Dave’s Lobster (Halifax)

One of the quintessential items to have in Nova Scotia is a lobster roll. And like every tourist, I was going to get my hand on one (erm… perhaps more than one). My first was enjoyed fresh off the plane, at the Halifax harbour, at a place that some would consider a tourist trap. Yes, I visited Dave’s Lobster.

Their half n’ half ($29 based on the market price) was the ideal way to sample two of their creations, a roll made with cold and warm lobster fillings:

  • The chilled version, dubbed the local, was tossed with mayonnaise, celery, and chives. I found it was refreshing for a hot day and given the ingredients were less flavourful, the lobster’s sweetness was more pronounce.
  • Yet, there’s something about the some fancy or warm version that was tastier. Who doesn’t like garlic butter with lemon and chives thrown in for freshness? It was delicious, but a tad overcooked so the lobster was chewier than the cold version.

If you’re hungry, one roll will not be enough. Luckily, it comes with a quarter spear of pickle and bag of chips (they were out of coleslaw and potato salad by the early afternoon). Not necessarily filling, but enough to leave you satisfied.

If you can hold off on diving into the roll, I recommend walking further down the harbourfront to find a table away from the main food area. While there was tables available in The Salt Yard, it’s also a seagull pit. Finding a clean table can be difficult and you’ll have to watch out for a wayward wing brushing close to your head. Not exactly the most relaxing way to have lunch, even if the lobster roll is good. 

Overall mark - 7 out of 10



How To Find Them
 Location: Halifax, Canada
 Address: 1549 Lower Water Street


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Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


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Blomidon Inn (Wolfville)


If the walls could speak at Blomidon Inn, I’m sure it would have stories to tell. From its construction as the Burgess family’s private home in the late 1800s, it has gone on to serve as apartments, the residence for Acadian University girls, before finally becoming the current inn in 1980.

The main floor of the ornate inn is largely used as the dining area for their restaurant. Where you can enjoy a 3-course meal ($62.50). Or add an extra $2.50 to receive a small salad course between the main and dessert. For those want a smaller dinner, dishes are also available a la carte (prices reflected in this post).

Their tomato bruschetta ($14) uses a decadent whipped ricotta as the base, building upon the classic ingredients of cherry tomatoes, herbs, and a balsamic reduction. With tons of flavours and not as messy to eat, this was a wonderful starting bite.



Arriving as a big chunk, the maple smoked salmon ($14) could benefit from a bit of preparation to present it in a crostini form. The candy sweet salmon was powerful on its own but balances out with the maple yogurt sauce and baguette. A bit of pickled red onion and/or arugula would add some freshness the dish needs.  

Save some of that bread for the steamed mussels ($14), classically prepared in a white wine and garlic broth. I rather enjoyed the bell pepper used throughout for colour and added flavour. The mussels just needed to be soaked longer as they were still several gritty crustaceans.

You can’t go wrong with seafood in Nova Scotia. The pan seared halibut ($37) was perfectly cooked to a flaky and moist consistency. The thick meaty piece could use more seasoning but if you get enough of the ‘hodge podge’, a medley of vegetables cooked in a cream sauce, onto the fish it helps to add flavour.

The scallops in the scallops picatta ($37) were beautifully seared and just cooked through. The natural sweetness of the seafood was also prominent since the lemon caper sauce used with the pappardelle wasn’t too strong. With a touch more salt, this dish would have been perfect.

While the lobster linguine ($44; $7 supplement with the prix fixe) smelled good, the dish was majorly lacking on taste. The spaghetti was overcooked, and everything screamed for more seasoning, butter, and acid. My nose was more impressed than the tongue.

The grilled filet of beef ($44; $7 supplement with the prix fixe) was a touch over cooked but nevertheless tender and did have a nice crust. I just found the sides of mashed potato and carrot date puree to be too similar and soft. And the red wine jus and bourbon bacon butter was non-existent on the dish. Like the other mains, it was bland.

