Woodlot
Palmerston, just south of College Street

Onion Soup (perfect in its richness)
Smoked Trout with radish salad (crazy refreshing and clean, little awkward to eat on parchment paper over ice, image above)

Steak with Grilled Ramps (very good)
Stuffed pasta with fresh peas and ricotta with braised lamb and fresh mint (very rich and wonderful)
Grilled brussel sproats with bacon (really good!)

Best pavlova EVER with perserved cherries.

Vern's and the Vern's of Montreal

Some of our family hails from Saskatoon. There is a pizza joint in 'Toontown called Vern's that has the most topping laidden pie I have ever experienced. It is kind of a thing of beauty. We once posted a query on Chowhound asking if anyone knew of a pizza place that was close to Vern's in the GTA. We tried some of the recommendations, they all sucked.

A couple of weeks ago we were in Montreal and we wanted to order in pizza. We were staying in Outremount. Googled best pizza in Montreal, the first thing that came up didn't deliver to our area, so we called the second one that came up. Hello Van Horn Pizza! Where have you been all my life?

It isn't the same as Vern's but just as heavy, and fantastic in its own right.

Pasternak

I've had drinks on the lovely patio that wraps around Rykestrasse & Knaackstrasse, but never the food. Today I had what was called a blini, but was more like a crepe than the blinii (plural ;) ) I have had before. A lovely rose of satisfactory cured salmon, nice sour cream and a horseradish sauce. The horseradish sauce MADE a DIY "peice it together yourself" standard lunch into something better. I think it was just your average prepared horseradish (without the cream) mixed with pulverized fresh tomato. It has changed what I will do to horseradish in the future; the horseradish flavour was less aggressive, though no less intense, I think in part to the acidity of the tomatoes... there could have been something else in the sauce too. Difficult to anylize when your kid is kicking up a fuss in the serious first 20 minutes of a World Cup that will determine whether the country you are visiting makes it into the semi final round...

Restaurant Pasternak

Knaackstr. 22/24 - 10405 Berlin
Tel +49 30 441 33 99
Fax +49 30 440 46 518

Öffnungszeiten:
Montag - Samstag 09:00 Uhr - open end
Sonntag 10:00 - 01:00 Uhr - open end
Die Küche hat für Sie bis 24:00 Uhr geöffnet

Linh Thai Snack

Prenzlauer Allee is littered with Thai Imbiss. I must have walked by Linh Thai Snack 30 times and only stopped in today. My daughter is obsessed with all things curry and all things rice. So I ordered a red curry chicken (with 2 year old appeasing rice). For 4.50 Euro we had more than enough for the two of us. In a pleasantly above standard sauce was a pile of perfectly cooked vegetables (carrot, peppers, peas, cabbage, bamboo, green beans, and mushrooms) and a decent half cup of thinnly sliced chicken.

I plan on returning and trying out more things. Everything is cooked upon ordering, so no soggy vegetables! I saw someone elses order of fried rice and veggies being made; I want to try that next time.

Metzer Eck

I love a good Eck as much as the next person, but it is Metzer Eck that holds a special place in my heart. We were introduced to it 10 years ago by friends of ours that live by the Water Tower in Prenzlauerberg. The schnitzel is not pounded thin, nearly 2 cm thick, and topped with a slightly too generous (if such a thing exists) slab of herb butter. Take your pick of fried potatos or lightly dressed potato salad. Daily specials are good too.

http://www.metzer-eck.de

Gaststätte Metzer Eck
Inhaberin: Sylvia Falkner
10405 Berlin
Metzer Straße 33

Telefon 030 - 44 27 656
Telefax 030 - 44 14 821

Mail: Info@Metzer-Eck.de

On Maki You're So Fine...

(I can't help it)
I love maki rolls that make sushi aficionados cringe. I am talking about slapping avocado, spiced mayo, and tempura shrapel on any kind of raw sea creature and binding them to rice and nori. It may not be classy, but that's the kind of girl I am.

And to date, the best place in Toronto to satiate the crave is Sushi Xtra on Queen Street West, just east of Spadina.

www.sushixtra.ca

My standing order is spicy scallop, spicy tuna & dynamite roll; ringing in under $20. :)

Viking Bakery

Tiny Finnish bakery and deli on Laird Avenue, south of Eglinton.
Along with the tasty Finnish pastries and 100% rye (available in dense, dry, and drier), the house smoked chicken, whitefish, and hams are truly fantastic.

Winter 2010: they had a fire, as of the spring, not yet reopened.

Fall 2010: they reopened in Newmarket, 350 Davis Dr., Unit 2, Ontario.