Chris "wapcaplets" E.'s Profile

The service at this pub is friendly and it's a nice, clean place with a comfortable feel to it. I've eaten here twice and both times it was obvious that the food was frozen and deep-fried. There's nothing particularly wrong with that, per se, but it's worth knowing going in. The first time I was there I had wings that were just flash-fried with sauce poured on afterwards (i.e. the sauce essentially slid off the wings and was not cooked into the meat). Tonight I had a chicken sandwich and wanted to get mashed potatoes instead of fries. I asked if the potatoes were real or instant and the response was "they're brought in." I can understand certain components of pub fare being frozen and brought in but how hard is it to peel potatoes and mash them on the premises? I don't want to sound too harsh because it's basically a nice place but I just wish they served food that wasn't just breaded, frozen, and made by McCain.

Decent food but pretty expensive for burgers & fries. I had the chicken sandwich with avocado with sweet potato fries. I didn't get the impression that the fries were frozen, which is a big plus but they were a little moist for my liking. The chicken sandwich was good and the avocado was fresh but the piece of chicken I got was pretty small. Additionally, this restaurant's seating is extremely cramped. Even the anemic hipsters present had to squeeze into the booths. Not a bad place but overpriced for what you get.

It's an Olive Garden. You know what you're getting when you go there. I'm ranking them as high as I am solely based on the service. It looks like I'm in the minority based on the rest of the reviews here but the server we had was friendly and very attentive without being phony or suffocating.

Today wasn't my first time eating at the Molson Pub but it has gone significantly downhill since the last time I went two years ago. I ordered their fish & chips with sweet potato fries and a beer. The fish and chips were decent enough but the beer was served in a plastic cup. If I'm paying almost $9 for a glass of domestic beer I expect it to be in a glass. The issue I have with this place was the speed of service. The staff was friendly enough but, from the time we'd finished our food to when we had our bill, it was at least half an hour and the restaurant was not busy. Additionally, I asked for separate bills for my wife and I since I'm travelling for work and wanted solely my portion on a bill and it was apparently a bigger imposition that I would have thought. I suspect that, since they're in an airport, they're of the viewpoint that they "have you" so I wouldn't suspect service to dramatically improve based on Yelp review. Next time I'm hitting up the food court, though. I see no point in patronizing a restaurant that's clearly coasting.

I won't claim to be a judge of what makes for good Japanase cuisine nor can I claim to be able to valuate its authenticity. I knows what I likes and the food at Hanaya is delicious. Both times I've gone I've started with the tempura yams and avocados. The breading is light and crispy and the texture of the vegetables is ideal. The first time I went there I ordered the spicy chicken dinner and my wife ordered the salmon. I really liked that they served the food on hot iron plates and it was, for all intents and purposes, as hot at the end of the meal as it was when they brought it out. I was there for lunch today and had the teriyaki chicken bento which was a very satisfying quantity for lunch. It's not the cheapest place you'll ever go for dinner but I'd say it's marginally more expensive than, say, Swiss Chalet with much better food.

I went to the 203 Dundas East location of Smoke's Poutinerie this week for lunch one day. For weeks I've wanted to try it out with great anticipation but my experience didn't blow me away. I had a small order of the poutine with bacon. The fries were good unto themselves but, in my experience, larger softer fries (what I'm accustomed to calling "steak fries") are ideal for poutine since they soak up the gravy better. The fries at Smokes were relatively narrow, crispy fries. The gravy that was on the fries was of a nice flavour but it was runnier than I like for poutine. The consequence of the consistency of the gravy was that it didn't embrace the curds and they didn't melt very much, which is too bad because the curds themselves were quite good. The bacon on top of the poutine just made it "food porn." It was tasty but, for me, it's just too much. Overall, I don't have anything bad to say about Smoke's because the individual ingredients of the poutine I had were good but they did not come together in a way that I like best when it comes to poutine. I will say that I really appreciated that Smoke's sold Pop Shoppe drinks as beverage choices.

