It's VERY hard to believe that we have finished our adventure... 40 restaurants under our belt, and we have tasted some pretty darn good food. I was reading somewhere online the other day that said that Kingston has over 100 restaurants in a 9-block radius. That's pretty unreal considering the number of people who have asked us along our adventure if there are even 40 restaurants in this lovely city of ours. Whether you're from Kingston, the surrounding area, or just passing through; you are bound to find something you'd enjoy. Classy, cosy, low-key, up-scale, pubs, ethnic, courtyards and patios, snack, drink, eat. In my opinion, Kingston has it all.
As for me and my fellow adventurers, ultimately, our weekly dinners will continue... I just won't write weekly. Perhaps I'll keep the blog "alive" just in case we have an experience worth mentioning - I'm sure those are bound to happen from time to time. As for now, we are happy to be returning to some of our favourites that we historically had visited frequently and have been missing over the last 40 weeks (in the words of Todd, we are "so glad that Greco's is next!" - Greco's was week three and had the best score, for the record - OPA!).
So for now, I bid adieu. The rest of my summer will be spent gettin' hitched and enjoying delicious dishes around the Mediterranean... I certainly won't complain about that!
Thanks for reading - and happy eating.
Oh yeah... just in case you're curious - here are some "Coles Notes" on the blog adventures:
Overall Score for Kingston: 3.94 forks. Phenomenal.
Scores ranged from 2 to 5 - and, upon review, I was actually really impressed by the range and the number that were over 3 forks.
Bottom 5 scores:
#5 - Limestone Kabob House - 2.88 forks
#4 - Golden Viet Thai - 2.63 forks
#3 - Stooley's - 2.25 forks
#2 - Frankie Pestos - 2.1 forks
#1 - Green Tray - 2 forks
AND - THE COVETED PRIZE OF GLOATING RIGHTS (assuming that they will see this...) FOR THE Top 5 scores:
#5 - Curry Original - 4.75 forks
#4 - Wok-In - 4.8 forks
Tied for #2 - Kingston Brewing Company & The Keg - 4.9 forks
#1 - Greco's - 5 forks
Eat on, Kingston. Eat on.
Monday 5 August 2013
Golden Viet Thai
I've known the term "a hole in the wall" to mean a few things. First - quite literally, a hole in the wall... which, unless you're doing home-renos is not necessarily a nice thing. Second, it's the name of a game show that has aired in a number of countries around the world including Japan, Australia and the U.S.... (It's actually kind of funny to watch - check out a clip here). Finally, I know a hole in the wall to be a small, often hard to find place. That's kind of what comes to mind when I think of Golden Viet Thai.
Golden Viet Thai is located on Wellington Street - right in the hub of it all across from The Iron Duke and within steps of Princess Street and all of the foot and car-traffic that comes with it. The thing is, though - that even as someone who lived downtown and walked down Wellington Street A LOT, I never noticed Golden Viet Thai. In fact, I had to be reminded three times where it was while we were planning our weekly adventure because I just couldn't picture it. I'm not sure if this is a direct result of me being completely oblivious to my surroundings unless they directly concern me, or a direct result of this place just not being that well known. Either way, standing in front of the entry to the restaurant, I was surprised that I had never noticed it. The sign is plain and relatively simple, but it is a deep red colour with white font (not very hard to see!) and there is a nice window that is surrounded by lovely dark stone work. I should have noticed it before.
The inside... well, that's not quite as lovely. To be very honest, it is quite "blah"... simple chairs and simple tables that have been "spruced up" with plastic table cloths that, to be quite frank, are bordering tacky rather than attractive (certainly my personal taste). The other kicker - there isn't as much of a sense of pride in the restaurant as you look around at the decor and walls. Things are run-down... There was tape holding some sort of cupboard in the wall by our table shut, walls didn't look clean, and to top it all off, there were a number of cobwebs in the corner by the window where we sat - but even those weren't catching the small fly-like bugs that were flying around. Don't get me completely wrong - I think that picture painted is more disgusting than it truly was... but it certainly wasn't a place I sat looking around thinking "wow!" for any good reasons. I think ultimately, as I said before, it is about pride for me. And Golden Viet Thai's decor doesn't show much of it.
