Not everything is a rave review

We’ve had a few questions from readers asking us… what about the places we don’t like?  How can every place we go be so great?

We eat out a lot, but not every place is worth writing about.  This blog is a hobby and passion for us.  We want you to share in our love of food and the great places we visit.  We visit a restaurant and try to describe the experience we have.  What we don’t want to do is talk about how terrible this food was or how awful that server.  The point of this blog isn’t to bash bad places.  If we don’t like it, we don’t blog it.

We hope you enjoy reading our posts as much as we enjoy writing them!

Let us know if you have questions about any specific Toronto restaurants.  There’s a good chance we have been there (possibly before the blog).

More about Jess

I am an ex-vegetarian that doesn’t like cooked vegetables.  You can see how this could raise a few problems. I have never been a picky eater like my not foodies partner, but there are a few foods I would only eat if you paid me a large amount of money.

1. Raw onions. I don’t know why people think raw onions are the perfect topping for pretty much everything! Did you know that you will spend the rest of your day with the stench of onion on you? You didn’t… well you can thank me later!

2. Zucchini/Eggplant (especially cooked)

3. Beets (taste like mud… who wants to eat that?)

4. Blue Cheese

Good Service is very important to me. Sometimes people tell me I am being too critical, but I see nothing wrong with wanting clean cutlery and a smile from my server every once in awhile. I’ll let you in on one of my secrets. I judge how good the service is by the number of times my water is refilled. Sounds a bit crazy? Maybe, but a simple task like refilling water is a small detail that shows how important good service is to a restaurant!

Do you have any dining secrets?

More about Ashley

Me in all my leopard chef hat glory

I’ve said it a few times – I used to be an extremely picky eater.  I ate chicken and beef, most fruits and vegetables and very little dairy.  I was never too big on sweets, but of course the occasional cookie or cake never hurt anyone.

Times have changed.  I eat many more foods now, but there are still things pretty much off limits:

1. mayonnaise

2. mustard

3. cold seafood (yes, no sushi for me)

4. fish that isn’t mild and white

5. hazelnuts (I’m severely allergic)

6. eggs (cooked into things are fine, but on their own… nasty)

7. cream cheese

Even though it looks delicious, I’m definitely not eating it.

Most recently, I conquered my fear of the tasting menu.  This past year, I went to an 18 course meal and tried more than 10 new foods.  While I won’t eat most of them again, I was happy to try raw scallops, sea urchin, goat and more.  I’m sure there will still be new foods in my future and you’ll see how many are repeats.

Another thing about me, I hate cell phones at the table.  I think there are better times for texting, try to enjoy the people you are eating with.  This makes taking pictures of meals very hard for me (plus I have a hard time waiting to eat).  Occasionally, you won’t see my food or it could look like a brown blob.  But I’m working on it and will try to get better.  Hopefully, at some point, you will start to trust me.