Monday, Oct 22, 2007, 1:45 p.m. - Hakotel

3038 Steeles Ave W, Toronto, M2R 2S9 416.736.7227

Like the Israeli fruit, the sabra, this sit-down/takeout restaurant is rough on the outside, yet sweet on the inside. The establishment does not present well; it is hidden away in a darkish alcove, in a rather sketchy strip mall, with Russian hip-hop music blaring from the video store next door. Inside, there's a cheesy mural of Jerusalem on the entire west wall. (Shouldn't it be on the east wall!?).

But everything else is good. The servers are friendly, it's clean, the food is excellent, and an overall worthwhile experience. The washrooms are in the basement, past the supplies, but are clean and well maintained. The prices are reasonable. There is a good selection of Middle-Eastern-style food (falafel, shwarma, and the like in pita or lafa, great toppings, etc). It has the best shwarma I've tasted in Toronto (kosher, of course).

I checked the Toronto DineSafe inspections. No problems.

Sun., Oct 14, 2007, 7:30 p.m. - Chicken Nest

3038 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON, M6B 4K2 416.787.6378

The Chicken Nest is a good, basic restaurant. I found their food good and the service good. Parking is pretty easy (on-street, rear-parking lot, and an underground lot are available.) Based on the way people are packed in, perhaps a better name than Chicken Nest would be Sardine Can. The entertainment is the conversation of the people sitting next to you -- it's hard not to hear when you're sitting back-to-back.

No one at my table left unhappy -- but no one was raving. The chicken fingers were good. The shwarma plate was tasty. All the servings were ample. The chicken and ribs dinner was really big -- it could have been split between 2 average eaters! My main complaint about the chicken and ribs was the rib sauce was a little too sweet. Again, the service was good, for example, without asking, the waiter brought us extra napkins and moist towlettes, and the water jug was replaced by a full jug before it was empty.

The men's washroom was acceptable. That is, not dirty, not smelly, but a little disheveled (peeling paint, had to take the paper towels from the top of the dispenser, cubical looks like it was made by a graduate of woodworking 101).

Ultimately, if you like chicken, and are looking for something good, this establishment can work. If you don't like crowds and noise, stay away. And I don't recommend taking a client here for dinner on a Sunday night.

Dinner for 3 (three main courses, 1 pop, nothing else), including tax and tip was about $83.

I checked the Toronto DineSafe inspections. No problems.