Marcel's Bistro

315 King Street West

Toronto, Ontario

Great location. True, Parisian decor. Efficient, Parisian wait staff. I certainly did feel like I was in a little bistro amid Paris.

I went to Marcel's for the 2008 Winterlicious festival, and I think I shouldn't judge this petite-Paris until I've savoured one of their a la carte specials. The reason being, considering I went with Marcel's classic French simplities for this festival - which were good - I think les plats would be even better on a regular day.

I loved that the restaurant owner had chosen French classics to put on the festival menu, such as escargots, pate, French mesculin salad and soup of the day, as that's what I love about France...the classic, light dishes that you love. The pate was actually one of the better I've tasted, it was incredibly light and not overpoweringly meaty. The simple salad, of course, came with a delightful Parisian dressing.

To follow, I had the pork tenderloin, which was - again in the usual Parisian style - simple but delicious. The meat was so damn tender! And the lovely jus it came with was perfect. My partner took the salmon which was also cooked well, but the highlight of that meal was - again in typical French fashion - the sauce.

The dessert cannot be knocked in any way. Perfect creme caramel, and a light but rich chocolate mousse cake. Delicious.

So, this is why I say, if it was simple, but good for the Winterlicious menu, I think that their to-order al la carte menu would be even better.

Cyranos Restaurant

39 Robertson Road

Ottawa, Ontario

If in Ottawa, I highly recommend trying out Cyranos restaurant. Don't allow yourself to judge this quaint mediterranean-Canadian restaurant by its stip mall location as you'll be pleasantly suprised upon walking in the door.

The ambiance is comfortable and clean whether you're looking to get out of the summer heat or cozy up on a cold day. The staff are courteous, effificent and have excellent knowledge of the menu. The restaurant also boasts a nice selection of wines which perfectly compliment the menu.

The food is incredible, always made with the freshest ingredients and always consisently above par. Starters consist of calamari dishes, gilled eggplant, the best caesar salad you've ever tried (made with a homemade light, lemony and garlicy dressing) along with other mediterranean favourites. Furthering your delicious starter, enjoy a fresh, hand made, meditteranean style pizza, or to-die-for pastas. Just a note about Cyranos pastas...the pasta is actually fresh. You know how most places say they have fresh pasta and, well, they don't? Cyranos actually does, made fresh, daily, in-house. If you're not in the mood for pizza or pasta, enjoy their fish of the day, goat's cheese stuffed chicken, veal marsala, chicken parmesan or steak cooked to perfection.

Don't stop there, their baklava is the best in town and if they have their cheesecake special for dessert, don't think twice about ordering it.

Now that I've gone through everything on the menu, you're sure to be stuffed!

Brasserie Frisco

133 John Street

Toronto, Ontario

This restaurant is in a pretty hip spot, young waitresses, music and right around the corner from the King West strip. Although the name gives off the idea that its chef's create French style cuisine, it's nowhere near that, but I'm also not saying the food is bad.

They have a $10.00 menu which is actually a pretty sufficient meal and good tasting. The restaurant mainly partners its main courses with baby potatoes, green and yellow beans, and a hint of spice. The shrimp and salmon are always fresh and well cooked. They also serve up some nice sized burgers with a generous helping of fries or salad.

The patio is large and a great place to linger in the summer, even if it is a little too loud with the constant noise of cars going by. If you're young, want a decent meal and good place to go for a summer beverage, I would recommend the Brasserie.

Terroni

720 Queen Street West (and two other locations)

Toronto, Ontario

Well, you can read it in other Toronto reviews and I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here. Terroni truly is good, traditional southern Italian food at a super reasonable price.

Terroni really does have the best pizza's in town, nice pasta too and I also really like their fresh salads. The place is family run, so the standard never waivers, the place is slammin' busy and layed out in a small trattoria fashion, so be expecting to hear your neighbours conversation. But that only adds to the authenticity of it all.

Also a note about their Tiramisu - ladies and gents...this is the most traditional, damn good Tiramisu you've ever had. Order it for sure.

If you want classic, affordable Italian, hit up Terroni.

Brownstone's Bistro

603 Yonge Street

Toronto, Ontario

I went there once, it happened as sort of a fluke a couple years ago and now when I want to go to a consistent, good tasting, reasonably priced, "step-above-home cooked" restaurant, I think of Brownstone's.

They've had the same efficient wait staff for over a year now, and the same consistent meals as well. The menu is a nice array of Canadian cuisine with your regular starters, pizza's, sandwiches, pastas and mains such as grilled salmon with jasmine scented rice, shrimp and chicken kabob, burgers and steaks.

Depending on how exotic you like to dine, you may find this place a little bland. But I like it when I want simple and delicious.

Le Paradis

166 Bedford Road
Toronto, ON

I am always ready to try a never-fail French restaurant, but every since I went to Le Paradis one beautiful day in the summer of 2007, I'm a regular there and to no other French bistro.

The smell upon your arrival is exactly that of a true, little bistro in the heart of France. The decor is comfortable, not at all pretentious, and also very French. The wait staff are quick, efficient, friendly and know the menu.

Now, more importantly...the food. Which is undoubtedly incredible and the price is even better. With classic French mains starting at $13.oo, why in the hell would you go anywhere else?

I've had Le Paradis classics such as bourride, saumon, brandade, moules mariniere, snapper, choucroute, duck confit, cod and I could go on...trust me, it's always delicious, never under par and you can expect the same thing every time you go. For dessert they always have a true, French tarte of the day which I highly recommend trying.

One thing - make a reservation. This place is always packed.

5th Element

1055 Bay Street

Toronto, Ontario

I went to the 5th Element for the very kind owner's participation in the annual Winterlicious festival...a three course menu for $25.oo basically.

This restaurant was completely booked solid for the Summerlicious festival in 2007, so I figured I had to book early to get in there and see what all the fuss was about.

So, what was all the fuss about?

Well, the dining atmosphere was pleasant, and the wait staff were competent, if not a little stiff. The menu, however, seemed to be a little confused. With mix of nouveau Indian Canadian flavours, the taste ended up missing the mark entirely.

I went with the blackened shrimp and scallops to start. I will say, the scallops were certainly melt-in-your-mouth, but like the rest of the meal, completely lacked in any sort of flavour. To follow, I had the red snapper fillet on a bed of mushroom tri-coloured linguini. Now, here I was disappointed. The snapper had absolutely no taste, was dry and didn't seem to even be fresh. And the pasta I could've made at home.

My partner's beef carpaccio to start, however, was marinated to perfection and once again, melt-in-your-mouth flavours. So what happened?

I think this is just a hit or miss type of place, meat can be okay, flavours are plain though; and it's definitely one way or the other when it comes to the fish.