Wahlburgers

Originally founded in 2011 as a chef-drive burger concept, Wahlburgers, the U.S.-based burger concept launched by Executive Chef Paul Wahlberg and brothers, Mark and Donnie, opened its first Canadian outpost in November 2014 in Toronto. Located at the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel on Blue Jays Way, the location is the family's first international outpost of their original Hingham, Massachusetts restaurant. With fresh made-to-order burgers, fries and frappes, Wahlburgers' menu reflects a mix of classic burgers and sides, as well as family favourites.

The 120-seat Wahlburgers Canada (or "Wahlburgers" from now on) is similar in layout to their U.S. counterparts in that it showcases a sports bar, a dine-in restaurant and a quick service take-out all under one roof. The restaurant emphasizes casual comfort food in a family-friendly environment (there was indeed quite a number of families there when I visited on a Friday night).

While burgers are the main focus, Wahlburgers (Facebook: Wahlburgers Canada, Instagram: @wahlburgersca) offers a variety of sandwiches and salads as well. Other specialties include a selection of house sides like sweet potato tots, mac 'n cheese, fresh cut Yukon Gold fries and onions rings, along with ice cream frappes and boozy frappes, Wahlburgers' alcohol-fortified version of the ice cream beverage.

Wahlburgers' "quick serve" counter with approximately 40 seats.

Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill [VIDEO]

Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill is an all-you-can-eat restaurant located at 900 Don Mills Road just north of Eglinton in North York.

The buffet-style restaurant, now in its 10th year, is sectioned into two parts: the Buffet and the Mongolian Grill. 

The Buffet consists of a variety of soups, seafood, meat and vegetable dishes, fried foods and desserts.

The Mongolian Grill is where you build your own bowl by picking your own raw meats, vegetables and seasonings. You then hand your bowl over to one of the cooks and they'll stir-fry your food on a large flat grill. 

Hot Stove Club at the Air Canada Centre

I'm willing to bet that not many of you have been to (or have heard of) the Hot Stove Club. I don't blame you because up until last year I haven't heard of it either. The fact that the restaurant is located inside the Air Canada Centre ("ACC") is probably the number one reason why (I don't frequent sports games or concerts so I'm really never there). Another reason is because for the longest time the Hot Stove Club was a members-only establishment (this is no longer the case). So armed with this new found knowledge, you should really consider grabbing a bite at the Hot Stove Club before a game or a show. Let's face it - whether it be a Raptors game next season (sorry I had to!) or the U2 concert in July, there is only so much concession food that one can tolerate. I mean, you already splurged on those tickets, right? So might as well treat yourself to some good food. Your tummy deserves much more than overpriced popcorn, nachos and hot dogs!

Established in 1963, the Hot Stove Club is a place where guests can enjoy modern steakhouse cuisine. The restaurant has three bars, a lounge area, and a decor that's warm with earth-tone leathers, dark wood, and cozy plush seating.

A fireplace warms the communal dining area that comfortably seats parties of eight. The middle of those tables can convert into a raw bar.

&Company Resto Bar

Looking for a place to wine and dine with your friends then party late into the night? If your answer is a resounding "Yes!" then you should check out &Company Resto Bar (Twitter: @AndCoRestoBar, Facebook: &Company Resto Bar). Located across from Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga, &Company Resto Bar is a bar, a restaurant, and a club all in one. 

The supper club was opened in December 2011 and has now become a popular local hotspot.

As &Company Resto puts it: "Go for dinner and stay for the party!" The full experience at this Mississauga hangout begins with dinner with friends and transitions into bustling nightlife at 10pm.

A few shots I took of &Company Resto Bar before dinner. The venue can host up to 300 guests for dinner and 800 guests for cocktails comfortably and seamlessly (great for corporate events and private parties).

Easy & Delicious Jammin' Recipes

Have you ever thought of using jam as more than a condiment? More than just a spread on bread? Sure, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will forever be awesome but, for one reason or another, many people fail to realize that jam is also a fabulous ingredient in many recipes! I felt particularly inventive over the weekend and experimented with different flavours of jams, pairing them with foods to create some pretty tasty recipes. Take a look :)

PEACH, PROSCIUTTO AND BRIE GRILLED CHEESE

This super easy grilled cheese is hard to beat. It is simple and quick enough for weekday lunch yet can also pass for the dinner table. I love the addition of the peach jam since it serves as a "glue" between the sweet, creamy Brie and the savoury prosciutto. I made this tasty grilled cheese on Saturday for lunch.

