Dave "Maple Syrup" O.'s Profile

Oh my god... I would drive through a pack of cute, doddering grandmothers for a Black Camel sandwich!

It's that good... It's no less than the greatest meat-delivery system I can imagine.  It might even be better than Bakesale Betty's, though the Camel has no analogue. Apples and oranges.

Having seen it's stellar reviews and realizing that it was less than a subway stop away, I walked down for lunch.  I got the "impossibly tender" beef brisket with bbq, chipotle mayo and caramelized onions.  I don't know how it was for the sandwich, but I'm pretty sure I came first!

The shop is small but clean, and they have lots of desserts and canned beverages there.  You might be lucky enough to snag a table, but it's really a take-out joint.  I have to go back and try the pulled pork and the seared cold steak sandwiches.

There is simply no other sandwich that can top the ecstasy of the Black Camel, you have to go there asap.

Brunch was good, and had an enormous variety of items, but the things that were wrong on this Sunday afternoon were the basics.  The eggs were poor quality and the bacon was deep-fried and deep-fried *way* too long.  If there are two items at brunch to get right, I would think eggs and bacon are the ones.

That said, the desserts were amazing, and the cappelletti and cannelloni were great, the roast beef was exactly how I like it, nice and red.

I am not a huge fan of buffet, as I just overeat and at the same time, rarely eat enough to cover the cost of the meal.

The Hot House is strangely laid out and even with a Jazz band playing (a scorching 25 minute rendition of Caravan) the place felt corporate and bland.

If you are looking for a good buffet, then you might have a hard time beating the selection here, but for the money, you can get full elsewhere, and with better food.

Open since 1967, and it probably hasn't been cleaned since then. Despite the humble storefront, Ali Baba makes one terrific shawarma.  Some of you may know my proclivity towards the hottest items on the menu, and the stock shawarma from Ali Baba had me sweating... the hot sauce is incredible.  The chicken was that perfect middle-ground of juicy and crunchy and seasoned rather nicely with a roasting onion on the top of the spit.

You have the choice of a traditional pocket pita, or a whole-wheat flatbread.  But be wary, choose wrong and be scorned forever!  There can be only one true shawarma pita.

In lieu of the standard purple turnip pickles, Ali Baba had pink pickled cabbage, which was pretty awesome.

Ali Baba makes a great, tasty shawarma, it's not as good as the Empire, but it's a worthy substitute, and it's the spiciest one I've ever had.  I'll be back, though probably on a Monday when Empire is closed. :)

What a great event!  Chino Locos has a great space, a hip and wonderful staff, and fantastic burritos. It would have been nicer for me had they not been two flights of stairs above the street, but c'est la vie! ;)

The food was delicious, I tried the pulled pork and fish burritos, both chow mein style, and they were fantastic.  The eclectic mix of beans (including edamame) was a nice change from the standard Mission St. burrito. The whole wheat burritos were delicious, but a bit of a challenge with only a fork.

The chipotle sauce in the yellow bottles was robust and spicy, but the salsa verde took it to a whole other level.  I had a huge glob on top of my fish burrito and I think I had my own "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer", I'm not sure where Chino Locos found the Guatemalan Insanity Pepper, but I'm glad they did. :P

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the staff prior to the event, and helping get everything set up.  Many thanks to Kasey for keeping the drinks flowing, and to Kate "the underaged" M. for working the door with nothing but San Pellegrino to keep her going!

This was a fun event, and I can't wait for the next one, keep the good times going Kat, you are truly l'embajadora mas fina!

China Cottage is a quaint little space, with a nice decor and mediocre food.  I went for lunch, and to be fair, the $6.25 lunch special is a lot of food, and it's definitely edible, hard to demand high-quality for 6 bucks.

The wait staff was quiet and quick, and I had my chili chicken in an almost scary-short time.  The lunch specials come with either a pop, a spring roll or hot and sour soup.  The soup was somewhat bland and could have been simmered longer, but the broth had good consistency.

The chicken was a little better quality than Lin, but the sauce wasn't as thick or spicy, and didn't have nearly enough garlic.

It is a decent, cheap option for Hakka lunch in the area.

This is one of the best shawarmas I've had in the city, second only to Empire Shawarma. The seasoning on the chicken is incredible, they marinate the beef shawarma au jus until perfectly tender and their falafels are light and delicious.

