It’s remarkable how Gravenhurst calms down after October. There’s less cars along the main strip, the queue in front of the bakery disappears, and lunch at the Muskoka Bay Resort can be a private dining experience. Yes, on a Saturday lunch, we had the place to ourselves. Now that’s luxury. Being the only table that a restaurant is focused on has major perks. The centre table by their expansive windows was set to provide us with maximum sunlight. But, of course, if we didn’t like all the sun we had our pick of other tables. The water was set, we could take as much time as needed, and we could ..read more

One of the quintessential items to have in Nova Scotia is a lobster roll. And like every tourist, I was going to get my hand on one (erm… perhaps more than one). My first was enjoyed fresh off the plane, at the Halifax harbour, at a place that some would consider a tourist trap. Yes, I visited Dave’s Lobster. Their half n’ half ($29 based on the market price) was the ideal way to sample two of their creations, a roll made with cold and warm lobster fillings: The chilled version, dubbed the local, was tossed with mayonnaise, celery, and chives. I found it was refreshing for a hot day and giv ..read more

If the walls could speak at Blomidon Inn, I’m sure it would have stories to tell. From its construction as the Burgess family’s private home in the late 1800s, it has gone on to serve as apartments, the residence for Acadian University girls, before finally becoming the current inn in 1980. The main floor of the ornate inn is largely used as the dining area for their restaurant. Where you can enjoy a 3-course meal ($62.50). Or add an extra $2.50 to receive a small salad course between the main and dessert. For those want a smaller dinner, dishes are also available a la carte (prices reflect ..read more

If you’re an indecisive person, don’t go to Arisu. Their menu will start giving you heart palpitations as you realize you may never make it to the halfway point. Korean barbeque, Korean dishes of many kinds, sushi, and even more are displayed in full glory. Move over Pickle Barrel, this menu has you beat. Let me try to help you out here. With cooking stations at every table, Korean barbeque is a natural choice. Go for the porky and piggy set for two ($59.99) that offers three cuts: pork belly, shoulder blade, and honeycomb (like pork belly but more tender). Grill up the pork and tuck slices ..read more

Friday Burger Company isn’t named to indicate your Friday cheat meal should be a meaty handheld creation, rather is christened after Chef Joe Friday, the owner of the restaurant. Dedicated to one of his favourite meals, he ate a lot of burgers before developing his namesake recipe. I like the thickness of the Friday Burger ($14) patty: it’s not overly thin for a smashed burger so there’s still a meaty feel. It just needs to be pressed more evenly as the thin outer ring became awfully crunchy… to the point I was afraid I’d chip a tooth on some bits. The rich but not overly greasy patty start ..read more

After dining at Estiatoria Milos, the concept of ‘going all out’ sticks out to me. They went all out on the experience: creating a surreal high ceiling dining room and staffing it with a village (I have never seen so many people working at one restaurant). And for the diner, you must go all out on a meal as sticker shock is a possibility while pursuing the menu. There’s a big production, almost insistence, of leading tables to the fresh catch area where seafood is displayed in all it’s glory. I find it a bit morbid to see the poor creature that’s about to be eaten, but diners seem to like loo ..read more

Eggs are versatile. Used as an ingredient in an appetizer through dessert or served during breakfast to dinner. To prove it’s flexibility, 41 restaurants across Toronto are showcasing an egg dish on their menu from October 18 to November 30, 2024, for the Dine With Eggs event. Lucky me, I sampled six of their creations at the launch. And while there were a lot of egg sandwiches, each had their own twist. The Croque a la Daisy is that gets-you-out-of-bed after a night of drinking breakfast sandwich from Lazy Daisy's Café. Their version of a croque madame starts with a rosemary cheddar biscu ..read more

It was a sad day when I tucked into my last bowl of the namesake dish from Beef Noodle Soup Restaurant. But, in its place Pho Thanh Cong has sprung up and offers their version of satisfying beef noodle soup. Gone is the dark 80s décor, the dining room now bright and airy with comfortable hug-your-bum chairs. You’ll find a lot of filling and little wrapper in their deep-fried spring rolls ($6 for two). With the delicate skin and ample filling, the spring rolls have a light juicy quality that makes you want to have a second. Maybe I can’t share these anymore. Hulking beef bones are now the ..read more

Vegetarians rejoice, you’re no longer restricted to Monday and Tuesdays for eating at Fat Choi, the plant-based menu run within Soos restaurant. So go ahead, make a weekend plan to dig into some flavourful Asian creations. They even started offering a six-course tasting menu ($55 per person) allowing the table to sample 60% of their offerings. It started with some scrumptious cakes ($14; normally 4 to an order), a soft steamed rice cake topped with finely chopped preserved radish. Much silkier than radish cake, it’s a cross between that and silken tofu. And while the sweet and salty radish ..read more

Never did I think I’d be having Indian food in Halifax. Yet, while walking around the Brewery Market, waiting for the Alexander Keith’s tour to start, we stumbled upon the intoxicating aromas of Tawa Grill and eyed the pans of delicious food laid out across the tables. Tawa is a Nepalese Indian restaurant with an extensive menu of Indian and Hakka specialities. And since it’s located in Halifax, many traditional dishes include seafood such as the chili fish ($16.50). Flakey tender pieces of cod were tossed in a sauce that had just enough heat to salivate the tongue without scorching. Arrivin ..read more