On a Thursday afternoon, my brother and I had some time to kill before picking up my cousin at Union station. After a quick Google search, I found Roll Play Cafe, a boardgame cafe within walking distance of our final destination. I’m a big fan of board games and have been visiting Snakes and Lattes since they opened. Since then, many similar establishments have popped up in Toronto with varying business models. After this visit, I have to say my favourite is still the original.

Atmosphere: Roll Play Cafe aims to be more upscale with a large wine selection and dark sleek furniture. The space has lots of booths for 2-4 people (each equipped with a set of Connect Four) and tables in the centre of the room that can accommodate large groups. Two shelves at opposite ends of the space housed a decent selection of board games. They did have lots of popular games and we found plenty to keep us occupied (Zombie Dice, Love Letter, Tokaido and Kingdom Builder), but nothing really new or hard to find. At Roll Play Cafe, the board games felt more casual, entertainment but not the focus. Kind of like the magazine selection at a bubble tea place.

Service: Honestly, service was over the top friendly, to the point of suffocating. Our server checked in on us constantly, hovering close by, asking we needed any more food or drinks. When I’m engrossed in a game, I’m not really looking for friendly banter with my server. Food did arrive quickly, and we had no issues getting the bill. Complimentary wi-fi was also provided.

Food: My brother and I were at Roll Play Cafe from about 5pm-7:30pm, just shy of 3 hours. Without a food purchase, 3 hours of game usage is $20/person. With a food purchase per person, the game usage fee was $5/person. Our total bill ended up being >$50, pretty steep for the amount of food we ordered and the time we spent there.

In total, we ordered a Hawaiian flatbread pizza ($18), Wild Boar Bites ($8) and two Americanos ($4). The americanos were very good, had a strong and rich coffee flavour. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Wild Board Bites and it turned out to be a sausage, cut up and served with a cheesy, tomato, sauce. The sausage had a lot of strong flavours, savoury and the sauce was tasty. I’m not sold on the price. Also considering the only other snack options were $5 for nuts, $6 for olives or $12/person for charcuterie, the choices were limited.

The Hawaiian pizza was a good size, but again overpriced. I did like the crust and the spicy sauce, but there was little cheese and the toppings were fine, but not noteworthy. I wasn’t visiting Roll Play for a gourmet meal and was looking more for snacks to be enjoyed while I played. A selection of cakes were on display and I’ve been craving cake for weeks, but when I found out the price tag was $10 for a slice with some added flair, I chose the skip dessert.

Reading reviews online, it seems that Roll Play Cafe has changed how they bill guests several times since they’ve opened. Personally, I’m not convinced the latest iteration works. We could’ve easily stuck to ordering just the americanos and kept our bill below $20, but I would’ve been happy to spend another $20 on reasonably priced snacks, and naturally increase my spend without being forced to. As is, the menu offerings were limited, with hefty price tags and doesn’t encourage ordering. I believe they’re trying to attract an older crowd, more office workers with larger wallets than students and it may be working. For me, I’ll have to pass.

One of the most anticipated restaurant openings last year was The Good Son from Chef Vittorio Colacitti, a participant in season 4 of Top Chef Canada. Reservations have been hard to come by. I tried unsuccessfully to get a table in November two weeks in advance for a group of 8. To avoid the Valentine’s Day rush, The Fiance and I decided to celebrate on the Friday and a table for two was easier to book (still at least 2 weeks in advance).

Atmosphere: The first feature of the restaurant I loved was the separate lobby/coat check area from the dining room. There’s a calm space to come in from the cold, deal with bulky jackets before being comfortably escorted to your table. The dining area itself had high ceilings, intimate lighting, a cozy fireplace and roomy armchairs. I felt like I was having dinner in a Victorian library or den. Walls were filled with mix matched framed black and white photographers, mirrors and grandfather clocks. A good balance between hipster and old-school charm.

Service: Service that night was 90% impeccable. Our server was friendly, professional and walked us through the menu. We had ordered a good a number of small dishes and he made sure they arrived in courses, not overwhelming us at once. The restaurant was full that night and the heavy armchairs made the dining area crowded. Another server who was taking care of the tables behind us asked me multiple times to shift my chair to get around one way, when there was ample space on the other side. Not a big deal once or twice, but an annoyance the third time.

Food: Dinner started with cocktails from The Good Son’s Winter Classic selection. I went with a Hot Apple Buttered Rum and The Fiance chose the Brandy Apple Cider. Both drinks came with a slice of dehydrated apple seasoned with cinnamon and brown sugar. Both drinks were delicious. My buttered rum was rich and warming. I also ordered Mulled Wine that was perfect. I can’t wait to see what spring brings.

