Real Sports Bar & Grill (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, August 03, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 15 York Street
Website: http://www.realsports.ca/BarAndGrill/Toronto/
Type of Meal: Dinner and Lunch

Real Sports is like any sports bar except more over the top. Yes they have a dining area, but it’s over two floors and 2400 square feet situated beside a sports fanatic location – the Air Canada Centre.  Their second floor is reserved for private parties but is great for large events with lots of seating, its own bar and even a golf simulator.  Sure they have food and drinks, but the menu is extensive and arrives in a bounded leather book. Of course there are television screens, but there are almost 200 of them and one is the largest you’ll find within a North American restaurant.  Real Sports is a sports bar first and foremost; but, is also a tourist destination to experience at least once.

 For those of us based in Toronto, we're lucky that it's conveniently located and actually offers decent food. After having many meals here, I thought I'd share a few of the dishes I like most. Real Sports serves the same menu for lunch and dinner so you can easily order these whenever. 
My new go to dish I’ve recently discovered is the lettuce burger ($14.99).  The dish is just like their normal charbroiled beef burger, except instead of a bun, the patty is wrapped in layers of crunchy iceberg lettuce. Topped with tomatoes and a delicious tzatziki sauce, it's a delicious alternative and makes you feel less guilty about having the basket of fries accompanying it. The meat itself is a bit dry, likely due to Real Sports using a leaner cut of meat and cooking it to the normal well done Canadian standards (Americans, you’ll find this burger over done).
When first reading their menu, bragging about their chicken wings being top rated in Toronto, I had my doubts. But, after you try their wings, you know they can hold their claim.  I tried the sweet Thai chili ($14.99 for 1lb), Chef Tony’s speciality, and admit they are the best I’ve had in Toronto.  The wings were a great jumbo size; the worst are scrawny wings consisting of skins and bones and little meat. Although crispy on the outside, the meat is tender and juicy on the inside without tasting overly fatty.  Additionally, they are coated with the perfect amount of sauce for my tastes – just enough to cover the wing without making it soggy and pooling at the bottom of the plate.

 Lastly, if you are feeling hungry then go for their ribs. But, even the only go with the "not so hungry" portion ($18.99) which is already huge. I can't imagine how big their "hungry" ($26.99) size would be! The “not so hungry” portion consists of six ribs and a large portion of fries. The ribs were tender and easily pulled off the bone, yet still tasted like pork thanks to it being slowly braised. However, it lacked the smokiness and barque from a barbecue and smoker that true rib experts would like; nonetheless, they were still tasty.  


Normally, the dish arrives with coleslaw; not being a creamy coleslaw fan I asked if they could substitute it with vegetables. They agreed and came out with a side dish of boiled carrots and broccolini which were crisp and savoury. I just wished the waitress would have warned me about the $5 supplement, which I would have still paid, but believe pricing transparency is important for a restaurant.  
Anyone who knows me probably has heard about my love affair with fries.  Real Sports fries are concocted from real potatoes but are inconsistent given its likely made in large quantities.  When you get them freshly made they are amazing, but when your basket is filled with an old batch they arrive lukewarm and slightly hard.  It’s really hard to know when you’ll get a good batch, but my one bad experience occurred during a visit right at the start of the lunch hour (noon); perhaps they start preparing them earlier in the day?
Some reviews have complained about the service at Real Sports.  Having visited the restaurant numerous times, I have personally never been ignored at the door or have waited a long time for service.  Although no one has been outrageously memorable, the service has always been friendly and efficient.  Of course, during key game times (like playoff season) Real Sports does get busy and once have been turned away at the door due to the long wait times, but this really isn’t the restaurant’s fault.
Real Sports price points are 10-20% higher compared to other pubs, but I find their comfortable environment and food quality worth it.  If you’re planning a visit to downtown Toronto you should try it at least once, just to see the television screen if anything.


Overall mark - 8 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!




Perfect Chinese Restaurant 雅瓊海鮮酒家 (Toronto)

Posted on Monday, July 29, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 4386 Sheppard Avenue East
Website: http://www.perfectchineserestaurant.com
Type of Meal: Dim Sum
Prices: $1.70 for most items (main dining room) or $1.90 for most items (VIP room). They also offer "special" dishes for $2.00.


If you want to eat cheap, this is the place to go. The pricing above is based on weekdays at lunch time when they do the "cart style" dim sum.  If you come on the weekend it may be slightly more expensive, but shouldn't be more than $0.25 per dish.