On to the food... The restaurant has been open for 16 years and is family-run. They specialize in food from Vietnam and Thailand and on their website, they state that their mission is to pay tribute to south east asian cuisine using fresh ingredients and creating the best tasting food. If you'd like to have a look at their menu - it's all online, which is great - and it is organized well into appetizers, salads, soup and soup noodles, noodle dishes, rice dishes, vegetarian and specialty dishes. There is a good variety, but I will say that unlike other Thai places in town, "picky-me" didn't feel as though there were lots of things that I would want to try - dishes were either missing things or had things in them that turned me off. Again, though, that is me being picky.
So here's what we chose:
Carrie: #2 BO CUON -Beef Rolls – Fresh Wrapped - Marinated stir-fried beef with vermicelli noodles and lettuce wrapped in rice paper; and #28 KHOA PREOW WAN (Thai Sweet & Sour Chicken) Sweet & sour sauce with crispy chicken, pineapple, cucumber, onion, red and green peppers
Tonia: #1 CHA QIO (Vietnamese Spring Rolls – Deep Fried) Ground pork, shrimp, glass noodles, onion, and carrots wrapped in rice paper; and #22 KAI PHAD PUK RUAM MIT (Thai Red Curry Chicken) Thai red curry sauce with chicken breast, cauliflower, and red and green pepper served on a bed of rice
Todd: #4 CHAI CUON (Vegetarian Rolls – Fresh Wrapped) Tofu, mushroom, bean sprouts, cabbage wrapped in rice paper; and #42 CAI XAU TOFU (Tofu with Mixed Vegetables) Stir-fried tofu, snow peas, carrots, red peppers, onion, celery, and mushrooms served on a bed of rice
Our server was lovely. While she struggled to carry more than a couple of things at once, she seemed absolutely thrilled to be our server, which was nice! Beyond that, food came in good time, and the presentation was simple, but nice. Colours were bright and appealing. Generally speaking, our reviews were mixed with respect to taste, though. Here's the run-down:
Carrie: 1.5 forks. The fresh rolls were good - and pretty hearty - but that's the only thing that kept this rating where it was. I pretty much only ate my main course because I was so hungry. The dish wasn't sweet and sour so much as it was crazy tart. There were very few vegetables (which is disappointing because that is typically what draws me to a dish, and the menu claimed cucumber, red and green peppers, of which there seemed to be too few)... to top it all off, the chicken was deep fried to the extreme. It was dark, chewy and hard. I wouldn't order this dish again.
Samer: 1.5 forks. Like me, Samer liked his rolls (commenting specifically that the shape of the rolls was enjoyable :), but the soup was absolutely awful. Samer said that it was a struggle to eat just the chicken and the soup was very greasy - to the point that not only did Samer leave the majority of his bowl full, but the taste of grease lingered long enough to prompt him to eat a package of Sweet and Low in an effort to have the greasy taste leave his mouth. As you can imagine, that didn't go all that well.
Tonia: 4 forks. Tonia's spring rolls were a touch greasy, but all in all, pretty good. Her meal had a nice flavour, but she was left wishing that there were more veggies. Tonia also found that her dish was a little mono-chromatic, which made it less appealing. Ultimately, had she had more than 2 small bits of green peppers, the dish would have been better on the whole.
It's probably worth a read of the reviews of Golden Viet Thai on urbanspoon.com as well - here, there is a 91% satisfaction rate.
The inside... well, that's not quite as lovely. To be very honest, it is quite "blah"... simple chairs and simple tables that have been "spruced up" with plastic table cloths that, to be quite frank, are bordering tacky rather than attractive (certainly my personal taste). The other kicker - there isn't as much of a sense of pride in the restaurant as you look around at the decor and walls. Things are run-down... There was tape holding some sort of cupboard in the wall by our table shut, walls didn't look clean, and to top it all off, there were a number of cobwebs in the corner by the window where we sat - but even those weren't catching the small fly-like bugs that were flying around. Don't get me completely wrong - I think that picture painted is more disgusting than it truly was... but it certainly wasn't a place I sat looking around thinking "wow!" for any good reasons. I think ultimately, as I said before, it is about pride for me. And Golden Viet Thai's decor doesn't show much of it.On to the food... The restaurant has been open for 16 years and is family-run. They specialize in food from Vietnam and Thailand and on their website, they state that their mission is to pay tribute to south east asian cuisine using fresh ingredients and creating the best tasting food. If you'd like to have a look at their menu - it's all online, which is great - and it is organized well into appetizers, salads, soup and soup noodles, noodle dishes, rice dishes, vegetarian and specialty dishes. There is a good variety, but I will say that unlike other Thai places in town, "picky-me" didn't feel as though there were lots of things that I would want to try - dishes were either missing things or had things in them that turned me off. Again, though, that is me being picky.
