The Greek Point
8601 Warden Ave
Unit #22
Markham, ON
(905) 604-1210

This is just going to be a quick post about The Greek Point, a great place for quality take-out Greek food. I really love the Chicken Souvlaki dinner from this joint and everything is made fresh daily in-house.

I went to Guu again the other day and wanted to share some pictures that my friend took. I looked through my old posts and surprisingly I haven’t done a full review on Guu Izakaya yet, but my review for Guu Sakabar can be seen here.

I’m too tired to do a complete review this time around so I promise I’ll have one for the next time I go. For now, you guys can enjoy some of the mouth-watering photos taken by Vivian. You can follow her on twitter @vyauu

Dessert Trends Bistro
154 Harbord Street
Toronto, ON
(416) 916-8155

Food: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Price: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

I had the opportunity to visit Dessert Trends Bistro on their grand opening last night, which was completely coincidental. A friend of mine called on a whim to see if they were finished with their renovations and luckily the day we wanted to go for dinner was the day they re-opened. Closed for several months, this small, but cozy bistro located in the Annex, was given a beautiful face-lift and re-introduced with new decor, marble accents and even a second floor is being built to accommodate the popularity of the restaurant.

DT Bistro has a very misleading name, and actually serves an extensive menu of high-quality and fresh fusion cuisine. Although head chef Don Duong may be known for his passion in creating some of the city’s best pastries, tarts and cakes, he also manages to whip up a very delicious dinner menu as well.

The ambiance of this bistro is great. Paired with very tasteful renovations, DT bistro gives off a very sleek, cool and inviting vibe. It’s a perfect summer time destination because they open the beautiful large windows on the side of the building providing patrons with a patio-feel without actually having a patio. Although the breeze might make the food cool down much quicker, I’d say it’s worth it in exchange for such a unique experience and atmosphere.

When you walk through the open doors, a giant display of beautifully hand-crafted desserts can be seen. Diners can come back up the display case at the end of their meals to pick out their desserts. Making up your mind and settling on just one is definitely a very challenging task as all of them look delicious.

This light fixture in the center of the restaurant was really something else once we found out it was hand-crafted by the owner himself.

Fresh carnations with matching tableware.

Starter bread for the table.

Seafood Springrolls. This was an appetizer that came off of the $25 Prix Fixe menu, which at a bistro like DT gives ultimate value. The portion size was quite generous (total of 4 rolls). The outside was very crispy and the mango salsa chutney that came on the side was very mellow and helped tone down the heaviness from the deep-fried exterior. It was difficult to make out exactly what kind of seafood was in there, but it was still delicious nonetheless.

Stuffed Calamari ($10). The only time I really eat calamari is when it’s fried so a stuffed/grilled version was definitely something unique and new to me. I think with fried calamari, you don’t get to appreciate the actual flavour of the squid as most of the time it is heavily coated in batter and you are dipping it some form of mayonnaise sauce. The stuffed/grilled calamari however, came with a very light tomato sauce that gave it a little bit of a kick without masking the true flavours of the squid. The calamari was not tough at all and very easy to cut through and eat. It tasted very fresh and the stuffing on the inside provided the dish with a very unique dimension. Very enjoyable and highly recommended.

Wild Mushroom Pappardelle. This was a pasta dish offered on the $25 Prix Fixe menu. There is no meat, but I think even meat-lovers can put aside their temptations and enjoy this delicious and well thought out dish. The pappardelle was cooked perfectly, very al dente. Because it was not overly cooked, the dish ended up being very well balanced in terms of texture because all of the other aspects of the pasta were very soft and creamy. The sundried tomatoes added a nice splash of colour to the plate and the flavour from the wild mushrooms really stood out and dominated the dish. Another very delicious dish.

Rib-Eye Special ($25). This was the main course that I personally had and its a shame that it does not appear on the regular menu because I would most definitely return just to eat this once a week. The rib-eye was sliced evenly and topped with a caramelized onion glaze next to a handsome serving of mashed potatoes. The thing I loved about this dish was how well the glaze and vinaigrette worked with the beef and amplified the flavours. The glaze was a little bit sweet and the vinaigrette added a touch of sourness that accented the freshness of the steak. The rib-eye was very tender with a nice char on the outside giving it a little bit of texture. This was my favourite dish of the night.

Braised Beef Brisket ($18). Served with root vegetables, red wine sauce and garlic mash. The amount of food they gave for this dish was out of this world. The serving was huge and I actually got a chance to eat a lot of the brisket because my friend couldn’t finish it. The brisket was very tender and the red wine sauce was a little sweet which was quite interesting. For the amount of meat you get with this dish, its definitely worth the money.

