Food Review: Lou Dawg's (King West)

Heading further west into King Street West area, I tried out a pretty chill looking place called Lou Dawg's.

It was raining and pretty empty when we arrived around 5:00pm. 

But the wait staff was very nice and friendly.

I thought their wood-decorum was nice and the place is very clean.  Most of the tables are the high-bar stools and a few regular seating at the front.

Lately, I've been trying to choose healthi"er" choices, and so I got the Smoked Turkey Wrap ($8.95).

Presentation was not very appealing, but in the end I really enjoyed my wrap. It was jam packed, so I was only able to eat one side and I packed up the rest.

Overall, I liked this place a lot. 

Price ...... $ - $$

Atmosphere ......... 3.5/5

Customer Service ............ 4.5/5

Food Review: Brassaii

Where better to eat then at a TIFF hub where you might be likely to star gaze while enjoying a fancy meal.

Of course, with all its "celebrity" guests, our party was pushed back to the patio "lounge" sitting area.

The VIP treatment was down on the hush hush, but it was quite evident of how "happening" this place was for TIFF out-of-town guests.

On the lunch menu

.... a very nice selection. However, they seemed to be running out of many items (drinks & food) due to the out-of-town guests.

We did get a very sweet waiter that made sure we were good and he kept the fresh and hot bread coming to our "sofa/table".

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I lucked out and got a Turkey club sandwich with a side salad.

The salad and dressing was very tasty and full of colour and textures.

The club sandwich was actually quite filling. I had one side and had to wait to eat the other side for later.

Okkkk... so you're probably wondering, "Did you see any celebrities during your lunch at Brassaii?" 

YES!!!

When we arrived, we got lucky and bumped into Tom Felton (Draco from "Harry Potter Series"). There was a handful of people surrounding him just outside of the restaurant and he was very sweet -signing autographs and taking photos with fans.

Tom Felton (TIFF, "Belle") posing with fans =0)

Not one, but two celebrities caught my eye.......

And I was lucky to catch a glimpse of Mr. Adrien Brody (TIFF, "Third Person") as he rushed out from the restaurant. Unfortunately, this is the only photo I got of him.

I watched Third Person as well, and I loved it. The story follows 3 different men -one from NYC, Roma & Paris, and the writer intertwines their lives in a very mysterious way. A must-watch!

Overall, I thought Brassaii was a very nice and classy restaurant to enjoy a meal with friends and/or a romantic rendez-vous. 

Price (lunch) ............. $$$

Atmosphere (outdoor only) .......... 3/5

Customer Service ........... 4/5

Taste ............... 4/5

Food Review: Jump

Going off the grid and trying one of the popular winterlicious/summerlicious restaurants, my friend and I grab a nice dinner @ JUMP.

Located in the Financial district, you'll find JUMP inside one of the many similar looking plazas.

JUMP is also an affiliate of the Oliver & Bonacini restaurant chain (O&B Canteen, Luma, Bannock, Biff's Bistro, Canoe).

The dinner selection is quite limited. But the selections looked very enticing. 

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Complimentary to our meal, was fancy (and crispy) bread and a beet and apple salad.

The bread was good but the dipping sauce had little to no taste.

The beet salad was not as pleasant. The only thing I enjoyed were the thin slices of apple - for its sweetest. The celery leaves left a horribly bitter taste in my mouth.

And for dinner... I opted for theccgirl way.....

The Jump Beef & Short Rib Burger

The burger was cooked perfectly, but I found that the bun was way to chewy and harder to bite into for a pleasurable experience. The dip for the fries was delicious and the cut of the fries were just right, not too thick and not too thin.

Overall, the dinner experience was very professional and nice.

The dining decor was exquisite and the chairs were very comfortable.

Food ......... 3/5

Atmosphere .......... 5/5

Customer Service ........ 4.7/5

Pice ................ $$$

TIFF Day 8 | Pierce Brosnan (Love Punch) just for you!

The money shot of Mr. James Bond aka. Pierce Brosnan.....

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#nofilter #piercebrosnan #tiff2013 #toccgirl

And here's a few more photos for some laughs.... courtesy of our lovely Emma Thompson

T'was a beautiful TIFF 2013 Day 8 at the festival

Food Review: Weir's (Orillia)

The family friendly side of Casino Rama is located at the hotel entrance. 

Note: No children allowed to any of the restaurants entering from the Casino entrance.

The architecture of the hotel was very chalet-like and grand. It definitely felt like I was up in the mountains when I entered.

We stopped here to have lunch. And not being so selective, we decided upon Weir's (near the main entrance).

The restaurant was in the middle of the hotel (in a circle) and it was an open concept allowing for hotel patrons to look in and for Weir's patrons to look out.

At first glance, this restaurant looked rather fancy. 

And then when we sat down, we noticed a lot of not-so-fancy things going on.

First, the cutlery was not as clean.

The wait staff was slow, forgetful and rarely there

We had a wait time and when we looked in, it was less than half full

The menu on the other hand was very decently priced. They did the regular hotel type Western food. But I did overlook that they had an Asian flare for Congee. Interesting!

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For myself, I went western and ordered a Reuben sandwich.

The food wasn't half bad. But it wasn't anything spectacular.

Overall, I might choose not to come here again. Without good waiters, the whole experience lacked in one of the most important areas.... customer service first.

Also, another thing to note, they don't allow take-out. But when I asked the lady for a box (not knowing they don't provide that service), she said she can give me saran wrap and a plastic bag, which she did. 

Food Review: Steam Kitchen 蒸蒸日上 (Richmond Hill)

Long after Dicken's left the lower level restaurant at Chalmers & Highway 7, a new restaurant called Steam Kitchen 蒸蒸日上 moved in. 

We went around 8:00pm on a Holiday and it was very very busy!

Right away, this place looked very new and very mordern. The decor screams "modern", but the food is still the good ol' favorites.

We ordered a lot. We had steamed lobster, steamed fish, fried and dipped in seasame seeds chicken, steamed eggs etc.

Overall, everything we ate had great flavor to it. It wasn't too salty nor did it lack in taste. I think my favorite was the seasame chicken because it was something I've never tried before, made that way.

It looks like this is a very known place because it had a lot of patrons coming in and out and waiting long minutes for a seat. 

They say they have Free WiFi, but it's not that accessible. There was a lock on it. You probably have to ask one of the waiters for the password. 

I'd definitely come back!