So here's what we chose:
Carrie: #2 BO CUON -Beef Rolls – Fresh Wrapped - Marinated stir-fried beef with vermicelli noodles and lettuce wrapped in rice paper; and #28 KHOA PREOW WAN (Thai Sweet & Sour Chicken) Sweet & sour sauce with crispy chicken, pineapple, cucumber, onion, red and green peppers
Samer: #3 GOI CUON (Shrimp Rolls – Fresh Wrapped) Shrimp, vermicelli noodles, and lettuce wrapped in rice paper; and #13 HU TIEU (Chicken Rice Noodle Soup) Chicken stock with rice noodles, shrimp, chicken breast, fish balls, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs
Tonia: #1 CHA QIO (Vietnamese Spring Rolls – Deep Fried) Ground pork, shrimp, glass noodles, onion, and carrots wrapped in rice paper; and #22 KAI PHAD PUK RUAM MIT (Thai Red Curry Chicken) Thai red curry sauce with chicken breast, cauliflower, and red and green pepper served on a bed of rice
Todd: #4 CHAI CUON (Vegetarian Rolls – Fresh Wrapped) Tofu, mushroom, bean sprouts, cabbage wrapped in rice paper; and #42 CAI XAU TOFU (Tofu with Mixed Vegetables) Stir-fried tofu, snow peas, carrots, red peppers, onion, celery, and mushrooms served on a bed of rice
Our server was lovely. While she struggled to carry more than a couple of things at once, she seemed absolutely thrilled to be our server, which was nice! Beyond that, food came in good time, and the presentation was simple, but nice. Colours were bright and appealing. Generally speaking, our reviews were mixed with respect to taste, though. Here's the run-down:
Carrie: 1.5 forks. The fresh rolls were good - and pretty hearty - but that's the only thing that kept this rating where it was. I pretty much only ate my main course because I was so hungry. The dish wasn't sweet and sour so much as it was crazy tart. There were very few vegetables (which is disappointing because that is typically what draws me to a dish, and the menu claimed cucumber, red and green peppers, of which there seemed to be too few)... to top it all off, the chicken was deep fried to the extreme. It was dark, chewy and hard. I wouldn't order this dish again.
Samer: 1.5 forks. Like me, Samer liked his rolls (commenting specifically that the shape of the rolls was enjoyable :), but the soup was absolutely awful. Samer said that it was a struggle to eat just the chicken and the soup was very greasy - to the point that not only did Samer leave the majority of his bowl full, but the taste of grease lingered long enough to prompt him to eat a package of Sweet and Low in an effort to have the greasy taste leave his mouth. As you can imagine, that didn't go all that well.
Tonia: 4 forks. Tonia's spring rolls were a touch greasy, but all in all, pretty good. Her meal had a nice flavour, but she was left wishing that there were more veggies. Tonia also found that her dish was a little mono-chromatic, which made it less appealing. Ultimately, had she had more than 2 small bits of green peppers, the dish would have been better on the whole.
Todd: 3.5 forks. Todd said that the rolls were what he expected, and the dipping sauce was delightful. He was surprised that all of the veggies described in the menu were actually in the meal (looks like we were all in the mood for veggies!), but there wasn't much flavour on the whole.
Overall score: 2.63 forks. Sadly, our last night of the adventure saw one of the lowest scores of the adventure. Would I go back? Probably - I'd be interested to try something different mostly because Tonia and Todd had much greater success. I'm not too sure that Samer would say the same, though...
It's probably worth a read of the reviews of Golden Viet Thai on urbanspoon.com as well - here, there is a 91% satisfaction rate.
