Homemade :: Dinner & Wine with KDrama

 

Bandera :: Dinner with Jeff

 

O'Hare Airport :: Vegas Bound with Steak Salad

Bar Bucca :: Back Home Lunch!

 

 

 

 

Joe's on Weed Street :: Quarterly Traditions

Avocado Caprese Salad ($9.50)

avocado, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and arugula. tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Every first Tuesday of the quarter, it's a tradition at my school that all the students (usually first - third years) go to Joe's. It's best known for the $2 beer pitchers, $5 pizzas, and $2 vodka sodas. Most the time students head over around 7pm to start eating pizzas and by 11pm the large dance floor opens up. It's my 3rd quarter at school and every time I've been to Joe's has been a great time (I've went once outside of of my school's traditional dates with a friend for a pharmacy frat school party). If you know that there's a good crowd at Joe's, its always fun. 

Food wise, you can't beat the pizzas for $5. They always come out super hot (especially the cheese ones) so let it cool down before you start chowing down. I think last time a few of my classmates and I almost cooked the insides of our mouths cause it was so hot! Also, can't beat the $2 beer pitches, but beware, it's quite watered down. Since I'm on a 'bland' diet (sad... limited to non-greasy and non-spicy foods) due to medical reasons, I stuck with the Avocado Caprese Salad. I was pleasantly surprised by it and really quite enjoyed it! The ingredients are all fresh and the dressing ratio was perfect (it comes on the side, but it's just enough). I would definitely order other food items on the list if I had to, but chances are I'll stick with the Tipsy Tuesday specials when I visit Joe's.

Joe's on Weed Street

940 W Weed Street

Chicago, IL 60622

312.337.3486

website

Santorini :: Jenn's Birthday Party

Penne Appetizer

Greek Salad

Rack of Lamb

Earl Grey Tea

Santorini

288 John Street

Thornhill, ON L3T 7R3

905.731.4400

website

Sable Kitchen & Bar :: Suitemate Sweetie Date with Jessica ft. Churro Ice Cream Sandwich!

Classic Poutine ($10)

wisconsin cheese curds, beef gravy

Mussels ($16) 
spicy tomato broth, bacon, grilled baguette

Left :: War of the Roses :: pimm’s, gin, lime, elderflower, mint, peychaud’s bitters

Right :: Living the Dream :: citadelle gin, aperol, strawberry, lime, basil, prosecco

Grilled Peach Salad ($12)
candied pecans, beets, local greens, farmers cheese, champagne vinaigrette

Wagyu Beef Sliders ($15)
aged cheddar, tomato jam, roasted garlic aioli, fried quail egg

Churro Ice Cream Sandwich ($10) 
dulce de leche, hibiscus ice cream

Sable Kitchen & Bar 
505 N State Street
Chicago, IL 60654
312.755.9704
website

Homestead on the Roof :: Labour Day Patio Dinner with Matt, Tristina, and Jess

Summer Panzenella ($10)

housemade sourdough, marinated tomatoes, smoked tropea onions, burrata, preserved kale, burnt leek vinaigrette

Suckling Pig Falafel ($12) 

compressed melon, dill yogurt, pickled jalapeno

Sweet Corn Agnolotti ($14)

chantrelles, roasted tomato jam, grilled squash, pecorino

Egyptian Spiced Mussels ($14)

sumac-infused apples, calvados, spiced pita, house baguette

Tamellini Soave, 2013 ($40/bottle)	Pappardelle ($16) beef short rib sugo, smoked green garlic, pickled ramp

Complimentary Desserts

peanut brittle, jelly, salted caramel, and chocolate cake

Photo of their garden!

Sign is outside, to go in you walk in to Roots Pizza and go into the back and up the stairs!

(Sort of speakeasy style but not really)

The rooftop was an amazing environment to enjoy a cute dinner with friends with a great glass of wine and amazing food. Highly recommend to check out this place when the weather is warm!

