Restaurants

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Evoex said:
The Michelin Star one's are good for the experience but I find the better food is found further down the scale.

Can't remember the last time I spent $100+/person and was disappointed.
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Prime rib at the Keg was way tougher than it should have been. Now, I am comparing it to the last few times I made it where I cooked it for over 24 hours.

I like delicious food. My wife considered taking me a Michelin restaurant for my bday. Food+wine would have been the wrong side of $600 for two people. Nah. That can be for the future once the investments are pushing out money to support such stupidity. If I am going to spend stupid money, Alinea in Chicago would be fun. Probably close to $1000 CDN for two by the time you were done.
 
GreyGhost said:
Prime rib at the Keg was way tougher than it should have been. Now, I am comparing it to the last few times I made it where I cooked it for over 24 hours.

I like delicious food. My wife considered taking me a Michelin restaurant for my bday. Food+wine would have been the wrong side of $600 for two people. Nah. That can be for the future once the investments are pushing out money to support such stupidity. If I am going to spend stupid money, Alinea in Chicago would be fun. Probably close to $1000 CDN for two by the time you were done.
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Get the boeuf bourguignon.

Head Chef and Manager left MS for La Plume down near Spadina and Front. Also had a good time there recently.
 
Evoex said:
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View attachment 77375

Get the boeuf bourguignon.

Head Chef and Manager left MS for La Plume down near Spadina and Front. Also had a good time there recently.
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I try and avoid Toronto. That is very close to my wifes old apartment. I can't remember what was there when she was there but I was investing every dollar so no money for fancy food then. If I have a job in the area, I'll keep it in mind as work can pay.
 
Evoex said:
The Michelin Star one's are good for the experience but I find the better food is found further down the scale.

Can't remember the last time I spent $100+/person and was disappointed.
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Michelin places have to be consistent at the very top of their game night after night. Quite a few Michelin chefs withdraw from the listing as they say the stress is too much.

My issue is that some of the most delicious food I've had here is from sub $20 for a main Thai restaurants. To splurge a few hundred in a restaurant then has to match up to that and quite often they don’t sadly.

I have had a desert once in a Michelin place that was the best I've ever had though.
 
JC99 said:
I'm lucky that quite often I get taken out to top restaurants for free. I've been to two of TO's “top” rated restaurants, one Asian and one Italian. The Asian one was raved over but was incredibly pretentious and underwhelming, the Italian one managed to serve me a full caterpillar in a salad. Something that hasn’t happened in even the shittiest restaurants I've been in.

I’ve had way better luck in Montreal. Some awesome sushi places there.
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Almost everything in Montreal is wonderful.
 
Wingboy said:
Almost everything in Montreal is wonderful.
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Le Mista in Beloeil is fanstastic. Warm cheese croutons in salad were a surprise but delicious. I haven't been in a decade but I still try to replicate their Mafalda (pasta with garlic, almonds, shrimp and fresh herbs). I'm heading to eastern townships in a few months. I may have to hit there on the way by.
 
One of my fav lunch spots (mostly soup/sandwich at lunch) has also gone downhill sadly. Enough that I likely won't go back. Prices up, flavour down. People still rave about it but it's not the same place (or I've hit it a couple times on their bad days). Thing is, like others here, we make better tasting food at home and since it's way cheaper we'd rather spend that cash or fun stuff.
Some more ethnic Asian restaurants we'll go out but like others have said it's the small hole in the wall places that I've always like the most. Best Chinese/Cantonese food I've had was some place just down from the AGO. They didn't speak English and no English on the menu so I just pointed to a few dishes hoping for the best. Don't know what i ate but it was amazing.
Best Thai I've had was in Durham. I'd been thee a few times and always had great dishes. Now I just tell them to bring me what they like and they don't disappoint (most of the time they make something that isn't even on the menu).
 
Most of what I’m finding in south Asian ( Thai) and higher end middle eastern is they have a food culture so they seem to put more effort into delicious and fresh . Pub for around here is all Gordon’s Food supply frozen and into the high speed convection oven or the fryer . It’s tasty but it will kill you eventually.


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I met an old friend for lunch last week. I asked him for a suggestion where we could meet and sit for a while to catch up, with location being convenient for both of us, and food & drink quality being basic and not necessarily special. He suggested Perkins (!!). It's EVERYTHING I avoid when eating out being a big chain, but I said OK.

