3519 Bathurst St, Toronto (1/2 way between Wilson & Lawrence), ON M6A2C7, 416.784.9900
It's Saturday night in the summer in the big city, 1 and 1/2 hours after Shabbat ended. I drive north on Bathurst from Glencairn, and nothing's open. Not Col. Wong, not the 3 pizza places south of Lawrence, not the yogurt place. The only place open is Tov-Li. So, why? Is it the COR that's telling the restaurants to not open? Is it the Rosh Yeshiva's telling their kids not to go out on Saturday night? Anyone know the answer?
So it seems that Tov-Li is my only choice, unless I want to drive to Steeles. It's very crowded with the mostly-under-30 crowd. Parking was OK. The space is pleasant, considering the crowds.
In this establishment, you order and pay, then the cashier scrawls your order on a strip of ripped paper. If you know, you have to hand that piece of paper to the server who will then prepare the order. If you don't know, you could stand there confused for a while. Mr. Tov-Li, I gotta tell you that the queuing model you're using is asinine. I guess it's good for you if you want to keep really tight control on who has paid, or you don't want to have people walk out because they feel they're waiting too long. But it isn't about you. It's about the customer, and I don't like it. At a certain level, it seems that there is a lack of trust. Perhaps I don't like it because that little torn piece of paper looks so cheap. Perhaps it bothers me because you're making me do some extra work that you should be doing. Also, I don't always want to make a commitment before I see what you've got. I might want to order something extra as I am standing in line -- but I won't because I don't want to go back to the cashier. I can't recall there being other restaurants that operate like this, so it behooves you to make sure people understand what you're doing. I remember the first time I was there, it wasn't obvious how the system works. You might consider putting up a few signs that explain your system. As a suggestion, you might consider distributing the slip of paper to the food preparation people yourself.
The server who help me was pleasant and efficient. I ordered a falafel. The toppings looked interesting, but for the most part were not very tasty. The falafel balls were dry and also lacked much taste. The pita was overstuffed, and so, of course, it fell apart. I don't like falafels that I have to eat with a fork (or my fingers). I would rather you charge me $0.25 cents less, and make it a little smaller -- or just supply larger pitas.
One last indignity. After ordering, I tried paying with my charge card. The cashier swiped it, then said "Your card just took down my machine". Thanks very much. I don't think so. But, go ahead, blame it on me.
I checked the City of Toronto DineSafe site, and they had one conditional pass in April 2006, and that was cleared up a few days later. The problem was:
FAILURE TO ENSURE / PROVIDE FOR PROPER EMPLOYEE HYGIENE / HANDWASHING Operator fail to provide separate handwashing sink(s)
Other than that, there have been no problems. The most recent inspection was May 2007.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Mon, Aug 27/07, 1:30 pm - Joe Boo's
7241 Bathurst St, Thornhill, ON L4J 3W1, 905.886.8686
As always, very good. I got a quarter chicken on a bed of brown rice with a drink -- under $10. It was filling and excellent and pleasant. Top marks for a takeout place where you can eat in.
See my other posts.
As always, very good. I got a quarter chicken on a bed of brown rice with a drink -- under $10. It was filling and excellent and pleasant. Top marks for a takeout place where you can eat in.
See my other posts.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Fri, Aug. 24/07, 10:00 am - Amazing Donuts
3772 Bathurst Street (NW corner of Bathurst & Wilson), Toronto, ON M3H 3M6, 416.398.7546
A friend told me that he comes here to buy his challahs and pastry for Shabbat, and he really likes it! I am glad he told me about it, because I would have never thought that a doughnut place would sell challah and treats for Shabbat, and it's wonderful to have more options!
I also want to say that I think that the fact that our community can support a kosher doughnut shop proves that we are so fortunate to live in a time and place that provides such a great range of kosher eating opportunities.
But down to business... Parking in the lot was not easy -- I had to park around the corner. There is an opening that looked like a door but wasn't. I had to look for the door (not a good sign that they want people coming in). I walked in. It isn't what I'd call clean looking -- it not that it's dirty, it's more disheveled -- boxes piled up on the floor, papers stuck on the wall in the "office" area, some of the flooring coming up. The smell is definitely of frying oil and something sweet. Maybe the odour could be justified by saying "what does one expect from a doughnut shop?", but the fact is, I've been to other doughnut shops that don't provide for these olfactory sensations.
