When Stephen and I started seriously planning for kids, I knew that dietary restrictions would be a part of being pregnant. To be honest I was sad I’d be missing some of my favourite foods (and beverages) but being a natural worrier, also didn’t want to take any risks. We’ve been incredibly lucky and are currently expecting! Since finding out I’ve been staying away from runny yolks, rare steak, soft cheeses, oysters, limited caffeine, and zero raw fish. Of all those foods, the only one that I crave and miss daily is sushi. My mouth waters just thinking of a thick slab of sashimi and I’ve asked Stephen to try sneaking a sushi platter into the delivery room.

3 months into my pregnancy I received an invitation for a 4 course tasting at Miku, one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Toronto. I couldn’t resist accepting, even though I could only enjoy 60% of the set menu. Luckily, Miku was incredibly accommodating and able to modify my raw courses to delicious cooked variations, much to Stephen’s dismay (no double aburi course for him!).

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

For dinner, our group was seated in the private room that was separated from the main dining area by a pair of heavy glass doors. We had the pleasure of having each course introduced to us in detail by the chef. The first course was a seafood platter featuring aburi sashimi, a raw kusshi oyster, an oyster shooter, prawn cocktail, marinated mussels, scallop sashimi and poke. So much goodness in a single bowl. My variation had the sashimi fully grilled, the mussels and prawns steamed and a replacement of seaweed salad, smoked olives and various pickles for the other raw elements. Each bite was delicious with lots of seafood flavour.

Both Stephen and I chose the Kyoto Saikyo Miso Baked Sablefish for our 2nd entree. The gorgeous piece of fish was served with dashi roasted endive, a zucchini blossom tempura, kelp broccoli puree and market baby vegetable. I found the zucchini blossom a little heavy and wouldn’t have missed it from the dish. The sablefish was excellently cooked, firm but flakey and incredibly buttery.

My favourite course was the Aburi sushi. Stephen”s selection had a piece of Miku Roll, scallops, shrimp salmon and hamachi, while mine included prawn, unagi and crab. I think between the two, my “cooked” selection was even better. Each piece was garnished to compliment the fish and looked as pretty as they were tasty. No visit to Miku would be complete without having their aburi.

Dessert was a slice of Miku’s Green Tea Opera cake and a scoop green tea ice cream. The multi-layered cake takes over 24 hours to create and is another must have. Each layer adds flavour and texture to make each delectable bite chocolatey, crispy, creamy and rich.

I am very good at finding excuses to eat out. Heading to a concert, show, Raptor’s game? Obviously we’ll have to grab dinner beforehand. e11even’s convenient downtown location (within walking distance of Union Station, the ACC and Roger’s Centre), sophisticated dining room and spacious patio makes it a great spot to grab a drink, some bites or splurge on the ribeye for dinner. Also, their Double Cut Bacon, a must-order. Also, if you’re hungry afterwards, e11even is also open for for any post-game (Maple Leafs, Raptors, etc.) food and drinks as well.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

Atmosphere: Walking into e11even, I was worried for a second that Stephen and I were underdressed. The large dining room was all dark wood, high ceilings and leather booths. I saw lots of suits and ties, but when we moved to the patio outside, the attire was much more laid back. e11even’s partially covered patio ran along the entire restaurant and was breezy and comfortable. We were able to catch the sunset between buildings and enjoy the late summer evening. The menu was presented via a sleek iPad app, which had plenty of mouth-watering photos to reference. There was also an extensive wine list (and a gorgeous wine feature wall inside the restaurant), but I still have 5 months to go before my next glass of wine.

Food: To start, Stephen and I ordered the Spinach and Artichoke Dip and the Double Cut Bacon with a maple sherry glaze. The dip was cheesy and creamy with a nice toasted top layer while the chips were salty and crispy. A touch more seasoning in the dip would’ve balanced out the two components even more. I loved the Double Cut Bacon. Each thick slice was perfectly grilled, meaty and a perfect bite of sweet and savoury. Being able to order this dish as an appetizer was great and it would make a delicious add-on to any entree.

