Taqueria Arturo

Did I ever mention how much I love resto invites? Well, I dso. I doodelidoo. Taqueria Arturo, a little newbie on Prince Arthur's cobblestones, decided they needed some brunch experts. Hello, my name is Marie-Christine, and I am a brunch expert. What is also exciting when I get invited is choosing who to bring. I owe you 10 bucks? I bring you. You made me dinner? I bring you. You took my shift at work when I really needed it? I bring you. I haven't seen you in over a year? I bring Cat. Cat is my oldest friend in the world: when I got to Toronto in grade 4, she's the one that was nice to me on my first day in school and we've been friends ever since. Almost 28 years later.... (F*CK we're old)

Taqueria Arturo has gotten good reviews so far. This is how I see things: if they have good reviews, I'm excited to go and try the food/service and if they have bad reviews, I'm excited to go and try the food/service. The only difference is that one will get a good review and one will get a bad one. I'm never truly disappointed when I eat at a bad/awful resto because it just means that my readers (yes, I have many readers and they are MINE!) will get to know about it.

Maybe it's because the cobblestone part of Prince-Arthur looks like ASS in the winter time, but looking at the restaurant from outside, it could've looked better. From the side, you only see a sign that says 'Taqueria' and then when you're in front, you see their bandito sign with the name on it. Not the BEST marketing! But anyhoot. You get in and it's a two parter: there are about 16 seats on the first floor and then you go up some steps and there's another room. Lots of wood, some colour here and there and high ceilings. And then, there's the music: quite pleasant at first but then it seemed like they were playing around with the base and that got a tad UNpleasant.

When we arrived, I mentioned my name, my blog, and the fact that I was invited and... nada! His face was priceless. And then MY face was priceless, as in, oh shiiiiit, am I in the right place? Hahaha! At the end of our brunch, the chef actually came out and HE knew who I was so at least that was that, but still. Communication, people!

The mimosa. Hibiscus mimosa! I LOVE mimosas! Last year, when I went to the Cayman Islands, we went to an all-you-can-eat/bottomless mimosa brunch and OH.MY.GOD. HOLY shit. I just remember taking a really long nap on the beach after and waking up 3 hours later, hungover as all hell. The mimosa could have been a bit colder and it could have had more bubbles. Anyone who knows me knows I loves me some bubbles. Hence why I was literally addicted to Coca-Cola when I was younger. And then I discovered Perrier, a much healthier alternative :) If I hadn't known it was hibiscus, I could've named a bunch of other fruits it tasted like. It tasted exotic-ish but that's about it. Still, I had two. Duh.

Le plat! I had the Benedicto: buttermilk biscuit, poached eggs, pork belly, chipotle hollandaise and home fries. The biscuit, made in house (YES!), was so buttery and flaky and just damn perfect. I hadn't had a buttermilk biscuit in a while and dsamn! This one, I would have every freaking day. The potatoes were spicy, seasoned just right, and had the exact right amount of cooking: they weren't too hard and they weren't mushy. I hate too hard. I HATE mushy! The eggs were PERFECT. And as ya'll know, I'm egg-difficult. Or eggficult. Mmmmyes. Just runny enough to infiltrate the biscuit. OH YA! The chipotle hollandaise was literally out of this world (OK, not 'literally'. Unless....Alright, I'm diverging here): it was spicy but not overly so and peppery and fit 100% in the dish. I had never tasted hollandaise like this before! I want more. Now. The pork belly. Ah, le belly of le pork. Imma gonna make somethin' clear right now: pork is ALWAYS good. Well, except when it's dry and sh*t but let me make something else clear: pork is ALWAYS good. It was juicy, it was fatty but not too much, it was oh-so-tasty.

When I ordered chorizo, I thought I was going to get the sausage. Instead, I got ground chorizo. It was still good, but a tad disappointing. It was seasoned in all the right ways but too dry for its own good. BTW, when you type 'too dry' in google, you mostly get two words: 'toad' and 'intercourse'. Just thought I'd share this.