If you still have room for dessert, I’d recommend the fruit cobbler ($14), which contained tons of berries while still leaving the sweet biscuit on top not overly soggy. Served warm, the vanilla ice cream adds a lovely cooling sensation and creaminess as it melts into the dessert.

Blomidon’s crème brûlée ($14) had a nice thin sugar crust and was flavourful of its own. The side of lemon curd was a nice touch, so you can combine into the brûlée to help balance out the sweetness.

If you like graham cracker crust, you’ll love the blueberry cheesecake ($14) since it has a thick portion of the pastry. The cake itself was a nice balance of sweetness and thickness. In the end, a solid cheesecake with plenty of blueberry flavour.

How anyone could even manage to eat a quarter of the chocolate mousse cake ($14) is a mystery. I could only manage one bite, the cake so thick and dense it’s like eating the chocolate ganache centre of a truffle. The intensity certainly didn’t make it very mousse like. Pack this up and you can have a couple bites per day to get a chocolate fix.

While the food wasn’t the greatest at Blomidon Inn, after a day of wine tasting, it was a treat to not have to leave the inn after showering and relaxing. Plus, after the filling meal, we could easily just roll into the sitting room to continue our conversation. After just spending a day in Wolfville, we had our own new stories to tell. 

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: tomato bruschetta, pan seared halibut, fruit cobbler
  • Just skip: lobster linguine, chocolate mousse cake

Overall mark - 6 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Wolfville, Canada
 Address: 195 Main Street


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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


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  • The Bicycle Thief
  • Cafe Lunette




Arisu Korean BBQ & Sushi (Toronto)


If you’re an indecisive person, don’t go to Arisu. Their menu will start giving you heart palpitations as you realize you may never make it to the halfway point. Korean barbeque, Korean dishes of many kinds, sushi, and even more are displayed in full glory. Move over Pickle Barrel, this menu has you beat.

Let me try to help you out here. With cooking stations at every table, Korean barbeque is a natural choice. Go for the porky and piggy set for two ($59.99) that offers three cuts: pork belly, shoulder blade, and honeycomb (like pork belly but more tender). Grill up the pork and tuck slices into the lettuce wraps along with sauces and a bit of the scallion soy.

The set even comes with a host of sides: a puffy egg custard that needs to be eaten quickly; corn smothered in cheese and butter; a host of traditional banchan, steamed rice, and even fresh vegetables for grilling. You’ll have all the bases covered.

You’ll want to start off with a set before adding on extras like chicken ($18.99) to Korean barbeque. There’s not much that arrives with it, just a piece of marinated chicken leg. After all, to miss out on the steamed egg custard is a shame.

If you’re dining as one or don’t like the idea of having to cook for yourself, order Arisu’s porterhouse steak ($41.99 special price; regular is $46.99). Obviously, it wouldn’t rival a steakhouse, but I found it was prepared better than HK café places – the steak was a thick cut and cooked to a rare / medium rare. And it’s a hefty portion complete with mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, and a bowl of spicy tofu soup.

For those dining as a group, getting a bunch of dishes to share is ideal. The seafood pancake ($35.99 for large) was one of the better ones I’ve had - the batter airy and pan-fried forming tons of crispy edges. Large chunks of seafood, scallions, and vegetables are strewn throughout so there’s a great ratio of pancake to filling.

The cheese tteokbokki ($31.99 for large) consists of soft chewy rice sticks and fish balls tossed in a mild spicy sauce (Arisu also offers a spicier version). The rice cakes are surprisingly delicate (perhaps they use the frozen versus dried variety) and being covered in cheese gives the dish an almost creamy finish.

Only the fried chicken breast ($33.99 for large) was a bit disappointing. I liked that it was freshly prepared to the point it was burn-your-mouth hot. But it also wasn’t overly exciting… a simple salt and pepper seasoning with the breading almost too light so it wasn’t very crunchy.

