Restaurants

How and why I first tried Masala Dosas back in the late 80s at the Madras Cafe in Ottawa across from the Britannia cinemas is a mystery that has been fogged by the mists of time.

If you are looking for some excellent sushi, but can't afford the incomparable Tojo's all the time, then check out our mini-review of Ajisai, our new regular sushi joint.

After our news item on Toronto's wonderful Caribbean restaurant, The Real Jerk, Mark Allerton wrote to ask if we know of any good West Indian restaurants in the the Vancouver area (other than of course the excellent Roti Bistro on 4th). If anybody knows, please leave a comment.

Barb and I had a fine meal at The Real Jerk (709 Queen Street East,Toronto, 416 463 6055) in Toronto recently.

There are lots of other great Caribbean restaurants in Toronto I bet, but this one has a particular resonance for me because I ate there several times in the late 80s and the food was just as great.

In response to my query about which Terminal City Club restaurants are open to non-members, Jason Lloyd (executive sous chef of Terminal City Club and Master Chef of the Pacific Northwest 2003 aka "Iron Chef") wrote:

About the TCClub, it is a private club and the only outlet open to the public is the Lions Pub. There is, however, a 60 room hotel tower which is also part of the club and is open to the public.

Paradiso Italian Gelato (1520 Yew Street) is a wonderful diversion from the "scene" at Kits beach. Excellent gelato! Tonight, we each had two scoops for $4 including tax. Barb had creme caramel and chocolate and I had strawberry and amaretto (a killer combo suggested by the very helpful Italian gentleman who served us tonight). All were delicious but the best was the strawberry. We will be back!

It looks like Blitzen Break may be on a permanent hiatus rather than the temporary one we reported recently. I hope this isn't true, but it makes sense since the restaurant seems not to have opened after Easter.

Bev, the former cook of Blitzen Break, is now working at Little Mary's Diner in Kits at 2184 Cornwall Avenue.

Check out our mini-review of Hapa Izakaya and then go eat there! You won't be disappointed!

Here are our photos from another great dinner at Hapa Izakaya on Monday night.

On Friday, my friend, Jessica and I had lunch at the newly re-opened and expanded The Mouse and The Bean.

Here's a photo of the yummy $9.50 lunch special!

Check out our mini-review of The Mouse and The Bean for the complete scoop!