My Top 3 Indie Coffee Places

After trying over a dozen indie coffee cafes in 3 weeks, you didn't think it was over did you? =0)

Now, it's time to pick my top favorites. So... here are my topic 3 choices and why.

1) Green Grind (College/West of Bathurst)

Aside from their everything-that-I-like-about-them, I really enjoyed this cafe because of its multiple functionalities. I like to go to cafes and stay awhile and chill out and maybe do some internet surfing while enjoying a good cup of java. The Green Grind gives that space and atmosphere to feel at ease and not rushed.

And the drink that I ordered was indeed a good cup of java. 

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2) The One in the Only Coffee House (Donlands/Danforth)

This cafe was tied with Green Grind, so I just picked them both. Similar to Green Grind, The One in the Only House Coffee's atmosphere is inviting, comfortable, cozy, they have free wi-fi and they serve drinks and food, so you can stay a bit longer. Moreover, this cafe is  special to me because it has a backyard patio that's small and intimate.

The feel of The Only Cafe doesn't make you feel like you need to worry about a thing. Everyone there is so relaxed and just doing their own thing. And this is a great place to sit and catch up with a friend(s).

And at the same time, the 2 staff persons there were not in-your-hand helpful, but one that was friendly and chill.

This is a view looking to the front of the cafe.

And my drink wasn't bad! =0)

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3) Fahrenheit (Jarvis/South of Richmond St. East)

My 3rd top favorite is a very very very small coffee shop on the east side of Yonge. I picked this above all others because it was simply their product that would make me come back again and again, despite the cramped small space. And... the customer service didn't hurt. 

The feeling you get here is: busy! But another feeling you get is, Mmmmm what smells so good. And that is what seems to make this cafe so popular.

Thanks for the lovely heart design Fahrenheit! <3

And that's it for the Indie Coffee Passport reviews. I won't stop reviewing other coffee places though, so no worries. I hope this helps you discover what coffee places you like for your own style.

Dinner Review: Thai Princess (on King St. West)

On a rainy day like this, my friend and I tried to find a good but also close by dinner venue from the office. Good ol' thai food. I've never tried it, but my friend recommended that they do good food here.

It was still early for dinner guests, and I must say I enjoyed the peace and quite in this restaurant. It made our dinner conversation that much more.

Because I do have a Pad Thai craving every once and awhile, I couldn't help myself and ordered the most traditional Pad Thai with chicken and shrimp. It didn't look extremely appetizing when the waitress placed my plate in front of me, but when I bite into it, it was D-licious! It hit my pad thai craving!

The service was not too bad but it was very slow especially since we were 1 of their 2 customers at the time. 

Rating it 3.5/5

Great for an intimate dinner date, or dinner with friends. The decor added a lot of class to the place as well.

Win 1 free pair of Hot Docs vouchers!

I think it's a great time for a contest/giveaway.

Hot Docs is already wrapping up their 3rd day. Its flying by so quickly! Have you seen any great films to rave about? If so, which ones?

Is there a documentary that you want to check out? Well here's a chance to win a free pair of Hot Docs vouchers that you can trade in for ANY film at the Hot Docs box office only.

All you have to do is LIKE this post, and in the comments tell me which previous post of mine you've read and liked. As well don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you.

The contest is at random and will end Monday (April 30) and I will contact the winner ASAP. To collect, you must be willing to meet up via the Yonge subway line.

Cheers,
Theccgirl

Hot Docs & Freebies!

If you walk around to the right spots you may find free goodies around Toronto all because of a certain Documentary Festival going on from now till May 6.  Look what I found: a little Nescafe Dolce Gusto stand.

Where can you find it? 

Once you enter their silver space, they let you to pick a flavor, any flavor.

1) Coffee Lungo (decaf)

2) House Blend

3) Medium Roast

4) Cappuccino

5) Cappuccino (skinny)

6) Espresso

7) Caramel Latte Macchiato

8) Vanilla Latte Macchiato

9) Latte Macchiato

10) Chococino

 Then they go step by step showing you how you use theirt-fal machine. For my Caramel Latte Macchiato, you need 2 disks (white and brown). It does take awhile, but in the end it was well worth it.

They use their different flavoured disks to decorative their back wall -very cool and reusable.

On a cool day like today (April 27, 2012), it's perfect warmer while I walk along Bloor Street.

So, again, where can you find this awesome place downtown? Scroll down!

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Here it is

You don't need the capsule to get a free one. =0) Just drop by during those dates and enjoy a great free cup of espresso-based drink!

Dinner Review: GLOW

Exterior

GLOW @ Shops At Don Mills (Don Mills/Lawrence)

Interior

GLOW is very lavish, very spacious and very bright restaurant inside the heart of Shops at Don Mills. The interior makes you feel like you're under the sea (glass seaweed, Coral roof decor) and the light palette creates a warm and inviting room to fancy in.

