Sadie's Diner

http://www.myspace.com/sadiesdiner

A vegan diner, rated at one of the top 10 in Toronto seemed like a good cure of my hangover.

APPEARANCE
fresh, bright
This this one colourful, happy corner house. Blight blue siding and red highlights really lifted my mood. Inside, a yellow room with small ornaments everywhere.

NOSE
peach and citrus notes - crisp
The waitress mumbled something, which I interpreted as seat yourself down, but as I kept walking she grew some confidence and asked: "For two?" We sat down near the front, on one of the many cyan tables and red sofa-booths. We were facing a tall, solid, metal kitchen counter - probably the least attractive part of the restaurant.

SWIRL
light toasty oak, sulfites
The waitress was odd, she seemed almost scared to talk to us and occasionally she would just go away without answering or listening. Better off was the time when we'd make eye contact and she would not come over. Soon enough another girl with thick framed glasses and a white wig took over our table. As cheri pointed out, people seemed on the artistic hippie side. The menu was interesting, with a few mexican dishes. We decided to go with their all-day breakfast: Huevos Rancheros and French Toasts with veggie bacon. I also took a Mango Smoothie to add to my three choices of liquids to drink, figured I need the hydration plus it did say a juice bar at the front.


PALATE
light-bodied, clean, tart
My mango smoothy with banana base unfortunately took almost as long as the food to make it to our table. It is was very thick and took some work coming up the straw but quite yummy once it made there. The Huevos Rancheros did not really feel like breakfast - plain eggs over crunchy corn tortillas with lettuce, a bit of cheese and salsa on top. There was also a side of guacamole (probably the best part of this dish). The company of ketchup and hot sauce to the dish was for granted - may be the wake-up part of the breakfast. This dish proved difficult to eat, as the big tortillas were messy to lift up and bite as well as too crunchy to cut with a fork and a knife. This resulted in an urgent consumption.. not my cut of tea. The French Toasts came with this very pink fat-free-looking bacon, which tasted like paper and smelled like perfume (the texture was almost real, though.) The toasts were probably wonder bread, well soaked in egg. To be honest they were on the plain side as well and I would've reasoned its due to the fact that the dish comes with meat, but the icing sugar on top was then out of place and not to mention the stingy maple syrup which came along with the dish. As much as I sound very bitter, my expectations were not high, the interior was entertaining and I was happy to be eating after my
eventful night.

FINISH
under developed, with potential
The initial plan was to get those buckwheat waffles or pancakes in the end but I gave up and cheri didn't feel like deserting by himself. I have to add on my way to the washrooms they have a neat toy collection behind glass and the washrooms themselves are sure odd narrow rooms with a wall by the toilet, but no door.

a young, unique Chardonnay-Semillon lacking in depth

Russell Williams

http://www.russellwilliamsrestaurant.com/

On my visit to Burlington, mon cheri's sister suggested we go for brunch. This place fit our criteria of old, authentic and family-owned.

APPEARANCE
old, dark pink - brown shades

From the street it seemed like an dull house in brown and beige. It has a stand-up vertical restaurant sign, very hotel-like. There are a few benches outside, which would be great in the warm days.

NOSE
violet flowers, red fruits, hint of oak

Inside there was a wait list. Even the wait area bleacher-sofa and chairs were full, but 15 min later we were at a table near the back and the kitchen. The front area seemed great though - bright from the big windows, open-concept, large booths and hanging plants all around. I really wish the light spread all the way to the back sections which had no windows around. Overall the interior was mainly wooden with brick walls. Drawings of the house from before, as well as awards, cute animated illustrations and vintage objects decorated the walls and kept the homy charm in this rather large restaurant.

SWIRL
hints of ponderous fruit
- lacking freshness
Our waitress asked us for coffee and tea as she put down the menus and cutlery. The menu was the regular three-fold plastic sleeves with old-style gradient yellow background and a red frame. It used the same script typeface as the restaurant's logo for the dishes names. I am not a big fan of having the body description type in 4 colours. Nevertheless the menu did get a mom-pop feel across. I ordered a Williams Eggs Benedict, while cheri got the Smoked Salmon Benny and his sister built her own omelette (cheddar and mushrooms). When we opened our cutlery, both cheri and his sis needed new forks. Their washing machine is really slacking. Under the menus there were papers with lots of different ads and coupons.. it was a sort of entertainment to read though them, but also a bit on the tacky side.

