Il Fornello

Location: 2901 Bayview Avenue, North York ON, M2K 1E6
Phone: (416) 227-1271
Website: http://www.ilfornello.com

Complimentary Bread

Wild Mushroom Pizza: "brie cheese, wood-fire roasted button, oyster + portobello mushrooms, fresh basil" with cranberry juice. (S) OMG, this pizza was so good. The crust was so thin and crispy, and held all the ingredients very well. The mushrooms and cheese were a good mix. (J) I really enjoyed the brie and meaty mushrooms. It was very satisfying without being too heavy on the stomach. Thanks to Vincent for the free coupon!

Linguini Pollo e Pesto: "grilled chicken, pesto cream sauce, plum tomatoes, pine nuts, parmesan." (S) I really liked the extra nutty texture. (J) Creamy and delicious.

Wild Wing

Location: 8180 Bayview Ave., Thornhill, ON
Phone: (905) 709-9464
Website: http://www.bestchickenwings.com

Wild Salad: "Crisp fresh greens, tomatoes, red onions and topped with our signature cheese blend and croutons." Served in a fried tortilla bowl with Italian dressing. (J) I would have liked more lettuce. Onion breath! Haaaaah. (S) They gave us the wrong salad, but owell. The bowl tasted kinda like Chinese fried dough.

Saddle Up: "Gar Par & Buttermilk Dill" single serving (1 lb) of wings. (J) The subtle dill flavour was good. (S) Oh man, this one was such messy goodness.

Dry Cajun: "From the Deep South" single serving (1 lb) of wings. (J) Like KFC but not as salty. (S) Fried Southern goodness. I was soooo full, like painful bursting.

Winter Magic: Ice, Wine & Dine

Location: Elm Street, Toronto ON
Website: http://www.wintermagic.ca/icewinedine

Cheese & Spinach Pies ($4): from Eggsmart. (S) I am always up for yummy spinach pies! (J) We took bites to show the insides. They were cold but still tasty.

Sampling Plate ($5.65): from Commensal Vegetarian Cuisine. (S) Oh man, this was soooo good! I wonder what dressing they used on the spinach salad, it was really good. The bean salad was super! Sweet potatoes, burrito and tofu were really good too! (J) I like how they make vegetables taste so good.

Mini Pot Roast Sandwich ($4) & Mini Deep Fried Mars Bar ($1): from Duke of Somerset. (S) The sandwich tasted really good and fatty with the horseradish mayo. We were OMG-ing with one bite of the mars bar. Soooo good! (J) I liked the hamburger bun. The Mars bar was so warm and creamy, and the perfect guilt-free portion size.

Hot Chocolate & Apple Muffin ($5): from Fresh Start Coffee. (S) We replaced coffee with hot chocolate and it was really good on a cold day (although it really wasn't too cold). We didn't want to ruin our appetite, so we didn't eat the muffin. I'm excited to eat it later though. (J) The guy had to leave us alone and run across the street to get a small mixing pot to make our hot chocolate. It was so bizarre and funny.

Chicken Satay & Spring Rolls ($5): from Bangkok Garden. (S) The fried spring roll was the best item on this dish; nice and crunchy. The rice rolls had a lot of cilantro, enough said. Chicken wasn't bad. (J) Way too much cilantro in the rice rolls. Chicken was dry. Spring rolls were awesome.

Butter Chicken & Garlic Naan ($3): from Delta Chelsea Hotel, served with complementary apple cider. (S) I miss Naan and curry! This was really good! There was a good amount of chicken for a sample. (J) Pretty good for $3. Cider was like really good and warm apple juice.

Shrimp Fritter ($1): from Adega Restaurant. (S) More dough than shrimp. Fried things always taste good though. (J) There was sauce inside, or the shrimp was sweating.

Chili & Garlic Bread ($5): from Wolf & Firkin Pub. (S) Ohh man, the lady filled this bowl up until it was overflowing. It had a bit of spice to it, but I recently started to really like those beans so I ate it anyways. (J) So much chili! I was filled.

Gingerbread & Apple Cider (Free): from The Queen and Beaver Public House. (S) Not a big fan of the gingerbread, too gingery for me. (J) I like free. I wonder if the cider was the same as from the Delta Chelsea hotel because they tasted the same.

Cupcake ($1): from Pretty Sweet, sold at Arm Candy Casa. (S) So cute! It was a 1-bite cupcake, yumm. (J) So tiny.

Mushroom Risotto ($5): from Donatello Restaurant. (S) I waited a long time for this and by the time we got it we were so full...but we stuffed it down anyways. It was pretty good! I liked the mushrooms. (J) The mushrooms were plump and juicy. The rice had a nice firmness and I think a hint of cheese.

Bow Bulgogi House

Address: 4002 Sheppard Ave E , Scarborough, ON, M1S 4R5
Phone: (416) 297-8911

Side Dishes: pickled vegetable, kimchi, fried tofu, bean sprouts, and potatoes. (S) The fried tofu was really good, too bad it wasn't refill-able like the other dishes were. (J) Potatoes were peppery.