Unlike other Korean barbeque places along Bloor, Arisu also wasn’t too busy, which is surprising because their food was decent and the service great. Perhaps it’s because they’re further away from the bar area, but our Friday visit was relatively quiet, and they could even take walk-in clients.

The separators used in the dining room, provided some privacy to allow our group to get boisterous without becoming disruptive. After all, it takes time to order, so you can get through a bottle of soju before a lick of food arrives. Who knows, two bottles in and you may just be ordering the full menu.

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: seafood pancake, Korean barbeque set
  • Just skip: fried chicken breast

Overall mark - 8 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 584 Bloor Street West


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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


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Friday Burger Company (Toronto)


Friday Burger Company isn’t named to indicate your Friday cheat meal should be a meaty handheld creation, rather is christened after Chef Joe Friday, the owner of the restaurant. Dedicated to one of his favourite meals, he ate a lot of burgers before developing his namesake recipe.

I like the thickness of the Friday Burger ($14) patty: it’s not overly thin for a smashed burger so there’s still a meaty feel. It just needs to be pressed more evenly as the thin outer ring became awfully crunchy… to the point I was afraid I’d chip a tooth on some bits.

The rich but not overly greasy patty started the burger in the right direction but could use more flavour. Mine didn’t have much sauce and the dusting of signature spices wasn’t prominent either. And while I enjoyed the traditional lettuce and tomato combination, the burger would benefit from more pickles (there was maybe one that became lost in the sandwich) and adding onions to give it some crunch and freshness.

I read that what makes Friday's vegetarian burger unique is it's made from mushrooms that's dried and then rehydrated for a meatier chewier texture. Expecting it to be in a patty form, it was a bit surprising when the mushroom burger ($15) ended up being strips of portobello stuffed into the same bun, lettuce, and tomato combo. It's simple and works, but the texture no different from a grilled portobello mushroom cap. 

Share the fries ($4.50) as the portion is huge. Being a crinkle cut, the spud incorporated a lot of crispy crust. Sprinkled with a bit of the Sunday seasoning, it gave the fries enough flavour without becoming too salty. If you’re feeling very indulgent, amp up the fries for an extra $1 to become “Friday” fries where it’ll be topped with the mayo-based burger sauce and green onions.

All in all, Fridays served a respectable burger and fries… although not tasty enough to warrant waiting for in a line-up. Located at the Table Fare and Social in CIBC Square, I was luckily there for an early lunch as by 11:45 a queue started forming. Even though it wasn’t a Friday, people were certainly coming in droves for a cheat meal.  

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 81 Bay Street, 4th Floor


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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


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Estiatoria Milos (Toronto)

After dining at Estiatoria Milos, the concept of ‘going all out’ sticks out to me. They went all out on the experience: creating a surreal high ceiling dining room and staffing it with a village (I have never seen so many people working at one restaurant). And for the diner, you must go all out on a meal as sticker shock is a possibility while pursuing the menu.

There’s a big production, almost insistence, of leading tables to the fresh catch area where seafood is displayed in all it’s glory. I find it a bit morbid to see the poor creature that’s about to be eaten, but diners seem to like looking a lobster in it’s eye before shelling out $280 for a plate of pasta.

For the cost conscious, ordering off the menu is your best bet. Milo’s fresh seafood is sold by the pound, with things starting from about $65/lb and most items being at least 2 pounds, that amazing display will run you $130+ per dish.

And while their swordfish ($65) wasn’t being displayed, it was fresh and delicious. Using only the centre cut of the loin creates a delicate steak that’s awfully tender for a fish that’s grilled. Left slightly undercooked, the fish takes on a seared tuna finish but is lighter than the bold red fish.  

Personally, I prefer my tuna raw. Milo’s tuna tartare ($45) was perfectly seasoned - just enough salt and a hint of chili to add flavour without any sting. If only there were more lavish crackers to go through all the fish, the delicate crisp a great neutral pairing.

