Showing posts with label mussels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mussels. Show all posts

Prime Seafood Palace (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, December 10, 2022 by

Canadian celebrity chef Matty Matheson’s larger-than-life attitude is infectious. While watching his cooking program, It’s Suppertime!, I can sense his love and respect for food and developed a belief that I could create his comforting spreads at home. Of course, like many viewers, laziness settled in and that’s when I decided to eat at his restaurant instead.

His latest venture is Prime Seafood Palace, a restaurant that’s unlike his other establishments such as Parts and Labour or Makers Pizza. Firstly, no expense was spared to create a beautiful Zen-like dining room that’s completely encapsulated in blond wood. I almost expected someone to roll out yoga mats if it weren’t for the vintage rock playing in the background. Both elements are bold and unexpected for a steak and seafood restaurant, sort of fitting for a chef who doesn’t blend in with the rest.

Thick pieces of blue fin tuna, kampachi, and king salmon are showcased in the Sicilian crudo ($45 for a small), cut to a sashimi-like thickness. There is no shortage of olive oil used in the crudo, the fish swimming in a plate of it. Yet, despite all the herbs, dish lacked flavour; if only they reduced the oil and added a sprinkle of salt instead.

Cheese and seafood aren’t a popular combination. Despite that, the delicate thinly sliced grilled Humboldt squid ($34) went remarkably well with creamy Stracciatella cheese. Maitake mushrooms, being a lighter fungus, didn’t detract from the squid and dairy’s natural flavours, the combination so tasty heaped onto a piece of well-toasted sourdough. Of all the starters, this was my favourite.

The Palace bacon ($18 for 3 pieces, extra $6 to add the fourth) was also delightful, a char sui flavoured pork belly that’s sticky and sweet. The fat was well-rendered, so the pork belly simply melted in my mouth. Delicious on its own (not overly salty), it could be equally tasty sandwiched in in a soft bao bun.

In hindsight, I should have put a piece of bacon into the molasses bread. For $21, the bread service was rather disappointing. Sure, the molasses bread was fragrant and unique - it was like having gingerbread in a bun form - but the accompaniments were lacklustre… the butter needed salt, the mustard pickles run-of-the-mill, and the kippered mussels weren’t the freshest tasting. If it weren’t for our waitress’ long story about how this was Matheson’s grandmother’s recipe and filled with East Coast charm, we would have skipped the bread service all together.

Perhaps I should have relied on my own instincts as I found her recommendations to be a let down. While the cote de boeuf ($275) was a beautiful cut of beef and cooked well, it was just so bland. Strangely, some Google reviews claim dishes are too salty, I wonder if the kitchen is overcompensating and has simply started under seasoning everything.

At least our waitress warned us that the cote de boeuf was neutral and suggested an order of sauce. The grilled onion chimichurri ($8) seemed like a logical choice but was too fussy - the mustard or wasabi added gave it a bitter after taste and detracted from the beef. Give me a simple chimichurri any day; or better yet, just some salt and pepper on the steak.

At least their sides were good. The Palace potatoes ($21) a potato gratin cut into cubes and deep-fried creating the most awesome hash brown. The carrot tart ($21) was also great and could even work as a starter. Layered on a crispy buttery crust was Grey Owl cheese (think a much creamier and richer goat cheese) and perfectly roasted carrots that were soft but still incorporate a bit of texture. If Prime Seafood Place ever opens for lunch, pairing the carrot tart with a salad would make a great lunch main.

The Yorkshire pudding ($13) comes as a solo pudding that’s the size of a bread plate. Oh, so fluffy and light, I wish we had some gravy to pour onto it as the cote de boeuf’s juices couldn’t do the pastry justice.

Prime Seafood Palace’s dessert menu is a short affair – chocolate cake, key lime pie, or ice cream. Having only tried key lime pie ($14) on a handful of occasions and never being impressed, Prime’s version was fantastic with a crispy buttery crust, creamy custardy key lime filling, and covered with meringue that’s toasted just prior to serving so there’s a warmth to the fluffy sweet topping. If key lime pie was always this good, I’d order it more often.