We sat there for 3.5 hours, at least an hour before ordering. We both had a club sandwich with fries and shared a pot of coffee. The sandwich had proper sliced turkey breast, wasn't slathered in mayo, and came with about a cup of fries. The coffee was at least drinkable, but it was also free.

Our bills came out to $17.00 each INCLUDING tax and a 20% tip.

I remarked to the server that I hadn't had such an inexpensive meal since about 1998.
 
JC99 said:
If I can cook it I don’t want to pay a fortune for it. If I can’t then I'm ok forking out a bit but it’s silly prices now. Burgers for $20? Not a chance. I don’t care if they come with grated unicorn horn on it. We hardly ever go out for a meal now. Instead we spend the cash on ingredients for good home cooked food. Truffle oil on a home made pizza is next level. Wild dried mushrooms in a soup is delicious.

The things I can cook has increased the more practice I get. Just need to work on breads and pastries.

Make 3x the amount, freeze the rest and you have home cooked meals, better than restaurant quality whenever you want.
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A lot of trendy recipes are based on using peasant cuts of meat, improved by marinades and wines. Since you're saving a bundle on eating at home you can upgrade the dish by using a better grade meat.
 
GreyGhost said:
I like to support local establishments. The bill has noticeably grown recently. Other than gtam dinner, I have mostly moved on from places like the keg. Middling food at premium prices.

Kids like fast food. Blah. I try to discourage it as much as possible. Expensive and marginal at best.
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I've been to the Keg twice recently, once for lunch and once for dinner. The price difference wasn't that great per person and I preferred the lunch menu.
 
nakkers said:
The days of taking the family to Montana’s or The Keg have been in the rear view since Covid. Hit up Swiss Chalet recently.


Been very selective and purposefully choose small and local establishments. Here in Crystal Beach is South Coast. Friendly, good food and reasonable.


For sure we have adjusted how casually we take casual dining. It’s spendy!
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Family diners rarely get Michelin ratings but some serve good grub. Laki's in Smithville gets a visit when I'm picking up some hardwood at the woodshed. CB is off my radar just because.

I've seen a couple of diners go the Cora route, breakfast and lunch only and closed at 3:00. It's an interesting model.
 
basmn said:
People can't afford groceries, how can they afford to eat out, no wonder restaurants are closing
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What gets me is the families in the USA living in cars and eating at fast food outlets.

Here McD combos for four will set you back $50.

A cooked chicken at Costco is $8.00, $10.00 at a budget grocery. Add a bag of salad and some starch ie potato salad and pocket the extra $30.00. Drink water to wash away the salt. The diet still sucks but $30.00 buys a lot of antacid.

Throw in a can of beans as well. The car windows may fog up but your colon will thank you.
 
For breakfast in the Niagara Region.

There is an Esso truck stop off the QEW at Glendale that is a gem. Staff been there for years, always open and quality is excellent for a truck stop and priced well.

We have a few family owned independents that keep the lights on and keep pricing reasonable and coffee flowing that won’t break the bank.

For all you can eat brunch, the good ones have closed or just gone down hill. Can’t speak for the GTA.


Coras is a no go. Did a business meeting in Alberta at one in a November. The place was huge and empty. The food and cost was terrible. I’ll never return to a Cora’s again. Shame as they were pretty good pre Covid.
 
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GreyGhost said:
Prime rib at the Keg was way tougher than it should have been. Now, I am comparing it to the last few times I made it where I cooked it for over 24 hours.

I like delicious food. My wife considered taking me a Michelin restaurant for my bday. Food+wine would have been the wrong side of $600 for two people. Nah. That can be for the future once the investments are pushing out money to support such stupidity. If I am going to spend stupid money, Alinea in Chicago would be fun. Probably close to $1000 CDN for two by the time you were done.
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My favourite prime rib sandwich was at the Low Gap Cafe just outside of Jasper Arkansas. OSB furniture, cracked concrete floors, people arriving on bikes, canoes and horseback. Good food.

I'd rather go to a place with a nice ambiance, character and views while spending half the money to get there. Arkansas is a stretch, 20 hours riding.

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