PALATE
sweet beginning dry near the end, medium bodied
Our dishes came quickly. My benedict was great. The paprika in the perfect-textured Hollandaise in combo with honey mustard, I believe, and the back bacon made the dish sweet and special. Their famous home fries had lightly burned crusts at times, which I'm a fan of. Cheri's salmon benny was also lovely. I was not crazy about the omelette as the egg base almost seemed paper-like dry and plain. The top combo of cheddar and mushrooms was quite pleasant though. It took our waitress quite a few long minutes to move out dirty plates out of the way. Oh wait, it wasn't even her who did it. Lastly we ordered a fluffy buttermilk pancake to share with raspberry topping. The pancake was neither fluffy nor flavourfull, but perhaps that is because it is not necessarily ordered as a sweet dessert. The raspberry sauce just came in a little bowl on the side.. someone really didn't want to worry about presentation.


FINISH
easy and light at the end, although initial aromas seemed complex and a bit aggressive
This was packed with families. It had an old and cozy feel, no doubt. I would've loved to sit near the front or even outside, when the weather gets warmer.

overall.. an aged rosé, a little generic near the end

O.Noir

http://www.onoir.com/

I've been wanting to check out this restaurant ever since it opened. The idea of blind eating, and trusting all our senses but vision seemed romantically perfect. I mean after all, our eyes are not the primary sense we please when eating.

APPEARANCE
ruby-garnet red
So from the street it looks like an entrance to the path in Toronto. The menu was on the side of the street is the only well-lit part. Overall dark, tunnel-like, isolated, a bit alley-way like. As we entered, it was dark again. No people. I felt like I am entering someone's house, uninvited. After two doors on the right, followed a long, dark hallway. One end had an empty table area. I really didn't have a good feeling about this place. Made me anxious.

NOSE
blackberry, leather and olive aroma
The hallway lead to a main room with better lighting; there was a bit of knocking when people are passing. The main room had a long bar on the side with old leather brown tall-chairs and obvious metal screws. The middle area was for standing and waiting with a tall medium-sized table. And the other side had bookshelves with lots of books, not relating to anything in particular. Elevated there was a seating area with sofas. The interior sure looked antique, the best part was the blend of this old with polished metal Futura type on the wall - quotes, and the braille alphabet. We waited standing. I didn't even look at the menu, cheri ordered all my dishes to be "surprise".

SWIRL
corky, dusty, hint of tar
A lady found us after and asked if we are ready to be sat. She lead us back to the hallway and introduced us to our waiter. He was hispanic. He asked that I put my hand on his right shoulder and same with mon cheri to me. He gave us instruction to keep to the right wall. And we submerged into a pitch-black room making tiny steps. It was not a long walk, until he put my hand on my chair. He told us the location of our plates and cutlery, with butter in the middle.

PALATE

astringent, chalky tannins, medium bodied

Soon came our warm bread and our wine. He also let us know exactly where the glasses were located not the table. We successfully cheered and drank. My entree came. It has quite difficult poking my plate, hoping is pierce something. It was mainly green leaves and a funny smelling dressing - the oil seemed mixed with some light seafood smell. I did not like it. In my plate there was also some kind of pumpkin (I think).. I am still not quite sure what I ate but I didn't taste like any mushroom nor octopus or calamari.. Cheri ate the rest of it, even though he dislikes both seafood and mushroom. Next came the main dish. My meat was warm, juicy and lean (possibly chicken) with a taste of lemon. It melted in my mouth. I had a side of potatoes and peas. To my surprise food presentation was not removed from the equation. Organization inside the plate was key. We even swamped forks to try. He has veal, which was not bad either. Our waiter came again. To be honest, I initially felt strange around him and looked at him with a sense of pitty and distance. Soon enough, he was our friend, as we really depended on him and has to trust him. Lastly came our desserts - the two cakes. I was initially served the dark chocolate cake, but before even trying it, cheri switched ours and I had some of the vainness style one with ice cream. It was great. We lingered on with our food for some more time.

