Endy'

I tried Linda recently too at the new location. I thought the food was bang-on -- no kink-working-out necessary there -- though the service was a touch confused. I assume they'll work that out as time goes on. I have the sense (though I don't recall the downtown menu prices) that overall, prices have gone up. Wouldn't be surprising, given the new location and look. Mains hover around $20, which is a little more than I'd like to pay on a regular basis for lunch. There are lunch specials, but apparently smaller portions than the dinner sizes, which already aren't huge... it's not that I think the food isn't worth the price, just a little sad to have such good food within lunching distance but not at a price I can justify a few times a week. But then again, that's my problem, not theirs . They were packed when I went on a Friday afternoon around 1:30.

I'd go to such a place, but I don't know how often. I don't eat sweets much, so don't keep them around the house, but once in a while the urge will hit, so I'd pick up and hit the tasting. I think it's a fun concept that I'd enjoy -- and for me, the best part is getting to try lots of different things, instead of being faced with a daunting amount of the same dessert.

GordonCooks -- what were the portion sizes like? I guess the menu is a typical appetizer->main setup? The posted prices seem decent, but first few plates you shot seem pretty small so I wasn't sure if they were doing the small-plates thing. Thanks for the pics and the link. I'm intrigued by the "Bowls" section of the menu.

I don't think you should have to sacrifice your current practices, since you seem to be turning out soup you're proud of. But if people are specifically calling in and asking about your soup that day, it means that at least one of the soups (see boagman's point about mulligatawny) is making a very positive impression. They're saying "you have soup so good that I'm going to make a special trip for it".

I imagine so. After all, foie gras has long passed from the territory of "let's show off how avant garde we are by serving the same seared foie gras dish as everyone else" to a useful ingredient that makes useful appearances without being pervasive or tiresome.

ah -- mystery solved. I talked to them today and they said that they reopened on Thursday after both being sick for several days.

glad to hear that you enjoyed Verses -- I liked it better than Janet Lynn's too. Also glad to hear that Verses is still around, still doing interseting food, and that they've been able to stay afloat in K-W doing it.

passed by Sushi Marché today around noon and there was a sign on the door that said they were closed until further notice. Yesterday around 2pm there was a sign saying they'd be open starting at 3pm (their normal Saturday hours include lunch). anyone know what's going on? The temporary-sounding nature of yesterday's note makes me think (hope) that there's just been a brief interruption and that they'll be back soon. Hope they're OK personally and business-wise.

I tried Harbord Room for brunch a few months ago and found the service quite welcoming -- possibly just different vibes on different days. It did take us awhile to get a seat but that was just due to volume. Foodwise pretty good but again, it was brunch so not a good comparison.

I haven't been in Waterloo for a few years now, so I don't know if these places are still around or good. But these are some of the interesting places I remember. Salute -- on King near Bridgeport (?). Good for pasta lunches. A few bucks more than you'd pay elsewhere in town, but with a much higher quality-to-price ratio. Surprising care in the food. Yukiko's -- interesting casual little cafe with desserts, coffee, and light lunches (sandwiches, salads). Nothing crazy, but I liked it compared to the standard safety of Waterloo fare. Marbles just off King, near Waterloo Town Square. They were known for grinding their own meat for burgers once upon a time, but I don't think they do anymore. The burgers are still pretty decent though. Sit-down kinda place. the Heuther Hotel -- they brew some good beers there. Lunches are alright. Cedar Barn -- north of the city. Breakfast place. I liked their farmer's sausage. Shandiz (? on the name), in University Plaza, next to UW on University. Persian food. Quite tasty, I liked the rices a lot. Waterloo has really great pho. My favourite was Pho Dau Bo on King in Kitchener (cross street Frederick I think?). Pho Ben Thanh at Northfield/Weber in Waterloo was decent too, but likely less so now that they aren't brand new. One of the pho places -- I think it was Dau Bo -- opened a new (as of about 2 years ago) location on Victoria. Verses -- formal dining and quite innovative...for Waterloo. I liked it back when I went, but given that you have regular access to better in Toronto, you should probably skip it (if it's even still around). Harmony Lunch -- on King in Waterloo somewhere. Greasy diner that serves one thing -- pork burgers. I hate it, but it has a loyal following. You might want to bring a change of clothes that you can sacrifice to the greasy smell. I'm not kidding. ...looking back over this list, I realize that I'd never recommend most of these places to you if they were in Toronto. The pho -- better than any I've had in Toronto, ever -- is the main exception. Otherwise, honestly, depending on the nature/duration of your visit, you might want to just eat whatever, and save yourself the disappointment. Or at least start with zero expectations.

a few amendments to my post based on what Phoenikia mentioned (thanks P) -- Beerbistro -- the taps are varied and interesting, the food really isn't. I'd just visit for beer. It's packed and rowdy Saturday nights (totally different atmosphere than usual) so try to avoid then. Starfish -- I like it but there's no point going if you need to order non-adventurous. Weezie's -- thought it was good but I don't know that it was good enough to specifically recommend to an out-of-town visitor. Definitely safe and non-adventurous though. good luck!

