Where to Eat - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy April 6, 2014

Greenhouse Juice Co.

There are a lot of things I don’t seem to have time for now that I have a child. Things like matching socks, and making sure I eat enough fruits and vegetables seem to take a back seat for me lately.

I’m pretty sure getting a handle on having my socks match will never happen, but I’ve found another way to make sure I stay healthy with my intake of fruits and vegetables.

Greenhouse Juice Co. is located in Toronto, and is a raw, organic cold-pressed juice company. They have a collection if juices, nut milks, waters, boosters and smoothies made fresh daily. All of their ingredients are certified organic, and they locally source their produce whenever possible. According to them, one of their single 500 ml bottles contains up to twelve servings of organic fruits and vegetables.

I paid a visit to Greenhouse Juice Co. this week. The setup there is great – they have an open kitchen so you can see them actually making their juices with fresh products. There is a wall with all of the juices on the menu and their ingredients so you know what you are buying. There is also a fridge stocked with freshly made juices for you to grab and go.

My first question for them was, what the heck does cold pressing mean?

Cold pressing means using hydraulic pressure to extract juice from plants without denaturing enzymes or breaking down nutrients with high levels of heat or oxygen.

This means that each fruit and vegetable used keeps their health-giving properties intact, and whats produced is a live juice that stays great for 72 hours.

Upon my arrival I was able to try 13 different juices and waters that are part of the Greenhouse Juice Co. menu.

As I mentioned before, I find myself very busy for the most part so I tend to eat quick and easy. My intake of fruits and vegetables are not really a part of my “To Do” list for the day. Not only could you taste the freshness from the juices I tried at Greenhouse Juice Co., but they are just such an easy way to stay healthy!

Some of my favourites included:

East of Eden – Romaine, Kale, Celery, Apple and Lemon
Gold Rush – Pineapple, Cucumber, Lemon and Ginger
Rabbit Run – Apple, Carrot, and Ginger

They even have some options for kids as well! Obviously all of the juices could be considered kid-friendly, but four stand out as kid favourites.

Their almond milk was absolutely to die for. It is made up of Almonds, Alkaline Water, Vanilla Bean, Dates, Coconut Oil, and Himalayan Salt. It’s pretty amazing! Green Milk is another great kid-friendly option, with Almond Milk, Spinach and Maple Syrup. It’s yummy enought to get your kid to drink their spinach without them knowing they are doing it. Pink Milk is made up of Almond Milk, Beet, and Maple Syrup, and it’s amazing colour will give your kid a pink moustache instead of a milk one. Finally, their Apple Juice is a pure as it gets. It’s just apples – nothing else. It was the best apple juice I’ve ever had!

I thought their waters were pretty amazing as well. I really loved their Chia Seed Hydrator. It has Alkaline Water, Chia Seeds, Maple Syrup and Lemon. I can get bored of my water sometimes, but I loved the taste of the Chia Seeds!

I decided to take a few bottles home with me to try over the weekend. One of them was Wake Up. It’s like a morning mimosa, but with a kick. It has Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, and Liquid Cayenne. Yep – Liquid Cayenne. It’s pretty amazing, and yes it will wake you up! I also brought home Green Milk, and their own Almond Milk as well. I think I’m actually addicted to their Almond Milk. It’s so fresh it’s unbelievable, and the Himalayan Salt is my favourite part. I used the Green Milk to supplement my lunch since I obviously didn’t have time to eat anything you would consider healthy. It was so easy to just open the fridge and be able to grab and go with any of the products I brought home!

While I was there, this busy little shop had many of their customers dropping off empty bottles. Greenhouse Juice Co. keeps track of the number of bottles returned by their customers, and has an incentive program where you can earn free juice. There were also many customers picking up orders they made over the phone which seemed very convenient!

They also offer smoothies made on the spot (I tried Rococoa, and it had Almond Milk, Banana, Almknd Butter, Cacao, Dates, Maca, Coconut Oil, and Vanilla extract), and health boosters which may be added to any drink, or taken as is as a quick hit of health.

If you are interested in a cleanse, they provide all of the 8 juices you would need for your daily cleanse, along with a pre-cleanse consultation if you require one at the outset. The cost of one day of their cleanse is $65.

Prices for the Boosters, Juices, Waters and Smoothies range from $2 to $18, while the average cost is about $7 or $8 for most of what is on the menu.

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Roxymandy February 26, 2014

My Review of Cafe Boulud at the Four Seasons Toronto

For my first visit to the Four Seasons in Yorkville a couple months ago I had cocktails and food at D|Bar, which is the the hotel’s lower level lounge and bar. I was there on a Monday night and found the place jam packed! There was a DJ playing music (at a very tolerable level so I could hear the person I was speaking with which was a huge bonus), and a special that night which was a glass of wine and charcuterie platter for $30. I actually got to meet the hotel’s charcuterie expert who handles all of the meat curing for the restaurant which was pretty impressive.