We started Steak Tartare and Yellowtail Tiradito. Both dishes were top-notch. The tartare was well seasoned and served with a generous pour of olive oil. I’m slowly converting The Fiance to being a fan of tartare and this dish was a big help. The tiradito was also sublime, with depth of texture and flavour. I liked the thin, crispy lotus root chips and the fish was beautiful.

Second “course” was the Charcuterie and Cheese board, a solid competitor to other restaurants in Toronto. I liked the choice of cheese from creamy to aged and salty to savoury. The lardo was melt in your mouth and the accompaniments were perfect.

Our main course was a Salsiccia Pizza and the Grilled Octopus. It seems like every restaurant has octopus on their menu now. If they all prepared the dish as well as The Good Son, it’s a trend I’m happy to see. The octopus was soft, tender and charred. While the peppers didn’t add any spice, there was ample from the chorizo. The wood oven pizza was one of the best I’ve had in Toronto with a thin crust, lots of cheese and fresh toppings.

After all this food, the dessert menu still managed to tempt us. We split an order of the Apple Upside Down cake, that was a sweet ending to a great meal. The cake was dense but airy, sweet and tart. We also fought over the single scoop of vanilla gelato that was so rich in flavour.

Pizzeria Libretto specializes in Neapolitan pizza and can usually be found on lists celebrating the best pizzas in Toronto. I do not know pizzas. I like to eat them, but my tastebuds are not discerning nor knowledgeable. I do know that the pizzas I ate at Libretto were delicious, tender and full of flavour. For me, there’s nothing more I could ask for.

Atmosphere: My friend and I stopped by Libretto on a Tuesday night. Originally, I had planned or arriving at 5:30pm but after a multitude of TTC delays, we walked in at 6:15pm. There were still tables available and we didn’t have to wait, but as we left close to 8pm, a line of diners were queued out the door. The restaurant was cozy and comfortable with solid wood furniture. Libretto would be a great date spot or catching up with friends.

Service: Our server was friendly and efficient. She knew the menu well and helped us pick our pizzas, which arrived warm from the oven. Throughout our meal, our waters were kept filled, she kept an eye on our beers and offered lots of smiles.

Food: With wedding diet in full swing, I had prepared for dinner. Meaning a meager lunch and plenty of room left for all the pizza. My friend and I ordered two pizzas to split, a classic Margherita D.O.P. and a House Made Sausage. Between the two, the Margherita was my favourite. The full flavoured tomato sauce, fresh basil and generous globs of melted mozzarella were all perfect. Simple ingredients creating balanced, traditional flavours.

The House Made Sausage pizza was topped with chunks of sausage, caramelized onions, chilli oil and mozzarella, no tomato sauce. This topping combination was much more savoury and rich. While still delicious, I found I missed the sweetness of a tomato sauce. Both pizzas were cut into quarters and the crust was thin and tender. So thin and tender that the slice did not have enough structural integrity to be picked up. A knife and fork was needed to eat a few bites from the centre first.

Overall, the pizza was tasty, light, made with fresh ingredients and I had no problem eating a whole one by myself. If the restaurant is busy, Pizzeria Libretto also offers take out on their full menu of pizzas.

During each liciousTO event I like to organize a group meal at a new restaurant for my friends, which usually means a party of 8-10. I look for a restaurant with more than three entree options and a dining area large enough to fit us comfortably. Destingo fit both of these criteria and was my top choice based on their consistent positive reviews.

Atmosphere: Wood grain tables, exposed cement walls and large glass pendant lights make up the dining space. The kitchen is fully open to the seating area and bottles of wine line the wall across from individual washrooms. Every square foot of the restaurant is economically designed and serves a function. With this, there’s plenty of room to seat several large groups without worry about elbow room. The noise level at the beginning of dinner was comfortable but as more customers arrived, the decibels increased and echoed making conversation difficult. Our table also got chillier as the night went on.
Service: The service that night was friendly but unorganized with a slight frantic feel. Our entire meal took 3 hours and while this was nice to hang out with friends and no one really minded, it was longer than I had planned for. We waited a good 20 minutes after ordering before appetizers arrived and another good amount of time after plates were cleared before entrees were served. Our server was wonderful and brought bread refills between the two courses. One of my friends also managed to spill his water and that was quickly cleaned up.

Food: Two bread boards were served with an amazing sweet butter that was quickly devoured. This was one instance where the butter was finished with bread left behind (very little). I ordered the Verde Salad for my appetizer and the BF had the calamari. Our table heavily favoured the calamari with only one person ordering the soup of the day, cream of mushroom. Portions were generous and my salad was very refreshing with slices of apple, nutty walnuts, plentiful parmesan cheese and a light dressing. The greens served with the calamari was more heavily dressed. The squid itself was grilled, not battered and tender, easy to bite through. I loved the olives and capers making the dish feel like a traditional antipasto.

