Endy'

can anyone recommend some restaurants that have a private room that would accomodate 15-20 people? The party in question aren't foodies nor overly fussy eaters; the restaurant doesn't have to be of the bland-and-boring boneless-skinless-chicken-breasts variety, nor does it have to be pushing any culinary boundaries. Price range should be ~$50/person before tax tips wine. -it'll be between Christmas and New Year's, so it needs to be someplace open during that stretch. -there will be 2 younger kids in the party, so *really* boring/quiet/dark places might not work well (they should be generally well-behaved, and with a private room I don't imagine a little leg-stretching inside the room is an issue). -I've been asked to exclude Chinese, and I think all other East Asian -- we have too much of it already. -downtown works, as does Richmond Hill / North York (or places between downtown and RH). Outliers like Scarborough and Etobicoke would be more difficult. -only allergy I'm aware of is crab/lobster (shrimp is apparently OK) so I think we're ok there. -I have to eat too, so I'd prefer a place that has more than chicken-beef-salmon thanks for the advice.

ahh, I never had a chance to try it. I always had this impression of it being a celebrity hotspot (and only that), and didn't know anything about the food. Does anyone have a tale of a memorable (for whatever reason) meal there?

hey sadistick, I know you ran into big problems when you were there, but I've had nothing but excellent food there, and I've never had any service problems either. I did specifically mention your (and others') objections so as to give SushiCat a balanced view. But I also recall I wasn't the only one speaking highly of them. I know you weren't suggesting that I should take someone else's negative experience as overriding the very positive ones I've personally had

I don't *think* Terra is part of Oliver and Bonacini, although I do vouch for the restaurant itself (not as good as it once was, but still good, especially when you consider its location). for a fast an easy lunch I would recommend Jim Chai Kee, in a plaza on the north side of highway 7, west of Leslie. You'll know the plaza by the CIBC building and Just Desserts sign that face 7 (you won't see the restaurant itself). It's a hole in the wall that serves wontons and noodles. there's also a place called J-Town, which is on Steeles, north side, 1 (?) light east of Woodbine. They have a little lunch counter and you can also go crazy with a big assortment of Japanese groceries and snacks. I suspect for non-Asian ingredients you'd have to go west to at least Yonge. for dinner I'd recommend Ambassador, which is in the same plaza as Jim Chai Kee. But others have raised serious service/food issues in this forum, so search for that thread; I've had nothing but good experiences myself, though.

I think it's often a question of the vocal minority. I think -- and as someone else has said -- the regulars don't bother replying to posters *trying* to be uninformed...or just inflamatory. I find both Toronto Life and James Chatto perfectly up front with their review technique. I know the yearly guides include the blurb about compensation, no connection to advertising, ambiance noted but not included, etc.. If memory serves, the monthly issues contain this too.

hmm...I was really underwhelmed by the kitchen side of the omakase when I went to Hiro, so I didn't get it the second time, opted for more sushi instead...

oh, and thanks JasonTrue for posting about the chopstick thing!

ouch I couldn't help it, everything looked so good! I guess I should be thankful for having a good metabolism I loved Omi. I went not long after going to Hiro...I feel like the differences between the 2 are such a matter of taste though (even more so than dining normally is). The food at Hiro is good, but I just like Chef Lee's departures and creativity more. And the vibe at Omi is totally different...louder music, people laughing, and Chef super pumped about everything, compared to the serene meditative experience at Hiro. I found it a really sharp contrast especially given that they're doing similar styles of cuisine. my experiences at Korean Village have been kind of uneven. I liked the modeum bossam there -- a mixed cold meat plate with soon dae (blood sausage), jokbal (pig foot), and bossam (boiled pork belly) -- but the second time it didn't taste so fresh. I've since seen it on the menu at some place on that north Yonge stretch (Mandu Hyang? -- dunno if it has an English name), so I need to try that. Also (about KV), Korean places that also do sushi kind of irk me.

if you haven't been yet, HARUBANG!! SW corner Finch/Yonge (below Twister if you know where that is). Seriously, best Korean food I've tried in Toronto, and I've been on a Korean-food kick for quite some time now.

do you remember the name or any more details about the place, jenc?

assuming you need to stay downtown, Asian Legend on Dundas might fulfill #4 (note that I haven't been to that location of AL). However, a better option might be Yang Sing (Baldwin near McCaul), where you could grab a bunch of buns to go and embark on your Chinatown/Kensington walking tour -- it's basically at the northeast corner of downtown Chinatown.

thanks for the links. I found this curious: "Mr. Schmidt has [...] a history of providing unpasteurized milk to the family of a senior Ontario cabinet minister whose ministry is involved in the investigation."

