Egg Slut :: After EBC Snack!

 

Umami Burger :: First Lunch in Vegas!

The Deaborn :: Dinner with Jeff

Longman & Eagle :: First Meal In Chicago in 2016

Unibroue La Fin Du Monde ($7)

Unibroue Brewery, Quebec, Canada, 9% ABV

Medium Body, Coriander, Orange Peel

Slagel Family Farms Burger ($16) 

Aged Widmer's Cheddar, North Country Bacon, Housemade Sesame Seed Bun, Beef Fat Fries 

Wild Boar Sloppy Joe ($16) 

Crispy Sage, Onion, Pickled Jalapeno, Housemade Sesame Seed Bun, Beef Fat Fries 

Black Sesame Doughnut ($10)

Coconut Tapioca, Black Sesame Puree, Powdered Coconut, Lime, Coriander, Lime & Palm Sugar Granita, Coconut Sorbet 

Longman & Eagle
2657 N. Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
773.276.7110
website

Bareburger :: Dinner with Taylor

Taylor's Burger

Hog Wild ($12.25)

wild boar, pimento cheese, fried egg, chickpea onions, picked green tomatoes, brioche bun

*chickpea onions were subbed for wild mushrooms

Side of Baby Green Salad ($4.85)

Ginger Green Iced Tea 20oz ($3.25)

Located near the Eaton's Centre on Bay & Dundas, I've walked past Bareburger a couple times prior to trying it out. The menu is unique with a variety of interesting patties to choose from like elk and wild boar. Bareburger allows you to customize any of the burgers on the menu or make your own which is cool. Although the food was quite wholesome (they are advertised as organic and hormone free), the burgers lacked flavour and the portions are quite small. Side salad was also quite small but was decent. The ice tea on the larger side but tasted watered down/diluted with an ever so slight flavour of ginger and green tea. Although the ingredients were good quality, it was quite expensive for the portion given. Both Taylor and I were quite hungry after our meal and agreed for the value and flavour we both favoured Hero Burger instead.

Bareburger

111 Dundas Street West

Toronto, ON M5G 1C4

647.345.2273

website

Slab Burgers :: Work Lunch

Single Slab Burger (5oz) Combo with Green Salad ($8.99)

Slab Burgers is a cozy burger joint located near the Bloor & Bay intersection in Downtown Toronto. Although it is a stand alone shop, it is quite reminiscent of the Hero Burger. All burgers are hand made and shaped daily with 100% fresh premium ground beef that is smashed, seasoned, and seared. They offer free toppings and sauces (click here to view). 

For my particular burger, I ordered the following toppings: ketchup, slab sauce, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and relish, sauteed mushrooms.The burger was delicious and its taste paralleled a homestyle bbq burger. The ingredients were fresh and I loved the fact they had sauteed mushrooms as part of their free condiments. Since I believe the burgers are made to order (with the patty pre-made daily) the wait time is sufficiently longer than a fast food joint. Nonetheless the burger was delicious and I would return again. It was tasty, but nothing that you must absolutely try. This is my second visit to Slab Burgers, and so far their burgers are consistently good. However, since I mixed the ketchup and the slab sauce, I couldn't really pin point what slab sauce exactly tastes like.

Green Salad (Regular price outside of combo $2.99)

lettuce, tomato, balsamic vinagrette

I absolutely loved the fact that Slab Burgers offered a healthier alternative to french fries (though they are the default side for combos). The salad was delicious, similar to some side salads I've had at restaurants. It was fresh. I personally enjoy poutine cheese curds so I loved the fact they also included their poutine cheese curds in their salad. 
(I am particularly interested in returning to try their poutines!)

Slab Burger

47 Charles Street West, Unit B

Toronto, ON M4Y 2R4

647.350.5883

website

White Spot :: Boxing Day Lunch with Cousins

Smash :: Birthday Celebrations & Dissappointing Reevaluation of Smash

Ahi Tuna Wontons ($14)

seared & sesame crusted / peanut dressing asian slaw / wonton cups / horseradish aioli

The Ahi Tuna Wontons are always a hit for me - as such, I almost always order these when visiting Smash. Seared Ahi Tuna is one of my favourite ingredients. The Ahi Tuna Wontons are crunchy (due to the wontons), savoury (due to the asian slaw), and finger-licking good (overall). The asian slaw is peanut buttery and reminds me of Thai cuisine. The seared tuna is a refreshing change, though I wish the pieces were slightly larger as they tend to disappear in the mass of delicious asian slaw. If you ever visit Smash, I highly recommend trying this out.

