wine food yum

crepes a gogo, 18 yorkville avenue, toronto
just north of bloor and yonge

i finally *finally* got the chance to try crepes a gogo this past sunday, after 2 years of dwindling and trying to sink my teeth into this place. they claim to have crepes better than those you'll find in paris.

fantastic cozy little place, great patio. warm little cafe/bistro tables. espresso machine. crepes are fresh and made to order on crepe pans. all the staff speak french and speak to each other in french - which makes you feel like their crepes are even more authentic. they have savoury crepes, sandwiches, snacks, coffee. i got a chocolate crepe avec bananes - 4 dark chocolate sticks melted and folded with bananas. not too bad - but married with the cute paris cafe feel, it's just right.

cafe crepe, 246 queen st west, toronto
at queen and john, just across from citytv

now maybe i've crossed the line when it comes to crepes (is it more authentic to have chocolate sticks or heaps of yummy nutella), but there's something about cafe crepes spread of delicious nutella, array of hazelnuts or almonds, strawberries and vanilla - that is like music to my palette. serve it up with an illy espresso or latte, and it's perfection.

the feel's a little more modern/upscale, not as cozy as crepe a gogo, but is definitely a favourite. too bad they close so darn early! their crepes are a bit thicker than crepes a gogo, but crepes a gogo folds their crepes a lot more. i think the perfect crepe should be a balance between filling, flavour, thickness - all in a consistent bite-by-bite ratio.

in any case - cafe crepe is probably my favourite on my list so far of toronto crepe restos/cafes.

crepe it up, downstairs at st. lawrence market (95 front street) or 507 church street, toronto

is a great crepe restaurant story in toronto - owner's name is chris lee. him and his team make it out to a lot of events, and can be found weekly on thursdays at king street metro square farmer's market - where i like to pick up buttertarts :)

good savoury crepes, not usually overstuffed, can be a bit juicy/watery, but great for a light snack.

marche/movenpick, 42 yonge street, toronto (yonge and front)

always go to the movenpick downtown at yonge and front - everything tastes better and is done better. this goes to show that the franchise is not always consistent.

marche/movenpick was my first when it comes to dessert crepes - but is usually inconsistent, depending on the crepemaker. sometimes the crepes can be too thin, too burnt, too undercooked - but they fill with fruit/icecream and top with choc/vanilla sauce - the marche crepe is still part of my standard when it comes to enjoying crepes. Read the full story »

[MM] Mmm.. G, lemme see if i can remember.. Vineland - ahha. I've also decided to include quick notes on the "package" set of wines that GL & I chose for HM & Iulia's wedding. I thought I'd try and give a good variety of styles and regions to sample from. So I'll talk about those first and finish with Vineland. You'll notice I'm not really rating wine (a la Robert Parker et al) per se, but I'll let you know if I like them =) The # beside the name is the LCBO reference, just in case you want to go buying - I always check online before I run to the store - super blessed to be near Bayview LCBO, imho the best all around in the GTA.

2005 Riesling
St Urbans-Hof

While celebrating a sendoff dinner (we were yet again underwhelmed at O&B, although not the point :P), a couple of wines were ordered and this is the only one I remember. HM & Iulia really enjoyed this and I eventually went on a serious goose chase trying to find this at the LCBO for them. I searched online (www.wine-searcher.com is really good). The LCBO was sparse, but on a snowy afternoon before picking up G, I bought some of the last stock. While the memory is faint, I definitely liked this wine - which could be the so-called "all spark" to my Riesling journey. I really like the Mosel (appellation/region) area of Germany for Riesling. Definitely more Riesling wine reviews to come!

Private Selection Chardonnay 2005
Robert Mondavi, 379180

This was inspired by our trip to Napa Valley, California in September 2007. I didn't know much about wineries at the time (still learning) or where to go, but for some reason, I remembered the Mondavi name (I think my sister had a bottle a while back). Suffice to say, the Mondavi estates are beautiful and we enjoyed just relaxing with our tasting glasses in gorgeous weather. Who would have known that Mondavi is the 6th largest seller of wine in the US (almost 10 million cases per year!).

Brut
Hungaria, 619288

Light & dry, a good value bubbly from Hungary - I'm still trying to appreciate traditional dry or 'brut' (from the word brutal) champagne or sparkling wine (101: champagne can only legally labelled from wineries from that region, everything else is sparkling). I admit, I haven't really tried any "nicer" bruts, but I'm not feeling the value/worth yet. I'm actually really liking some cheaper, sweet yet still light sippers.

Reserve
Perrin, 363457

A nice and light Southern France red, recommended by my friend from work Nat - it's her "house" red =)

Amontillado
Alvear's 112789

This is an off dry sherry from Spain, recommended by Lawrason (Toronto Life). Haven't gotten to try it yet, but i think it would go well with Piave!

Select Late Harvest Vidal 2004
Vineland Estates 563437

Yum - the first late harvest I've ever tried, but still definitely one of my favorites. Sweet without being too heavy, it's the perfect drink during dessert and with some medium cheeses.

In regards to our Vineland trip, we heavily sampled on the white side, moreso than red - I can't find our tasting menu, but we ended up bringing back some Late Harvest, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Semi-Dry Riesling and a Merlot (for G's parents). The *coolest* part of the tasting at Vineland - they use the proper glasses for each grape varietal! I'm still impressed as I haven't encountered this at any other winery. Read the full story »