Our dinner at Prime Seafood Palace was satisfactory, but hardly the masterpiece that some people tout. We were treated to delicious sides and a couple tasty starters, but the lacklustre main was disappointing. If anything, the food was merely decent and what enhanced the experience was the beautiful dining room, attentive service, and personable sommelier. Maybe it’s just Matheson’s reputation, you can’t help but want to love the restaurant, because you like the person.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 944 Queen Street West


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

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CLOSED: Orote (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, May 07, 2022 by

There's something about a tasting menu that gives me a thrill - it's oddly freeing to detach myself from decisions and just be ready to experience. Almost like a rollercoaster for eating where I strap myself in for a ride and hope the track is enjoyable.

Orote presents a six-course menu ($78) where there are some decisions: a choice of main course  and whether you want any of the supplementary ingredients and courses. It's not overly exhaustive, I settled on the fish and as a table we decided to add on everything we could. Let the ride begin.

It starts off slowly, as we made our way up the dinner hill. The thinly sliced pork belly with boiled daikon and pickled parrilla leaves is a dish that's better as a whole than each of the individual parts. Yet, the kitchen needs to work on balance: there's too much parrilla so the acidity overwhelms the delicate pork belly and the chunk of irregularly cut daikon makes it really difficult to create a roll. If these ingredients were smaller, the diner would have a better opportunity to taste the paper-thin pork belly and its dusting of savoury shrimp powder. 


We begin to pick up steam when the skewer of lobster and pumpkin robata arrives. It was fantastic, each bite augmented with black garlic and bits of walnut. The spices and grilled preparation gives the lobster such a unique taste that I couldn't register the protein during the first bite, wow was it meaty. 


As we make our way to the top of the plunge, I'm momentarily skeptical of the "salad" course... there's an awfully large portion of what looks like unadorned leafy greens. We're told to make sure to dig to the bottom where we'll find poached mussels and a wonderful consommé. All in all, I didn't mind the  leafy greens and sticks of daikon, it made for a nice cleanser between the grilled lobster and the following dumplings. I just wish the greens were quickly blanched so it wouldn't cause the rest of the dish to cool down so much. Make sure you get every drop of the lovely soup. 


I was thrilled with the two plump mushroom and tofu dumplings. On its own it may seem a bit plain, but as I broke them apart and had bits of it with the bonito dashi, it was delicious. If there's one thing Orote does well it's their soups - they seriously should consider having a larger soup course. For this dish we added shaved truffle ($10) but it didn't make that much of a difference. Give me an extra bowl of dashi any day. 


For the main, I opted for halibut, a nice thick meaty piece that was cooked superbly. It just needed more seasoning - there was so much sesame sauce on top of the fish, yet it added more of a creamy texture than flavour. Even the broth served with the halibut wasn't as strong as the previous dishes. All in all, the main was fine, but not overly exciting. 


Had I known, I would have gone with the pork loin, which was way more flavourful and tasty. The pickled kale made me think of the dish as a lighter and less greasy form of braised pork belly with preserved vegetables, the Hakka mu choy cow yok (from the Cantonese dialect). The pork also went better with the bowl of miso yolk rice ($4), which I forgot to take a picture, but imagine a bowl of steamed sticky rice topped with shaved egg yolk and way too many green onions. 


The shared add-on dishes were sprinkled throughout the ride. Orote's chicken ssam ($12) consists of large mounds of cold shredded chicken topped with a slice of daikon. You can't really wrap it up like bo ssam, so it is slightly strange the dish is named chicken "wrap". I recommend including some of the pickled greens on the side: it would give the chicken more flavour and would provide diners with ingredients to make chicken ssam two ways.