Wednesday 31 July 2013
Woodenheads Gourmet Pizza
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| Photo courtesy of trip advisor.com |
Woodenheads is one of those places that is always busy. If you want to go - you're better to make a reservation if you can. Situated on Ontario street, it sees a lot of foot traffic in warmer months, and arguably doubles in size as they open 2 patios (one out front, on in the back) to accommodate. Don't be mistaken, though - Woodenheads certainly sees its fair share of customers year-round. Specializing in gourmet pizza, one quick glance at the menu and you'll see that they have come up with a large number of topping options to suit the interests of any diner. What's more - they also have delicious salads, appetizers, and other main course options including fish, chicken and beef - just in case you don't want something pulled from their specialty wood-firing oven (which, for the record, everyone should experience at least once).
Inside Woodenheads, the decor is simple and elegant. The restaurant is separated into two levels that are divided by a wooden rail with silver spindles. A colourful mural climbs the wall where a staircase cuts into the space from outside of the restaurant. Other walls are accented by exposed brick and limestone, and the front of the restaurant allows light to flood inside from outdoors with floor to ceiling windows. And the pizza oven? It's impossible to miss but certainly not an eye sore, as the brick dome seems to almost be growing out of the floor as a natural focal point in the back left corner of the restaurant (the oven also does a good job of hiding the entry way to the kitchen, which, in any restaurant is perhaps one of the least attractive features).
It is absolutely worth going to the Wooden Heads website found here so that you can gain a true understanding of exactly what they have to offer. Whether you're like me and you love pizza so much that you'll pay almost anything for it; or if you're like some of my friends and you think paying for gourmet pizza is a misdirection of your hard earned cash... I think there are options for everyone - and, most importantly, options that you won't find anywhere else. Check out what we ordered... that will give you some indication of what "gourmet" means to the owners of Wooden Heads.
Carrie: Lumpia Diavolo to start: spring rolls stuffed with blackened chicken, feta cheese and red cabbage, served with cambazola cream sauce and papaya habanero salsa. I then had the Americana pizza: tomato sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella, pepperoni and green pepper.
Tonia: Caesar salad to start, followed by the Bambino Pizza: pesto, lemon chicken, feta, sundried tomato.
Todd: Calamari Mumbai to start: Indian spiced calamari rings simmered in tomatoes with lobster butter, served with fresh baked naan; followed by Lumpia Diavolo.
Samer: Calamari Mumbai to start, followed by Insalata Estate: roasted red potato, artichoke and mixed greens in lemon chili roast garlic vinaigrette, topped with blackened chicken breast and mustard seed sauce.
Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Our server was great - even in a packed house, he was attentive and was very knowledgable - not only about food, but also about wines and other drinks. The result - we were well watered, well fed and happy. Wooden Heads doesn't rush you along. If you're looking for a quick pizza, maybe this isn't the best spot - but it's nice because if you order multiple courses (as we always do!), you have time to chat, enjoy and digest.
Here's what we scored the food:
Carrie: 5 forks. Admittedly, I figured that would be my score before I even walked in, and I was excited... but I was also worried about being let down since my expectations were so high. Lucky for me - that didn't happen, and I was absolutely satisfied. The Lumpia were nothing short of phenomenal. I will order them every time I return, no doubt. And the pizza... I know it seems like a "simple" choice, but I tend to go simple with toppings, and was certainly very intrigued by a number of other pizzas. Beyond that, I would absolutely try the other pizzas. Ultimately, I was craving mushrooms and cheese. This pie got me just that. Oh yeah - and the perfect amount of green peppers and pepperoni. It was perfect. All of it.
Tonia: 5 forks. Tonia loved her salad and said that her pizza was delicious. She didn't have much else to say - but, really, 'nuff said.
Todd: 5 forks. Todd was also succinct in saying "My favourites in one night. Never deviate, never disappointed".
Samer: 3.5 forks. Samer thought that the calamari was good, but sadly, the salad was the weakest Samer has ever had at Wooden Heads (where, for the record, he had been 3 times in the past 2 weeks). Some of the lettuce was limp on this visit because the hot chicken was placed on to the lettuce too early, while the rest of the lettuce was crisp... made for a weird and unfortunate combination. As Samer said, though, while he has had better experiences here, we do rate on the night - c'est la vie!
