I discovered Pukka via Twitter (does that surprise you?) and then found out that they  recently opened up a little over a week ago on St. Clair Ave. West.  I was eager to blog about Pukka seeing as I haven’t reviewed an Indian restaurant ever!!

Let’s start off with the space:

Not too dark. Not too bright. Plus I love the colour combos. It’s a pretty cool space for a restaurant in “North Toronto”. (in my humble opinion)

Now let’s talk about the food. Pukka has managed to make Indian food – INTERESTING. It’s not heavy, or greasy or boring at ALL.

Here’s four dishes that really were outstanding. They were interesting, fresh, extremely flavourful and light.

Top Left: Vegetable String Chaat – puffed rice, sprouts, chutneys and sweet yogurt

Top Right: Baby Kale Salad – dates, lotus chiops and spiced cashew dressing. See what I mean?

Bottom Right: Wilted Winter Greens – pickling spices.

Bottom Left: Tandoor Roasted Paneer – sweet peppers and pineapple

The meal continued with a few other winners:

Top Right: Chicken 65 – South Indian Fried Chicken (this is a MUST to order – and I’m not even a huge fan of chicken!!)

Bottom Right: Butter Chicken – tomato butter sauce.

On the Right: Vegetable Pakoras with Tomato Chutney

Believe it or not,…we managed to try dessert despite the fact that we were full.

Left: Eton Mess – rosewater meringue (my favorite), mango, pomegranate and sweet lassi cream

Right: Chai Pot Creme- candied pistachios, orange blossom creme anglaise, spiced shortbread (I loved the shortbread…hope they sell it separately one day)

Someone knows what they are doing in the kitchen and every dish was executed perfectly. I was super impressed with the flavours, textures, and presentation of each dish.

I have no doubt that the neighborhood is going to embrace Pukka. (which is pronounced PUCK – A).

For more information:

Pukka: 778 St. Clair Ave. West (West of Bathurst). 416 342 1906. They open everyday at 5 pm.

www.pukka.ca

Twitter: @pukkatoronto

Disclosure: Pukka is currently a client but I assure you that all opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.

 

This pop-up restaurant has been “on my list” for a while. (um, since early 2012 to be exact) I’ve read many positive reviews and have passed it by a gazillion times but for some reason it took me a LONG time to actually go there for a meal.

Finally last week – I had the opportunity! (applause)

Come and Get It  would certainly make it on my cheap and cheerful restaurant list for 2013, for several reasons.

a) I loved the space and their marketing  – funky and casual. Very appropriate for a restaurant at Spadina and Queen.

b) Two Step Menu – Gotta Love It. You can order everything as either a Salad or a Sandwich.

b) It’s Carb Free Friendly (which is perfect for someone like me). Therefore, I ordered the Hawaiian Pork Belly Salad. Everything about this salad “worked” and I was pretty happy with the generous portion too!

c) The service was amazing. When we walked into the restaurant we were warmly greeted and everything was explained to us.

d) Come and Get It is an environmentally friendly restaurant. The owner pointed out that the plastic bowls are made of corn and completely bio-degradable. #Impressed.

Here’s the catch – the owner is working on a monthly agreement since Dec. 2012 with his landlord. Therefore you need to COME AND GET IT – NOW!!

For further info:

Thanks to Twitter and tweets that I was reading from @Foodie411….I knew I had to go to Rose and Sons one day soon. Seeing as I have some time on my hands, I round up two friends and we met for lunch at 12:30 p.m.

The first thing you should know about this restaurant is that it’s not easy to spot from the street. So here’s a photo to help you find it.

The next thing you should know is that it’s POPULAR and for good reason. The space is small but I love how it’s designed so you don’t feel like you are 2 inches away from the next table. Plus I love that there are a few bar stools so if you are on your own you can just grab a quick bite and be entertained by the kitchen staff. (who are all awesome by the way – the entire team, actually).

 

Now for the food. It was mighty tough what to order but we tried 4 items and each item was well executed, flavorful, moist and delicious. I was super impressed by the bread (supplied by Thuet) and the small details (great condiments).

Patty Melt Burger – Grilled Cheese, Fried Onions, FF, chili may0 ($15). Everyone loved this.

Chicken Souvlaki – flatbread, tzatziki, greek salad ($12). The tzatiki rocked.

Pork Fried Rice – peanuts, china town sauce, egg, ginger ($12). Oh so flavorful!!

Club-bacon, turkey, herb mayo, brie, pickles, ff ($13). What a sammie!!

 

I now need to return to check out their breakfast menu and their dinner menu! This restaurant has a menu that really appeals to me….unique, flavorful and well executed. A winning combo for a restaurant. Not to mention, a super nice owner (Anthony Rose)  and a great waiter (David) too.

Info:

Rose and Sons 178 Dupont Street Toronto 647 748 3287

Closed Mondays, Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 3:00 p.m and then 6:00 p.m to close.

Licenced

 

 

Hot? Want to know how to “cool down”? Then head to the Sheraton Centre. For $30 you can access the pool and the fitness centre!!

Here’s what my day looked like on Monday:

10:00 a.m to noon: I worked on my laptop in one of these comfortable chairs in the lobby.  (see photo) Not a bad setting to work eh? Sure beats my local Starbucks!! The Sheraton Centre loves building a”community” feeling and encourages their guests to play chess, sit at a community table, or enjoy the LINK work stations.

12:30 to 1:00 p.m I was getting hungry and went to check out the recently opened BnB restaurant that is located in the lobby as well. It’s really new…ie a month old. Seeing as I’m on a diet I couldn’t enjoy the burgers and the fries that they are known for. (sniff). However I was pretty satisfied with my Wedge Salad. I’m a blue cheese addict and can’t seem to get enough of this salad.

I also enjoyed some deep fried pickles that had the perfect combo of batter and the perfect pickles. Shame I couldn’t have a beer with it. But this diet is really working for me, so I can’t complain.

1:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m I sat at the pool with my Kobo. I was in heaven. Talk about feeling like I left the city but I didn’t!! Here I was right downtown on the 3rd level of the Sheraton Centre surrounded by beautiful landscaping and staring at a gorgeous outdoor pool.

 

 

Eventually (notice how I said “eventually”) I got off my lounge chair to check out the Sheraton Centres’ recently renovated fitness centre. Seeing as I’m “momwhoruns” , I thought it was only appropriate that I put on my running shoes and go for a quick run. OK..very quick. I was super impressed with the size of this new Fitness Centre..it’s massive. I counted 8 stairmasters and 8 treadmills! Plus room for weights, stretching etc.  This is not the tiny little (sad) looking fitness centre that one usually sees in a hotel.

7:30 p.m Bye Bye Sheraton…it was exactly what I needed to escape from the heat and I will be back. Promise.

Please note that the Sheraton Centre is offering amazing activities for kids on the weekends. Please click here for more information.

Sheraton Centre Toronto,  123 Queen Street West, 416 361 1000