This visit to D|Bar prompted me to try the restaurant upstairs – Cafe Boulud. I am by no means a food critic, but I am going to attempt to explain to you what I ate, and how much I enjoyed it!

The restaurant itself is actually much more comfortable than I anticipated. At some of the other high end hotels in Toronto I’ve found that the restaurants tend to feel like you are eating in a hotel. Of course you ARE eating in a hotel, but when you are having dinner its good to feel like you are enjoying the ambiance the restaurant should have to offer. Although Cafe Boulud is a very spacious restaurant, it felt like our table was very cozy surrounded by banquet seating that lined the room. It may have helped that it was a very busy night! The restaurant has a loft design so the music from the bar below spilled into the restaurant.

Without planning it we visited the restaurant on the last night of Winterlicious, so we decided to give the limited offer menu a try.

I started with the Venison Pâté, which included gin jelly, pickled young juniper and country bread. After my experience at D|Bar I knew that I would enjoy this appetizer. It was presented in a very interesting way, but every bite of the venison was paired perfectly with jelly and picked juniper.

My partner in crime had the Smoked Haddock Chowder which was made with cured pork belly, haddock salad, celery and a potato crisp. I had to try this because the smell was amazing. I actually ended up eating half of this soup which had a bit of a kick to it.

Next up I tried the Celeriac Agnolotti, made with brown butter, apple compote and celery emulsion. I tried this based on the opinion of our server who said this vegetarian option was one of his favourites. I was pretty worried about this dish because it truly sounded like something I had never tried before. It ended up being the best pasta I have ever had! I think it was the brown butter that really had me sold, but I truly loved every bite and ate it embarrassingly quickly (which my date was quick to point out). I am a meat lover so I was worried a vegetarian option wouldn’t be what I wanted, but it’s been a week and a half since I had this pasta and I’m still craving it!

The Braised Beef Shin was cooked to perfection. It was falling of the bone, but unfortunately my date only gave me the opening bite and suddenly he realized he had eaten it all without offering me another taste. His performance almost had me fooled, but I’m pretty sure he just wanted to save it all for himself. His mock horror at not offering me another bite seemed a little suspect.

The finale to this dinner for myself was the Caramelized Pear Sundae with anise tuile, caramel sauce and calvados ice cream.

I also tried some of the Coffee and Cardamom Sundae with espresso gelato, chocolate sablé, and cardamom foam. I am not a huge coffee fan so I only had a couple bites of this, but for me the coffee flavour was not too overwhelming which was perfect.

The portions for this dinner were much larger than I expected. By the time I finished my dinner I wasn’t sure I would have room for dessert. Dessert ended up being huge, and I couldn’t even finish it!

Our server was very knowledgeable about the menu which was great because since most of it was French, and I needed a bit of translation assistance! He had tried everything on the menu which was very helpful in assisting me choose what I wanted for dinner. I hate it when you ask the server what their recommendations are, and they make all kinds of excuses as to why they don’t have a favourite or haven’t had time to try the menu. Our server knew the Winterlicious and regular menu inside and out. He also had some great wine recommendations as well to pair with our dinner.

Finishing off the meal with an expresso

Overall we loved our dinner and would be happy to return to try more of the menu. Valet parking is only $15 when you eat or drink at D|Bar or Cafe Boulud, which is the best rate I’ve seen in Yorkville for valet. Our car was ready and warm by the time we went downstairs for the restaurant, and overall everything was very easy. Our reservation had us sit down for dinner without even a short wait, dinner was amazing and the service was perfectly timed, and after paying and grabbing our coats we walked straight out to our awaiting car. The menu prices are definitely higher-end, but the Winterlicous option was a great way to sample the menu while leaving more in our wallets at the end of the night.

Cafe Boulud, Four Seasons Hotel, 60 Yorkville Ave., Toronto

Roxymandy November 22, 2013

My Review of The Chase Fish and Oyster

The Chase is located at Yonge and Temperance in Toronto, and at first I was a little confused about the restaurant and where I was going! On the webpage there are two different restaurants – The Chase and The Chase Fish and Oyster. They don’t explain on the website the difference between the two. The Chase is located on the top floor of the building, and is the more upscale of the two. I decided based on the menu to try The Chase Fish and Oyster instead, which is located on the bottom floor of the building.

I was able to try the food out earlier in the year before the restaurant opened at the Lainey Gossip Smut Soiree this summer at Evergreen Brickworks. The Chase has a food truck that they were bringing to events across the city to get people interested in their upcoming restaurant.

Temperance has no parking so you either need to find a lot on another street, or use the valet parking at the restaurant. The valet parking is $20, and the most exotic cars are parked in front of the restaurant on display.

The Chase Fish and Oyster has an outdoor patio, but the restaurant itself was a lot smaller than I expected. As you walk in you can see the kitchen through large glass windows, and it was a flurry of activity. We were mesmerized by it while we were waiting for our table!

We started with the Yonge Platter which included raw oysters, clams, tuna and shrimp. There was an oyster checklist where you could choose where you wanted your oysters from.