I was the only one in the shop. The service was good. The server was pleasant and helpful. The range of challahs was limited. The range of pastries was also fairly limited -- some small cakes, about 12 flavours of muffins, and some cookies. The prices were fair. I purchased a couple of challahs and some muffins and a small chocolate loaf. For the most part, definitely not amazing taste, although I liked the coffee muffin and the lemon-poppy muffin. My family enjoyed the chocolate loaf -- it was called "lite" which was an interesting choice of a word, considering the density and sweetness. If you like a sweet challah, you might enjoy their challah, as long as you don't mind the faint smell of deep-fried oil.
If I didn't keep kosher, I can't think of why I would come here. I will assume their doughnuts are pretty good (maybe even amazing). I'll try those another time. As for my friend who recommeded this store, I have to go back to what I said at the beginning of this post about being fortunate to live in Toronto with the great selection we have. There is something for everyone -- but this one isn't for me.
I checked the Toronto DineSafe rating. All the inspections listed (from Dec 2005 - May 2007) have passed.
A friend told me that he comes here to buy his challahs and pastry for Shabbat, and he really likes it! I am glad he told me about it, because I would have never thought that a doughnut place would sell challah and treats for Shabbat, and it's wonderful to have more options!
I also want to say that I think that the fact that our community can support a kosher doughnut shop proves that we are so fortunate to live in a time and place that provides such a great range of kosher eating opportunities.
But down to business... Parking in the lot was not easy -- I had to park around the corner. There is an opening that looked like a door but wasn't. I had to look for the door (not a good sign that they want people coming in). I walked in. It isn't what I'd call clean looking -- it not that it's dirty, it's more disheveled -- boxes piled up on the floor, papers stuck on the wall in the "office" area, some of the flooring coming up. The smell is definitely of frying oil and something sweet. Maybe the odour could be justified by saying "what does one expect from a doughnut shop?", but the fact is, I've been to other doughnut shops that don't provide for these olfactory sensations.
I was the only one in the shop. The service was good. The server was pleasant and helpful. The range of challahs was limited. The range of pastries was also fairly limited -- some small cakes, about 12 flavours of muffins, and some cookies. The prices were fair. I purchased a couple of challahs and some muffins and a small chocolate loaf. For the most part, definitely not amazing taste, although I liked the coffee muffin and the lemon-poppy muffin. My family enjoyed the chocolate loaf -- it was called "lite" which was an interesting choice of a word, considering the density and sweetness. If you like a sweet challah, you might enjoy their challah, as long as you don't mind the faint smell of deep-fried oil.
If I didn't keep kosher, I can't think of why I would come here. I will assume their doughnuts are pretty good (maybe even amazing). I'll try those another time. As for my friend who recommeded this store, I have to go back to what I said at the beginning of this post about being fortunate to live in Toronto with the great selection we have. There is something for everyone -- but this one isn't for me.
I checked the Toronto DineSafe rating. All the inspections listed (from Dec 2005 - May 2007) have passed.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Tue, Aug 21/07, 1:30 pm - King David Pizza (Thornhill)
531 Atkinson Ave, Unit 3, Thornhill ON, L4J8L7 905.771.7077
It's not all about the food. The food is pretty good. I had a slice of eggplant and hot pepper pizza -- really good. The parking is easy, it's in a strip mall. The place is not really what I'd call spotless, but it isn't too dirty.
But what bothered me today was the service. I got my food and I went to pay.
"Do you take MasterCard?", I ask.
"Yes". After about 5 minutes of unsucessfully trying to process the payment, the server calls over a more experienced server (someone there longer than 2 weeks).
"Do you take MasterCard", I repeat to the new server.
"No." OK, I take out my debit card. And start to process it. Four minutes later...
"There's something wrong with the machine, do you have cash?"
After foraging around in my wallet, I found a crumpled $20 bill, get my change, and continue with my slowly cooling meal. I wish it had stopped there, but 'twas not to be! The server comes up and tells the whole room that my bill is counterfeit. I look at it, it looks OK, but I give her another replacement bill.
"How can you tell?", I ask innocently.
"Oh, I can tell. Look, it's smaller, " (by about .5 cm!) "look at the writing!" (It's an old style 20, without all the fancy anti-counterfeit markings).
After leaving the restaurant, I went to the bank to check the bill. It was OK.
Perhaps the owner should consider some staff training.
Did I mention that there was a family with a bunch of annoying, screechy kids?
There is no DineSafe rating because it is not in the City of Toronto.
