What are your favourite restaurants in your city? - Page 9

333609543 · #**161** Posted **Mar 9, 2015, 4:11 PM**

Pizza Flora at Roncesvalles & Galley in Toronto has some really good pizza and pasta.

rousseau · #**162** Posted **Mar 22, 2015, 12:41 AM**

You know confounds me? Why is it that so-called fish and chip shops in Canada don't serve proper English-style chips? They taste better than skinny American-style french fries. I mean, what is the point of filling up the plate with mass-produced, flavourless, string-bean-like slivers of dubious manufactory provenance if you're supposed to, you know, be serving a dish called "fish and chips"?

My wife and I went to a popular fish and chip place today. The haddock was certainly tasty and well done, but the french fries were slightly battered and had no flavour to them outside of a vague, crunchy sense of deep-fried emptiness. They were disgusting, and literally left a bad taste in my mouth.

That proper English-style chips haven't put french fries out to pasture and rendered them nothing more than a bad culinary memory is a mystery to me.

SignalHillHiker · #**163** Posted **Apr 10, 2015, 2:08 AM**

Tonight we went to Chinched (it means, basically, "happy and full" in Newfoundland English). It's not high end, but close enough for us.

SO GOOD...

Highly recommend this place.

kwoldtimer · #**164** Posted **Apr 10, 2015, 2:30 AM**

SHH, tell us you didn't leave your hat on at table!

By the way, "Wash Closet"? Seriously?

SignalHillHiker · #**165** Posted **Apr 10, 2015, 2:37 AM**

I'm bald and don't like showing it unless I'm clean shaven.

Yeah, usually it's more normal: wash room. They had pig art everywhere lol. It was mildly insulting. Also, R. is Muslim and he observes not eating pork

We had to double check everything.

One downside: awful beer selection. Quidi Vidi and Guiness was basically it. Both delicious but not much of a selection. Awesome staff tho.

Me&You · #**166** Posted **Apr 10, 2015, 6:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Tonight we went to Chinched (it means, basically, "happy and full" in Newfoundland English). It's not high end, but close enough for us.

SO GOOD...

Walking down George Street East. Chinched is the one with the big windows.

Highly recommend this place.

Considering the menu has quite a few of my favorites / go-tos, it looks like my kinda place. But I gotta ask: are those prices typical for Hali?

I've often heard the restaurant prices in Calgary are (over)inflated. But $30 for ramen... $45 for a share plate of charcuterie... Really?

SignalHillHiker · #**167** Posted **Apr 10, 2015, 7:22 PM**

STJs, not HFX - but yeah, it's not cheap. Most of the downtown restaurants that aren't part of a franchise will end up above $50/person with a drink. Pub-style places, less. And then everything else, as far as I'm aware - for example, fast food - comparable to anywhere else.

Our most expensive restaurant here, as far as I'm aware, is Raymond's:

It's the go-to place. For example, when King Danny had the Habs officials in town last week, that's where he took them.

And they won that Million Dollar Review contest:

• Video Link

And one of the chefs behind that one has a more middle-of-the-road establishment similar in class to Chinched opening soon. So we'll be checking it out.

Me&You · #**168** Posted **Apr 10, 2015, 9:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

STJs, not HFX

Marty_Mcfly · #**169** Posted **Apr 11, 2015, 12:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

One downside: awful beer selection. Quidi Vidi and Guiness was basically it. Both delicious but not much of a selection. Awesome staff tho.

The bartender at Chinched is amazing (if he's the same guy that was there when myself and my girlfriend were there back in the fall), beer probably isn't a huge priority for them. Their bourbon amaretto sour was awesome, and they had a pretty good drink (which name I can't remember) with gin and blackberry-infused tea.

Kinda bummed that school got in the way of going out with you guys, but it's a restaurant I'll have to get back to soon (their tapas menu is unreal

)

And yeah, the ownership there is awesome. When we were there, we got to speak to both the owners for a few minutes as we were sat downstairs at the bar, with only one other table down there. They were super awesome, friendly, and it was an absolute pleasure to meet them. Their smiles alone make me want to go back

Scruff Bucket · #**170** Posted **Apr 11, 2015, 1:29 AM**

If you get a chance to dine at Brazilian Steakhouses, there are a few choices that we (my wife and I, and friends and family we've gone out with) like, esp. for (all-you-can-eat) Rodizio!

