Mixing it up at Melanie's Bistro for dinner...

A usual haunt for the brunch folk, Melanie's Bistro (on the Danforth between Coxwell and Woodbine) served as a great setting for catching up with the girls over a prix-fixe Tuesday night-only dinner ($22). Your choice of appetizer and main, or appetizer and dessert is included in the cost. We all chose the app/main combo while sharing dessert: a not-too-sweet cheesecake covered in homemade bluberry compote. Fantastic and funny service amidst a backdrop of beautiful local art work, the crowd was buzzing and my famished company and I were excited to try the specials: Butter chicken with sauteed bok choy and white rice and Seafood Putanesca with a Red Tomato sauce. The simple descriptions do not do the mains justice as the light but flavourful dishes make the meal simply fantastic.


Snapshots of Piri Piri Shrimp and homemade crab cakes.... oh yesssssssssssssss.

Mariko on Monday...

Hormones vs Pure, Unadulterated Cravings.... or is it a bit of both? Have you ever had a sushi urge? This physical yearning for raw, slithery fish cut in bite-sized pieces embedded in white packets of goodness for the food that can be both the perfect take-out and in its latest incarnation as the prizes of gorge-fest "all you can eat" buffets...it is unavoidable to deny such cravings, even when you're picking up a custom-framed vintage map poster of New York City that is two feet larger than your arm span.... Yes my friends, to vanquish the yearning along Bloor St W, east of Bathurst (other locations on King Street and the Danforth) I stepped in to Mariko. I am very familiar with the chain, as there is one near my apartment and has been the scene of many a craving/self-indulgence and guilty pleasure. The restaurant is modest in size, the sushi bar (which looks alarmingly like a second-hand deli counter) is manned by a master of the raw.

This is the hallowed paper where I penciled in my heart's desires...

My second round of gluttonous goodness: Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura, White Tuna Sushi, Red Snapper and Salmon Sashimi, Spicy Salmon sushi, Green Dragon Roll and White Tuna Maki.

For $14.99, (vegetarian option is $10.99) unlimited servings of sushi, maki, special rolls (green dragon a must; tempura shrimp and avocado on top), teriyaki, teppanyaki, everything-yaki... this place has an ample amount of the basic tenets of Japanese cuisine (this is no rival to Hatchitorou in Marham though, as mentioned in a previous blog). Solo, simple and beautifully blissful, a craving well filled....

Anjappar Chettinad.. need we say more?

My visit to my parents last Sunday lent itself to rounding out my foray into Scarborough restaurants. My all-time favourite Indian restaurant, well, really Sri Lankan restaurant is found steps away from my former dwellings under the parental roof, Anjappar Chettinad, located on Eglinton Ave E near Bellamy Road N, check out their link here: http://www.anjapparcanada.com/
is my idea of comfort food. The former Golden Griddle dwelling has undergone an entire indoor renovation. The creamy yellow walls adorned with mural paintings of the every day an ocean away set the scene for the Southern Asian goodness that is to come.
Let the picture say it all... a fitting dinner with friends Rebecca and Surya, newly engaged.


Congratulations!

Relaxing at the Cafe Mirage

Why not? Since the Cucina Manila's in-house desserts weren't available... we drove to Cafe Mirage (Kennedy Road and Hwy 401) for some dessert. One of three establishments in the franchise (the others out west and midtown on Yonge), the menu boasts offerings for breakfast, lunch, dinner, selected coffees, teas and... drumroll please... DESSERT. We settled for the East vs. West ($10), a waffle (could be served on a crepe) covered with ice cream, seasonal fresh fruit, whipped cream and chocolate and strawberry drizzle... but wait, we're still hungry... why not have a Jamocha Almond Fudge Cake? Imagine the famous Baskin Robbins ice cream flavour in cake form, mocha meringue layered with mocha-chocolate cookie topped with oozing fudge and chocolate shavings ($6). Open late until 1am (or later at times)... enjoy the savoury or the sweet at this Scarborough hot spot.  Be warned, service here is spotty at best.

Comparing the Cucinas...

On Saturday night, why not continue the chorister trend from last week and continue the Filipino theme with Cucina Manila at Pharmacy Ave. and Lawrence Ave. Where were these restaurants when I was little? The cucina I ate from was my mama's (with papa's cooking!.. just joking mama, I loved your shepherd's pie:) ) and sometimes my various titas and titos and if we were lucky my lola's cooking, honed in the carinderias of manila... The days of filipino take-out have arrived my friend, and its flavourful, tangy, conglomeration of Spanish/Chinese/Indigenous/Indian schizophrenic dishes (always served with a bed of rice) result in a true fiesta on the dinner table. Cucina Manila serves the mainstay combo, $5 for rice and one dish (served in actual dishes as opposed to the styrofoam take-out kind), and $6 for rice and two dishes offered up cafeteria style. If you're lucky, try the in-house made pandan jelly desserts, the halo-halo (crushed ice sprinkled with tropical treats), and various cash and carry. Yum! My favourite of the Cucinas so far...