jerusalem

it was a saturday night and we were craving the food of our ancestors...middle eastern cuisine. our friends/cousins/neighbours, jw and cs, recommended jerusalem (eglinton location) as a viable, close-to-home option. we made a reservation (knowing it would be busy), but the restaurant seemed back-logged due to big parties. we were seated about 15 minutes past our reservation time, at a great spot by the window, and away from the ever-growing door-crowd (phew).
while we chatted about the excitement of the coming months, we ordered drinks and an appetizer platter to share. our piping hot pita  arrived, along side the tapas-style falafel platter. it was some time before our waitress (who seemed quite disinterested in taking our orders) re-appeared, offering few suggestions or input on our order. when our food arrived, it was tasty, but nothing spectacular.

olives, peppers and pickled radish
on the house

cheers to all that is to come!

piping hot pita

sharing plate: baba ghanouj, hummus, middle eastern salad and falafal balls
everything here was very tasty

jw, rk and i all ordered the shish-tawoo:
two skewers of marinated chicken breast, with salad and rice

cs enjoyed the lamb shishkabob, with salad and rice

meal sizes were beyond plentiful, especially for the price. we all had leftovers.
while we enjoyed our dinner, the restaurant lacks ambiance and authenticity, though is regularly overflowing by the forest hill crowd. i will likely resume my regular israeli food spots like  mashu mashu and shoom shoom.
 

joey's yorkdale

a few weeks back, the gals and i went out to celebrate the birthday of our dear mrs jw. since none of the ladies had been to the newest joeys to hit toronto, i thought it was a good choice.
the yorkdale location, while still busy, does not have the absurd wait-times experienced at other locations. for us, it was a good choice for a thursday eve. as usual, the atmosphere was trendy and the wait staff were dressed to the nines. i found our waitress to be more attentive than usual, which was a welcomed-treat. we were seated in a comfy booth on the main level, in the middle of all the action. by the time we left, the place was packed and there was a line out the door. there is definitely something to be said for early resos. food was on point, service was good and atmosphere was great. overall, a great eve filled with laughs and good eats.

none of us could resist these delicious yam fries topped with parmesan cheese, with truffle lemon aoili dipping sauce. thanks to mc for sharing.

can't go to joeys without ordering the chinatown lettuce wraps. the appetizer comes with toasted peanuts, fresh veggies and crsipy noodles. well worth jeopardizing your meal by filling up on them.
(special thanks to na of where the locals go for sharing her pic)

super-stoked voda on special 

 meal time

i couldn't resist the blue cheese sirloin, with the fully-loaded crispy mashed potato and seasonal veggies.
those mashed potatoes, in a spring-roll like outer layer, melt in your mouth.

dh ordered the grilled salmon, complete with maple beurre blanc,
crispy mashed potato and seasonal vegetables. she was also a fan of the mashed potato.

the ever-healthy mc ordered the beach salad. strawberries, goat cheese, quinoa, candied pecans,
lemon poppy seed dressing and chicken.

birthday girl jw ordered the florentine raviolo: seared scallops and prosciutto with spinach and artichocke filled ravioli, hold the tomato caper salad. delicious!

highlights of the evening (hey, we were celebrating a bday. desserts are a must!)

my personal fave, the italian donuts. lemon curd and vanilla marscapone cream. the zesty lemon flavour provides excellent balance to the sweet donuts

for jw, the molten lava chocolate souffle. wow.
the lava was piping hot and devoured within seconds. 

last but certainly not least, the 'happy ending'. chocolate decadence with dulce de leche and maldon salt.
very much capturing the 'salty-sweet' combo trend.

we had a great night, and will certainly be back to joeys!