I have been seeing the name of this tapas restaurant for sometime now during my searches for a good restaurant close to my home. Although I saw the address was very close to mine I could not figure out where it physically was... At the end, we decided to try this place with my husband and a friend of ours, and I realized why I could not see it before... This little, nice tapas restaurant is located in a strip mall at one block north of Yonge&StClair, Toronto. I have been to this strip mall to stop by at Bruno's (a small grocery store) couple of times but never thought there would be a nice restaurant inside that building... Despite the location of it, once you enter the restaurant it has a very cozy feel and you just forget that it is in a strip mall - actually I even feel like I am somewhere in Spain, and love it.
We started with half a liter of sangria (they have red and white, we choose the red one), which worked really well because the day we went there was a warm day in Toronto with high humidity (and their A/C was broken). Sangria was good, cold and refreshing...
For the rest of the dinner we drank a bottle of syrah that our friend brought, and we were lucky that they have no corkage fee on Sundays ( good to keep in mind, makes a difference in the bill :)).
With my husband, we ordered bunch of tapas and shared - since our friend is vegetarian she ordered for herself. We got; Bruschetta (of edamame, grilled green onions, moroccan olives and sicilian tomatoes), Torta of grilled portobello mushroom, Papas fritas (fries with sage and rosemary flavor), Grilled squid with fingerling patatoes, olives and capers, Salt cod cake with piperade and chipotle crema, Venison pieces with a warm red cabbage salad. 3 tapas per person was just right for us, we were full and happy at the end of the dinner...
I loved everything we ordered except the Torta of grilled portobello mushroom. This dish was very bland and dry. Especially fries are a must; beautiful flavors, much more than your ordinary fries...
I will definitely go to Cava again, and this time will try their paella, and let you know... Mmmm, looking forward to it :)
They also have a chocolaterie next door - sells ice cream too - if anyone wants to try...
Name: Cava Restaurant
Address: 1560 Yonge Street, Toronto, M4T 2S9
Phone Number: 416 979 99 18
Website: http://cavarestaurant.ca/
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The Girl and The Fig...
We visited California's wine country in end-March. It was an amazing trip, and one of the couple of things that made the trip amazing was the food...
In Sonoma, we visited the restaurant called The Girl and The Fig, which was highly recommended by Frommers and also some friends of ours that visited Sonoma last summer...
The Girl and the Fig is located at the small town centre of Sonoma, and has a beautiful patio at the back of the restaurant. The style is French country, very casual, relaxing, with friendly staff...
Unfortunately we were not very hungry when we went to this restaurant, so we only sampled 2 plates from the menu and a great wine...
We selected a wine that was recommended by our waitress - red, fruity, not strong as we asked for - and we loved it. The good thing is if you can not finish they cork it for you and you can take it with you when you are leaving... The wine is : Cline 2007 Ancient Vines Mourvedre, Contra Costa County.
As food, we shared a goat cheese sampler (three types of goat cheese served with fruits, nuts and baguette) and wild flounder "meunière" (served with yukon potato purée, sautéed spinach & lemon-caper brown butter sauce). Cheese were good, and fish was especially delicious.
This place has all the charm of wine country, sunny patio with good food&wine and friendly staff... Highly recommended if you will stop by Sonoma one day... Reservations are recommended...
Name: The Girl and The Fig
Address: 110 West Spain Street Sonoma, CA. 95476
Phone Number: 707 938 36 34
Website: http://www.thegirlandthefig.com
In Sonoma, we visited the restaurant called The Girl and The Fig, which was highly recommended by Frommers and also some friends of ours that visited Sonoma last summer...
The Girl and the Fig is located at the small town centre of Sonoma, and has a beautiful patio at the back of the restaurant. The style is French country, very casual, relaxing, with friendly staff...
Unfortunately we were not very hungry when we went to this restaurant, so we only sampled 2 plates from the menu and a great wine...
We selected a wine that was recommended by our waitress - red, fruity, not strong as we asked for - and we loved it. The good thing is if you can not finish they cork it for you and you can take it with you when you are leaving... The wine is : Cline 2007 Ancient Vines Mourvedre, Contra Costa County.
As food, we shared a goat cheese sampler (three types of goat cheese served with fruits, nuts and baguette) and wild flounder "meunière" (served with yukon potato purée, sautéed spinach & lemon-caper brown butter sauce). Cheese were good, and fish was especially delicious.
