mkjr

be on the look out for the 2003 Landmark Grand Detour Pinot. at the price it is a steal!! having a glass right now. characteristically Sonoma Pinot. problem is the LCBO listed the score. such is life though.

15% is the starting point, 10% is usually the minimum (rounded down) and no more than 25%. Tip on wine is a flat 15% and caps out at $30 max (assuming a $200 dollar bottle of wine ordered). I will round up for small meals and round down for expensive ones. All tips are based on pre-tax total.

Having lived in each city the dining options are very similar, although there are a few places that I find to be quintessential Toronto. The first is Scaramouche which is going on 20+ years strong in Toronto http://www.scaramoucherestaurant.com and is perhaps one of the best meals I have had in the city. Spendido is also great http://www.splendido.ca as another notes - my dinner for 4 was obscenely priced though but well worth it. The Fifth is also very good and after dinner you can always go for a drink at Sleasy (I mean Easy downstairs http://www.easyandthefifth.com ) or go and stroll on Queen street. Harbour Sixty is a steak house unlike any in Vancouver and is prototypical Toronto full of investment bankers and lawyers with clients wheeling and dealing and probably dinning before or after some of Canada’s biggest corporate transactions http://www.harboursixty.com (Gotham et al. do not even come close to this one). Barbarians is also good for steaks and also Carman’s http://carmans.sites.toronto.com . Another unique place is Lolita’s Lust http://www.lolitaslust.ca on Danforth (very funky and cool and the food is great) and a few of the many Greek restaurants in the same area on Danforth which there is no equivalent to in Vancouver (Avli is a favourite of mine http://avli.sites.toronto.com). I like Chinatown but to be honest you will get better and cheaper Chinese food in Richmond and as you will be well aware Chinese food is damn good in Vancouver so this is not a unique feature of Toronto. Be aware that in my opinion restaurants are about 15-20% more expensive here in Toronto (and be prepared to add the extra PST on top of it all). Another thing that I find unique is that the bar areas at restaurants on Thursdays in the financial district are jammed packed. Go for a drink at the new hot spot for the brokers etc. at Ki. You will have a good time but go early. The Japanese food you will get in Vancouver will be cheaper and likely better than Ki but the environment will not be as cool and the space is not duplicated at any place I am aware of in Vancouver. Finally, I think that Canoe http://www.canoerestaurant.com/intro_f.htm is also uniquely Toronto. La Palette is fantastic and cheaper http://www.toronto.com/profile/312521/ in the Kensington market area which others have noted is a pretty interesting area and make sure you ask for the other wine list with some good gems. I am afraid however, that some of my places listed are probably not cheap since in my opinion places like Joe Fortes, Cin Cin, the Cannery, Kettle of Fish, Cru, and many others are dirt cheap compared with places here. Such is life though. I have never figured this out so I suck it up and drive on. I hope this helps. PM me if you want more info.

Nice photos. Just not the "wow" factor I would have expected. I guess these pictures are not worth a thousand words....without having been there to smell and taste.

It is playing out OK in Ontario but not as good as it could be (i.e. if all were in). I say this because some restaurants still think that this will detract from profits. Personally, when I do not feel like cooking, we will go to a place that does allow BYOW instead of one that does not - and the closer the walk the better. Prior to BYOW, since I was getting tired of the 3x mark ups at places here in Toronto for wine I have or more likely wine that I passed on through agents or the LCBO, and since I do not know enough about all prices to check each bottle, I would end up cooking at home and pulling a bottle from the cellar. Since the law changed, I have probably gone out for dinner at least 10 times more than I would have but for BYOW. As an aside I have never brought a bottle that was on the list.

With the changes that may come with allowing direct shipping to NY (as an aside does anyone know the status of the same i.e. are carriers shipping?) I would like to get a locker so that I can change the shipping address for all my mailers. As I live in Toronto, this would be much easier to pick things up. Any help is much appreciated.

Toss up between the "Ginger Scented Fillet of "Ayu"" at Per Se consisting of "Haricots Verts", Yellow Wax Beans, Glazed Heirloom Radishes and Radish Sprouts with Barrel Aged Tamari Glaze - although all 20 courses were legendary -and the French Macaroon Ice Cream Sandwiches at Restaurant Gary Danko in SFO.

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Thanks for the post. The Dagueneau wines kick ass and I glad to hear it was good. Anyone know if that was thanks to Marquis which I know brings in lots (well not really lots but some) of these wines? Too bad about the Mouton although the more I drink older wines the more I like them younger. The menu looks very seasonal which is great to see!