Mushroom Linguini ($16)

pesto cream / field mushrooms double smoked bacon / caramelized onions / green peas

Normally, the mushroom linguini is not made with penne (as pictured). However, my favourite pasta is penne so I asked for the substitution. My friend Fontaine & I have been doing this for quite sometime ( since my birthday last year - its my birthday again! Birthday pasta!) - though we haven't visited Smash within the last few months. Prior to this visit, the penne was not whole wheat - and it was good - hence why we continued asking for this substitution. Unfortunately, the sauce does not agree with whole wheat penne. Mushroom "Penne" was sadly disappointing this visit as the sauce and the pasta did not coexist in harmony and the pasta was slightly undercooked (and I am for one who enjoys their pasta slightly structured). It would have been appreciated if more peas were added to have their presence more well known on the plate. More so, we arrived at 7:45pm and we were not served our food until 8:45pm. Despite being starved from waiting for our food the Mushroom "Penne" sadly arrived lukewarm and hunger could not cover the bland taste. Granted that this is not the regular menu item, Smash lists whole wheat pasta as an option for an additional $2 - so it would be expected that they should be able to perfect the harmonization of whole wheat pasta with the sauce (my suggestion: more sauce - and perhaps slightly thicker/creamier - to sufficiently coat the pasta).

Smash Burger with Salad Side ($14)

cheddar cheese / onion chips / smash sauce

Luckily, the boys enjoyed their burgers. There were no complaints from them and they were happily sedated though they did complain about the wait. 

Seafood Penne ($22)

mussels / shrimp / fried calamari / tomato concasse

The "Seafood Penne" is also a "custom ordered" dish that is not part of the menu. On the menu it is listed as Seafood Risotto. My friend Joey was also disappointed with her meal as it also came warm, but she felt that the pasta was bland and equated it similar to a college student's first time cooking tomato sauce pasta. Granted that it's not a regular menu item like Fontaine's and my Mushroom Penne  - it's expected that pasta should be able to cooked well for $16-$22 a dish.  

Smash Mini Donuts ($7)

dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with chocolate & caramel sauce 

We had difficulty ordering the donuts as the waiter did not come by our table to ask us about dessert after our meals. We had to flag down a busgirl to find a waiter who would take our order. Nonetheless, Fontaine & I are restaurant-doughnut fanatics and enjoyed it. We didn't use the chocolate sauce but enjoyed the caramel sauce option. Fontaine commented on how little caramel sauce we received (right) as it was only good enough for a few doughnuts. However, it was already difficult enough to find the waiter so we just ate the rest of the doughnuts with the excess of cinnamon sugar (which we appreciated).

Banana Chocolate Toffee Cake ($7)
w/ chocolate & caramel drizzle

Thank you to the waiter gifted me with this complimentary birthday cake! The gesture is very much appreciated. I shared my cake with all my friends and all of them really enjoyed the cake. They commented it was moist, tasty, and just the right amount of sweetness. Personally, I enjoyed it - but in moderation. I throughly enjoyed the first 2 bites I had - but afterwards it became slightly overwhelming for me and I was glad I had friends to share the cake with. I was surprised with the whole banana chunks within the middle of the cake - but personally I felt the cake was overly moist (to the point it was slightly mushy/pudding like).

----------

I considered myself a long time, devout visitor of Smash Kitchen. My family has been regulars to it's predecessor, The Bluestone, for as long as I could remember (so at least since age 10 or earlier) and have developed a relationship with some of the wait staff, especially Cliff who is an exceptional waiter. Cliff still waits at Smash during the day and to this day he still remembers my favourite drinks and menu items. My family (specifically my father's sister's family) has been visiting Bluestone/Smash every Sunday (for brunch) for as long as I could remember. They also used to go once a week for dinner. When Smash first opened, we were happy with the quality of the dishes as the ingredients were fresh and the flavours were created in perfect harmony with each other - and accepted Smash as our new regular spot. 

