restaurant review: grand electric

seasonal menu

kitschy decor

beef cheek, baja fish, spicy arbol chicken, and pork belly tacos

beef cheek taco, my fav!

ensaladelle electrico - it had coke reduction dressing!

tuna ceviche

giant churro

my man friend is a bit of a hipster foodie
so to celebrate his big 2-5
we went to the very hipster, very foodie Grand Electric in Parkdale, Toronto

Grand Electric is one of those restaurants that makes you feel special for having found the place and scored a seat -- arriving at 5:50 on a saturday saw a line of about 40 people waiting for the restaurant to open
firmly holding a no reservations policy, the waitlist allows a phone number to hold your spot instead of having to physically wait in line
smart policy since the wait was promised to be about 2 hours, there is absolutely no place to wait inside the teeny restaurant, and parkdale (despite the scenic name) is still on the other side of beautification and doesnt offer much in terms of time-wasting browsing

surprisingly in light of the hype surrounding grand electric, it turned out to be one of those restaurants that promises nothing and delivers beyond expectation
first good sign: the wait was only about an hour
second good sign: the prices were really reasonable

the food turned out to be somewhat spectacular
after watching all those food truck shows on foodnetwork, what grand electric served was what i imagined a really gourmet food truck would offer
my favourite was the beefcheek taco and tuna ceviche, both of which i strongly recommend
all the items we tried were packed full of flavour, super fresh, and surprisingly filling
(only deviation is the fish taco, which isnt the most flavorful of the bunch)
overall, i quite enjoyed the unassuming atmosphere and attentive service


----
5/5
Grand Electric
1330 Queen St West, Toronto M6K 1L4
(416) 627 - 3459
$70 dinner for two with deers, dessert, tax, and tip
note: no credit cards, but they do accept debit

FRANK Restaurant @ the AGO

seafood ceviche


jambon persillade with housemade cassis mustard and baguette toasts


pan seared, crisp skinned rainbow trout nicoise with fingerling potatoes, french green beans, cherry tomatoes with olive, anchovy vinaigrette and lemon anchovy aioli


grilled lamb and lavender house made sausage with warm du puy lentils and grilled summer vegetables




he <3 suits

summer berry pudding with strawberries, raspberries, red currants and vanilla whipped cream


sour cherry and almond cobbler with amaretto crème fraiche





enjoyed a wonderful summerlicious dinner at the FRANK restaurant at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)
i had not heard much about the restaurant previously, so knew little of what to expect

the clean modern interior was much larger than anticipated,
with multilevel seating and an open kitchen where we could see chefs in action
the trademark AGO light wood paneling was upheld throughout the restaurant,
allowing it to feel like a natural extension of the gallery space

i had heard quite a few stories of summerlicious menu items not living up to par of the restaurant's reputation
but was very pleasantly surprised with both the taste and the presentation of the dishes
it was obviously crafted with much attention,

my favourite dishes were the seafood ceviche and the grilled trout
i'm a big seafood person
and am a fairly good judge of freshness
the seafood ceviche was beautifully presented and very light
a great way to prelude a meal
the grilled trout was warm and buttery
with a delicious seared crust

i would definitely recommend the restaurant to those looking for a nice bite after a visit to nearby galleries
the atmosphere was unpretentious, and dressing up was definitely not a perquisite!

---------------------------------
4/5
summerlicious dinner menu: $35 dinner
http://www.ago.net/frank

Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 1G4

Restaurant Chartier

quite a line forms by 9pm


dont let the small front fool you...


its MASSIVE inside!


Museau de boeuf vinaigrette & Jambon de pays et saucisse seche


escargots! so delish we did two orders. plus it comes with really fun specialty utensils


Filet de colin creme de champignons  



Pied de porc grille frites


Confit de canard pommes grenailles


Baba au rhum chantilly


lime sorbet


Poire melba chantilly



to cap off our last night in Paris, 
i had dinner at the wonderful gem Restaurant Chartier 
situated near the grand boulevards metro station 
the restaurant has been serving delicious authentic french cuisine at an insanely affordable price since the turn of the century (1900s, not the 2000s)


the decor of the large bright dining hall doesnt seem to have changed much in the past hundred-odd years
with beautiful detailing from the bell epoque and waiters clad in classic wait-staff ware 
the atmosphere of the restaurant is as much of the experience as the food 


the large dining hall is cheerful and unpretentious 
with waiters scrawling orders onto your table cloth 
and food that comes way faster than you'd expect for a restaurant that seats hundreds 


suggestions: 
- like many older parisian establishments, central air-conditioning is none existent. Be prepared for the restaurant to get heated on a hot day, despite the best efforts of the ceiling fans
- the menu is in french with no english translations. waiters are passable in english, but don't expect them to be able to explain every dish. brush up your high school french, or just close your eyes and point. you likely wont be disappointed 
- come early if you don't want to wait. if you're a party of two, be prepared to share a table with another couple. on the bright side, its a great way to meet people. or at least copy your table partner's orders if you can't decipher the menu 


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5/5
three course dinner for 3 with alcoholic drinks: roughly 70 euros 
menu: http://www.restaurant-chartier.com/www/visit/atable.php
Restaurant Chartier 
7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre 75009 PARIS 
01 47 70 86 29 

Woodlot Restaurant & Bakery

freshly baked pumpernickel bread with butter

individually baked onion soup with caraway rye and gruyere


potato salad with whitefish


farm fresh handmade egg tagliatelle tosssed with slivers of pork  


chop of whey-fed pork with caramelized apple 

had a belated celebration for the boyfriend at the much hyped Woodlot Restaurant and Bakery
Woodlot opened earlier this year to much buzz and reservations are extremely hard to come by if you want to book for a normal eating time
however, they reserve communal bench seats and spaces at the bar for walk ins
so after a few futile trys at a reservation,
we took our chances, went in on an early tuesday evening
and immediately got a seat at the bar

the restaurant is relaxed and a bit hipster
so suits are absolutely not necessary
(but not out of place on a weeknight)

the bar area was sunken and a bit removed from the rest of the restaurant
so we didn't notice the huge wood burning oven until a while after being seated
nevertheless, the cheerful flames added a decidedly warm feel to the atmosphere

being seated at the bar, we had the advantage of getting immediate service from the bartender instead of having to wait for a waiter, so its hard for me to comment upon the speed of their service
our drinks were obviously made in front of us
and our appetizers came right away
however, the mains required a bit of a wait
which the bartender compensated by keeping us well stocked of fresh bread

i'm a huge fan of soup, and the onion soup was quite good with strong flavor
however, one draw back with the massive amounts of crutons inside
if your'e a slow eater (like me), then they are prone to getting soggy

the potato salad with whitefish was delicious
tender and flavourful
definitely recommended

my least favourite dish was the tagliatelle i ordered
although quite rich, the over-saltyness masked all other flavours
the pork was also overcooked and a bit hard
overall, the except for the tender fresh pasta, i wouldn't have rated this dish any better than the ones i make for myself

on the other hand,
the whey fed pork was absolutely delicious
the pork was fall off the bone tender
and the apple provided a nice sweet complement
the trick is to take the pork and apple in one bite
interestingly, the apple by itself was a bit bitter

overall, i would rate my experience at woodlot as enjoyable but not worth the hype

2.5/5
woodlot restaurant and bakery
293 Palmerston (college and palmerston)
dinner for two with drinks and no dessert: roughly $100