The Senator: Toronto's Oldest Restaurant

When it comes to food options there is really not much "personality" or "character" happening in the Yonge & Dundas area. Most restaurants at or within walking distance from Dundas Square / Eaton Centre are large chains - Joey's, Hard Rock Cafe, Milestone's, Johnny Rockets, Spring Rolls, The Pickle Barrel, Baton Rouge, etc. Next time you find yourself in the vicinity I highly encourage you to take a very short walk (three minutes from the Eaton Centre at most) to 249 Victoria Street because tucked away and hidden in the shadows of all those corporate giants you will find the Senator, the city's oldest restaurant (Twitter: @TheSenatorTO, Facebook: The Senator).

The Senator is Toronto’s oldest restaurant, dating back to 1929 when it was just a house at the very same address. Since then it has became a Toronto landmark under the guidance of Bobby Sniderman. Bobby purchased the Senator in 1984 after a successful run at Sam the Record Man.

The restaurant is focused on using locally sourced ingredients as much as possible (i.e. beef from Cumbrae’s Farms and organic milk from Sheldon Creek Dairy). They also have a commitment to only use organic wherever possible. The Senator makes their own fresh-squeezed orange juice, stocks, sauces, and batters.

By the way it's funny how new restaurants these days strive for the retro / diner look while the Senator achieves this effortlessly. Love it!

Sake Bar Kushi (Kushi Izakaya) in Midtown

Sake Bar Kushi opened quietly this past summer on 257 Eglinton Ave. just east of Avenue Rd. The restaurant, with a name which boldly states its specialties as being kushi and sake, is actually selling itself short. How so? Well if taken literally, one would think that the restaurant offers merely kushi (Japanese for skewers used to hold / pierce food for grilling and frying) and sake...but don't be fooled guys! After my dinner at Sake Bar Kushi (Facebook: Sake bar Kushi) last week I realized that this midtown Japanese restaurant offers much, much more than just skewers and sake...

...But more on that later. Lets take a look at Sake Bar Kushi's decor. I love all the dark wood here, every bit of it. I know some of you may think it's too dark but really, it works, especially with the long straight lines and wide panels. The warm lighting also brightens up the space so it's not dark at all and is in fact, quite cozy. The statement piece in the room is definitely the communal table in the middle which separates the semi-private booths on both sides. The display of sake and beer bottles dividing the table is also attractive and fun.

I call this wall "The Great Wall of Kushi"!

Following the The Great Wall of Kushi will lead you to Sake Bar Kushi's party room at the back. With three long tables stretched across, the room can comfortably accommodate 30 people. This is really great for birthdays and private parties.

Dessert Tasting at Richmond Station

This was pretty incredible. Five courses of plated dessert from Pastry Chef Farzam Fallah (@Farzam_Fallah) of Richmond Station (Twitter: @richmondstn, Facebook: Richmond Station). Although their dessert offerings have changed since this visit in November (sorry for the late post!) I still want to share the parade of intricate and beautifully prepared desserts from that evening with you. Feast your eyes, my friends.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHEESE CAKE

Cranberry, salted chestnut, mint 

(Chocolate delice, chocolate pebbles, chocolate soil) 

BUTTERSCOTCH POACHED APPLE CRUMBLE

Ginger bread, walnuts, wormwood ice cream

HONEY AND MILK KULFI

Preserved peaches, almond cake, Tonka panna cotta, milk paper, rosemary cure

Boom Breakfast & Co.

Open 7 days a week till 4pm Boom Breakfast & Co is the place to be whenever you're craving something casual and comforting for breakfast, lunch or brunch. With four locations in Toronto and the GTA (808 College St., 1036 St. Clair W., 174 Eglinton Ave W. and 145 Hawkview Blvd in Vaughan) and a large and extensive menu, I'm confident that you'll find something you want at Boom. The restaurant offers a variety of traditional breakfast combos, omelettes, eggs benny, pancakes, French toasts, waffles, as well as sandwiches, breakwiches, breakfast burritos, wraps, and burgers. Craving something more healthy? Opt for a salad and soup...Boom's got that covered too. No breakfast / brunch is complete without a cup of steaming hot coffee, right? Boom has cappucinos, lattes, espressos, hot chocolates, alongside a variety of smoothies, fresh squeezed juice and even booze! (Note: booze is available only at the College and St. Clair location).