However, recently we have felt that the quality at which the dishes have been made has declined and my aunt has stopped visiting Smash regularly for half a year now. My family would prefer to go another restaurant than Smash now. My cousin has gotten sick from the food on more than on occasion (after writing off the first experience as a fluke) and my aunt & uncle has complained of non-fresh ingredients being used. Even my parents commented on the decline of Smash's quality. 

Despite their warnings, I have continued going with my friends. When I introduced my friends to Smash last year during my birthday, they were excited about the quality of food they were getting and even requested to go to Smash for dinner on more than one occasion. Having never experienced my cousin's family's woes, I have never doubted the consistency of Smash's food and service. As such, I booked a reservation for my birthday again this year. Needless to say, its saddening to leave from your birthday dinner a disappointed with the food and wishing that you went to a different restaurant to celebrate. Understandingly since we requested substitutions, I understand that the food may not be as par with its regular quality. However, since only the type of pasta was altered it was a disappointment and questionable why the pasta was not cooked to the usual quality. It almost felt like the food was prepared "cheaply" by an inexperienced chef. How hard is it to make pasta? Also, although the service was friendly, my friends and I were seated in the back of the restaurant with little attention. The initial dinner order not taken for 15-20 minutes. Food took at least an hour to arrive and when trying to find a waiter to bring cheese, order dessert, or request more caramel, none was to be found until busgirl cleaning up a table walked by and was able to flag down a waiter for one of the 3 requests. The manager/owner came around to greet us after the last doughnut remained - but by this point there was nothing he could have made the meal go better. I didn't want to comment about my disappointment in front of my friends. However, on the way out of the restaurant, it seems like my friends won't be requesting to go back anytime soon. For my birthday next year, I will be looking for a new restaurant.

Overall, I am thoroughly disappointed with this particular visit to Smash. Perhaps it was the wait & the substitutions that made the visit a little unenjoyable, though I feel at the $15-$30 entree range such small substitutions should not be an issue. Since my family members have had these complaints prior to this visit and reading some of the other negative reviews on Smash, for the prices I would much rather prefer to go to Milestones or some other establishment where the quality and service is more consistent. Although after this visit I feel adverse to visiting Smash again, I may still visit Smash in the future (as the Ahi Tuna Wontons hold a special place in my foodie heart). However, if the quality of the ingredients are not improved in my next visit, I will most likely not return to Smash.

Smash Kitchen & Bar

4261 Highway 7 East

Unionville, Ontario

905.940.2000

website :: menu

The Burger's Priest :: Lunch with Justin

The Priest

cheeseburger + The Option

The Burger's Priest

3397 Yonge St.

Toronto, ON M4N 2M7

website

Fresh on Bloor :: Girl Time with Tiffany

Mushroom & Onion Vegan Burger on a Bed of Lettuce with a 

Side of Sweet Potato Fries and Marinated Kale Slaw

sautéed mushrooms & onions, tomato, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts & house mayo

The original vegan burger on the menu comes with onions, however, I prefer not to eat onions. Since Fresh is a vegan restaurant, the vegan burgers are made with "high-protein, made from scratch almond & grain burger patty". As such, I omitted the onions. The sautéed mushrooms were placed on the vegan patty - and was wildly delicious. The mushrooms and patty were absolutely the star of the meal. However, the only savoury part of the dish was the mushrooms and the patty.  The rest of the dish was bland (salad and the fries) - though the marinated kale slaw were decent. Luckily, Fresh offers a variety of complimentary dips which helped add flavour. I chose to try the miso gravy (not pictured) during this trip - and it was amazing! I would love have that dip on any other entree, vegan or not. Nonetheless, the dish was incredibly filling despite being vegan, however, I don't believe it would have been as filling or enjoyable without the side of fries. 

Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Cupcake

This was a seasonal dessert offered by Fresh. It smelled absolutely delectable. However, I picked up the cupcake for my mother - so I did not try it. 
{edit: Had a bite - tastes amazing! Literally pumpkin pie reincarnated as a cupcake. You cannot tell that it is both gluten-free or vegan!}

Fresh on Bloor

326 Bloor Street West

Toronto, ON

website

Teddy's Bigger Burger :: Homestyle 60s Burger

White Spot :: Legendary Burger Combo

Joeys :: Pre-Surprise Car Lunch

The Works :: Brunch with Calvin's Family

Tower of Rings

Breakfast Burger with a Side Caesar Salad

The Works

1953 Queen St E

Toronto, ON M4L 1H7