Endy'

snacky - as a bonus, said Owl restaurant is open 24h

that's true...if snacky_cat is filling one of her travel suitcases with money before coming don't get me wrong, I love it a lot, but I left it out due to the budgetary concerns she described...

you might find it hard to avoid pork no matter what the menu lists. It's probably the single most common meat in Chinese cooking here and even if a dish doesn't have pork proper, it's probably come in contact with meat, or maybe been made from pork stock... may or may not be an issue depending on what your limits are, but I just wanted to provide fair warning...even if you were able to communicate that you don't eat pork, the reality is they might or might not ensure that was taken care of...

third vote for Swatow but watch what time you go; past midnight, especially on the weekends, the place is full of drunken clubkids and it's not that pleasant to dine in. The food itself is not affected of course and still very, very good. this thread had some suggestions for places near the University. I recommend against dim sum anywhere downtown (more thoughts at this thread)...and I would imagine you have better options in Vancouver anyway. If you can get north of the city to Richmond Hill, you have better choices, but that's out of the subway range that you mention. for bars, there's the Bedford Ballroom on Bloor near, well, Bedford...this is close to where you'll be staying. Standard bar stuff though.

you might encounter difficulty at many other places if you had a complaint about using a sheet...carts are still #1 / most authentic IMO (but losing popularity), but most common after that is the sheets. There's never a menu; you just mark down on the sheet what you want and they start bringing it out and crossing it off. dim sum's roots are kinda...bare-bones...

I tend to agree. If I dined with a party (or on a date), the conversation was constant, and ESPECIALLY if they weren't super-interested in the food, I don't know that Perigee would be a good choice. In fact I wonder how it would work for a party larger than 6 or even 4. Just that Chef Riley coming by with each course and explanations of 2 (or 4, or...8?) dishes is a bit of an interruption. In my case it was very welcome; it might not be for some other groups. on the basis of 1 try each, I found the food at Perigee more exciting and enjoyable than that of Susur...but service at Susur was more slick, and invisible (in a good way). Again, depending on your party, the latter might be more important (but in that case I would suggest going somewhere with a set carte).

Czehoski on Queen West (just past Bathurst, north side) does a luxe burger too; in their words: "Two all (organic hand-cut organic sirloin tip) beef patties (mixed with sauteed shallots and garlic, cognac, green peppercorns, Italian black truffle, Dijon, rosemary, panko breadcrumbs and foie gras), red wine braised organic short-ribs, endive, heirloom tomatoes, double smoked bacon, secret (unpasteurized cheese) sauce, capers, pure gold, on a toasted seame seed bun. On a silver platter." They bill it as the second most expensive burger in town (the first probably being a reference to Bymark). I haven't tried either though.

get the heck out of the tourist zone and make the drive into Niagara-on-the-Lake. I don't know if winery tours are available around this time of year but many of the restaurants attached to the wineries are reputedly quite good. Sorry as I don't speak from any personal experience but I have heard good things about On The Twenty and the restaurant attached to the Peller Estates Winery. try these threads too... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=77220 http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=75524 good luck...

I'm told that a new one just opened up on the SE corner of Steeles and Middlefield. That may or may not be the McCowan/Steeles one you're referring to, I don't personally know.

you're right, I was seriously remiss in not pointing out the cost of Lai Wah Heen. I believe we paid $30 each (after taxes/tips) and we weren't particularly full. I did feel it was worth, but again, not daily. in reply to others' incredulity about downtown Chinatown: it's been Vietnamese for quite some time now and if you're not looking to go to Richmond Hill, Scarborough or Markham are (only slightly) closer options. I assume that Vietnamese food downtown (see parallel thread) is good. But Chinese is not. I will say the street markets downtown are nicer for some things (I don't mind the smell or crowd) but the supermarkets in Richmond Hill have _enormous_ selections.

was just at Bright Pearl 2 months ago and it was worse than disappointing. Just about the only thing the place has going for it now is the history -- the former former (former?) restaurant there, Hsin Kuang, was the best Chinese restaurant in Toronto before all the money went up to Richmond Hill (the building is still named the "Hsin Kuang Centre" or something). we saw an endless parade of dim sum of dubious origin (rice flour roll of...long bean and mushroom and baby bok choy??), washed-out flavour (siu mai so bland that I really believe they used the meat for soup, before forming the siu mai), and servers who wouldn't even speak Chinese to us. the place is nothing but a tourist trap now. I can see someone terming it "good", but not in the context of the downtown Chinatown of 10 years ago...or today's north-end Chinatown.

are you bound to the Mississauga area, TTC service, or any other constraints? If not then I suggest you try Ambassador, which is on the north side of Highway 7, between Bayview and Leslie. They share a plaza with a CIBC and what used to be (is? a Just Desserts). High-end dim sum, no carts though. Still fairly traditional. Lai Wah Heen in the Metropolitan Hotel downtown, on Chestnut, is more of a departure from tradition and very pricey, but good if you want a twist on typical dim sum offerings. But I wouldn't expect to go there unless one was going out of one's way to find "dim sum" -- it's only interesting in the context of a change from the usual. downtown Chinatown is mostly a wasteland these days for dim sum. Richmond Hill (IE along Highway 7) is your best bet. I've heard good things about a Richview Gardens, or Bayview Gardens, on 7, but I haven't personally been.

