2012 Summerlicious Snaphot Reviews

[wolverine07]

Linda Modern Thai

11 Karl Fraser Rd

Menu: $15 Lunch plus taxes and gratuity

Beef Satay
grilled beef skewers with satay sauce
or
Cold Rolls (vegetarian)
mango, pickled carrot and cucumber, wrapped in rice paper
or
Spring Rolls (vegetarian)
two vegetarian spring rolls



Thai Beef Wraps
braised beef brisket with coconut chilli sauce and pickles, wrapped in roti
or
Golden Curry Chicken with Khanom Jeen
chicken breast in our homemade golden curry, with Thai grain-starch noodle
or
Green Curry Tofu (vegetarian)
deep fried tofu, broccoli, snap pea in our homemade green curry



Mango Sticky Rice (vegetarian)
fresh mango, white glutinous rice, sesame seed, sweet coconut milk
or
Deep Fried Banana with Honey (vegetarian)
battered, deep fried golden banana topped with honey and roasted sesame seed
or
Tropical Ice Cream (vegetarian)
your choice from our selection of tropical ice creams and gelato

Review: No reservations were required; we have dined here before and liked it before, though we found Linda’s twice as expensive as their sister restaurant Salad King. We ordered the beef satay and Vegetarian spring rolls as appetizers, from my taste it was no different than Salad King. With one note the beef satay may have been more moist and was prepared to order at Linda's. The Mains we ordered were the Golden Curry for me and Thai beef wraps for my companion. I found the Golden Curry a little too watery and the rice/wheat noodles were not as effective in soaking up the sauce as rice would have been. Poor choice of using noodles as opposed to rice IMO. My companion loved her Thai Wraps, unfortunately I didn’t try them, but she was happy. The desserts are very small in portion size, we had both the fried Banana and sticky mango. I preferred the fried Banana but sadly it was nothing that stood out that would make you say I want to come back. The lone bright spot was the service, the waiter was very attentive in clearing plates and detail. Parking, lots of it.

Food 5/10
Service 8/10
Ambience 6/10

Olio: A Mediterranean Grille

Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
801 Dixon Rd

$15 Lunch plus taxes and gratuity

roasted red pepper and tomato soup, gruyere cheese croutons
or
Olio caesar salad, parmesan and creamy garlic dressing
or
tomato and mozzarella salad with grilled red onion and herb olive oil


pan seared fillet of rainbow trout asparagus, fingerling potato & sweet pea coulis
or
smoked chicken penne, sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers and goat cheese cream sauce
or
wild mushroom risotto, pecorino romano, roast tomatoes and truffle oil



lemon tart, raspberry coulis
or
warm wild blueberry and white chocolate bread pudding, rum caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream
or
Olio tiramisu, kahlua, mascarpone and chocolate shavings

Review: I wasn’t expecting much from reading a few reviews on Olio, so this place was a pleasant surprise to us. When we arrived we were going to pay for parking, key note here is turn right off of Atwell facing Dixon rd, there are spots reserved for Olio diners for 2 hours. If you turn left into the parking lot, you will have to fork out money. Olio is located adjacent the front desk in the hotel. It’s a well spaced, attractive spot. We were seated very quickly as the room was only half full, we didn’t make reservations. The waiter was a typical career hotel waiter, poured our water, seemed to be in a hurry at the start, but seemed to warm up to us as the meal went on. I ordered the tomato and mozzarella salad to start, my companion the roasted red pepper and tomato soup. The appetizers were well presented, I loved my salad, could taste the balsamic vinegar. It was even better when I salted and ground pepper into it. The soup was very nice also, pureed and homemade. The mains we ordered were Mushroom risotto for me and the pan seared rainbow trout for my companion. The risotto was a winner, rich and creamy. The trout was good, though for me a bit dry, but my companion loved it. For dessert, we ordered the tiramisu and bread pudding. As a diner that has a weakness for bread pudding, this one was a winner. The rum and vanilla sauce was rich that contrasted well with the crust and the moistness of the bread. Could have only ate this and been very happy. The tirmisu was presented in 3 scoops. I thought it looked great as opposed to the traditional way of serving it. Coffee is starbucks blend, another plus. Overall this was super value for $15 per person, I would rank Olio as one of the best value Summerlicious restaurants we have been to.

Food 9/10
Service 8/10
Ambience 8/10

[originalnutta]

Thanks!

Olio is near to me, and that's a great price for what you're getting. I'm going to have to sample their menu soon.

[wolverine07]

Thanks!

Olio is near to me, and that's a great price for what you're getting. I'm going to have to sample their menu soon.

I haven't been up to that hotel in years, it was the Delta Toronto Airport Hotel once, they did a lot of renovations. Looks pretty good, definitely better now than then. They also have a pool table near the bar, I was practicing a little, no charge I believe. Cheers!

[wolverine07]

Have a Dentist appointment next Saturday so not sure I can make it here, however this restaurant looks very enticing, my critaria for Summerlicious is good value, finding quality menus, and available free parking. By the Lake at the summer, only $15 for 3 prix fix meal.

