Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Le Commensal (Montreal)
This joint was a bit confusing for a first timer, but I eventually figured out that it was weighing buffet style.
I picked up some green salad fixings with some tasty add-ons like sesame seeds and balsamic dressing.
Main course as an assortment of things - 1" piece of lasagna (good), tofu korma (decent, but stick to Indian restaurant), mashed sweet potato (yummy) and wild rice pilaf.
For dessert - little pieces of maple pie, chocolate coffee mousse cake and date square. All basically in-edible.
Total bill about $8.50. Next time, I would just get some soup, bread and salad. The rest of the crew in the joint seemed to be going with that more or less.
I picked up some green salad fixings with some tasty add-ons like sesame seeds and balsamic dressing.
Main course as an assortment of things - 1" piece of lasagna (good), tofu korma (decent, but stick to Indian restaurant), mashed sweet potato (yummy) and wild rice pilaf.
For dessert - little pieces of maple pie, chocolate coffee mousse cake and date square. All basically in-edible.
Total bill about $8.50. Next time, I would just get some soup, bread and salad. The rest of the crew in the joint seemed to be going with that more or less.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thai Express (Montreal)
I wasn't expecting much from a cheap meal at the food court so I was feeling ok when my veggie green curry was not all that tasty.
It was a horrendous amount of veggies (mainly onion and cabbage, a few stray brocolli and soggy asian eggplant) with a horendous amount of goopy sauce that drowned out the rice. Some tofu, mushrooms, carrot or peppers would have been tasty additions.
This place appeared to be the most popular joint in the whole food court, so I guess the rest of Montreal does not agree with me??
I have to admit the price ($6.85 with enough food for 2) and speed (about 30 seconds) were right.
It was a horrendous amount of veggies (mainly onion and cabbage, a few stray brocolli and soggy asian eggplant) with a horendous amount of goopy sauce that drowned out the rice. Some tofu, mushrooms, carrot or peppers would have been tasty additions.
This place appeared to be the most popular joint in the whole food court, so I guess the rest of Montreal does not agree with me??
I have to admit the price ($6.85 with enough food for 2) and speed (about 30 seconds) were right.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
PC World's Best Meatless Burgers
Miriam and Dave cooked some up last night on the BBQ. They were extremely good and highly recommended. I had with some tasty home-made guacamole. Mmmm...must move out of the condo so we can get a bbq.
The internet crowd does not agree.
The internet crowd does not agree.
Baby Back Ribs @ Home
Pretty much the easiest thing. I covered the pan in foil and cooked @ 300 F for 3 hours. Then I put some BBQ sauce on and broiled for about 15! Mmm.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The River (Grand Rapids Mn)
This place is about the classiest joint in the whole Iron Range of Minnesota....although that is not saying much.
The wine selection at the River is pretty decent and actually somewhat moderately priced. Maybe I'm used to the horrendous amount of taxes and overhead the LCBO wine includes??
The free bread was pretty delightful and fresh out of the oven. As determined by an authentic Italian person on the project team, the olive oil was decent quality, but the balsamic could use some improvement.
On the first night there, my walleye with Minnesota wild rice and seasonal veg (broccoli) was fantastic and way too much to eat. There was a delightful buttery white wine sauce on there that made everything tastier.
Others enjoyed some pork and thai peanut salad. The best bargain on the whole menu was dessert - $1.50 brought out a house made dark chocolate truffle the size of a baseball!!!
Second night, an antipasto plate showed up. I really liked the almonds and serrano ham. Other enjoyed cheese, salami, olives and sundried tomato olive crostini.
For main course, I ordered beef tenderloin and double baked potato and seasonal veggie (corn casserole item). All were delicious and a rather large portion - I probably ate about half.
The service was pretty good - very friendly and helpful. I didn't like how long the meals took through, about 3 hours on average!
The wine selection at the River is pretty decent and actually somewhat moderately priced. Maybe I'm used to the horrendous amount of taxes and overhead the LCBO wine includes??
The free bread was pretty delightful and fresh out of the oven. As determined by an authentic Italian person on the project team, the olive oil was decent quality, but the balsamic could use some improvement.
On the first night there, my walleye with Minnesota wild rice and seasonal veg (broccoli) was fantastic and way too much to eat. There was a delightful buttery white wine sauce on there that made everything tastier.
Others enjoyed some pork and thai peanut salad. The best bargain on the whole menu was dessert - $1.50 brought out a house made dark chocolate truffle the size of a baseball!!!
Second night, an antipasto plate showed up. I really liked the almonds and serrano ham. Other enjoyed cheese, salami, olives and sundried tomato olive crostini.
For main course, I ordered beef tenderloin and double baked potato and seasonal veggie (corn casserole item). All were delicious and a rather large portion - I probably ate about half.
The service was pretty good - very friendly and helpful. I didn't like how long the meals took through, about 3 hours on average!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
MSP Burrito Roundup
This is a continuation of the series Janice started a while ago. This is just going to be a quick post and maybe I'll fill it in with more details later once I have time.
Maui Taco by Gate C5
Pros
-very very tasty. I had the Lahaina. Recommended.