FINISH
long, evolving, slightly rough, faintly bitter
Cheri kept on seeing a light when we were sitting. We assumed its from the two doors opening when people came in. And so we came out.. for once I appreciated the dull light in the hallway and on the way out. This place was unique and mysterious.. but it missed the warmth and comfort a restaurant needs before one can sit down. It would make one hell of an experience at Halloween.

overall.. a mysterious Merlot - served too cold, needing air

Bier Market

http://www.thebiermarkt.com/

Rummors around the office claimed this place has worthwhile food, and once our reservations was made I asked around some more and it turned out the cheese platter and fondue is what is worthwhile. I went on reading few reviews and they all seemed to claim that both food and service are off, the beer selection was the only positive part of the reviews.

APPEARANCE
dark, sleek, a bit hiddenApart from all the construction going on the street, the place seemed dark and sleek. The entrance is not too obvious, I passed it the first time, but the pub next door has an obvious sign, making sure you don't make a mistake. Right after the front door there is a fenced fountain of a naked boy. I think its quite charming, funny and Italian. Next is a long, narrow walk to the hostess table, with round wait tall tables on the side.

NOSE
warm, fruity - light cherry
The host quickly sat me down, while I waited for my friend. The place had a warm vibe. There was an elevated are, which looked very cozy. Our table was right behind the host-stand, close to the front street window. I noticed the writing on one wall, again, it seemed Italian to me. I thought beer is not a very Italian in tradition, but I guess these guys think otherwise. As the waitress arrived, she removed a neat meatal glass stand from the table.

SWIRL
heady, a hint of licorice
I started making my way thought the beer bible. Some have paragraphs of history and tasting notes other just a few lines, wander why that is. My friend arrived and we went on giving their winterlicious menu a shot. I ordered their Ontario Roasted Beet Salad, followed by the Schnitzel and their Apple Creme Brule for dessert. She asked us for all the order at ones and I figured this is a perfect recipe for slacking off with the service. She kept on recommending two beers, a Belgian one in particular as you can't find anywhere else, so my friend gave it a try - Jupiler. I picked a Kawartha Lakes Raspberry Wheat with my salad, local from the T.O. Amsterdam Brewery.

PALATE
supple, thin, acidic
My KLB was light, floral and I was grateful it was not on the sweet side. The Jupiler was very good, aromatic and smokey. My beet salad arrived. It was interesting, with caramelized walnuts and goat-cheese. Soem of the beets were a bit too hard. My friend had their Wild Mushroom Soup, which was very watery with whole mushrooms floating - not impressive, I thought. To our surprise the waitress kept a good eye on us, and a runner came by to pick up our plates and recommended good matches for our next dish. Both polite, helpful and knowledgeable. My Schnitzel came, smelling great. It was a bit too soft for my liking and the veal was not lean, as in I chewed on a few ligaments and fats. The asparagus and tomato jam did not really work in palette, unlike squeezing the lemon on top. With this dish I was recommended Erdinger Dunkel Weissbier - dark wheat beer, a tad spicy. Mon ami had their T-bone burger with a Duvel Ale (smooth, a bit fruity and pretty high in alcohol). His gourmet burger was great, but we were slowly getting filled. Next came our desserts - Double Chocolate Fudge Cake, which I though was pretty good with a hint of espresso. My Apple Creme Brule was pretty good as well, not crazy about the deep-friend apple fritter though.

FINISH
bitter, slightly sweetIt was quite noisy but at some point, on my way to the washroom, I saw there was a live band playing in the back. It kind of seemed like an event space. It was a long walk also passing by windows showcasing a brewery-like area.

Need to come back to this place for just cheese platter/fondue and or desserts. Their service was great, and so was their beer list. The dishes, I would say, are not the restaurant's passion.

overall.. a Valpolicella in progress

Jump

http://www.oliverbonacini.com/Jump.aspx

About this time last year, a friend who is not really into food, got hyper talking about his dinner. He highly recommended Jump and said he always goes there during winterlicious. As of last week, I share his passion.

APPEARANCE
dark cherry red, intriguing, with a reputation
From start to finish I did not experience one disappointing moment at Jump.
We slightly confused whether it was Wellington East or West, as that 3D sign, as funky as it looks, never really jumped out at me. And so we found it and entered this mall-like building, contemplating going up or down, as we finally found the entrance and made it for our reservation.

