I like to eat. Most people do. Here are a few restaurants and eateries I've found in Toronto... DISCLAIMER - I am not a trained restaurant critic, these are just my opinions, which I am perfectly entitled to. And, in restaurants as in all things, remember the maxim: "Good, fast, cheap - choose any two."

NOTE: As of June 1, 2001, all restaurants in Toronto are classified as either "bars" (no kids under 19, smoking permitted in 25% of the area), or "restaurants" (kids okay, but no smoking except in sealed areas or on the patio). This is a good thing for those of us who still have a sense of taste and/or smell!

In our new neighbourhood, there's a couple of places we frequent. The first of these is The Queensdale Diner, on Queen Street just west of Broadview. Decent food, reasonable prices, kind of stupid waitresses. I won't repeat it here, but ask me about the "Diet Coke" incident some time...

Just east of that is Dangerous Dan's (northeast corner of Broadview and Queen, across from Jilly's (strip bar)), home of the Coronary Burger - I think it's a pound of beef with cheese, bacon, and a fried egg, plus fries on the side. Bleah. Anyway, portions are large, prices are pretty cheap, and the food is greasy. Lynne said something about a "deep-fried milkshake" - I think she was kidding...

And if you're hankering for Chinese, check out The Wokker, down on Queen between Logan and Broadview. Pretty good food - stuff with the "spicy" mark on the menu (a pepper beside the name) doesn't always taste spicy to start out with, but it tends to sneak up on you. I like the "General George Chicken", and not just for the name! :-)

Devonsleigh Place, 4175 Steeles Avenue. This is the type of place you take your inlaws to if (1) you don't like them, but (2) you really want to make a good impression. It's a very fancy place, but the food is positively abused - whoever their chef is, they should be ashamed.

The Star (on Queen Street near Logan) - we went there for brunch on Sunday, and I was hard pressed to find something on the menu without eggs in it. I don't like eggs. 'Nuff said. Update (December 2003) - they're "closed for renovations", and they've been closed for a while... Will they re-open? Do I care?

Anna Purna's (not sure of the spelling, Bathurst Street just south of Dupont) is a vegetarian and Indian cuisine place. Interesting. Desserts are good. (That's a general statement, but also applies to this place!)

Sarah's Cafe and Bar (1426 Danforth Avenue) has a limited, and fairly expensive menu - entrees are in the $12-16 range. But the food is good, portions are decent, and they have a pretty good range of foreign beers there, including Kriek (cherry Lambic, from Belgium), ensuring they have Lynne's complete attention!

Fire and Ice (Highway 7 in Markham) is a stirfry place with a cute gimmick - you sit at the table, and the waiter takes your "protein" order (fish, beef, shrimp, etc.). Then you go up to the counter and choose your fruit/veggies and stir-fry sauce, and they stir-fry the whole mess up for you. You choose your rice (white, basmati, or brown) for the side, and they bring the rest out when it's cooked. Worth a trip.

Kilgour's on Bloor between Spadina and Bathurst. This is a very small restaurant - lucky if they seat 20. Nachos are good. Supposedly brunch is good, too. Technically, it's a bar, meaning part of it is a smoking area, and it's too small to escape that. Bleah.

Le Biftheque Steakhouse has two locations in Toronto - mmm, cheap steak!!! (Sheraton Centre, 96 Richmond St W., and 25 Carlson Ct., Etobicoke (near the Airport)).

Mars Diner (Yonge St north of Eglinton, plus other locations) - decent food, breakfast served all day, but they charge $1.95 for a *small* bottle of coke (one of those airline-size bottles)!

Pauper's (Bloor W., between Spadina and Bathurst) is okay, but nothing special. Add in the fact they're a bar (and hence allow smoking), and it's really not a "special" place to me.

The Bishop and Belcher, Queen Street near MuchMusic. An interesting little pub with an odd menu - Lynne really enjoyed the Roadkill. If you're really hungry, go for the "Big Belch", which is basically a dozen varieties of fried food (including wings, chicken strips, fries, onion rings and various other things) on two platters. Bring an appetite. Or two.

Tokyo Sushi, on Bloor Street West, is YAJR (Yet Another Japanese Restaurant). It's a little (but not much) more pricey than some of the others reviewed here, but the food quality is about the same or a little less. One unpleasant surprise for Lynne - when they make their sushi, they put a bit of wasabi into it, so if she adds her usual amount, she gets lots of wasabi (by her standards - I probably wouldn't notice).

Montana Steakhouse (Steeles Ave at Don Mills). Eh. Another "Tex-Mex" "roadhouse" that serves "hot" and "spicy" "food". It's okay. Probably good for the beer-n-peanuts crowd.

The Bloor Street Diner is not a diner, at least not in the sense of, say, Zak's (in Ottawa). It's relatively upscale (entrees in the $10.00 range), and very popular among the lunch crowd (when I was there).

Sushi Time (394 Bloor St West) is another teriyaki/sushi place. Decent food, a little more expensive (but it was still only $25.00 for Lynne and I for supper).

Royal Thai Garden (Bloor West at Bathurst) - Thai food, YUMMY!!! Lynne says the Pad Thai is good, I love the mango chicken. Decent portions, decent prices, and sharing of your food with your table mates is expected. (They bring empty plates to eat off of, plus the plates with your entrees on them.)

