The Gabardine

photo: www.hipurbangirl.com

I have now had the chance to visit the Gabardine a few times...mostly because it is the best option outside of Mercado and Blowfish for a lunch with colleagues that is less that 2 minutes from the entrance of our office tower.

The last time I stopped in to grab a quick take-away coffee en route back to the office from a meeting. The second to last time I was there a few weeks ago for lunch.

• Relish: A few things to note. During the lunch I had here, I had massive food envy over my lunch-partners pulled pork sandwich. I will have that if I go back. I had a great pressed cuban pork sandwich, not quite spicy enough, but still very satisfying, and it came with salad and potato salad that was just scrumptious. When I stopped by for coffee, I was convinced (to put it lightly) to try the cinnamon rolls - apparently they are the best baked good they do. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if they are: cinnamon deliciousness, without the goo and fake sugar taste of most buns, with just the right combination of cinnamon-y crust to dunk in the coffee, and soft, warm cinnamon bun center. It now requires a fair amount of restraint to not go in every morning en route to work and pick one of these up.   
• Quaff: Coffee was excellent. A tad bit on the bitter side, but my latte was scrumptious. They have a decent wine selection at lunch, and apparently are also a great place for a cocktail after work, although we were warned to try and avoid the 5pm rush!
• Feel: 'A light and airy pub' would probably be the way I would best describe it, given the light paint, natural wood tables and chairs, but old-school English pub features. The clientele is bay street, but I think mostly the bay street-ers who would rather not be on bay street and are trying to escape.

Overall, a great and convenient place for a business lunch and morning coffee break. I think it's still a little bit undiscovered as the front of the building is covered in scaffolding - I'm worried that it will be near impossible to get in for lunch (it already is as they don't do reservations...) when the scaffolding is gone. Enjoy!

Terroni on Adelaide

As a relatively new 'suit' in the downtown core, I have been on a bit of a search for a good place to go after work for drinks that is not quite so filled with other 'suits'. South of Temperance has a great patio, but it has been slightly usurped by the Terroni on Adelaide just down the street.

Bar - Old courthouse entrance - Bar Area
pics: www.terroni.com

• Relish: A pretty good bar menu - we were there with a group and shared the calamari (piping hot and lightly breaded - standard, but well done), a few pizza's (on my pizza scale, would give it about a 7/10), fried mushrooms (very nicely done, a large plate of fried funghi of various types), and a meze y meso plate that stole the show - freshly sliced prosciutto, other cured meats, 3 cheese and some nuts, honey, bread and crackers. Excellent for sharing, and so good we ordered a second one!
• Quaff: Italian wines by the glass, and a variety of beers on tap. The bar tenders are happy to take requests, and the sparkling San Pellegrino - just delicious. A very good spot for a glass of wine or beer after work!
• Feel: The location is awesome - a converted old toronto court-house, the soaring ceilings have been broken up by funky spaces and bright colours - the bar (arguably the only place I have really hung out here) is divided in two, with tables of all heights, and an open kitchen area where chefs prepare some of the tasters on the bar menu. En route to the bathroom you peer down corridors that 'surprise!' Have little wine cellars in them. A very old school yet funky italian feel.

I would absolutely recommend for after work drinks and munchies. Although I haven't had a full meal here, I would also recommend as a dinner spot for larger groups and/or if you're looking for a good, but not super exciting italian. Likely also a good spot for groups and work events (they were very relaxed and helpful about my larger work-related reservation).
 Enjoy!
w: terroni website

La Bettola di Terroni and Osteria

The corner of victoria and queen west has been graced by a medley of the Terroni restaurants - 'La Bettola di Terroni' and 'Osteria'.

As you walk in, you can choose to go to the left, and enjoy the 'favourite items from the Terroni menus at the lively bar and funky tables at La Bettola,  or to the right, and enter the slightly quieter and quainter Osteria, where they serve a 'tasting' menu and typical pugliese food from the founder of Terroni's homeland.

I've now been for after work drinks at La Bettola, and it's a great spot for good conversation, perched either at the bar or the high table that used to be some sort of work-bench/saw holder (very creative), and for lunch at Osteria.

• Relish: Osteria offers a set of 'tasting dishes' or appetizers that you can have as a set of 4 (ceviches, grilled octopus, spiced ricotta etc.) and choose to combine it with either a primi (selection of rustic pastas) or a secondi (some meat and seafood options) for mains. I had the spaghetti vongole - the pasta, I was assured, although not made in house, was made at the Terroni's on Adelaide daily and delivered to the premises (I had initially been told that all of the pasta's were made in-house). It was a tomato based sauce with massive clams, and although it could have used a bit of spice, was lovely, rustic, and the perfect lunch size. My dining partner had some difficulty with her order...unable to eat grains or dairy limited the options on the pasta and cheese dominated menu. It made it even more challenging that they were not amenable to making ANY substitutions or replacements in the menu options to cater to her dietary restrictions  - absolutely ridiculous! Our waiter was close to insulting in the way the conversation progressed - not a pleasant experience. In the end, she was able to have the 'mixed grill' which was a light salad with a few pieces of grilled calamari and fish (apparently ok, but underwhelming), and an artichoke, green pea and arugula salad (which apparently was delicious)!
• Quaff: The entirely Italian selection of 3 whites, 3 reds and a rose all looked good (and nicely, all were available by the 5oz, 1/4L, 1/2 L and full bottle), but given that it was lunch, we didn't partake. The sparkling water was delectable.
• Feel: The Space is cute, more intimate than other Terroni's. There is a big long wooden table down the middle of the restaurant for communal dining, and booths at the front by the windows that open out onto the street. I love the mix of 'learn to speak italian' and house music playing in the bathroom. The reservation signs are a cute addition, little tiny blackboards sitting on the tables.

I really like the feel of this spot for lunch or drinks, but was not impressed with the lack of flexibility from the kitchen/wait staff around dietary constraints. It would make me think twice about going back, but given that it's a cute spot close to the office, more lunches here in the future are likely. It's a good alternative to the busy and loud Mercatto on bay!

Photos: www.labettola.ca

Blowfish on Bay

I discovered a new 'working-lunch' spot, the bay-street outpost of the hyped Blowfish (on King west). I read a while ago that this place had opened, and literally have walked by it about 40 times in the past few weeks to get to work, and had no idea that it was there, or open. No major signage outside, it's tucked on the ground floor of the new Bay-Adelaide Center.

• Relish: Creative Sushi! We tasted a variety of rolls - spicy tuna, spicy salmon, a golden crab (with curry...interesting), a roll with salmon and mango, fish 'tacos', a black cod and some rock shrimp. The spicy tuna won the best roll competition. None of it blew me away, but it was tasty.
• Quaff: A cool selection of Sake's, and the fun saketini's and creative drinks could make this a good spot to grab an after work drink. A fun, unusual selection of wines by the glass. 
• Feel: A great spot for a business lunch - hip, but not too pretentious. One of the best parts is that it's actually quite quiet compared to many of the other lunch spots around, so helpful if you need to have a good conversation.