The only thing that took away from the entire experience was the service. Food service was great, but the hostess/reservations was where we had the problem. We got there at 7pm, expecting to wait. Hostess refused to let us go up to the bar while we waited for the table because they were "way too packed" and that waiting list for the meal was 2 hours - we would be seated by 9pm. She told us to walk around the block for the 2 hours and come back at around 8:50pm to be seated. Was a little skeptical and went on OpenTable while walking out and found a reservation for 7:30pm. Went back to the hostess to tell her we now had a reservation. She simply stated "oh you must have gotten lucky, someone must have just cancelled" and ushered us to walk upstairs. There was literally 4 people in the bar and 4 empty tables upstairs. My friends and I were appalled in how  "packed" it was. The restaurant did get busy at around 8/9pm but it was no excuse to refuse our entry to the upstairs bar at 7pm when the restaurant wasn't that busy. We ended up finishing our dinner at around 9pm. Long story short: make reservations.

Homestead on the Roof

1924 W Chicago Ave

Chicago 60622

773.332.2354

website

Panera Bread :: Quick Dinner Before Midterm

Pick Two - Creamy Tomato Soup and Caesar Salad with Chips ($8.08)

Large Lemonade ($2.99)

After my visit at the Panera Bread near the corner of Yonge and Dundas, and experiencing the dirty cutlery (click for photo) and poor service - it really turned me off from coming back to this location. I've had better experiences with the Panera Bread at the Shops of Don Mills and on Highway 7 and Warden. I was initially thinking of visiting the Highway 7 location to squeeze in some study time and lunch prior to my midterm in downtown Toronto, but the impending rain changed my mind and I decided to head downtown first just in case traffic was bad. Since so many of my friends dined at the Yonge location before, I figured perhaps last time was a fluke.

This second visit was much better than the first, but wasn't enough to change my mind about this particular location. The service was much better and the cashier was friendly. The problem this time wasn't service or the cutlery. It was the salad. It was terrible - and it was only a Caesar salad! It didn't taste right. It tasted as though they washed the salad and left soap studs in it. It was not refreshing at all! In addition, for a Caesar salad, there was a disappointing lack of salad dressing. I was literally eating a plain bowl of lettuce with croutons in it. I didn't want to make a fuss since I never really had to return a dish I've ordered myself before and I was trying to cram the last amount of lecture into my head before my test. The creamy tomato soup was delicious but kind of on the warm/cold side, but acceptable. Lemonade was generous for the size (the regular size is $2.79 - so for 20 cents more got the large) but slightly on the sweet side. 

I don't dislike Panera Bread as a franchise, but I don't like the Yonge and Dundas location because I think it's reasonable to expect friendly service, clean cutlery, and a hearty, healthy, and refreshing meal that I'm fully satisfied with for the premium price of $12.51 - especially if it's simply a cup of soup and a small Caesar salad. I feel like Panera Bread is a franchise that prides itself on quality food and service - but I simply don't believe that this location has it.

Panera Bread

322 Yonge Street 

Toronto, ON M5B 1R8

website

T-Rex Zone :: Cheapest Lunch Deal in Yorkville

I saw T-Rex open maybe a couple of months ago, briefly walked by it to investigate, but didn't have any interest in it - perhaps to the simplicity of this salad bar (which is very ironic considering that the T-Rex was a carnivore!). It wasn't until I ran into the Cumberland Terrace Food Court grabbing some food for my manager and I had a deep craving for a salad bar lunch that I remembered T-Rex and went back to try it out. I'm super glad I did!

Lily, who works there everyday with presumably her family, kindly explained to me the simple pricing of her restaurant.

One regular tub is $3.99 + tax. One large tub is $5.99 + tax. The tubs can be filled with what ever your heart fancies that's available for you at the salad bar with no worries of how much the tub weighs. You just pay for the tub and you fill it. If you want a drink add $1 + tax. It's not a self-serve salad bar, thus Lily helps you put together your lunch. It's also great cause T-Rex Zone takes credit cards so you don't have to carry a full purse/wallet with you from the office.