Mel's Montreal Delicatessen (Bloor St W) is a Montreal-style deli that ships its smoked meat in from Montreal, so you know it's authentic. If you like smoked meat. Hard to eat vegetarian here. Prices are decent, portions are decent. As a bonus, the restaurant is owned by "Canada's largest family" (as billed in Bayer aspirin advertisements back in the late 80s or early 90s). Try the "cheese sticks" - it's about a pound of mozzarella cheese, rolled in bread crumbs, deep-fried, and served with a meat sauce on the side. Your cardiologist recommends you have two orders. :-)

New Generation Sushi (Bloor St W) is yet another sushi place - there's lots of them in my neighbourhood. This one isn't quite as good as Memories of Japan (see below), but still decent food at a decent price, and quantities that are generous enough.

Memories of Japan (900 Don Mills) is a Japanese Teppanyaki and Sushi place very close to where I used to work. You can sit at the tables and watch 'em cook your food in front of you, or they deliver. And the prices are very good for the portion size (lunch is about $7.00-$8.00 per person). Did I mention they deliver?

Fiddler's Green, 27 Wellesly Street (across from Wellesley Station). British food. Need I say more? Although the Calamari rings were okay (you can confuse the waitress by asking for "Squid-O's").

Cora Pizza, Spadina St. at Harbord St. Voted best pizza several times in the past few years by readers of Now (or is it Eye?) magazine, and pretty good. The crust is thick and soft, decent amounts of cheese, and reasonably priced.

The Keg, all over the place. This is kinda breaking my own rules here, since this page is supposed to be for Toronto eateries, but I have to rave about "the baseball". It's the tip of the sirloin tip, and it's a chunk of beef about the size of a major-league baseball. It can only be ordered medium-rare at most, because they can't cook the inside any more than that without burning the outside. Yummy!!!

Tortilla Flats (??? Queen St., near Spadina) is probably the best Tex-Mex restaurant I've ever been to. Chain-gang chili is highly recommended, if you like spicy food. A good selection of yummy desserts, too!

Los Iguanas (??? Bloor Street W) is everything that Tortilla Flats is not - that is, disgusting. I mean, who puts celery in their fajitas, for crying out loud?!?

The Black Rooster (??? Bathurst Street - if you're there, why not stop by my house?). Y'know, I really liked this place a year ago. But they've had a succession of stupid and/or rude waitresses, and I think they changed their chef a while back, and it's just not the same any more. They used to make really good cheesy chili fries. UPDATE (December 8) - new management, new chef, new staff, new menu, new decor. Better. In fact, we probably eat there about once a week now, as opposed to NEVER AGAIN when I first wrote this review. Another update (April 5) - they kept the updated menu, they're renovating the inside, but unfortunately the new manager (Donny, as friendly and flamboyantly gay as any waiter I've ever met) seems to be on the outs again with the owner. Ah, well. Update again (July 6) - Donny was back, now he's gone again. Food is still good, though. Final update - the Rooster is no more - they closed suddenly in early 2002.

Grapefruit Moon (??? Bathurst Street, across the street from the Black Rooster) serves decent food, not bad price, but getting served is sometimes a matter of patience, something I lack in large quantities. I always get the feeling that it's a summer job or something - the glassware seems to have been picked up at various garage sales, and the decor is best described as eclectic.

J. J. Muggs (several, including Bloor Street, and down by the Eatons Centre) is a Toronto chain. They have an interesting selection for Sunday brunch (including half lobsters, crab legs, and shellfish), but somehow every time I eat there and don't get food poisoning I consider myself lucky...

Insomnia - our favourite place for brunch on weekends. I highly recommend the "PLT" - Peameal Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomatoes on a focaccia bread with homemade mayonnaise. I also like the chocolate banana pancakes and the berry pancakes, and Lynne is fond of the Eggs Charlotte. Dinner is another matter - not particularly recommended, as the dinner menu is a little strange. Update - July 6, 2001. They are now a "bar", which under Toronto bylaws mean they still allow smoking in 25% of their area. Most of the rest of these are "restaurants", meaning there's no smoking (unless there's a patio).

The Pickle Barrel (??? Queen Street, near the Eatons Centre) is a nice place to meet friends for lunch. Decent fair (a thick menu ensures something you'll like!), and big milkshakes. Food is kinda bland, though. I think this is actually a chain, and there's more than one of them...

Flo's (??? Eglinton Avenue) - there was a second one, near the Bay subway station, but it closed at the end of April. Decent food, okay prices, fifties decor, but I had a very undercooked burger there once, so you might want to check your order. Of course, they replaced it right away, so I shouldn't complain, but... Update - I think all the Toronto-area Flo's are now closed.

Lick's Burgers is sort of a Toronto institution to fast food. There used to be one down by the Eatons Centre, but they knocked it down. I think there's one on Eglinton Avenue now (near the Flo's). There's also one on Yonge Street, south of Steels Avenue. On a completely unrelated note, if you're in London, Ontario, and you have a hankering for a burger, I recommend you check out Fast Eddie's Drive-thru.

Mayday Malone's (Bathurst Street just south of Dupont) is a pub-type eatery. Monday and Tuesday nights are half-price wing nights! But, be warned, this place is also a favourite with sports fans, so during playoffs it can get noisy... It's also a bar, so watch for carcinogens!