Toronto, Wildfire Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Mousse inside Chocolate Dome

Dessert Rating: Chocolate Mousse Dome, 4.5 / 5 stars:

Break open the chocolate dome to find some chocolate mousse. It was delicious!

Toronto, Wildfire Steakhouse & Wine Bar, New York Cheezecake

Dessert Rating: New York Cheezecake, 4 / 5 stars:

Unfortunately for my friends, dining with me also means giving up a taste of your dessert! Sharon generously let me share a taste of the creamy cheezecake. The gooseberry on top was a nice aesthetic touch. To be honest, I think none of the desserts could disappoint because they were all equally attentive to quality, taste and generous in portion.

Toronto, Wildfire Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Chocolate Mousse Dome

Dessert Rating: Chocolate Mousse Dome, 4.5 / 5 stars:

I had previously ordered the Pecan and Chocolate tart, which got me because it was served warm. But when a viewing of the Chocolate Mousse Dome arrived to the table next to us, I quickly amended my order. The wet chocolate outside covered the chocolate mousse inside. Yum!

Toronto, Wildfire Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Lobster

Entrée/ Main Rating: Half Live Lobster, 4.5 / 5 stars:

The half lobster was fresh and delicious, served with melted butter, but not huge. It did not literally move, as the lobster did on Thursday at HiPot, but I believe it was fresh! A generous portion of rice, as well as the vegetables, helped complete the meal. The fresh and warm (!!!) bread hit our soft spot we even asked for more.

Toronto, Wildfire Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Shrimp Martini

Wildfire Steakhouse & Wine Bar, 3438 Yonge St., Toronto, ON, M4N 2N2, (416) 483-4800

Overall Food Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars: Wildfire, along with only a few others like Corner House Restaurant, is among the select few where the increased capacity and lower cost of “Winterlicious”, Toronto’s restaurant week, does not challenge the quality, service, culinary talent, and value of the meals being turned out of their kitchens. When I’ve been served “Watermelon cold soup”, with a food cost of about $.25, at past Winterlicious experiences, being served delicious five jumbo shrimp is both impressive and refreshing.

Atmosphere Rating: 4.5 / 5: Dining room seating, with leather seating, is comfortable, beautiful and lit dimly.

3.5 / 5: If you are seating upstairs like we were, you might hear every other table’s conversations except your own,…especially if you are seated in the back corner!

Service Rating: 5 / 5 stars: Leslie was friendly, competent, attentive, filled my water glass constantly and was overall awesome. In other words, nothing like wait staff at other pretentious restaurants, like Auberge du Pommier, during Winterlicious. Some waiters feel earning tip on a $100-$200 meal rather than that on a prix fixe meal is an entitlement and beware as some of them have no problem sharing that opinion, through body language and lack of service, with you.

Value Rating: 5 / 5 stars: A Winterlicious lunch that includes fresh jumbo shrimp, five at that, half a lobster, fresh warm bread, and fresh full size delicious desserts, in a beautiful setting with great service for $25? This is the best value I have ever come across….ever!  A refreshing attitude absent from restaurants like North 44, Auberge du Pommier, Canoe which I avoid during Winterlicious because they try to maintain the same profit margin by skimping out on portions, menu, etc and hence disappoint. If the quality, taste, and value is any indication, owner Jody Ness really cares that his patrons are getting a great food experience.

Appetizer/Starter Rating: The Shrimp Martini, 5 / 5 stars: Fresh jumbo tiger shrimp served with a delicious citrus-vodka infused cocktail sauce did not disappoint. If you are afraid that ordering shrimp in a restaurant means getting 3 limp frozen thawed tiny things, fear no more!

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt, Walnut Butter Tart

Dessert Rating: Walnut Butter Tart Dark Chocolate Sauce, Vanilla Ice Cream, 3.5 / 5 stars:

I enjoyed it, but it was small and no nearly as good as the peacan chocolate tart or other desserts I would enjoy at Wildfire.