After the platter we were pretty stuffed, but we still had more food coming! Next we tried their version of Lobster Claws, which were two claws butter poached with bacon-cashew stuffing and celery root slaw. The lobster was so good, but slaw and stuffing were a little rich.

We also ordered the Crab Toast, which were three mini heaps of bacon, tomato, chili aioli and crab. The toast that the slaw was on was so tough we could hardly cut through it or bit into it! The slaw tasted amazing, but we couldn’t get past the hard toast.

We finished the meal off with a bit of dessert (although we were very full!) and had a chocolate sundae. They didn’t have a dessert menu to read from, but the server gave us three options including a key lime pie and some sort of apple pie sort of dessert.

The restaurant was decorated with tables that had wood paneling that looked like they were out of a sail boat, and sails hanging from the ceiling. There was an elevator inside the restaurant to take patrons straight up to the top floor of the building to The Chase.

The final bill came in an accounts payable envelope which was really cute, but once I opened the envelope I realized I might need a payment plan to pay for my dinner – my glass of rum and coke alone was $14!

As always I’m scoping out for opportunities to see if a restaurant is suitable to bring small children, and in this case I would say The Chase Fish and Oyster would not be an ideal place for them! The restaurant had bass heavy music playing, and the clientele seemed like they were conducting late night business meetings.

The Chase and The Chase Fish and Oyster are both open for lunch and dinner.

10 Temperance Street, Toronto

647-648-7000

www.thechasetoronto.com

Photo #1 & 2 courtesy of www.thechasetoronto.com

Roxymandy November 10, 2013

Don’t Make Dinner, Order Supperworks!

Sometimes I have zero time to make dinner. Actually most of the time I have zero time to make dinner. Looking for a healthier meal option instead of fast food, I stumbled upon SupperWorks.

Each location offers an online menu which changes each month. You need to decide if you are going to pick up pre-made meals, or if you will go into your local SupperWorks location and prepare the meals yourself. I tend to pick up my meals, but preparing them is actually really fun!

After choosing online which meals you would like to prepare, you are also able to use their online calendar to determine when you will go in to your nearest branch. Once arriving you are outfitted with an apron, and are offered free refreshments – including wine!

Stations for each meal are outfitted with freshly washed/sliced/chopped/grated ingredients. There are measuring cups and other utensils to mix together sauces and marinades, and recipe boards list what you need to do to put the meal together.

After preparing the meal you would place it into a freezer bag and use a provided label with final preparation instructions for at home. The best part is you leave the mess and move on! You don’t need to do any dishes or clean up your work station – a staff member comes along to take care of everything.

The benefit to making the meals yourself is that you learn how to make the recipes yourself for future use, and that if you want to avoid an ingredient you can. They even offer certain time slots each week when you can bring your child in and prepare your meals.

There is also a Stork Special where in the first two months of your baby being born Supperworks will make your meals free of charge for pick up.

Locations include Pickering, Forest Hill, Leaside, and the Beaches in Toronto.

For pricing details visit www.supperworks.com

Roxymandy October 27, 2013

Our Visit to Rock Lobster on Queen West Toronto

Rock Lobster has two locations in Toronto – one on Ossington, and the second on Queen Street West. We tried the Queen West location because it was much closer to downtown.

Their seafood is flown in from Nova Scotia fresh every day. The menus for both locations differ, and the Queen West location isn’t even on the main website. The restaurant doesn’t seem to need to advertise because with word of mouth they are busy enough.

The restaurant was much smaller than I expected! It could only seat 70 inside, and this outpost is actually larger than the restaurant on Ossington. They do not take reservations, and although we were told to expect a 45 minute wait at 8:00pm, we only ended up waiting 15 minutes.

We started with a round of drinks, and their cocktails included a slushie with tequila, and a drink named Breakfast of Champions with Fruit Loop infused vodka.

We ordered a round of oysters ($2.25 each which is thought was a good price) which were fresh – as expected! We also ordered Lobster devilled eggs ($7) which tasted great, and had little chunks of lobster in them. The egg itself actually looked pink.

I had the Lobster Poutine ($14) which came out in a skillet pulled high with cheese, gravy and lobster. It was a strange combination with the fries and gravy hot and the lobster cold, but it tasted amazing. It was a huge portion, and I couldn’t finish it. I also tried the Lobster Taco ($5 for one) and it came on a fresh tortilla with fresh lobster and a sauce that had a kick to it.

I would say the restaurant is not kid friendly for dinner. I’m not sure about lunch time, but at dinner the music was so loud it was hard to hear the person next to you! The tables were very close together and I couldn’t imagine fitting a stroller or high chair into the restaurant. Lunch may be a different story when it comes to the music volume, but space-wise and menu-wise I wouldn’t call it kid friendly.

www.rocklobsterfood.com

538 Queen Street West, Toronto

416-203-6623

Photo Credit: #1 Toronto Life Magazine