Overall score: 4.63 forks.
Can't wait to see you again, Wooden Heads...
Inside Woodenheads, the decor is simple and elegant. The restaurant is separated into two levels that are divided by a wooden rail with silver spindles. A colourful mural climbs the wall where a staircase cuts into the space from outside of the restaurant. Other walls are accented by exposed brick and limestone, and the front of the restaurant allows light to flood inside from outdoors with floor to ceiling windows. And the pizza oven? It's impossible to miss but certainly not an eye sore, as the brick dome seems to almost be growing out of the floor as a natural focal point in the back left corner of the restaurant (the oven also does a good job of hiding the entry way to the kitchen, which, in any restaurant is perhaps one of the least attractive features). 
It is absolutely worth going to the Wooden Heads website found here so that you can gain a true understanding of exactly what they have to offer. Whether you're like me and you love pizza so much that you'll pay almost anything for it; or if you're like some of my friends and you think paying for gourmet pizza is a misdirection of your hard earned cash... I think there are options for everyone - and, most importantly, options that you won't find anywhere else. Check out what we ordered... that will give you some indication of what "gourmet" means to the owners of Wooden Heads.
Carrie: Lumpia Diavolo to start: spring rolls stuffed with blackened chicken, feta cheese and red cabbage, served with cambazola cream sauce and papaya habanero salsa. I then had the Americana pizza: tomato sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella, pepperoni and green pepper. Tonia: Caesar salad to start, followed by the Bambino Pizza: pesto, lemon chicken, feta, sundried tomato.
Todd: Calamari Mumbai to start: Indian spiced calamari rings simmered in tomatoes with lobster butter, served with fresh baked naan; followed by Lumpia Diavolo.
Samer: Calamari Mumbai to start, followed by Insalata Estate: roasted red potato, artichoke and mixed greens in lemon chili roast garlic vinaigrette, topped with blackened chicken breast and mustard seed sauce.
Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Our server was great - even in a packed house, he was attentive and was very knowledgable - not only about food, but also about wines and other drinks. The result - we were well watered, well fed and happy. Wooden Heads doesn't rush you along. If you're looking for a quick pizza, maybe this isn't the best spot - but it's nice because if you order multiple courses (as we always do!), you have time to chat, enjoy and digest.
Here's what we scored the food:
Carrie: 5 forks. Admittedly, I figured that would be my score before I even walked in, and I was excited... but I was also worried about being let down since my expectations were so high. Lucky for me - that didn't happen, and I was absolutely satisfied. The Lumpia were nothing short of phenomenal. I will order them every time I return, no doubt. And the pizza... I know it seems like a "simple" choice, but I tend to go simple with toppings, and was certainly very intrigued by a number of other pizzas. Beyond that, I would absolutely try the other pizzas. Ultimately, I was craving mushrooms and cheese. This pie got me just that. Oh yeah - and the perfect amount of green peppers and pepperoni. It was perfect. All of it. 
Tonia: 5 forks. Tonia loved her salad and said that her pizza was delicious. She didn't have much else to say - but, really, 'nuff said.Todd: 5 forks. Todd was also succinct in saying "My favourites in one night. Never deviate, never disappointed".
Samer: 3.5 forks. Samer thought that the calamari was good, but sadly, the salad was the weakest Samer has ever had at Wooden Heads (where, for the record, he had been 3 times in the past 2 weeks). Some of the lettuce was limp on this visit because the hot chicken was placed on to the lettuce too early, while the rest of the lettuce was crisp... made for a weird and unfortunate combination. As Samer said, though, while he has had better experiences here, we do rate on the night - c'est la vie!
Overall score: 4.63 forks.
Can't wait to see you again, Wooden Heads...
Friday 26 July 2013
Kingston Brewing Company
Whether or not you are from Kingston, the history of the Kingston Brewing Company alone should be reason enough to ensure that it is absolutely on your list of places to visit. Established in 1986, KBC is the oldest brew pub in Ontario and the oldest wine-producing pub in Canada. As they explain on their website (found here), "beers, wines, ciders and soda pops are made on the premises" - and believe me when I say the list is long and pretty much guarantees everyone the opportunity to find something they'd like to drink. To top it all off, home-brews are also included in some of the food recipes. There truly is no other place like KBC in the city of Kingston - which is probably a very good reason behind the constant crowd inside.