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt, Beef Brisket

Entrée/ Main Rating: Horseradish Glazed Beef BrisketCrunchy Mustard & Dill Pickle Gravy, Root Vegetable Mash, 3.5 / 5 stars:

This dish had a lovely taste, so it would be rated higher except that the meat was not real beef brisket which I am used to but resembled a dense red meat similar to processed smoked meat or corned beef. To its credit, my friend Cecilia enjoyed it.

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, Wrapped Halibut

Entrée/ Main Rating: Rice Paper Wrapped Halibut, Curried Broth, Braised Green Lentils, Thin Cut Vegetables, 3.5 / 5 stars:

The halibut was fresh, the taste was as if I made it at home (read: I am not a chef), the rice paper did not add anything to the taste or texture, I had no clue the broth had any curry in it whatsoever until I was referring to the menu while writing this up, and the lentils tasted like lentils period (not braised lentils). Yes, the vegetables were thinly cut, check. It was not terrible by any means, just nothing too special.

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, Spinach, Ciel des Charlesvoix, Bacon Salad

Appetizer/Starter Rating:  Spinach, Ciel des Charlesvoix & chilli maple roasted walnuts, Warm Bacon, Cranberry Vinaigrette (vegetarian), 3.5 / 5 stars:  

How a warm bacon salad can possibly be considered vegetarian is beyond me.  None the less, Cecilia made a much better starter choice than I! 

After googleing “Ciel des Charlesvoix”, those not in the know will discover that it is a semi-soft raw cow’s milk blue-veined cheese.  Since neither Cecilia nor I like blue cheese, the quality and richness in taste and the excellent pairing with the sweetly (no chili detected!) glazed walnuts was impressive.  The spinach and dressing was ordinary.

Toronto, Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, Shrimp, Squash & Manchego Empanada

Annona Restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, 4 Avenue Road, Toronto, ON, 416-324-1567

An attempt for a Saturday after yoga brunch at a bakery with a European feel resulted in discovering that Toronto’s “Pain du Quotidien”, my favourite brunch place discovered in Brussels and when living in London, is now under bankruptcy protection! Do Torontonians not appreciate over priced French baked goods and Italian buffalo mozzarella as much as the Parisians do? Now, what are two hungry girls to do?

The Toronto Metro Library to the rescue! A quick cross of Yonge street and a free online search later (yes, I am a luddite without a data plan), Cecilia and I were headed through Yorkville towards the Park Hyatt!

Overall Food Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars: A nice afternoon lunch atmosphere with good, but not great, food. Previous experiences at Annona have been more satisfying than today’s.

Atmosphere Rating: 4.5 / 5: I find the restaurant clean, classy, and the seating particularly comfortable. The best views are along the windows or the banquette seats facing them, which allows one to admire the urban business of the edge of Yorkville, Avenue road, or the entrance to the Park Hyatt.

Service Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars: Cecilia and I were starving. And we had to ask for the bread 3 times and it arrived after our appetizers.

Value Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars: A Winterlicous 3 course lunch at $20. Cecilia’s salad was much better than my deep fried dumplings. The fish was fresh but the taste was just okay, while Cecilia’s beef brisket tasted better. The desserts were a fine but needed to be a bit more substantial.

Appetizer/Starter Rating: Shrimp, Squash & Manchego Empanada Avocado Lime Dipping Sauce, 2.5 / 5 stars: Since I had no clue what an “Empanada” was, I mistakenly asked, “How many shrimp are there?” to which I was left uncorrected (I was told “There are 3 shrimp”). When I ultimately found out that Annona’s version of “Empanda” meant “Deep Fried Thick Flour Wrapped Dumpling with a filling”, it was a bit of a letdown, so they are not even the focal point of the pic above.  The table setting is pretty though, isn't it?  The guacamole dip was good though!

Toronto, HiPot Hot Pot Restaurant, What is Hot Pot?

What is Hot Pot?

It is the same as Shabu Shabu. I’m sure that clears it all up for all you folks. Basically, a smorgasbord of food is cooked in either spicy or flavored broth. You are the cook!  The pro is that it is fun!  The con is you are in charge of not to overcooking your dinner.  Great cool meal option, especially in the winter time and especially after skiing or snowboarding...we enjoyed hotpot after a day on the slops and it was the best!