Perfect is opened 24 hours a day.  So, if you want dim sum after the bar you can come here.  At night you order off the menu so the prices vary and will be higher.  At this time, they only off some of the "staple" dishes.

My Favourite Non-Staple Dishes:


  • Deep fried pigeon - Essentially tastes like quail but is smaller.  Tastes best when it's hot out of the kitchen and has a crispy salty skin and flavourful dark meat.


  •  Steamed banana leaf wrapped glutinous rice rolls with red bean paste - a lovely dessert that's unfortunately not offered all the time.  Chewy rice rolls are filled with a thick sweet red bean paste and wrapped in pieces of banana leaves (to be discarded and not eaten).
 
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!

CLOSED: Ginger and Onion (Markham)

Posted on Monday, July 29, 2013 by
Location: Markham, Ontario
Address: 7131 Kennedy Road, Markham (in Market Village at Pacific Mall)
Price: $2.60 for any dish on weekends
Type of Meal: Dim Sum

I love the variety of dishes they offer - there must be almost 100 types. Since they serve dim sum cart style they often have new "special" dishes. Additionally, unlike most dim sum places, they actually offer many vegetarian options so there's always something for everyone.

My Favourite Non-Staple Dishes:
 
  • Stir fried spicy prawns - this is a special that they don't often have. Each dish contains about five head-on shrimp that are flash fried then stir fried with salt, spices and peppers. If you like the calamari version of dish (often served at dinner or at congee restaurants) you'll love this.
  • Sago wIth egg custard pudding - a warm dessert that's a thick custard pudding mixed with sago (small clear tapioca balls) and a lotus paste centre.
  • Deep fried, large, hollow sesame glutinous balls - wonderful when they are fresh out of the kitchen! They look huge but they are actually hollow on the inside. It's a slightly sweet crispy sesame covered gluten ball that is soft and chewy on the inside.
 


Overall mark - 8 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!


Owl of Minerva (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, July 28, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 5324 Yonge Street
Type of Meal: Dinner
Owl of Minerva is a Korean chain restaurant with locations throughout the GTA.  I’ve only ever been to the North York location, which is opened 24 hours and busy no matter what time you visit.  It’s a no-frills restaurant with quick turnover, so even if there’s a line-up you can normally get a table in less than half an hour.
During warmer weather, Owl of Minerva offers Korean barbeque on their patio out back between the chaotic parking lot and the restaurant itself.  They were smart enough to build a wooden fence around the patio so that you’re blocked off from the unsightly parking lot.  Even though you’re sitting outside, it can still get smoky so this is really somewhere you eat if you don’t mind smelling like food afterwards.
Unlike typical Korean barbeque joints, it’s not all you can eat and there are a limited number of types of meat available (five). My friend and I shared the beef rib combo ($35.99) which comes with five pieces of kalbi, four bottles of beer or a bottle of soju, a soup to share and some vegetable wraps with fixings.  Dishes for one, which comes with three pieces of kalbi, are available for $13.99.  Beer is available for the low price of $3.50 a bottle so you can easily make your own combo.
The staff there happily cooks the meat for you, if you’re squeamish about doing it yourself.  However, they do it too quickly and the fact they keep putting the tongs back in the raw meat juices after using grosses me out.  So, my preference is to cook it myself.  Even though Owl’s staff speaks limited English, they are friendly and try to be helpful at explaining on how to prepare and eat the barbeque.

Owl’s kalbi is a nice thick even cut, but served as-is so relies heavily on the bean sauce and fixings to add flavour.  I would have liked the meat to be marinated prior to adding to the grill to give it more depth of flavour.
Everything is served ssam style where Owl provides you with a basket of vegetables (romaine lettuce, napa cabbage and perilla leaves), a sweet bean sauce, marinated onions and a green onion & lettuce salad.  You simply take a piece of meat, add some sauce & fixings and wrap it in a leafy vegetable before eating.  It’s a great summer alternative for a lighter meal.
Additionally, the meal comes with two banchan – kimchi cabbage (which they serve in hot by putting on a bowl on the grill) and kimchi pickled cucumbers.  I’m a little disappointed with the limited amount of banchan as that’s what I enjoy about Korean barbeque.  A bowl of chicken and bean sprout soup also arrives in a bowl to share amongst the table.
Without a doubt, Owl of Minerva’s “star feature” dish is the kamjatang or pork bone soup ($7.99).  No table comes into Owl without ordering this hearty spicy savoury stew of pork bones, a large hunk of potato and napa cabbage.  Topped with diced jalapeno and cracked pepper the deep red soup has a kick to it.  If you ask for it extra spicy they will add red chili flakes to it, but watch out that gets very spicy. 