At their Clarence Street location, the Kingston Brewing Company offers three seating options during warm months of the year - a front "street-side" patio, a back patio courtyard, and inside the restaurant. For this visit, we chose to sit out back in the courtyard, and I was really impressed by how cool it was during one of the warmest weeks we've seen so far this summer. Decorated with simple hanging lights, plants and tapestries under tarps that provide refuge from the sun and elements, the patio offers a cozy atmosphere for a good number of patrons - in fact, more than I expected would be possible while walking in from the sidewalk. Having been to KBC in the past, I can honestly say that the patio is similar to the inside in one key way - both areas encourage a fun and friendly dining space.
The menu at KBC is very obviously a "pub" menu when you open it, but it certainly has some things that set it apart from others. As mentioned before, many options are cooked with the "home brews" made on site. KBC also offers a variety of authentic smoke house options, unbelievably delicious chicken wings, and homemade BBQ sauce on the table that, as Todd says, "is a really nice and delicious alternative to ketchup". The other thing about the menu that makes it different from others? Quotes, descriptions of food and sketches of the iconic dragon that show the playful side of the pub and its owners. I won't give any away - instead, I encourage you to head down to KBC yourself and have a peak. While you explore the menu for fun, be sure to find something that you'd like to eat - I'm sure you won't have any trouble. In fact, perhaps the "High Roller Special" would interest you - a bottle of Dom Perignon served with a double order of wings. Who doesn't like a little Dom with dinner?
Todd, Samer and I were on our own this week as Tonia was in Halifax visiting family (we missed you, Tonia!), and here is what we ordered:
Carrie: Torpedo Steak Sandwich: Canadian beef topped with onions, homemade ghetto sauce and mozzarella cheese, served on a fresh baguette with chips. Oh yeah - and I ordered a dill pickle. Because you can. 
Samer: Ghetto Style Dragon Wings: Called "Wings like you wouldn't believe" by Where to eat in Canada, the wings are marinated in KBC's own sauce and charbroiled with their famous BBQ sauce. The wings are NOT deep fried - but the fries served on the side are :)
Todd: Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich: KBC says that they've taken an American classic and given it Canadian citizenship with this sandwich - topped with coleslaw and their own cranapple cider ghetto sauce, served on a fresh-baked kaiser with a side of fries.Service at KBC was excellent. Our server saw us regularly, but wasn't a pest - a nice happy medium; which, to be honest, was a surprise given that she was coming in and out from restaurant to patio, and I have certainly been neglected on patios before (is it me?). Our glasses were kept full and our bellies were satisfied in no time as delicious food was delivered quickly to our table. First impression? Wow... It made me hungry. I could look at any of our three plates and feel my mouth watering. I can say with confidence that I would have eaten any of what was delivered - and I was certainly happy with what I ordered.
So, I might as well get right to it. Here are our ratings:
Carrie: 5 forks. I had no doubts about this rating at all. I was super happy with my meal - it was fantastic. The ghetto sauce on the sandwich is delicious, the steak was amazing and the fries were really good too. I had actually had fries at KBC in the past and wasn't nearly as happy with them as I was on this visit. They were wonderfully satisfying. Oh - and that pickle? HUGE, and delish.
(I should have put my hand or phone next to the pickle so that you could see the scale... but I didn't think of that because I was in awe. My apologies!)
Samer: 5 forks. Samer has been before for the wings and has liked them, but said that this time they were 100% satisfying and that they exceeded his expectations. "Best unhealthy meal I've had all week!" Doesn't get much better than that!
Todd: 4.75 forks. Todd thought that his food was all very good and that he would definitely order it again. He loved the BBQ sauce, stating "I'm kinda saucy, so me liking the sauce just works"... and I couldn't agree more.
Overall score: 4.9 forks.
Well done, KBC. Not only will I be back, but hopefully a score like that will ensure that people reading this will venture down too.
