One of my food court favourites. Noodle King in the underground between the Sheraton Centre and the Bay on Queen St. W.
BBQ pork with egg noodle soup. At $4.95 it's a steal. And delicious, too.
Dinner
Mizu - New Japanese Resto on King W
Joe came home and suggested that we try the new King St. W. "Japanese" restaurant which opened recently called Mizu Japanese Cuisine Oyster House (291 King St W). "Japanese" in quotes because the management is not Japanese and not as authentic as it can be.
Wasn't very thrilled with it. It was pretty expensive for what it was and the food wasn't that great. But I have a lot to catch up on, so the following are some pics of our dinner:
The oysters were ok. Nothing to write home about.
Joe liked the edamame, but there was way too many chili pepper on it for me.
I ordered a miso soup, but the waiter upsold me on what I thought was a
seafood miso soup. It ended up being a clear soup with seafood. I was
disappointed because I really wanted a miso soup and I told the waiter
so.
Appetizer sashimi with an additional order of rice. Again, it was ok.
Joe's chicken teriyaki was not exactly what we expected, but he liked it well enough.
Parting thoughts: It was mediocre. It's possible to get a better Japanese meal for the same price.
OverDraught Pub
I've always liked pubs But for drinks, not for food, because food is not usually very good at pubs.
The OverDraught Pub (156 Front Street West) may be the exception. It is located in the basement underneath Joe Badali's and I think they are owned by same company.
All wasn't perfect though. The pitcher of Keith's we ordered arrives with warm steins, so the beer isn't as cold as I would like. I end up asking for a glass of water so that I can transfer some ice into my beer. 
It turns out that our server is new, but she is exceedingly nice. I order the Crab Cakes ($7.95) and Joe orders the French Onion Soup ($6.95) and Caesar Salad ($3.95).
The crab cakes are listed as an appetizer, but with three big patties, it is big enough for a meal. They have a nice little kick to them. The breading is crisp and the inside of the cakes are tender.
Joe's soup had a warm blanket of cheese covering the bowl and the soup itself was full of flavour, with chunks of bread soaking up all the goodness. Even though it was Joe's, I probably ended up having half the bowl. I haven't had a french onion soup this good in a very long time.
Parting thoughts: Very good crab cakes and a classic and excellent french onion soup.
Spring Roll's GO! for Delivery
Bless Joe; I had a rough day and he suggested that we order in for Springs Rolls delivery (416-365-7566, $15 for downtown delivery. See their website for specifics on areas). There's a number of franchise locations around the city now.
I'm not a big fan of their noodle dishes, but their rice dishes, which are more Vietnamese inspired, are quite tasty. We both get the Chicken & Pork Chop with Rice ($8.45). I also order Har Gow (shrimp dumplings, $3.50 for four pieces), and they are good as well.
The meats are juicy and tasty. The portions are big and we always have leftovers.
Parting thoughts: Good in a pinch. Too bad more Vietnamese places don't deliver.
A Surprise for Me at Globe - Part 2
I left off previously at appetizers at our wonderful, but marathon of dinners at Globe Bistro. The first part of the evening is posted here.
We were buzzing right along on our wine and ordered a second bottle. Very nice.
There were a number of entrees on the menu which piqued my interest: Berkshire Pork Loin ($25) and the Cumbrae's Beef Onglet ($21 - smoked veal tongue!).
But because I rarely have lamb and only when I go out, I decide on the chef's daily creation: Rack of Lamb ($36). I had a rather interesting upbringing in part because my father did stuff like give me lessons on how to properly eat rack of lamb. Those lessons were my father's way of making sure that I'd never feel intimidated in any dining situation. Awww those long-lost years of my youth. But those lessons do come in handy at dinners like this.
The lamb is divine. It is amazingly melt-in-your-mouth tender. The sides accompany the lamb beautifully, but for one exception. There's a root vegetable, the name of which I can't remember, which tastes like a cross between a parsnip and a pear. It had a very unique flavour to it, but one I don't think worked well with the lamb. Apart from that, excellent.
Akiko ordered the Oven Roasted Black Cod ($26), which I had also considered ordering. It could possibly be a Japanese thing, but I absolutely love black cod. It's a tender fish likely due to its oiliness. I miss my mom's miso marinated black cod. But Akiko finds her order too buttery. It probably doesn't help that it's already quite oily to begin with.
Eva ordered the Butter Poached Yarmouth Lobster ($38). Genius name for a lobster dish. I didn't have a taste, but it looks to be delicious. Eva raves about it. And I realize now that I should've taken her up on her offer for a bite. That wine must've affected me more than I thought.
After our entrees were cleared, we were treated to a dessert sampler. Akiko's brother, Scott, works at Globe and we later found out that the desserts were on the house! There were three selections. But none of them really memorable because without a picture to jog my memory, I can't remember what we had. Bad Mio!
It's almost understandable though since we eventually end up closing the place down, past 2am. I'm old now, I don't stay out that late. My body probably shut down sometime in the middle of eating my lamb. However tired I may have been by the end of the night, it was truly a special evening with wonderful friends and I enjoyed the chance to try this new up and coming resto. I'm grateful for all the good things in my life.
A Surprise for Me at Globe - Part 1
I'm currently a bit behind due to a crappy cough that's been hanging around for the last couple of weeks. I hope to be back in tiptop blogging shape very soon!