I guess the freshly toasted crusty bread can stand-in for the cracker. It arrives in a basket with a very generous pour of olive oil that most tables end up wasting. It’s topped with freshly pruned oregano that’s more for show than flavour.

For something filling, order the Milos special ($45), a tower of thinly sliced fried zucchini and eggplant that’s ideal for a table of three or four. At the centre of the tower is a very thick garlicky tzatziki that easily spreads onto the chips. Hunks of battered and fried saganaki cheese round out the special. A squeeze of lemon would help to cut through the heaviness.

A vegetarian could easily get an order of the grilled wild mushrooms ($24) and be satisfied. With a great selection of fungi (oyster, shiitake, prince, and a spongy watery one that we couldn’t identify), the thick pieces could easily stand-in as a plant-based steak. They are quickly grilled and dressed with olive oil, salt, and thyme for a simplicity that matches the mushrooms.

Ultimately, the hand cut Greek fried potatoes ($10) are fries. They’re fine, but just like any other fry.

I was happy to see a substantial dessert menu at Estiatoria Milos with a selection of items that are not baklava. The Ekmek kataifi ($19) stood out against the rest, consisting of a moist cake topped with custard, pistachio, and some spices. Our waiter described it as a Greek tiramisu and I’d say it’s an accurate depiction, with a similar texture but fresher finish.

There’s a softness to the cheesecake ($19) that makes you think it’ll be very light while cutting into it. Yet, despite looking gelatinous, it’s surprisingly rich with the thick graham crust adding a savouriness that helps balance out the sweet Greek yoghurt-based cake.

Chocolate lovers would probably devour the chocolate sin ($19) but for me it was too much. A cross between flourless cake and mousse, it’s thick and screams of dark chocolate.

Service was attentive with people dedicated to checking in on us and pouring water and wine. Crumbs are brushed between each course and a napkin laid down to cover any wine spots that may dot the pristine white tablecloth. That’s one benefit about employing a village, diners won’t be overlooked.

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: tuna tartare, ekmek kataifi
  • Just skip: Greek fried potatoes, chocolate sin

Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 330 Bay Street


Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


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Dine With Eggs 2024

Eggs are versatile. Used as an ingredient in an appetizer through dessert or served during breakfast to dinner. To prove it’s flexibility, 41 restaurants across Toronto are showcasing an egg dish on their menu from October 18 to November 30, 2024, for the Dine With Eggs event.

Lucky me, I sampled six of their creations at the launch. And while there were a lot of egg sandwiches, each had their own twist.

The Croque a la Daisy is that gets-you-out-of-bed after a night of drinking breakfast sandwich from Lazy Daisy's Café. Their version of a croque madame starts with a rosemary cheddar biscuit encasing a fried egg complete with Black Forest ham, Gruyère, and a Parmesan crisp. It’s hearty, especially with the white sausage gravy topping the biscuit, but everything works together and somehow the egg helps tone down the other ingredients.

Alma + Gil swaps out the ham for slow cooked porchetta and the biscuit with a brioche bun in their porchetta breakfast sando. The sunny-side-up egg is topped with chimichurri, truffle mustard aioli, Parmesan, and a bit of the pork’s crackling for texture. While I would have liked the bun warmed, there’s a delicateness to the sandwich that makes it almost refreshing.  

It’s a complete opposite to Hot Pork’s BBQ combo where smoked brisket and pork belly comingles with the fried egg. Along with cheddar cheese, hollandaise, BBQ sauce, mayo, and hot sauce, to say it’s a flavour explosion is not an exaggeration. But it’s a flavour bomb I love and my favourite dish of the evening. That gooey egg yolk covering the peppery brisket and tender pork belly… this is one combo that shouldn’t be missed.

