I went with my wife to Niagara this weekend...love the falls, but man the place is tacky. We went to a restaurant on Friday night (February 4th) called Mama Mia's. Great surprise, especially since we were not expecting much. The pasta was fresh and quite tasty. I had the Spaghetti a la Carbonara - just like Mom used to make. My wife had the Manicotti, which had great tomato sauce. I definitely recommend this place - Three out of four smacks.
On Saturday night, we went to Hillebrand's Estate Winery Restaurant. This place ROCKS! Good service and excellent food. I started out with the Mussels that had a cream sauce with fennel and chorizo. Some of the best mussels I have ever had. My entrée was called Taste Of Niagara - it had Salmon, Roasted Pork and Lamb Chops. The Salmon was OK, the Roasted Park was quite good and the Lamb Chops...oh, the Lamb Chops. My desert was a variety of Crème Brule (Chocolate Hazelnut, Pumpkin, Coconut, Vanilla) that was just OK. My wife, though, had Pear Napoleon that she said was one of the best deserts she has had in a while. I highly recommend Hillebrand's Estate - Three and a half out of four smacks.
On Sunday we were back in Toronto and went to Chiado for dinner. What can I say except that Chiado is one of those places that will stick in my memory (definitely a candidate for a Culinary Flashback). First off, the service is amazing. Very European in that the waiter knew all about the food and wine and was quite helpful. Chiado is a Portuguese Seafood restaurant, and after eating there, I definitely will be putting Portugal on my list of places to visit. I started out with Grilled Calamari...perfectly prepared. My wife had Sardines (grilled and raw)...Wow!! If you have never had Sardines, this is the place to try them. Our friend the waiter brought out a tray of their fresh fish (if you come here, order off the tray...wonderful). I decided on the Grilled Whole Dorade. What a delicious fish. Nothing much to it except lemon juice and some pepper, but it just melted in my mouth. And our waiter even de-boned it for me (what a pal)! My wife had Grilled Skate Wing over a Coriander Risotto. She was in heaven. We ended with this dessert...sorry, I forgot the name of it, but it was basically like tiramisu with a light egg custard on top - it was so good it should be outlawed. An amazing experience - Five out of four smacks (yes, I said five out of four).
-JB
Mama Mia's - 5719 Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls, ON
http://www.infoniagara.com/dining/Niagara-Falls/mamamias/
Hillebrand's Estate Winery Restaurant - 1249 Niagara Stone Rd. (Rural Rte. 2) Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, (905) 468-3201
Chiado - 864 College St., Toronto, ON
http://torontolifestyle.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=2
4 comments:
Wow, spaghetti like Mom used to make. Now that's special. And the review of Chiado's will get me on the next flight to Toronto.
J.B. of Napa
WTF, nothing about The Festival of Meat in here????? DR in LA
I like the blog. When you get a chance, take a Sunday and head over to China Town for Dim Sum. The best Dim Sum I have ever had was in Toronto.
Also, don't forget to partake in a traditional Canadian meal; A case of Elsinore, some back bacon and a baker's dozen of jellies.
Hoser.
Well, Justin it is apparent you have come a long way since the days of chicken only. How your culinary world has grown. Love the blog and you......So Cal JS
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