening.  These chefs were very efficient and certainly were skilled.  We noticed how everyone who worked here worked as a team to make sure things ran smoothly in such a small and extremely busy space.

We ordered a bottle of Masi Campofiorin Italian wine to start and decided on a light appetizer.  We ordered a caesar salad each and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The lettuce was crisp and the sauce was very good, as was the crisp garlic bread that came with it.  Since we were under a red spotlight, it made our food pictures reddish.

We were told the evening specials, which sounded very tempting, but ended up ordering what we have had here many times before.  

So we both ordered the veal piccata. It consisted of two large and delicious pieces of tender veal, garlic mashed potatoes, grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, grilled peppers in a lemon, wine, butter sauce that was wonderful.  It was a satisfying and delicious meal.

Unfortunately the pictures don't do it justice due to the red spot light.  But after I pulled the veal off of the potatoes it is more apparent how large the portion is.  

The waiters and waitresses have immense patience to work in such a busy narrow place, but they always smile and are extremely friendly.  John must be a good boss to work for, to keep the entire crew working so hard.  Hats off to all of them.  It is positively worth a visit!  You will not be disappointed.  The total before tip was just under $122.

http://www.kitkattoronto.com/

THE EXCHANGE (Rideau Centre) 

ByWard Market, Lower Town, Rideau Centre, 50 Rideau Street, Ottawa ON., (613) 234-5544

Went to the Exchange in the Rideau Shopping Centre by myself while my son and wife went shopping.  I was hungry and thirsty so I decided to try their menu after seeing various dishes the patrons were eating.  There were plenty of large windows facing the mall so it was easy to see what kind of food was being served.  

I decided to sit at the bar and asked what kind of California wine they had.  The bartender Robin suggested a nice Cabernet, so I tried it - it was delicious.

After trying to make up my mind as to what to choose from the menu, I decided on the shepherds pie with house salad ($12.50).  It came in a cast iron pan and was a generous portion.  It was satisfying, but a little bland.  The salad was just ordinary.  

The service by Robin the bartender was very efficient, the food was satisfying and the wine was awesome what more do you need for lunch in Ottawa (a beautiful city).




http://www.theexpub.com/

MILESTONES (BYWARD MARKET)

ByWard Market / Lower Town 700 Sussex Drive Ottawa ON., K1N iK4, (613) 789-5432  

We went to Milestones in Ottawa's ByWard Market.  It was in a wonderful location, next to the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa Ontario.  It was filled with families that had just finished skating on the Rideau Canal and had to literally undress all their winter attire to get ready to eat in this restaurant. The hostesses were very patient with the families. It was a very welcoming environment on a cold Sunday evening during Winterlude.

It is located in the heart of Ottawa in the shadow of the Chateau Laurier Hotel and has some nice architectural features.  It has a nice outdoor patio in the summer.

My son Mark and I decided to begin with appetizers.  He had the mushroom soup which was outstanding and generous.

We shared two portions of phyllo shrimp - we always choose these when we are in any Milestones.  They are mouth watering and served with Thai chili sauce for dipping.

For our mains Mark ordered the Cajun Shrimp Diane with Louisiana style shrimp, with Reggiano cheese, scallions and roasted mushrooms in a lightly spiced garlic cream sauce, served with bok choy, roasted grape tomatoes and he chose the garlic mash instead of the standard jasmine rice.  He always enjoys this dish.

I decided to try the portobello mushroom chicken with two chicken breasts and sliced portobellos sauteed in olive oil with fresh basil, roasted garlic and reduced Reggiano cream over garlic mashed potatoes.  It was accompanied by carrots and green beans.  It was delicious.

With a couple of glasses of a California Cab the meal was satisfying and comfortable on a bitterly cold Ottawa evening.  
It seems we can never go wrong at Milestones.  The service is always efficient and the meals are always consistently delicious.  




http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/250/1415152/restaurant/ByWard-Market-Lower-Town/Milestones-Ottawa

BIAGIO ITALIAN 

St. Lawrence Market, Old Town, 155 King Street East, Toronto, On., M5C 1G9, (416) 366-4040

Five of us decided to book another winterlicious restaurant - we tried several but they where booked.  Upon calling Biagio we were able to secure a reservation for the five of us.  So we arrived on Saturday evening at 7:00 and were promptly seated - the restaurant was almost empty, except for a large group in the back room celebrating something.  

St Lawrence Hall - King Street

We began by ordering a litre of the house red (montepulciano - a rather ordinary wine but still $49) because I had read that their wine list was rather on the expensive side.  The waiter poured wine in our glasses and as I lifted mine I could smell b.o. on the glass.  My son Thomas had the same experience - it was not a good start.

Since we were here for the winterlicious and the appetizers were not going to be filling, I ordered an extra two appetizers from the menu.  It was the antipasto Italiano ($15.95) and when it was served they decided to place both appetizers on the same plate - saving dishes I guess.  The two appetizers were delicious and we did have to spread them around to five people, but they were not worth $32.

Next came the bread, they were definitely not stingy with the bread and it just kept coming every time the basket was near empty a new one would arrive.  

For our winterlicious menu four of us chose the lobster bisque.  It was rich and tasty, but there were absolutely no pieces of lobster in it, it was just soup (glad we ordered the $32 app. before).

One of us, Katie, had another app choice on the menu, she had the caprino in sfoglia, which was baked goat cheese in phyllo pastry with mushroom and sweet pepper coulis.

For our mains three of us chose the risotto a la zucca, which consisted of risotto with butternut squash and parmigiano cheese.  It was a large portion, quite good and all three that had it took the leftover home.

Thomas and I had the arrosto di maiale farcito, which was roasted pork loin stuffed with wild rice, raisins and almonds.  It tasted like the rice had marzipan in it and was not very appetizing.  Both of us agreed it was not what we expected.

For desert four of us chose the zuppa inglese, which consisted of layers of sponge cake, fruit, and Bavarese creme.  It was disgusting.  None of us could finish it. The fruit was in some kind of mushy liquid.  It looked good when it arrived but as we dug deeper it tasted awful.

Katie had a different desert, she chose the migliaccio napolitano, which consisted of sweet ricotta cheese and semolina pudding.  She did like her desert. 

All in all it was a disappointing winterlicious dinner.  We have had many good ones over the last couple of years (including summerlicious).  The house wine was over priced, the desert was awful, the small portion of pork roast had a strong marzipan flavour that overwhelmed the taste of the meat, and the glasses smelled of b. o.. The final bill with tip was $362 for a mediocre meal (outrageous). The fact that the restaurant was very nice, and the waiters very professional, and the fact that it was in St. Lawrence Hall saved it from being a total disaster.  We will not go back to this establishment again.


http://www.biagioristorante.ca/#home