Nota Bene - Yes, There IS A Place In Toronto Worth Eating At! (Toronto, ONT)

Nota Bene

After a few subpar meals in Toronto, I was beginning to second guess my reservation at Nota Bene, the lone restaurant I booked ahead of time prior to my trip. After reading about Nota Bene on Chowhound, I decided to book a dinner there for our last night in Toronto, and I'm glad I went with my gut.

Bread Service

Upon seating, we were handed our menus and also served with two types of bread along with a bowl of olive oil.

Streetcar - Orange Infused Dark Rum, Lemon Juice, Bitters



Ice Wine Martini - Vanilla Vodka, Ice Wine, Agave Nectar, Citrus Twist



Toronto Mule - Vanilla Vokda, Ginger Float, Ginger Lime Juice, Bitters

As we started to look over the menu, we ordered up a round of cocktails. My friends went with the Streetcar and the Ice Wine Martini. The Streetcar was definitely the strongest of the three drinks, but I enjoyed the orange infused rum liqueur basis in the drink. Despite the stiffness of the drink, it was quite enjoyable. The Ice Wine Martini probably needed a bit more ice wine flavor, as the vanilla vodka dominated the drink. Finally, the Toronto Mule. Look, I enjoy all types of "mule" drinks. Russian Mule, Gin Gin Mule, and in this case, the Toronto Mule. For me, what can go wrong with a mix of vodka, ginger, and lime? What a fantastic combination!

"NB" Farm to Fork Charcuterie

We started off our dinner with an order of Charcuterie platter, and it's one of the better ones I've had. Since I'm not too keen on cheese *gasp*, yes, you can all gasp away, I thoroughly enjoyed this meat platter, though I stayed away from the bowl of olives. Very nice way to begin out dinner.

Pomme Frites

Of course, I gotta order the Pomme Frites when I saw it on the menu. Crispy, "Potatoe-y," with a sprinkle of cheese on top, what's not to like here?

Nova Scotia Lobster Salad - Avocado, Maple Bacon, Blue Cheese Buttermilk Dressing

My buddy Benny decided to start off with a lobster salad with maple bacon, avocado, and a blue cheese dressing. I didn't try it, but my friend seemed to enjoy his starter quite well. Though what could go wrong with lobster and bacon?

Lobster Bisque

Since I love soup, I, along with my buddy Morgan went with the lobster bisque. Unlike the usual lobster bisque, the one served at Nota Bene had an Asian influence (say Lemongrass?), yet the flavors of the lobster was quite evident. Fantastic! What a start before our main course!

Queen Street Pick Me Up - Coffee Vodka, Kahlua, Baileys, Frangelico, Espresso, Served Up



Nota Bene - Limoncello, Lemon, Citrus Vodka, Elderflower Presse Water



Air Canada - Gin, Lemon Juice, Bitters, Egg White, Cherry Liquor

As we wait for our main course, we went with a second round of cocktails. My friends went with the Queen Street Pick Me Up, which was a coffee based cocktail drink. Very nice, especially those that enjoy the taste of coffee. However, I preferred the Nota Bene, as I typically enjoy more of a citrus based cocktail drinks. Finally, in honor of Canada, I decided on Air Canada, which was a martini drink with a gin and cherry liquor base. It's definitely a stiffer drink compared to the Toronto Mule I had earlier, but equally enjoyable.

Cornish Game Hen with Smashed Potatoes

Since I didn't have this entree, I wasn't sure how it tasted, though my buddy seemed to enjoy it quite well. Meat (cornish game hen) and potatoes, it's hard to wrong with that combination!

Pulled Suckling Pig & Boudin Noir Tart - Maple-Smoked Bacon, Mushrooms, Truffle Vinaigrette

OK, I'll make this description simple. BEST thing I ate during my trip to Canada, and this includes Montreal. I mean, how the hell can this dish NOT be good? Crispy pork skin, tender pulled pork, boudin noir (blood sausage), bacon, and mushroom. First of all, I love crispy pork skin, and boudin noir despite its "bloody" nature, I just love! Layered on top of a crispy tart, my friend and I just gobbled up our entree. For whatever it's worth, I'd almost return to Toronto just to eat this dish at Nota Bene!

Sticky Toffee Pudding - Pecan Praline, Spotted Dick Ice Cream



Lemon Tart



Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cake - Chocolate Sauce, Chocolate Ice Cream

Ah, onto my favorite part of any meal, dessert. Even though I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, somehow our dessert selection was pretty heavily entrenched with chocolate. I will have to say my favorite of the trio was the Sticky Toffee Pudding, as I enjoyed the flavor contrast and temperature contrast a bit more. The other 2 desserts were good, but nothing really worth mentioning, though the chocolate fudge cake was not as heavy as it looked. A good, but not a great way to close out our meal.

