Toronto Delivers

When you crave a hearty plate of Turkish food and happen to be in the Village in Downtown (Church and Wellesley), visit La Turque. You might pass by it and think "Not World Class" or even feel that ick factor! BUT in reality its actually the opposite. The owners are polite, the portions are a welcome sight for the hungry, they are open till midnight (longer hours on weekends) and the best part is that you can see exactly what goes to your meal.

...and you don´t leave the place smelling like you´ve taken a bath with your meal.

Rating - World Class (Cheap Meals Category)
Less than $10 for a meal and a pop

Details:
Bathroom - visited this place about 15 times since arriving to Toronto (its cheap and tasty so why not visit often right?) and it was always clean, no tissues on the floor, no splatters on the toilet, mirrors are clean and it actually smells fresh

Meal Preparation- you can see and control (no beets with your beef plate? sure) exactly what goes to your meal. Gloves and tongs are used (as you would expect but surprisingly not always used at this level of restaurants).

Politeness-Turkan speaks straight English! (Again an expectation but sometimes not a reality) She´s the owner. Very cordial. You´ll see her daughter sitting quietly on one of the seats sometimes... studying. Her employees are equally helpful. No boisterousness that we've come to experience at these joints.

Cleanliness-Tables are immediately cleaned. People take their dishes to the trash bins. Make sure you recycle. This is Toronto btw. This place seats 25 only so make sure you come in early or off lunch/dinner time. I sometimes order to go, do my chores, then come back and eat my meal at home. Edward enjoys the meals.

There´s always a newspaper or magazine to read so customers are entertained while waiting for their meals-which is actually delivered to you with a smile.

Try it today and tell Turkan that Robin and Edward sent you there....(no this is not a paid promotion)... and try the yummy desserts while you´re at it.

oh... and the little change that we´d suggest? Lessen the positioning of the California wines and some of the artwork may not fit the food theme. A good paint job can do the trick.

Ontario Science Centre - not yet World class but it will get there we hope... for the sake of the kids and the young at heart. This is why...

1 .We arrive at the membership counter to become members since we're just museum addicts. The person they've hired (or is this a volunteer?) unfortunately was unable to articulate the membership plans in clear plain English and we were lost after "we have three types" then it was just a Charlie Brown moment - wah wah wah wah wah.

2. There is so much unused space. It looks like a public high school converted into a museum but ran out of paint. The Weston Hall is wonderful - that could be world class BUT the hallways and bathrooms are just to be desired. Don't breathe, it could be toxic in that bathroom - what cleaning detergent were they using?

3. We marked this as "cheap meals" as well since if you're needing food and in the area, there really isn't much to go to other than the junk food stops so why not eat junk food at the museum! Pizza anyone?

4. The ice sculpture and the snow throw contests were a good idea implemented badly. Your first impression of the museum is just 'ick' because this unconventional sculpture is just there without a sign with a police tape like border. Seems like an ice sculpture have fallen off and killed another sculpture below. The snow fight turned target practise... hmm... not sure its a good idea to have that next to the parking lot.

5. The calming chirping of birds is a great idea as one takes the escalator to the other levels. But the construction with a tacky poster of Hulk or some other Marvel super hero is an idea gone bad.

The Kids Section was fun. Lots of interaction and the lab-gowned support personnel were quite attentive (though one was having a Doritos break on the side). Kids seemed to enjoy touching, feeling, and all around screaming. Oh the joy of a screaming kid next to you. (visions of airline experiences are coming back)

Update: We did get to see Spiderman 2 and Bugs! on the big screen (yes we came back). That was fun. The popcorn was fresh. The museum store though was bland. I could have gone online or at any other Discovery store and see the same thing.

That would be it.. Enjoy the show.

Everything in the menu is $7++. You wouldn't know it if you don't read Korean but its on the corner of Bloor and Clinton. The signs are all in Korean. The menu is all in Korean with simple English that is not translated well so if you have not eaten Korean food before, then you'll be at a loss - but you can always point to whatever your neighbouring seat is having (if you fancy it) and voila! It'll be at your table in about 15 minutes. Its packed. Its bustling. Is it clean? Don't go to the bathrooms. Don't stare at the waiters who sometimes pick their runny noses. Don't try to look through the kitchen window (you won't be able to see anything since its so tiny). The food is fab. If you speak Korean, you're in luck. Ed and I had our Bulgogi and Dolsot Bibimbob but look at the photo on the right, what is this? Its water poured to my rice container. It was turning progressively brown as we were going through our meal. Was I to make it as a soup? Was it a hand sanitizer of some sort? We've been to many Korean restaurants in many countries including Korea but maybe we haven't been to one where they actually do this - we have much to learn about Korean meal service. If you know what we were supposed to do with this, do tell. None of our neighbours were touching their brown water-on-rice pots either.

Overall rating? Lots to upgrade and improve if they want to be world class. The way their business is going, they may not care. But for sustainability and when there's actual government sanctioned restaurant rating systems, they'd need to clean up the place and put English signs. It was an experience though. Want an adventure, head out to Clinton and Bloor. Parking is not that difficult in this area of town.

Wake up to the fresh smell of seafood right from the port. Although the meat is not stacked nicely (nor always labeled properly) like the NYC Grand Central Station market, we've rated this to be 'about to be world class.' There's food, there's music, there's food, there's fresh veggies, fruits, there's food, cheeses, and just lots of little shacks selling delicacies. Did we say there's lots of food you can see being cooked in front of you? Yummy! All of this at the St Lawrence Market.

So what needs to be upgraded? Trash removal and containment process. I could see flies and I could see trash around and near the glass doors. Not a good sign. Especially in the afternoon or first thing in the morning when the fresh catch is being loaded. Maybe learn a thing or two from Seattle's Pike's Place?

We've visited St Lawrence Market often - for lunch, for meat shopping, for the entertainment of seeing people run amok looking for that perfect cut of meat or pinching the fruits for the perfect ripeness. It's actually fun to people-watch. You should do it sometime at the St Lawrence Market, and while you're at it, get a bagel or two and some great cheese.

I tend to avoid chains at all costs. The very nature of a chain with its institutional ingredients and rather bland presentations always make me feel like I’m paying for something I’m not getting. I’m always annoyed by the concept a “dining experience” because that experience usually becomes a substitute for good food. I don’t go to a restaurant for funny tchochkes on the wall, I go for taste and quality.

Wimpy’s Diner (click here for map) has plenty of tchochkes on the wall. In fact, the place is covered in tin signs and license plates, and just about all the Betty Boop memorabilia anyone can stand (a life-size Betty meets one at the door; no one can resist touching her as they pass by). I don’t think there’s a square inch of wall anywhere that remains uncovered. What surprised me was just how good the food is.

Wimpy’s is famous for their hamburgers (hence the name), which are too big to fit the bun, juicy and zesty. I don’t think I’ve ever finished one. But they also serve a wide range of specials that elevates them above just being a burger joint.

The other night, I had the barbecue strip steak sandwich, topped with grilled onions and sweet red peppers, with cole slaw and onion rings on the side. My guest had the chicken quesadilla with fries. The tender steak was thinly cut, perfectly grilled and slathered in a mild barbecue sauce that was zesty and combined well with the onions and peppers. The quesadilla was crispy on the outside and filled with tender chunks of grilled chicken and cheddar cheese.

The portions are so big that there is never enough room for dessert.

The service is also exceptional. Even at their busiest times, the waitstaff has been friendly and quick, even perky in most cases. That’s one of those touches you expect in the 50’s style diner they aspire to be (but usually exceed, happily).

Wimpy’s gets a World Class rating for their food and service. ~ robis