If you're sensitive to salt, Orote is actually a great place to dine at as even the truffle rice cake and perilla seed ($25), described to us as a really creamy rich dish, wasn't overly heavy or powerful. Sure, the sauce was thicker compared to the broth that adorned other dishes, but it wasn't creamy in the traditional sinful sense. If anything, the best part of the dish wasn't it's "creaminess", truffle shavings, or the perilla seeds... it was the soft chewy pieces of rice cake.


Overall, the ride ended on a high: I thoroughly enjoyed the barley cream dessert, which is like a really fluffy panna cotta topped with finely grated chocolate shavings, puffed buckwheat, and black sesame. Creamy and light, it had a great texture that I wanted to savour, yet also wished I could just pop half of it into my mouth and allow the delicate sweetness to flood my taste buds.


The newly opened Orote offers a wonderful tasting option for those who are looking for a healthier meal that doesn't leave you feel stuffed and heavy. I can certainly see Actinolite's influences in Chef Kwangtaek Lee's menu. Though I urge Chef Lee to consider bringing in even more of his Korean influences into the dishes, especially in the mains and add-ons to really give it some pizzazz. As it stands, Orote is nice and solid, but there's the potential to make it really thrilling. 

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 276 Havelock Street
 

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

CLOSED: Bacchanal (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, December 17, 2017 by


While Bacchanal translates to “an occasion of wild and drunken revelry”, the actual restaurant is calming - in a chic French manner. On my weekend visit, diners were sipping on wine and devouring sauce-laced dishes, yet remained in their seats. I guess the wine induced dancing-on-tables happen afterwards.

I was quite happy to tuck into the warm crispy baguette; their house-made red fife wheat loaf was legitimately delicious and full flavoured.


What was left of the bread was great for dipping into the paprika and sherry vinegar broth from the moules escabèche ($10). Served cold, the mussels are plump from the garlicky sauce it soaks in.


Oh the heavenly gnocchi Parisienne au sarrasin ($15), it’s as if the French borrowed the Italian potato pasta and the South’s mac ‘n’ cheese and turned into a molten love child. The creamy comté sauce smelled fantastic and the cheese was strong enough without overpowering the gnocchi. Don’t leave without trying it.


Steak and duck are two dishes I attempt to try at every French restaurant; my benchmark dishes for judging the mains at the place. Bacchanal’s steak frites ($24) were respectable, the 8oz flatiron steak done medium rare and relatively tender for the thick slice. Thankfully, the fries were actually thin (thick chip cuts aren’t meant for steak frites – leave that for the fried fish) and when hot ever so slightly melts the aioli.  


While the Magret de canard ($31) was cooked the requisite rare doneness and the rendered skin crispy, the duck breast could have been cut thinner so wouldn’t be as chewy. The plum glaze was on point to give the dish that traditional sweet and savoury flavour, and with a smear of the whipped foie gras heightened the taste even more.


Surprisingly, it was the sablefish sauce Gamay ($37) I liked the most. Not for the actual fish (properly flakey but under seasoned), rather it was the beluga lentil that impressed having soaked in the cooking liquid. Plus, the leafy colourful kale and trumpet mushrooms did make for an impressive looking presentation.


Bacchanal’s baba au rhum ($15) was an eye catching take on the classic dessert, thanks to the carefully piped white chocolate whipped cream. While the cake was delicious (the hint of spice enjoyable), the rum syrup needed more alcohol … after all, how will the restaurant live up to its name of creating wild and drunken occasions?


French restaurants seem to be the choice du jour for openings and Bacchanal is joining the masses. With more choices comes tougher competition… Bacchanal creates respectable dishes, but not good enough to make me want to travel out of my way for. 

Overall mark - 7 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 60 Sudbury Street


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


Diana's Oyster Bar and Grill (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, August 06, 2017 by

Finding fresh seafood in Scarborough is a breeze if you drive down Lawrence. Diana’s has been servicing the area (and many hotels and restaurants across the city) for years, whether it’s for home chefs sourcing ingredients at their retail store or diners leaving the task to Diana’s Oyster Bar and Grill nearby. 

