Suggestions for a Pre-Leafs/Birthday Dinner For Not-So-Adventurous Parental Palates
I have four tickets to the Leafs game on Saturday, March 14. It also happens to be my mother's birthday. My SO and I plan to take my parents to the game and make it a birthday celebration (no cakes and candles, though) for both of my parents, since my dad's b-day is two weeks after that. My parents used to be more adventurous, but now that they're in their mid-60s, I'm finding their versatility rapidly shrinking. What I mean is, they're getting finicky. I've been looking at menus for Nota Bene, Forte, Veritas, but I fear that they are going to be scouring the menu card in desperation, looking for something that appeals to them. My SO and I could find something to make us happy at each restaurant, or at Takesushi, a pre-hockey fave of ours, I'm sure, but in light of the fact that the celebration is for my parents and not for us, I think the restaurant choice should reflect their tastes more than ours.
A few semi-recent celebration destinations with them have included Batifole (they loved it, but we found the food incredibly salty). Phebe's Zee Grill (everyone was reasonably happy), Baton Rouge (hideous pre-theatre dinner), and the Sultan's Tent (which totally sucked!!!). We've taken them for tapas a couple of times, which we all enjoyed. They definitely like steaks and seafood, but when it comes to fish, they're pretty conservative. The problem is, I don't care for steakhouses, particularly, though I'm considering the Hot Stove in ACC, just for the sake of convenience (my mom has some mobility issues and might appreciate being right at the ACC for both the meal and the game). I can always have fish. My SO and I don't currently live in the GTA, so we're coming in for the weekend. We'll be having dinner Friday night at Hashimoto, so we'll have had our Japanese fix (and then some!). Are there any interesting places in the general vicinity of the game? Who knows, maybe something new and interesting has opened up or there's a gem that has slipped my mind? I'd love to go to Colborne Lane, but I'm sure my parents will be quite weirded out with the notion of molecular gastronomy. Better save that one for another pair of dinner guests! Years ago, I went with them to Opus and Fenton's, both of which were sensational. Have I given enough to yield some interesting restaurant recommendations, CHers? Please help me out. I'm open to any suggestions except Harbour 60. None of us is interested in those massive portion sizes (and prices), despite the ideal proximity to our gate of entry at the ACC.
Thanks in advance!
-
What about Beer Bistro? The location is fairly close to the ACC, they have great steak frites and an interesting menu that is still pretty "safe", aka no molecular gastronomy.
›4 Replies-
re: Gary
Thanks again everyone, for your helpful suggestions! I just wanted to report back on my weekend in Toronto. We had a fantastic weekend, both weather-wise and in terms of our restaurants. On Saturday we had a tasty lunch at Celestin, dinner was at Vertical (on BokChoi’s recommendation), Sunday lunch was a visit to my beloved Hanoi 3 Seasons on Gerrard East and dinner was an unforgettable 4-hour experience-of-a-lifetime at Hashimoto, which I will detail in full in a separate post.
Based on the recommendations of fellow Chowhounders, I was at first planning to take my SO and parents to Biff’s before the Leafs game, but after a peek at Vertical’s menu my mind was made up. I made the reservation online and specified that we were going to the game. A day or two in advance, I called the restaurant, just to make sure that they had the reservation. I was assured that all was well and that they’d be looking forward to seeing us. We were the first guests at 5:00 p.m. We were seated, offered a choice of waters and thankfully, our server didn’t flinch when we settled on four glasses of Toronto’s finest (tap). He confirmed our hockey game’s start time and promised us a perfectly-timed meal with plenty of time to walk to the game. He did not fail us. In fact, over everything else I have to gush that the service was outstanding. I don’t recall the server’s name, unfortunately, or I’d name him in this post. He was attentive, never intrusive, knowledgeable, accommodating and extremely engaging. I loved his attention to the tiniest of details. When my SO made a visit to the washroom to wash his hands, our server appeared, took his napkin from his seat and folded it up neatly for him, placing it on his plate. Other nice touches included bringing our three expertly grilled branzinos and salt and herb-baked BC black cod to the table to present their perfectly cooked deliciousness, before stepping aside to a table in the center of the restaurant, where he and an assistant plated each with appropriate sides. Two branzinos were filleted and boned, while the third was delivered whole, as per individual preferences. Our server also very obligingly delivered my father an extra dish of the almond, mint and fennel picada for his fish, when my father raved about it and requested a bit more.