It's not all about the food. The food is pretty good. I had a slice of eggplant and hot pepper pizza -- really good. The parking is easy, it's in a strip mall. The place is not really what I'd call spotless, but it isn't too dirty.
But what bothered me today was the service. I got my food and I went to pay.
"Do you take MasterCard?", I ask.
"Yes". After about 5 minutes of unsucessfully trying to process the payment, the server calls over a more experienced server (someone there longer than 2 weeks).
"Do you take MasterCard", I repeat to the new server.
"No." OK, I take out my debit card. And start to process it. Four minutes later...
"There's something wrong with the machine, do you have cash?"
After foraging around in my wallet, I found a crumpled $20 bill, get my change, and continue with my slowly cooling meal. I wish it had stopped there, but 'twas not to be! The server comes up and tells the whole room that my bill is counterfeit. I look at it, it looks OK, but I give her another replacement bill.
"How can you tell?", I ask innocently.
"Oh, I can tell. Look, it's smaller, " (by about .5 cm!) "look at the writing!" (It's an old style 20, without all the fancy anti-counterfeit markings).
After leaving the restaurant, I went to the bank to check the bill. It was OK.
Perhaps the owner should consider some staff training.
Did I mention that there was a family with a bunch of annoying, screechy kids?
There is no DineSafe rating because it is not in the City of Toronto.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Fri, Aug 17/07, 9:00 am - Richman's Bakery
4119 Bathurst St, Toronto ON M3H 3P4, 416.636.9710
For the most part, Richman's gets good marks. Easy access with good parking. The space is "bakery circa 1965ish", but clean and open and presentable. Products are displayed reasonably well. There were plenty of staff and they were helpful and friendly. It's great the way they have the prices displayed (although it might be more helpful if they had the same price list taped to the display cases so the customers don't have to crane their necks to see the prices).
The food items I bought today ranged from OK to quite good, but nothing great. To be fair, it was not a large sample of items to make a definitive ranking of their food. The cheese bun had a very faint metallic-like taste, but still edible. The chocolate buffalo was OK, but tasted a bit stale on Saturday. The poppy danish was quite good.
I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. All the ratings (May 2006 - Mar 2007) have passed.
For the most part, Richman's gets good marks. Easy access with good parking. The space is "bakery circa 1965ish", but clean and open and presentable. Products are displayed reasonably well. There were plenty of staff and they were helpful and friendly. It's great the way they have the prices displayed (although it might be more helpful if they had the same price list taped to the display cases so the customers don't have to crane their necks to see the prices).
The food items I bought today ranged from OK to quite good, but nothing great. To be fair, it was not a large sample of items to make a definitive ranking of their food. The cheese bun had a very faint metallic-like taste, but still edible. The chocolate buffalo was OK, but tasted a bit stale on Saturday. The poppy danish was quite good.
I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. All the ratings (May 2006 - Mar 2007) have passed.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Mon, Aug 13/07, 1:30 pm - Joe Boo's
7241 Bathurst St, Thornhill, ON L4J 3W1 905.886.8686
Very enjoyable. Easy parking. The wonderful smell of the wood burning oven permeates the room. It is relatively clean. Good service. And the food is excellent! (And I don't say excellent about many places.). The prices are not inexpensive, but reasonable (approximately $10-25 per meal)
The seating is not very good, but I'll assume that's because it is supposed to be a take-out, and they perhaps are not allowed to have more seating. Don't come here with a group of more than 5 and expect to sit down together.
There is no DineSafe rating because it is not in the City of Toronto.
Very enjoyable. Easy parking. The wonderful smell of the wood burning oven permeates the room. It is relatively clean. Good service. And the food is excellent! (And I don't say excellent about many places.). The prices are not inexpensive, but reasonable (approximately $10-25 per meal)
The seating is not very good, but I'll assume that's because it is supposed to be a take-out, and they perhaps are not allowed to have more seating. Don't come here with a group of more than 5 and expect to sit down together.
There is no DineSafe rating because it is not in the City of Toronto.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Fri, Aug 3/07, 10:00 am - Grodzinski Bakery
I really do like this place. I mentioned in my last entry for this establishment that I find the space very pleasing. It is also well organized, which is especially helpful, since it is self serve. I also like something that is rarely seen in many bakeries: the prices are listed right next to the goods. So, as one walks around selecting merchandise, one knows how much it's going to cost. It would be nice if other store owners raised their level of contempt towards their customers a few notches, and tried to provide this kind of helpful information!
The selection of baked items is good, and I'd say more interesting than most of the other kosher bakeries in town.