-includes salsa bar and chips with your regular burrito
Cons
-does not serve dinner burritos before 11. Very disappointing
Gourmet 360 Burrito by the central food court area
Pros
- full menu even before 11
Cons
- no chips or salsa
- terrible customer service. In the time I was waiting for my burrito they messed up two people's orders and they made a lady wait forever for a bag of chips and salsa.
- burritos are not very tasty. I had the traditional. Boring.
Bottom line
Make the trek out to C5 and Maui Tacos
I also learned an important lesson. Try to eat it before you get on the plane. A middle seat on a packed plane with a disintegrating wrapper did not make for fun times. Luckily I think the burrito will wash out of my pants. For the boring tasting 360 burritos it's probably not worth it. For the excellent Maui concoctions make sure to bring napkins.
Faithful readers can possibly look forward to the DEN roundup later this week. The C gates didn't seem to have anything that tasty but a family favorite is apparently in the B gates area. I'm on the edge of my seat with excitement.
Maui Taco by Gate C5
Pros
-very very tasty. I had the Lahaina. Recommended.
-includes salsa bar and chips with your regular burrito
Cons
-does not serve dinner burritos before 11. Very disappointing
Gourmet 360 Burrito by the central food court area
Pros
- full menu even before 11
Cons
- no chips or salsa
- terrible customer service. In the time I was waiting for my burrito they messed up two people's orders and they made a lady wait forever for a bag of chips and salsa.
- burritos are not very tasty. I had the traditional. Boring.
Bottom line
Make the trek out to C5 and Maui Tacos
I also learned an important lesson. Try to eat it before you get on the plane. A middle seat on a packed plane with a disintegrating wrapper did not make for fun times. Luckily I think the burrito will wash out of my pants. For the boring tasting 360 burritos it's probably not worth it. For the excellent Maui concoctions make sure to bring napkins.
Faithful readers can possibly look forward to the DEN roundup later this week. The C gates didn't seem to have anything that tasty but a family favorite is apparently in the B gates area. I'm on the edge of my seat with excitement.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Tasty Mexican
Where is the cheap & tasty Mexican food in Toronto?
Like how come steel plant towns in the middle of no-where Minnesota, Alabama or Ohio have tasty, cheap and somewhat authentic (at least in my never really travelled to Mexico opinion) food joints and Toronto does not?
Like how come steel plant towns in the middle of no-where Minnesota, Alabama or Ohio have tasty, cheap and somewhat authentic (at least in my never really travelled to Mexico opinion) food joints and Toronto does not?
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Crepes To Go (Montreal)
Aside from this joint being ridiculously close to my hotel (Parc Ave & Sherbrooke area), it is also fast, cheap and tasty! How can you beat that??
It's perhaps not special trip worthy joint, but they do make a decent crepe. I had a spinach and cheese that featured somewhat crispy crepe shell, fresh spinach and well melted yummy cheese. They even threw a few pieces of fresh fruit on there for good measure.
Basically no complaints here. Next time, I'll skip main course and just go with dessert. These items mainly seemed to resolve around nutella...mmmm....
It's perhaps not special trip worthy joint, but they do make a decent crepe. I had a spinach and cheese that featured somewhat crispy crepe shell, fresh spinach and well melted yummy cheese. They even threw a few pieces of fresh fruit on there for good measure.
Basically no complaints here. Next time, I'll skip main course and just go with dessert. These items mainly seemed to resolve around nutella...mmmm....
Maui Taco (Minneapolis Airport)
I was kinda in between meals, so I went with a hearty breakfast burrito and called it lunch. My item came with a burrito shell topped with rice, beans, eggs, red sauce and cheese. I nixed the sour cream. I was a little surprised when it came with chips too!
The salsa bar had lots of choices. I grabbed some mild tomato, mild pineapple and green tomatillo salsas.
Overall this was a very delightful item and at a price of about $7 not too expensive either.
Note to self & Ian - we should ditch the engineering and open up a T. burrito joint!
Here's the site...
The salsa bar had lots of choices. I grabbed some mild tomato, mild pineapple and green tomatillo salsas.
Overall this was a very delightful item and at a price of about $7 not too expensive either.
Note to self & Ian - we should ditch the engineering and open up a T. burrito joint!
Here's the site...
Dairy Queen (on Bremner)
After the Jays game on Friday, we headed over to the DQ for that brownie batter blizzard that they've been advertising lately. The small blizzard isn't cheap anymore at $4.19 all in but since I'm eating for free on Monday (thanks to Pizza Pizza and the 7 strike outs promotion) we spent it up and shared one.
Now the last time I had been here last year, they double billed my credit card. Since I didn't want to go through the hassle of calling Visa again, I figured I would pay cash. I had been carrying a fair amount of change with me the past few days so I was able to eke out $4.20 from my pockets. The lady asked if I had pennies but the best I could do in that case was $4.13. She wasn't OK with that so instead she wanted the $4.20 only to tell me that they don't have any pennies. I'm not one to take getting scammed for a penny lightly, so I asked (half jokingly) if they could make the blizzard larger but she seemed to not think that would be a good way to resolve the issue. In my opinion, if they aren't going to keep enough change then the error should be in my favour. This was bad customer service and I won't be back any time soon.