Ingredients

2 slices of bread

1 tbsp of melted unsalted butter

2 oz Brie, thinly sliced

2 tbsp of peach jam

2 oz prosciutto

Heat a large pan over medium-heat. Brush half of the melted butter on one slice of the bread, and lay it down on your prep area, butter-side down. Spread 1 tbsp of jam onto both slices of bread, then layer on the cheese and the prosciutto. Place sandwich in the warm pan butter-side down, and press down every now and then while it cooks. Brush the rest of the butter on the top of slice first before flipping the sandwich. Grill on each side for about 3 minutes each, or until the bread has thoroughly crisped and the cheese has started to melt. Makes one sandwich.

STRAWBERRY BANANA YOGURT SMOOTHIE

If you love strawberries and bananas, you will be delighted with this smoothie. Not only does it taste like dessert it is also extremely healthy. Loaded with calcium, potassium and vitamin C, this perfect combination of fruit and dairy is a guarantee hit in the summer. This glass of cold, refreshing smoothie was exactly what I needed after spending an entire day of running errands.

Ingredients

2 tbsp of plain yogurt

2 tbsp of strawberry jam

1/2 ripe banana (peeled)

1 cup of milk

3 or 4 ice cubes

In a blender, process all ingredients until smooth and frothy. Makes one large smoothie.

ORANGE MARMALADE CRESCENT ROLLS

Whether you're hosting a casual get-together at home or preparing an after-school snack for the kids, everyone will love these delicious and fluffy orange marmalade crescent rolls. With only two ingredients there's really no excuse not to make them! Served warm, I had these light crescent rolls for breakfast Sunday morning with a bowl of cereal. 

Ingredients

1 tbsp of orange marmalade

1 (4 oz.) package of refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375°F. Unroll crescent roll dough into 8 triangles and spread orange marmalade onto each triangle. Roll up each loosely, starting at shortest side of triangle, rolling to opposite point and curving each into crescent shape. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown. Makes 8 crescent rolls.

Smucker’s Pairings are a simple, easy way to create delicious food combinations with jam and other ingredients, designed help you discover how flavours mingle together for mouthwatering results. Each pairing has 5 ingredients or less, and is ready in less than 15 minutes. Because with a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good. For specific information on our jam flavours and varieties, please visit www.smuckers.ca 

Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Smucker’s Foods of Canada via Mode Media Canada. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Smucker’s Foods of Canada. 

Milestones' Homestyle Chefs' Tasting Menu

It is always a pleasure attending a Milestones media dinner (this is my third one). Not only do I get the opportunity to taste a bit of everything from Milestones' newest menu, I also get to order as many bellinis as I want (I know it sounds stupid but I've been a sucker for their bellinis since the beginning of time...I'm obsessed with those fruity slushies!) In all seriousness I'm always eager to try Executive Chef Jason Rosso's new creations. Ever since chef Rosso joined Milestones as corporate chef I've noticed a significant change - a very positive one - in the restaurant specifically when it comes to embracing global cuisine. Being Asian, I particularly enjoy the Asian influences in Rosso's plates. His Spicy Thai Basil Stir-fry and Grilled Japanese Tuna Tataki from last year's Summer Chefs' menu, and his Vietnamese Bun Cha and Galbi Style Rib Steak from the most recent Inspired Chefs' menu are all examples of fusion dishes done well (these dishes also demonstrate Rosso's creativity and genuine passion for exotic ingredients and flavours). In this particular Milestones' Homestyle Chefs' Menu tasting, chef Rosso took us on a culinary journey, treating our taste buds to the bold flavours of South Asia all the way to the Mediterranean.

It is somewhat embarrassing to admit this but I had two bellinis before dinner last week at the Milestones located at Dundas Square. Yeah TWO bellinis. This is what I get for arriving way too early, I mean what else is there to do besides downing cocktails? Speaking of cocktails there's word on the street that Milestones (Twitter: @MilestonesCa, Facebook: Milestones) is in the process of revamping their cocktail menu to include classic cocktails such as the Old Fashioned and the Moscow Mule. I'm so excited about this! *GASP* I foresee myself cheating on the bellini...

MILESTONES' ORIGINAL BELLINI

A frozen blend of premium white rum, peach liqueur, sparkling white wine, topped with Boone's Sangria

Along with our cocktails we were served these beautiful canapes:

APPETIZERS

CHEFS CHOICE CANAPES

Prime rib adobo poutine with smoked gouda*

Gouger of cheddar and poached egg mousseline in puff pastry

Atlantic smoked salmon rosette with tarragon goats cheese and fried capers

Wild mushroom and truffle bruschetta on parmesan cracker

Chorizo and mozzarella fritters with smoked paprika aioli*

*Available on Milestones' Homestyle Chefs’ Menu

After cocktails and apps we were ready for dinner! Below is chef Jason Rosso (@jasonrosso) giving us a brief intro about the new Milestones' Homestyle Chefs' Menu (he also came out in between courses to explain each dish).

