Manhattans Pizza Bistro and Music Club (Guelph)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Guelph, Canada
Address: 951 Gordon Street
Website: http://www.manhattans.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner

 Manhattan’s, a restaurant and music club in one, offers a busy artistic calendar including piano performances, jazz, funk and even art shows (visit their website for the full roster of acts and showcases). Located front and centre in a plaza, its skyline logo is hard to miss and open but cozy interior makes it a great spot for relaxing meals.  

 Despite an already carb filled menu, a plank of warm crusty bread arrives after ordering with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a great spice mixture for dipping. Who am I kidding? I won't turn down freshly baked bread but with Manhattan’s significant portion sizes do try to control yourself!

To start, their Caesar salad (large size; $8) was more than enough for my husband and I to share.  The garlicky dressing on crisp romaine is expected, so what makes it different are the real thickly cut bacon bits adding smokiness to everything. Even the croutons were coated with chili oil first to give it a ting of heat. 

But, what keeps people coming back is their pizza – a well done thin crispy crust that’s loaded to the edge with fresh toppings.  Our favourite is the Gillespie (medium 16” size; $28) prepared with garlic pesto oil, roasted chicken breast, caramelized red onions and spinach.  Normally, I’m not a fan of sweet and salty combinations, but something about the drizzles of honey topping the pizza makes everything work so well together. The bottle of chili oil, accompanying pizzas, make it even better; great for dipping the crust into.


Manhattan’s medium is easily the size of a large compared to other restaurants so even with two hungry eaters there's leftovers. Of course, we could always order the small size, but why would we deprive ourselves from leftovers for the next day?

 Aside from pizzas, they also offer salads, pastas and a variety of mains so there’s something for everyone.  Glasses of wine, offered in 6oz and 9oz options, seem to be much larger arriving in large bulbous glasses. Whether you come for the pizza and stay for the show, Manhattan’s is a great spot for delicious reasonably priced meals.  The entertainment is just a wonderful bonus.

Overall mark - 8.5 out of 10


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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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


CLOSED: Wildfire Steakhouse & Wine Bar (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 3438 Yonge Street
Type of Meal: Dinner

When my friend found a Groupon featuring a 4-course meal with wine at $175 for four people, it was deal hard to turn down. Having gone to Wildfire twice in the past (albeit about 3-5 years ago), I remember the restaurant was decent so happily agreed to join in.


Upon arriving, Wildfire looked familiar with the dark red and black colour scheme, yet appeared to be more lounge-like with the curtain of strings separating tables.  Even though we visited on a Friday night the restaurant was at most 70% full, which was surprising as in my past visits was packed. But, the unfilled capacity did ensure we had quick and attentive service the entire time.  Even though we were sat on the top floor, our waiter dutifully kept coming back frequently to check on us. In fact, a basket of airy warm bread and hummus was brought as soon as we sat down.
The first course was an appetizer platter to share amongst the table.  Ours consisted of shrimp cocktail, bruschetta and cucumbers topped with smoked salmon mousse. Served on a wooden cutting board it didn’t look overly impressive but the shrimp were decent and the bruschetta a good flavour.  Only the cucumber and salmon was a miss for me as the mousse was extremely fishy leaving a bad taste in my mouth.


Under all the greenery and julienned carrots is grilled calamari; really all the garnish is a bit much when it completely masks the main ingredient. After the poorly executed salmon mousse I was a bit apprehensive about my appetizer, especially when it didn’t smell the best when first presented. Thankfully, it was actually quite decent with a nice smoky char and a flavourful tomato, caper, olive and red onion salsa.  My fellow diners agreed it was a much better choice than the escargots they ordered which arrived unseasoned and bland.
Wildfire’s portion sizes are quite impressive. On a previous visit, I remember ordering the ribs and being astounded by how much they gave and having to take half of it home.  My friend ordered the ribs and it was nice to see the sizes haven’t changed at all … if anything it may have grown! The meal consists of a full rack of ribs layered over each other (hidden beneath the pictured two slabs is a third piece) and if finished would likely give you the “meat sweats”. Alas, the quality wasn’t the same – a bit dry and lacked the plumper juicy fall-off-the-bone characteristic of the past.


