Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill (Bayview Village)

A friend of mine recommended me to try out O&B Cafe Grill for quite sometime now and after doing some Christmas Shopping at the Mall, we decided to stop by their Bayview Village location.

 Thankfully on this busy Christmas Eve, they had a table for 5. My sister ordered the Fettucine Alfredo (3/5), made with egg noodles, Parmigiano-Reggiano cream and peas, topped with roasted chicken. For $16, this was a fairly decent portion. The noodles were nice and tender, but I was not a fan of the sauce as it was tasteless. The chicken was quite dry as well and the peas were hard.

Both my mom and brother had the Sunday Special [$23], which was a Roasted Black Angus Strip Loin, with Yorkshire pudding, Buttermilk mash and Pan gravy (3.5/4). The strip loin was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and was juicy and tender. As you can see from the picture there was a layer of fat that had to be taken off. You can also see the burnt baby carrot on the left, I mean this ain't no 5 star restaurant but how could you miss that ?! The buttermilk mash was nice and creamy and the Yorkshire pudding was crispy and very moist on the inside. We had to ask for more of the Pan gravy, as the dish was kind of dry.

I had the AAA Canadian Cheeseburger (3.5/5) [$17], which came with a huge pile of Yukon Gold Fries. Although I asked for it to be cooked to a medium rare, it came almost to a well done, but was still very juicy. It had a nice char on it, which I enjoyed. The fries were crispy and thick. I would've liked it if the bun was topped with sesame seeds.











My dad had the Piri Piri Half Chicken (3.5/5) [$24] with Roasted New Potatoes, Spinach, Artichokes, Tomatoes and Zucchini. There was an option for mild or spicy, and my dad opted for the spicy. The Chicken came on a sizzling hot plate, that did not sizzle at all when it arrived. The Chicken was overcooked and dry in some areas, while it was moist and juicy in others. The chicken and potatoes were both aggressively seasoned which my dad wasn't a fan of as it made him want to drink water every 10 seconds.


For Dessert, we decided to try
the Four Tasting's of Chef's Favourite Desserts (3/5) [$15.25] which consisted of a Mini S'more, Lemon Posset, Carrot Cake & little Eton Mess. My favourite out of the four would have to be the Carrot Cake as it was light without being too sweet. The Eton Mess on the top left was tasty as the Toasted Meringue added a nice crunch. The S'more was a tad too sweet in opinion, especially with the toasted marshmallow on top and the berry compote. The Lemon Posset looked very good, but I was disappointed instantly when I put my spoon in and noticed how watered down it was. Instead of a nice creamy, smooth custard like texture, this was

literally like liquid milk and I could move my spoon around no problem.
There were no traces of lemon either except for the zest on top. I would like to give it a rating of (1/5), because honestly it was that bad.

We had two scoops of the Passion Fruit Sorbet (3/5) [$7.25], which had a better consistency than the Posset did. The flavours were very strong which I enjoyed.


The food my family and I had here was quite substantial, and definitely did not wow us. For the price, we did expect a little more presentation
as well as consistency, I mean who
wants a half an inch of fat clinging on to their meat?
Or burnt baby carrots? Small fixes would've
done the job. The staff were friendly, but we did
have to ask 3 people to fill our water as they forgot.

The Good:

• Nice Vibe
• Spacious

The Bad:

• Need to be more consistent
• Food is quite average
• Pricey for the quality

Shake Shack (Theatre District, New York City)

The first place we went to, as soon as we got to New York City, was Shake Shack. We had to try it! One of the most popular burger spots in America, Shake Shack offers a variety of Burgers, Frozen Custard, Milkshakes, French Fries and even Doggie Treats for your furry friend.

The line was huge when we got there, which is not unusual especially during the lunch hour. It was so busy, we had to order our food and eat in the car. We ordered the Hamburger (3/5), with Lettuce, Tomatoes, Pickles, Onions and Shack Sauce. As you can see from the picture, only the Tomato and Onions are visible as they forgot all the other toppings we wanted! What a disappointment. We even asked for extra Shack Sauce, but sadly we didn't even get a tiny bit of that! The burger patty was very juicy and tasty and the bun had a nice sweetness and a soft texture. Pretty sure it would've been a (5/5) no doubt if it had all the toppings we wanted.

I was thankful they didn't forget our French Fries (4.5/5) as these lived up to the hype and were very crispy and nicely salted.