Toronto, HiPot Hot Pot Restaurant, Value

Value Rating:  4 / 5 stars:  Considering the $20 weekday and $22 weekend all-you-can-eat-price includes half a lobster, a huge oyster, mussels and other seafood, meats, wontons, and veggies (mushrooms, wintermelon, greens, etc.)  this all you can eat meal is great value. It isn’t cheap, but where else can you order lobster, seafood, and all you can eat everything else for a twenty?

Toronto, HiPot Hot Pot Restaurant, Atmosphere, Service

Atmosphere Rating:  3.5 / 5:  Clean, modern, pleasant, but notably cold.  I think they don't heat the place....they let the heat from the hot pots do it (and we were the first ones there, urrgh).  We literally had to move to another table away from the window drafts.

Service Rating:  3.5 - 5 / 5 stars depending on whether the “owner/manager” is serving you.  Our waiter was sufficient (we had to ask for Satay twice and Duck egg broth 3 times and still never got it) but he made up for it by giving us extra dessert (egg custard and mango pudding).  An older waiter, (whom I assume was either the owner/manager, and if he wasn’t he will be one day I am certain!) was excellent:  he explained each course/food item and was pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable to boot!

Toronto, HiPot Hot Pot Restaurant

HiPot Hot Pot Restaurant, 350 Highway 7 E, U 105, Richmond Hill, ON, L4B3N2, Phone: (905) 709-1188

Overall Food Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars:  The lobster was so fresh, I think the food prep people chopped it in half while we were there…. the lobster was still moving when we put it in the broth!  I know this is really gross for most North Americans/Canadians because we are so far removed from a connection with where food comes from (And perhaps a preference food that doesn't move during mealtime).  But for most Asians, and I think many European, Middle Eastern, and African cultures, as well as anyone who has worked on a farm, in fishing, or been on “Survivor”, nothing beats freshness especially when it comes to seafood.

Washington DC, Dukem Ethiopian Market Restaurant

Dukem Ethiopian Market Restaurant, 1114 W Street, NW, Washington D.C. 20009, 202-667-8735

Overall Rating: Somewhere between 2 to 3.5 / 5  stars  (I'm a newbie Ethiopian foodie)

Atmosphere: Very casual setting when we arrived at 5:30pm, but the business built up throughout the evening which added a liveliness to an otherwise ho hum setting.

Service:  Sufficient.  They were nice.  They took our orders. 

For a foodie who has never tried an international cuisine which I did not enjoy, I think I have finally stumbled upon one.   No one’s a perfect foodie.

About 2 heaping tablespoons of each meat/veggie “stew" are placed on a soft wet bread served on a large platter.  The options were:  a bitter green veggie, 2 types of meat “stews” (the closest thing I can compare it to is a curry as one of these two were spicy), a beef and onion stir fry (the beef is tough, it is not as flavourful or tender as other stir fries I have tried), a type of yellow bean, chopped tomatoes and onions, and a type of "mush" which must have been pureed beans.  I enjoyed the spicy flavor of the curry type stews the most.

I find the “stews” make the bread all soggy so I am not a big fan of this tradition of serving.  Think of the bread as a big pancake and since it is already moist (when compared with, lets say, a Mexican taco, tortilla, a Middle Eastern wrap, a Greek Pita, or even a Chinese Peking duck wrap), it does not provide the contrast in textures which I normally enjoy in other cuisines. 

I find serving spoons useful, albeit unorthodox, for a group of six sharing two platters.  With no cutlery, I navigate by tearing a larger than typical piece of bread and filling and wrapping it with veggie/bean/meat “wrap/tortilla style” rather than using the bread authentically as “spoon” for each bite.  

The unappetizing part is that once the food is scooped out, there are only bits left on the bread/plate and I think that looks kinda like yucky leftovers.  As one is supposed to eat the bread that was under the stews, it is now soggy with the sauce/moisture. Although I believe the point is that the bread gains flavor, personally the appeal is lost in both the sight and sogginess.

