The La Carnita Experience

On my tenth restaurant experience I decided to try out La Carnita in Toronto located at 501 College Street.  I was in the mood for Mexican food and decided it was a better option verses my second option, Grand Electric. I heard good reviews and in all honesty, it was delicious. I loved the graffiti and the street art throughout the restaurant, it definitely gave the restaurant some character. The layout is long, deep and noisy. I would not recommend if you’re trying to socialize and have an in-depth conversation.  

I started off with a margarita which was served on the rocks, all margaritas should be! They don’t add the salted rim, instead its placed within the margarita. The margarita was quite amazing and surely I had more than one.

The server suggested ordering three tacos per person to start. She explained the Monday La Carnita Taqueria daily special, which I got as it sounded amazing. On Monday’s its the mixed mushroom empanada, which is packed with Swiss chard, queso fresco, grilled corn, truffle crema and of course mixed mushrooms topped with a chipotle sauce. 

I also got the beef cheek taco, which is ancho braised cheek with lime avocado, green cabbage, pickled jalapeño and crispy shallots.  

Lastly I got the carnita taco. It is a confit pork taco with a jalapeño sauce topped with a mango salsa, queso añejo and cilantro. 

I was surprisingly full after but, ensured there was still room for dessert. I saw they had churros and couldn’t keep them off my mind throughout the course of the meal. You get three long and thick churros that are lightly tossed in sugar and cinnamon served with an in-house cajeta sauce. The highlight of my evening by far. 

The food was great and will be going back for sure!

The Roncy Public Experience

On my ninth restaurant experience I ended up going to The Roncy Public Grill & Lounge located at 390 Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto. I have noticed an apparent buzz since the grand opening in December. This sparked my inquisitive taste buds and lead to my recent visit to the The Roncy.  I absolutely love the atmosphere and ambiance inside The Roncy. The service is always friendly, and they make sure to play good music. Occasionally, they might even play a movie.  

Upon my arrival I sat down in the lounge where I ordered two appetizers and a main course.  For the two appetizers I got the three cheese selection and the pulled pork tacos.   

The three cheese selection is a great idea because they have a generous selection of cheeses to choose from. I thought that was a unique and great idea. I got the chèvre mariposa, applewood smoked cheddar and manchego. The chèvre mariposa is from Mariposa Dairy located in Kawartha Lake in Ontario. It is a pasteurized soft cheese made from goat’s milk. I love goat cheese, so this one was amazing. The applewood smoked cheddar is from Cows Creamery located in Prince Edward Island. It is a full-flavored unpasteurized cheddar cheese made from cow’s milk. The manchego is from La Mancha located in Spain. It is a semi-soft pasteurized cheese made from sheep’s milk.  This one was surprisingly good. The cheese selections are served with a fresh baguette cut into thin, lightly toasted slices and complimented with some honey, blackberry compote, candy tomatoes, dried apricots and dried figs. 

For my second appetizer I got the pulled pork tacos. Let’s talk about these pulled pork tacos for a second. These are hands down my favourite thing on the menu and maybe my favourite thing ever from any restaurant. I’ve gone back just for the tacos (and the friendly service of course!). These tacos are absolutely amazing and highly addictive. The tacos are braised pork shoulder served with an apple slaw topped with chèvre crema and hot sauce. They come in two flash-fried corn tortillas served warm. My mouth is watering just thinking about these delicious delights.  Since going, I have had a constant craving for them.  

For my main course I got the fried-chicken and waffles.  Buttermilk fried chicken with cornbread waffles are accompanied by maple bacon butter, blackberry compote and maple BBQ sauce. It was an unbelievably delicious dish.  The chicken was so crispy on the outside and tender on the inside; the waffles were fluffy and totally irresistible.   

My overall experience was amazing.  The Roncy Public is my new favorite restaurant in the city. I would recommend The Roncy to everyone.  It has something that everyone will like. It was definitely worth the long trip and I will be a continuous customer for sure! 

The Walker's Fish Market Experience

On my eighth restaurant experience I ended up going to Walker’s Fish Market located at 2575 Dundas Street West in Mississauga. I was out with some friends and we all wanted to get some seafood. None of us had ever tried Walker’s Fish Market before and were excited to give it a try. 

We were greeted at the door by some friendly hostesses who brought us over to a nice table near their beautiful fireplace. I really liked the atmosphere as it reminded me of the restaurants you find near the east coast. It was very bright inside and had sail boats and pictures all over the place.    

 We got the Appetizer Platter for the table. It consisted of a sampling of Walker’s specialise which are their baked brushetta, salt & pepper calamari, dynamite shrimp and blue crab cakes with all the accompaniments. The baked bruschetta is marinated tomatoes baked on foccacia bread with mozzarella and asiago cheese finished with an olive basil pesto. The salt & pepper calamari is crispy fried sea salt & pepper baby squid with spiced chili, pommery mustard sauce and fresh lemon. The dynamite shrimp is crispy fried baby shrimp tossed with sweet and spicy sauce with chopped romaine and green onions, which was definitely my favorite of the platter. Then there is the blue crab cakes which are crispy fried crab cakes with charred corn arugula salad, sweet red onions and hot and sour roasted red pepper puree. The platter offers a great variety of appetizers as you can try all of their best ones. 

By time the entrees came out we were all still pretty hungry. For my main course I got the Lobster & Mushroom Mac & Cheese. It consists of buttery lobster meat, caramelized onions, garlic and wild mushrooms baked with aged cheddar, Parmesan and goat cheese cream sauce. It was good, not the best lobster mac and cheese but it was still pretty tasty.

Walker’s Fish Market is worth the try and I will definitely be going back for the Dynamite Shrimp!  

The Big Smoke Burger Experience

On my seventh restaurant experience I ended up going to Big Smoke Burger located at 100 City Centre Drive in Mississauga. This amazing burger joint was originally called Craft Burger with one location in Toronto at 50 King Street East. I had been going there for years before they changed their name to Big Smoke Burger. Aside from the name change nothing else had changed. The staff, menu and ingredients all stayed the same. They started opening up more locations all over the place from the Eaton Centre, Square One Shopping Centre, Yorkdale Shopping Centre and many more. 

Big Smoke Burgers are handcrafted burgers and are made fresh daily using quality ingredients. They use only Ontario AAA ground beef that is always fresh and never frozen. They also offer chicken, lamb, organic and veggie burgers for the people who don’t eat beef or would like to switch it up. Their burgers are always juicy and the staff are always friendly. The service is always consistent and be prepared to wait for a bit. This is because the burgers are cooked as the orders come in and takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes.

I got the classic cheese burger which is a 6oz charbroiled burger served on a sesame seed bun. The fixings that I added to my burger was smoked Canadian cheddar, goat cheese, lettuce, red onion, caramelized onion, ketchup and mayo. I also got a side of their tasty crispy breaded onion rings that are hand-cut and seasoned to perfection. To drink I had to get their old fashioned strawberry milkshake, which is absolutely delicious and could easily be dessert. 

Everything is fresh and mouthwatering and defiantly worth trying at least once!
I would recommend Big Smoke Burger to everyone.