Wanting to beat the crowds, we arrived as soon as the restaurant opened on Sunday at 11:30am. Turns out, people tend to come later (our waitress noted their peak weekend lunch hour is around 1pm), so there was no big rush. However, despite being one of the first to order, the food was still slow to arrive. Generally, I don’t mind things taking time; after all, this ensures there's time to properly prepare items and food should be made-to-order arriving fresh and hot. 

 Certainly, the bowls of clam chowder ($10) my parents ordered, which took long to prepare, had steam rising from it; meanwhile, the cup accompanying my sandwich afterwards was lukewarm. Thankfully, the chowder tasted good: creamy but not too rich and the bacon pieces were pronounced adding a nice saltiness. For a place wholesaling seafood, the size of the clam pieces were sadly inadequate as the chowder consisted predominantly of potatoes and little actual seafood.


On the other hand, the mussels ($17) were plentiful; the bowl just kept going on forever and ever. Although the tomato broth was good, I was disappointed with its taste. When the menu describes it as “Thai Spicy”, I'd imagine there would be heat - something like a tom yum broth. So, when it arrived with absolutely no spiciness, it was a letdown. Moreover, it would have been nice to have something to dip into the soup, the crispy lotus chips were beautiful garnishes but doesn’t augment the dining experience. 


The lobster and crab roll ($18) had a decent seafood to sauce ratio; the mixture wasn't too creamy and you could taste the crab and lobster. Moreover, the shredded lettuce and onions provided a great crunchiness along with the nicely toasted bun. 

However, going back to my initial point of not minding a wait to ensure things are done right, the experience was tarnished by a plastic wrapper corner mixed into the crab and lobster. Luckily, it was bright orange so it was spotted as soon as I cut into the sandwich, but it was still unnerving. Sure, the sandwich could have been sent back, but I didn’t want to wait another hour for a replacement to arrive.

Diana’s catch of the day lunch special ($25) consisted of rainbow trout (should have been cooked a touch less given its thin cut), vegetables, and vegetarian fried rice. The creamy spinach sauce was a tad heavy for me, but overall it was a satisfying dish.


It’s a shame that the lunch wasn't better. Diana’s could create some amazing dishes given their access to an abundance of fresh seafood. If only there was more care put into creating the dish – whether it’s ensuring there’s no unwanted additions (as with the piece of wrapper) or the right ingredients are included (as with the lack of chilli in the spicy Thai). For not being particularly busy, the food sure took long enough to arrive … if only that time was actually used effectively.

Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 2105 Lawrence Avenue East

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
Diana's Oyster Bar And Grill Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Kiin (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, June 24, 2017 by


Although my love for Thai noodle dishes will never wane – cold, stir fried, smothered in a coconut broth, or engulfed in a fiery tom yum – it’s a pleasure to see Chef Nuit and Jeff Regular’s newest restaurant, Kiin, introducing Toronto to more refined Thai dishes, especially Royal Thai cuisine.

The difference is evident as soon as you enter the restaurant, the dining room is light and airy with plenty of empty space between the bar and tables. Gone are high-top tables and backless chairs of Pai and in its place plush banquette seats and chairs that hug around you. The vision of Chef Nuit, Kiin’s environment is pretty and serene, inviting guests to relax and take things down an octave.

Even the dishes have a surreal artistic quality to them; the age old saying of eating with your eyes first is certainly evident here. The chor ladda’s ($12) chewy jasmine rice wrapper is naturally coloured with butterfly pea, an ingredient common in Thailand that’s spreading to the Western hemisphere.

Kiin Toronto chor laddaInside each plump flower is a sweet and savoury paste of finely minced peanuts, onion, pickled radish and coconut sugar. Not only do the crispy garlic, bird’s eye chili, and baby romaine garnishes complete the floral look, they also augment the flavours and textures of the chor ladda.