Service was good and not that good. It was uneven. Yes, that's would be the perfect word! As mentioned, he didn't know who the f I was. I obviously don't mean 'you should KNOW me', but more like 'I was invited so you should know I'm-a-comin' '. We sat down, we got water (points!), and since Cat and I hadn't seen each other in 8 years (I like to exaggerate), we took some time to order le food. But once ordered, it did take QUITE the time for the food to get to us. You know... there's waiting, and then, there's waiting. It was just long enough for Cat and I to look at each other and say yo I'm hungry! Anyway. Obviously, the food wasn't a problem! The guy wasn't super smily nor super pleasant and forgot more than once to bring more water. Nearing the end of our meal, he was getting friendlier and smilier tho. The service was on the slow side and the waiter never checked if we were enjoying the food. Actually, he asked us if we had liked it, when we were done.

And now, the scores!

Food: 8
Service: 6

I really liked the food and I might go back for a good benedicto but I'll try other places first.

3734

I was looking for a new brunch place. A cheap (ish) one. I found it in Restaurant 3734. Btw, I don't know how OK I am with restos naming themselves after their address. I mean, how original IS that? Anyhoot, prices seemed aight and the food looked more than aight so I headed there with my friend T last weekend.

Turns out there was this big kid's birthday party. Whatever happened to good ol' McDonalds? It was good enough for me, it should be good enough for your kids, damn it! So, they took up half the resto and their parents took up the other half. There were only a couple tables left.

The place itself is very bright and with that very chill music playing, has a very nice vibe. It has very high ceilings and is surrounded by floor to ceiling windows which made it even brighter. The wooden floors and wooden countertop at the bar with the white tiles on the wall gave a very mellow feel to the place. Don't ask me why I think wood plus tiles equals mellow, that's just the way it is. There was also a Christmas tree in the corner when you came in. I just loved the oranges in there. You pass by it, you feel hungry, just take an orange. Why not? Kind of like Céline Dion and her 'take a kayak' thang. Makes sense right? Mmmmmright.

I was QUITE hungry, with having been to the gym beforehand and only having eaten an egg. ONE egg damn it! I already knew what I wanted to eat and was just waiting for T so that we could order. I was a tad disappointed -to say the least- that they did not have what I had chosen to eat prior to getting there. Grrrr. Why? Why would you put something on your website and not put it on your menu. I cry. Because I'm a big foodie baby.

I had the tartine: poached egg with beets and some romaine. I'll say somethin' I will rarely say:  I really liked that romaine. Tis true. It had a mix of what tasted like soft cheese and crème fraîche with some chives on top. So simple, yet, so good. It was fresh and crunchy. The beets were perfectly cooked and there were two kinds on the plate: some full ones and some in spirals. Beets n' eggs: they got it. The egg was cooked to perfection and seasoned to perfection as well. Mmmmmegg! The bread was good but under grilled I found. I would've liked more crunch and more charred taste to it. There was also a mix of cheddar and mozza on it and that was just lovely. Lovely, I say! Just salty enough and when spread on the bread, with the egg yolk on it, oh yes. Oh. Yes.

Service was good. Water was on the table pretty quickly, and although, when I got there, with the birthday party happenin', I got kind of scared (yes, scared) that service was gonna suck for us, it didn't. Yes, it might have been better without the party, but hey, what can you do? Our waitress was very smiley but did not ask us how we liked our meal. Just to recap, these are the most important things to me when I'm getting waited on:

1- I must always have water.
2- Always check if I like my meal.
3- Know your menu.
4- Perfect wine service.
5- Don't take a plate away unless everyone is done.

Pretty much sums it up.

And now, the scores!

Food: 8
Service: 7.5

Loved that romaine but there are so many places to eat at! I might go back but not any time soon.