Dolsot Bibimbap: served with miso soup. (S) Yumm...I really like bibimbap. I liked how this one was flavourful; I've had bland ones before. (J) The special sauce was sweet. Apparently it's the most expensive sauce they have, made from many ingredients.

Gamja Tang: spicy pork bone soup, served with rice. (S) Spiiiicy, I did not dare to try. (J) Mmm made me sweat.

Ikea

Location: 15 Provost Drive North York, ON M2K 2X9
Phone: (416) 222-4532
Website: http://www.ikea.ca

Quiche & Salad: vegetarian broccoli & cheese quiche and salad. (S) I loaded the salad, yumm. The quiche was pretty good. I want to make it! I need a working oven. (J) I think we were supposed to use a small bowl for the salad instead of a big plate haha.

Organic Pasta: with garlic bread. (S) Apparently this dish is on sale for a limited time...of several years. The pasta wasn't super fresh, some of the tubes were hard and crusty. The garlic bread tasted like frozen. (J) I was hungry so I didn't even notice if the bread was stale, and I enjoyed the chewy pasta bits.

Apple Pie: (J) The pie had custard at the bottom. I liked the sweet crumbly on top. (S) The custard bottom was good. I want to make this!

Ackee Tree

Address: 170 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2C2‎
Phone: (416) 866-8730‎

Sweet Potato Fries: side dish. (J) Thick cut, fresh and hot from the kitchen. Balanced with the cold ketchup. We got this even though the two dinner plates had enough food for two meals each. Thank goodness for leftover takeout boxes. (S) I stuffed this down even though I was so full. So good!

Goat Roti: with coleslaw. (J) We specifically asked for gravy on top because last time we didn't get any. They didn't have any boneless goat, but the bones were minimal. (S) This was just a bit spicy, but I got used to it. I really like the coleslaw.

Jammin' Jerk Chicken: large dinner plate, with coleslaw and rice & peas. (J) Large comes with an extra chicken leg and spoon of rice for $1 extra. I love the spice level of their jerk chicken. I had a tingly party in my mouth. (S) Omg, soooo spicy. I guess I never learn. My mouth was on FIRE!

Swiss Chalet

Location: 2555 Victoria Park Ave., Scarborough, ON, M1T1A3
Phone: (416) 494-9693
Website: http://www.swisschalet.ca

The Festive Special: quarter chicken dinner with cranberry sauce and stuffing, Lindor truffles and BOGO coupon. (J) The chalet sauce was so hot and good. Stuffing went well with the cranberry sauce. The bonus truffles and coupon made it a really good deal. (S) I learned that I'm not a big fan of stuffing. The chicken was so soft and moist, and the fries were good. Yumm.

Spinach Chicken Salad: "Fresh baby spinach, romaine lettuce, sweet red onions, carrot slivers, Mandarin orange slices, crispy tortilla strips and chilled slices of boneless chicken breast. Health Check™ with fat-free Raspberry Vinaigrette & no tortilla." (J) So much chicken! Pretty dry and tasteless. They could have grilled it at least. (S) I didn't mind. I was hoping it was the one with cranberries, but it wasn't. Owell, wasn't too bad.

Pecan Pie: "A southern classic. Flaky pastry surrounds piles of pecan halves in a light sweet buttery filling." (J) Really good. (S) I wanted more pee-can pie.

Pastissima

Location: 2633 Yonge Street Toronto, ON M4P 2J6
Phone: (416) 482-4175
Website: http://www.pastissima.ca

Chicken Curry: medium pasta salad and Diet Coke with Lime. (J) Pasta was al dente, curry taste was subtle. (S) Cilantro, enough said.

Tako Sushi

Location: 1300 Don Mills Road, North York, ON M3B 2W6
Phone: (416) 391-9188
Website: http://www.takosushi.ca

Sushi Appetizer: assorted sushi & rolls; complementary edamame. (J) These were the same rolls that came with the Take dinner, but with the addition of three pieces of nigiri. (S) This came super quickly, like 3 mins after we ordered. I really like edamame and was surprised that it came as a side. Yay!

Grilled Lamb Chop: set course. Included miso soup, green salad, mixed vegetables and rice. (J) The lamb was soft, and its vinegar herb sauce was good. (S) The lamb was SOO good. Fatty parts were especially soft. The broccoli was really good as well, nicely cooked.

Take: complete dinner. Included miso soup, green salad, mixed vegetables, rice, seaweed salad, shrimp and vegetable tempura, teriyaki chicken, salmon rolls and California rolls; orange juice. (J) Good quality and quantity. There was not one, not two, but three layers of chicken! Broccoli was cooked well. (S) I liked the variety in tempura veggies. Yea, loooots of chicken!

Ice Cream: mango and green tea. (J) I was full from all the food, but I could fit in this tiny scoop of ice cream. Overall I was impressed by this restaurant's food and prompt service. (S) Agreed. Good meal and deal.