Kat "a-ha aficionado" F.'s Profile

One of three reasons to go to Buffalo, NY.**

On my quarterly trips to Buffalo our group always eats at this IHOP without fail. It's conveniently located on the way to Walden Galleria and it's almost always a shitshow, so get there early if you expect to be seated and served with any semblance of efficiency. It's a catch 22 because in a way you want to eat here for breakfast BEFORE you shop, but if you do, any clothing you try on at the mall afterwards won't fit your newly acquired girth. If you go after shopping you won't get a seat. So take your pick.

As with any IHOP try not to order too much food, because the portions are staggering. I've never seen anyone finish a stack of pancakes and the general clientele is rather rotund if you know what I'm saying. The portions are just too much - to the point that watching some of the other people eat is an instant motivator to renew that gym membership.

I once saw a family of three order chili cheese fries, five stacks of pancakes, french toast, eggs, a side of grits, sausage, bacon and chicken fingers. I was immediately overcome by the urge to order a Bowflex, Gazelle, Shake Weights, Yoga Booty Ballet DVDs and any other product that Tony Little*** endorses.

I usually order the stuffed french toast (see pic!) and something eggy on the side. I almost never get the pancakes, because as mentioned, it's just too much food. Pancake portions could easily be only two and I'd be satisfied.

For a while the Best Waitress On The Planet™ worked here. Her name was Ali Baba (!!) and she was the fucking best. So friendly, so motherly and comforting, and always had the biggest smile on her face. To date she's one of my favourite servers of all time. Then the next time we came back for pumpkin pancakes in October, she was gone. Allegedly moved back to Cheektowaga to work on a corn farm or some such. Ali Baba, if you're out there: WE MISS YOU!

Open 24 hours a day on Fridays and Saturdays.

**The other two are: 1) Walden Galleria for the CCO, J.Crew and other cheap shopping, and 2) Buffalo International Airport for dirt cheap flights within the US and Europe. It's worth the drive to Buffalo!!
***http://images.business...

You really can't beat the value of $5.50 (including tax) for a three egg combo. Even Sunset Grill can't offer three eggs, home fries, toast and bacon or sausage for that price, unless you show up at an ungodly hour like 8am for the early bird special.

My eggs were perfectly done, toast was nicely buttered and the addition of sliced tomatoes was nice in place of meat. Homefries could have used some spices like paprika or cumin to liven them up - the texture was great but they required heavy salting and ketchuping. I didn't leave an iota of food on my plate.

I don't feel out of line mentioning that my server (who appears to be the owner's mom) was not well versed in the art of hospitality. Peter (the owner/cook) came out to ask me how my food was, but she didn't. She spent most of the time behind the counter sorting jam packets or whatever she was doing back there. There was nothing particularly egregious about my service experience but it just wasn't very welcoming or attentive - when I ordered the combo I wasn't asked how I wanted my eggs, type of toast or meat, nothing. She came back later to confirm those options but really it should have been noted immediately. At a diner I expect the service to be friendlier.

Decor, as mentioned by others, is forgettable. Think the early days of IHOP (Buffalo locations only) church banquet hall. Certainly not befitting of the "diner" name. Booths would be nice.

Leslieville Diner has only been in the neighbourhood since the beginning of the year, and with an improvement in service (perhaps hire some young, peppy waitresses who'll put a smile on the weekend breakfast crew's faces, yeah?) I can see it sticking around!

I'll be back to try the benny. 3.5 stars.

As far as I can tell, M&B Yummy is the only 100% vegetarian Ethiopian restaurant in all of Toronto. It's way out west in Parkdale, far away from "Little Ethiopia" and if you make the trek you can get stuffed silly for $10 or less.

NOTE: All mentions of meat to follow are "faux meat."

They have $4 soups made fresh daily, like Ethiopian minestrone (need to try), lentil, red cabbage, ground beef/black bean, beef/vegetable, chickpea and vegetable.

Two of us shared a vegetarian combo for $9 - by far the cheapest veg combo I've seen at any Ethiopian restaurant - and it was a shit ton of food. The owner brought us more injera than we frankly knew what to do with. I didn't want there to be leftovers, but with the amount of food set out in front of us, it was inevitable, plus, we needed to make room for M&B's famed desserts.

