Endy'

ok, finally polished off the rest of the Apricot Linzer Torte. Sorry it took so long really loved the clear flavour of the nuts coming through (oh man, and the smell the night I brought it home...so irresistable). Liked the "weight"/substance of the torte...not a wimpy after-dinner dessert by any means . As I mentioned earlier, liked it for not being stiflingly sweet...which may not be a totally good thing because it meant I could just keep eating more I think its greatest triumph though was impressing my folks, neither of whom are dessert people. I told sadistick that the convenience really appealed to me -- once I've tried the ones on offer I'll probably start putting in orders for 3-5 at a time and toss them in the freezer for a special occasion (you know, like those times when I feel like having a snack ). sadistick, just wondering, do you offer any of them "fresh" (never frozen) if I can pick them up at the time that you're making them? Or is freezing an integral part of the "assembly"...?

it'll be funny when the first eG group order gets placed and sadistick is up to his ears in tarts sadistick and I finally finished playing e-mail/phone/jam tag and I went over to pick up an Apricot Linzer Torte on Thursday night. I had intended to save it to share with family/friends this weekend but...uh...I couldn't resist and took a piece to work on Friday. I probably would've dug in on Thursday night if it wasn't still frozen-ish (heck, I almost did anyway!). It smelled so good even under the wrap. I'll post more thoughts after the weekend when I've had a chance to consume more, but suffice to say that it was excellent and I am glad that sadistick is doing his part in the war against overly sweet desserts. oh and sadistick is a really nice guy in addition to being aptly named (his real name, not his handle )

sadistick, we're cheering for you. Knock 'em dead. And did those Apricot Linzertortes get made? I'm drooling just imagining it (but it may be because I had a small dinner )

is there any other kind of place there? I get the feeling Coffee Crisps are available in Europe...they are in the UK at least...

JK Wine Bar over Lee but as pointed out upthread, have a backup choice nearby (I'd say Hiro Sushi but maybe you guys can do better in Vancouver already). I did like Romagna Mia in that area, but again that's probably not something you need to come to Toronto for. I like both Susur and Perigee but if you're only doing 1, and especially if you're coming from outside Toronto, Perigee wins hands-down. re: brunch, this is kind of a weird twist on it but at least consider dim sum at Lai Wah Heen, which is at the Metropolitan Hotel. Expensive but unique as far as dim sum goes (and damned good). bon appetit

I'm sure elsewhere people think the idea of corn roasts / corn boils (sorry, can't remember what they're called) are pretty weird. my sister once reported that the idea of roasting marshmallows was foreign to people she was hanging out with in Switzerland.

Pearl is good eatin', although I didn't know they did dim sum. Gotta make my way down there I guess.

I too tried Fran's on the whole "Toronto Tradition" basis and haven't since been back -- even for its 24-hour-ness. I also happened to go to Mel's (Bloor West near Bathurst) on the weekend and that was pretty shoddy too, although not nearly as bad as Fran's. when I think of diners, my comfort food is bacon and eggs...unfortunately, the only recommendations I have are in Waterloo...I liked Angie's (Erb W of King), Daily Grill (Northfield near Davenport) and just before I moved, I discovered Cedar Barn on the way out to St. Jacobs. Good eggs, awesome bacon, great fresh sausage too (and I usually hate sausage). I'm currently trying to find a good lunchtime spot for bacon and eggs near work (Fairview Mall-ish)...

just checking. You were talking about the restaurant an awful lot and it didn't sound like you'd been there yet.

called qpro (thanks malcolm), who said they distribute Voss and Ty Nant to local retailers like Caban, Whole Foods, Pusateri's, etc.. They also have a warehouse in town (Etobicoke if I recall) where you can buy same, casewise. also contacted those Aqua Store guys about Badoit, and they advised me to try Pusateri's and Whole Foods, and that if that didn't pan out, they were willing to ship me some at "minimal rates". I went by Whole Foods a few nights ago and they have Voss and Ty Nant (and Galvania, Fiji, etc. etc.) but no Badoit. I'll try Pusateri's this weekend. BTW, I tried the Ty Nant still and thought it was nothing remarkable...but I don't typically like still water.

