Image via Wikipedia
Slainte was a disappointment because of the food, but if we had just gone for drinks, it would have been great.

I don't review a lot of bars, because the real appeal is enjoying a beer with my friends. But I have reviewed some -- places with especially great selection or especially bad service, or restaurants whose drinks really impress.

Establishments I've previously reviewed are linked to the appropriate post; in between are some quickie reviews.

Boston Beer Works -- Click to read my previous review.

Cornwall's Restaurant -- Not much of a website, so I'll fill you in. You walk in, and there's a huge bar with a nice draft selection. To your right, a pool hall. To the back, dartboards and a bookshelf crammed with board games. Perfect for chilling with friends.

Crossroads Coffee -- No alcohol, but that doesn't mean you can't hang out over a nice beverage. Click to read my previous review.

Croxley's -- An international beer menu and 10-cent wing nights. The beers can get pricey, so practice moderation and enjoy your chicken.

Derek's -- Click to read my previous review.

Flanigan's Boat House -- Click to read my previous review.

Irish Pub -- No, really, that's the name of the pub. Limited selection of really nice house beers. The everyday menu is not all that remarkable (though there's nothing wrong with it), but their specials are great -- especially the $10 dinners. I got an amazing steak dinner for a Hamilton once!

Kelsey's -- Click to read my previous review.

Kildare's -- A fun experience, but pick your moments; I've been unimpressed with their dinner menu, and on Friday nights it's way too crowded to be fun enough to justify the cover charge. Stopping for a pint between crowds is nice, though, as there are lots of booths and corners for you and your friends to hide in.

Miller's Ale House -- One of Chris's favorites, with good, affordable food; good, affordable drinks; lots of specials; and tons of games on the big-screen TVs. Watch your moments here, too, as different crowds tend to come in waves. Definitely worth learning when the frat boys arrive, whether to attend or avoid.

Old Eagle Tavern -- Within walking distance of my parents' house, it's where I go at the end of an evening with friends. Says Dan: "Great food and beer selection. Reasonable prices. Manayunk atmosphere, Roxborough prices."

Slainte -- Click to read my previous review.

Smokeless Joe's -- Click to read my previous review.

Sunset Grill and Tap -- Click to read my previous review.

Wayne Gretzky's -- Click to read my previous review.


Go forth and drink responsibly -- and have fun!

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Maybe I'm a little bit of a beer snob. I really don't like mass-market beers. And I love microbrews -- and fake microbrews. And there's a lot to be said for brewery tours and tastings if you're looking for something to do in your hometown, or the town you're visiting.

So here is a round-up of some breweries I've toured and microbrews where I've dined.

Allentown Brew Works -- Tasty food, tasty beer, reasonable prices, and they're open on Sunday evenings after everyone else has closed.

Blue Point Brewery -- Chris got me into their Blueberry beer. After the brewery tour, try free samples of most of their beers and cheap samples of the rest -- and buy a jug of your favorites.

Boston Beer Works -- Click for my previous review.

Brooklyn Brewery -- Learn about the history of the brewery and the making of the beer, then settle in their tasting room to try different varieties, order in a pizza, and maybe pet one of the cats if they'll let you.

Iron Hill Brewery -- They have several locations and some great food, and there's typically a real nice dinner special on Sunday nights. Every location I've been to has parking issues, though, so arrive a bit early to look for a spot.

John Harvard's Brew House -- They have good beer and great food. There used to be several locations in the Philadelphia area, but it's probably for the best that there's not anymore -- I could easily get addicted to their lobster bisque. And then there's the burgers and wings and specialty steaks...

Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant -- The food is hit-or-miss and the beer is a matter of taste, but it's quite pleasant to sip a sampler while overlooking the Manayunk Canal.

Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery -- A tiny bit pricey for dinner, but if you get there while happy Hour is still on, you can fill up on half-price appetizers and inexpensive beers. The King of Prussia location has a brew called Billy Penn's Curse that I love.

Sam Adams Brewery Tour -- A really nice tour, and great tastings -- typically, samples of the Boston Lager, a seasonal, and a specialty brew. The suggested donation of $2 goes toward charity; you get to keep your tasting glass, which costs $2 in the gift shop anyway.

Stoudt's Brewing Company -- If you're lucky, like we were, your tour will be given by Ed Stoudt himself. The man has some very strong opinions about beer. We didn't stay for dinner, but we did snack at the oyster bar, which was very nice.