Now the last time I had been here last year, they double billed my credit card. Since I didn't want to go through the hassle of calling Visa again, I figured I would pay cash. I had been carrying a fair amount of change with me the past few days so I was able to eke out $4.20 from my pockets. The lady asked if I had pennies but the best I could do in that case was $4.13. She wasn't OK with that so instead she wanted the $4.20 only to tell me that they don't have any pennies. I'm not one to take getting scammed for a penny lightly, so I asked (half jokingly) if they could make the blizzard larger but she seemed to not think that would be a good way to resolve the issue. In my opinion, if they aren't going to keep enough change then the error should be in my favour. This was bad customer service and I won't be back any time soon.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Japango (Beaches)
During a small bike ride detour, we came across Japango on Queen Street.
I had the salmon teriyaki lunch special ($7.95 I think). This was a pretty decent deal as it included some tasty miso soup, Vietnamese style glass noodle salad, green salad, rice with black sesame seeds and half an orange for dessert. There was quite a lot of salmon in a thick and tasty sauce. It was so much fish, I gave Ian half!
Ian ordered the beef bulgogi ($8.95 I think) and like my salmon, it was good. It came with the same sides as my salmon.
I had the salmon teriyaki lunch special ($7.95 I think). This was a pretty decent deal as it included some tasty miso soup, Vietnamese style glass noodle salad, green salad, rice with black sesame seeds and half an orange for dessert. There was quite a lot of salmon in a thick and tasty sauce. It was so much fish, I gave Ian half!
Ian ordered the beef bulgogi ($8.95 I think) and like my salmon, it was good. It came with the same sides as my salmon.
11 Good Foods to Eat
At least according to a NY Times Blogger. These are items good for you and things you can actually find at the grocery store!
Note to self - make some cole-slaw with grated beet, pumpkin seeds with pomegranate juice & cinnamon dressing.
Note to self - make some cole-slaw with grated beet, pumpkin seeds with pomegranate juice & cinnamon dressing.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Costco Brand Soy Milk
Run out and purchase now! It is far superior and cheaper to anything else out there....
Anti-Campfire Genius
In the era of purchasing wood (and possibly environmental friendliness), consider an alternative to the traditional melt-y chocolate smore....
Q-Doba
Ian is typically the poster of burrito related items, but this time I'll go for it! This joint is located at the Pittsburgh airport - probably not worth the drive from Toronto.
Here is the website - if you have an extra $2 million hanging around, you might want to consider a franchise!
My burrito consisted of: steak, choice of pinto or black beans, cilantro/lime rice, choice of salsa and I even got some additional mango salsa thrown on for good measure. The whole thing is wrapped up and grilled. With my diet coke to drink, total price was a reasonable $8.62.
It really was too much too eat for anyone concerned about their health.
If this were Ian, he would complain about how they charge extra for guacamole. I generally try not to get too stressed out about this - the avocado really is quite an expensive and labour intensive undertaking.
Here is the website - if you have an extra $2 million hanging around, you might want to consider a franchise!
My burrito consisted of: steak, choice of pinto or black beans, cilantro/lime rice, choice of salsa and I even got some additional mango salsa thrown on for good measure. The whole thing is wrapped up and grilled. With my diet coke to drink, total price was a reasonable $8.62.
It really was too much too eat for anyone concerned about their health.
If this were Ian, he would complain about how they charge extra for guacamole. I generally try not to get too stressed out about this - the avocado really is quite an expensive and labour intensive undertaking.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Fight @ the Mountain Mist Ice Cream (Saranac Lake)
Ian and I finally tried the Mountain Mist in Saranac Lake (near Lake Placid NY). It unfortunately ended up in me fighting with the cashier.
The girl took our order & moola (with plastic gloves on), then proceeded to grab my cone with the same gloves still on - no paper napkin or paper cover thingy over the cone. I point out that she just handled cash with those gloves and then made my cone. She seemed to feel the gloves were on to protect HER skin from the ice cream?? She basically thought I was CRAZY for questioning her sanitary practices!
Anywho, she changed one glove and then made me another one. It did not accomplish much since she used the dirty glove to grab my cone. Fortunately no illness resulted (yet -1 day & counting).
The ice cream itself - a baby soft serve maple walnut for me & hot fudge sundae for Ian were tasty & decently priced.
Here is a picture so you can form a mental note and stay away!
The girl took our order & moola (with plastic gloves on), then proceeded to grab my cone with the same gloves still on - no paper napkin or paper cover thingy over the cone. I point out that she just handled cash with those gloves and then made my cone. She seemed to feel the gloves were on to protect HER skin from the ice cream?? She basically thought I was CRAZY for questioning her sanitary practices!
Anywho, she changed one glove and then made me another one. It did not accomplish much since she used the dirty glove to grab my cone. Fortunately no illness resulted (yet -1 day & counting).
The ice cream itself - a baby soft serve maple walnut for me & hot fudge sundae for Ian were tasty & decently priced.
Here is a picture so you can form a mental note and stay away!
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