October 25 2013
Habits Gastropub
928 College St.
From the street, this place looks like a really nice place to spend some time. It looks newly renovated, in a retro kinda of way. If that makes sense? When you walk in the place, you can tell someone has taken some time and money setting this place up. The open kitchen is to the left of you when you walk in, and the place has an inviting atmosphere right away. The entire right wall is brick which reaches to the back of the restaurant and it is scattered with black and white photo's. The only seating that is available is "high-tops, which normally I do not like, but these were not bad. I am afraid this is where my praise for this place ends, and the nightmare known as the "Habits Gastropub" begins.................
Read on.............
A young girl came and greeted us and we were led to a table about half way down the restaurant. (Us) today, is myself, Brandon and Stephanie. I had my finger's crossed that we were going to find something Brandon would eat because we had walked along College for a bit checking out where to eat tonight. I hoped we had a winner, or I would never hear the end of it from Brandon.
So this guy strolls up to our table. Now you need to get the full picture. He looks like a used car dealer from the eighties. He has his shirt unbuttoned, a little too much, but that was so you could see all his chest hair and the chains that were hanging from his neck. He was staring at us rubbing his hands together. I was holding my breath at this point....and we should have gotten up right then and there and left. As I looked at him and I just wanted to jump up and say "Hurrah", "the eighties are here again!". I didn't. I just asked for a wine list.
When I was researching this place on line I could not find the wine list anywhere but I would've ordered wine, or I would have snapped on someone. They have an extensive list of "booze". Single malts, tequila's lot's of beer. Very impressive. I guess they figure if they get people drunk enough they won't notice what else is going wrong with their evening.
So this guy(I am assuming he is the owner), brings me my wine and then as rubs his hands together again, asks us if we wanted to know what today's specials were. We all nodded in agreement and say sure, yes. He grimaces and says "Oh I don't know them, I will get you someone who does". WTF?? We all just looked at each other, with our mouths open, and Brandon chuckled to himself. If I hadn't ordered the wine, I would have gotten up and left. The girl that had seated us, was brought back to us, literally he pushed her over to us, and she told us the specials. Specials, which were obviously so unforgettable that I cannot remember a single one at this moment, and needless to say we did not order any of them either.
We ordered some starters and I had my fingers crossed.
onion rings & sweet chili
warm marinated olives & chourizo with pita
grilled pita & seasonal dip
Brandon had the onion rings and Steph ordered the grilled pita, and I had the olives. They all looked really good. Steph and I shared ours, while Brandon ate his rings. I noticed a really strong SALT taste in my mouth, but I chocked it up to the fact that I had ordered olives. But little did I know that Brandon and Steph were also tasting SALT as well. In fact, it was on everything. Brandon's onion rings were on a board with a stick on it, so they were stacked. Both Steph and I had one, and there really wasn't a lot, and he just couldn't finish them because of the SALT.
The "guy" came over to collect our dishes and made a remark about Brandon not finishing his rings. "Oh a big boy like you can"t finish these rings?"
Really? Now you are insulting the customer's?
We asked for water and I secretly prayed that our mains would be better.
Brandon ordered the
Habits burger, smoked brie stuffed in Ontario beef, puttanesca relish, pancetta, house-made spicy ailio, hand-cut fries. Sounds good right?
Steph ordered the
Smoked fried chicken, panko-crusted Ontario free-range capon con fit Portuguese cassoulet, chili & smoked cheddar biscuit, sweet chili sauce. Again sounds really good right?
I ordered the
Fish and chips (2 pc) you had a choice of 1 or 2 tempura-battered haddock, house-made tartar sauce.
How can they screw up fish and chips right?
Well it all looked really good when it arrived, it looked like they had spent some time preparing our meals. It looked like they been prepared with some care. Oh it was prepared all right!
You know the main ingredient in all our meals??
SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT SALT
This could not be possible? Everything was just coated in it.....it was unbelievable. None of us finished our food. I think we all took doggy bags with us, but I don't think anyone ate their food once they got it home.
I know I tried it the next day, just to see if we were all crazy from the night before, but no there it was again, SALT!!!
