Restaurant & Bar Reviews

A favorite place of ours in Boston, Aquitaine always produces a great experience. Wine selection and entrees are fantastic along with the ambiance. I love coming in here just when it opens to grab a spot at the little bar in the front where we will sit all night if possible to have a few drinks and an exceptional meal. The music they play is on trend and the food is fantastic, our standards are the Sole with potatoes and, Steak Frites and the steak tartar!

Asia de Cuba is one of my fav places to eat in Los Angeles.
Located in the funky Mondrian hotel it offers inside and outside dining.

The food is Cuban fusion and is outstanding.

Calamari salad is the signature starter and is a must. It is a big portion so can be shared.

Tuna pica is also excellent.

The view of LA is incredible .

The mojitos are very good as well. Especially the mango .

Salmon was great.

So was Cuban chicken.

The steak was so good that I forgot to photograph it before I started eating.

The wild decor almost has an Alice in Wonderland feel.

While this is not a cheap place it is definately worth a visit.
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This Ritz is located on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.

This ritz is actually very modern inside but the Atlanta Grill is very traditional both inside and out.

The place to eat is this outside balcony right on peachtree street. It is very amusing as some of the locals are very colorful .

Inside the atmosphere is what you would expect at the Ritz.

The Irish coffee was excellent.

The beer menu was quite extensive.

I plumped for the beer tasting menu. Very good.

We visited mid afternoon so the menu was a bit limited.

Steak frites was very basic but excellent.
So nothing out of the ordinary but everything that you would expect from the Ritz brand.
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We stopped in here for Sunday brunch, and thanks to Daren’s help we started out with a glass of the 2010 Kunin Pape Star and bottle of the Digfish ale.

This spot had been open as ‘Kitchen’ since June of 2011, previously it went under the name Pop’s, which I still remember the mouth watering pulled pork sandwich I had!

We had the omelette, bibb salad and hamburger Yorkshire style.

we then followed this with a Singapore Sling:

followed this with a Moscow Mule (forgot to take a picture) and then a ‘Sparkling Cloister’ (champagne cocktail)

while listening to Ray Charles on LP!

and following all of this with a ‘Hemingway Daiquiri’ a little to tart for Chris…but I loved it.

As you can see this place had a vibe that kept us there all afternoon, Daren was an equally entertaining bartender and turned us onto a new must have App for the local cocktail scene lover, checkout GetOnTheBar and you’ll see what I mean. Not to mention the fun loving crew that inhabited the rest of the kitchen (you see here chef finding a way to insert some brandy into his meals) asking politely of course as to make sure this would not hinder the bar that evening.

We finished the afternoon up with a tall cup of black coffee, I highly recommend stopping in for a bite to eat or an entertaining drink and conversation with the bar men at Kitchen Restaurant in Boston’s South End it’s at 560 Tremont Street (Previously ‘Pop’s’ restaurant was situated here.)

Woodward is a happening spot for tasty food with an old feel, it is named for a tavern once housed in the Ames family home, Woodward is a modern-day tavern that incorporates local fresh foods and a dynamic beverage selection.

“Located at 1 Court Street and Washington Mall in downtown Boston, the Ames Building was designed by the architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge in Richardsonian Romanesque and paid for by Frederick L. Ames. It is the second tallest masonry load bearing-wall structure in the world, exceeded only by the Monadnock Building in Chicago, completed that same year.” (Quoted from Wikipedia)

I started with the Steak Tartar (topped with an egg, not a usual choice for me but the dish was delicious none the less)

The Simple greens salad was topped with pumpkin seeds, cucumber, dill yogurt and a cider vinaigrette, fantastic!

Also at the table we tried the Steamed mussels, pork belly, fennel, garlic and Woodward Ale! Unforgettable!

This is a common stop for us when we have people in town and want to show them a comfortable setting with deluxe food and as dressy as you want to make it. I highly recommend stopping into Woodward at the Ames hotel if you are in Boston.

This branch of the Oliver and Bonacini group is located in the financial district of Toronto. The restaurant consists of a bar, sidewalk cafe, restaurant and outside covered dining area.

Light fixtures in bar are really funky.

Outside was also very pleasant.

Tuna was very good.

So was the salmon .
I also had brunch here which was excellent.
Once again the staff at all the restaurants I visited in Toronto were really good and mostly very funny. The guys here were great.
I will definately go back if I find myself in Toronto again.
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As in Buenos Aires ,Gusto , which opened in Feb 2012 is located in an old auto body repair shop.

The restaurant is located on 2 levels . Downstairs has an outside patio and indoor dining. Upstairs is totally open air.

The food while not gourmet was very good.

Octopus was very tasty .

Beef tartar was served with figs and was very different but very tasty.
The place is extremely hip and it seems that dress code is whatever you want.
I really enjoyed the place and re staff were excellent.
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The flag ship of the Todd English empire has reopened in Charlestown . Not too different from the original but I wonder if anyone else has noticed how the new layout has increased the noise levels. Time for some sound proofing me thinks.

So even though the place is loud the food was great. Very rich a la Todd English but really good . In fact I forgot to photograph the food so it must have good. Please make do with the menu.

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This place is not cheap but Definately worth a visit.
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Juvia is actually located in the funkiest car-park I have ever seen. It is located at the end of Lincoln Road that is furthest away from the beach.It features
Inside and outside dining.

Hard to describe the atmosphere. It is cool and funky but really feels like an upmarket beach bar/restaurant. Now do not take this the wrong way the place is fantastic and you could wear your tux or shorts( actually don’t know if there is a dress code) and be totally comfortable here.
So what about the food. It was fantastic. Everything we had was excellent and the prices while not cheap were not outrageous.

Cerviche

Salmon rolls.

Tuna

Lamb chops

Short ribs.
Once again make this one of your first stops on your next Miami visit.

I suggest before you leave grab a mojito and savor the night time beach view.

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Fig and Olive in Melrose Place is the latest offshoot of the famous NewYork
eaterie.It is well worth checking out the neighborhood as Melrose Place is really happening at the moment.

Decor is very cool and the outside tasting bar looks like a fun place to hang out.

Food was excellent.

Tuna carpaccio was so good nearly forgot to take a photo.

Tuna and scallop salad was also great.

Veal wonderful

So was the Branzini.

Coffee great as well.
2 thumbs up To make a reservation