This place has all the charm of wine country, sunny patio with good food&wine and friendly staff... Highly recommended if you will stop by Sonoma one day... Reservations are recommended...
Name: The Girl and The Fig
Address: 110 West Spain Street Sonoma, CA. 95476
Phone Number: 707 938 36 34
Website: http://www.thegirlandthefig.com
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Tony's Pizza Napoletana...
In San Francisco, when we (my husband and I) were trying to find Tommasa Ristorante for lunch - claimed to be the best pizza in SF by Frommers - we found the best pizza that we have eaten in our lives in somewhere else... At the moment we found Tommasa, we realized that it was open only for dinner... My husband decided to ask to two ladies walking by us for a recommendation about where to eat. By coincidence the ladies were living in that street and recommended us another pizzeria called Tony's Pizza Napoletena close to where we were... Of course, we took the recommendation, and gave it a try...
At Tony's, from so many inviting pizzas in the menu, we selected the award winning ones, and ordered Margarita from Pizza Napoletana section and Cal Italia from Classic Italian. Our friendly waitress recommended us to have the Margarita first and then the Cal Italia. So, we went with that order...
While we were waiting for our pizzas, we had fresh bread from the wood oven accompanied with the beautiful olive oil dips...
Next, we got our fresh from the 900 degrees wood oven Margarita, crisp on the sides and like a thin paper in the middle. Lightest, freshest pizza you will taste. At the beginning we were worried how to eat two whole pizzas for lunch, but this one went down in 10 minutes very easily :) Chef and owner Tony - whom you can see in front of the oven - limits this Margherita to 73 per day, and this pizza won the 2007 World Pizza Cup in Naples, Italy. What I can say is it deserves all the attention...
Second pizza was even better, fireworks in your mouth... Cal Italia is the Gold Medal Winner of Food Networks Pizza Champions Challenge. Look at these ingredients: Asiago, Mozzarella, Imported Italian Gorgonzola, Sweet Fig preserve from Croatia, Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano, Balsamic... They come together balancing salty with sweet, and make a delicious pizza that you will never forget. When owner&chef Tony came to talk to us, I told him that this is the best pizza I have eaten in my life and I was serious...
Of course, at the end of two pizzas there was no place for a dessert. The bill was US$56.92 (including tax, no tip) for 2 pizzas and 3 beer... Good value for money...
Overall, amazing place... If you love pizza and if you live in San Francisco/will visit soon, a visit to Tony's is a must...
Name: Tony's Pizza Napoletana
Address: 1570 Stockton St (at Union St), San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone Number: 415 835 98 88
Website: http://www.tonyspizzanapoletana.com
At Tony's, from so many inviting pizzas in the menu, we selected the award winning ones, and ordered Margarita from Pizza Napoletana section and Cal Italia from Classic Italian. Our friendly waitress recommended us to have the Margarita first and then the Cal Italia. So, we went with that order...
While we were waiting for our pizzas, we had fresh bread from the wood oven accompanied with the beautiful olive oil dips...
Next, we got our fresh from the 900 degrees wood oven Margarita, crisp on the sides and like a thin paper in the middle. Lightest, freshest pizza you will taste. At the beginning we were worried how to eat two whole pizzas for lunch, but this one went down in 10 minutes very easily :) Chef and owner Tony - whom you can see in front of the oven - limits this Margherita to 73 per day, and this pizza won the 2007 World Pizza Cup in Naples, Italy. What I can say is it deserves all the attention...
Second pizza was even better, fireworks in your mouth... Cal Italia is the Gold Medal Winner of Food Networks Pizza Champions Challenge. Look at these ingredients: Asiago, Mozzarella, Imported Italian Gorgonzola, Sweet Fig preserve from Croatia, Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano, Balsamic... They come together balancing salty with sweet, and make a delicious pizza that you will never forget. When owner&chef Tony came to talk to us, I told him that this is the best pizza I have eaten in my life and I was serious...
Of course, at the end of two pizzas there was no place for a dessert. The bill was US$56.92 (including tax, no tip) for 2 pizzas and 3 beer... Good value for money...
Overall, amazing place... If you love pizza and if you live in San Francisco/will visit soon, a visit to Tony's is a must...