In Thailand, describing a dish as a salad, just means it’s tossed. The yum tua plu ($15) puts the North American leafy greens to shame with a base of diced crispy blanched wing beans, which is like a cross between green beans and an Anaheim pepper. The chili shrimp paste adds a fair amount of heat, while the toasted coconut and peanuts a lovely rich crunch. Of all the dishes, this was the spiciest; yet the dishes at Kiin aren’t overly hot and well balanced so if you prefer a medium chili level it’s perfect.

Kiin Toronto yum tua plu

The hoi nung ta krai ($14) arrives in a gorgeous silver tiffin container, one layer holding the mussels and the other for the empty shells. The seafood is steamed in a simple mild broth, most of the flavours coming from the zippy lemongrass, lime, and garlic sauce on the side, which gives them a refreshing quality. On a hot day, a container of these with a cold glass of beer or wine would be heavenly.

Kiin Toronto mussels

Having had a taste of Chef Nuit’s pork jowl at the Destination Thailand media event, I knew the kang mo yang nam jjim jaew ($15) would be delicious. The slices of grilled meat are well marinated in sour tamarind and roasted red chili, but then further augmented by being tossed with mint, roasted rice, and vegetables.

Kiin Toronto pork jowl

We’re instructed to have the hot meat followed by a bite of the cold Thai kale stalk. Dutifully, I follow instructions, but find the mouthful of plain broccoli like vegetable underwhelming. Personally, I’d rather pick the leaves off and wrap the pork jowl, vegetables, and kale stalks into them like ssam.

Jeff advises that most of their ingredients are important from Thailand, even the produce to ensure they’re fresh and the real deal: the garlic is Thai garlic, lemongrass is fresh, and the fruits rarely found in other establishments.

A dish that showcases all these ingredients is the khao yum ($24), which arrives as three piles of coloured rice (a yellow turmeric, red beet juice, and blue butterfly pea), before being tossed with diced beans, coriander, lime leaves, toasted coconut, pomelo, fried chili, sprouts, lemongrass, and edible flowers.

Kiin Toronto khao yum
The khao yum could use more of the tamarind and soy bean sauce, as despite looking colourful, it was a tad bland. Overall, although gorgeous to look at, I’d rather have a bowl of coconut rice any day ($5).

A bowl of this aromatic grain comes with the gaeng boombai nua ($28), a bone in beef short rib smothered in a fantastic tamarind gravy. Along with the fragrant coconut rice, it’s so satisfying that each bite made me instantly want more. Oh why didn’t we order two of these for our table of four?! Don’t make the same mistake we did.

Kiin Toronto gaeng boombai nua beef short rib

Meanwhile, the mieng pla ($32) is great for larger groups.  A whole salt-crusted sea bream is displayed at the table before being brought back to the kitchen and fileted (be careful, we still found numerous larger bones left in the fish).

Kiin Toronto meing pla sea bream

The fish returns along with a platter of Thai kale leaves and baby romaine topped with vermicelli noodles, thai garlic, basil, mint, peanut, ginger, shallot and lime. Having been salt-crusted, the fish itself is flavourful, but there’s also a citrusy chili vinaigrette to add even more taste to the dish.


One can only imagine all the preparation and time it takes to prepare the mieng pla – crusting the fish, baking it, preparing all the ingredients for the wraps, assembling the wraps, fileting the fish, and making the sauce. Everything arrives ready to add a piece of fish and eat.

The use of intricate techniques and fresh vibrant ingredients is what makes Royal Thai cuisine so special. All the time it takes to perfect and create a dish is also why you rarely find restaurants willing to serve the fare.

Although it sounds corny, you can taste the care that goes into each dish. During our visit, Chef Nuit and Jeff Regular were both at the restaurant: Jeff visiting tables to explain dishes, while Chef Nuit making a couple of brief appearances from behind the kitchen. The Regulars have brought something special to Toronto with the opening of Kiin. To them: khob khun mark ka and krab.