How awesome is that? Considering I work in Yorkville, one of - if not the most - expensive neighbourhoods in Downtown Toronto, finding lunch around work is terribly expensive. The closest 'healthy' fast food nearby is Aroma, Freshii, and Picnic where lunches run you at around $7-10+tax. 

So thanks to T-Rex, I've been eating lunch for $4.51 everyday. That's arguably cheaper than bringing frozen tv dinners to work everyday! I have no idea how T-Rex makes it's money and maintains its Yorkville rent for $4.51 a tub, so I'm not surprised if T-Rex raises it's prices a little - but even a slight price increase is still very much cheaper than everywhere else in the vicinity. I'm also astounded that it's not busy at all! I've also told all my coworkers and they are surprised! I feel the lack of a crowd is a lack of exposure and that it's not visible from the street. They don't have an Urbanspoon profile (yet ;D just submitted an 'add restaurant' request) and one review on Yelp from a user named Bernie.

So this is one of my lunches from T-Rex Zone shortly after I discovered it. 

Now, considering that it's $3.99 - one can be skeptical about the taste and quality of the food. For the skeptics out there, I'm pretty satisfied about the freshness and the taste of T-Rex Zone's salad bar. The vegetables are fresh and I normally only see a small quantity on the salad bar at a time making me believe that T-Rex brings out food at small quantities at a time to maintain freshness. Majority of the salad bar options are vegetarian, though I have seen chicken slices, tuna, bacon bits, hard boiled eggs, and diced ham. I would be really happy if they introduced tofu as a protein though!

First you get a choice of a bed of romaine, kale, or a mixture of both (though on some days only romaine was available). Then you just tell Lily everything you want to try out and she puts a spoonful in your bin. If you are particularly excited about something, maybe tell her to add two spoonfuls.

Here's a size comparison size shot beside my large Second Cup drink. That's the regular $3.99 tub. I've gotten way less for more from other salad bars such as Freshii and Aroma.

On this particular day I got the following combination (off the top of my head):

• romaine
• boiled egg
• humus
• corn
• green beans
• kale super salad mixture
• nut mixture
• croutons
• tomato, cucumber, and red onion mixure
• potato salad
• macaroni salad
• beets
• honey dijon dressing

I'm a creature of habit so my salad lunches don't really change day to day but here's what's in the above tub:

• kale (wasn't available when I got the above tub)
• boiled egg
• humus
• corn
• avocado (wasn't available last time either)
• cucumber slices
• beans
• chick peas & kidney beans (first time trying this today - liked it!)
• nut mixture
• croutons
• tomato, cucumber, and red onion mixure
• potato salad
• macaroni salad
• beets
• honey dijon dressing

Update (Nov 13, 2014)

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger Root ($2.99 + tax)

It was a particularly cold day today, so I tried T-Rex's soup for the first time today. I was also feel like I was getting sick so I was in need of something to warm me up. The soup of the day was the Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger Root. I love Butternut Squash Soup and the Ginger Root was a welcomed Asian twist. The added Ginger Root really helped me feel like I was fighting off my upcoming cold and felt a lot better. I would definitely get it again without question.

Update (Nov 14, 2014)

• romaine
• kale
• kale super salad
• macaroni salad
• potato salad
• diced ham
• nuts & berry combo
• beets
• cucumber
• broccoli
• eggs
• corn
• green peas
• tuna
• chicken slices
• feta
• humus
• avocado
• parmasean
• honey dijon
• croutons

Bottom line: Probably one of the cheapest and healthiest lunch deal you can find in Yorkville. The ingredients are fresh and tasty too! The $3.99 tub is more than enough to fill me up too.

If you do happen to stop by T-Rex, tell Lily that Sam said hi! She's pretty good with names since she remembered mine just after one visit and only asking about my name once!

T-Rex Zone

Unit F02B - 2 Bloor Street West

(in Cumberland Terrace across from Manchuwok)