Hoops

Hoops isn’t a new place, I have been there probably a dozen times (been to 3 different locations too).   But when I was there on saturday night somebody ordered something that I have never seen ordered there before, my brother order the chicken fingers.   When the plate arrived we all stared at how big the fingers were.   They were impressive and the batter looked a little bit like the beer batter that Baton Rouge uses.   My brother offered me a piece at one point.  I stabbed it with my fork and took the bite.  The chicken inside tasted great and fresh.   It was moist and the batter wasn’t the same as Baton Rouge’s but it still tasted great.  

As much as I love the chicken wings at Hoops (they are breaded and are a good size) I decided then that next time I need to get the fingers and if they are still as good next time then I might not go back to wings at Hoops.

Wingporium

The sole location on Islington is a bit of drive for chicken wings, seeing as how Wild Wing currently has locations everywhere.

The ambience leaves a bit to be desiered. The place is a bit of a dive, but, on the other hand, there is a coin-op pool table. The wait staff is a bit slow and not all that knowledgable about their own menu items.

The food itself was good though. It’s a chicken wing, there’s not a lot to be said about chicken wings. A restaurant needs to do something different to make the chicken wing stand out. This restaurant does that. Wingporium offers a differing selection of flavours from other chicken wing places. The menu also suggests certain beers as compliments to certain wing flavours. Patrons who eat the restaurant’s hottest flavour “The Black Mamba” are immortalizaed on their Wall of Fame. The restaurant also offers preperation differations from other wing places: sauce on the side and sauced then grilled.

This isn’t the best restaurant in town but certain efforts have been made to make Winporium different from their competition.

Cora’s

French-Canadian breakfast and lunch chain, Steeles and Dufferin location.

I had the french toast with bacon. The bacon could have been crispier for my liking. The french toast, not very eggy but the batter had cinnamon. Most restaurants don’t put cinnamon on their french toast. This place did.

Unfortunetely the service was awful. It took far too long to get somebody to take my order. Sure, the place was busy and I had to wait about five minutes to be seated, but once seated, I had to wait even longer to get somebody to ask me if I’d like a drink or something. I wasn’t tucked away in a corner or anything like that either. I was right up front, watching the wait staff lounge around talking to each other, not working.

It was the one person I did not see lounge around who eventually came by to say “Has anybody taken your order yet?” To which I replied “No” so he could say “Well, what can I get you?” This one waiter seemed to be doing all the work while everybody else lolly-gagged.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: nothing says French like good food and being rude to people.

Milestones

The wait for the table was longer than it should have been. The drinks were a bit over-priced. Me and my dining partners received different menus. They’re menu had a roasted chicken, mine didn’t. I would have order that item but it is no longer offered.

I had a four-cheese hamburger instead. Chedder, mozzarella, feta and goat cheese adorned this burger with roasted garlic and cognac pepper. I’m not sure if it was the fact I haven’t eaten beef in over a week or if the burger was just that good, but this was one good burger. The bun had both poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

Markham Station

All day breakfast and open 24 hours a day in Scarborough. Finally, a place closer than the Denny’s in Whitby.

I had the french toast. It was okay. Nothing spectacular. This place doesn’t put cinnamon in the french toast. Why does no place do that?

For a restaurant in Scarborough, I’ve never had better service.

I will definetely be returning to this place. I still have to try their home fries and their pancakes.

Antonino’s Italian Style Pizzeria & Panini

I’d have never been to this place before. It’s just a little hot table next door to my dry cleaners. But I was getting some stuff cleaned and it was lunch time. So I stopped in for a slice of cheese pizza.

There are a lot of places in this world that serve cheese pizza and you’d be amazed at how many of them find a way to screw it up. And for a hot table, I had low expectations.

This slice was done just right. The cheese was good, the sauce was good. Both were just the right proportion to each other and the crust. The crust itself was baked properly and was not too thin, not too thick. It was crispy and tasty.

I will be getting another slice when I go back to pick up the dry cleaning.

Denny’s

With the Denny’s in Pickering now gone, we found ourselves driving to Whitby for a late night breakfast snack attack.

I had the french toast. Although there was no cinnamon on the french toast, it was still very good. I also had the country-fried potatoes. Those were also very good.

The service was slow, but what can you really expect from a Denny’s in Whitby after midnight. The wait staff was just two people. And I doubt there was more than one or two in the kitchen. And to top it off, what kind of service are you going to get from people who work the midnight to dawn shift. This one waiter was hilarious. First, he asked us if we were getting high before entering the restaurant. Then later, when he asked if he could top up our coffees, he took my enthusiastic “Yes sir,” to mean taunt me before actually pouring my coffee.

Canyon Creek

This steakhouse should be called Canyon Cave. It was very dark inside the restaurant. Twice, my dining party was brought food different from what was ordered. The entrees also took quite a bit of time to be delivered to the table.

I had grilled chicken with a side of mashed potatoes. The meal was tasty, but nothing special.

I am still guffawed at the repeatedly poor service I receive from restaurants in Scarborough. I cannot remember the last time a restaurant in Scarborough provided my dining party with complaint-free service. I rarely have issues when dining in downtown Toronto or Beaver Creek or Woodbridge or Richmond Hill. I have to make some serious changes when dining with my friends. We have to stop going to eat in Scarborough restaurants.

Dante’s

Party size whole wheat crust.
Easy on the sauce, easy on the cheese.
Grilled chicken.
Bacon.
Ground beef.
Extra garlic.

The Barnyard Massacre

Now that Dante’s offers a whole wheat pizza crust, I don’t see much stopping them from becoming the dominant pizza force in Toronto. They have expanded their free delivery area, but increased the delivery price in other regions. Still, their pizza isn’t cheap. But, they do boast, and rightfully so, having the heaviest pizza in town. Going so far as to advertise the weight right beneath the size and dimensions of the pizza. Each topping is large and bountiful on the pizza.

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.