Steam Whistle Brewing -- A tour and tasting at this Canadian brewery takes place in a historical building in Toronto. They collect, sterilize, and reuse their heavy-duty bottles. Good times.


So, go forth and drink responsibly, and if you're underage or driving, just enjoy the good food.

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Tapas. I love tapas. Chris loves Tapas. You know this.

Here is a round-up of some tapas places we've been to, linked to the appropriate post.

Cafe Buenos Aires

Fressen

Tapas y Tintos

Tasca Spanish Tapas Restaurant

Enjoy!

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Guvernment
132 Queens Quay East
Toronto, ON
M5A 3Y5

You should know
On our trip to Canada, we decided to check out the nightlife of Toronto.

Chris is not much for clubs. Neither am I, but I do like dressing up and dancing from time to time. Paul likes live music. His girlfriend I don’t know as well as I’d like, but she seemed excited to go to the clubs.

So?
Guvernment seemed like a good choice for our group, because there are seven rooms, each with a different DJ spinning different music. Over the course of the evening, we’d eventually find something we liked, right?

Unfortunately, most of the rooms were closed for private parties. Only two rooms were open, the main room with techno music blaring, and a smaller bar/lounge was playing a mix of techno and hip-hop. Not much a variety, and not really to my taste. However, if the music had been a little different, the lounge would have been really nice. The couches were great.

The place stank of smoke, and it wasn’t all tobacco. However, it was Smirnoff Fire (apparently, you have to be Canadian to enter the site) night, and they gave out samples – which tasted pretty good. Also, in honor of the event, there were fire dancers performing. That was incredible.

I had a Long Island Iced Tea. At least, that’s what it was supposed to be. Not only was it incredibly weak (and I mean weak for a normal drink, not even for a Long Island), it tasted like a mix of Coke and sour mix.

Ultimately, Paul and his girl enjoyed it, but Chris and I didn’t think it was worth the price of the cover.

Rating
Is it your scene?
If it is, go. A lot of the things I didn’t like are typical of clubs; the only reason we went was the promise of variety if we didn’t like a particular room. But if you do go – especially if you’re iffy about the whole club thing, like we were – make sure ahead of time that all the rooms are open. I’m sure that makes a huge difference.

The rest of the Internet
The club's other website.
The Wikipedia entry.
Several videos taken at the club are up on YouTube (and I haven't watched them all, so I can't vouch for Safe-For-Work-ness).

Wayne Gretzky’s
99 Blue Jays Way
Toronto, Canada
M5V 9G9

You should know
Sorry about last week. I had three papers due over a course of 24 hours, so blogging fell by the wayside. But you know what a skipped week means: not one, not two, but three reviews this week. So stay tuned.

So, another Canadian adventure. We were looking for Second City, and it wasn’t where the guidebook said it would be. So, instead, we went to this neat spots bar owned by The Great One, because hey, it’s Canada. We needed to do something hockey-esque, right? Turns out Second City was attached to Gretzky’s, across the street from where the Fodor's said it would be.

Also, remember that Paul’s girlfriend is a vegan.

So?
We got a plate of nachos. They were good nachos, and huge – Chris, Paul, and I couldn’t finish them between the three of us. Since they weren’t vegan-friendly, Paul’s girlfriend couldn’t eat them, in which case they really could have used some meat. The kitchen was very accommodating, giving us the sour cream and jalapeños on the side since we don’t all like the same things.

The beers were very good, and I was quite happy with my Rickard’s Honey Brown.

The dining room was very nice, and the lounge looked extremely cozy. However, the hallways and bathrooms were on the scary side. To get from the restaurant to the comedy club without leaving the building, you go down a hallway full of memorabilia. Some of this is nice, such as autographed jerseys. Others… less so. Creepy toys and advertising campaigns come to mind, and does anyone really want to be reminded of ProStars?

The bathrooms, though. While you freshen up, Gretzky monologues. I assume it was a book on tape, since he was talking about highlights of his career in what appeared to me, during my quick pit stops, to be a fairly linear manner. Even so – I don’t want anyone, no matter how great a hockey player, offering running commentary of anything while I do my business. Chris found the way Gretzky talked about himself to be downright creepy.

Rating
Fun for hockey fans
The place actually doesn’t alienate the non-sports fans as much as even some supposedly non-sports-bars do. And I was certainly satisfied with the food. Still, it was unmistakably a theme bar, and that might turn some people off. Know what you’re getting into, and then have fun.

The rest of the internet
The Great One's official page.
His Wikipedia entry.
The NHL history page.
Reviews of the restaurant at VirtualTourist.com.