 Boom's plush booths, molded wood paneling and cool blue subway tiles give off a very pleasant and modern diner atmosphere. This is their College location.

A good ol' cup of coffee for me. 

Bent Revisited

Despite a few minor hiccups, my first visit at Bent earlier this year made a lasting impression on me. It was an excellent meal. So when my friend Nic (@NicCanCook) suggested taking me to Bent (Twitter: @BentRestaurant, Facebook: Bent Restaurant) for my birthday, there was absolutely no hesitation on my part. I was eager to go back!

We had an early seating at 6 pm on a Wednesday night.

I ordered Bent's Asian Caesar because I really enjoyed it last time. Adorned with a more elaborate tomato garnish, the cocktail was just as savoury and tasty as I remembered. Maybe I'll order a different cocktail next time...maybe.

ASIAN CAESAR ($16)

Sobieski, Clamato,chili oil, Sriracha, coriander, hoisin, soya, sesame seed, ginger, house rim, pickled radish

PICKLED VEGETABLES WITH MUSTARD (amuse)

Brunch Preview at Earls

Starting this Saturday, August 3rd, Earls on 150 King St. W. (Twitter: @earlskingst, Facebook: Earls King Street) will be offering a brand new weekend brunch service (other Earls locations to start brunch service on Saturday, September 14th). Opening a half hour earlier than weekdays, Earls will serve brunch Saturday, Sunday and holiday Mondays from 11 am until 3 pm alongside their regular menu. Thanks to Jacque from Earls, I was invited to preview their new brunch menu yesterday.

Beautiful day. Perfect weather for a patio brunch.

Earls’ new fresh sourdough bread is really the star of their brunch. Rising slowly and naturally from an in-house grown sourdough starter, the dense, chewy new bread make its début on the brunch menu. Each of Earls restaurants has a starter of their own that they need to nurture and feed twice a day. 

Complimentary house made brioche cinnamon buns brushed with cream cheese icing for each table. 

Hunt Camp

My dinner at HUNT CAMP is without a doubt the BEST meal I've had so far this year. Not only was the food feast itself spectacular, the entire dining experience was INCREDIBLE.

HUNT CAMP (@HuntCampTO) is an exclusive dinner series brought to you by the folks at Farmhouse Tavern (@FARMHOUSEtavern). Owner Darcy MacDonell launched the temporary project on January 30th and since then, the dinners have been happening every Wednesday night at 7:30 pm. Running for 13 weeks until April 24th, the intimate dinners only seats six...and YES, I'm proud to say I was one of the lucky ones who managed to snatch up a reservation (it sold out extremely quick)!

Farmhouse's chef Alex Molitz is also the chef of HUNT CAMP.

 A restaurant within a restaurant, HUNT CAMP takes place in a cozy dining room in the back of Farmhouse Tavern.

Rose and Sons

The following is a tip for you readers: make sure you schedule an afternoon nap after Sunday brunch at Rose and Sons (Twitter: @RoseandSons, Facebook: Rose and Sons). You'll need it. Guaranteed. 