Rocco Restaurant
2083 Lake Shore Blvd W

$15 Lunch plus taxes and gratuity

Cold Melon Soup (vegetarian)
Green melon, Parsley, touch of Yogurt
or
Mixed Green Salad
Organic Baby Greens topped with shredded Pears, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Sundried Cranberries in balsamic vinaigrette
or
Mussels
P.E.I Mussels in White Wine Butter Garlic sauce



Porcini Mushrooms & Shredded Pheasant Risotto
or
Porcini Mushrooms Risotto (vegetarian)
or
Tilapia
Pan Seared Tilapia with seasonal vegetables & Malibu Lime Sauce
or
Grilled Chicken Breast
Chicken Breast with Fingerling Potatoes, Rapini, Marsala Mushroom Sauce



Passion Fruit sorbet
or
Spumoni ice cream – Dark chocolate, Pistachio, Cherries
or
Caramel Latte – caramel mousse, espresso sponge, coffee caramel roulade

[funkyfr3sh_]

Went to the Wine Bar for lunch ($15)

Roasted Vegetable & Feta Cheese Salad
Cauliflower, summer squash, sweet peppers, red onion & Balsamic vinaigrette

Really tasty but they were skimpy on the cheese for my liking though but still not bad. Cauliflower and summer squash was excellent.

Smoked Cheddar & Apple Sandwich
Whole wheat toast, caramelized onions & sprouts

This was awful. The portion size was really undersized compared to the other offerings. It was one slice of (tiny) toast with a heap of onions a very thin piece of apple with melted cheddar on top. The middle of the bread was very soggy from the onions but the crust was pretty dark and hard to cut through. You also got a tiny plain balsamic vinaigrette salad with this but totally unnecessary especially if you had a salad for your starter.

Local Rhubarb Crisp
Ontario apple, rhubarb & granola crust

Very good, served nice and warm with a crunchy granola top.

Food 5.5/10
Service 7/10
Ambience 7/10

[X820]

Sassafraz, lunch for $25

Vichyssoise with lobster and truffle essence
Cucumber and strawberry salad with baby arugula, pink peppercorn honey vinaigrette and crisp prosciutto -> one small slice of prosciutto

Roasted chicken breast with doubled smoked bacon and red onion quinoa, braised leeks in natural reduction
Grilled Atlantic salmon with lemon caper orzo, green beans and blood orange emulsion

Banana cream tart, toasted coconut mousse and mango sherbet
Chocolate brownie with brandied cherry, Chantilly cream and amaretto reduction

The only thing that I like was the soup, the rest are mediocre.

Food 6.5/10
Food Presentation 5/10, mediocre plating, didn't expect that from Sassafraz.
Service 6/10, we had to wait like 20 minutes for our server to take our orders and it wasn't that crowded.
Ambience 9/10

[iridium001]

Wine Bar has always had tiny portions, even on a regular day. Don't expect to have a full meal there; good wine selections though albeit very expensive even for a glass. (Some are $25-$40 per 8oz glass.)

[wolverine07]

I echo the comments about lack of portion size guys,.

Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill when we went, it was very good. Especially their desserts. However the portions were very small, I don't know if this was only for Summerlicious or is it like this all the time?

Think restaurants should think twice about offering a good portion size to attract customers, rather than short change them. For Olio, I was impressed with their portions, it was as if you were dining there on a normal afternoon and not for a promotion. The bread pudding is regularily $7, a steal at Summerlicous at $15 for 3 courses!

The only other Summerlicious value spot that had decent portions I recall was Il Fornaro, food and ambience was only ok though, but atleast they don't jip you on food. :0)

[iridium001]

These licious events have been going on for years, longer than I can count my fingers. They keep getting more expensive (Used to be $25 > $35 > $45) for dinner at "higher" end restaurants. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years it'll be $55 at which point, might as well pay $30-$40 extra on a regular day for bigger portions.

Yes, you do slightly get more going on a regular day versus going during this special time.

[lilnymphie]

Went to Centro

Charred scallop ceviche
with shaved radish, roasted poblanos and crispy potato

Roasted Striploin
with double smoked bacon potato gratin, sauteed spinach and fried leeks

Mango parfait
with a honey and thyme financier

The appetizer was very tasty, but I've always liked scallops. The entree was enh, ok. The dessert was also just ok. The entree was about the size of 1/4 of a normal steak. There were two slices, each roughly the size of a thumb, inch thick...I'm not a big eater (Asian female), I'm usually satisfied with 'licious portions, but this was totally unsatisfying. The service was also not as good as usual (no surprise). The presentation was very good, atmosphere was average.

[slinger99]

Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill when we went, it was very good. Especially their desserts. However the portions were very small, I don't know if this was only for Summerlicious or is it like this all the time?

It is like this all the time at O&B

[funkyfr3sh_]

I didn’t expect anything huge @ Wine Bar but looking at my friends meals (fish & chips; meatball sliders) the apple & cheddar sandwich was PATHETIC! They could have splurged for at least 2 pieces of meagre toast.

[glossyy]

anyone been to north 44 this year?

[biee]

Went to Auberge du Pommier last week and I seriously find it overrated. I don't know if it's only lunch (dinner might be better, dunno), but food was mediocre to me.

The only good thing was service.

[gilboman]

Licious events suck period, you can't compare a licious event menu at any of the mid/higher tier restaurants and then judge whether its overrated or not. It's a totally different experience than regular price. That's why I haven't bothered with these events in years. You just get to say you've been there and the ambience and service is the same as regular (to an extent), but food? not close.

No free lunch in this world, you get what you pay (or not pay for in licious events)