Looking forward to reading attendees thoughts on the evening.

Any formal course would be a benefit - I certainly would like to have the time to take one. I agree with both Chris and David. I think that informal bring a bottle tasting events with friends, provided they do not get out of control (as David will appreciate), and wine events are fantastic and a great source to learn and taste things that you may never get a chance to. Also, where else would I have enjoyed stories from Chris telling us about a father who stored Haut Brion in an un-refrigerated shed in Arizona. Which reminds me Chris, when Angela and I are back at Christmas we should set something up with Dave et al.

Curious: is "Shiraziste" your first name, or your family name? ← Nice Chris. PS love the photos of Curacao.

That was my first thought when I heard the price.

Is any part of the $1,000 going to charity?

Thanks for the info. Just put in an order for a case of half bottles of the 2002 which was all they had left.

Good to know you thought the wine list worked - and I like that you appear to have the same tastes that I currently do. Without having the benefit of the menu, I would have thought that a big full bodied young cab from Herb Lamb/Morisoli would have overpowered delicate Japanese flavours, but as I noted earlier, with steaks and ribs on the menu, perhaps my impressions of what Ki is about and the wines I would have expected to see are skewed - again these comments are without having the benefit of the menu or the wine list - perhaps there are wines that I would have thought would be there - such as some Joly's or some Didier Dagueneau's. I had a 2002 Nine Popes the other day when I went out for dinner and brought my own. Could have used a little air but I guess that is my own fault but it was pretty damn good wine. Picked it up in Vancouver for $45 so at $100 at the restaurant, given the lack of availability, that seems pretty good. I suspect the 2002 should be coming to Toronto in the early spring, likely through Classics as was the case with the 2001 that I have bought have not yet opened.

Thanks for the review. I went by around 9:00 or so one night looking for some take out to bring back to the office. I wanted to paruse the menu as I walked to another place I usually go and thought I would check it out. Sadly no menu to take away (and no take out) - I left a card and they said they would fax the menu but it still has not arrived yet. No worries though as I saw a bottle of Karl Lawrence Cab being brought out to some diners as I walked in briefly. As such I will need to go back anyway to see what else they have. Odd wine for a Japanese place but I guess given the note regarding the person in charge of the wine earlier it is not that surprising - and I guess given the note about creme brulee and the steaks/ribs being on the menu perhaps it is not too odd. Damn good wine to have on the menu. Anyone know who the agent is as I would not mind picking up a case or two? The place looked like a good place to be. Looking forward to trying it out.

Thanks for the post. For those interested the original wines tasted in the 1976 competition were (reds): 1972 Clos du Val; 1969 Freemark Abbey; 1970 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard; 1971 Mayacamas; 1971 Ridge Monte Bello; 1973 Stag’s Leap; 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild; 1970 Château Haut-Brion; 1970 Château Montrose and 1971 Château Léoville-Las-Cases. Turns out Stag's Leap beat out Mouton by a nose in the red category and the rest is history. For those who think that vines need to be old to produce good grapes, note the 1973 Stag's Leap was Warren Winiarski's (the winemaker) first vintage produced with grapes from vines a mere three years old. I wonder why the Vendange Institute chose the Bordeaux's they did instead of picking the top houses to see how they compared? This might have trully flushed out the bullsh$t. Seems like they chose many of the "best" BC reds but why not the same for the Bordeaux. It would have been nice to know how the Cedar Creek at $40 might have faired against Mouton....I suspect likely rather well.....but then again who knows - which is the point. In any event, I am more likely to buy the Wynn's Cab from Australia at $19.95 before the $40-50 a bottle for some of the BC wines or $50-70 a bottle for some of the Brodeaux's. Just my 2 cents.

I agree. I am not aware, aside from doing it yourself - even then I am not sure if you can, where you can get half a Dungeness crab (which was pretty big if you ask me) and a good 12 or so ounce steak for the price I paid last week at Neil’s place. What a deal for this west coast surf and turf! Is this going to be a staple on the menu? Being from T.O. the Dungeness crab pushes $10-12 bucks a pound on sale so it was a nice treat. We should not be so hard on Ling, I would have gone to Morton's and paid full price in the event that someone really, really wanted to go - which would have been the only time - so the note about the coupon was of assistance. I wonder if I can use it in T.O. Ling, please send a copy to me and I shall try.

We can only wish that TK cared enough about TO - likely not even a blip on his radar. I saw the notice the other day also. Really too bad but as I will say again, I do not think there is enough traffic after 7 to support 2 new restaurants in the area anyway. Jump is the staple lunch in the area and I think the new ones can eat a little into that but I suspect not by much. We shall see.