And I don’t quite get the value.  One platter was about $18 and the other about one with the 2 stews and one beef stir fry was $28 and the serving size was about 2ish per platter.  It just was not a lot of food.  And the food arrives warm (read: there a huge pots of these stews in the back, and all they have to do is spoon a few tablespoons of each type on the bread/platter) without the freshly made effect of freshly steamed, baked, braised, or broiled foods.

Maybe I just need to become more versed in the art of enjoying Ethiopian cuisine.  Our Ethiopian taxi driver recommended Dukem over another Ethiopian restaurant in Georgetown.  The place was filled up, and the ethnic makeup including patrons from both Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian descent, so people must be coming back (My friends did.)  So another try is required before I write off this restaurant or this cuisine.  I kind of left the restaurant unsatisfied.  And judging from the appetites of all parties involved at the pie place "Dangerously Delicious" after wards, I think I was not the only one still wanting more!

Washington DC, DCA Regan Airport, Healthy Meal Option When Your Flight is Delayed

The Euro Café, DCA Ronald Regan Airport, Gates 2-9 area

Caffe Latte, $3.65, 4 / 5 Stars and Salad Nicoise, $7.99, 3 / 5 Stars

The caffe latte for a large, 20oz, I thought was reasonable compared with Starbucks Venti price, The latte was good, not strong, but also not bitter, so I appreciated that no additional sweetener was required for me to enjoy it.

Admittedly the Salad Nicoise was not great, (dry canned tuna, hard white beans, a modest half a boiled egg, potato chucks, string beans, two kalamala olives, and acceptably fresh romaine lettuce).  But this is airport food so the choices are limited.  Healthy, low fat and reasonably priced options are scare so this seemed to be the best option.  Ordinary carby pitas and sandwiches were running $6.99 and I saw lots of people eating chips, pop, and other make-me-fat sources, so when Air Canada delays your flight twice, an overpriced very so-so Salad Nicoise may be the best option when stuck at the DCA airport.

Washington DC, Dangerously Delicious

As much as I enjoyed our pie filled evening, I didn’t think it was so impressive to be written up multiple times by the Food gods- florescent signs in the window attest to it- Food Network personalities Paula Dean, Bobby Flay, and the list goes on.

Washington DC, Dangerously Delicious, Key Lime Pie

Dangerously Delicious, 1339 H Street NE, Washington, DC 20002, 202-398-PIES (7437)

After watching the comedy skit show “The Sound of Palin” next door, pie was definitely in order!

Dessert: Key Lime Pie, $6.50, 3.5 / 5 Stars

I enjoyed it: a very sweet and lime sour key lime pie with a very rich and creamy texture. What is the secret to the thickness….could it be condensed milk or cream? Judging from the non-authentic cream on the Banana Cream pie, if it is cream used it may not be the real thing. Nonetheless, it was good. The young guy updating the handwritten pie list and taking your order at the cash register is noticeably cheery, pleasant, nice and helpful, and he helps to give this really bummy/casual “pie place” its down to earth charm.

Cherry Pie- a bite reveals a noticeably sweet and sour flavor- I didn’t think it was the best

Banana Cream Pie- Shadi’s banana cream is good, but the cream used is noticeably not the real thing.

Savory Pies- I tried Marseille’s savory pie (can’t remember which one) and those who ordered were happy with them

Washington DC, Leopold's Kafe, Papillotte Inside

You crack open your present by eating the milk chocolate wrapping. Inside, the hazelnut cream does not disappoint, nor does the hazelnut meringue. The inside is more delicious than is alluded to by the artistic chocolate wrapping, yum.  My best DC taste of the weekend!

Washington DC, Leopold Kafe, Papillotte

Austrian Dessert: Papillotte, the chocolate wrapped hazelnut meringue topped with hazelnut cream, $6.50, 5 / 5 Stars

It was delicious on so many levels. A hazelnut meringue base topped with a hazelnut fresh cream all wrapped in a milk chocolate and presented as this amazing chocolate wrapped gift.

