Rain/Splendido- Convince me otherwise

[eSkillet.com]

Malpeques travel very well.

If they are packaged properly they are good anywhere in the world and have a very good shelf life.

[GordonCooks]

I am taking a group of culinary students to Toronto in February.

We have several high end meals planned.

I am researching some restaurants and trying to put together the best package.

Usually I go to Splendido for a great upscale meal and I like to take them to Bennihana for an entertaining meal. I have done Suser and North44 and Centro etc.

Any suggestions on other places we could go for outstanding food and outstanding "entertaining" food?

I also take them on various tours of city places: ie The Ontario Food Terminal, the Air Canada Center, Steam Whistle Brewery etc.

Any suggestions on food and beverage related tours would be appreciated as well.

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I don't see the culinary significance of Benihana - If I was planning the trip

Morning at the St. Lawrence Market w a peameal

Hop around the corner for a snack at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar]

Walk it off going to Chinatown and Kensington Market

Hop over to Nikolau Restaurant Supply on Queen St

Maybe some Raw bar at Starfish

Maybe some croissant an Thuet

Maybe some chocolates at Soma

Maybe a stop by the cheese boutique

Maybe some dessert at Sen5es or Pangaea

Dinner at Perigee by all means

With an agenda like this, you'll be a hero.

[Oyster Guy]

Malpeques travel very well.

If they are packaged properly they are good anywhere in the world and have a very good shelf life.

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The Malpeque is actually one of the best "keepers" as far as oysters go.

They can fish them around the last of November and they will keep, if properly stored till the end of March.

They have great legs when it comes to travel as well.

I get very good product even here in BC.

Keep on shucking

Oyster Guy

[eSkillet.com]

I don't see the culinary significance of Benihana - If I was planning the trip

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I have taken a few classes there and for many it was their highlight.

Food is not great but it is definately entertaining.

Thanks for your other suggestions.

I approached Thuet last year and found them to be kind of cold and not entirely interested in our business so I wrote them off. There are far too many good restaurants available for me to waste my time on sub par service.

This is one of the reasons I took my first class and several subsequent classes to Splendido. When I first approached them Yannick and David actually seemed excited about entertaining a group of culinary students.

St. Lawrence with the peameal sandwiches and a honey tasting are always on the agenda, as well as the walking tour of China town and Kensington market.

Fine dining aside, I think I am set on:

1. An oyster tasting

2. An Ethiopian restaurant

3. A korean restaurant, perhaps with table grills

4. A chinese restaurant (something like Chinese Traditional Buns)

Still looking for more.

Perhaps a good BBQ restaurant like Phil's Original.

[sadistick]

For good BBQ - I heard Purple Pig is very good, I believe thats what its called...

As well, if you are interested in cooking with beer - check out Beer Bistro, my Dad loves it there.

As well - Where did you decide to go as far as fine dining is concerned? I know you mentioned Splendido...good choice...I dont know if you saw my previous recommendation of Scaramouche, but that still stands - as well, if you want some amazing Italian food - check out Il Mulino.

[Jake]

IMHO stay as far away from the Purple Pig as possible, it is not good bbq!

[Endy']

3. A korean restaurant, perhaps with table grills

4. A chinese restaurant (something like Chinese Traditional Buns)

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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.

[Bueno]

I agree with Jake -- stay away from Purple Pig, it is HORRIBLE. Imagine if Kentucy Fried Chicken did BBQ. Actually - you don't have to imagine it, Purple Pig is it!

I agree also with the Beer Bistro suggestion. It's a great casual place for some tasty beer-driven Belgian fare.

[SarahB]

Morning at the St. Lawrence Market w a peameal

Hop around the corner for a snack at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar]

Walk it off going to Chinatown and Kensington Market

Hop over to Nikolau Restaurant Supply on Queen St

Maybe some Raw bar at Starfish

Maybe some croissant an Thuet

Maybe some chocolates at Soma

Maybe a stop by the cheese boutique

Maybe some dessert at Sen5es or Pangaea

Dinner at Perigee by all means

With an agenda like this, you'll be a hero.

Not that I'm enhancing this thread in any way, but I felt compelled to say that if you added a trip to a bookstore, that list would describe my perfect Toronto day.

[eSkillet.com]

For good BBQ - I heard Purple Pig is very good, I believe thats what its called...

As well, if you are interested in cooking with beer - check out Beer Bistro, my Dad loves it there.

