Blacksmith Bistro

A quaint, little bistro on Main Street in Unionville. Lots of patio seating.

I ordered the grilled chicken pizza and my partner had the roast chicken with rice pilaf. I would have ordered the roast chicken too, but I didn’t want the rice pilaf.

The food my partner received was a roast chicken, (roastly perfectly) with saffron rice instead. Had I known the rice was going have saffron, I would have ordered that instead.

My pizza had grilled chicken, bacon, prosciutto, mango and a pesto sauce on a thin crust. There was too much of the mango and not enough of the meats. Otherwise, it was a very good pizza.

Next time I’m back in Unionville, this place is definitely a consideration for dining.

Sunset Grill

I had the french toast and home fries. Both were good. The french toast could have better with the addition of a bit of cinnamon. Seriously, people. Who makes french toast without cinnamon?

Jack Astors (Scarborough)

I did not want to go to that location as it has a bad reputation. I wanted to visit the Beaver Creek location. But I was voted down by my dining partners.

The restaurant lived up to its bad reputation. My table ordered an appetizer which never arrived yet remained on the bill. Without much effort, we were able to get it removed from the bill, but my point stands, we should have either got the food or not got the item on the bill.

As for the food that did arrive, it was very good. The garlic bread was amazing. I had a burger with bacon and cheese. It too was very good.

The service was iffy but our waiter was a trainee. However, the person training him seemed to be a bit lost herself.

Overall, I very much would have prefered the longer drive up into Beaver Creek. But I do not regret the meal itself.

Wendy’s - VANILLA Frosty Dairy Dessert

Wendy’s has introduced a new flavour of their Frosty.   I was sure if I should be excited or roll my eyes.   I have always liked the Frosty’s but they weren’t anything special except that I liked that I got good value for my dollars.   I was hoping the Vanilla Frosty would be Wendy’s way of raising the stakes and making their products better but at the same time I was worried that it was just going to be… well PLAIN.   While it did taste like it had a FRENCH vanilla taste to it, the Vanilla Frosty was quite plain and a little bit of a disappointment.   I have yet to return to Wendy’s to try another one (one reason why is because the Wendy’s in Thornhill has closed down) but I will give it another chance, because once again, while it isn’t anything special, it does provide good bang for my buck.

Philthy McNasty’s - Keele and Steeles Location

I eat at this restaurant with my baseball team after games.   Last night one guy who I have known for 20 years, took a bite into his burger and found some metal sticking out.   Usually the food is pretty good there and they give sports teams deals.   The guy complained and we got 15% off of our whole bill.   So the food is good there, just check under the bun before you bite into it. 

Jack Astors

The buttermillk chicken fried chicken is one of the finest things a man can put in his mouth. The chicken meat is juicy and tender, the breading is crunchy and the whole thing is smothered in some wonderful gravy.

It was a shame though, that the meal was hampered by a subpar mashed potato side. There was just an odd taste in the mashed potatoes. One that wasn’t supposed to be there. I don’t know if the restaurant has changed the way it prepares mashed potatos or if something simply went wrong.

Baton Rouge

There was a special on the chicken tenders and fries for 6.98. That was a deal that was too good to pass up. The portion was smaller than the usual portion, but still, enough for a good meal as the usual portion might simply be too much food. The chicken was of its usual high quality. The french fries were shoestring though.

Moxies

Another chain restaurant with all the same food other chain restaurants have, except that Moxies charges a little bit more and tries to be a little bit cooler. Everything in the restaurant is black or just plain dark. Even the steakknife looked like some sort of crysknife.

I ordered the 8oz sirloin and it only took them two tries to cook the poor thing. Once cooked, it was fine. The mashed potatoes were great. Garlic and bacon bits were in the potatoes, the texture was constistent and they were very buttery.

My dining partner had the calamari, which was a bit too deep fried.

The service was pretty good, but a little bit slow.

The dessert menu offers Mighty Leaf brand teas. A bit expensive for tea, but a good quality tea.

McDonalds

I had a Bacon & Egg McMuffin combo and an order of Hotcakes for breakfast. The cheese of the sandwich was off centre by at least 1 centimetre. Normally, this kind of thing doesn’t bother me, but with slightly melted cheese, being off centre creates whole bites with too much cheese and others with not enough cheese. Cheese needs to be balanced.

Otherwise the meal was very acceptable. Quite good actually. The hash brown may have a bit a tad over greasy, it probably wasn’t drained enough.

For years McDonalds has been getting slagged for its coffee. I don’t understand what the problem is. I have always liked the coffee at McDonalds. It’s superior to the coffee at many donut chains and better than the standard cup of coffee at any of those hoidy-toidy five-dollar coffee bars.

The Hotcakes were fine, as they always are. Soft, fluffy and oh so yummy.

Phoenix & Firkin

Just another Firkin pub. They’re all pretty much the same.

Although I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to be the only person not eating, so I ordered a plate of french fries. Cut medium to thick, not seasoned or battered. They were just right. A perfectly simple french fry.

I tried a chicken finger as well. The meat to filler ratio was pretty good and the breading had a nice taste and consistency to it.

I recommend both the french fries and the chicken fingers at this establishment.