Dufflet Pastries

Dufflet Patries is one of the more famous dessert places in Toronto with several locations (details at www.dufflet.com). I went to the one on 787 Queen St. after my Terroni's meal. It's a small shop with 3 little tables and a high table along the window. However, they had a big selection of cakes and pastries that left me drooling in indecisiveness for quite awhile. Finally my friend and I decided to go with The Mixed Fruit Pie. It had blueberry, Apple, Rhubarb and maybe some other fruits in it and I really liked it. It wasn't overly sweet, and there was tinge of sourness from the berries and rhubarb that I liked. But my friends weren't feeling the sourness too much and vouched for the Chocolate Mousse cake. The chocolate was really smooth and not overly sugary, which went very nicely with our coffees and cappucino. They only cut one cheese cake at a time. I can't remember exactly what the name of it was, but it definitely wasn't too creamy and very smooth, one of the better cheesecakes I've had around the downtown area. The pieces weren't expensive, around $3.75 a slice. If it wasn't so far from where I live I'd probably be indulging in this guilty pleasure a lot more frequently....

Terroni on Queen St.

There are three Terroni locations around Toronto (details at www.terroni.ca, I usually go to the one on 720 Queen St.west of Bathurst St. This place is always super packed at any hour of the day. We went on a Sunday at 5pm, and it was already 90% full with a bustling dinner crowd. The restaurant decor is very homey and small-town Italian joint like, and can feel a little crowded. If you are looking for a quiet, classy place for dinner then you might want to consider elsewhere. I usually go for the pizzas, which are hand-tossed thin crust and loaded with fresh toppings. I had the smoked salmon with white cream sauce and fresh tomatoes, capers pizza (think it was around $15 or $16.)

Most pizzas there range from $13 to $16. I've tried the pears and walnuts one before and loved it the unusual sweet and savory blend of different flavours and textures. But if you like the traditional flavours, they have the grilled veggies+goat cheese, italian sausage, etc. to choose from as well. The homemade pastas are freshly made daily and are absolutely delicious. The simple spaghetti with tomato sauce ($13) didn't need anything else to make it a memorable dish. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, looking at this picture makes me want run back and order another plate. The veal one ($15ish) was a little bit on the salty side, and I personally liked the texture of the spaghetti better, but still the sauce was very savory and worth the try.

Summary: Good food, bustling ambiance, good service considering how busy the place was, price is slightly higher than some other restaurants but the taste is also a notch above.

Beer Bistro - Winterlicious Lunch

Been hearing some good things about Beer Bistro (18 King Street East, www.beerbistro.com) for awhile, so I decided to take Dad there for Winterlicious lunch, since they seemed to have a pretty good selection for $15 three course meal. These items are representative of their regular menu.

Service was excellent. We arrived after having walked through a snow storm looking like snowmen, and the hostess welcomed us with a smile and offered to hang up our coats and led us to a nice window seat. Being a beer bistro, they suggest a different beer for every item on their menu, but since I still had class after I didn't want to risk the alcohol.

We both started with the House Applewood Smoked Salmon, White Beer Cream Cheese, Porter Pancake for appetizer. The smoked salmon was very salty, so I paired it up with the greens to balance the flavours out. The beer taste in the cream cheese wasn't strong but paired well with the onion. The porter pancake was a little salty and mushy and I finished it only because I was starving.

The entres were much better. I could actually taste the beer in my Brown Ale Butter Chicken with tomatoes, eggplants, fried onions and basmati rice. The butter chicken wasn't too creamy, and the beer taste gave it an extra edge that made the dish unique. I'm a huge basmati rice fan so I was very happy with this flavourful dish. My dad ordered their signature Belgium Beer Burger with imported Guiness cheddar and buttermilk bun. We both agreed the patty was very salty but the bun and veggies balanced it out. The bun was toasted and crunchy on the outside and super soft on the inside, I could just eat it alone. The whole burger was juicy and mixed with a great variety of flavours enhanced by the underlying Guinness taste. The crunchy, refreshing coleslaw was the perfect supplement.

For dessert, I had Belgian Dark Mousse with strawberry fruli beer and Green Apple Butter Cookie Crumble since my Dad doesn't eat sweets. I loved the Dark Mousse initially, but after a couple more spoonful the mooshy texture became too much. I wish there was a different texture or flavour in there to switch things up a bit, otherwise it's a little too much chocolate goodness in one shot. The crumble lived up to its name, very buttery and scrumptious, with large pieces of sweet and sour apples to balance it out so it didn't get too overwhelmingly buttery.

Winterlicious/Summerlicious is a good time to try out this place, and you can always return afterwards to try out the regular menu items.