For mains, Stephen opted for the 14oz Dry Aged Ribeye with a peppercorn gravy while I choose the daily fish special of Grilled Red Snapper. Stephen’s steak was cooked to a perfect medium, served carved and with a side of lemon arugula salad. The peppercorn gravy was flavourful but could have benefited from a pinch of salt. I personally like my steaks pretty seasoned, so a heavy-handed sprinkle of sea salt on either the steak itself or in the gravy would have worked. The quality and the marbling of the steak was excellent and I liked how sour the salad was with wedges of fresh lemon.

Reading through the menu of side dishes, I couldn’t resist the Truffled Mac N’ Cheese. The baked bowl of goodness was cheesy with a hint of truffle that wasn’t too overpowering. My red snapper was served whole with skin on a bed of fingerling potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Both the fish and vegetables were well-seasoned and I really enjoyed the taste. The fish had a perfectly crispy skin and the flesh was tender and flaked easily with a fork.

We were too full to tackle dessert but I was eyeing the Sticky Toffee Pudding hard. In hindsight, with limited stomach capacity, I would’ve traded the giant plate of chips and Spinach dip for a slice of dessert.

Overall, dinner at e11even was satisfying with a lively atmosphere. I’d recommend getting a table on the patio if possible and most definitely the Double Cut bacon.

As the weather warms up, Toronto comes out of hibernation and the season of summer events begins. Last year, I had the opportunity to attend Cuisine & Cuvee, in support of Providence Healthcare, with Karen and we spent the night sipping drinks and nibbling on tasty bites. This year’s event was held at Rebel and turned out to be an even bigger and better party. The only thing better than an awesome event is one also for a great cause. Providence Healthcare is a leader in Toronto for providing rehabilitation, palliative, and long-term care with a history dating back to 1857. Cuisine & Cuvee is just one of the many events the Providence Healthcare Foundation runs annually to help raise funds to support Providence Hospital, their long-term care facility and day programs. I was honoured to be invited to attend and cover this year’s event.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

This year’s event featured over 30 savoury, sweet and beverage stations. On the stage, when the DJ wasn’t in charge, talented live performers entertained the lively crowd. After our first round (or two) through the savoury food stations, we ventured upstairs to the VIP area with access to the outside balcony with a stunning view of the Toronto Skyline. I have to admit, being able to access upstairs was a nice perk, especially as the crowd grew. When we returned for a few more bites, most booths had a long line.

14 savoury food vendors fed the crowd with delicious morsels from cheese to grilled cheese to scallops. I absolutely loved the seared Diver Scallops being served by E11even with a truffled celeriac puree, honey mushrooms and bacon jam. Another stand out plate was Locale Mercatto’s Cavatelli with Smoked Ontario Trout, amazing. Pilar’s Catering set up a full Roast Beef carving station and Summer Thyme Bites’ Gourmande Grilled Cheese was buttery and cheesy. What’s wine without cheese? Bothwell Cheese and Pasquale Bros satisfied all of my cheese needs with their spread, conveniently set up on opposite sides of the room, so I was never out of arm’s reach of a cheese platter.

On the beverage side, there was a wine bar with pouring bottles from 4 wineries and a host of beer and liquor vendors. My favourite was Boodles Gin, which was smooth and sweet. Wyborowa Vodka, Lost Craft Beer and Jack Daniel’s were mixing caesars, cocktails and a boozy lemonade. Steam Whistle was also on hand along with Dixon’s Distilled Spirits and Arbonne. Of course, I had to grab another watermelon slush from Tropic Love! Coconuts and Pineapples were also available. To satiate our sweet tooths, there was Mint Oreo ice cream made with liquid nitrogen from Ice Volcano Ice Cream and Holy Cannoli’s famous cannolis.

Aside from food and entertainment, the event also had a raffle (including tickets to a Leafs game in the Executive Suite for 12 people!) and a silent auction to raise funds. The silent auction was one of the best I’ve seen with lots from iPads to Tiffany Jewellery to a catered dinner for 10 by The Food Dudes. There was also a fine wine auction that included bottles ranging in value from hundreds to thousands.

As food vendors wrapped up service, their tables were packed away one by one until the dance floor was clear, making way for the group of eager partiers (myself included).