Dangerous Dan's is one of those Toronto institutions that you just need to go to at least once to say that you've eaten there. It's on a part of Queen Street that hasn't quite been gentrified yet but, honestly, that's essential for your Dangerous Dan's experience. If I had to pick one word to describe "The Double D" it would have to be "grimy" but I honestly mean that in the most endearing way possible. The outside of the diner is weather-beaten and portions of the signage are almost unreadable. Inside, all of the seats are old van bench seats and captain's chairs, which I'd like to think are from the former daily drivers of the owner and staff, covered in slightly cleaner fabric. To dust off an old Rodney Dangerfield chestnut, the gimmick at Dangerous Dan's can be summed up as "the food ain't great but the portions are terrific!" The menu boasts hamburgers of increasingly obscene size with names like "The Elvis" (a burger with peanut butter, fried banana, and bacon) and "The Collosal Colon Clogger" (the ultimate in gluttony boasting a quarter pound of cheese, a quarter pound of bacon, and two fried eggs on a 24 oz patty). The first time I ate here I played it safe and ordered one of the more modestly-sized hamburgers. It was a thick patty on a fresh bun with intentionally thickly cut toppings. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I had half of a tomato on my burger. While the quantity of food was more than ample and reasonably priced, the hamburger itself was bland. I tasted no seasoning at all and was essentially eating a big pile of ground beef. The next time I went I had their chicken fingers on the advice of a friend. Despite their reputation for their burgers I have to say that their chicken fingers are a far superior meal. I couldn't tell if these had been made on site or cooked from frozen but they tasted fresh and were of non-uniform enough shape that I'd believe they were made to order. As I stated earlier, Dangerous Dan's is just one of those places you have to go to at least once. Between the food, the ambience, and the gruff demeanor of the staff it's a truly unique experience.

For fast-food burritios, Z-Teca is my favourite place to go in Toronto. When it comes right down to it, it's pretty hard to screw up a burrito. It's rice, beans, cheese, and meat rolled up in a tortilla. As long as the tortilla isn't stale and the fillings are cooked to an even mediocre quality you've got yourself a serviceable burrito. That being said, there are more than enough places that find a way to get it wrong. Z-Teca offers steak, chicken, pork, and seasoned beef as meat choices, all of which are delicious. I typically get chicken but the seasoned beef is a real treat. It's worth mentioning that all of their meat is grilled and sliced; no ground meat or microwave shenanigans at all which scores big points with me. Their fillings give you more options than your typical burrito bar with grilled "fajita vegetables" (peppers and red onions) and grilled corn (my personal favourite). They offer mild, medium, and spicy salsa and I like that their medium salsa has a noticeable kick to it unlike other medium salsas that err on the side of bland in so many other places. They also offer guacamole but at a $1 incremental charge which is the one strike I'd give against Z-Teca. What sets Z-Teca apart from other burrito bars in Toronto is the fact that they don't try to over-season their contents. Beans, rice, meat, and cheese create a great medley of flavours and textures on their own yet I'm always surprised at how often Mexican places douse their food in generic taco seasoning which kills the natural flavour of everything in the burrito. While some would assert that this may make Z-Teca's burritos "inauthentic" I prefer to say that Z-Teca takes a "less is more" approach to their seasoning to great effect. I wish, like I do for all burrito bars in Toronto, that they'd make their own tortillas or acquire ones freshly made that day. I'd gladly pay a dollar or two more to eliminate pre-packaged tortillas.

When I travel (which isn't very often) I always try and check out the local game store of whatever town I'm in. Back in 2007 I was in San Jose on business and I did some exploring. I've been to a lot of comic and/or game stores and there are plenty out there that are ho-hum but this place was a very pleasant surprise when I found it. The first time I went the store was still at their old location (apologies; I forget the address). I was really impressed by the depth and breadth of stock that Game Kastle had on its shelves. Many game stores will have one or two lines that they specialize in but I'm not exaggerating by saying that Game Kastle stocked everything. If it was relevant and published within the past five years they had it on their shelf of roleplaying games. Not to over-use the word but the diversity of stock they had in miniatures games was impressive. I know of no venues near where I live that carry that many miniatures from so many different lines.  I spend two hours browsing the store agonizing over what to purchase! The next time I was in San Jose they had moved to their 1350 Coleman Avenue location. They still had all the great stock only now in a gigantic store with plenty of parking and in-store game space. Every time I travel to San Jose my first stop is always Game Kastle. I really don't enjoy work-related travel but Game Kastle makes it enjoyable! Although I have certain other games stores in my heart as my favourites on an entirely objective level I'd have to say that Game Kastle is practically perfect.

I had a chicken burrito from Mission Burrito today and I have to say that it was a definite thumbs-in-the-middle experience. The ingredients all seemed about as fresh as one would expect from a food court burrito stand but there was an overall lack of flavour. The colour of the rice suggested that it was seasoned but I couldn't discern any and a small but noticeable portion of the rice was hard and dried out. The chicken on the burrito was shredded, which is definitely better than ground, but when I have a burrito I much prefer the texture of whole pieces of chicken. I enjoy spicy, flavourful food but not hot-for-the-sake-of-hot. Since this was my first time ordering from Mission Burrito, I went with the medium heat. If I eat there again I'll go for hot as their medium was tame by my standards. I did like the fact that they don't charge extra for guacamole which is something every other burrito place in Toronto I've been to does. The portion size is also very adequate. I ordered a large burrito and a Jarrito's soda and it came to under $10 before the 25 cent Interac fee, which is another strike. It's 2010. People use Interac. Stop with the gouging. Overall, apart from the dried out rice which may be due to the fact that I ordered just after the lunch rush, there was nothing wrong with their food; I just found it a little bland.