Entertaining A Teenager

[jamesm]

My girlfriend's 15 year old cousin is coming down for the weekend from his small town to hang out with us in the city and I'm wondering if there's any suggestions for places to take him that he'd like (besides the Brass Rail.) We're at Queen and Roncesvalles and are taking him shopping along Queen and to a Raptors game so anywhere in between is great. I'm thinking he might dig Burrito Boys for lunch, but I'm still thinking of somewhere for dinner that he might think is cool. Thanks in advance.

[crawfish]

My nephew came down from Stayner at that age and we took him to one of the Chinese BBQ places on Spadina. He was suitably grossed out by the stuff hanging in the window and all the more proud of himself for eating and loving it. He went home and told all of his friends and insisted on going back everytime he came to visit.

[Finnegan]

Jeff Purvey's Fish and Chips (Peterbrough) has to rate as the best sit-down chippies in Ontario

[Finnegan]

Of course I'm jus joking about Bobcaygeon...their Kawartha Diary ice parlour hass the best ice cream in Ontario...though I miss the old El Toro steakhouse by the locks

[kawarthagirl]

Well, it's not a complete joke -- we have yet to dine well in Bobcaygeon.... But I have to lend my support for Peterborough restaurants, which are vastly improving!

[Finnegan]

Coming from a small town? How small? If he's from Bobcaygeon he'd probably be impressed with any restaurant with a flush toilet...if he's a little more hip there's a very nice, very reasonable Japanese restaurant that is extremely popular with the Queen St. art student/stand outside Much Music crowd. I can't recall the name but it's on the northwest corner of John and Queen (next to the bookstore)...the servce is friendly, there's the usual sushi choices, teriyaki, etc. and at the end of the day he can go home to his backwoods friends and tell them he ate japanese...everybody wins

[kawarthagirl]

HEY! I resemble that remark.........!

[deelicious]

I took my little cousins 15-17 to Terroni and they loved the cool pizzas.
Korean BBQ is always good.
Crepe Cafe across from CITY TV is a great place too. I always see young kids on dates there.

[todc1996]

i was going to suggest terroni as well...don't think you can that type & quality of pizza in a really small town.
burrito boyz -also great suggestion.
hooter's?? :o)

[jamesm]

Yeah, I'd like to take him places he wouldn't normally be exposed to. Shanghai Cowgirl is a great suggestion too for lunch.

[MiniMom]

Oh Oh thought of another one Sneaky Dee's relatively speaking good food, but all about the atmosphere for a 15yr old...should be a fair amount of funky people for him to check out and want to copy their piercings.

[jamesm]

I'm sure his mom would be ecstatic if I sent him home with some new holes in his face. Although I may want to go to Sneaky Dee's for personal reasons. I'm feeling nostalgic for the Dance Cave followed by a plate of King's Crown Nachos.

I swear I was cool once.

[mtampoya]

If he is from a small town - how about stuff he can't get in a small town? Like thai, japanese, indian?

East is not the best thai restaurant, but it is usually busy and upbeat.

If burgers is your choice, I would go to Monsoon or Shanghai Cowgirl (but only for atmosphere's sake)...

[flashy_mcflash]

Actually East would be a good choice as he might dig the view of Much across the street. If you go for a really early dinner (around 5ish), there's usually something going on that day for Much on Demand.

[jamesm]

I'm not familiar with East. What's the deal with that place?

[pinstripeprincess]

it's a very pretty looking springrolls with barely competent thai food.

what kind of guy is he? would he like an upscale-ish type experience or would he feel out of place?

i think shanghai cowgirl is an excellent option, it's casual but has a funky little menu that he can laugh a little at but still enjoy (ghetto sushi anyone?). it's also not too adventurous if he's not a foodie kind of guy.

i'd probably like to take him up to kensington at some point during the day since it's a great little neighbourhood that will have his eyes wandering everywhere. also great because you'll be passing through chinatown and you can easily grab a snack (can't beat some bahn mi for $1.50).

in fact, king's noodle might be an experience and a half with the butchered bbq meats hanging in the window and quick fresh to order, and made in front of you, noodles and congee donuts. the chaos is sort of fun in it's own way and the place look uber clean.

[jamesm]

I'm not sure upscale is his scene. He's more of a, I don't know, normal teen? A little shy, but a good kid. We're definitely going to take him to Kensington, through Chinatown and Queen West. I think I've got some great suggestions from everyone though and I think they'll help make his weekend pretty fun. Now the raptors just have to beat the clippers and he'll have the best weekend ever. Thanks for everyone's input. Much appreciated.

[jamesm]

My girlfriend suggested HAL burger too. I'm sure he'd like it. We're actually pretty sure he'd be stoked just to go to McDonalds but I can't in good conscience do that. Man, I sound old.

[flashy_mcflash]

I know there'll be a lot of hate for it on here, but he might dig HAL Burger.

[jamesm]

Oh yeah, the Korean BBQ place...I'm not a huge fan but he might think it's cool. Definitely not something they have back home. Great idea.

[MiniMom]

Hard Rock Cafe migh work / theres a Korean BBQ place near City TV that might be fun. Chinatown is alway a fun adventure.

[hungryabbey]

hm.. what about Queen Mother on Queen St W ?