Ouch...considering winebid.com pegs the Mondavi for US$80-110 and assuming 100% duty to bring it back on a day trip to your wine locker across the line (or local FedEx depot south of the 49) still only gets you to US$200 - so $600 looks very unsightly. I recall it was less than $100 on release. I still have a bottle of each. Do you think they need any time?

Lunch on Thrusday at Second Avenue Deli. Opted for the unhealthy but oh so tasty pastrami on rye - walked it off while at the Barney's warehouse sale. Dinner on Thursday at Babbo. Everything was fantastic, including the warm lamb's tongue vinaigrette with hedgehogs, and a 3-minute egg, the grilled octopus with "Borlotti Marinati" and spicy limoncello vinaigrette, and of course the beef cheek ravioli with crushed squab liver and black truffles....[salivating]...advice of others to order this item paid off. The portions were very large and the beef cheeks were split three ways with enough for each of us. Fantastic value!!!! A hot dog and papaya drink for lunch on Friday at Papaya King on East 86th and Lexington (the hot dog was great – staff was very interesting (read – do not slow me down by not reading the menu before ordering)) Dinner Friday night at Blue Water Grill in Union Square – lively room and good oysters from Vancouver (odd that one would need to go to NYC to order such an item). Lunch on Saturday at the Burger Joint in the Le Parker Meridien hotel http://www.parkermeridien.com/burger.htm. It is funny how many people ask for the milkshakes when they clearly do not serve them until after 1:30 p.m. (although the little menu in the link says 3 p.m. - which appears dated - although staff is very polite when they say "no you may not have a milkshake"). Great all around burger and fries. Walked down to the Shake Shack in Madison Square after lunch but decided not to get another burger to compare with the Burger Joint as we did not want to spoil dinner - decided to go for a custard shake only - boy was that a good idea. Dinner later on Saturday night at Per Se . I chose the nine course sampling menu (with two “extra” dishes not listed along with the chocolates, truffles and macaroons) and my wife chose the five course menu (she ended up getting three extras along with chocolates, truffles and macaroons) - we did this at the French Laundry a few years back and that way you end up tasting close to 20 different dishes (a very good idea if you are the sharing type) – and every single dish stood out from most things I have had over the past 2 years. Saw the cost on the Visa bill (glad that days of $1.00USD = $1.50CDN are past for now) and it was worth every penny - it was the most I have ever spent for dinner for two and I will likely never exceed this amount again - well never say never. What a great room for dinner!!! Dinner started at 9:00 p.m. and ended at 12:30 a.m. Ordered the Nicolas Joly Clos de Bergerie which almost went with every dish - was a steal at US$80. I think my blood congealed while I slept from the richness of the prior days eats. We moved very slowing the next morning. Sorry for listing more than the last three.... ...but there was too much not to include.

They had a fashionable "help wanted" sign out yesterday when I was walking back to the office. I am sure it will do well for lunches during the week. I am never sure if there is enough traffic in the area for solid dinners all the time though, especially with the number of places around there and so little traffic after about 7:30. I will check it out provided the entrée prices are not like others in the area. I miss Bon (sp?) that used to be in Vancouver just at Broadway past main and perhaps Ki will be similar style Japanese cuisine. Just my 2 cents.

I very much like the fact that people can discuss what they wish and in as much or as little detail as they wish in these forums. You can always choose not to read the thread if you are not interested in the topic. A plug here or there really does no harm. I like JK's as it one of the few places where the food is very good and you can BYOW, which I am a huge fan of. If you have ever been to Willis wine bar in Paris, perhaps one of the most famous wine bars in the world, they are pretty much the same in format (no Raveneau Valmur by the glass at JK's I am afraid and Willis kitchen is not centre stage) i.e. - there are some small tables, a small bar and a good selection of wine by the bottle or glass at a reasonable price. At Willis you can eat at the bar or you can drink at the bar like you can at JK's. I think the rumour of the separate lounge will be nice at JK's. Looking forward to reservations also.

Please correct me if I am wrong but it was always my understanding that the price that a licensee pays for an item that is carried by the BCLDB is 17% lower than what I as a consumer would pay (– i.e. the licensee does not pay the liquor tax or GST on the purchase but flows it back to the consumer). For example if the bottle of wine was $35.00 a licensee would pay $29.05, although I normally see the $35.00 bottle for $70 on the menu, and then pay GST and liquor tax on top? Is this not correct?