Kelsey’s
4960 Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls , ON

You should know
Remember that Paul’s girlfriend is a vegan; the rest of us are decided omnivores. Oh, right – Paul is the friend Chris and I went to Canada with over the summer. He just recently gave permission to use his name.

Anyway, on our trip, we spent part of the time in Toronto, but before that we went to Niagara Falls.

So?
There wasn’t much available for vegans; she had a salad, hold the cheese, and the salad looked kind of weak, to me. Chris and I both had the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, which was very good. While the mixed drinks were good (I had a gin and tonic), the specialty cocktails and beers were watered down. The hard hot chocolate, while very tasty, was pretty weak. The service was adequate; nothing to complain about but not memorably amazing, either.

Also, there was an advertising campaign over the summer that involved overhearing weird conversations. As I recall, they claimed the commercials were based on real conversations overheard in the restaurants. So if you saw a commercial about a bunch ot 20-somethings discussing horses’ civil rights, that was us and I apologize.

Rating
You can do better
While there was nothing wrong with the food, it wasn’t any better than some of the surrounding chain restaurants. Also, if you’re looking for a place to just hang out and have a few drinks, this isn’t the choice.

The rest of the Internet
They have a Wikipedia entry.
The strip where we hung out in Niagara Falls.
Goingwiddershins at L'Heure Verte found a surprise in the salad.

Groucho’s Gourmet Burgers

1574 Bayview Ave
Toronto, Ontario
M4G 3B7

You should know

Yes, more Canadian fun. We did a lot of stuff on that trip. What can I say?

This was a case of Chris and I driving into Toronto from our hotel and wanting to stop for lunch someplace that was on the way, quick, and reasonably priced.

So?

To start, they seemed disorganized. Customers can call ahead with their orders, and one woman came in to pick hers up only to find it was either not ready, or wrong. The burgers are slightly overpriced, but they were “gourmet,” so what do you expect?

It was nice that you could substitute salad for fries, but the pricing was a bit unclear – apparently, the garden salad is included but the Caesar is extra?

They had a great selection of toppings, both those included in the price of the sandwich, and “gourmet” toppings that cost extra. The curly fries were excellent, as were the burgers – mine was too big for me, but Chris finished his. The salad was good, but not especially memorable. The drink that comes with the combo meal is tiny.

The décor is a lot of fun, with a bulldog theme. The indoor tables are cut to look like they have giant bites taken out of them, and the trash and recycling bins are housed inside a huge doghouse. The front window has a nice view of the street, perfect for people-watching, and there’s an excellent view of the headlines in the newspaper boxes. Chris and I like current events, so this was a plus for us. There were also outside tables, though these might have been seasonal.

The rest of the internet

A great review at SpotlightToronto.com.
There's not much else about this place out there.

Swiss Chalet
Chain restaurant

You should know
Chris and I went to Toronto, as you’ll recall. We drove around quite a bit one night looking for something that looked good. Eventually, we settled on Swiss Chalet.

So?
The menu was fairly limited. Most of the options were variations on rotisserie chicken – clearly, they stick with what they know. There were a few rib options, and one burger. Actually, this suits me fine; I maintain that variety ruined Boston Market.

Chris had ribs, which were good but not particularly memorable, but which came with very good coleslaw. I had a very nice chicken salad sandwich. Normally I shy away from chicken salad at places I don’t know well, but since this place specialized in chicken, I thought it was worth the risk – and it was. We split a Sundried Garlic Cheese Loaf, which was excellent.

The service was pretty good, except for the payment method. The credit card machine is portable, which means our waitress brought it to us, and then had to hover around while we figured out her tip. When this kind of machine is not in use, we consider that behavior rude, and a system that forces the server to behave rudely is not one I particularly like.

Also, the booth was very nice.

Rating
Give it a try
Now, that said, you might want to try the Dick Solomon Tipping Method, so that you don’t have to calculate the tip in front of your server. But other than that, Swiss Chalet offered a positive dining experience, and I definitely recommend it.

The rest of the internet
The Wikipedia entry.
Chck out their nutritional information.
The joys of ordering online.
ResToronto Reviews recommends Swiss Chalet for family dining.

Image via Wikipedia

Naz’s Falafel HouseRestaurant
118 John St.
Toronto, Ontario M5V2E3

You should know

Ever since coming to New York, I’ve discovered that I like two new things: Mediterranean food, and food made from chickpeas. So when we were in Toronto, and had to find someplace for quick, relatively cheap food that both a vegan and a handful of carnivores could eat, we went straight for the falafel place we had passed on our way to various other places.

