FRANKS KITCHEN

FRANKS KITCHEN

Location:

588 College St

Toronto, ON

Ratings:

Ambiance: 3 / 4

Service: 3 / 4

Food: 4 / 4

Price: $$$

For my annual family birthday dinner my parents took us to FRANKS KITCHEN. The small intimate restaurant serves up some of Toronto's best food. The server was very knowledgable about the food, informing us that Frank himself buys all the produce and hand picks everything from local suppliers. 

We started off with the AMUSE BOUCHE, a wonderful shot of broccoli soup with a spoon of mixed veggies and goats cheese. A wonderful first stop on the nights exciting journey of food.

We started with the cold appitizers first. The TUNA TARTAR was light and flavourful. The fresh tuna was toped with avocado and a fresh leafy green salad.

Since JA and AM are on a bit of an oyster kick lately we decided to get a dozen OYSTERS to share. The fresh PEI oysters did not disappoint.

The LOBSTER RAVIOLI STILL has AM talking. The fresh hand rolled pasta was stuffed with nothing but large chunks of lobster meat. The pasta was tossed in a delicate tomato and seafood broth, it was shockingly light for a pasta dish.

Even if you don't think you like oysters you still must try the OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER. The hot oysters were covered in a layer of rich hollandaise, bacon, spinach and crispy herb infused breadcrumbs. One of the best servings of this traditional dish I have had in the city.

The PALATE CLEANSER came after the appetizer dishes, fresh and cool raspberry sorbet. DA could have had them all he loved them so much.

The in HOUSE CUT FRIES, were lightly covered with parmesan shavings and accompanied by a mustard aoli. Very very tasty.

AM and JA both decided on the STEAK. The steak was served on a bed of sautéed spinach, and fresh made jus. The medium rare meat was toped off with a decadent roasted onion and table side shaved truffle. I couldn't tell you how it tasted for both of them loved it so much they would not let me try even a little bite.

My mom and I both had the BEEF SHORT RIBS. The melt in you mouth meat was paired with fresh onion rings and a light asian slaw. The delicate slaw was a nice accompaniment to the otherwise tender but rich meat.

DA went for the LAMB CHOPS. The medium rare meat was finished off with drizzle of tasty jus, and root veggies. Simple yet delicious.

Would we go back? FOR SURE

STANDOUT DISH OF THE NIGHT:
Oysters Rockefeller

UNION 72

UNION 72

LOCATION:

72A Ossington Ave

Toronto, ON

(416) 850 0093

RATINGS:

Ambience: 3 / 4

Service: 4/ 4

Food: 3. 75 / 4

Price: $$$

There are so many amazing boutique restaurants in Toronto its hard to pick where to go, but if you have not yet been to UNION 72 you must give it a try. The intimate restaurant still has that element of Ossington cool as they have quite unique murals painted on the walls. The staff are very knowledgeable about the menu and the ingredients and you can tell they have tried every menu item, even though it changes daily as the chef uses the farm to table ideology. 

We started off with a simple plate of half a dozen PEI OYSTERS, Served with fresh horseradish, home made hot sauce and a cilantro lime sauce.

Our waitress strongly recommended we try the OCTOPUS. The hot grilled octopus was tender and well seasoned. It came with a cool potato salad, green olives and a drizzled of light spicy lemon oil. 

Picture the most tender fall of the bone delicious ribs you have ever had. Well these STICKY RIBS are even better. The charcoal smoked and braised back ribs are smothered in a rich sticky home made BBQ sauce. The delectable ribs were served with wilted greens and grilled carrots. The portion was generous but I was yearning for more as they were full of flavour. 

The ribs were even better when we realized they came with a large portion of hot, crispy HOUSE CUT FRIES. The heaping mountain of fries came with their famous hot sauce and mustard aioli. 

The large SCOTCH MOUNTAIN N.Y STEAK was perfectly cooked and well seasoned. It was incredibly tender  and tasty. 