The BF and I both ordered the New Zealand lamb and I snagged a piece of the Quattro Funghi Pizza from a friend. My lamb was cooked to a medium rare, tender and had a good gamey flavour while the mint sauce was fresh and not overpowering. The dish was well executed and used colourful vegetables to round out the presentation. I really liked the crust on the pizza, paper thin and crispy. I found the asiago a little strong for my taste and masked the mushrooms a bit. I didn’t get to try the Chicken Parmigiana but heard good things and the bite of Pappardelle I had was delicious. The pasta was thin, al dente and almost made me wish I had ordered that as my main. As for portions, the lamb was the smallest dish but still a good size while the pizza and pasta were on the larger side.

I did get to sample all the desserts and my favourite was the Tiramisu, followed closely by the Molten Chocolate Cake. The apple strudel was only ok, especially after the amazing Apply Purse I had at Bent. The tiramisu was rich, creamy and had a wonderful coffee flavour. The Molten Chocolate Cake was more dense and less molten than I had expected but nonetheless tasty.

My first time in New York City was back in 2011 for a weekend of food and theater. I didn’t get to hit all of the stops on my wishlist but for two days, we fit in a lot of stops.

These were my top 5 eats from this trip:

1. Pizza @ Patsy’s Pizza: 318 West 23rd St 
   • Amazing thin crust, choose your own fresh toppings
2. Katz’s Pastrami Sandwich @ Katz’s Delicatessen: 205 East Houston Street
   • Thick layers of fatty pastrami on rye with mustard, straightforward and delicious
3. Ramen @ Totto Ramen: 366 W 52nd St
   • Amazing creamy broth, savoury garlic paste, generous toppings and great noodles
4. Dinner @ Dovetail: 103 West 77th St
   • $52 set 3 course meal, every Sunday
   • Michelin star meal of the trip, amazing ambiance, service and food
   • Right by Central Park
5. Lunch @ Maze by Gordon Ramsey: 151 West 54th St
   • $29 set 3 course meal, French based cuisine with a hint of Asian flare
   • Great price for a memorable meal

Since Falasca opened, I’ve only heard great things about their pizza and finally made it for lunch last week. We arrived at around 12:30 and there was still a line to the door from the counter. At lunch time, Falasca offers 8 pizza choices from their extensive menu. Each slice is cut to order and priced by weight (~2.00-$2.50/100g), credit cards are accepted only for orders over $10. It was very busy that day and the counter was beginning to look sparse by the time I made it to order.

I grabbed slices of the pesto and focaccia prosciutto, and swapped for a slice of the diavolo from my friend. It was a lot of pizza for me in one sitting but I polished off every bite. The crust was thin and crispy while the ingredients were fresh and paired well together. I really liked the pine nuts on the pesto pizza.

The seating area at lunch was self-serve and the owner was friendly and efficient working behind the counter.

I’m looking forward to trying out more of the pizza flavours and pastas in the future.

UPDATE 12/20/2012: Went back to Balsamico in December and it was so much better. The restaurant was full and the food was much better. This time I ordered the Linguine Fra Diavolo. The pasta was great, the sauce was a little on the oily side but the experience is bumping my rating up from a C* to B*.

Balsamico is one of the many Italian restaurants in the Yonge-Eglinton neighbourhood that’s opened up more recently. I stopped by for lunch in August with a friend. We sat down at noon and the place was empty, it pretty much stayed empty for the rest of the lunch hour.

Atmosphere: The restaurant feels very warm with dark wood tables, a bar at the back and mustard yellow walls. The old fashioned chandelier also provided intimate lighting throughout the space.

Service: We were able to sit at a table of our choosing since the restaurant wasn’t full. The service was welcoming, attentive and friendly but not intrusive. They were very patient with explaining the menu to us and answering all of the questions about the Italian names.

Food: I had been craving risotto for some time now so went with the Risotto Ai Funghi for my main while my friend ordered the Quattro Stagioni pizza (mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, grilled zucchini and prosciutto). The way the toppings  on the pizza was separated was interesting, we ended up rebuilding each piece with a little bit of each anyways but that flexibility was nice. My risotto was fairly under cooked  It may have been because it was a quiet day and they weren’t expecting an order, but it’s really no excuse. I only got through half of it. The flavours were great and I loved all the mushrooms, it just needed more time on the stove, which for $19 at lunch I wouldn’t have minded waiting. The half I took home, after being reheated, was perfect.