I’ve recently moved to downtown Toronto with my boyfriend and if there is one thing you should know about the two of us, it’s we like to eat. Our particular favourite dinner is the $10.00 XL pepperoni pizza they currently have going at Pizza Pizza (they say it’s a “special” but it’s been going on for over two months now…).
We also eat from Not Just Noodles on Yonge and Wellesley… they have incredible General Tao chicken, WOWZA.
We try to go out to actual real food restaurants, but it can be hard to find time between both of our schedules. However, a few weeks ago we went to this delicious seafood restaurant near Adelaide and Jarvis, called Pearl Diver. I tried oysters for the first time, and they were incredible. The texture was a little weird, of course. But I tried them with cocktail sauce and with lemon juice and I truly am an oyster fan now. For my main I had delicious fish n’ chips. They weren’t greasy at all, which is how fish n’ chips should be.
We’ve also been to Ramen RAIJIN a few times, which is a Japanese noodle bar near Yonge and Gerrard. They have wonderful ramen. I’m just going to leave it at that. (Image from Blog TO)
Now to change tables just a little bit (…quite literally), I’m going to share my favourite cafes of the month. It’s finals season, and I’ve realized how productive I can be at a coffee shop, surprisingly. I’m just way to distracted at home, whether it’s by Friends, snacking or petting my cat.
Bulldog on the Block (Gerrard and Church)
This cafe has magnificent, house-baked scones and really smooth tasting lattes. Also, their coffee is fabulous. It is now my go-to coffee when I’m at school. It tastes how coffee should actually taste. The owner, Stuart Ross, is the kindest most sassy barista I’ve ever come across. He loves to have a conversation with anyone who comes through his cafe. It’s an open concept, two-level cafe with about 12-15 spots to sit. Definitely a top favourite.
Rooster Coffee (Jarvis and Bloor)
I discovered Rooster Coffee one afternoon when my boyfriend and I were walking passed it, and he made the comment, “That looks like a real hipster-y place.” Yeah, he was basically right. I decided to go in one Saturday, and my god the place was packed. In fact, there was no seats left. I had to sip my coffee standing for a minute or so, then I quickly grabbed an empty stool on the south side of the cafe.
It’s a very open cafe, with a second floor (that seats about 5-6 people) and extremely high ceilings. And it plays the best music – I mean seriously, did it steal my iPod?
Kit and Ace’s “Sorry” (Bay and Bloor)
I started seeing everyone post these coffee cups online that had “Sorry” written on them – and yes I immediately thought of Justin Bieber, don’t judge me okay????
After being at Rooster Coffee for three consecutive days, I decided to branch out to a new place. I made my way up to Yorkville and went to Sorry and had a delicious latte and sat at the window seat and enjoyed my afternoon immensely. It backs onto a cool shopping strip which is nice to look at from the cafe. The cafe is very small, with about less than 10 seats but it had a really cool vibe (+ very friendly baristas!)
I’m looking forward to visiting many more restaurants and cafes during the month of April!
E