Tiramisu. If you’ve been following my blog you know I’m not much of a dessert person so I don’t usually have things to say about dessert. However, I definitely want to comment on how nicely Chef Duong puts together his cakes and pastries. There is such a high level of intricate detail that goes into his presentation and the ones that we were able to taste yesterday were delicious. The tiramisu came with the Prix Fixe menu and although a little difficult to eat without completely destroying it, it was very tasty.

Lemon Brule Cheesecake. This was the other dessert that we chose to finish off the dinner on the Prix Fixe menu. The lemon brule cheesecake was definitely something new and unique. The cheesecake had very subtle hints of lemon and egg and the texture was a little bit more on the softer side. When paired with the blueberry compote, fresh strawberries and mascarpone cream, the dessert really managed to come together and all of the different textures and flavours blended quite nicely.

Passion Fruit Gelato ($3). If you’re not one for cake or pastries, they also have a selection of gelato for you to end off a perfect meal. It doesn’t come with a strawberry though my friend put that ontop to make it look more appealing for the photos haha.

If I could sum up my experience at DT Bisto in one word, it would be: amazing. The staff was super friendly, the atmosphere was great and best of all, the food was spectacular and at the same time, affordable, offering great value to patrons. The service was a little choppy at times throughout the night but today was their re-launch so it was expected. Whether you are in the mood for some fancy desserts, a light snack, brunch or even a full dinner, DT Bistro is a great place to go. I would definitely recommend readers to give this place a try and I will probably be returning in the near future.

Iced Honey Green Tea.

Japanese Style Deep Fried Pork Cutlet Ramen.

Joey Don Mills
Shops at Don Mills
15 O’Neill Road - 1090 Don Mills Road
Toronto, ON
(416) 445-6391

Food: 8/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Price: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

Located in the heart of Shops at Don Mills, Joey is a restaurant to definitely consider amongst the very impressive line-up located within the shopping complex. A lot of hype has surrounded Joey recently, especially with the recent opening of the newest Toronto location at Eaton’s Center. The menus are slightly different from what I’ve heard, so I may need to visit the other location before I can comment on the chain as a whole.

During my visit, it was a beautiful day out so we opted for the rooftop patio. The patio at Joey’s is really something else. It looks great, the environment is wonderful, and the booths are super comfortable. On a nice sunny day, make sure you ask for patio seating and I am certain you will enjoy your meal that much more.

The food was delicious and the prices were reasonable, but the service was lackluster. I was very disappointed, however the poor rating can only be attributed to our particular server and should/may not reflect upon the restaurant as a whole. She was very inattentive and besides pestering us for orders within 1 minute of sitting down, she basically disappeared. It was hard to get a hold of her, despite a half empty patio. She did not give us any cutlery or napkins until the appetizers arrived and we still had to ask her.

Bellini (1.25oz Tuesday Drink Special).

Killer Ahi Tuna Tacos. Seared rare with sesame ginger coleslaw and wasabi-lime aioli. We started off with these and enjoyed them very much. The tacos were crispy and bursting with flavour. The tuna was seared nicely and paired well with the homemade coleslaw. Adding a dab of the wasabi-lime aioli perfected the dish and gave it that unnecessary, but welcomed kick.

9oz CAB Top Sirloin. Signature steak spice, crispy mashed potatoes and seasoned vegetables. The steak was heavily seasoned, giving it a very strong flavour. It was grilled evenly and cooked to my liking. Not a steakhouse so you shouldn’t go into Joey’s expecting the best steak ever, but it was nicely done nonetheless. The crispy mashed potatoes were interesting, essentially a spring roll with mashed potatoes on the inside. It was topped with sour cream and cheese, which was very good. The seasoned vegetables were cooked properly, very tender and juicy, which helped with the meat because there was no sauce.

Maple Salmon. With a maple butter sauce, served with crispy mashed potatoes and seasoned vegetables. They should make this a signature dish because it was honestly one of the best salmon dishes I’ve ever had. Definitely do not need to go out to a fancy restaurant to enjoy salmon because Joey does it right. The skin on the outside was grilled beautifully as you can see from the charred markings, making it very crispy. The inside was moist and the maple butter sauce was to die for. Maple goes so well with fish and meats and this dish was no exception.

Overall, aside from the poor service from our particular server, I had a very enjoyable meal at Joey Don Mills. The food lives up to the hype and is prepared very well. There is a good balance of flavours and the menu is diverse enough to cater to dinner parties, dates, etc. I strongly recommend the tuna tacos and the salmon and will most likely return to give some of the other interesting dishes a try, such as the lobster grilled cheese, which I’ve heard good things about.

If you do decide to go to Joey Don Mills, be sure to pick a nice sunny day and sit on the rooftop patio. You won’t regret it.