My New York striploin was also another large hunk of meat, dwarfing the accompanying roasted vegetables and scoop of roasted garlic mashed potatoes. By all accounts it wasn’t horrible, but certainly lacked any qualities that would make it worth the normal $40 price point. Quite frankly, it tasted like something I’d normally make at home and I’m by no means a great cook.  And like my own barbequing, the steak was overdone and not close to the medium rare I enjoy – at best the thicker part a medium but most of it bordering on medium well.


The housemade crème brulée was perhaps the best dish of the night. I enjoyed the higher ramekin so that there was more custard and less caramel crust.  The custard was rich, creamy and had a nice vanilla essence, while the crust easily broken with a spoon. Perhaps it could have been bought out of the fridge a little earlier to allow the bottom of the custard to warm up to the perfect room temperature, but other than that an enjoyable dessert. My friend’s caramel brownie cheesecake (sorry forgot to take picture) was also a rich, dense and delicious.


Below, I’ve calculated the savings you’d get from the Groupon. Certainly, the 50% sounds impressive but has been inflated as I don’t remember Wildfire being as expensive in previous visits. Whereas in the past it competed with the Keg, it’s now priced closer to Reds, Hys or Ruth Chris … which I’m sorry to say quality wise isn’t up to par yet. Nonetheless, the service was great, atmosphere comfortable and with the deal an enjoyable dinner. Overall, I was happy with the experience, but don’t think I’ll be returning anytime soon to eat at the regular menu prices.

Is Groupon worth it?

As a special feature of the deal blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

Groupon - $175 for 4 people = $43.75 per person (before taxes and gratuities)

Regular menu - $86.90 - hors d’oeuvres ($10*), wine pairing ($9), grilled calamari ($14.95), 10oz New York striploin ($40.95*) and crème brulée ($12)

Savings - $43 or 50%

* The hors d'oeurves and 10 oz striploin isn't on their regular menu; prices based on a wild estimate by me and the average of the 8oz and 12oz striploin mains.
Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10


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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!



CLOSED: Kochi Fukaba 東風吹かば (Tokyo)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Address: 21-1, Udagawacho, Shibuya (in the Seibu Store, B2F)
Type of Meal: Lunch 

During cold weather nothing beats hot soups and shabu-shabu, a Japanese method of placing thinly sliced meat and other ingredients into bowling soup, certainly hits the spot. Koichi Fakuba, located on the B2 level of the Seibu building in the heart of Shibuya’s busy scramble by the train station, offers this cooking method at reasonable prices.   


When the pot of soup is first brought over a lump of collagen sits in the broth; slowly it infuses into the soup as it heats up. I’ve heard about the Japanese practice of eating and putting collagen products on their skin for beauty benefits and thus excited to try it. After returning home and researching more about it on Livestrong.com, it’s a bit disappointing to find out that your digestive process would break down any of the amino acids in it and thus there is no benefit. Luckily, there is nothing harmful with it either and I’d like to think that I did myself a great service for eating shabu-shabu for lunch.



Koichi Fakuba offers all you can eat and a la carte options.  We decided to stick with something where we wouldn’t over indulge, so I ordered their pork and beef (¥1,480) meal. A dish of approximately six slices of thinly sliced meat and another filled with vegetables (pumpkin, shredded root vegetable & carrots, spring onions and napa cabbage) arrived. The meat only took a few swishes in the boiling broth to cook through while still retaining its tenderness. There really wasn’t that much taste to the beef or pork but ponzu (a citrus soy sauce) and goma (a creamy sesame sauce) accompanied the platter to help flavour the cooked products.  The goma went perfectly with the meal and I enjoyed how its thicker consistency helped stick to the ingredients more.

A pot containing a ladle and strainer is used for skimming the impurities off of the top of the soup, gathering up all the slivers of vegetables and if you incline for scooping up the broth to add to the rice or drink on its own. Personally, I found the meal was the perfect amount of food so that I was satisfied without being overly stuffed.  Plus, for only ¥1,480 it was also an affordable option.
 Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10


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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!