In Calgary, we like Bolero, in Saskatoon, there's Saboroso, and then Tourro Churrascaria in Richmond Hill (Toronto). We also went to one in downtown peninsula, Vancouver, but I can't remember what it was called! All of them were very well done, each with an unlimited, well-stocked salad bar when you eat the Rodizio (which was great with our twin and singleton toddlers)!

For all-you-can-eat (of course!) Chinese in North York (Toronto), you can't beat the Dragon Pearl Buffet, with all of their different fresh-prepared food stations (sushi, stir-fry, dim sum, etc.)

While on the topic of all-you-can-eat, Frankie Tomatto's Italian on Woodbine in Markham is pretty good, too! Great value!

Then there's a few a-y-c-e sushi places in both Vancouver and Toronto that we've tried with friends when we're there! Don't forget the extremely kid-friendly IKEA restaurants (not a-y-c-e, but a great value nonetheless)! I love me some Swedish meatballs!!

Saskatoon has their must-go-to Jerry's Food Emporium for gourmet burgers, ice cream -- for the kids, especially, Yip Hong's for excellent dim sum, and of course, a-y-c-e Go for Sushi

Around Regina here, the kid friendly a-y-c-e places we frequent are I Like Sushi, I Love Sushi (same ownership ?), Dynasty Gourmet Asian Buffet; Brewster's, Landmark (south location), and Houston Pizza, Quance St. for brunch, and Cravings for a-la-carte brunch! Not a-y-c-e, Regency Palace, and Mei Wei Bistro are great Chinese food places we often take the family to!

Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza's (former CP Rail grand format hotel, soon to be Autograph Collection by Marriott) Cortlandt Dining Room, Creek In Cathedral Bistro, The Diplomat, Golf's Steak House, Memories Fine Dining, Greko's Restaurant, The Willow on Wascana each have very nice fine food menus.

There are still a number of recommended and new restaurants around Regina, and even more in Van, T.O., Calgary, S'toon (when we're there) we haven't yet tried, mainly because of our toddlers, but given time and their growing up, we'll try to visit some of them! Plus, we're always on the lookout for yummy Korean (esp. a-y-c-e BBQ) and spicy East Indian cuisines!

giallo · #**171** Posted **Apr 11, 2015, 1:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

STJs, not HFX - but yeah, it's not cheap. Most of the downtown restaurants that aren't part of a franchise will end up above $50/person with a drink. Pub-style places, less. And then everything else, as far as I'm aware - for example, fast food - comparable to anywhere else.

Our most expensive restaurant here, as far as I'm aware, is Raymond's:

It's the go-to place. For example, when King Danny had the Habs officials in town last week, that's where he took them.

Raymond's looks fantastic. It's the first place I'd go for dinner if I was to visit St.Js.

But yeah, $30 for a bowl of ramen is RIDICULOUS. I can get a fantastic bowl of ramen from a michelin star Japanese restaurant in increasingly expensive Shanghai for $10. It's a peasant dish, and should never cost that much. Anyone who pays that much for a bowl of noodles from a place that isn't even Japanese is insane.

SignalHillHiker · #**172** Posted **Apr 11, 2015, 10:00 AM**

The sad thing is I considered it lol. I've never had proper ramen that I can recall. At least, not from anywhere authentic at any price. I'm not sure it's available here? That could be how they get away with it. People know what the real stuff looks like and that it's supposed to be delicious - but even if it is available here elsewhere, it's not widely so or known to be. I'll have to check the Japanese places here and see. Basho seems most likely as I think it's not just sushi.

One weird thing I've noticed - and present on both menu pictures above: restaurants here proudly announce when their beef is from PEI. Why is that? I didn't even know they have a good rep for beef.

SignalHillHiker · #**173** Posted **Apr 11, 2015, 1:17 PM**

I went out this morning to get some pictures of the freezing rain and stopped at The Bagel Cafe for breakfast on my way home.

It's a truly hilarious experience.

SignalHillHiker · #**174** Posted **Apr 17, 2015, 11:29 AM**

Went to the Duke of Duckworth (probably the only English pub, as opposed to Irish, in the city) for "fee and chee and dee and gree!" as KAO79 says lol.

People swears by it but it's not my favourite in the city. Leo's and Chafe's Landing are mine.

Still delicious though. And very, very good cod.