Name: Tony's Pizza Napoletana
Address: 1570 Stockton St (at Union St), San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone Number: 415 835 98 88
Website: http://www.tonyspizzanapoletana.com
Scaramouche Restaurant...
My husband took me to the Scaramouche Restaurant yesterday, for a date. It was our first time at the restaurant, and definitely will visit again...
It is located at midtown Toronto, at a side street, on the ground floor of a residential building - which was a surprise for a fancy restaurant. Starting from the entrance, you can feel the classy atmosphere without being pretentious. The place has a great view of the Toronto skyline, and we had a table overlooking the amazing view...
While we were waiting for our order, we were served fresh bread and butter, and also salmon paste on a potato crisp to prepare our palates for the amazing food that was waiting for us. We shared a goat cheese plate as an appetizer. The plate was already divided into two separate plates when served us. All cheeses were matched with small salads, and all were delicious, making us more excited for what was coming next... As main dish, I had the swordfish, smoked and grilled, which was a special for the day and not in the ordinary menu. It was beautifully cooked and served with very tasty vegetables and some bacon... My husband had the elk dish - elk was covered with bacon and accompanied by the hazelnuts, potatoes, crispy shallots, mushrooms, leeks. It was very tasty, but the meat was a bit hard because we ordered medium. Next time we go, I will definitely order this elk dish as medium rare - liked the elk dish much better than my fish course... As dessert, we shared a coconut cream pie which was out of this world. It was a big slice of cake so it is good to share. All night, we could not stop talking about how good the cake was...
They have a wine list covering major wine producing regions. We ordered a Pinot Noir from Niagara (2007 Pinot Noir ‘Jackrabbit Flats Vineyard’ Fielding Estates) and were not impressed - but I want to note that we selected one of the cheapest wines in the list.
Overall, this restaurant has delicious food, very good service, relaxing ambiance, beautiful view. It costed $200 (including tax, not tip) for 2 of us. We agreed that the quality of the restaurant deserved the price and even more... Highly recommended when you want to have good food, and escape from the buzz of the city...
(Sorry for no picture, I forgot to take my camera with me)
Name: Scaramouche Restaurant
Address: One Benvenuto Place, Toronto, ON M4V 1H2
Phone number: 416 961 80 11
Website: http://www.scaramoucherestaurant.com
It is located at midtown Toronto, at a side street, on the ground floor of a residential building - which was a surprise for a fancy restaurant. Starting from the entrance, you can feel the classy atmosphere without being pretentious. The place has a great view of the Toronto skyline, and we had a table overlooking the amazing view...
While we were waiting for our order, we were served fresh bread and butter, and also salmon paste on a potato crisp to prepare our palates for the amazing food that was waiting for us. We shared a goat cheese plate as an appetizer. The plate was already divided into two separate plates when served us. All cheeses were matched with small salads, and all were delicious, making us more excited for what was coming next... As main dish, I had the swordfish, smoked and grilled, which was a special for the day and not in the ordinary menu. It was beautifully cooked and served with very tasty vegetables and some bacon... My husband had the elk dish - elk was covered with bacon and accompanied by the hazelnuts, potatoes, crispy shallots, mushrooms, leeks. It was very tasty, but the meat was a bit hard because we ordered medium. Next time we go, I will definitely order this elk dish as medium rare - liked the elk dish much better than my fish course... As dessert, we shared a coconut cream pie which was out of this world. It was a big slice of cake so it is good to share. All night, we could not stop talking about how good the cake was...
They have a wine list covering major wine producing regions. We ordered a Pinot Noir from Niagara (2007 Pinot Noir ‘Jackrabbit Flats Vineyard’ Fielding Estates) and were not impressed - but I want to note that we selected one of the cheapest wines in the list.
Overall, this restaurant has delicious food, very good service, relaxing ambiance, beautiful view. It costed $200 (including tax, not tip) for 2 of us. We agreed that the quality of the restaurant deserved the price and even more... Highly recommended when you want to have good food, and escape from the buzz of the city...
(Sorry for no picture, I forgot to take my camera with me)
Name: Scaramouche Restaurant
Address: One Benvenuto Place, Toronto, ON M4V 1H2
Phone number: 416 961 80 11
Website: http://www.scaramoucherestaurant.com
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