With the typical "wots" (missir and shiro) we also enjoyed a fabulous pumpkin stew that was slow cooked in ethiopian spices, yellow beans, fasolia, gomen (collards) and cabbage stew. There was also a "scrambled egg" (also faux) that I liked but found a bit too wet. I'm curious to try their brunch, which looks tasty and affordable - they even have a Hangover Special of chickpea fit fit (made with clarified butter) for $7.

The decor is nothing exciting - it may even be a tad depressing (let's just say it's right at home in Parkdale) but no matter - the star attraction here is the food and warm, friendly staff.

Closed weekdays from 4-5pm and on Tuesdays.

Who knew there was a neighbourhood in Toronto called "Little Ethiopia"? Not this girl. Well, if you head over to Danforth/Greenwood you'll come across it - a smattering of Ethiopian restaurants that will give Nazareth, Ethiopia House and M&B Yummy a run for their money. If you didn't also know, at last count there were over 11,000 Ethiopians living in Toronto.

The food is dirt cheap. Like, a ridiculous amount of food that you can scarcely finish between two people for $13. This particular Ethiopian restaurant isn't strictly vegetarian (like M&B Yummy) but they do have a vegetarian platter with about ten items on it (six menu items plus whatever extra stuff they have kicking around in the kitchen that particular night) for $13 with ample servings of injera. Tonight we feasted on shiro wot (chickpea), missir wot (red lentils), cabbage stew, potatoes, collard greens, tomato salad with fresh ginger dressing and four other lentil concoctions.

The decor is pure Club Med, and so is the kickass music that soundtracked our meal. There are straw, hut-like coverings for each hourglass-shaped table, and the lighting is unusual (all of the lightbulbs are red). There's a lot of palm tree art -- apparently there are palm trees in Ethiopia? And the music...oh man. I felt like I was at a Hawaiian lagoon.

Nothing particularly groundbreaking about this fruit market, although it does lure you in from outside with its beautiful produce display and was open till past 9pm on a Monday. I did remark on the unique size of their red and yellow peppers - the size of a lemon instead of the usual massive glob. I don't know about you, but sometimes I just need a small amount of pepper so this rare sighting was kinda fun.

A case of Maroc clementines for only $3.99 was quite a tempting purchase but I had a few more stops to make so I wasn't keen on carrying a crate with me. A wide variety of fresh herbs, specials on cases of pop and a huge pet food and greeting card section were also of note.

Unbelievably pesky and meddlesome - these rodents are one of two animals that I absolutely despise and will take down with my bare hands if necessary (I am otherwise a massive fan of animals).

If you live within five kilometres of High Park, you've likely encountered pest problems to do with squirrels. They're as rampant in this neighbourhood as raccoons and Wildlife Services won't do a thing about it unless they've essentially burrowed a hole through your walls and into your home.

High Park squirrels are truly a robust breed unlike any other in the city. They're uninhibited enough to approach most humans to the point of making themselves at home right where you sleep. I experienced this a few times when living in the High Park area, where squirrels had taken up residence in my walls and in the attic ceiling. They bite holes through eavestroughs and worndown shingles and head straight inside, where they terrorize you with their incessant running around, squealing and nocturnal gnawing.

Solution: caulking foam and chicken wire. It's the only thing they can't bite through. You can camp out and wait till they've vacated your walls to prevent them from going back in, or just trap them outright, depending on your patience threshold. But beware the incredible stench of rotting squirrel bodies. It's truly gruesome.

Upon checkout no one bothered to ask me the most basic of all hospitality questions: "How did you enjoy your stay?" Well, I know you didn't ask, but let me tell you how I enjoyed my stay in this Yelp review!

Thank goodness for the existing reviews - because I'd pre-read and researched, I sort of knew what to expect - from the aloof front desk staff to the lack of bathroom amenities and paper thin walls. Read on...

DECOR:
The motif in each room is downright Kubrickian - very white, very sterile and very I'm-scared-to-sit-on-anything-for-fear-that-I-migh t-soil-it. The "couch" wasn't very inviting - it was more like a bench with no back/armrests. I instead used it as a surface to strew my clothing at the end of each night when I plopped down, exhausted by the day's learnings. The closet was very spacious and I loved the full length mirror and hanging cloth shelves. The mini fridge was also nice for storing pop and leftovers.

SLEEPING (see also: NOISE):
The bed was very comfortable and quite no frills. Somewhere between "my bed" and "hotel bed" comfort. The bedding was simple and sufficient - no overly fluffy pillows or coverlets. I loved the massive body pillow that nicely substituted for the boyfriend I don't have.

