Teara Lab

Restaurant: Teara Lab
Address: 181 College St.
Phone: 647-351-6680
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 11 AM - 9:30 PM, Sat 11 AM - 6:30 PM, Sun CLOSED
Website: www.tearalab.com

Interior

Menu

Review

My Order: Kalbi Shortrib Sandwich Combo, $11.49

My foodie friend (Toronto Foodie) got two free meal vouchers for Teara Lab so we had to check it out. Teara Lab is a Japanese fusion restaurant that specializes in burgers and sandwiches, serving items such as Teppanyaki Teriyaki Chicken Burger and Yuzu Teriyaki Fish Burger. Located by UofT St. George, it's another campus option for students to go for lunch or after class. There's enough tables at this minimalist-designed restaurant for you to sit and enjoy your meal or you can order to go.

All of their sandwiches sounded appetizing but I decided on the Kalbi Shortrib Sandwich for my visit. I personally enjoyed it and found the combo to be a filling meal. I do think the sandwich prices alone are a bit steep (the Red Wine Braised Beef sandwich costs $13.99). The sandwich prices should be around $7-8 at most. I do recommend trying out Teara Lab if you are an adventurous eater and love Asian fusion or Japanese.
 

Sweet Jesus

Cafe: Sweet Jesus

Address: 106 John St.

Phone: 647-348-2266

Store Hours: Sun-Mon 7 AM - 10 PM, Tues-Sat 7 AM - 11 PM

Website: www.sweetjesus4life.com

Review

My Order: Red Rapture, $6.50

Sweet Jesus is often mentioned when it comes to getting ice cream in Toronto. It also doubles as a coffee bar but I didn't try any during my visit so I can't comment on their drinks.

When my friends and I first arrived, we had to wait outside in line briefly. We had the opportunity to check out their menu before ordering when we went inside. I decided on the Red Rapture because I saw the words "red velvet". I never looked up any reviews of Sweet Jesus prior so I wasn't sure what to expect. I saw a lot of colourful photos of their products in the past and they seemed appealing. So with my order, I assumed it would be made with red velvet ice cream. It wasn't, just regular soft serve (it didn't register in my mind that it would be soft serve despite being listed under the "Pimped Out Soft Serve" section, my bad).

This was the first time in over a decade where I was greatly disappointed by ice cream. Despite the various toppings, I found the Red Rapture to be blandly sweet. The soft serve itself was mediocre, making any ice cream truck's swirly soft serve amazing in comparison. The toppings did not combine well with the soft serve at all. Two of my friends shared the cookies and dough version (I forgot the name) and they couldn't finish it despite it being split between them. Price was also a big factor to why I wouldn't come back here. The cost was too much for the ice cream quality. It should've been no more than $5 with tax included but even then, I feel that I'm being generous.

If you want some amazing quality decked out ice cream, I highly recommend Booyah! and Dutch Dreams, both in Wychwood over Sweet Jesus.