The best part of Owl’s pork bone soup is it’s served in a hot stone bowl and generally arrives bubbling hot.  I’ve included two pictures below, the first taken by me over a year ago with my less than ideal Blackberry camera and the second by someone who obviously has way better skills than me.  In all fairness, the second photo actually looks more like what you expect to get.

Pork bone soup is perfect for Canada’s cool weather and really warms you up.  Served with a bowl of white rice and dishes of banchan (cold cabbage kimchi, pickled cucumber kimchi and turnip kimchi), it’s a great value meal and super filling.
Throughout my years of eating at Owl, I’ve tried other dishes including their bibimbap, bulgolgi, stir fried kimchi pork belly, pan fried seafood pancake and hot & sour chicken wings.  All these other dishes are good, but nowhere as good as the pork bone soup.  So, if it’s your first time trying Owl of Minerva, you need to make sure you have at least one pork bone soup for the table to share.  But, keep in mind there are generally only three bones that come with it so you may need more than one or risk fighting for this great dish.


 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!



CLOSED: Splendido (Toronto)

Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 88 Harbord Street
Type of Meal: Dinner
Splendido has been a restaurant I’ve been meaning to try for quite some time but never had the opportunity; my first chance to try their food came on the second last day of this year’s Summerlicious.  From the outside, Splendido is an unassuming restaurant that you may pass by if you don’t notice.  Inside, the dining room, although not very large, looks surprisingly spacious with its open layout and clean lines. A feature wall of pickled vegetables is a bit cliché but reminds you of its Italian roots.


The most interesting sounding appetizer on their menu was the perfect hen’s egg.  After having some amazing slow cooked eggs at Yours Truly and the Guild, I was eager to see how Splendido will accentuate the regular chicken egg and make it “perfect”.  Sadly, I think the entire dish was a miss and the egg wasn’t showcased at all.  A copious amount of foam arrived in a short tumbler with instructions to really dig in and get to the bottom.  Not being one to not follow instructions, I dug in expecting a perfectly cooked egg but found nothing but mushrooms, croutons, parley puree and TONS of foam… in fact, way too much foam.  Foamy parsley spoon after foamy parsley spoon didn’t reveal the anticipated egg, so the dinner started off disappointingly.
 


Luckily, the Mediterranean sea bass was much better.  The skin was pan fried to a lovely crispiness and presented on top of warm caponata and a cold fennel salad.  Caponata is a traditional Italian dish consisting of cooked eggplant and other vegetables (usually celery, carrots, peppers, etc.) in a sweet acidic sauce.  It added a good flavour to the mild fish and also worked well with the bread they served.  The dish could have been improved if the fish was cut a little thicker as it ended up being slightly overcooked and lacked the moist flakiness you normally expect.  But, overall was still an enjoyable dish.
My friend’s hangar steak was cooked well and arrived beautifully presented with large colourful wedges of tomatoes, a thick red pepper sauce and leaves of basil.  With droplets of balsamic around the dish, the hanger steak was certainly pretty to look at as much as it was tasty to eat.
Splendido offered on their Summerlicious menu side dishes (each a supplement of $5) including fries, brussel sprouts and a last dish I can’t remember.  We opted for some fries to share.  They were freshly made arriving hot and crispy, but the chef needs to lighten up on the seasoning as the fries on the bottom half were unbarably salty so we couldn’t finish them.
Surprisingly, the normal sounding dessert – strawberry lemon mille feuille - ended up being one of their most inventive.  Simple pieces of puff pastry was surrounded by pickled strawberries, macerated strawberries, raspberry sorbet, a lemon cream and plenty of toasted poppy seeds.  I loved the different flavours you got from the tarte pickled strawberries, sweet sorbet, light lemon cream and nutty poppy seeds.  The dish was one of those mix and match desserts you tried out to find what combination you liked best.   



Overall, two of the three dishes were good and delicious, yet nothing outstanding.  Toronto is filled with high end Italian restaurants, and for the same price point there are many tastier options out there.  Perhaps where they offer some advantage is their friendly and professional staff which are simply a pleasure to be around. When we made a bit of a mess they graciously cleaned everything up and even brought an extra napkin to cover the stain so no one would get dirty.  The down to earth attitude really helps to take the snootiness from the restaurant and makes you feel comfortable to just be casual and enjoy.   

