Arepa Cafe

I've been curious to try the Arepa cafe on Queen since I've moved down to Queen West mainly because I had no idea what an Arepa was.  Being the food-thusiastic curious person I am, I needed to figure that out.  So on a Sunday morning, my friend Andrew and I met there to try some arepas for brunch.  Walking into the cafe, with exposed brick, we parked ourselves at a table and started our culninary journey there.  The thing about the cafe is you can order at the counter to take out your meal or wait to be served. 

the '411' on 416Snackbar

Taking over the former space of Johny Bananas on Queen and Bathurst is 416 Snackbar.  It is exactly what it's name describes itself; Snacking place and drinking bar.  The menu is very small, as are the portions which are 'snack sizes'. My problem is I came here for dinner and was ravenous which was my first mistake.
It's the kind of place you drop into for drinks and to socialize and definitely after you have already eaten dinner, and want a few nibbles, this is the place to be. And it was busy!  We shared a communal table with another group and traffic just kept coming in and it was a school night!

Poutine Plus

Another poutine restaurant has cropped up in my neighborhood and is conveniently located across the street from Smoke's Poutiniere.  Now this is dangereux as the market for late night hangouts and inebriated snack time becomes populated with my favourite snack and when there's a long line up at one resto - i can just pop into the alternative yikes!  Reminder that I need to figure out my gym routine!!

Getting Lei'd at Irie!

*UNFORTUNATELY CLOSED*
My co-worker Carly is getting married in 2 weeks and going to Hawaii for her honeymoon. To get her in the mood, a bunch of us went out last night to celebrate 'island' styles at Irie Food Joint which is the closest thing to Hawaii even though it's more Caribbean styles. There is a stained glass multicolored garage door that opens up freely to the street, and a nice casual dining area inside with an old school typewritter welcoming you inside and a wall of Red Stripe Bottles you can't miss.

POUTINI'S - finally!!!

So I had the pleasure and privilege to hit up Poutinis last Friday which was their officially opening night... If you ask any of my friends, I've been waiting for this day to come!
This space is in an ideal spot for night traffic - sandwiched between the Drake hotel and the Social - with handcrafted long wood bar tables. The only thing I exclaimed to 'Squeaky' who is the lady managing the resto - is that after a long evening - my feet will need some rest when I stumble in a bit tipsy- and she assured me that there will be bar stools for my next visit. They literally opened a few hours before and they were behind on a few things.

The Art of Molecular Mixology at Barchef

My big sis and I decided to have some cocktails at Barchef and these drinks were SOMETHING! definitely a huge WOW factor with their innovation, creativity and showmanship! Not only is it an uber sexy bar, darkly lit with chic decor but the guys behind the bar were very dapper as well.

The Rosebud... not a dud!

The evening didn't get off to a great start as my dining companion Pete and I didn't end up going to the place we had in mind; so we had to make up a plan on the spot and I suggested we venture to the seedy corner of Bathurst and Queen as I've been wanting to try Rosebud. As we approached, there was this gigantic yellow sign outside with lights shimmering on it and i thought "oh great! it's going to be a dive" and we were ready for a nice meal tonight. As we stepped in, I felt like I entered a well kept secret as the inside blew my expectations- It was very intimate and quite romantic with it's dark wood and long space.