Washington DC, Leopold Kafe, Desserts

The selection teases you to pick a winner. I choose the icing sugar dusted chocolate wrapped surprises on the top left.

Washington DC, Leopold Kafe, Macaroons

Macaroons, $.85 each, 4 / 5 Stars

I order all the flavours of macaroons. I love them. They are delicious. Soft meringue cookies in a choice of 5 flavour sandwiching a delicious filling. At $.85 a pop or $4 for a set of 5, Leopold macaroons are quite a bargain! (especially when you compare it with Toronto’s crazy typical Macaroon price of $2-$2.50. Our dollar is at par, I am happy)

Chocolate- yes I can taste the chocolate! However, not as rich as those I have had on Nadège at 780 Queen St. W. in Toronto

Blueberry- yummy

Pistachio- lots of artificial green color but still yummy

Raspberry- lots of artificial pink color and also still yummy

Coffee- a subtle taste, I couldn't really tell what the flavor was. Still yummy though.

Washington DC, Leopold's Kafe

Leopold’s Kafe, 3318 M Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 202-965-6005

Right in the middle of Georgetown, we are all starving after a nice walk through the Washington monuments, we decide to grab a latte and bite at Leopold’s Kafe.

The hazelnut layer cake on the top looks divine.

Washington DC, Cafe Atlantico, Warm Chocolate Cake

Dessert: Warm Chocolate Cake, 4 / 5 stars


Visually it looked like a two-bite brownie (both in size and in shape). But the gooey warm molten center and richness more than made up for it. Although the outside was not as moist as one would think given the gooey chocolate center, it may have been the best of the three courses.

Washington DC, Cafe Atlantico, Duck Confit

Main/Entree: The Duck Confit, 2.5 / 5 stars

Disappointingly, the duck leg was dry and overcooked, a feat I had previously thought difficult for dark meat. The one or two brussel sprouts were addictive, solely due to the high amount of salt and shocking oily deep fried preparation…a disappointing short cut because anything deep fried tastes good.

Washington DC, Cafe Atlantico

Café Atlantico, 405 8th St. NW, Washington, DC, 20004; p: 202 393 0812, f: 202 393 0555 ,

Overall Food Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Service Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars: The waitress was sufficient (neither friendly nor grumpy), but at the end of our meal, not only was the bill put on our table promptly and without request (Code for, “We want our table and you out.”), after only a few minutes later, another waiter abruptly came and opened the bill cover and left it open and walked away! (Code for, “Give us our money now because we wanted you out 3 minutes ago!) He did not even bothering to pretend to be attentive to process our credit!

Atmosphere Rating: 4 / 5 stars: A pleasant atmosphere busy with people enjoying a night out during restaurant week.

I arrive in DC to join my friend Shadi, and her friends Rahim, Hasini, and Frederique for a restaurant week celebration at this Spanish themed restaurant she has been dying to check out since she arrived in DC in the fall.

There are 2 or 3 choices amongst the three course fixe prix menu, $35.11 (what the $.11 signifies, I am not sure). I order the Tuna Ceviche, the Duck Confit, and the Warm Chocolate cake.

Appetizer/Starter: The Tuna Ceviche, 3 / 5 stars

Beautifully presented, a half avocado is sliced delicately, concealing the tuna ceviche, chopped raw tuna theoretically marinated in lemon, herbs, and spices, hidden underneath the sliced avocado. Since I absolutely love fresh ripe avocado, whether in a sushi roll, mashed as guacamole, or as it is here, so I enjoy my first few bites of creamy and rich avocado slices very much.

Having enjoyed good ceviche while on a previous trip to Lima, Peru, I feel I can say quite confidently that there was no taste in Café Atlantico’s version, likely due to lack of  marinate, herbs, spices, or even a hint of lemon.  It was like raw fish cut up into little pieces for no reason.  Since sashimi grade quality fish is not used, the dish could not rely simply on its main ingredient…the raw fish itself lacked taste and Café Atlantico did not pair it with any.