I am surprised we didn't die of coronaries there in the restaurant.
Needless to say we did not order desert, and got out of this place as quickly as possible.
When I was researching their web site to write this blog, I could not help but notice some reviews that they had posted on their page. These people were going on and on about how great this place and the food was?
Seriously??Are you people are drugs or what? Did you got to the same place we did?
One other thing I forgot to tell you was that our table as I had mentioned earlier was in the middle of the restaurant. So we got the music from the front of the restaurant and the "warmings up" of the musicians from the back of the restaurant. No one bothered to turn off the music that was playing while the musicians warmed up which is what normally happening in a normal establishment. What added as well to the increasing "noise" was the banging of the dishes from the back kitchen which we could hear because we were right beside the swinging doors to the kitchen. This was not just going on for 5 minutes or so, but it lasted our entire meal.
It was VERY VERY ANNOYING! You couldn't just hear one thing, it just blended together and what it was , was just very annoying NOISE!
It made you feel very irritated! Just remembering it now, makes me cringe!
I would NEVER GO to this place ever again in my life! Even if I was offered a free meal, I would say NO!!!
So many restaurants struggling to get noticed in Toronto, and this place has the nerve to serve that stuff they called food to us.
PLEASE I BEG YOU! SPEND YOUR MONEY SOMEWHERE ELSE!!
No happy faces today...A HUGE FAIL!
Number 45 of 50 restaurants
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Thursday, 20 June 2013
OPA!
October 22 2013
Christina's
492 Danforth ave
(Greek town)
My adventure would not have been complete had I not included a visit to that little strip of the Danforth lovingly known as "GREEK TOWN." I don't go there as much as I should. When I am there, I want to kick myself for not going more often. Its really is just a subway ride away, and the entire "strip" is walk able.
Today my adventure included my good buds Stephanie, and Cindy. Cindy and I had gone for pedicures and manicures at that wonderful place we go to on Bloor by the Jane subway station. (Serenity is the name). Anyway we were to meet Steph., when we were done. We headed to Greek town, with no idea where we would eat. We decided that we would walk a bit and if a place caught our eye, then that's where we would go.
It was a nice evening, so the walk was enjoyable. There were a lot of places to choose from but we eventually decided upon Christina's.
The place had some people at a few tables when we walked in and were seated. We got a table in the window. The restaurant kept filling up as the night proceeded. We sat there looking at the menu which quite frankly was from heaven.
I hadn't had some real Greek food in a very long time. There was so much to choose from. I was faced with a dilemma that often finds me. WHAT SHOULD I ORDER? WILL I MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION? I JUST DON'T KNOW!! I didn't know..........there was just so many choices. Also remember I was only 1 person, how could I eat it all.......(but I did have friends along).
I ordered some wine........that calmed me down for a moment. They have a really great selection of wine(from all over the world) and I should have ordered some Greek wine, because as they say...."when you're in Rome, do like the Roman's", but my knowledge of Greek wine is very limited. YES! I should have asked and they would have recommended a good one, but I didn't. In hindsight, that is something I will do the next time.
Wine ordered, let's get this food coming...................
Starters (appetizers) is a huge list with both cold and hot dishes. There was grilled calamari on the menu, so I had to have that for sure. I also decided to order a few more starter's and share because I just couldn't decide on just one. Our first one was the flaming cheese (Saganaki). How can you resist?
Saganaki................Greek Kefalograviera Cheese flambeed in brandy at your table, OPA!
You can't go to Greek town without ordering this. I know it's kinda "touristy", but it is sooooo good! Cindy was not having any of this because of her dislike of cheese.(I know, don't get me started!) Steph and I had no problem with this one. I just love the caramelized cheese and that hint of lemon juice. It just makes that bread they give you so much better. I got my (Kalamari Sharas)grilled calamari next.......
Kalamari Sharas.............grilled whole squid topped with olive oil, garlic and lemon.
Now I have to tell you I was looking forward to this, just because I knew the Greeks couldn't get this wrong. It was simple and probably as good as it get's. I couldn't believe how much I got though! There were two huge squids on the plate and I could barely eat just one! It was really good! What was next? Oh yea!!(Spanakopita)
SpanaKopita................spinach, Feta cheese and herb's wrapped in Phyllo pastry.