Dining Room

Looking back, did my meal at Nota Bene save my trip, at least my culinary trip in Toronto? Probably not, as I didn't care for much of what I had eaten prior to Nota Bene. Though I'm glad I ended things here at Nota Bene, as we're moving onto Niagara Falls and Montreal. Frankly, Nota Bene does not compare with the best restaurants in New York City, Montreal, or even Los Angeles, however it's damn good nevertheless. If you're in Toronto for whatever reasons (maybe a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame?), give Nota Bene a try. This bustling downtown Toronto restaurant is definitely worth checking out!

Final Rating 8.5 out of 10

Nota Bene
180 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 3X3, Canada
(416) 977-6400
Official Website

Carousel Bakery - Peameal, Experience This Toronto Experience, Eh? (Toronto, ONT)

Carousel Bakery

After a good experience at the St. Lawrence Market the previous day for breakfast, my friends and I decided to make a last trip here before we head out to Montreal the following day. After hearing about this Peameal, which is basically an unsmoked bacon rolled in cornmeal, I wanted to give it a try!

Peameal Bacon on a Soft Country Bun

My friend went for the original Peameal Bacon sandwich on a soft country bun. It was good, but I mean, it is bacon, how can it not?! Even though it's just the bread and the peameal bacon, the bacon itself was quite juicy, though I would probably enjoyed a light aioli or some sort of sauce to add more moisture.

Big Hog

While my friend went with the normal Peameal sandwich, I went with the Big Hog, well, probably because I'm a fat ass! LOL! In the Big Hog, it's the basic Peameal shown above, but with the inclusion of a fried egg and a slice of of what I believe, American cheese. For me, I enjoyed the additions of the fried egg and cheese to make this into a much heartier sandwich.

Was the Peameal awesome? Nah, not even close. Though I'd take a Peameal sandwich over an Egg McMuffin anyday of the week!

Delicious Fish & Chips

While my friend and I were chowing down on some Peameal bacon, my buddy Benny decided to get some delicious fried fish and chips from the stall across the way. I have to say, it was better than our Peameal sandwiches. Fail on me I guess.....

Final Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Carousel Bakery
93 Front Street East
Toronto, ON M5E 1C3, Canada
(416) 863-6764

Rodney's Oyster House - Varieties Forgotten, But Pictures Aplenty! (Toronto, ONT)

Rodney's Oyster House

After our failed attempt on our first day to visit Rodney's Oyster house due to the Victoria's Holiday weekend, we decided to return after our meal at Acqua as a late night snack since it opens until 1AM.

I'll apologize ahead of time as I lost my little "cheat sheet" for the variety of oysters served at Rodney's, as this will mostly be a picture post.

Various Sauces for the Oysters

Here are the various sauces that could be used for the oysters, though we mainly just used the lemon provided. At first, I was planning to just snack one an oyster or two, but we ended up running an oyster "gamut" a la kevinEats style. (Though if I was running a kevinEats style, I would not have lost my notes taken that night! LOL)

Here was the first plate of oyster we ordered, including the favorite of the night, the Kumamoto oysters. The Kumamoto, as always, tended to have more flavor I enjoy usually from an oyster.

Boylan Ginger Ale

While I was not in the mood for alcohol, I decided to get a bottle of Boylan's Ginger Ale to go along with the oysters.

This was our second plate of oyster, and we soon realized the best oysters were the smallest ones, like the Kumamoto oyster. Although tasty, we definitely enjoyed the smaller oysters a bit more.

Shrimp Cocktail

My friend decided to get an order of Shrimp Cocktail, and at 21CAD, it was not really worth the price as he was a bit "meh" on the shrimp cocktail.

Finally, we went with the giant oyster from Hog Island. Sadly, despite the size, the oyster wasn't quite flavorful as I had hoped. I guess in regards to Oysters, bigger isn't always better.

Ah yes, the picture above was the damage caused by me, but was I done? Nope!

After the oysters, we decided to try both their clam options, and much like the oysters, the smaller clams had richer, and thus, better flavors. Quite nice!

Night Shot of the CN Towers

All in all, Rodney's Oyster House was a good place to enjoy seafood, especially oysters. The service was friendly, as our server was quite helpful guiding us through the oyster menu and checking back with us with a "these are good, eh?" Although it's not quite a "must-visit" restaurant, I'd certain pay a visit if you're staying around the Financial District area in Toronto. Love the late night, love the oysters, why don't you come and try it out yourself, eh?