As well - Where did you decide to go as far as fine dining is concerned?  I know you mentioned Splendido...good choice...I dont know if you saw my previous recommendation of Scaramouche, but that still stands - as well, if you want some amazing Italian food - check out Il Mulino.

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Most likely it will be Splendido although I haven't ruled out Perigree or Rain.

We will have 5 groups of 15 students total and one of our groups is already going to Scaramouche.

I believe Oro, Canoe and Centro are the places the other groups will be going to.

Not of them are 100% set yet.

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.

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Downtown is preferable.

We will be staying at the Hilton on Richmond and like to keep things within easy walking or subway distance but we also have a couple of buses at our disposal.

[FlavoursGal]

Re the stop at a bookstore, why don't you stop in at The Cookbook Store, on Yonge at the corner of Yorkville Ave. It's a great place for culinary students to peruse a huge selection of books related to cooking. And it's centrally located, too.

[eSkillet.com]

Generally I don't take them to the cook book store as part of an organized activity but I do have it on a list of things they can do in their free time.

[jenc]

say no to the Purple Pig!

and yes to Yang Sing. oldest chinese bakery in Toronto, according to my parents.

[sadistick]

Hmm, that idea seems to have gone over well...lol

hey, the pulled pork sandwich I had when I was there was good...

[GordonCooks]

Morning at the St. Lawrence Market w a peameal

Hop around the corner for a snack at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar]

Walk it off going to Chinatown and Kensington Market

Hop over to Nikolau Restaurant Supply on Queen St

Maybe some Raw bar at Starfish

Maybe some croissant an Thuet

Maybe some chocolates at Soma

Maybe a stop by the cheese boutique

Maybe some dessert at Sen5es or Pangaea

Dinner at Perigee by all means

With an agenda like this, you'll be a hero.

Not that I'm enhancing this thread in any way, but I felt compelled to say that if you added a trip to a bookstore, that list would describe my perfect Toronto day.

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Trust me, I've done this day at least 3 times give or take a place and it's the ONLY way to fly

Yang Sing Rocks the house (Lotus Buns!!)

Re: Centro - my last meal there was so forgettable, I didn't even post about it.

[mkjr]

I was at Splendido on Saturday and the meal was great. However, it was the second time I have gone with the three course menu and not the full tasting menu and now the second time I have been so stuffed I have not ordered desert. Oh well, it was great as usual even without desert.

An interesting observation though, is that my dinning guests at Splendido who have dined at places around the world with more M-stars than I am sure I will get to in my life noted that they had dinner at Bistro 990 during their trip also and preferred the meal there. I have only heard negatives about this place although I will certainly venture there given my collegues opinion, which I highly respect. He also noted Bistro 990 was much lighter on the pocket book (and we even BYOW'd the older vintages of Spottswoode and Togni at Splendido). I must say his comments gave me a little pause.

[GordonCooks]

I was at Splendido on Saturday and the meal was great.  However, it was the second time I have gone with the three course menu and not the full tasting menu and now the second time I have been so stuffed I have not ordered desert.  Oh well, it was great as usual even without desert.

An interesting observation though, is that my dinning guests at Splendido who have dined at places around the world with more M-stars than I am sure I will get to in my life noted that they had dinner at Bistro 990 during their trip also and preferred the meal there.  I have only heard negatives about this place although I will certainly venture there given my collegues opinion, which I highly respect.  He also noted Bistro 990 was much lighter on the pocket book (and we even BYOW'd the older vintages of Spottswoode and Togni at Splendido).  I must say his comments gave me a little pause.

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I think Splendido is a very solid place based on my meal there. The edit is while executed well, there was nothing really novel about it. A Trio of this a la Michael Mina/Nectar or a combo of Pork with quince instead of apple, or lobster with pancetta instead of bacon, an unnecessary foam, etc. It's still a very good place, just not a fave of mine. Perigee, Susur, etc are pushing the envelope - if it was NY, places like that would be WD-50 and Blue Hill. Splendido reads more like Chanterelle or Eleven Madison Park. I think it's trying to move in two directions at once. Given your Michelin Starred crew - they are probably familiar with the flavor profiles but have just had them better prepared somewhere else. This sounds more negative than it really is because there are scores of places like Splendido all over that aren't doing as good a job as they are.

[mkjr]

....Given your Michelin Starred crew - they are probably familiar with the flavor profiles but have just had them better prepared somewhere else.....

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That is probably bang on.

[Luham]

I've done Susur and Bymark before. Great places.

I've never been to Monsoon but I like the look of the place and I like the menu.