These were just so good. They serve them in small packets........beautiful little parcels, of flaky dough, spinach and cheese.....................OMG!! I was in heaven and we were only on the appetizers.. Steph ordered (Kalamari Tiganito) fried calamari and it was really good as well. There wasn't a lot of batter on them which made them even better.
Kalamari Tiganito..............tender pieces of squid in seasoned flour, lightly fried and served with Tzatziki.
So they had the heat on in the restaurant and it was getting a little warm. So I propped open the door, as to get some fresh air. Steph was worried about the couple sitting behind us getting cold, but they waved that they were perfectly fine with the door open. As I told Steph, just for a little bit, it was too warm in there. (Just a note..........I was the only menopausal women at the table today.)
We had ordered our main dishes and our stack of "to-go" had already began piling up. Both Steph and I had ordered (Paidakia Sharas)grilled lamb chops.
Paidakia Sharas..................fresh Ontario succulent lamb chops, spiced and grilled to order served with french fries and a traditional Greek salad.
They were amazing..................but we were so full we could only eat some of it................so as always most of our food went into the growing stack of "to-go" containers. Cindy ordered an appetizer as a main, she was already kinda full.
Keftedes......................homemade meatballs baked in a tomato herb sauce.
Her meatballs looked really good, and had roasted peppers in it as well. Like Steph and I she could only eat part of her meal, and sure enough another "to go" container was added to the growing pile.
So while I was gathering the information for this post....I tried to look up the desert menu, because as you know I always want a desert at the end of a great meal. I just couldn't remember what I had ordered. I looked everywhere for it and could not find it anywhere. It was when I saw a review for the restaurant and they had mentioned that there was no desert menu and that's when I remembered......they don't have one. They only have two things that they serve for desert.(I can only remember one of them right now.)
The amazing...........
Baklava..........phyllo dough layered with butter, cinnamon and nut's baked and then topped with a honey syrup.
I just took an order to go!!!!!!!!!!! Yes another container to our huge pile!
I also had ordered chicken souvlaki for my daughter to go. (yes another couple of containers)
Souvlaki Dinner (Chicken) 8 oz of meat made to order and accompanied by lemon roast potatoes, rice pilaf, traditional Greek salad and tzatziki.
She just rolled her eyes when I got it home to her......OMG!! this is good.
We were so full, and yet with the amount of containers we left with, it looks like we didn't eat anything!
This was another great meal, with great friends.
On the weekends, Christina's have entertainment. A belly dancer, and some Greek musician's. Even better!
I would recommend anyone who want's to enjoy a Greek meal to come on down to Christina's!
OPA!
1 smiley face today.
Number 44 out of 50 restaurants
Christina's
492 Danforth ave
(Greek town)
My adventure would not have been complete had I not included a visit to that little strip of the Danforth lovingly known as "GREEK TOWN." I don't go there as much as I should. When I am there, I want to kick myself for not going more often. Its really is just a subway ride away, and the entire "strip" is walk able.
Today my adventure included my good buds Stephanie, and Cindy. Cindy and I had gone for pedicures and manicures at that wonderful place we go to on Bloor by the Jane subway station. (Serenity is the name). Anyway we were to meet Steph., when we were done. We headed to Greek town, with no idea where we would eat. We decided that we would walk a bit and if a place caught our eye, then that's where we would go.
It was a nice evening, so the walk was enjoyable. There were a lot of places to choose from but we eventually decided upon Christina's.
The place had some people at a few tables when we walked in and were seated. We got a table in the window. The restaurant kept filling up as the night proceeded. We sat there looking at the menu which quite frankly was from heaven.
I hadn't had some real Greek food in a very long time. There was so much to choose from. I was faced with a dilemma that often finds me. WHAT SHOULD I ORDER? WILL I MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION? I JUST DON'T KNOW!! I didn't know..........there was just so many choices. Also remember I was only 1 person, how could I eat it all.......(but I did have friends along).