Yet, the winner that stole the judges’ heart was the yuzu avocado “croast” by Yokai Izakaya. There’s a lot going on with the dish: starting with a croissant at the base, which is covered with a poached egg, smoked salmon, salad greed, pickled onion, and whipped ricotta. The egg mixes with the yuzu avocado crema and mentaiko vinaigrette becoming a dressing that glues everything together. It’s inventive and different, even from a Japanese perspective.

Fattoush Sandwich Club’s falafel Scotch egg was beautiful to behold. And while a runnier egg would work better against the drier falafel, I loved their take on the traditional pub dish that makes it vegetarian and less gluttonous. Hopefully, the dish will make a come-back in the Spring as it would work so well for an Easter brunch.

It wouldn’t be a meal without dessert. Midnight Cookie created the creme brûlée cookie featuring a soft and chewy brown sugar cookie topped with a torched pastry crème. While it could have been too rich, the cookie wasn’t overly sugary so that it helped balance off the sweetness of the brûléed custard. I saw my fair share of people skipping the savoury to start with this enticing sweet.

Dine with Eggs is a huge event to showcase Burnbrae Farm’s eggs, a multi-generation Canadian company that supplies about a third of the eggs that consumers buy in stores. You’ll also be eating for a good cause as a portion of each dish sold is donated to Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

At the launch, Canada’s paralympic Dominic Cozzolino noted how much Holland Bloorview helped get him through the hurdles he experienced after getting into an accident and severing his spinal cord. The hospital supports over 8,500 children annually with different disabilities but prides itself for creating a supportive stigma-free environment. In fact, Dominic reminisced about the familial feel of the hospital, not the same memories other hospitals may elicit.

Still, something about eggs reminds us about loved ones – scrambled eggs with all the fixings over breakfast or that beautiful molten egg yolk that provokes an “ooh” as it’s broken. It’s certainly a main ingredient around my dinner table since I aim to be vegetarian during the week. A crustless quiche, fried egg on a hash, egg tacos, or a toad-in-a-hole tomato sandwich frequently make appearances.

Dine with Eggs is a great time to remember this humble but important ingredient. A cornerstone of many meals and diets across the country. Let’s get cracking. 


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada


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Pho Thanh Cong (Toronto)


It was a sad day when I tucked into my last bowl of the namesake dish from Beef Noodle Soup Restaurant. But, in its place Pho Thanh Cong has sprung up and offers their version of satisfying beef noodle soup. Gone is the dark 80s décor, the dining room now bright and airy with comfortable hug-your-bum chairs.

You’ll find a lot of filling and little wrapper in their deep-fried spring rolls ($6 for two). With the delicate skin and ample filling, the spring rolls have a light juicy quality that makes you want to have a second. Maybe I can’t share these anymore.

Hulking beef bones are now the rage at Vietnamese restaurants. Pho Thanh Cong’s beef rib pho ($22) arrives with two decently sized bones as well as a handful of shaved beef. There’s a lot of toppings so you won’t be left with a bowl filled with noodles.

And while the beef ribs don’t have a lot of flavours on its own, the restaurant offers a lot of condiments including three types of hot sauce and garlic slivers. After creating a sauce of hoisin, garlic chili, and garlic slivers and slathering it onto the ribs, they were delicious.

The rare beef and brisket rice noodle soup ($17 for medium) also has a hefty portion of protein. Although the rare beef was very lean so some diners may find it tough. Still, the broth was full of flavour and perfectly seasoned, so much so that I could enjoy the pho without any condiments. Sometimes it’s nice to just savour the beef broth and herbs sprinkled throughout.

Weekday lunches are never busy at the restaurant, so service was attentive and quick. Customers are given a choice of having the bean sprouts raw or boiled and if the first plate isn’t enough, they note to just ask for more.

Pho Thanh Cong’s soon becoming one of my favourite places for inexpensive pho. And to save even more, bring cash with you for a 10% discount. Bone-in appetit. 

Overall mark - 8 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Website: 4271 Sheppard Avenue East


Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

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