Final Rating: 7 out of 10

Rodney's Oyster House
469 King Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 1K4, Canada
(416) 363-8105
Official Website

Acqua - Why Was It So Empty? (Toronto, ONT)

Entrance for Acqua

After our little trip to the National Hockey Hall of Fame, it was time for an early dinner, and prior to the trip, I read about this restaurant that was located in the building next to the Hockey Hall of Fame, so I figured we'd give it a shot!

Top: Vodka Tonic, Left: Stella Artois, Right: Cranberry Juice

Since we arrived a bit early, we sat down at the empty bar and ordered some drinks. I went with my always safe Vodka Tonic, while my buddies went with a Stella on tap and a cool glass of Cranberry Juice. You're too hardcore Benny, with that cranberry juice! LOL

Bread Bowl

Upon being seated, we were presented with a bread bowl. The bread itself wasn't worthy of much discussion, but we quite enjoyed sesame crisps and the breadsticks. Personally, I have an affinity towards warm bread and slightly soften butter. Lukewarm bread and hard butter just don't quite "cut" it for me.

Crispy Sweetbreads - dijon, tarragon mayo

We started off with two appetizers for the table. We went with a crispy fried sweetbread and a short rib ravioli.

Personally, I like sweetbreads, and I know it's not for everyone. Versions like this are quite pleasant to eat, similar to popcorn chicken, though it's not the case. Though when you have something fried like this, why bother telling the newbies that it's actually thymus gland and pancreas of a young calf or lamb?

Braised Beef Short Rib Ravioli - toasted pinenuts, sultanas, local squash

The ravioli by itself wasn't anything special, though with the texture balance from the pinenuts and the squash, it was quite nice. The short rib was cooked well, and the ravioli was quite flavorful.

Truffle Dusted Scallops - fennel, shrimp, pistachio foam



Roasted Alaskan Black Cod - couscous, edamame, grapefruit date consommé

Those were the dishes my dining mates ordered, and I did not try their dishes. Though they seemed to be fairly satisfied with their choices. Yet, I think the key word was satisfied, but not impressed or wowed.

Roasted Chicken Breast - savoy cabbage, smoked bacon, foie gras

And onto my entree of the night, the roasted chicken breast with foie gras. Normally, I don't order chicken, especially chicken breast, but when I saw bacon and foie gras, I had to give it a shot. As expected, the chicken breast was slightly dry, but definitely edible, though the foie gras definitely helped. I enjoyed the cabbage and bacon combination, but I felt the base of the dish was slightly too salty, given the use of the foie in the chicken, thus making it almost too rich for me to finish the dish.

Dining Room

As we await our dessert course here are a few shots of the dining room. This is where I'll make a comment of the emptiness of the dining room, and the restaurant as a whole. Even on a weekday night, we expected a mad rush of diners, even if we arrived early at 5PM, however, there was only one other party during the course of our meal (~1.5 hours). Strange, and slightly awkward indeed, especially since I'm not eating at some hole in the wall Chinese restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley.

Ontario Apple Strudel - Calvados Custard

Here, we started off with a flakey apple strudel with an accompany Calvados custard. Think of it as a nice flakey apple pie, quite nice. I also enjoyed the custard made with Calvados, an apple brandy, though I'm a sucker for any custard based desserts.

Mascarpone Mousse - Espresso, Bailey's Foam

This dessert tasted almost as good as it looked. We all enjoyed the combination of espresso and the mascarpone cheese. The Bailey's Coffee Liqueur added a nice kick to the dessert.

Laurie's Daily Crème Brûlée - Shortbread

Here, I go with my favorite dessert, the crème brûlée. In this case, the flavor of the day was Maple Syrup Crème Brûlée. I do have to say, it's probably my favorite dish of the day, even though I am slightly biased. I enjoyed the subtle taste of maple syrup in the crème brûlée, and the berries were a nice accompaniment.

The meal as whole was satisfactory, though sadly, nothing really stood out. As a trip to this point, the food in Toronto has been quite disappointing, though you could argue my friends and I did not hit up the hot spots in town. Maybe I am being overly picky, but another reason might be the cold surroundings in the dining room. Even though we were there until close to 7PM, there were no other dining parties that ate around us. If you're around the Hockey Hall of Fame, you could take a shot and see if I'm overly critical, but if I ever make a trip back to Toronto, I doubt I'd return to Acqua.

Final Rating: 6 out of 10

Acqua Ristorante
10 Front St. West
Toronto, ONT
(416) 368-7171
Official Website