JK Wine Bar is about 10 minutes' walk from 1 King W. SLM is about the same. "King St. West" has a pretty variable definition. I'd consider it King between Bathurst and Spadina. I think many would exclude that area and instead take it west from Bathurst. Technically anything west of Yonge on King is "King West" but I would never refer to, say, your hotel as being on "King West". Barberian's, a steakhouse, is moderate (for steak) and maybe 20-25 minutes' walk from your hotel, or a short subway ride. You're right on the subway line; actually, your building has direct indoor access to the subway station. I like Beerbistro a lot but it isn't quite a pub, so if you're looking for that atmosphere, look elsewhere. PJ O'Brien's and the Irish Embassy are both safe options in that vein. All 3 are closer to your hotel than the ACC, though. if you have more specific destinations in the Entertainment District, Financial District, etc., then I can help with distances, but it doesn't really make sense to say how far one neighbourhood is from the other. Your hotel is in the Financial District there. most of the restaurants in the Financial District seem to serve safe, solid, unadventurous food -- Reds, Canoe, Bymark, Vertical, Acqua -- these aren't recommendations so much as a comment on suitability. oh and edit: the underground walkways (the PATH) is awesome and you are directly connected to those as well. The PATH will take you north to Yonge and Dundas, south to Union Station, and west to the Hilton and Sheraton, but that's about it. It's also pretty confusing for first-timers.

thanks for posting your pics of Fuel. I too was quite impressed with the pork that I had there. It's good to know that they're still going strong -- looking forward to trying them again someday.

oh, I know. I wasn't saying that you're one of those diners. (I tried to convey that with the "both sides of the issue" comment, but reading back I admit it's unclear)

customers who order omakase are paying to eat exactly what they asked for -- omakase. I think your reply neatly covers both sides of the issue. For those who are adventurous and willing, there are (possibly) interesting and exciting results when ordering omakase. And those who aren't can go to an a la carte restaurant, where they'll get great sushi too. diners who ask a chef for whatever he/she would like to serve, and then say "that's not what I wanted!" are just one example of the broader attitude created by "the customer is always right". I rather think it's a power play on the part of the _diner_.

he's definitely pretty chilled about that sort of thing, so discussing preferences with him won't be a big deal. on the a la carte point though -- I would personally save Omi for when you have the time/etc. to do the omakase. I don't get the sense that his a la carte sushi is really much better than that elsewhere. That said, maybe some of the apps on his new menu are worth a try on their own. I think the pork belly was on, but what he _really_ needs to make available is that bibimbap with fish.

after a long absence, Omi is back, now at the corner of Carlton and Parliament. Few random thoughts: -distinct Korean influence in many of the dishes served (really liked that) -same characteristic Omi style of "twists" on conventional sushi/sashimi -beautiful beautiful platings -there's now an a la carte menu, but it's mostly apps with a few trite mains. But why would you go for anything but omakase anyway? -beautiful space (seating maybe 36), but no actual seating at the sushi bar itself. There is a bar/countertop that runs along the west wall (seats 12), but you're not exactly at the sushi bar. I sort of wonder if this is a mistake since a lot of the fun of Omi was the dialogue with Chef Lee and the energy of watching him work. pics of the meal are up on Flickr. Favourites were the take on bibimbap and the salmon sashimi. EDIT: one more thing, the restaurant is just called Omi Restaurant...and I believe the restaurant in the former space on Church is still called Omi as well...?

thanks both for the news about Rare. I would really love to hear about it reopening again under Chef Fowke, but it doesn't sound like that will be the case

so that's where Chef McClean went? Sounds like a must-visit now...

admittedly I haven't tried personally, but supposedly JKWB started taking reservations when they closed the Restaurant and opened that side up as part of the Wine Bar. Maybe Nondoc can confirm.

I think it should be pretty easy to get a res at JKWB for the weekend, unless you have a huge group. I don't personally have recs in that genre but I believe Lee, Cava, and Kultura would be in that category.

the tagline was appropriate given that NOW doesn't review restaurants in Japan, though.

that's one writer out of many. A review in the Globe specifically called out the same lack of non-sushi Japanese restaurants that you mention. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...0628.wnuttall28 as for the idea that sushi dominates this board...I'm really not sure where that comes from. There are certainly some topics I think are overdiscussed here, but I don't think sushi is one of them. Looking through the 100 newest threads, I see 1 thread about kaiseki, and 1 thread on Japanese, and that's it. And hey, as we've been reminded, all Japanese food isn't sushi. if sushi feels overdiscussed, it's probably because there aren't many worthy options in town. If you asked for everyone's top 5 choices, I'm certain the same few would be repeated over and over. EDIT: oh, and now that I read the NOW mag article...if you had clicked through to the article itself instead of just reading the tagline, you'd see the writer gives Manpuku kudos for doing non-sushi Japanese. In the very first paragraph, actually. So the tagline really reads more like encouragement of non-sushi Japanese than anything else. double edit: I can't help but feel like I've been trolled.

so that's where this post got moved to. Not sure why it's about baking but whatever. I went on Saturday and got rained on pretty hard. I tried stinky tofu for the first time, didn't like it. Lineups for that were really long though. lots of booths to see and food to try, the one standout for me were the grilled lamb skewers. Had fun though, will probably go back next year. I don't have a ton of pics as it was too hard to juggle camera, umbrella, and food. But what I did get is posted.

hi sadistick -- you might find some tips in these threads too: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=112516 http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=98536 hope you have a good trip.