Doughnut Burger. 2 Krispy Kreme doughnuts, 6oz beef patty, lettuce, tomato, bacon.

Chicken & Waffles. Waffle, crispy chicken, hot sauce, butter, maple syrup, icing sugar.

Auberge Du Pommier
4150 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON
(416) 222-2220

Food: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Price: 7/10
Overall: 7.5/10

Auberge Du Pommier, located in North Toronto is housed in a beautiful rustic and vintage, white building. With it being the original restaurant of the O&B chain, I definitely had to make a stop here during this year’s Summerlicious. The ambiance is great. With its very classical decor both inside and out, Auberge Du Pommier comes off as a fancy restaurant that upholds its strong history and heritage.

The waiting staff is dressed well and professional. The service was great and despite it being summerlicious, I felt that everyone was still very attentive towards their tables. The food took a reasonable amount of time to prepare and bring out so we were not left at the table with an empty stomach for very long.

Petite Salade Jardinière. I had the market greens with a champagne vinaigrette. I found it to be a little on the dry side. There wasn’t enough dressing on the salad and because of the types of leaves used, it came off as very bitter. I wouldn’t recommend this and found the next starter much more interesting and tasty.

Le Plat de Jambon et Moutarde. This was the second starter, some cottage ham with a side of potato salad and a mustard sauce. Very nice presentation and I enjoyed the potato salad in a puree form, something very different than traditional store bought potato salad. The cottage ham went well with the mustard sauce and all in all this dish was a very light, but delicious way, to start the meal.

Paillarde de Poulet. For my main course, I had the crispy chicken schnitznel which came with a salad and green beans ontop, with a gribiche sauce (like mayonnaise). Overall, the ingredients used were fresh, but the dish was a little bland. The salad ontop the chicken was extremely dry and there wasn’t enough sauce to go alongside the chicken. The chicken was however fried nicely, turning out to be very crispy.

Tranche de Saumon. First thing that comes to mind about this dish is the beautiful presentation. On a bed on mashed potatoes, sits the nicely slow-cooked salmon topped with mushrooms. The plate is smeared with a colorful sorrel cream that gives the plating beautiful depth and contrast. The sorrel cream was more of a paste than a cream, and so it was filled with flavours from the leaf which gave a nice earthy pairing with the fish. The mashed potatoes were light and fluffy. All of the ingredients tasted fresh and were of high quality, but I found the dish to be just a tad bland and more seasoning would have been nice.

Nougat Glacé. Frozen nougat with Ontario strawberry and candied citrus. This was a well executed dessert. Definitely a step up from the typical cheesecake, mousse or plate of cheese offered during the Licious promotions. I really enjoyed the nougat a lot.

Financier Noisettes. A warm hazelnut cake with candied hazelnuts, Nutella, carmelized banana and hazelnut ice cream. Basically everything hazelnut. It was a little too sweet and not as good as the nougat, but still a very good selection to end the meal.

Although long overdue, I hope you enjoy this review and perhaps it will help give you an idea for the Winterlicious coming up next year. Auberge Du Pommier is a great restaurant. The food served is presented beautifully and everything tastes fresh. I would have liked the food more if it had more flavour, but it was still good nonetheless. You will most definitely enjoy the vintage and classical atmosphere that this restaurant has to offer and I hope O&B continues to expand their chain with fine establishments such as this.

Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill
2901 Bayview Ave.
Toronto, ON
(416) 590-1300

Food: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Price: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

After the great experience I had at Jump during Winterlicious, I definitely wanted to knock some of the other O&B restaurants off the list. We made reservations for Auberge du Pommier (you will see the review on my next post), but eating here was kind of spontaneous. I decided to come for lunch as a cheaper option because Toronto’s ‘licious promotion seriously hurts my wallet.

The restaurant is attached to Bayview Village shopping mall, but O&B Cafe Grill does not look like your typical mall restaurant. The buzzing, fast-paced environment full of busy bodies really gives the restaurant that up-beat cafe grill-feel. The beautiful wooden furniture really helps accentuate the concept of the restaurant as light, fresh, fast and easy. The open shutters lets a lot of sunlight in, giving the restaurant a nice warm feeling to all of its patrons.

Despite how busy the place was, the service was top notch. Our waters were topped off frequently, the waiters were very attentive and although the food came out a little slow, it was worth it.

For $15, O&B Cafe Grill gives you a delicious casual lunch that leaves you fully satisfied. The food was good and I think that they are going with a very unique concept. I noticed that things were not heavily seasoned and dishes were not drowned in sauces. I think what they are trying accomplish is letting the freshness and flavour of the ingredients speak for themselves.

Crispy Chicken & Ginger Dumplings. This was my appetizer, which came with a maple scallion soya sauce. The dumplings were good, but not as hot as I would have liked them to be. The mix of maple and soya sauce was unique and paired well with these crispy little dumplings.