NOSE
blackberry, dark plums, metallic hints

The host was waiting for us. He had people
look after our coats and give us coat-check numbers, then we walked around a big part of the restaurant, to get sat down. Ok this is one biiig restaurant, and it was sure busy for a Thursday evening. On the way, it was hard not to notice the odd plastic sticks everywhere.. I suppose stylish grass, and once in a while a charming metal frog jumping up (quite elegantly). As we were sat down, we were under a large table lamp - two of which were by the windows covered in beige, stick-figure illustrated drapes. To be the honest, from the metal, to the plastic decoration, carpet-like drapes and wooden tables.. Materials were fighting a bit.

SWIRL
leather notes, pronounced legs
Our waiter quickly greeted us and handed out the menus, brown leather feel with a small, elegant, engraved logo. Poured us water, while we looked through, and let me note these glasses were never empty for more than 10sec. The winterlicious dinner menu had a wine-paring-of-each-dish option, which cheri pointed out. I asked the waiter how the matching works and he said that there are two sommeliers between all the Oliver and Bonacini restaurants who work with chefs for the winterlicious menu. However, he assured me all employed there have a certificate in spirits and wine and will be more than happy to help if we ever need advise. And by the way he was sweet and slightly proud saying that, as much as writing it all out sounds like boasting. Our bread with pepper-tomato dip came right after he put our menus away.


PALATE
very structured, medium tannins, young feel

Suspecting Jump to be the a typical large restaurant, lacking in quality and service, giving out coat-check numbers, I assumed it is probably the service people pay so much for. I was more than happy to receive a wet slap on my face as the food arrived. Jump exceeded my expectations, immensely.
So I started with an Ontario Buffalo Mozzarella salad matched with a Black River Torrontes. Mon cheri, had the Togarashi Beef Tenderloin Tataki with a glass of Creekside Unoaked Chardonnay. Once I was served my salad, I was a bit disappointed to the amount of mozzarella, which looked more 4 small store-bought bocconcini, until I felt their perfect texture. The two different types of beets added an interesting flavor. The delicate, tropical wine complimented the dish gently.
Next came the mains, my Grilled True North Atlantic Salmon came with a glass of G. Marquis Pinot Noir. And the wines were always served a few minutes before the dish. So after tasting my intense, a bit spicy Pinot Noir, I asked the waiter if he didn't confuse my glass with cheri's Rubrato Aglianico. He said he believed he didn't but still took the glass poured it out and gave me a fresh new one.. And so it turned out I was wrong, it was an aged pinot noir, which I didn't quite recognize. My salmon was, delicious and went perfectly well with this opinionated Pinot. The mushrooms on the side were enhanced very well by hints in the wine, and the scattered grains made the dish for me. Not far off, cheri's Ontario Lamb Cacciatore was not-worth-missing either. I am not a fan of lamb in particular as the smell always bothers me too much to actually enjoy a dish, but this fine meat had subtle hints of lamb aroma which I actually appreciated.

And finally came the desserts. I asked cheri to get the Cappuccino Panna Cotta, as I really wanted to try it, but I couldn't have coffee. In return he picked for me the Spiced Banana Cake, which came with an Indian Summer Riesling. The bread not fresh but a bit dry and filled with allspice. It really needed that coconut mousse cream on top. My late-harvest Riesling had mango, pear aromas, topped with cinnamon. It was not overwhelmingly sweet, it was great by itself but when matched with all the spices of the banana cake.. I was a bit too much for my palette. There was rum pineapple salsa on the side of the bread which was essential in complimenting the bread and marrying it with the wine. Cheri's Cappuccino Panna Cotta had a lovely smooth texture, powered with coffee and overall not too sweet. It was matched with a 10yr Tawny Port - strong, sweet with a lovely caramel linger at the end. To say the least, it was an interesting combination with the dish.

FINISH
developing on the palette, a great balance of bitter and sweet
We took our time eating all these dishes, presented wonderfully. We were probably in there for roughly 2hours.. it was busy. We heard no music as everyone around was chatting, but that didn't rush us or create an uncomfortable atmosphere, it was rather natural. All our other senses were so pleased, that sound was hardly an issue.
Throughout, the cheese, meat, wines all encouraged local produce. I was pleased and impressed. I honestly haven't tasted food this flavourful and well-crafted since Paris. Splendid!

Overall, a A soul-full Cab Sauv.