SignalHillHiker · #**175** Posted **Apr 20, 2015, 3:13 PM**

A new favourite - Mallard Cottage. It's in Quidi Vidi, inside one of the oldest wooden structures in North America. The food is almost entirely local and heavily based on traditional cuisine. It has (by my standards) expensive ($40) dinner entrees but also offers a less expensive lunch menu and has an even more affordable brunch all-day on Sundays. There's live music, often simply by patrons. A wood stove, leaded windows... the works. It won the Southcott Award here for heritage preservation and has been in the news quite a lot as the owner is a big fan of seal.

We went for lunch - absolutely delicious. G. had cod with peas pudding, onion, spinach, and wedges. I had a pulled pork breakfast sandwich with a delicious sauce. And J. had hash with all the usual root vegetables, and just enough beets to turn the whole dish red. We all had some of each others and it was fantastic. I'm definitely going back to try a proper entree.

SignalHillHiker · #**176** Posted **Apr 25, 2015, 10:21 PM**

We had a few misses this week that I definitely wouldn't consider a favourite - including one with a stellar reputation but mediocre food. There was nothing wrong with them - they just weren't great.

Yesterday, however, we hit another fantastic one - Aqua.

The menu is divided into Snacks (appetizers), Raw (appetizer-portioned raw seafood such as oysters), Etc. (slightly larger portions), and Scoff (entrees; scoff just means a really big meal in local slang).

G. and I went with the Aqua Benny: savoury cod cake, butter roasted lobster, asparagus, poached egg, crispy Serrano ham, mustard pickle hollandaise, and caviar. It was great for the price - $30 and included basically a full lobster.

Everything about this was perfection. It was SO delicious and the flavours went together exceptionally well.

The appetizers were great as well, including a few things the chef just sends out to try - free. The calamari was perfectly cooked. I can't remember the last time it wasn't overdone and rubbery when prepared as a pub-style dish.

http://aquarestaurant.ca/AQUADinnerMenu.pdf

Hali87 · #**177** Posted **May 31, 2015, 6:22 AM**

double post

Hali87 · #**178** Posted **May 31, 2015, 6:23 AM**

A cool little article about Halifax's amped-up dining scene. I disagree with what the author says about downtown (there are plenty of great, if less esoteric restaurants downtown) but the article does a good job of capturing the evolving food scene, and more generally the cultural direction the city is heading. Interesting stuff.

Re: prices in Halifax. they are probably about 20% cheaper (on average) for something similar to the first menu that SSH posted (Chinched). It could be that the servings here are just smaller (not sure, but a lot of the newer restaurants tend on the small side) but I think ingredients are probably cheaper here as well (a lot of ingredients are grown in the province and connections to the rest of NA are better) Actually the three main restaurants profiled in the article are probably pretty comparable to Chinched... here are the menus for Edna, Field Guide, and The Brooklyn Warehouse.

Overall, food prices here seem fairly average, which is odd because apparently NS has the worst food security ratings of all the provinces. I guess something that isn't evident in the menus is that taxes are higher here than in most provinces, so everything's actually a bit more expensive than it looks.

Marty_Mcfly · #**179** Posted **May 31, 2015, 2:41 PM**

Food prices in general are expensive here, whether at a restaurant or at the store. Many of the downtown restaurants will buy local meats and produce, however the cost of doing so is pretty steep. There are cheaper options at Chinched, such as their tapas menu, where I believe you can get 5 for $30....probably wouldn't pay anything near that for ramen though.

Interesting article on Halifax's restaurant scene; I've heard great things about Edna. The last time I was in Hali (2009'ish) there wasn't much to eat near downtown. I do remember Your Fathers Mustache, which was good, but I suppose it's kind of a different style of restaurant than a place like Edna.

Drybrain · #**180** Posted **May 31, 2015, 4:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Food prices in general are expensive here, whether at a restaurant or at the store. Many of the downtown restaurants will buy local meats and produce, however the cost of doing so is pretty steep. There are cheaper options at Chinched, such as their tapas menu, where I believe you can get 5 for $30....probably wouldn't pay anything near that for ramen though.

Interesting article on Halifax's restaurant scene; I've heard great things about Edna. The last time I was in Hali (2009'ish) there wasn't much to eat near downtown. I do remember Your Fathers Mustache, which was good, but I suppose it's kind of a different style of restaurant than a place like Edna.

I've only been here for 16 months and even I've seen noticeable changes. Anyone I know who's from here indicates it's night and day from just five years ago, from being a pretty mediocre food town to offering options on par with anywhere else in the country. So I bet you'd find a big change from 2009.

That goes double for the microbrew scene.