When planning my weekend in Vancouver this October, I specifically left out restaurants that had migrated to Toronto for two reasons. One I was only there for 3 days and wanted to try food I couldn’t in Toronto. Two, I didn’t want to be disappointed if Toronto’s version of a restaurant didn’t measure up. This caused Miku to be excluded from my itinerary despite excellent reviews. Back in Toronto, when Miku opened their doors, I was eager to get a table and hoped that nothing had been lost on the way from West coast to The Six.

Atmosphere: Miku was a large restaurant, on a scale similar to Luma or Jump. Located at Bay and Queens Quay, the upscale restaurant was modern and trendy with a clean monochromatic colour scheme. Bar seats lined the partially open kitchen, fresh seafood was displayed on ice and a private dining area was set up behind glass walls. Even on a Wednesday night, the restaurant was packed.

Service: With only a month of service under their belt, Miku has some wrinkles to iron out before they’re streamlined. Once we were seated, our server came by to introduce herself and left us to examine the menu. We placed our drink and food orders, and waited. There may have been a queue at the bar but it took close to 15 minutes to get two cocktails and a beer. Our server was friendly and apologetic about the wait. After the initial snafu, our food dishes did arrive at a good pace and each plate was served with a description. I feel like Miku has the potential to offer great hospitality, all the pieces are there, some more fine-tuning is required.

Food: Miku is best known for their aburi style (blow torched) sushi. With this in mind, we stuck to ordering rolls and nigiri, rather than sashimi. As an appetizer, we ordered the Smokey Soy Grilled Octopus. The tender octopus was served with crispy chicken skin, sea salt crusted baby potatoes, wasabi chimichurri and aioli. A delicious plate that was elegant and lovely.

For rolls, we tried the Miku and Soft Shell Crab Fritter rolls. Immediately, The Hubby deemed the Miku rolle life-changing. Each piece was creamy, had a complex charred flavour from the blowtorch and pops of umami from the tobiko. This was a very good roll, and the highlight of the evening. In comparison, the Soft Shell Crab Fritter roll fell short on taste but was more artfully plated, with fanned out pieces on a brush stroke of squid ink. Extra pieces of crab were filled in a pool of chilli aioli. The roll was filled with soft shell crab, salmon and scallop, but only the fried crab was prominent.

Next was pressed Saba and Salmon sushi, finished aburi style to add a smokey, seared flavour. In term of aburi style sushi, this was the best I’ve had in Toronto from the high quality raw fish, to the perfect texture of the sushi rice. Sometimes, with the execution of pressed sushi, the sushi rice gets packed too tight and becomes mushy. Miku’s was excellent.

The last dish we ordered was the Miku Signature Sushi Selection plate, which included 6 pieces of nigiri, 2 pieces from their specialty roll selection and 2 pieces from their pressed sushi choices. Included in the nigiri was sweet shrimp, tuna, yellow tail and wagyu. I was a little disappointed that scallop and uni were both excluded. One feature I really liked about Miku’s menu were the platter options that allowed diners to get a taste of a wide variety of fish. Each piece of nigiri featured fresh, sweet, sashimi brushed with sauce.

Dessert split 3 ways was Green Tea Opera cake. The layers of matcha buttercream, chocolate ganache and hazelnut wafer were delicious, rich in flavour and airy in texture with a crunch in between.

With Miku, I flip flopped between a 4.0 and 5.0 rating. Afterall, the sushi was top notch and there were some standout rolls, however I didn’t fall in love with the restaurant. Perhaps over-time and after tasting more of the menu, Miku will get bumped up to 5.0. Based solely on this one meal, I think Miku is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the city, but not quite the best.

When The Fiance and I graduated from university, a group of mutual friends planned to celebrated with dinner at Harbour Sixty. Then we looked at the menu and realized that as new grads, the steak was a little out of our budget. Now, being employed, one of the best perks is being able to splurge on a meal. Since steak is one The Fiance’s favourite foods, I made reservations at Harbour Sixty for his birthday this year.