So?

Neither the gyro nor the beef shawarma were particularly memorable. I tasted the falafel, though, and it was very good.
The décor was lacking, though, and the washroom was actually a bit frightening. To get there, you have to go up a rickety stairway, and the toilet is in a dirty closet-like enclosure; there was not enough toilet paper in there when we went.

Rating

A decent option
Overall, if you want a fast, cheap meal – and don’t use the bathroom – it’s a decent place to stop. I recommend the falafel over the meat dishes, but nothing was actually bad.

The Rest of the Internet

A map so you can get driving directions.
Sorry, folks, there's not much on the internet about this place. In fact, if you do a Google Search under the blog listings, I'm the top hit!

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Smokeless Joe’s, bar and restaurant
125 John St.
Toronto, Ontario

You should know
So, more adventures from my trip to Toronto. Our friends picked this place out, and Chris and I were happy to give it a try. There is a bar near Chris that serves beers from all over the world, so he likes variety in a bar.

So?
They didn’t have the first beer I wanted – a maple brown. I’m not a big beer drinker, but I like honey browns, so since I was in Canada, it seemed appropriate to try a maple brown. No such luck. So I had to think fast, and I ordered a Fruli. It was excellent – a strawberry-flavored beer – but it was too small and too weak for the price.

My second drink was a Blackthorn apple cider. It, too, was very good, but a better deal. It came in a can, rather than in a bottle or from the tap, but it tasted great – and was about double both the strength and the size of the Fruli.

Chris, who had tried Leffe Brune in Belgium while on study-abroad, always looks for it when he’s in bars with large, international beer lists. Very few places in the States have it on tap; not many have it at all, in fact. Smokeless Joe’s didn’t have it on tap, but they had plenty of bottles stored in their giant fridge.

No one had anything to eat, so I can’t vouch for the menu, but the oysters certainly looked good, and smelled wonderful. They had a good deal on them, as well. If I'm ever back, I'll definitely have to give them a try.

And, true to the name, the bar was smoke-free. Chris is used to that, since all bars are smoke-free in New York, but in Philadelphia, that’s not the case, so I could really appreciate it.

Rating
Go in prepared
When you’re looking the beer list over, have a second and maybe even a third choice in mind. They don’t always have everything on the list, and if you’re counting on one drink in particular, you might be put on the spot and scrambling to order if they don’t have what you want.

Also, watch your bill. Chris and I got out ok, but our friends spent over C$50 in beer alone. On the plus side, my one friend, who collects pretentious beer bottles, did very nicely for himself.

The rest of the internet
The Bar Towel does a thorough review of the bar.
A profile at BarMeister.com.
Mio at BlogTo was impressed.

The CN Tower
301 Front Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5V 2T6
Canada

You should know
I went to Toronto. Of course I went to the CN Tower. But did I mention my horrible fear of heights? Or the fact that the weather forecasters called for thunderstorms that day?

So?
It was a rainy Sunday, as I recall. Chris and I went to church, got lunch, then did the obligatory touristy thing and bought tickets for the CN Tower. Thanks to the wind, the Sky Pod was closed, and we had no interest in playing in the video arcade, so we just got the standard ticket.

To call it “a hell of a view” is major understatement (and a mild profanity), but it’s really the best way to describe it. You may need to crane your neck and sneak into the restaurant, but you really can get a magnificent 360-degree view of Toronto and the surrounding suburbs.

They didn’t kick us out of the restaurant for looking, but it was still fairly awkward. Almost necessary, though – about half of the level is taken up by the restaurant, so one has to look through there to see what there is to see.

The level below the main observation room houses the glass floor. I refused to stand on the glass floor – setting one foot on it took all of my nerve. Chris, on the other hand, sprawled out on it and had me take picture after picture. I know I have nothing to worry about: it’s designed to hold the weight of 14 large hippos. Which, to be honest, I’d really like to see. How cool would that be?

Ideally, there would be more information from the tour guides, and fewer wall murals. Also, I wouldn’t have minded if the tickets were a little less expensive, or barring that, if there was a bit more to do for the money. We didn’t do the Sky Pod, simulators, or games, and didn’t buy food or souvenirs, and still spent C$21.49 each.

Fun fact, though -- on the way back down, the glass elevator drops at the same speed as a military parachute.

