best of byblos

byblos. a toronto favourite of mine. drinks and decor alone make this king-west spot top-ranking. occupying two floors of the storys building, the ambience is perfect, exquisitely decorated and worth perusing. though our favourite bartender has moved on to alo, we were not disappointed with our drinks. in terms of food, the eastern mediterranean menu, created and executed by executive chef stuart cameron, is full of strong flavours with traditional and local ingredients. we opted to order a ton of different sharing plates in lieu of main dishes, which left us more than satisfied.
a strong recommendation--check it out.

interesting and authentic cloth menus (not pictured)

evening's drinks: nightingale sour, old fashion, gulab in a chalice.
we all ordered multiples ;)

one of my favourite menu items: roasted red beetrs with pistachio and labneh (a variation of greek yogurt), served with barbari bread (pictured below)

barbari bread to dip in the labneh (above)

tuna ceviche: green schug, creme fraiche buttermilk and squid ink chip. this had a real kick to it. really delish.

another fave of mine, and a must-have when at byblos, is the guernsey girl cheese. grilled haloumi cheese (shoutout AP), on a bed of watermelon, mint and upland cress

unfortunately, my photo-taking skills were too slow, and i missed photographing the lamb ribs. though they are quite game-y, the flavour is outstanding. they were spiced and topped with dukkah, buttermilk sauce, carob molasses and red chili schung

turkish manti dumplings, definitely a go-to. the smokey eggplant and yogurt sauce with molasses has such a memorable and distinct burst of flavour. can't go wrong here.

against our better judgement, we kept ordering food even though we were full. the flavours were all so robust it was hard to know when to stop. along with the crispy eggplant (not pictured and not a favourite) we ordered the steak tartar: roasted red chili, mint, labneh and barbari bread. this was the last of dinner.

although we were BEYOND full, you can't celebrate a birthday without dessert....

we opted for a sweet cap to our glorious meal. we had the brik pastry cigar. the cigar was flaky, and willed with a tasty fig caramel with some light honey cream. 

this whole meal, overall, was delicious. after each stunning dish, we were all blown away by the intensity of the flavours. way to go, byblos. can't wait to return soon!

cluny bistro: a parisian dream

welcome!! though this blog has been dormant for the past 21 months, rest assured i have been dining all over this wonderful city of ours (and in many other cities, as well). i figure i will jump back into blogging with a recent visit to cluny bistro, as an homage to our french-honeymoon in summer 2014. 

from the moment you enter cluny bistro & boulangerie in toronto's distillery district, it is evident you are in for a treat. the decor is lovely and purposeful: the stunning tiles, detailed tablescapes and warm atmosphere are just the beginning. though it was a busy saturday night, the service didn't slow. we were treated to effective service, on-point suggestions, and friendly banter.

warm and elegant atmosphere, complete with interesting wood detail and beautiful colour scheme

house-baked, fresh multigrain and white bread served in an endearing basket (with soft butter)

i started with the deconstrcuted cluny "caeser", though it didn't particularly scream "caeser", it was delicious: romaine topped with smoked cheddar, crispy chick peas and a light, garlic-based caeser vinaigrette. the crispy chick peas were a nice touch and added a delicious crunch

had to order the much-talked about crispy sesame-baked asparagus frites. these are lightly battered with an amazing flavour. the spicy yogurt dipping sauce added a great contrast.

rk was crazy about the spicy salmon tartar: there was no shortage of avocado in this dish. the homemade chips were a nice touch. this resembled more of an elevated chip dip than your standard tartar, but it was delicious.

as my main, i devoured the melted gruyere, served french onion soup style. having ordered this previously, i knew what to expect with the glazed onions and rich beef broth. any cheese served in a cast iron dish is a hit in my books.

finally, we had the veal meatball tomahawk. this delicious and dense tomato-braised meatball was bursting with flavour. not your typical meatball, it was a meal on it's own. the meatball was accompanied by a side of parisian gnocchi, which added a little kick. 

beverages: rk (old-fashioned connoisseur) raved about his old-fashioned, and particularly enjoyed the flavour-filled smoothness on a cold january evening
wine: 2013 pinot noir from bouchard pere et fils (bourgogne, fr) 
          2014 chinon, from beatrice et pascal lamert (loire, fr)  

all in all, we were too stuffed for dessert. cluny bistro offered an aesthetically pleasing, inviting atmosphere. the food was rich and delicious. we will return.

five doors north

i have driven by five doors north about five thousand times, always meaning to 'give it a try sometime'. i have totally been missing out. located in the yonge-eglinton-davisville corridor, this restaurant, with 5 multi-coloured doors hanging outside, is a quirky hotspot for locals. casual but cool, five doors north is a spot to return to again and again.

a small group of us went for dinner, and were all more-than-pleased with the atmosphere and delicious food. it is a great place to go with a group, as there are lots of plates worth sharing. the hand-written menu is complete with interesting choices, while the chalkboard boasts their succulent specials. can't go wrong here!

bear with me, as i try to remember what we all ate!!