Would we go back? YES there are so many more menu items we would like to try

STANDOUT DISH OF THE NIGHT:

The Sticky Ribs

PURE SPIRITS OYSTER HOUSE

PURE SPIRITS OYSTER HOUSE

LOCATION:

17 tank House Lane

Toronto, On

(416) 361 5859

www.purespirits.ca

Ratings:

Ambiance: 2. 75 / 4

Service: 2 . 5 / 4

Food: 2  . 75 / 4

Price:$$$

We headed over to PURE SPIRITS the other night for a quick seafood bite. Its located in the heart of  the trendy historic distillery district.  The fabulous patio allows you to take in the urban gentrified  neighbourhood. The interior is quite tight but very cozy and lively making for a good summer and winter spot.  The food was fresh and tasty we enjoyed it from beginning to end.

We decided to share a dozen FRENCH KISS OYSTERS. They were perfectly shucked and fresh and robust in flavour.

We also shared the tasty GREEN CURRY MUSSELS. The mussels were tossed in a spicy green curry with lime leaves, sweet basil and coconut milk. The broth was full of rich vibrant flavour and went perfectly with he plum juicy mussels.

The mussels came with a heaping mountain of  FRIES with parmesan cheese and rosemary. These salty potatoes were gone in seconds. We made sure we dipped each fry into the scrumptious Asian inspired broth.

Would we go back? Most likely 

STANDOUT DISH OF THE NIGHT:
Green Curry Mussels

STACK

STACK

Location:

3265 Yonge St

Tronto, Ont

647 346 1416

www.stackrestaurant.ca

Ratings:

Service: 3 / 4

Ambiance: 2 . 75 / 4

Food: 3 / 4

Price: $$

STACK is following into the BBQ craze.  This joint serves classics like pulled pork, brisket, ribs, burgers milkshakes ect.  The space is quite large with large screen TVs perfect place for family dinner or for a hockey night. 

The QUARTER CHICKEN was dressed in the chipotle jack daniels BBQ sauce. The chicken was juciy and full of flavour. The fries were hot and tasty, sprinkled with a little paprika for extra heat and smoke.

The HALF RACK OF RIBS were fall of the bone delish. They were well cooked and had that nice taste of caramelization from being cooked with the sauce on. They were served wet with the famous Stack fries, cole slaw and backed beans.  The slaw was fresh and lightened up the other flavours on the plate.

Would we go back? I think so

STANDOUT DISH:

The Ribs

EARL'S KITCHEN AND WINE BAR

EARL'S KITCHEN AND WINE BAR

LOCATION:

150 King St W

Toronto, On

(416) 916 0227

www.earls.ca

RATINGS:

Ambiance: 3 . 5 / 4

Service: 3 . 7 5 / 4

Food: 3 / 4

Price:$$

Earls serves up above average bar food and has managed to perfectly figure out the formula for success. They provide a very modern yet laid back environment with casual classics with upscale plating. The place is always packed with the young and eligible downtown workers who are looking for some food, drinks and a place to mingle. There is much talk about the service at Earls its much like the service at its big brother Joeys. The servers are attentive and friendly (even more so if your male), although at times it can be hard to hunt them down for your next drink. 

They had a special offer of BEEF CARPACCIO and devilled eggs so we gave it a try. The meat was delicate and flavourful. We were not a huge fan of the mustard aioli, but after pushing it off to the side the dish was enjoyable.

The BABY CALAMARI, the battered squid was quite nice, crispy, tender and toped with some raw red onions. With a big squeeze of lemon they were gone in minutes. The tzatziki could have used a bit of work, it tasted more like yogurt with cucumbers than a traditional tzatziki.

The hot CHICKEN WINGS had a crispy skin with some juicy meat inside. Even though they were hot they were not too spicy. They came with some thick cut carrots and celery sticks with a tasty parmesan dip.

The MARGHERITA PIZZA had fresh mozzarella, parmesan, san marzano tomato sauce, and fresh basil on a in house stretched pizza crust. The crust was thin just the way we like it.

Would we go back? Im sure we will

STANDOUT DISH OF THE NIGHT:
The hot wings