Hasegawa Saketen 酒友 (Tokyo)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Address: 4-12-10 Jingumae,Shibuya (3F) but various other locations
Website: http://www.hasegawasaketen.com/index_en.html  


Hasegawa Saketen is a retail store with an onsite stand-up tasting bar.  With various locations across Tokyo, we stopped by the Omotesando Hills location situated on the third floor of an architectural high-end mall.



Sure you could have a glass of beer or wine, but what Hasegawa is known for is their artisan sakes. Their website describes Koichi Hasegawa, the president, as a powerful sake critic in Japan. But, he believes anyone can get to know sake and what it takes is more experiences with tasting it. Lucky for me, as up until this point I’ve only tried it a handful of times and know little about this Japanese rice-based spirit.
For the first round, we decided to rely on the expertise of the bartender and informed him, with the help of a Japanese speaking friend, that we like dry and crisp tasting sakes. He pours us three different kinds – my apologizes I can’t remember the names of them but the bottles are pictured for your reference and each shot ranged from ¥500 to ¥600.
When they are presented side by side, the differences are apparent simply by looking at them.  The cloudier one, we’re told, is younger and therefore has more impurities in it. In fact, the bullseye coasters are supposed to help you look through the sake to spot any sediment.

My favourite one was the one on the left, which had that clean & crisp taste and drier finish we liked. Meanwhile, the younger sake was a bit harsh for my palette and the one on the right a tad sweet.

For the second round, we ordered things off the menu which sounded interesting.  My choice was sparkling sake (¥400), which based on the menu changes daily. During our visit, it was gorgeous pink colour and arrived in a flute looking and even tasting like champagne.  My husband opted for the kanehachi genshu shochu (¥525; pictured on the right), another type of distilled spirit except in this case made with barley (although Hasegawa also offered another made with sweet potato). Shochu, with its 42% alcohol content, is like sipping tequila and I really could have used a lime afterwards.  In the middle, was another sake called ugonotuski Daiginyo (¥800) and interestingly was served in a wine glass. Perhaps, it’s the glass, but I loved being able to swirl it and stick your nose in to really smell it.  Out of everything I tasted, this was definitely the best – still a crisp dry finish but with a bit more body.
A huge thank you to our friend L. in Japan for introducing us to Hasegawa, it was a lovely end to an afternoon of site seeing.  Hasegawa also has a fridge the size of a wall filled with sakes to purchase and bring home.  If liquor isn’t your thing, there are also glasses, accessories and snacks that would make great souvenirs and gifts.

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Kamakura Gozan Bekkan 五山別館 (Kamakura)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by

Location: Kamakura, Japan
Address: 1531 Yamanouchi (right across from the Kenchoji Temple)
Type of Meal: Lunch
Kamakura is a region in Japan, only an hour train ride away from Tokyo, filled with shrines, temples and forests. During our day trip, I was determined to try shōjin ryōri (vegetarian Buddhist cuisine) but after leading our group on a 30 minute walk away from Kamakura’s city centre towards Kita Kamakura found the restaurant closed.
Too hungry and tired to walk back, we went into Kamakura Gozan Bekkan, a little noodle house across the street instead. Their menu is also limited to vegetarian options, except is soba or udon in various soup bases (tsukimi, natto, sensai, hiyshi sansai, etc.).



I ordered the house speciality, kenchin udon (¥900) an autumn vegetables based soup simmered together with tofu, miso and sesame oil. There were so many ingredients in it that I’m sure I’m missing some.  I recall soft root vegetables (radish and carrot), crunchy preserved veggies, a root jelly (could have been lotus or burdock?), onions, delicate tofu and toasted nori (seaweed) strips. It had such a wonderful scent and so warm & welcoming after a long cold walk. The hot broth was amazing … a little thicker and filled with flavour. The udon is thinner and softer than the North American versions but went well with everything.


After warming up and exiting Kamakura Gozan Bekkan, we realized Kencho-ji (one of Japan’s earliest Zen temples) was directly across the street.  Originally, it wasn’t one of the attractions we were planning to visit but ended up being the highlight of the trip! The buildings in the temple were ornate and pleasant but really weren’t that different from other shrines and temples across Japan.

What made the Kencho-ji visit so worthwhile was walking towards the back of the grounds and climbing all the stairs to the top. 

