Filed under: Road trip | Tags: California, China Town, Food, Holiday, Mama's, North Beach, Northern, R&G Lounge, San Francisco, Tadich Grill, Tourism, Travel, Vacation, Wine
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Elena and I spent last weekend in San Francisco. My grandmother has been in Toronto since the end of August–she’s just hanging out around here for about 6 months, and she wanted to visit her family in Sacramento. We took her to SFO so she could get picked up by her sisters. She’s spending the rest of the month in Sacramento, and Elena and I had the rest of the weekend to explore San Francisco together.
Some places you should definitely check out:
- Mama’s: An awesome breakfast place in North Beach. They’re really good and really popular. Get there early if you want to try their food. We waited about 45 minutes but it was worth it. The place closes at 3pm everyday.
- Tadich Grill: The oldest restaurant in California serves awesome seafood. Again, really popular. The staff there is awesome–they’ve probably been working at the restaurant for decades.
- R&G Lounge: A popular Chinese place in China Town. Try their live deep-fried crab with garlic, ginger and hot peppers.
Filed under: the ussh. | Tags: Festival, Food, Harbourfront Centre, Lakeshore, Life, Mexico, Summer, Sunday, toronto, Tourism, Weekend
Dad look in check, the three of us headed down to the lakefront for some prime Sunday hangouts. Coincidentally it was also the Harbourfront Centre’s Mexico Beyond Your Expectations festival. This meant cultural music that middle class yuppies would go ga-ga over, but also super cheap amazing food stalls (3 tacos for $9). You can never go wrong with tacos and beer.
Great prices, good weather and the lake—pretty sick. Unfortunately we missed all the free Mexican wrestling matches. They have a different “world route” each week, and I think next week is Canada. Don’t really know what they’re going to do there.
Filed under: the ussh. | Tags: Cuisine, Dining, Food, Nightlife, Persian, Restaurant, Sultan's Tent, toronto
My cousin, Ashwin was back in town for an impromptu visit a couple of weeks ago and it was suggested we go out for dinner the night before he was heading out. Elena’s friends had suggested the Sultan’s Tent down on Front Street, and we all figured why not?
I’ll tell you now: it’s pricey. Every guest has to order the minimum $40 menu which includes a four course meal. The portions are huge but be careful when ordering. There are set items which amount to $40, and then there are items that say, “Please add $X”. Watch out for those dishes because they tend to add up pretty fast. The key thing to remember is that you’re “paying for an experience”.
The restaurant includes “authentic” tent like atmosphere and a belly dancer—it’s suppose to make you feel like you’re in the desert. I’m going to recommend it but also warn you that it’s one of those one time places to eat. Be careful when ordering drinks—those add up too.
Filed under: Food | Tags: Cuisine, Food, Gerrard Street, India Bazaar, Lahore Tikka House, Life, Little, Nightlife, Pakistani, toronto, Tourism
My parents love getting take out from Lahore Tikka House. It’s a restaurant that sits just on the edge of Gerrard Street and the Little India Bazaar. For years the owners have been renovating the property to create this massive, luxurious looking building that will hold the restaurant, but I don’t think they care too much where people will sit and eat. It’s a pretty dingy place but the food is excellent and spicy. The prices are reasonable too. Service is quick. If you plan on going out later, I suggest bringing a change of clothes—you’ll reek of curry all night.
Last night we all piled into the car and ate there. It’s a great atmosphere, and I’ve never seen that place empty. We ate on paper plates with plastic utensils. The servings are huge so you’ll probably end up taking a lot of it home. If you’re looking for authentic Pakistani cuisine, this is the place to go.
Filed under: the ussh. | Tags: 2009, Auberge du Pommier, Canoe, Food, Food Network, Life, Nightlife, North 44, Restaurants, Summerlicious, toronto
Food is awesome. Food at a better value trumps everything. I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing Winterlicious, but when Elena passed me the 2009 Summerlicious list, I jumped at the chance of securing some reservations. You can’t go wrong with fixed menus and lower than usual prices at some of the classiest restaurants in town.
Reservations opened yesterday, but I’d suggest hopping to it if you want to get a good spot. Elena managed to get reservations at the three restaurants we had picked:
Canoe
Lunch at Canoe should be awesome. I’ve heard good things from people about this place and probably because of the regular prices, I haven’t bothered venturing in there for a bite. Best part is that we’ll be sitting high above Toronto and eating good food.