The food was beautifully prepared and presented. I can comment on all of it, as circumstances allowed me gustatory access to all dishes ordered that evening. My SO and I shared our apps. He chose the grilled sardines, which were cooked to perfection. I opted for the grilled octopus, which sat atop a lovely panzanella salad which featured a generous sprinkling of fried shallots, for which I have a great affinity, being a lover of Vietnamese cuisine. The octopus was so soft that it could be cut with a fork. My parents split the first course sized portion of house-made tagliatelle with lobster and scallops and a delicate tomato and basil sauce. The kitchen was thoughtful in dividing the order into two separate bowls, as tagliatelle could prove a bit unwieldy if the bowl is some distance from a diner’s hands and mouth (not to mention that my mother has some deftness issues due to Parkinson’s Disease). I didn’t dare swipe a precious morsel of lobster or a scallop, but I sampled a noodle with the sauce and it was lovely. Our wine choice was an affordable Spanish Albarino, which was light, crisp and fresh and did not compete in any way with our food choices. In retrospect, I’m sorry that three of us opted for the same daily fish choice, and didn’t instead choose three completely different items, to allow for a deeper exploration of the menu, but I guess the three of them were wowed by the description from our server, and couldn’t resist. I’m glad that I ordered the black cod, though, because after my mother’s first couple of bites of branzino delivered a bit of bone action from the collar area of the fish, she was worried that her fish might be riddled with pin bones. I reassured her that a few strays were to be expected, but that most bones would have been removed, but she was concerned about the possibility of choking (another Parkinson’s-related issue). I graciously (also entirely self-servingly) offered her my bone-free cod and took the very generous portion of branzino off her hands. I was thrilled, as the branzino was sensational. The cod was also fantastic as well, so my mother was both grateful for the quick trade and happy with what she received. My only negative comment regarding the black cod and its sides is that while everything was cooked perfectly, nothing really exploded with unique flavours and combinations of tastes. This is just my personal opinion, though. I am generally attracted to bold seasonings over really subtle ones. We skipped dessert, had coffees, paid our bill and made our way to what turned out to be a very fun Leafs game (lots of scoring and a win against a much better team – yahoo!).
Two days later, my parents were still talking about the wonderful meal they had at Vertical. My dad is already dreaming of his next visit and even asked me if I could help him recreate the almond, fennel and mint picada, which should be reasonably straightforward, I suspect. One last note: it was a nice bonus to be able to park our two cars beneath First Canadian Place, then have our tickets validated in the restaurant. The cost of parking was $10 per vehicle, so we each received free event parking for the evening, which means my parents didn’t shell out a dime for a very enjoyable evening in their (double birthday) honour. Nice!
-
-
BokChoi
Mar 5, 2009 08:46 AM
I would also recommend Biff's. The food is safe and good. I have only been there once though for lunch, but it was quite satisfying with lots of meat options. Others have been tossing around the idea of Vertical lately. I personally did not enjoy my lunch there, but that was back in 2007. You can see if the menu intrigues you: http://www.dine.to/menus/menu_1522_do... . There are always the standard Bymark recs, and Nota Bene of course. Another usual rec of mine is Weezie's (make a reservation ahead of time because they are quite small). I will put in a word against JKWB (as I've done before), and maybe put in a word for a much loved Scaramouche? I personally didn't find that it 'wowed' me, but it is a safe bet that is always a crowd pleaser with the rest of my dining companions. It may be a bit out of the way, but since you're driving in from out of town, you would probably have a car.
Hope this helps.
Good luck!
›2 Replies -
-
re: KayceeK
A friend of mine suggested Starfish, which I like, though I've had sketchy service there more than once, plus the biggest faux pas of all: staff using glass cleaner on a display right near our table, while we were eating! Yuck! I also had a simple salad there that seemed like it had been salted by three separate kitchen staff. That said, I love the oysters, sardines and inspired fish dishes that come from that kitchen. I've also had a sublime lemon dessert there, which is saying a lot, since I don't care for desserts, ever. It was foisted upon me and I must say, it was fantastic. Do I dare take my parents there? We can cab it to the game afterward, I guess. I'm still tossing around the Biff's suggestion. It's ideally located.
Thanks for pointing out the stairs situation at Terroni, Googs. My mother's not in a wheelchair or anything, but she has Parkinson's and can have balance issues at times. I'm sure she could make the walk to the ACC from Biff's, but I wouldn't want to subject her to a dim stairwell or a major hike if I didn't have to.
-
-
Googs
Mar 5, 2009 04:07 AM
Terroni Adelaide has too many stairs for someone with mobility issues.
I haven’t been to this Hot Stove, only the one in the old MLG. I can say that I’ve been generally impressed with the Platinum level food at the ACC at least in context with general sports food. I agree that would be the optimum choice for your mother’s sake.
For non-weird, accessible restaurants you might consider just about any hotel that cares about their food such as the King Eddy, Metropolitan, or Four Seasons Yorkville.
-
-
-
re: MeMeMe
I've never been to Biff's. I just looked at the menu online and there's plenty of seafood for me, but lots of meatier options for my folks, if they're so inclined. It just became my frontrunner, at least for now. Thanks for the suggestions. I welcome more. I'd also consider JKWB, but I've read a lot of mixed reviews here on Chowhound. I think my parents dig the small plates concept, since they aren't huge eaters and they can pick at whatever they like, while we hoover up the rest. LOL!
-
-