 Is Summerlicious worth it?

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

Summerlicious - $45

 Regular menu - $60 - hen's egg* ($15), sea bass* ($32) and mille feuille ($13)

Savings - $15 or 25%

 * All the items aren't on their regular menu; prices based on the lettuce salad, sea bream and mousse


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!


CLOSED: Scarpetta (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, July 21, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 550 Wellington Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner

My first experience eating at Scarpetta was in Las Vegas after spending most of the afternoon outdoors for some fun in the sun at a pool party. After not eating since
breakfast, we were famished and right after ordering they presented us with a basket of stromboli (bread pin wheeled with salami), it was the most delicious thing at that time.
I'm happy to say the Toronto offshoot also offers this delicious bread (and more). In fact, their bread basket not only comes with the stromboli, but also crispy wedges of focaccia and soft airy ciabatta buns. Served with mascarpone whipped butter, caponata (like a vegetable tapenade) and olive oil, it’s perhaps the best bread basket I’ve ever had! It’s so good that a big risk of eating there is you’ll fill up before you food actually arrives. This is particularly a shame if you’re about to eat a three course Summerlicious menu!

Of the five restaurants I visited this year, Scarpetta was the only one that served everything I ordered on their regular menu. I feel they should be commended for this as you don’t get the feeling that they’re serving you a "slimmed down" version for the occasion. I wish more restaurants would follow this trend as what’s the point of eating something they don’t normally offer?

The highlights of the meal were the appetizers, so delicious that I could go back and just order a couple of them to be a meal itself.  My appetizer consisted of a generous portion of braised short ribs; three slices of tender yet non-fatty beef.  Sometimes braised meat can be overly salty but Scarpetta’s had just the right amount of flavour and went well with the farro risotto.  Mixed into the risotto were cubes of zucchini, other vegetables and gooey mild cheese.  To make this decadent dish even better a thin slice of parmesan cheese covered everything.
My friend’s creamy polenta was absolutely delicious and the most buttery rich polenta I’ve ever had.  Served with a little pot of mushrooms cooked with truffles, once spooned on the cheesy polenta it’s a dish that you wish you ordered yourself and could eat more of.
When the roasted pork chop arrived I was astounded by the sheer size of it.  Even though it was 1.5 inches thick, the meat was evenly cooked throughout and still tender - even the meat right at the bone was cooked to the same doneness as everything else.  I commend the kitchen for the great job they did at cooking the pork. The massive crusted chop sat on top a dollop of shallot puree and mixed sautéed greens.  On the side was a small rectangle of deep fried pork jowl.  I’m normally a big fan of the uber tender cheek meat; but, this was brined so much that it was unbearably salty so I just couldn’t enjoy it, what a shame.      
If you look at the picture below you may be under the illusion that the panna cotta is the small football shaped object on the side of dish.  In fact, that is just a coconut cream; the panna cotta is actually the entire bottom of the dish!  Covered with passion fruit syrup and pieces of diced pineapple the panna cotta was rich and flavourful.  If eaten with the pineapple it’s more tangy and light, whereas you can mix in the creamy coconut addition to sweeten everything up.  Scarpetta’s panna cotta was one of the best I’ve had. 

My friend’s cheesecake arrived like a work of art – one of the cylinders vanilla and the other blueberry. Served with marinated berries and crumbles of graham crackers on top, it was a good deconstructed cheesecake.
Scarpetta is where you go if you want decadent food; it’s definitely not for the health conscious.  With their hefty portions you certainly get the feeling that you’re enjoying a hearty home cooked Italian meal. Yet, their dining room is open and airy with high ceilings and the floor to ceiling windows.  Other than a large wine fridge along one wall everything is nice and opened and contemporary looking.  In the end, Scarpetta was a nice combination of delicious Italian food in a modern setting.  It’s definitely worth a try, just for their bread basket alone!



Is Summerlicious worth it?
As a special feature to the Summerlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).   
Summerlicious - $45
Regular menu - $63 - short ribs ($16), pork chop ($35) and panna cotta ($12)
Savings - $18 or 29%
* Congratulations to Scarpetta who actually offers the same dishes that's on their regular menu on the Summerlicious menu!

 Overall mark -  8 out of 10

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