I've also wanted to give this post the proper attention it deserves because I had a very special evening last Saturday at Globe Bistro. Originally, I had thought that Akiko and I were going out for dinner. But to my surprise, she had secretly contacted a few of my friends to celebrate my recent change in marital status (now married). I was quite overwhelmed by it all. And truly, the best way to celebrate anything is with good food.
Globe is a refreshing entrance to the dining options on the Danforth. The area has a lot of casual dining offerings, but nothing with as interesting and upscale a menu or decor as Globe. It is a building that has housed a number of businesses in the past few years, most recently Cafe Brussel. It's a massive space and I seem to remember a dance floor and pool tables. Mary remembers the same but also a big patio area. We tried to recall some names, but no dice. Thankfully, I'm a Googlin' fool and I was able to find out that the space also formerly housed Ballroom on the Danforth and before that, Panama Jack's.
We decide on a bottle of Gerwurtraminer to keep it light with a hint of sweetness. There were two on the wine list and I had thought that I ordered the less expensive of the two, but the bill later revealed that was not the case. Damn me for not checking more closely! But a very nice bottle of wine, nonetheless.
The menu is very eclectic. And the simple, mostly text website doesn't really do the restaurant justice. It has much more of a mood than the website implies. The food offerings range from the Dungeness Crab Empanada ($12)... 
...to Lobster George's Oysters (half dozen - $12).
We all agreed that our appetizers were not stellar. Mary had a salad that she said was a little dry. But better things were to come... in Part 2.
Healthy Food Court Option: Sushi Q
Last Friday night, Joe and I went to the Eaton Centre looking for a Wii. Although we figured that our search would be fruitless, we tried nonetheless.
And as we suspected, after hitting five stores, we were empty-handed and... very hungry.
Our usual go-to at the Eaton Centre is the food court on the south end, closer to Queen St. Joe usually goes for KFC, but he opted for a burger. And my usual pick is Sushi Q... especially since after a certain time at night, they offer a 30% discount.
This time I was pleased to learn that they've started offering more selections with brown rice. It's not the greatest sushi, nor particularly authentic, but with a discount and a healthier brown rice option, it can surely be a lot worse!
Fionn MacCool's on King West
I was at work a little late last night, so I convinced Joe to come and hang out with me at work for a while. It's been at least a week since he's been out for a beer, so we decided to head out to Fionn MacCool's on King, west of Spadina to quench that thirst.
Joe was also pretty hungry, but having gorged myself on China Gourmet late in the afternoon for lunch (not to mention that I'm supposedly on a healthy eating program), I set my mind on having something light for dinner. And of course, a pint of beer.
It's nice that it's been mild the last couple of days, so it was a nice walk over. And suprisingly, the place is pretty packed. The pub is in a recessed space in the basement of a building. It's a good set up, as it's possible to clearly see what's going in the entire place from the wide front windows.
There were only two tables left right by the entrance. No kidding, those tables are a bit cold due to people constantly walking in and out. But the heavy drapery they have in that area helps to keep the draught out somewhat.
We each get a pint of Keith's and browse the menu. Joe is set on having the burger and I order the seafood chowder - trying to stay true to "eating light".
The one thing I like about this Fionn Maccool's is that even when there are a lot of people and noise, it's still possible to have a conversation without yelling. That's definitely one of my all time pet peeves about pubs, bars and clubs.
Our food arrives as we're about half way through our pints. Joe's burger was good and standard.
And my seafood chowder was loaded with ingredients and flavour. 
The cheese scone was a nice addition, too. I thought it was funny that they just took a slice of cheese and melted it on top of a regular scone. The melted cheese wasn't really doing it for me. It just looked a mushy orange blanket on top of the scone, so I flipped it to Joe and he ate it with his burger with a "mmmm... it's good!"
The soup was a good serving size, but it really filled me up. And I realize that it's not exactly eating light to have a soup loaded with cream and butter and to soak it up with a buttered scone... Well, I saved a few calories by giving Joe the rest of my beer I couldn't finish. That counts for something, right?
Tasty Chinese Food
I've had this crazy craving for noodle soup in the last few days. I am following Bob Greene's The Best Life program, but phase 1 does not involve too much of a restriction in the eating... thank goodness.
Of course, with this kind of attitude, I'm ain't going no where fast.
Regardless... one of the things I have to worry about when Joe and I go out to eat is that we find a place where we can both find something to eat. It will soon be very clear that we are vastly different when it comes to our pursuit of satisfying our hunger.
One of my favourite places to go is the Village by the Grange food court. It's located across the street from OCAD and the AGO. And it has a great variety of foods to choose from. In our case last night, McDonald's for Joe and Tasty Chinese Food for me.
I could've gone for Sakura's ramen (Japanese noodle soup), but I was really hankering for a more salty and savoury flavour usually found in a Chinese bbq noodle soup. I've tried Tasty Chinese Food a couple of years ago and was disappointed, but decided to give it another try.
I ordered the bbq chicken egg noodle soup (I was given a choice between egg and rice noodles) for $3.99. Well, I was happy with the price... but with the dish, not so much. The egg noodles were not what I expected (a little thicker and whiter in colour than I thought I would get) and the soup was tepid and didn't have much flavour. The bbq chicken leg, which was chopped in half before being placed in my bowl, was tough and over-cooked.
As I started hacking away with my flimsy plastic utensils on the chicken leg, it helped to flavour the soup a bit. And I did end up finishing it, but it was very disappointing. In this case, not so Tasty.
The jewel of this particular meal, however, was the perfectly chilled orange juice. I like things very cold, with a lot of ice. And this bottled orange juice was so cold that it had ice chips in it. Yum!