I was at JOV Bistro this weekend with a friend, both of us opting for the 4-course tasting menu ($70). My friend asked for vegetarian+seafood (the courses I'll list first) and we also asked for a wine pairing (1 glass each with the mains). Here's what came out: breads French stick-style white bread (nothing special) something that resembled longer slices of Melba toast that were "oily" (I think it was pre-buttered, although my friend thought it might have been olive oil) and were sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds. I found these rather addictive... amuse golden beet and something I neglected to write down. mince of venison on profiterole with spaghetti(ed?) squash on the side. The venison was lightly curried and eating it with the profiterole was a little unusual ("this is like a weird eclair"). there was a mild service hiccup here as they brought out 2 of the venison. They self-corrected a few minutes later by bringing out the beets for my friend, so no big deal. apps sea scallops with a remoulade of celeriac and apple. The scallops were a little on the tough side but quite tasty. seared foie gras on (candied?) honey-infused sweet potato. I found the "mashy", almost gummy texture of the yam a mismatch for the foie gras as it sort of coated my mouth and was a little dry to swallow. pre-mains we both received salmon, seared then baked, with hearts of palm and a few greens (didn't catch this either, they were something leafy along the lines of romaine). The greens were dressed with something shockingly oily and incredibly salty; the salmon was good but nothing special. We thought this course was a bit, well...boring. (intermezzo of citrus sorbet) mains monkfish, pan-seared then oven-roasted; pearl onions and turned carrots; saffron beurre blanc. Paired with a 2002 Sauvignon Blanc from France (forgot the winery). The monkfish was nicely tender and very flavourful (I felt this was the best of the veg/seafood dishes), the sauce was unobtrusive (perhaps a little too subtle?). bison, also seared then roasted, with shiitake mushrooms; on pearl onions, turned potatoes, and Savoy cabbage; juniper-lime-thyme reduction. Paired with a south Australian Shiraz. The reduction was pretty tart at first taste and worked surprisingly well (I say surprisingly because I'm not usually a fan of sweet/fruity sauces for meaty/savoury dishes). A bit on the sticky side but nothing some wine couldn't fix . I liked the potatoes; no complaints about the bison itself but no specific praise either. (I know little about wine so I won't comment further on the pairings) we did notice that both of our sauces had formed a "skin" when they made it to our table. I don't know if this was because they sat and cooled at the pass, or if their compositions just made them susceptible. They tasted fine, of course, but the effect was (only vaguely) unappetizing in a cosmetic sense. dessert was a crepe of poached pear and quince in a "burnt" sabayon, with sour cherries. I liked this, especially the sabayon and the cherries, which were a nice "burst" of sour and booziness. The "burnt" sabayon was almost offensive at first (like mistakenly burnt food) but the shock of it wore off and the flavour worked well. Somewhat sadly, I thought this was the best of my dishes. we found little fault with the food itself, and the service was efficient and polite (if the slightest bit detached, but to me that's not a fault). However, we were disappointed because many of our dishes seemed to be right off the menu (monkfish, bison, scallop, and I believe the foie?). This was a letdown because we had opted for the tasting menu after not really being interested by the listed mains or the vegetarian option (sauteed mixed vegetables in phyllo). This was compounded by the few duplicates we received. all this added up to feeling that $70 was a bit excessive for a tasting menu that drew right off the carte. I'm aware this is done elsewhere, but in my experience only when the tasting menu is listed, as a "here's a bit of all the things we do" approach, not as a blind tasting menu. Also (and my memory might fail me here), wasn't it called the "Trust Me" menu at one point? in hindsight, we probably would have done better to pick 5-7 starters and just let the kitchen turn them out in whatever order they preferred. We would have seen more variety and the menu made the apps sound more interesting than the mains.

For years that place was N.side of Bloor, downstairs, but near Bedford&Bloor, or closer to Avenue than Spadina. I passed by a couple weeks ago and it is now gone. Greg's is _not_ gone but has relocated (as I mentioned) to Spadina and Bloor (the old location was Bloor closer to Avenue, across from the RCM). The old location is now occupied by a rather clueless gelato vendor. More specifically Greg's is on the south side of Bloor maybe 3 doors west of Spadina, next to "PI-TA-Q" and the Jewish Community Centre. Hope that helps. and you can find more details on the Gallery Grill (in the Hart House) here: http://www.torontolife.com/cityguide/listi...listing_id=6299. Again I've never been.

I favour Aunties and Uncles for breakfast which is at College and Lippincott (just E of Bathurst), NW corner. Someone in this forum once described it as having "too many hungover hipsters" which I can't disagree with but I've always felt comfortable eating there alone. Don't miss the potato salad with mustard seed and dill; the grilled cheese with arugula and peameal is nice too. It *is* a total hole in the wall though. (416) 324-1375 74 Lippincott Street some people swear by Greg's Ice Cream at Spadina and Bloor...I think they're just OK, interesting flavours but personally I wouldn't make a special trip during a 3-day visit. (416) 962-4734 750 Spadina Avenue because it's close(ish) by...I've heard good things about the dining room in the Hart House at the University of Toronto, but never been. But apparently it's not at all what you would expect for campus food (silverware/tablecloths/etc.). if you're into it, I (and I'm sure others) can make a few recommendations for Chinatown which is close to where you'll be too. if you haven't already visited them, torontolife.com and toronto.com are good resources for finding joints. Enjoy your stay!