2088 yonge street
midtown toronto

i had the lovely roasted beet salad
with scallion aioli and lotus chips
meant to share. did not happen.

rk enjoyed the grilled calamari with
tomato chili jam and pesto (off the secondi menu)

ay ate the BBQ baby back ribs with crispy matchstick potatoes 

their gorgonzola gnocchi is a infamous dish! rich and savoury, you can't go wrong!
ms ordered it as an app and i had it as my main

jd ordered the sardines

 grilled lamb chops with roasted garlic and caramalized onion juice

spicy seafood stew with mussels, calamari, shrimp and stripe bass

rk ordered one of the daily pastas

great atmosphere. upside down lamps all around, funky feel.

i definitely plan on returning to five doors north. strongly recommend this wonderful place!

el rincon mexicano

with new mexican joints popping up all over the city, it should be easy to get a last-minute reso at one of the many establishments, but not so. after many phone calls to various places, we were finally able to find an available table at el rincon mexicano restaurant (653 st clair west).  while the decor was overdone and a little cheesy, the food was delicious. it was one of the first summer evenings of the year, and we opted to be seated on the back patio. feeling reminiscent of a caribbean resort, it was a fun atmosphere.

we started with the guacamole ranchero
their mashed avocado dip served with chips and salsa
this was really delicious and a perfect way to start the meal

can't go wrong with ice-cold corona

housemade pico de gallo...spicy!

rk ordered the tacos a la parilla (soft tacos) with beef.
it came with:
rice, refried beans and salad

having a corn allergy makes mexican dining somewhat challenging, however the staff were accommodating in bringing me flour-tortillas. i had the vegetarian tacos (tortillas filled with rice, refried beans and grilled veggies. topped with shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, feta and sour cream)

menu

would we go back? maybe, but we would both rather explore one of the many new places around the city.

sidecar

who knew loving and adoring a puppy took up so much time? i have been absent from a culinary cabaret, but i am back. i have so many reviews lined up you'll be blown away.
about a month ago, af and i headed out to see joshua radin in concert (again) at an intimate venue on college street. before the show, we headed to sidecar for some pre-show dinner. i have heard a lot of hype about sidecar and was happy to finally make it there. we enjoyed a quick, delicious meal with fresh ingredients that were palette-pleasing. i would definitely head back, and perhaps dine on the back patio which seemed to have a great atmosphere.

we each ordered a glass of the 2010 angel's gate reisling

delicious bread, great texture and flavours

incredible salad (that they split into two bowls for us)
chopped jicama, red onion, cucumber, tomato, radish, feta, creamy oregano dressing

i ordered the tasty steak frites: AAA 8oz centre cut top sirloin, hand cut fries,
tangy roasted garlic aioli

af indulged in the papardelle:
braised short ribs, aged cheddar, king oyster mushrooms
with san marzano tomato sauce with spanish onion 

overall, we were both very pleased with our whole evening (especially because we had great seats to the concert and even got to meet joshua radin afterwars)! thanks sidecar for starting it off on the right note, we will be back!

joy bistro

saturday morning, i headed down to leslieville for a lovely brunch with the one and only bj.

it had been far too long since we had been to 'our spot'. we hadn't seen one another since december!

as always, joy bistro served a lovely breakfast. ever the hotspot,  i was lucky 'b' arrived a few minutes early to secure the best seat in the house: one of the cozy half booths. yummy food, hot drinks and a great vibe means i will definitely be back soon.

joy bistro is located in the leslieville area of toronto, right at booth and queen east.

always essential to start the morning with a latte

....or a cappucino

the restaurant was busy but our food was perfection.
we each ordered the 'leslieville eggs benedict' 

slow roast peameal bacon (regular crispy bacon for me, please), spinach, sauteed tomato,
Yukon gold rosti potato (yum!) and green onion hollandaise

we will absolutely be back to joy bistro! definite recommendation! with so many excellent leslieville choices, make sure you don't miss this one!

in other news....this little girl is the culprit for my absence! meet izzie, my new goldendoodle  puppy!

sweetest face around

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.