Jenabee333 "Love Me, Love my appetite!"

If you can push your way past the soulless suits and the siliconed stacies to get to your seat, you’ll be doing better than I am with this alliterative opening…

Ki is a meat market. Even if you are lucky enough to score a seat at the bar, you’ll soon suffer the wrath of the BAR ARM!! Hundreds of thirsty singles (and marrieds looking to impress or score, or both) thrusting their arms past you to grab the drinks they ordered, or put their empties back on the bar. As you are chatting with your companion, a leathery, tanned, cougar arm will jut between the two of you and you will be forced to stare at her sun spackled saggy boobs whilst she orders a drink and rearranges her Pamela-do. (maybe the guys like this..)

The food is good, but honestly…if you want Sushi or Japanese…GO TO A JAPANESE RESTAURANT! It will cost you a fraction of the price and taste just as good. They do win points for presentation, but much like the bar itself, looks aren’t everything. There needs to be something beyond the shallow facade of KI. Sadly, the deepest we got was when my friends’s jacket slipped into the running river next to out table for a swim.

The food is unmentionable comapred to the foolish crowd. Not a place to eat.

You’d never suspect that such a place would exist, but next to the Money Mart and the papered up windows of what used to be a 7-11 at Bathurst & St. Clair, is the most wonderful little Peruvian restaurant that ever there was.

Pepe, the owner will greet you and show you to a quaint table in a small room decorated with paintings of all things Peruvian: mountains, llamas, Peruvian people making treks up mountains on llamas…The colours in the room are traditionally bright with lots of turquioise, red and emerald green. The music that plays is an eclctic mix of Peruvian and 97.3 easy rock-type tunes.

Start with a Pisco Sour, the national cocktail of Peru. It is made with fresh lime juice, egg, Pisco,(which is a form of Peruvian grappa that tastes more like tequila), and topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

The menu is a staggering five pages long with everything under the sun. Whatever the level of carnivorism or veganism is amongst your guest, everyone will find several items that will satisfy.

Before your food is ready, a basket of warm bread will arrive at your table with a little cup of one of the hottest and flavourful sauces that you have ever tried. My bet is that it is made from Aji peppers, which are found all over Peru. I think I may have the recipe pieced together from tasting it, but Pepe would kill me if I divulged the secret!

My personal favourite is the Sea Bass Ceviche. Tender morsels of sea bass marinated in lime juice with red onions and cilantro. The best ceviche I have ever had.

Forget French fries and have the Fried Casava. Lighter than a potato and crispier on the outside with a soft fluffy middle and served with a mayonnaise-based sauce for dipping ( I like to use the remnants of the hot sauce that came with the bread!)

The calamari stuffed with rice is out of this world!

I haven’t had a thing on the menu that isn’t fantastic!

The service is slow, but caring. Don’t rush them…. enjoy the company of your guests and be careful how many pisco sours you have…ok, DON’T be careful…get really drunk and dance with Pepe at the end of the night…uhhh, I’ve never done that before, I just heard that someone did it…

Make the venture and tell Pepe that Jen from up the street sent you!

Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar is a testament to chefJamie Kennedy’s vision of local, fresh cuisine based on indredients that are grown as close to home as possible and prepared with his signature flair in the tapas tradition.

Try to sit up at the wine bar if you’re game. Although it may not be as romantic as the dimly lit, minimalistic tables that add to the crisp and slightly earthy decor, it is worth it for the show. The cooks in this open concept kitchen know their business and it’s excellent to watch it all happen: chopping, flames, the sizzle of the grill and the clanking pf plates as they hit thel line ready for service.

The servers attend meetings each day to be schooled on new foodstuffs that grace the menu. Suggestings for wine pairings are made swiftly yet without the intention of gauging your pocketbook. We wanted a port with our cheese plate, but may of them were out of our price range. One of the waiters was quick to suggest a fantastic spanish red that had many of the rich characteristics of port, without the steep pricetag of may of them on the wine list.

We went in mid May and appropriately, the menu was indicitave of the season, teeming with late spring favourites like asparagus and fiddleheads (which I always love with a sharp and grassy sauvignon blanc).
The fried oysters were deicate and left nary a hint of greasiness on the palate. Crispy Duck Confit was rich and satisfying and the platter of pates and meats was a lovely variation of lardo, local pates and pickled vegetables.

If you’re looking for a place to take someone who is in the know about their food and appreciates cuisine that is prpared with local freshness in mind, try Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar. You won’t be able to make a reservation, but it will be worth the wait!

Although I adore the food at the Indian Rice Factory, I find that some of the dishes are outrageously overpriced. I am not cheap. I eat out a lot and I know that more often than not, you get what you pay for. However, I have a problem paying over $12 for Channa Masala that essentially is made of chickpeas, tomato, spices and onion. The cost to make this dish is almost nothing and it IS fabulous, but not fabulous enough to deter me fro visiting Lahore Tikka House or anywhere else on Gerrard St. for a dish of really good Channa that will only cost me $6.50 or so.

It’s true, the Vegatable Pakora at Indian Rice Factory is light enough to levitate and hover over your table like a crispy fragrant cloud. They are arguably the best I’ve ever had (and don’t tell My friend Anita’s mother Saroj that I said that because I have repeatedly told her that hers are pure divinity!).

I enjoyed the Butter Chicken, but found that it was much sweeter than I like it to be. I appreciate a spicy, smoky Murgh Makani, but the cook uses molasses or something that is bittersweet. I was left craving more heat.

The Shrimp Curry is also wonderful. Plump tiger prawns tread in a mouthwatering sauce that is smooth and fiery. But again, if I recall correctly the price was close to $15 or $16 for the dish and the portions aren’t heaping, either.

The ambiance is a refreshing departure from the traditional Indian. Minimalistic blue lanterns dangle gracefully from the ceiling and one feels that it may be more of a trendy new bistro rather than a traditional Indian restaurant. The tables are a bit too cozy for my liking and I felt a bit squashed in.

In my opinion, you can get a better deal elsewehre, but you won’t find a better pakora anywhere!

Here are a few things to love about Swan:

They only serve Americanos…NO REGULAR COFFEE, so when you go in, you are only allowed espresso based beveages for your caffeine fix. There is nothing like a steaming hot Americano with a sexy layer of crema floating on top!

Super-Fresh Eggs.

Instead of Bacon, you can have Smoked Trout with your eggs!

They grate fresh horseradish for their Bloody Caesars.

The Hangtown Fry: A scramble of eggs and smoked oysters.