Auberge du Pommier
Everyone is always talking about how fancy this place is; Ted Rogers use to dine here a lot. It’s not situated in the most ideal location, but my dad has told me it’s a good place. Might as well try it out while it’s cheap.
North 44
I’ve eaten here before and I pretty much fell in love with the place. The prices not so much. Really good food. Although chef/owner McEwan can be a douche (this is based on countless hours of watching Food Network), he cooks good food. This is the last reservation and we managed to get a sweet time. Excited about this one.
Filed under: Food | Tags: Bargains, Cheap, Couples, Food, Free Date Night, Milestones Restaurant, Nightlife, Things To Do, toronto
Wednesday, April 29th was Milestones Restaurant’s free date night. I tacked up the promo here on the blog for everyone else. It was a pretty good deal—buy one appetizer, entree or both and your date eats free! They even had a secret promotion going on that they didn’t advertise: $5 off a bottle of wine!
Filed under: the ussh. | Tags: April 29th, Bargain, Canada, Cara, Cheap, Deals, Dinner, discount, Food, Frugal, Milestones, Nightlife, Relationship, Restaurant, Tips, toronto
I’ve been telling everyone I know about this. It’s a great deal and the food is great. I told my parents, Elena’s parents, and as many friends that I’ve seen in the past few days. Free meal guys! This is an ultimate cheap thrill!
For a menu and more, check out the Milestones Restaurant website.
Offer: Nationwide (Canada): Buy any entree, appetizer or both, and get the other one free!
Date: April 29th, 2009
Time: 4pm to close.
Filed under: the ussh. | Tags: Burgers, Cheap, Dance, Disney, Food, Friends, Hoedown Throwdown, Life, Miley Cyrus, Nightlife, Recipe, Sunday, Things To Do, Thrill, toronto, Tutorial, Video, Youtube
The purple apartment is famous for their “family dinners”. It’s been a while since they’ve had one; at one point it became a staple of every Thursday night, and after stuffing ourselves with good food, we’d head to the Grasshopper for some karaoke fun. Even though the dinners aren’t as regular, I still manage to get invited over for a meal. It’s great fun and we talk and laugh while cooking, preparing home style meals with recipes learned or handed down over time.
Kaitlyn had just come back from a weekend away in upstate New York, and she cooked an awesome meal of burgers, potatoes and a salad for Michelle and me.
We finished the night sipping tea and making fun of cop dramas on TV. When I got up to leave, both Kaitlyn and Michelle were trying to learn the Hoedown Throwdown from Miley Cyrus.
Yes you can steal these photos, Michelle.
Filed under: the ussh. | Tags: Cuisine, Dinner, Food, Friday, How To, Italian, Life, Night, Pasta, Recipe, Weekend
In my mind, the most satisfying thing in life is being able to cook a meal yourself and to cook it well. There’s something about enjoying food that you’ve laboured over, especially when the meal itself was created through trial and error. I usually stay in on a Friday night; the work week is long, and by the time I get home I don’t really feel like going out. Elena and I usually spend the night indoors eating and watching movies. Last night we decided to make pasta. We made rigatoni with spicy pancetta tomato sauce. It turned out really well, and I’d put a recipe up here but I can’t really remember what we threw into it. Key ingredient was bacon—lots of bacon. I’m not the greatest cook in the world, but if I apply myself, the results are usually good. I guess that’s the risk you have to take; work with what you have and experiment, you’ll only learn from your mistakes. If not I suggest sticking to Mr. Noodles.
Filed under: the ussh. | Tags: 2009, Catholic, Dinner, Easter, Easter Sunday, Food, Jesus Christ, Life, Long Weekend, Lovo, Religion, Weekend
Easter is important for a lot of people. They make plans away from their usual social life, and at times it can seem that Easter is more important than Christmas. I was baptized Catholic but apart from the egg hunts around the house from when I was young, we don’t really do much. It might also be because we don’t have any extended or immediate family—it’s just the four of us, and if we were still in Australia, I think we’d all be getting together for a lovo at my cousin’s house.
I love huge meals though; the loud chattering of conversation, a full table and that feeling of tiredness—being food drunk—that comes over you after a great meal. I love sitting around tired eyed but for some reason you can still pick at what’s left on your plate. No matter how tight your belt might seem, there’s always room for an extra nibble of something.
I may not have my family here, and because of that we may not be as festive, but it’s good to know that somewhere, someone has a seat open for me at their table.