AMENITIES:
In a word, lacking. Thanks for the sewing kit and shower cap (I needed it for the days I didn't wash my hair, since the rainfall shower made it kinda hard not to get wet), but how about some hair conditioner? A quick trip to the CVS three blocks away resulted in acquisition of a cheap bottle to tide me over. Who doesn't need conditioner in this reeking humidity?! Also, I was quite thirsty while in Miami and would have appreciated a drinking vessel larger than a thimble. Every morning I had to fill the glass ten times to equal a regular sized serving of fluids. And it was quite difficult to get any cold water - only lukewarm or hot. Oh, and a bathtub would have been lovely - the first thing I wanted to do when I checked in was have a bath but my room was only equipped with a shower. There are no vending machines but you can buy snacks and drinks at the front desk - pop, for example, is $2/can and can be charged to your room or paid for on the spot.

NOISE:
I'm a very deep sleeper AND a night owl, and I am therefore the ideal sleeping candidate for Townhouse. If you're neither of these things, bring earplugs, preferably the kind that are strong enough to drown out the sound of 140bpm house music blasting from the nightly hotel parties next door (they went on till about 4am - but as mentioned didn't keep me up as I was awake anyway) and also the sound of talking in the hallways, neighbouring TV sets, random boiler room clanging and water moving through the hotel's drainpipes as guests showered, flushed and washed their hands.

INTERNET:
Free wi-fi was great and available throughout the hotel. There's a quick login screen that you'll have to validate for each use but the user/pass is easily bypassable (?) and no personal information is required. The speed was also good and quite reliable.

If you stay in Room 111 (don't), I've left a bottle of Suave shampoo and conditioner for you.

Apparently it's a provincial law that "Dreams" by The Cranberries (http://www.youtube.com...) be played at every home decor/furnishings store, because I have yet to not hear it while shopping, to the point that I find it necessary to start off my review with mention of it.

This store is absolutely slammed with home decor knick knacks. Teeming. Bursting. Bubbling over. The aisles are tight and there are lots of breakables. They really should have a bag check as you enter. For the love of all things holy, do not come here with a child or stroller. There simply isn't any room.

I picked up a 7" Henckels cleaver for $25 (instead of $50 at The Bay and others), two Ralph Lauren pillows ($15 each), a mixing bowl, six rolls of continuous pattern wrapping paper that I plan to use for posterboard, and a few hotel quality bath towels.

I didn't even have a chance to check out the beautiful frames, artwork, candles and teas so I'll have to come back for another visit (before December's No Buy, of course). Looking forward to hearing "Dreams" once again.

OK, hold up. You're gonna charge me $20 for a bowl of four types of mushrooms and hot broth? Oh, and what the -- I have to cook it myself!? Outrageous.

Decor is beautiful - softly lit by scores of huge cathedral-worthy candles and beautiful place settings.

Service is also excellent and friendly.

But the price point is off by about $5-10. A vegetarian swish should not be only $5 less than the beef and seafood versions. The meat had to have been worth more than $5. Grossly overpriced.

I shared the veggie shabu shabu so it ended up costing "only" $10 but IMO even that was too expensive for mushrooms and broth. I'm not very adept with chopsticks and if you aren't either, this won't be the meal for you. I put on a brave face though and helped cook up the meal at the table. Many of the mushrooms were flimsy and even more difficult to pick up once they'd been cooked. The broth was nothing special so essentially at the end of it all I was just eating boiled mushrooms. I am not even that big of a mushroom fan to begin with.

This place had the makings of a great meal, but in the end (at least for vegetarians) it was just "meh."

"Who ordered bubble tea?!" Mike S shrieked as our drink order made its way to the table. Um, that would be me, apparently, where bubble tea = yummy white wine sangria stuffed with blueberries and mint. It was overwhelmingly delicious.

I can't comment on the food as I haven't had dinner here (yet) but for DJ nights and mixed drinks, Vdara is A-OK. I love Friday nights for DJ Lazarus' "Music For The Masses" 80s/90s throwback. You can request songs and - get this - he actually plays them! Also, unlike some DJs, Lazarus has a well stocked roster of songs from the era he's DJing and so you'll rarely hear the disappointing "I don't have/know that song."

Waiter service is a bit spotty in the late hours of the night (just go up to the bar already!) and I can see slush becoming a problem in the winter as there is no foyer or coat check and the walk-ins directly from Queen Street can make a mess of the floor.