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| Photo courtesy of the KBC website |
Tuesday 23 July 2013
Fuji Sushi
For this edition of the adventure, we headed back to the west end - to Fuji Sushi. If you're like me, and you ate at Cora's for breakfast or brunch a lot before it closed, you'll have no trouble finding Fuji Sushi, as it has taken its place. (For those of you who don't know where it is, head to the Cataraqui Town Centre - look to the west from there, and it's in the plaza behind Goodlife). The interesting thing is that walking in, the floor plan has remained the same, so it still feels a bit like Cora's - but the new owner/operators have done a good job choosing simple accents that help you quickly understand that not only has there been a change, but it really isn't a breakfast joint anymore - this is where you can come to get some fantastic Japanese cuisine.
Samer, Kendra (welcome back!!) and Todd had been to Fuji Sushi before and were familiar with the style, but things started out... well, confusingly for me and Tonia. Sure, you are given a menu just like in other restaurants - but right away you'll notice a few differences. First - there are no prices listed next to the descriptions of food. The reason? Fuji Sushi is an all-you-can-eat place. Adults pay one amount ($20.95 for dinner, $13.95 for lunch - and lower prices are offered for seniors and kids) and you eat what you can. Ultimately, you are completely in control of your adventure (you can even save 10% by paying your bill in cash!)... and that brings me to the next major difference: the ordering sheet. At Fuji Sushi, instead of placing your order by telling the server, you fill out an ordering sheet by marking the number of each item you'd like in a little box beside the item. Want just 1 chicken wing? Write a 1 in the box. Want 3 spicy tuna rolls? Write a 3. Want 40 pieces of salmon? Write the number 40. (You get the idea... and for the record, yes... there were 40 pieces of salmon ordered to our table - in the first round!). I have never seen anything quite like it - so it took me a little while to get used to the idea, but I have to admit - once I got used it it, I liked it a lot! It was pretty great to be able to order small amounts of things in order to try them out - if I didn't like it; no bit deal - none wasted. If I did like it, I got to order more. The four of us had beautifully presented plates quickly coming and going. Certainly, with so many different orders, there were a couple of serving mistakes, but ultimately, it didn't matter - if something was missed, we just ordered it again and it would appear - almost like magic. Time and time again, plates were gorgeous and yummy. Sure - I didn't necessarily like everything that came my way, but that just might happen from time to time when you eat at a new restaurant... and it didn't really matter - because I'd just order something new!
I didn't keep track of everything that came our way - but let me give you a bit of a run-down of things that we had...
Miso Soup
Spring Salad
Chicken Teriyaki
Beef Teriayaki
General Tao
Salmon
Shrimp
Spicy Salmon Roll
California Roll
Spring Rolls
Dumplings
And the list went on and on and on. Check out the pictures to see some of our choices - and here are our reviews:
Carrie: 4 forks. Overall, it was a pretty cool experience and the food was good, too. The General Tao Chicken was my favourite.
Tonia: 4 forks. Tonia thought that the food was really tasty. She thought that the spring rolls were a little gooey inside, but she really liked the dumplings. Tonia said that everything was nice, but nothing "knocked my socks off". A very neat experience, however overwhelming it began.
Kendra: 5 forks. Kendra has been to Fuji Sushi before and thought that it was delicious as always (Kendra had to join us again on our adventure when she discovered where we were headed and she certainly wasn't disappointed in her decision to do so!). A direct quote "Good fishes, but I had restraint and I didn't get fish head" - which apparently is the giddiness that occurs as a direct result of eating excessive amounts of sushi.
Samer: 5 forks. Samer loved the shrimp. He ate 28 pieces of shrimp and about 50 pieces of salmon. Samer was, as he said "speechless and stuffed". It's about time Samer got to eat somewhere that he believes deserves a high score.
Todd: 5 forks. Todd liked this experience at Fuji Sushi more than his first experience and enjoyed everything that he had. The spicy salmon didn't seem to be spicy, but that didn't upset him much (which is very apparent by his score!).
Overall score: 4.6 forks.
Well done, Fuji Sushi. Well done. The message to readers? Go and get it.
The next adventure write-up should be soon as Samer, Todd and I went to Kingston Brewing Company for the last adventure. Soon - we will be off to Woodenheads!
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