D. Peckham -- how did you think the food tasted?

what're we looking at price-wise, doc? Their site doesn't list prices for anything unfortunately.

that was my first thought too, but how many people actually do? How many people have we all met who won't even eat raw fish (and c'mon, sushi's been in the mainstream for a really long time now, compared to say Ethiopean food)? that said, I don't think Lobby needs a huge flood of patrons into the whole molecular gastronomy thing to stay afloat. Especially if their menu isn't purely weird science, I'm sure they can do enough "normal" business.

I was in earlier tonight; hadn't been before, and I wanted to go before they were gone. Anyway, I asked and they confirmed that Chef McDonald will be doing a small plates / tapas-y thing, something where you can drop in for a casual bite or a glass of wine (their words, not mine). They expect to open at the end of April at the aforementioned Yonge and St. Clair location. Apparently this information is public now but hasn't been officially announced is all. incidentally the location reminded me of the other thread going on about the "hovering" restaurant so I asked about that, she didn't have any idea what I was talking about...

out of curiosity, how much do they sell them for?

then it seems that you agree that Chatto is right on the money about these being the top 20 restaurants in Toronto. Not everyone eats in Montreal regularly and those of us who are "forced" to dine here want to know about the options locally available. as for "overly generous", every journalist (along with every other person on the planet) has their own style of expression. Chatto's appears to be one of highly flowery language (he once described a steak knife as "hefty enough to fell a charging rhino"). If you're is going to rely on someone's reviews (whether music, videogames, or food), then the only thing that makes sense is getting to know the reviewer's style, so you can understand what they are _really saying_.

I didn't mean to; there was an "etc." in there...

just wondering if anyone knows a place I can buy Badoit, Voss, etc., locally in Toronto. The best options I know of are either 1. paying a massive markup (understandable; they're a restaurant) at EPIC or 2. these guys, http://www.aqua-store.com, and I'm not even sure yet if they'll ship outside Montreal...

do you perhaps have suggestions for restaurants better than the list of so-called best restaurants, or are we forced to narrow it down based on slowly eliminating the ones you think _aren't_ best?

see here's the thing...it might be easy to say that Kaji is better than Hiro and so on but the hard part is, as Nondoctor is saying, trying to say where the tops of the respective genres stand next to each other. It's like comparing apples and exuberance! I got to put steak up twice 'cause I really, really like it, but Chatto doesn't get that benefit, he's trying to write pseudo-objectively. (oh, and I can understand JK Wine Bar being up. It's another Kaji, Lai Wah Heen, etc....in that it's a different category altogether. The food might or might not be similar to (say) Thuet or Canoe but the experience is totally different. I think however that it does compare to Lee, for example, which I like it better than...which is why it makes my list.)

was the list positioned as "restaurants that have been good" or "restaurants that will be good" (sorry, my issue hasn't arrived yet)? I'm surprised to see that Avalon isn't up there, he's always liked it in the past, and I'm not sure it makes sense to ignore them just because they're going away (note that I'm not claiming that they should or shouldn't be there, I haven't been). actually, I think it'd be interesting to hear people here list their top 20. Also, I think the lists would be more valuable if they were derived highly subjectively instead of trying to be objective...for me it'd go something like: 1. Terra 2. Susur 3. Perigee 4. Harbour Sixty 5. Starfish 6. JK Wine Bar 7. Barberian's as far as their list goes, I'm actually really surprised Terra isn't up, I know it holds a special place for me but on an objective level I would still have voted it on somewhere. Rundles on the other hand I found pretty boring. I think Perigee got underrated but I know it doesn't get as much excitement (yet?) outside the foodie crowd.

all this half-talk is making me curious about their _food_...I just might try them, I heard they're open late after all (although, and this is only from driving past, they always look a little too cool to be serving good food)... oh and if anyone can figure out what the connection is between this: http://www.chefdb.com/pl/677/ and this: http://www.torstar.com then I'd love to know.

well, you're right; I can name 1 good Chinese restaurant in the downtown Chinatown area. I guess I was remembering the dim sum thread where I said that there are no good options in the downtown Chinatown (which I stand by, although Lai Wah Heen is downtown if not in Chinatown). But downtown still pales in comparison to Richmond Hill, enough so that I wouldn't recommend a special trip at all.

oops -- preaching to the choir, I see. No matter. Go get some pig blood, and then come back and gross out sadistick

I maintain that downtown Chinatown is a wasteland (foodwise), and Richmond Hill is out of public transport range. For a start, try Koreatown (near Christie subway station on the Bloor line); that would be worth a meal.