Let me put the question back at you. Is there a reason not to go to Monsoon?

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I've had 3 disastrous (and I mean really bad) meals in Toronto, and two of them were at Monsoon. Then I was forced to give them another shot, and they performed very well. Short after that, I tried again, and was met with another mediocre meal. So 3 bad meals in total, two of which were my worst two ever in this city. So clearly my suggestion to not include them is based on my personal experiences there, but I imagine that's what writes every single post on eGullet (personal experience).

It very much reminds me of chain-food. Lots of fried crap, misguided pairings, amateur service, and a general "cheap" feel to the experience. I honestly find it quite horrid, I'm sorry to say.

Canoe has a second wind at the moment, and is doing great things. I agree that Chiado is tops for seafood, and also agree that Treadwell is a lovely experience (think Blue Hill @ Stone Barns in NY). Red's truffle menu is said to be superb.

I personally love Rain. You won't find a more unique fine dining experience, and while sometimes the flavours may not be ideal for my palate, it's always enlightening, and when the flavours do sing for me, it's fuckin' heavingly. Chef Rubino is phenomenally talented, and I truly think you don't want to short yourself of the experience Rain provides. It's pretty Zen-like.

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I had a fantastic meal with my girlfriend at Rain on Monday night. We had the tasting menu, and had things like Bison, Wagayu Beef, Abalone, Black Cod (one of the best fish I have eaten. It has a texture like Foie Gra), Atalantic Char, and accompanying side dishes. Service was the best we had in Canada. Very attentive, but not intrusive and over the top.

Other great eats we had were Lee Garden (Chinese), Cora's (breakfasts), Little Anthony's.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Luham (log)

[Fai Jackson]

For your ethnic day I suggest Los Arrieros on Wilson. It is a Colombian restaurant and very good. The address is 752 Wilson Avenue and its web site iis www.losarrierosrestaurant.com.

A little west of there is Maya, a guatamalian place. You could go into carb and pork fat heaven.

[eSkillet.com]

For your ethnic day I suggest Los Arrieros on Wilson.  It is a Colombian restaurant and very good.  The address is 752 Wilson Avenue and its web site iis  www.losarrierosrestaurant.com.

A little west of there is Maya, a guatamalian place.  You could go into carb and pork fat heaven.

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Fai, that web link is just a holding page for selling advertisements.

Is Los Arrieros a franchaise?

[orangewasabi]

< I love the idea of the Ethiopian House for one of the stops and I'm looking at an oyster tasting at Starfish for a second stop.

Other than that I'm thinking something like lunch at an Indian buffet and perhaps a korean table grill. >

within walking distance of Ethiopian House is one of the better Korean table grill places in the city. Go south on Yonge towards College (west side of Yonge) to Korean Grill Time (about 3 doors north of College).

On the way south, you'll pass Grosvenor Street, and just 3 doors east is a little tiny place called Sinai Sushi with terrific, low price, made to order sushis. Worth a stop, allocated $5 per kid and each will get a high quality roll.

[orangewasabi]

one more thought, in lieu of the lunch Indian Buffet, why not do a walk through Little India on Gerrard? Check out the fresh produce, spices and there's lots of eat & walk foods that are delish.

[Fai Jackson]

For your ethnic day I suggest Los Arrieros on Wilson.  It is a Colombian restaurant and very good.  The address is 752 Wilson Avenue and its web site iis  www.losarrierosrestaurant.com.

A little west of there is Maya, a guatamalian place.  You could go into carb and pork fat heaven.

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Fai, that web link is just a holding page for selling advertisements.

Is Los Arrieros a franchaise?

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It may be, but this restaurant is just a neighbourhood place and definitely not a chain place. I have found the name to be very common for a Colombian place. The address and phone number are correct and I thought I got them from that web site. I will check and get back to you.

Edited December 18, 2006 by Fai Jackson (log)

[Fai Jackson]

For your ethnic day I suggest Los Arrieros on Wilson.  It is a Colombian restaurant and very good.  The address is 752 Wilson Avenue and its web site iis  www.losarrierosrestaurant.com.

A little west of there is Maya, a guatamalian place.  You could go into carb and pork fat heaven.

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Fai, that web link is just a holding page for selling advertisements.

Is Los Arrieros a franchaise?

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It may be, but this restaurant is just a neighbourhood place and definitely not a chain place. I have found the name to be very common for a Colombian place. The address and phone number are correct and I thought I got them from that web site. I will check and get back to you.

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okay it is losarrierosrestaurante.com -- sorry.