Their dinner plates are great and they come with roasted potatoes, lentil rice and a little salad, plenty of food for just over 7 bucks.  The shawarma wraps are a little expensive for a shawarma (around 5) but are big, I can only eat one. The combination of tahini and spice with Le Gourmet's tender marinated chicken is unbeatable, they are saucy and delicious!

I haven't tried any, but they have a big display case full of gelato.  I usually opt for a baklava, which are fantastic here, but you should always warm baklava, so take it home and nuke it for 15 seconds, mmm.

The owner and his staff are all really nice and there's never much of a wait.  The location is a little out of the way, but if you are in the area, definitely try Le Gourmet, it will not disappoint!

Swish is a very nice restaurant, I had a great meal with friends and the shabu shabu was really well presented and delicious.  The renovated decor is really earthy and warm.  They have done a spectacular job setting up the space. I really enjoyed the ambiance, if only there were some more people in the place.

We started with some jellyfish-noodle salad, yam frites with spicy mayo and some excellent pork and chive dumplings, we also had the spicy shrimp which was a little too bold and was topped with what tasted like standard bbq sauce, not the greatest flavour to mix with shrimp IMO.

The shabu shabu comes out with plenty of veggies and a modest portion of seafood, beef or mushrooms.  The mushrooms were all clean and fresh, superb quality; the beef was bright and well-mottled, an excellent cut; and the seafood was fresh and delicious.  They have cute little portable stoves for the broth, and the fish broth was superb, clear and tasty without a lot of salt.  Once you have cooked and eaten the veggies and meat, they prepare either noodles or rice in the broth right at the table to finish.

I tried soju for the first time and it was quite good, we tried the ginger-infused and it was tasty without being overwhelming as ginger sometimes can. The infusion simply masked some of the harshness associated with soju.  

Swish is a little pricey for the full shabu shabu, but it was a good dining experience, go check it out!

Dining in Durham is getting better all the time, there are a few places trying to bring a good dining experience to the 'remote' region. :P Hot Rocks has decent food, great service and a really nice atmosphere.   The place is always busy and has a nice, clean, modern decor that doesn't distract.

We tried the vegetarian nachos and goat cheese medallion, which were both excellent appetizers, but served on some new square-glass tableware they were trying out which was way too big. It looked nice, but you have to be somewhat practical, two apps took up our entire table!

I enjoyed the pizza, it was the Spicy Cajun with blackened chicken,  sweet potato and a drizzle of garlic aioli on top.  The pizzas at Hot Rocks are probably the best in the area, they are really good.

The rest of the menu looks quite yummy, they have a large assortment of pastas and meat dishes, but disappointingly, no vegetarian options right off the menu.  They are happy to modify their menu, but that is never as good as some well-thought-out veggie options.

Great place, I'll go again next time I'm lost and wandering through Whitby.

I had an amazing dinner experience at the Nose.  It's got spectacular service, great ambiance, a hip and trendy clientele and some truly incredible gastronomic delights.

I started my meal with a snifter of excellent port, and the gorgonzola-stuffed fig with prosciutto, which was divine!  My entree was the delightful peppered halibut and shrimp cartoccio, the fish was flaky and moist and with just the right amount of pepper, tomatoes and onions.   It was sublime.

It's easy to mistake the decor for laziness, but a lot of work (and not a lot of money) went into making this hipster dive gourmand house.  Saving money where prudent and spending it on the kitchen and top-notch ingredients is what makes good food. The proof is in the pudding, when you walk in to Gio's it exudes a sense of hip-apathy, while still being inviting and cozy.

The service was excellent for a table of 20, I can't fault the wait staff for being a little slow, co-ordinating with the kitchen to have 20 appetizers and 20 entrees with sides ready simultaneously is a tremendous challenge, and I feel they did a great job.

Gio's is a great place to have a quality Italian meal, it's expensive, but I think good things are worth paying for. :)

I wasn't overly impressed with the cafeteria-gourmet vibe in South Street.  You pay restaurant prices for a quick burger in a bag and some pretty good fries.  There are tons of great toppings to put on your burger, and the burgers themselves are pretty good, though the one I had was a little dry after taking it home.

The poutine looks pretty good, but I can't justify the extra thousand calories on an already leaden meal.  Service is quick, burgers are expertly assembled like ducks in a row.

I'm just pretty ambivalent about the burgers... it was a better burger than most fast-food joints but not worth the price.