Le Smoking Vallée

I have wonderful friends. Two of them (Lea and her main squeeze) decided to invite me out on February 15th for a little Valentine's day dinner. How nice! And to Le Smoking Vallée no less; a BYOW restaurant I'd been meaning to visit for a while.

We got there, on a -8000 evening and were nicely welcomed by the waitress and unfortunately coldly welcomed by the room... the temperature inside does not need to be the same as the temperature outside, people! It was 6 PM so it was quite empty...but it was about to fill up.

The place is very simple, lots of wood, mirrors, industrial type lighting (recurrent theme recently), no music (a tad whhhheird), and a 'menu à l'ardoise', meaning of course that the menu was written on a black board on the wall.

Our cute little waitress came and explained all the specials. She actually needed a piece of paper where she had them written all down and I don't blame her! I think there were about 5 or 6 specials that evening! I stuck to the menu, which I had thoroughly studied on their website. That's right, when I go to school, f*ck studying, but when I go to the restaurant, it is time to learn the menu, learn about the place and know what I should order in advance. OK, that 'f*ck school' isn't true, I mean I did graduate :)

As soon as this plate was in front of me, I started drooling. And then it became a puddle of drool on my table and it was just not classy. Alright, I'm kidding. But it could have happened! Puff pastry with enoki (to be honest, I'm not sure they were enoki because the head was a tad bigger, but I looked it up and I just cannot find a description) and button mushrooms, truffle, watercress and a poached egg. Let me just say that if I'd only be rating this dish, I'd give it a ten. A ten I tells ya! The puff pastry was super flaky, just like it should be, the mushrooms were juicy and full of flavor, the egg...OH the egg. I broke it and the yolk ran over everything and created the best sauce EVA! Holy bejesus. So silky, creamy, soft and unctuous! It was literally one of the best poached eggs I've had in my life (and we all know how old I am ;p ). The watercress added a great texture and another taste level to the dish and the bacon...OH, the bacon. Y'all know how I feel about bacon :) 'Nuff said.

My reaction to this plate was pretty much the opposite to the first one. Aight SO I had asked for the meat to be rare. It was rare alright... nope.... actually it was blue. For y'all who dson't know, blue is a notch above raw. I don't like my meat raw. I like some fish raw. But not freaking beef. (And I'm too shy apparently to tell the waitress...but I've thought about it...and I will next time instead of looking at my plate in disbelief). I used to eat it 'well cooked' until I discovered the beautiful world of rare. Flank steak (bavette) can get chewy if not done well and damn, f*ck, it did get chewy. I pretty much ate around the middle and left the raw part for the waitress. What they describe on the menu as marinated veggies is actually coleslaw. That's fine. With just a touch of vinegar, it was actually quite enjoyable and balanced well with the other elements on the plate. The potatoes were perfect: crunchy on the outside, smooth on the inside and well seasoned. The mayo tasted like there was a bit of wasabi in there. The hint of spice was very welcomed. 

Brownies with some caramel whipped cream. Whipped cream you say? You had me at 'whhhh' :) The brownie itself was a bit dry and un-fluffy, the caramel chantilly type cream was wonderful and was like a perfect girlfriend to the chocolate. All in all, it was a bit underwhelming but still OK nonetheless.

The service was.... uneven. Good welcome but then it kind of faded into oblivion. But forget about the service; the people watching was wonderful that evening. Lea and I had the better view... of people fighting, laughing, exhibiting most of their boobs (for me, of course) and then when we started singing the Star Wars song, everyone turned around... duh. Why again were we doing that? OH, because I brought TWO bottles of wine to the party :) Anyway, sad thing is that I believe one of the couples may have broken up during their Valentine's day dinner. Happens every year. 

And now, the scores!

Food: 7
Service: 7

I'll go back fosho but y'all know what now? I now speak/write with a Southern accent. Hehehe, no but seriously, I won't have the bavette, oh and if I do, I'll say it if it's blue. Mmmmmthank you.