Lamesa Filipino Kitchen's New Menu

I still have very fond memories of the tasting menu I had at Lamesa Filipino Kitchen a year and a half ago. I remember describing it as a "rock-solid meal" which is why, to this very day, I still recommend this Queen West restaurant to my friends whenever they are looking for something different. Something unique.

Responsible for putting modern Filipino cuisine on the culinary map here in Toronto are second generation Filipinos Rudy Boquila and Les Sabilano. With Lamesa, the duo has successfully combined traditional tastes of the Philippines with modern takes and local ingredients. As Sabilano puts it Filipino food, the Lamesa way, is “all about taking a regional approach to Filipino food. Each of the 7000+ islands in the Philippines has developed their own style based on their customs, surroundings and what is locally available. For us, Toronto is just another island. Our style is shaped by our environment and where and how we grew up.”

Last week, I was invited to Lamesa's (Twitter: @LamesaTO, Facebook: Lamesa) new menu launch where I sampled numerous dishes spanning their brunch, dinner and late night menus. Aside from the updated menu, Lamesa's bar also received a dramatic makeover (check out how the bar was before). I personally love the new bar especially the psychedelic glow in the background. Pretty trippy :) 

Speaking of bar, I enjoyed several cocktails that evening. My favourite would be this classic hip hop inspired Lolo Cool J cocktail which consisted of ginger, bourbon, pineapple and cinnamon syrup, lemon juice, and ginger ale.

Live music throughout the night courtesy of DATU. These guys are fantastic.

Here's a look at what I had at the media tasting (note that these are all sample sizes specially made for the evening):

CRISPY PATA (brunch / dinner)

Deep fried pork trotter with pickles and housemade dipping sauces

Soos: Modern Malaysian Resto/Bar on Ossington

Soos (Twitter: @soostoronto, Facebook: Soos) is a family-run Malaysian restaurant on 94 Ossington Ave. Prior to opening the resto / bar in October of last year, the Soo family owned and operated Matahari Bar & Grill, a Malaysian restaurant on Baldwin St. for 13 years before selling it several years back.

In the Soos kitchen are Tricia Soo and her son, Zack Soo. The mother and son duo creates small plates incorporating Malaysian ingredients and flavours as well as globally inspired plates. For those of you looking for "authentic" or "traditional" Malaysian cuisine (i.e. food that you will find in Malaysia) you will realize that Soos is not the place for that. As their website states:

"We are not your typical street style Malaysian restaurant. We specialize in Malay-Nyonya (the Chinese influence in Malay cooking) flavours with a contemporary twist. "Malay-dian", if you will...Our mission is to introduce the complex and delicious flavours of Malaysian-Nyonya cuisine by incorporating them into small plates and snacks...."

I thought it is a good idea to emphasize this before y'all start telling me "You know this is not real Malaysian food" or "I'm Malaysian and this is not what I grew up with" and so on and so forth :)

Below is Soos' main dining room. I like the simple black and white stripped wall bearing the bold family name - it's very sleek and modern. Hard to miss are the giant spiky lights resembling the rambutan, a tropical fruit native to Indonesia and Malaysia.

Additional seating at the bar and along the opposing wall.

At the back of the restaurant is The Malacca Room (named after the Portuguese colony). The semi-private dining room seats 12 people.

French Dining at Le Papillon on Front

Nestled in an Old Town Toronto building, Le Papillon on Front (Twitter: @PapillonOnFront, Facebook: Le Papillon on Front) provides a relaxed yet sophisticated bistro setting in which to enjoy causal French food. The restaurant's menu calls on classic French favourites such as French onion soup, crepe and duck confit alongside contemporary seafood, steak and pasta dishes. Here's a fun fact: Did you know Le Papillon opened Toronto's first creperie in 1974? That's 40 years ago! Knowing that countless restaurants open and close within a year's time these days makes this tidbit even more fascinating.

Le Papillon on Front's large interior is warmed by its cozy warm tones.

My friend May and I went for dinner before the Christmas holidays (hence all the festive decorations).

BLOODY CAESAR ($7.25)

Touro Churrascaria: Brazilian Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Touro Brazilian Steakhouse & Wine Bar (Twitter: @tourosteakhouse, Facebook: Touro Steakhouse) off of Hwy 7 and 404 in Richmond Hill is currently York Region's only Brazilian Steakhouse. Touro offers the traditional Brazilian Steakhouse "Rodizio" service where guests get served an unlimited supply of beef, pork, poultry, lamb and seafood at table side. Each guest is given a medallion (shown on left); flipping it to the green side signals servers to come over to your table and carve you meat, and flipping it to red means you're currently experiencing "meat sweats" and want a break.

I have never been to a Brazilian steakhouse before my visit to Touro. I've certainly heard a lot about them through my guy friends whose eyes would literally light up once they start talking about all-you-can-eat meat. "It's a glorious thing," they would tell me. I believe them. 