 If you continue past Hanso-Bo (a prayer area with a bell) and walk up the makeshift rocks going up the mountain, you’ll eventually get to an observation deck in the forest. We were treated with an amazing view of Mount Fuji, the Sea of Japan and Tokyo. So, what could have been a disappointment ended really well – a delicious bowl of vegetarian noodles and a lovely tranquil view of Japan.
Overall mark - 7 out of 10

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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!

Il Pappalardo (Kyoto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Address: ４５１-１ Myohoin Maekawacho, Higashiyama
Website: http://www.ilpappalardo.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner 
When you’re visiting Japan, finding freshly made pizza and pastas generally isn’t high on the list of priorities.  But, eventually you may tire of delicious fresh seafood or hearty noodles and want something different.  Enter Il Pappalardo, a quaint Italian restaurant on a quiet street a short cab ride from Kyoto Station (cost us ¥640), which was well worth it; especially if you’re tired of the bustling crowds near the station area.

Having been in Japan for a week, we missed white bread, so when a basket arrived with chewy French loaf, soft & salty focaccia that wasn’t greasy and crunchy bread sticks we were delighted. Paired with a fragrant olive oil, available for sale from the restaurant, it was heaven.

Thankfully, we shared the parma ham with buffalo mozzarella (¥2,000) as a starter because it was a surprisingly big portion. The thinly sliced prosciutto seemed “younger” than most as it wasn’t overly cured and the meat's texture less waxy than when it's been drying for long periods of time; it was nice and fresh. As you’d expect, the buffalo mozzarella was soft and delicate but had an interesting tangy taste which complimented the ham’s saltiness quite well.  All this along with the peppery arugula was a good start.

My linguini with scampi shrimp (¥2,200) was absolutely delicious and reminded me of one I had port side in Positano, Italy. The pasta was al dante and smothered in a non-tangy tomato sauce which likely was mixed with olive oil and shrimp stock to give it that depth of flavor. While the shrimp were a tad overcooked, they still retained their natural sweetness and other than this slight slipup the linguine would have been perfect.

With a variety of pizza on their menu, my husband opted for one; I forgot to jot down the name but it consisted of cheese and spicy salami (¥1,900).  The Neapolitan style crust was chewy and airy with lightly scorched air pockets, yet the bottom had been cooked long enough to allow the pizza to be picked up with one hand.  The salami added a nice heat without being over powering and the fresh mozzarella, according to Il Pappalardo’s website which is flown in from Naples three times a week, was gooey and stringy. 

All in all, I was impressed with the quality of ingredients used, the relatively affordable prices and decent portion sizes. If you’re in Kyoto and in the mood for something Italian, I’d certainly recommend checking out Il Pappalardo.

 Overall mark - 8.5 out of 10

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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!

Menya Iroha 麺屋いろは(Kyoto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Address: Kyoto Station (10th floor in "Ramen Alley")
Website: http://www.menya-iroha.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner  

After visiting Japan, I’ve learnt two things about the beloved bowl of ramen:
1.    In Japan, they consider these to be “Chinese” noodles as some believe it originated from China’s hand-pulled noodles, whereas in Canada, we describe ramen as “Japanese”. In reality, the more traditional Japanese noodles are soba and udon; and
2.    The different soup bases are actually linked to different regions in Japan with miso being popular in Hokkaido, tonkotsu developed in Kyushu and black (dark soy) from Toyama.
With so many regions it feels impossible to try them all. Luckily, the 10th floor of Kyoto Station consolidates eight restaurants into Ramen Koji or Ramen Alley. Most are outposts of popular ramen chains from across Japan. My husband and I ventured to the floor and found each set-up similarly – with a vending machine order system out front and a series of tables / bars seats making up the dining room.
After doing a full circle, we ended up choosing Menya Iroha as it didn’t have a line-up but still seemed busy. I’ll admit, the big poster of Iron Chef Chen also caught our eye even though we couldn’t understand what it was advertising.  Something that’s endorsed by an Iron Chef must be good right? Upon doing some research afterwards, it turns out Menya won best ramen in the Tokyo Ramen competition for the last few years with their black ramen… hence their bragging rights.