Great for a celebration setting, I went with three friends to celebrate my birthday. The server was very well-mannered (maybe a little too well-mannered, though I'm not complaining). He was mildly helpful with what's good on the menu and the food came just in time. 

Our first tasting was complimentary from the chef: 3 dippers. 1) Hummus, 2) Olives, 3) Sun dried tomato. Can you guess which one was the tastiest? I'll give you a clue, it's not the ones on the end. =0)

The olive spread was amazing. The bold taste of olives packed the biggest punch. If the other two weren't being compared and was presented by itself, all three gave a great taste performance in my mouth.

For my entree, I ordered the Lamb Shank.

If you're drooling right now, then head to this restaurant and get this now because it's as good as it looks and its worth its price. The meat was fall-off-the-bone delicious and the sauce plus the mashed potatoes had a great texture. 

And this is what my plate looked like afterwards:

Yes, I finished EVERYTHING. The sauce was soaked up by the creamy mashed potatoes giving me an easier way to enjoy the sauce with my lamb.

I also got to try some of my friends' entrees, which were very delightful.

 

Mediterranean Burger

Gourmet Turkey Burger

Piacatta Veal (Not 100% about the name)

On the menu, they mention that the burgers are bunless because they believe that the bun will take away from the whole taste experience. I tried a bite of everyone's' dish and I honestly have no bad reviews. Both burgers tasted very nice and juicy and was seasoned well. The veal was very delicious, enough said! 

Rating it 4.5/5

This restaurant is perfect for dinner dates, party celebrations and girls' night out.

Brunch Review: Fire On The East Side!

It's Saturday... that means brunch time with friends! Today's review traveled to Wellesley/Yonge area to a place called Fire On The East Side!

Walking in, the foyer was nice and roomy. And passed the foyer the restaurant layout split front and back. Seeing that it was still early with the house practically empty, I took one of the more intimate tables near the back. 

The view from my seat (photo above). The restaurants' decor and atmosphere looked great and very inviting. The orange accent walls works with the space, making it feel homey and perfect for brunch. My tables' seats were reused church pews. Very cool.  The rest of the restaurant had minimalism modern decor.  Overall, I liked what I saw.

Once my party arrived, we were greeted with a plate of banana bread. It looked very moist and it tasted very homemade and delicious. So far so good.

I chose this place for two reasons. After I read a few reviews off of ourfaves.com, everyone only had shouts of praises, and secondly, they had eggs benny on crab cakes for a very decent price (that just sounds too good to be true, right?!)

Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict ($12.00).

I've had my share of eggs benny when I do brunch at restaurants, and sadly this is the second time I've been disappointed by crab cakes in less than a month. On the plate it looks great, but taste-wise it didn't do justice. The hollandaise sauce had no texture and was watery. The crab cake was not seasoned well making it taste bland. The only thing I liked on the plate was the salad and the eggs that were semi-well done.

Unfortunately, my friends' dishes also had a the same lack of taste, if not worse. One of my friends ordered 2 Eggs any style $10.00 (photo below) and their daily soup that was a smoked chicken soup noodle $7.00 (second photo below). The eggs were bland and the soup was over the top salty. By the end of it, she barely touched her eggs dish and even tried adding the salty soup to the eggs to help balance of its lacking... but that didn't work out well.

Quite honestly, I had high hopes for Far Side On The East after reading past reviews. The moment I walked in, I was very very very pleased. In the end, however, the food could not hold its own to make me or my friends come again.

Rating it 0.5/5 stars

Coffee Review: Linuxcaffe

Located at the exact corner of Grace and Harbord Street (closest subway station, Christie), this corner cafe is not small in any way.

I came to Linuxcaffe after the fact that I discovered it while I was heading to Sam James Cafe a few weeks back. Within walking distances of each other, the space looked adorable and I knew I had to check it out soon.

Looking up at their chalkboard menu, you can't help but notice their wall of teas in their colourful canisters.  

In the front of the cafe, there are two areas for bar-stooling. It's nice for parties of one or people watching while enjoying the tastes of Linuxcaffe products.

I went there to meet up with a friend who had just come back from overseas and I thought this might be a great place to hang out and reconnect after 2 years of not seeing each other. I ended up getting there first. Most of the tables in the back were filled with laptop patrons, so I opted for a bar stool by the window. It was a great day out and didn't mind the sunshine seat. I got there and did have to make a "attention" cough to get one of the staffs' attention. They apologized and asked what I would like. I opted for something cold, but did not see anything made iced, so instead I got a mocha latte.

The taste was good. There wasn't anything in the drink that made me think otherwise. My friend also ordered a butter pecan tart, small-medium size. With an very deep love for butter pecan tart, it was delicious. The crust was hard and crunchy and the filling was not overpoweringly sweet, but just sweet enough.

Linuxcaffe is a great place to have coffee with a friend. The space is not as decorative in the back, but their patio area in the front looks very inviting.

Rating it 2.3/5 stars