I ordered some wine........that calmed me down for a moment. They have a really great selection of wine(from all over the world) and I should have ordered some Greek wine, because as they say...."when you're in Rome, do like the Roman's", but my knowledge of Greek wine is very limited. YES! I should have asked and they would have recommended a good one, but I didn't. In hindsight, that is something I will do the next time.
Wine ordered, let's get this food coming...................
Starters (appetizers) is a huge list with both cold and hot dishes. There was grilled calamari on the menu, so I had to have that for sure. I also decided to order a few more starter's and share because I just couldn't decide on just one. Our first one was the flaming cheese (Saganaki). How can you resist?
Saganaki................Greek Kefalograviera Cheese flambeed in brandy at your table, OPA!
You can't go to Greek town without ordering this. I know it's kinda "touristy", but it is sooooo good! Cindy was not having any of this because of her dislike of cheese.(I know, don't get me started!) Steph and I had no problem with this one. I just love the caramelized cheese and that hint of lemon juice. It just makes that bread they give you so much better. I got my (Kalamari Sharas)grilled calamari next.......
Kalamari Sharas.............grilled whole squid topped with olive oil, garlic and lemon.
Now I have to tell you I was looking forward to this, just because I knew the Greeks couldn't get this wrong. It was simple and probably as good as it get's. I couldn't believe how much I got though! There were two huge squids on the plate and I could barely eat just one! It was really good! What was next? Oh yea!!(Spanakopita)
SpanaKopita................spinach, Feta cheese and herb's wrapped in Phyllo pastry.
These were just so good. They serve them in small packets........beautiful little parcels, of flaky dough, spinach and cheese.....................OMG!! I was in heaven and we were only on the appetizers.. Steph ordered (Kalamari Tiganito) fried calamari and it was really good as well. There wasn't a lot of batter on them which made them even better.
Kalamari Tiganito..............tender pieces of squid in seasoned flour, lightly fried and served with Tzatziki.
So they had the heat on in the restaurant and it was getting a little warm. So I propped open the door, as to get some fresh air. Steph was worried about the couple sitting behind us getting cold, but they waved that they were perfectly fine with the door open. As I told Steph, just for a little bit, it was too warm in there. (Just a note..........I was the only menopausal women at the table today.)
We had ordered our main dishes and our stack of "to-go" had already began piling up. Both Steph and I had ordered (Paidakia Sharas)grilled lamb chops.
Paidakia Sharas..................fresh Ontario succulent lamb chops, spiced and grilled to order served with french fries and a traditional Greek salad.
They were amazing..................but we were so full we could only eat some of it................so as always most of our food went into the growing stack of "to-go" containers. Cindy ordered an appetizer as a main, she was already kinda full.
Keftedes......................homemade meatballs baked in a tomato herb sauce.
Her meatballs looked really good, and had roasted peppers in it as well. Like Steph and I she could only eat part of her meal, and sure enough another "to go" container was added to the growing pile.
So while I was gathering the information for this post....I tried to look up the desert menu, because as you know I always want a desert at the end of a great meal. I just couldn't remember what I had ordered. I looked everywhere for it and could not find it anywhere. It was when I saw a review for the restaurant and they had mentioned that there was no desert menu and that's when I remembered......they don't have one. They only have two things that they serve for desert.(I can only remember one of them right now.)
The amazing...........
Baklava..........phyllo dough layered with butter, cinnamon and nut's baked and then topped with a honey syrup.
I just took an order to go!!!!!!!!!!! Yes another container to our huge pile!
I also had ordered chicken souvlaki for my daughter to go. (yes another couple of containers)
Souvlaki Dinner (Chicken) 8 oz of meat made to order and accompanied by lemon roast potatoes, rice pilaf, traditional Greek salad and tzatziki.
She just rolled her eyes when I got it home to her......OMG!! this is good.
We were so full, and yet with the amount of containers we left with, it looks like we didn't eat anything!
This was another great meal, with great friends.
On the weekends, Christina's have entertainment. A belly dancer, and some Greek musician's. Even better!
I would recommend anyone who want's to enjoy a Greek meal to come on down to Christina's!
OPA!
1 smiley face today.
Number 44 out of 50 restaurants
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)