they bill themselves as a "Korean bistro". I was worried -- images of the Korean version of chop suey, or worse yet, fusion. But then a Korean friend of mine called it "the closest thing I've ever tasted to my mom's home cooking". High praise indeed -- I had to try it. basically, I'm really torn over this place. Everything I ate was quite good (in the case of the kalbitang, excellent) and all quite authentic to what I've had at normal Korean restaurants. No mistakes at all. That said, I can't shake the nagging feeling of something being a little off about Ninth Gate. you can see pics at my Flickr set, but it's done up really nicely inside. Ninth Gate is to Korean restaurants what Asian Legend is to Chinese. One thing I found odd though was the use of disposable chopsticks (I've noticed this at high end Japanese places too). Does anyone understand this? the meal started with banchan: some kind of radish, a white kimchi, and daikon. Just decent...used to more variety though. Then haemul pajeon -- seafood and onion "pancake". Tasty enough, but it was $6 for a portion smaller than a CD. But they did avoid the problem of rubbery/not-so-fresh seafood other places seem to have. Kalbitang next (beef rib soup), which was really really good. Perfect texture on the daikon, tender beef, flavourful broth. Last, dolsot bibimbap (a mixed rice dish)...just OK. Although I was kind of bothered by the fried egg being a $1 addition when it's an inherent part of bibimbap. IMO you can find food of similar quality if you're willing to try a bunch of Korean places around town, but Ninth Gate is definitely consistent, and a safe bet. (I can't say though how it compares to Dave's mom's cooking -- I've never been to dinner at his house.) The prices are higher than what you'd pay elsewhere, but in line with the ambiance. in the end, I think the sleek, stylish décor made the restaurant feel kind of sterile to me. I'm used to holes-in-the-wall with stark lighting and K-pop (they play house instead -- felt like I was in a Club Monaco), puntuated by drunken Korean and laughter. Somehow the tranquility bothered me. That said, they have a brief wine list, cocktails (many made with soju), and they serve soju too (Chumchurum at $18/bottle -- not egregious), so maybe you can make your own fun. really, I hope I'm the only one who's hung up over the way the restaurant looks and feels, because the food is definitely good *and* authentic. That much I can recommend. NE corner of Jarvis and Front.

my only guess is that Chowhound doesn't want to get tangled in any legal-related stuff...but I don't often read Chowhound so I don't know what the mods are like over there... I think the law on this issue is pretty archaic and basically, dumb. At least give people the choice. I'm not even the biggest consumer of cheese, but I wish I had heard about Schmidt's distribution before this happened so I'd've had a chance to check it out.

city places: St. Lawrence Market (because it seems relevant) and the PATH (because it's awesome without being touristy)

jenc -- yup, that's the one. It was pretty good, but a little on the greasy side (especially when I tried to eat the leftovers later at the office). they also had a wine list in the bound menu, but it was covered up with a taped sheet of paper. Guess they don't have their licence yet.

thanks for the review, SarahB. I think there's nothing wrong with you having posted simply that you liked it and explaining why -- in fact, I think that's perfect. what time were you there on Saturday if you don't mind my asking? Curious as to whether the noise was just because I was there late...

they're open! I went for lunch today. They said they opened 10 days ago. walk in...hey, they have a barbecue counter (does the other Congee Queen have one?). Stuff looks pretty fresh, but $5.95 for a takeout box of BBQ pork on rice?? (That said, I'll probably try it at some point, it makes a good quick lunch.) open the menu. It's a bound volume, thick shiny paper. Selections on the right and food porn (seriously!) on the left. I'm reminded of Asian Legend's menu. Actually, the decor reminds me of them too...not as dark, but same clean gleaming open layout. It's slightly bigger than the other Congee Queen. food was good, nothing special (had the fish pieces and pig blood congee, an "oil stick", and some Singapore-style fried turnip cake (don't remember the English name)). On the basis of only 1 meal each, I liked the other Congee Queen better, but at least the new place is in range for lunch. I think the co-worker group will be hitting it up for lunch on Friday...more thoughts then.

once, a nearby diner noticed me shooting my food, and started telling his companion about his friend who takes food pics / writes reviews on her website, and is now banned in a lot of restaurants because they're afraid she's going to write about them (uh.......suuuure??). I think the idea of being mistaken for a journalist after shooting photos is a little strange though. Don't magazines usually set up separate photo shoots under conditions more optimal to both parties? I get more reaction from restaurant staff when they see me taking notes. Most often I'm asked if I'm a chef (hah). A cook once thought I was reviewing, and asked how she was doing so far.

an experiment might be to visit a restaurant twice: once just dining normally, and once taking notes throughout the meal, see if you get different service. Personally, I think the difference would be small compared to the normal day-to-day variation in service. (Obviously nobody's going to mistake you (well, me anyway) for James Chatto, but if they think they're being reviewed by some other publication...?) that makes me wonder, has anyone noticed a sudden change in service after starting to take pictures of their food? about comped food...do you think that would really factor in to the decision? Especially since the magazine pays for meals anyway, so in neither case does Chatto pay out of his own pocket. I just figure if you dine out that much, you're going to be less impressed by "hey, it's free" and look to evaluate the food itself.

burgers were $21. The burger at Bymark didn't blow me away, but I still thought it was quite a bit better than these ones. I'd also say Bymark's was rich but not overly so. I didn't have an issue with the price of the Bymark burger ($36-40 maybe?) either.

it's isn't JUST because they're open late, although that's a good reason. But the food is better than you'd expect for such a hole in the wall. It's hardly the best in Toronto, but it's excellent value and they do some dishes really well (I like the shrimp wonton soup too, there's a bitter melon / oyster / egg dish that I really like, and even basics like their yeung chow chow fan are good).

pictures here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/endy_/sets/72157594364430193/ sorry that the food especially doesn't resolve well, my camera doesn't deal well with low-light shooting...

(yes I'm bored at work) http://www.georgesristorante.com/home.html 1028 Eglinton Ave. W (Google map)

I don't know, but ChefDB says it is.