Overall mark - 9 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 326 Adelaide Street West
 Website: www.kiintoronto.com

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Kiin Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

CLOSED: The Boiling Harbour (Vaughan)

Posted on Sunday, August 21, 2016 by

Wow how things have changed in Vaughan! Normally I only visit the city, a short drive from Toronto, when going to Wonderland so it’s shocking to see how developed and thriving the area’s become. Even the culinary scene is growing – aside from the chain restaurants and authentic Italian joints, a wealth of diversity is springing up. This summer, a new entrant joins them: Boiling Harbour brings the Louisiana boil to Vaughan!

In the Southern states, a seafood boil is not merely a dish, but rather a social event bringing together communities, friends and families. You should definitely keep with the tradition and arrive in a group so you can try numerous items.

During the opening event, we sampled skillfully prepared snow crab legs ($18.95/lb), large meaty mussels ($10.95/lb) and head-on shrimp ($12.95/lb) so you can really enjoy the seafood essence. The Harbour sauce (a mix of garlic butter, lime, pepper and Cajun spices) was just spicy enough at the medium level and thankfully not overly salty or oily to detract from the seafood.


Some of the add-ins are a tad pricy (corn for $1 or sausages for $6.50 apiece), but the sweetness of the corn goes so nicely with the hot spicy broth and I like that Boiling Harbour used fresh ears (at least during our summer visit) compared to the chewy frozen variety.  

Having had gumbo ($9) in New Orleans, the hearty flavourful stew at the restaurant is impressive. In particular, it was a smart idea to cook the shrimp separately so they didn’t turn rubbery and there was enough okra to thicken the broth but not turn it slimy. The gumbo is fantastic and is better than the ones I sampled in Louisiana.


The lobster mac & cheese balls ($15.95 for three) are huge and great for sharing. Although the mixture doesn’t contains tons of lobster, the pasta was cooked well and there’s enough sauce so that the insides are gooey when the crispy crust is broken.


Once you see an order of the loaded lobster fries ($28.95) go by, you’ll want it. It’s a serious dish with an entire boiled lobster that’s flash fried and drizzled with garlic butter and aioli. There’s definitely enough lobster to share, but it’s so good that it’ll be hard not to devour the other half. As if it weren’t enough, the crustacean sits on a bed of hot Cajun fries – perfect for dipping into the boil sauce.


Dinner at the Boiling Harbour was delicious and I truly love the experience. It’s a shame, as the one thing that keeps me from frequenting these restaurants is the amount of waste generated – the boil is served in food safe poly bags, other items in Styrofoam or paper plates, and all the utensils are plastic. Every person even received a small plastic container of salt and pepper … the barrel of them on display really doesn’t go with the seafood friendly theme.

I understand, disposables are easy: there’s nothing to wash and little up-front investment. To be fair, Boiling Harbour isn’t the only restaurant that relies the ease; competitors do this as well. Although I’m not an environmentalist, I still care about what we do to the Earth – after having a delicious meal, the worst feeling is the guilt felt while staring at all the waste you’ve created.

So, I’d encourage restaurants to gradually improve their impact: like those individual salt and pepper containers? That can easily be replaced with shakers that’s given when requested – seriously, the food is already well-seasoned, I don’t see why it would be needed anyways. Then as cash flows allow, start purchasing utensils, re-usable plastic serving platters, cups, and transparent pails to serve the boil in (the photographs would turn out much better than bags).

If only the entire experience wasn’t so wasteful, I’d certainly go back more frequently. I already have a hankering for another helping of boiled crab legs, loaded lobster fries and gumbo. Maybe next time I visit there will be real utensils, then I can leave feeling full and guilt free.

Overall mark - 8.5 out of 10
Disclaimer: The above meal was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide an honest opinion.
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 3175 Rutherford Road
 

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!
Other Gastro World posts similar to this:



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