The staff is helpful and friendly. Today, however, I found it slightly annoying that as my order was being processed by the cashier, the cashier was jabbering away to her co-worker next to her. I would like it if the staff were to pay attention to me, the customer. As well, the owner seemed to be upset or anxious about something another staff person was doing, and he was raising his voice slightly to her in the middle of the store. That certainly detracts from the enjoyment of the shopping experience. I've said it before -- I appreciate that staff or supervisors sometimes get frustrated, or annoyed, or angry, but, as a customer, I don't want to ever know about these problems.
One other thing. I tried parking in the parking area behind the store. It can get nasty back there, especially when someone driving a huge SUV and someone else with a canoe on their SUV, and another mini-van are trying to contend for the few spaces. Note to owner: Please consider a sign that one can read before entering the back that says something like: "Grodzinski Bakery Parking: Note there is room for 4 small cars -- use at own risk!". While I am spending the owner's money, he might also consider a large convex mirror so one can see from the street how full the lot is.
As usual, I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. They were just checked on July 23, and passed, so their last bad rating was dropped off the list.
The selection of baked items is good, and I'd say more interesting than most of the other kosher bakeries in town.
The staff is helpful and friendly. Today, however, I found it slightly annoying that as my order was being processed by the cashier, the cashier was jabbering away to her co-worker next to her. I would like it if the staff were to pay attention to me, the customer. As well, the owner seemed to be upset or anxious about something another staff person was doing, and he was raising his voice slightly to her in the middle of the store. That certainly detracts from the enjoyment of the shopping experience. I've said it before -- I appreciate that staff or supervisors sometimes get frustrated, or annoyed, or angry, but, as a customer, I don't want to ever know about these problems.
One other thing. I tried parking in the parking area behind the store. It can get nasty back there, especially when someone driving a huge SUV and someone else with a canoe on their SUV, and another mini-van are trying to contend for the few spaces. Note to owner: Please consider a sign that one can read before entering the back that says something like: "Grodzinski Bakery Parking: Note there is room for 4 small cars -- use at own risk!". While I am spending the owner's money, he might also consider a large convex mirror so one can see from the street how full the lot is.
As usual, I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. They were just checked on July 23, and passed, so their last bad rating was dropped off the list.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Fri, Jul 27/07, 1:45 pm - Isaac's Bakery
3390 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M6A 2B9 (416) 789-7587
One of the reasons I started this blog was that for many years, so often when I would leave a Kosher establishment, I would cringe from the experience, and I needed a place to vent (because my family was getting tired of listening to my stories). Mysteriously, ever since I have started this blog, almost all my experiences have been mostly positive. Go figure.
Back to Isaac's. At some point in the past year, they completely renovated the store, enlarging the food preparation area, and removing the restaurant section, and bringing the customer area to a much smaller size. Removing the sit down restaurant was a good thing -- it always appeared less than appetizing. Now, the store is very nice to come into -- bright and fresh. I arrived very late in the day for a Friday, and there was only one or two other customers in the shop, so while I was there it was not crowded. I'll have to go back to see how it is on a Friday morning at 8 a.m. The staff was friendly and not pushy. The service was good (despite one very annoying customer -- not me, another person!) Parking was, as usual, easy, as they have their own parking lot, which is connected to an auto repair shop, which has a very large parking lot. I purchased some danishes, which were OK.
I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. All the ratings (Dec 2005 - May 2007) have passed.
One of the reasons I started this blog was that for many years, so often when I would leave a Kosher establishment, I would cringe from the experience, and I needed a place to vent (because my family was getting tired of listening to my stories). Mysteriously, ever since I have started this blog, almost all my experiences have been mostly positive. Go figure.
Back to Isaac's. At some point in the past year, they completely renovated the store, enlarging the food preparation area, and removing the restaurant section, and bringing the customer area to a much smaller size. Removing the sit down restaurant was a good thing -- it always appeared less than appetizing. Now, the store is very nice to come into -- bright and fresh. I arrived very late in the day for a Friday, and there was only one or two other customers in the shop, so while I was there it was not crowded. I'll have to go back to see how it is on a Friday morning at 8 a.m. The staff was friendly and not pushy. The service was good (despite one very annoying customer -- not me, another person!) Parking was, as usual, easy, as they have their own parking lot, which is connected to an auto repair shop, which has a very large parking lot. I purchased some danishes, which were OK.
I checked the Toronto "DineSafe" rating. All the ratings (Dec 2005 - May 2007) have passed.
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