Atmosphere: Harbour Sixty’s decor was classy and traditional. There was a lot of big armchairs, heavy tables, wall sconces, brocade and leather. It’s the kind of restaurant that makes me worry I’ve used the wrong fork. Luckily, their friendly service offsets the intimidation. Our dinner was before a leafs game so diners were more relaxed and there were as many people in Leaf’s Jerseys as suits. Many of the diners were regulars and greeted with familiarity. Overall, Harbour Sixty felt fancy, but comfortable. One day, I’ll be a regular, one day.

Service: First off, valet parking was default. That night, we were driving my 10 year old Honda Civic that has a few dents, a perpetual engine light and likes to hum when the headlights are off. Needless to say, next to the Benzs, Lamborghinis and Jaguars, I felt a little out of place. However, service was impeccable and the valet attendants were efficient and professional.

Once seated, our server was friendly and checked in on us throughout the meal. I had a hard time choosing a wine and our server offered lots of suggestions and picked one to my preferences. When our sides and steaks arrived, the mashed potatoes were served onto the plate for us. At the end of our meal, the busboys were efficient, quickly cleared dishes and packed away our food in a heavy paper shopping bag.

Food: As usual, we ordered too much food. This time though, I learned and took half my steak home rather than stuff myself. The meal started with bread, a whipped herb butter and three side dishes. There were olives, pickled peppers with feta and a parmesan couscous. Of the three, I liked the couscous best followed by the olives, the peppers were too sour for me.

For our sides, we chose the lobster mashed potatoes and truffle oil fries. The thin fries were good, garnished with a sprig of fresh rosemary, two slices of parmesan cheese and a light touch of truffle oil. My heart was won over by the mashed potatoes. That little tin of heaven was buttery, creamy with lots of lobster and topped with baked brie. Who needs roasted vegetables? If you’re ordering a side, get the mashed potatoes.

The Fiance ordered the bone in rib steak while I stuck with the traditional ribeye. We both chose medium and between the two steaks, mine was the fattier cut. I really enjoyed the spice rub, which we’re guessing contained paprika and the fat was rendered beautifully. The steak of juicy, well spiced and expertly prepared.

While The Fiance does make a great steak at home, I do still enjoy eating out at steakhouses for special occasions. Harbour Sixty was an intimate restaurant with excellent service whose spice rub inspired our next home-cooked steak. I would stick to ribeye and one steak with two sides would be plenty to feed two people.

Disclaimer: All foods eaten were compensated by Spork. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

Two weeks ago, I met with two of the faces behind a new mobile app called Spork. Spork is an app that specializes in micro marketing for restaurants, allowing them to run limited promotional deals (ie. buy any size scopp and get a scoop free at Lick it Gelato) that target nearby consumers. Each deal is customized by the restaurant and tailored to their needs.

We met at Queen’s Quay station to take advantage of a new “Spork” offer at Lick it Gelato. The main screen of the app is a map with indicators of deals that are running. Clicking on each indicator brings up the details of the deal and a button to “Spork” it. If a user does choose to take advantage of an offer, they have a limited amount of time to get to the restaurant. For Lick it Gelato, we had 30 minutes to arrive for our free scoop of gelato.

While we discussed the app, I had the pleasure of eating some delicious dessert. Lick it Gelato offers up to 16 flavours, pastries from Dufflet, a selection of coffees, sodas and sandwiches. A few of the gelato flavours were running low but for the middle of May, the selection was pretty varied between fruit and creamy. I had a sample of the Burnt Caramel and was sold. The flavour was rich, smokey and the perfect level of sweetness. Sadly there was no pistachio, my go to flavour, so for my free scoop I went with my second favourite, Chocolate Hazelnut. Both scoops were rich and smooth.

A small dining area is available along with bar seats along the front window. A few two-seater tables are set up outside as well. Lick it Gelato is a nice spot for a sweet break if you’re in the neighbourhood.

Overall, Spork aims to help restaurant build consumer loyalty and increase traffic during slow periods with enticing offers. Restaurants are currently recruited to the app personally by one of the founders and based on positive reviews. Currently, Spork has already partnered with popular restaurants like Snakes and Lattes, I went to Philly and Utopia Cafe and Grill. Building a mutually beneficial relationship between users and restaurants, Spork has a the potential to become an app that I use regularly because who doesn’t love a good deal.