Anyway, to give you a better idea of the vibe and atmosphere at Touro I've included a 90-second View the Vibe video of the Brazilian steakhouse. It's definitely worth a peek!

As mentioned in the View the Vibe video, Touro also serves an a la carte menu. Available at the bar and lounge areas, their a la carte menu offers barbecued meats as well as vegetarian options.

Touro boasts a self-serve Enomatic wine lounge - the first of its kind in Ontario.

SPiN Toronto: Not Your Average Ping Pong Hall

SPiN Toronto (Twitter: @SPiN_Toronto, Facebook: SPiN Toronto) is a massive 12,000 sq ft ping pong social club located at 461 King Street West. SPiN Toronto is one of five outposts belonging to the SPiN Galatic group (you can currently find SPiN in New York, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Toronto and Dubai). SPiN Galatic's mission is to spread the love of ping pong across the "Galaxy" with entertainment venues where people can hang out with friends and play ping-pong while sipping on cocktails and munching on snacks. 

Fun Fact: Did you know that Susan Sarandon is one of four owners of SPiN Galatic? The Academy Award-winning actress is a self-described "ping pong propagandist" and has been giving ping pong tables to friends and to inner-city schools ever since she helped open SPiN New York in 2009.

SPiN Toronto boasts 2 fully licensed bars, 12 ping-pong tables, cocktail menu, full food menu, a lounge and a private party room. It is open 7 days a week from noon till 1 am from Sundays to Wednesdays, and till 2 am on Thursdays to Saturdays. 

Fun Fact: Did you know I went to SPiN Toronto for a blind date once? Lets just say playing ping pong was the best part of the date haha.

Please don't feel intimated when you're at SPiN; you don't have to be a pro to go (trust me I suck at ping pong but I love it there; then again maybe because I'm Asian it's in my blood to love ping pong). Anyway if you're a hard-core ping pong player then by all means get yourself a SPiN membership but otherwise, anybody can drop in for casual socializing and play or even take part in SPiN Toronto's nightly events. It's all in good fun.

If you absolutely refuse to give ping pong a chance *insert sad face* you can always pig out on food and drinks there. I was invited to taste chef Jon Lovett's (@iamjonlovett) new menu a few weeks ago at SPiN where we had a variety of shared plates and finger foods. 

We started off with a few cocktails. SPiN has a modest list of cocktails, beers and wines, as well as three different kinds of punch bowls (minimum 4 people, 9 ounces of booze in each).

BFF - Ciroc peach + elderberry + bubbles ($12.40)

Gin Blossom - Tanqueray + St Germain + Lemon ($12.40)

Home of the Brave

Welcome to Home of the Brave, an all-American diner brought to you by the La Carnita folks Andrew Richmond (owner) and chefs Jonathon Hamilton and Nate Middleton. Nestled above Lou Dawgs on 589 King St. West, Home of the Brave dishes out classic American cuisine that "feels different, but also feels like home". In less than a month since the second-floor restaurant opened, Home of the Brave has already become quite the popular spot in the neighbourhood. With modernized American comfort food, creative cocktails and the motto JOIN OR DIE, it appears that Torontonians are happily joining in on the good eats at the new diner.

I went for an early dinner at Home of the Brave (Twitter: @theHOTB, Instagram: @thehotb) last Friday with three friends. Since the restaurant only takes reservations for more than 10 people, we thought it's wise to go earlier than later. We arrived at 6pm and snagged one of the large orange booths on the side.

The bar at Home of the Brave features spiked slushies and root beer on tap, as well as a rotating selection of Guest Book cocktails imported from some of America’s finest cocktail creators.

SUMMER IN SAKON ($12)

Thai spiced vodka, pineapple, ginger beer, lime (that's a bottle of water beside the cocktail)

Café Boulud (Summerlicious)

Summerlicious, presented by American Express and produced by the City of Toronto, is currently taking place between July 5 to July 21. This unique culinary celebration is all about highlighting Toronto's diverse collection of restaurants and bringing unique dining experiences to life. There are over 195 restaurants participating in Summerlicious this year with numerous prix fixe menu options to choose from.

As a "Roving Reporter" for American Express, I had the opportunity to dine at Café Boulud (@CafeBouludTO) last week. Here's a recap of what we had:

ASSORTED BREAD

NEO-NEGRONI ($18)

Bombay Sapphire Gin, Campari, Green Chartreuse, Dry Vermouth, Lemon Twist

THE YORKVILLE ($18)

 Forty Creek Reserve Rye, Marsala Fine, Amaro, Kirsch Cherries, House Star Anise Bitters 

TELMO RODRIGUEZ 'LZ', RIOJA, SPAIN ($45)

APPETIZERS

SEARED DIGBY SCALLOP

Sweet Corn Succotash, Avocado Mousse Shrimp Cracker