Alas, I didn’t realize this was their specialty and after purchasing a combo of ramen, rice and gyoza (¥1,150) and being asked whether I wanted “white” or “black”, I naturally went with white as I prefer salt based soup over soy.  Had I known their crown jewel was the black ramen I would have ordered it – my husband did and said it was delicious.

Having been use to the smaller bowls of noodles served previously, we were surprised with the large size presented to us about ten minutes later. Topped with tons of Japanese scallions, bamboo shoots, a soft boiled egg, two slices of pork, three dried shrimp and a sheet of nori there was a lot of food to get through. The noodles are thinner & softer and the broth more watery than the springy noodle with thick soup combination I’ve become accustomed to in Toronto. I personally prefer the noodles to be more al dante, but enjoyed the broth as it wasn’t as heavy so I could have more of it with the ramen. The slices of pork were marbled to a bacon like consistency and so tender that it just flaked off. If only everything was hotter this would have been one of the better bowls I’ve had in my life. 
Alas, I only had a bite of the rice as I couldn’t even finish the noodles. Luckily, I wasn’t missing much as it’s pretty average - sticky rice with sprinkles of sesame seeds and very hard pieces of dried seaweed. After adding some broth into a spoon with the rice and seaweed it did help rehydrate things and make it more appetizing. 
The gyozas also needed more heat. But, I still loved the lightness of the wrapper and flavourful crust on the bottom; these wrapper didn’t get hard and rubbery as some can get once it’s been sitting out for a while. The simple pork and chive filling was pretty tame so a bit of soy sauce and chili oil was needed to give it the right flavour.
Menya Iroha’s dining space is quite small but has a fair number of counters and four top tables, each equipped with a pitcher of ice water and condiments. If you are looking for a quick and inexpensive meal, this is the place for you. We were in and out in less than half an hour and couldn't finish our meal with their hefty portion sizes. For the price it was a great quality and very satisfying. If you can’t make it to Japan, Menya also has an outpost in LA which may be a bit easier to get to.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10

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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!

Earls Kitchen & Bar (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 150 King Street West (in lobby of the Sunlife Financial Building)
Website: http://www.earls.ca/
Type of Meal: Lunch

Having only gone to Earls for drinks (a frustrating ordeal where you should arrive by 4pm unless you’re willing to wait), I never had a chance to eat anything more than pita chips with dip.

After returning for lunch, I found the experience much better. The only hiccup was a difficulty in finding our reservation because one person had already arrived and this appears to then wipe the information out of their system. Somehow, the manager figured out the empty table with one person sitting at it was actually our reservation and brought us over about five minutes later.

While we were waiting for them to figure out the reservation debacle, a staff member brought over little cups of soup to tie us over. I received a hearty cream of mushroom made with large pieces of button mushrooms and a generous topping of green onions.  Despite being in small cups, the soup was piping hot and had a nice creamy finish with perhaps a hint of brandy? It was quite delicious even though challenging to eat without a spoon.

Earls’ menu proudly boasts their signature sourdough bread is made in house daily. Since I enjoy a nice fresh chewy and crispy sourdough, I ordered the roasted portobellini and red pepper sandwich ($13) which uses it as a base. The bread was enjoyable – having a nice elasticity but still airy with a crispy crust. But, since it’s grilled with butter on the outside (yes you’ll get greasy fingers), the sour essence of it was covered. Stuffed with a fair amount of grilled Portobello mushroom, roasted red pepper and fresh spinach leaves the sandwich was filling. A sharp melted white cheddar and flavourful artichoke aioli made it more luscious, but the once healthy sounding sandwich ended up being anything but.


Accompanying the sandwich were hot shoestring fries. They were too salty for my taste, but with such a hearty sandwich I had little room for anything else. You can add an extra $1.50 for soup or salad or $2 for yam fries, which may be a better option especially given the delicious experience I had with the soup earlier.

My coworkers ordered CAB (certified angus beef) smashed burgers or entrée salads and all were equally impressive in size and looked appetizing. Overall, the menu prices are reasonable and service fairly quick. Maybe Earls can be more than an after work drinks spot after all.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10
Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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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