Rating
Catch it if you can.
If you are in Toronto and have time to check out the tourist attractions, I definitely recommend adding the CN Tower to your list of stops. Still, as amazing as the view is, I would have been ok with not having gotten to go. Don't go to any superhuman lengths to go, in other words, but if you have the oppurtunity? Take it.

The rest of the Internet
The Wikipedia entry.
Pictures of the Tower at Flikr.
A picture of the tower getting struck by lightning.

Fressen
Restaurant
478 Queen Street West,
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 2B2

You should know
Ok, so I told you about my trip to Canada. Chris and I went with a friend of ours and his girlfriend, who is a vegan. Now she had been great about going wherever the rest of us wanted to go for food, so we agreed to check out a vegan restaurant for dinner one night.

So?
First of all, everything was overpriced. The waitress explained to us that the food was served tapas-style, so we could expect to buy several plates, but at C$9+ a pop, we weren’t especially eager to buy that many, and they were big enough that we didn’t have to. Chris and I were satisfied splitting two regular dishes and a small one (though we’d had a large lunch that day).

We started with cocktails. I had an apple-cucumber martini (C$9) that needed more cucumber. Chris had a mango martini that he found too overpoweringly alcoholic. We then split an excellent avocado salad, a decent potato gnocchi, and an unimpressive side of sautéed watercress that made us wish we’d opted for the edamame, thanks to an unpleasant aftertaste. Add the drinks and the taxes, and the bill was hefty – and tiny compared to what our friends paid for their full meals. The service was unremarkable, but competent.

Rating
Go -- if you have to.
Supposedly, vegan restaurants are expensive because they’re rare; no competition means customers won’t go elsewhere. And though we might have been able to find another place that would have catered to vegan eating habits, Fressen was the only place listed in our guidebook that really fit what we needed. I’m happy to recommend the avocado salad, but other than that, I would give this place a pass if you’re not actively looking for vegan cuisine.

The rest of the Internet
Five different recipes for avocado salad.
A cucumber martini.
Candy reviews the restaurant.
DragonSlayer at Cooking Delights was thrilled with the food, if not the service.

Richtree Market Restaurant
BCE Place
42 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON

You should know
I mentioned before that I went to Canada and that some related reviews would follow. I went with my previously-mentioned boyfriend, Chris, plus a friend of ours from college and our friend’s girlfriend. The day we went to Richtree, it was just me and Chris.

So?
Richtree is like a high-class cafeteria. When you enter, they give you a card. Then, you can select virtually any kind of food you want, made to order. You hand the person behind the counter your card, and they log your dish. You then pay when you leave.

Chris had a slice of Milano bread (like a large, three-cheese bruschetta) (C$2.99), a quarter garlic chicken(C$4.49), a soda(C$1.99), and a glass of Leffe Brune, draft(C$5.98). I had a quarter rotisserie chicken with fries(C$5.79), tomato salad(C$4.99), and a soda(C$1.99). We then split a slice of chocolate swirl cheesecake(C$5.29) and a serving of strawberry mousse(C$5.29).

The setup was a little confusing to us as first-timers. I had a really hard time finding the pasta station, for instance.

There was definitely something for everyone to eat. Meat, fish, poultry, sushi, stir-fry, pasta, potatoes, omelets, crepes, waffles, soups, salads, and desserts – and that’s just what I noticed. I’m sure I missed something, despite the amount of time I spent circling the different stations. As for beverages, there were full bars for wine and beer, coffee and tea, smoothies, juice, and soda.

The décor was as eclectic as the menu. The tables and chairs were tastefully mismatched, both from table to table and between the uniquely-themed sections. In the bathroom, each stall had the names of members of the opposite sex on the doors, as well as a series of mismatched sinks with styles that ranged from antique porcelain to tile mosaic.

Rating
Go – if you have time
It’s definitely not designed for a quick lunch, unless you know exactly what you want and exactly where it is, though apparently they have take-out options.

That said, the food was incredible. Both chickens tasted amazing -- we kept stealing bites from each other. I wasn’t impressed with the Milano bread; it was good, but not particularly memorable. Likewise the fries. The tomato salad was excellent. The desserts were a perfect end to the meal, with portions that made them nearly impossible to finish and flavors that made us go the extra mile (or kilometer, if you will) and finish them anyway. Chris was thrilled with his beer, as he never sees Leffe Brune in the States, especially not on tap, and hasn’t had it draft since he spent a semester abroad and visted Brussells.

I highly recommend it, so long as you can devote a full hour or so, and $20-30 (don’t forget to account for taxes), to lunch.