Located on 176 Dupont Street and opened for breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch and dinner, Rose and Sons is a new neighbourhood diner that does fancy comfort food (chef Anthony Rose of Rose and Sons prefers the phrase "country rustic" over "comfort food".) So what is "fancy comfort" / "country rustic", you ask? Well, think rich and hearty comfort food kicked up a notch. Actually, kicked up several notches. As a case in point, let us look at some of the items on Rose and Sons' menu:

Patty Melt Gurger - Grilled cheese, fried onions, fries, chili mayo

Pork Fried Rice - Peanuts, china town sauce, egg, ginger

Happy Pork Plate - Chop, kabanosy, dr bacon, applesauce, mustard pickle

Eggs - 3, schmaltz hash, toast, bacon or sausage pork chop

Griddled Brie Cornbread - Brisket, fried egg, maple syrup, chili sauce

Do you get it now? It's like comfort food on steroids. Or fatty delicious pork heaven.

People's Foods was an old diner that previously occupied Rose and Sons' space. The "Food" part remains intact.

The small 30-seat diner was bustling last Sunday afternoon (i.e. expect lineups).

Semi-enclosed at the front of Rose and Sons is the kitchen...probably one of the smallest kitchen I've ever seen.

Blowfish Restaurant

Blowfish (Facebook: Blowfish Restaurant + Sake Bar, Twitter: @BlowfishResto) has two locations in downtown: one at King & Bathurst (original location, established in 2003) and the other at Bay & Adelaide (opened in 2011). When my friend Amy (@lu_amy7) suggested to go to  Blowfish for dinner, I picked the Bay location only because I have a $20 gift card for that specific location. If not for the gift card, we probably would have ended up at the King location which was closer to the both of us.

Very chic lounge decor: structured dark wood panels, glossy bronze / high black leather booths, pink neon lights...

I found the general vibe at Blowfish pretty similar to Ki.

The Bellevue

My friend Cindy and I went to The Bellevue one Sunday for brunch. The Bellevue is located in Kensington Market at the corner of Bellevue and Nassau. During the week, we were brainstorming different brunch places; we wanted to go somewhere that 1) we both haven't been to, 2) was known for good brunches and 3) a place that did not have massive lineups. 


I remember when Cindy suggested The Bellevue to me she asked me if I was okay with it as it is not your typical brunch place. I didn't understand what she meant so she sent me a menu that she found online. After taking a look I was very intrigued because some stuff on their brunch menu was very...different. I told Cindy I was up for trying this place out.


When we arrived at The Bellevue the tables outside were already full. We reluctantly sat inside at a long table that faces out (we were sitting where the girl with the short blonde hair was in the picture above). Behind me was the bar and the specials were listed out on the small chalkboard. There was more seating in the room beside ours but in general The Bellevue is still very small but cute place.

After we ordered, we noticed an empty table outside so we quickly went for it =)

The Unusual - 2 eggs sunny side up, sanagan's summer sausage, kimchi, daily cheese, oven roasted beets, fruit. Woodlot multigrain ($12). This is what Cindy said about it: 

"It was certainly Unusual, kinda reminded of  me what I do when I'm at home by myself, just open up the fridge and eat whatever is in there lol.  I liked it though and would get it again.  It's a strange combination of food but it all went together oddly well.  I really liked the kimchi…dunno why, but kimchi makes everything tastier.  All of the things on the plate was of decent quality, no complaints.  It was fun and weird, I liked it." 

She also said that the sausages were on the leaner side.

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

I made muffins again last weekend. It's not like I particularly love muffins or something; I'd rather switch it up once in awhile and make cookies, scones, cakes, or whatever it may be. It's just that without an electric mixer, there is really not much choice in terms of what to bake. One is very limited when you need to pass up on any recipe that indicates "beat eggs until light and fluffy" or "beat egg whites until peaks are high" because you simply can't achieve that with just using a whisk.


Good news though! My mom bought a newer, more powerful Kitchen Aid stand mixer last week, and she will be giving me her old one!

My Mom's new 475 Watt
stand mixer

She needed a new one because her old Kitchen Aid mixer can no longer keep up with her bread making needs - it did not have the capacity nor power to make two loaves of bread at the same time.  However, her old one (which is 250 Watts) is more than sufficient for my baking needs! SO EXCITED! I'm imagining all the things I can make with it already =)  It will be kept at my boyfriend's place hehe.