I can definitely see why Shake Shack is so popular, as their food is well worth the price and
executed well. Argh, just wish they included everything we wanted on our burger!!!!

The Good:

• Well worth the Price
•  Tasty Burgers and Fries

The Bad:

• Can get really busy, so long waits are to be expected

East Japanese Restaurant (Midtown West, New York)

After a long day at Central Park, we were quite hungry. My mom suggested we try the sushi spot we passed by earlier in the day. Located between Broadway and 8th Ave, East Japanese Restaurant is a small (We passed by twice, until we finally found it) but cozy sushi spot, tucked in between two Italian Restaurants.


We squished our way through to the back of the restaurant which was surprising quite spacious. We started off we the Deep Fried Squid (3/5), which really were just squid tentacles. The squid was flavourful, but the texture was too soft for my liking. These were quite soggy as well.

 We ordered the Sashimi Platter (3.5/5), which included Salmon, Tuna, Toro, Scallops, Octopus and Yellowtail sashimi. I loved how each piece was nice and thick. They were all fresh tasting and didn't exhibit a fishy taste. The toro was fatty, but no the 'melt in your mouth' type, although it was still good.


 Our waiter suggested we try their Gyoza special (Chicken, Beef or shrimp). We went with their
Shrimp Gyoza (2/5), which was a huge disappointment
as the filling was literally like a mush, rather than
shrimps. But for $2.99 I can't really complain.
I would've liked the Gyozas to be crispier as they
were quite soggy. The sauce was nothing special as it was just watered down ponzu. Not a great start.



To make things even worse, the Chicken Karaage (2/5) fooled us, as it looked hot and crispy, but turned out to be
soggy like the other fried items. What a disappointment. The batter was way too thick and the chicken was dry and tasteless. 

Onto something that didn't disappoint us..The Dragon Roll (3.5/5), looked very pleasing as it arrived to our table. Topped with Avocado and Salmon Roe, the Eel on the inside was nice and flavourful and the sushi rice was beautifully seasoned. I liked how they didn't stuff the roll with too much rice, which many restaurants tend to do.


We ordered the White River Roll (2.5/5), which didn't look like a roll at all when it arrived. This was definitely a challenge to eat, let alone pick up as everything was falling apart. With the help of a spoon, which made things a tad bit easier, I was able to make out what
we actually ordered in the first place.
Essentially it was an eel and salmon roll, topped with tempura bits, pickled carrots, eel sauce and spicy mayo. This was quite tasty with all the components together, while the pickled carrots and tempura bits added a nice crunch.

East Japanese Restaurant has friendly staff, but their food is quite standard. The fried items that we had were very disappointing.


The Good:

• Friendly Staff

The Bad:

• Fried items were a disappointment
• Somewhat hard to find

Anna Maria Pizza & Pasta (Williamsburg, New York)

Prior to my trip to NYC, I made sure
I included about 5-6 pizza joints to visit during the week I was there. I mean, NY is known for it's Pizza. No? Anyways down to the food. After having been to Best Pizza twice in the past few days before, we decided to stop by Anna Maria Pizza and Pasta which was down the street from where we stayed.

Feeling somewhat guilty of breaking her 'diet', my sister went for the Vegetarian (3.5/5), which was generously topped with large slices of Avocado, Freshly Diced Tomatoes, Onions, Green Peppers and Ricotta Cheese. Even with all the ingredients and moisture from the veggies, the pizza was not soggy, and the crust was light and crispy. The sauce was pretty tasteless, but the abundance of veggies made up for it.


I went with the Buffalo Chicken Pizza (2/5), which was too salty in my opinion. The pieces of chicken were very dry and the large amount of cheese added more saltiness to it.
The pie itself was again nice and crispy.

 
On the other hand, we really enjoyed the Chicken Parm with Spaghetti (3.5/5) as the noodles were nice and tender, and the Chicken Parm was nice and Crispy even under the amount of sauce. The sauce was nice and zesty and did not overpower the dish.


Anna Maria is a decent spot for a quick snack or lunch fix, and they offer a variety of pizzas and pastas. The staff are friendly and the service was quick when we were there. They have a few tables for dining in and their decor isn't the best of the best, but for a quick slice, it'll do.


The Good:

• Great for a quick bite
• Friendly Staff
• Authentic

 The Bad:

• Space is small, especially during busy lunch hours.
• Food is average