O&B Cobb Salad. Definitely an interesting take on the traditional Cobb salad. Presented in a new way that I didn’t expect, the salad was light and fresh, very suitable for lunch. There wasn’t a lot of ranch dressing on top of the iceberg lettuce and so remained that hearty fresh crunch. A perfect amount of Roquefort cheese was scattered over the salad so the distinct blue cheese smell didn’t overpower the dish. The bacon was crispy and with avocado as the finishing touch, this salad helps O&B earn a very solid food score.

Panko & Citrus Togarashi Crusted Baked Atlantic Cod. I had this for my main course and loved it. The cod was breaded nicely making the outside layer crispy and flavourful. It came on top a bed of minted sweet peas and coleslaw, with a side of red skin potato, all of which paired excellently with the fish. The slight citrus zing gave it that extra kick.The Atlantic cod was fresh, very flaky and once again the true flavours of the fish were heightened, not masked by the sides or sauces.

Braised Beef Short Rib Rigatoni. Pasta doesn’t need to be drenched in thick sauces in order to be tasty and the rigatoni was a perfect example of this concept. Even without the a lot of the Marsala wine sauce, the chefs were able to bring out the heavy and distinct flavours of the braised beef to compliment the pasta. Although not as good as the cod, it was still pretty tasty with freshly ground Parmesan cheese.

Oliver’s Famous Carrot Cake. One of the best desserts I’ve had all Summerlicious. The strong scent from the carrot in the form of a cake was well balanced with cinnamon icing ontop. Delicious.

Mini Lemon Meringue Pie. Definitely not comparable to the carrot cake. It was a little too sweet. The gooey center and the cream ontop was sugar overload.

Aside from the last dessert, everything about Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill lives up to the hype and recognition of the O&B chain. It may not be the fine dining you would expect at Canoe or Auberge du Pommier, but the unique flavour and freshness offered by the cafe grill will definitely catch me as a repeat customer in the near future for a light and hearty lunch/brunch. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who is seeking quality food uniquely presented, well thought out and wonderfully put together.

Trio Restaurant
Novotel Toronto North York Hotel
3 Park Home Ave
Toronto,ON
(416) 218-3868

Food: 4/10
Service: 6/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Price: 7/10
Overall: 6/10

A good friend of mine takes me out to dinner every year for my birthday and
I just got back from Korea so we planned a Summerlicious dinner at the very last minute and ended up going to Trio.

The Trio restaurant, located in the Novotel Hotel in North York was one of my $25 picks for Summerlicious this year because even at that price, their menu looked decent. My first impressions of Trio were very good. The space was nicely decorated and very mellow. It had an upbeat lounge feel to it, and because we went on a weekday it wasn’t too busy.

The service was average. It was nothing spectacular, but we were given full attention, partially due to the fact that the restaurant was kind of empty. Our waiter came off a little pushy and I felt rushed at certain times during the service, despite the lack of other patrons.

Baby Arugula & Apple Salad with Stilton Blue Cheese & Candied Pecans. I had this for my appetizer, but wasn’t very impressed. There was simply too much going on in this dish. The flavours didn’t work well together and the freshness of the salad was being overwhelmed by all the things that were being thrown on top. The shredded carrots did not look very appealing and did not taste very good either.

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho. A lot of of restaurants were including some sort of gazpacho as their appetizer, but I don’t really agree with it. Honestly, soup works best hot and during the summer it may seem refreshing to include a cold soup on the menu, but in my opinion more often than not, it’s going to fall short. This tasted like watered down salsa, only we didn’t have any nacho chips.

Pan Seared Sesame Crusted Salmon. The main courses we had were slightly better, but I still can’t give this restaurant a decent food score. The sesame crusted salmon filet came on top of a bed of yellow rice. The rice seemed very undercooked, and was dry and hard, despite it being drowned in the dijon and chili soy sauce. The salmon was cooked nicely, very flaky and had a good amount of fat, but was under seasoned and became bland.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast. The chicken was decent, but nothing spectacular. It was wrapped in double smoked bacon and served with a vegetable ratatouille in a lemon vinaigrette. The portion was good and the vegetables were done nicely, but I would have enjoyed it more if the chicken was a little more moist, flavourful and went better with the tomato sauce.

Chocoholic. Warm chocolate lava cake drizzled with rich chocolate sauce and served with a scoop of chocolate ice cream.

Trio of Sorbet. Raspberry, Lemon & Mango sorbet served with a chocolate cigar.

If your looking for a places to book for Toronto’s next ‘licious event, be sure to skip over Trio. Although priced at just $25 for dinner, you are better off saving up for other restaurants on the list.