Ricci's

Restaurant: Ricci's Pizzeria
Address: 8401 Weston Rd.
Phone: 905-850-8325
Store Hours: Mon-Wed 11 AM - 10 PM, Thurs 11 AM - 10:30 PM, Fri-Sat 11-12 AM, Sun 3-10 PM
Website: www.riccispizza.ca

Menu

Greek Chicken Wrap, $10.50

Review

My Order: Tortellini, $11

Despite being a self-appointed Torontonian, my physical home is in Vaughan. Ricci's is an iconic restaurant in the Woodbridge community. This was actually the very first time I stepped foot into this popular Italian joint, despite being a local resident for almost two decades.

Ricci's is set up like a fast food place where you place and pay for your order at the cashier. Then you have the option to take-out or eat-in (they also deliver for you lazy people out there). I decided to eat-in. I probably waited about 8-10 minutes for my order before they called out my name and brought the food to my table. Ricci's has a very chill and laid-back atmosphere. It's great for people and families that want the dine-in experience without the price tag.

I went for the Tortellini ($11) and my sister ordered the Greek Chicken Wrap ($10.50). We also grabbed Fries ($5) as a side. Both dishes were quite filling. The pasta dishes are inexpensive compared to other Italian restaurants, but the wraps and sandwiches are probably a bit more expensive compared to most places. The Greek Chicken Wrap ended up being very oily, so beware if you decide to order it.

I wouldn't say my mind was blown away by the food. But if I was looking for an affordable and decent place to eat out in Woodbridge, then Ricci's would be my top choice.

Boston Pizza (Yonge and Empress)

Restaurant: Boston Pizza
Address: 100-5170 Yonge St.
Phone: 416-792-3172
Operating Hours: Mon-Thurs 11 - 1 AM, Fri-Sat 11 - 2 AM, Sun 11 - 12 AM
Website: www.bostonpizza.com

Review

I've been to this location once before during the summer with my coworkers. It was decent service at the time and close to our office so we decided to go again this time around for a coworker's birthday. I'm giving a 1 star based on the service we have all received today. There was a total of 11 people, most arrived right at 12 PM and the rest arrived no more than 10 minutes later. At the time, the restaurant was not very busy. The server took some time to get everyone their drinks. Water was forgotten twice for a couple of people. Our orders were finally taken around 12:20 PM long after everyone got their drinks.

While we waited, another server came out with a couple of plates. We were pretty sure neither platters belonged to anyone at our table. The server gave us a bit of attitude and tried to place down the food. It turned out the food belonged to the table next to us. The group of 7 people beside us came around 12:15 PM and they received their food around 20 minutes after ordering. Our table was still waiting and everyone was getting agitated by 12:40 PM. Most of us only had the ability to take an hour away from the office. Food started coming out around 12:45 PM. Everyone finally got their meals by 1 PM...except me. It wasn't brought out until another coworker of mine pointed out that I haven't received my food yet. The server forgot my plate completely and I did not get my food until around 1:10 PM. I ended up having to scarf down everything as fast as I could because I was supposed to be back at the office half an hour ago. I was not out til close to 1:25 PM. Half of my coworkers were still in the process of eating by the time I left the restaurant.

For lunch, I ordered one of their $10 lunch combos. With the wait that we all had to do for our food from the moment we were seated, we might as well have gone to the food court and paid for the same price but get our food immediately instead.

Queen Margherita (Dundas West)

Restaurant: Queen Margherita
Address: 772 Dundas St. W
Phone: 647-748-4666
Operating Hours: Mon-Sun 12 PM - Close
Website: www.qmpizza.com

Interior

Menu

Review

My Order: Margherita Pizza, $15

I received a couple of vouchers from Queen Margherita in October for #PizzaMonth. I have been following their social media for awhile but never had the opportunity to visit until last month.

Queen Margherita has three locations in Toronto, including one in Leslieville and another in Baby Point. I opted to visit their Dundas West location because it was most convenient for me. The first thing that struck out to me was the space of the restaurant. It has two floors. Above ground there are a decent number of seats, which you can see from the outside. But when you go to the lower level, it's massive. They have an open concept kitchen, which I thought was really cool because you could see the stone oven and their chefs working away. The restaurant has that urban posh feel, which I really liked.

Their menu consist of prix fixe appetizers and a variety of pizzas. My voucher only allowed for one margherita pizza so I didn't try anything else because it was already filling (I ended up taking half of it home). The pizza was good, though it wasn't something I was wowed by. I prefer to have a lot more toppings on my pizza but if you like the classic margherita pizza, you would definitely enjoy this signature dish.

Queen Margherita's Dundas West location makes for a great date or a place to host a birthday party due to size and a menu with a variety of pizzas to choose from.

Paese Ristorante

Restaurant: Paese Ristorante
Address: 3867 Bathurst St.
Phone: 416-631-6586
Operating Hours: Lunch 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM, Dinner 5:30 - 11:30 PM
Website: www.paeseristorante.com

Interior

Menu

Review

Paese Ristorante is a pleasant high-end Italian restaurant located in Wilson Heights. It's not in a location where you would typically find other fancy restaurants therefore stands out on its own. It's attached to L'eat Catering, the original parent company that provided food to local businesses since 1983. Afterwards, Paese Ristorante was created in 1989. L'eat Catering is one of the top 5 catering companies within Toronto,

I had the pleasure of sampling some items off of Paese's menu with my cousin. I tried one of their cocktails, which was the Paloma Italiana with pink grapefruit. I really liked it because I am a huge fan of sweet girly drinks. So it was a great choice for my preference. My cousin picked up their Bellini but found that the prosecco overwhelmed the taste of the peach nectar.

I highly recommend one of their appetizers, the Grilled Octopus. We absolutely loved the dressing mixed with the vegetables that came along with the octopus. It was a perfect blend of taste. Afterwards, we got to try a couple of their pizzas. We had the Pollo and Laabroni. I think their Pollo, which consisted of roasted chicken, smoked cheddar, eggplant, sliced tomato and basil, to be the best of the two. It had the best combination of toppings since I'm a huge fan of cheesy pizza and eggplant.

We tried pasta next. My cousin got one of their basic spaghetti dishes (I don't think it's on the menu) and I tasted their Ricotta Gnocchi. I liked the gnocchi in my dish but not so much of the chicken that was mixed in with it. The chicken was quite bland and was out of place in terms of taste. My cousin wasn't a fan of the spaghetti either. The two pasta dishes we tried were a missed for us.

Lastly, we made room for dessert. I got the Butterscotch Pudding and my cousin chose the Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait. When I took the first bite of the Butterscotch Pudding, it was perfect. The more I ate though, the sweeter it became, As someone who no longer craves super sweet desserts, it got overwhelming for my taste buds. I recommend this dessert, but only if you share it with someone else.

Paese has great customer service if that is what you are looking for in a dining experience. They also do private bookings.

The Red Tomato

Restaurant: The Red Tomato
Address: 321 King St. W
Phone: 416-971-6626
Operating Hours: Mon-Sun 5-10 PM
Website: www.redtomato.ca

Interior

Menu

Review

Pizza of Choice: Peking Duck Pizza, $18

I attended a media event for The Red Tomato, a pizza and pasta wine bar underneath Fred's Not Here (both owned by the same owner). I rarely eat on King Street West so I always assumed that prices at the restaurants would be super expensive. However, when I saw The Red Tomato's menu, I was pleasantly surprised that the prices were quite fair (ranged from $13-$18 for a full size pizza).

My friend and I got to try a nice array of pizzas that were offered at the restaurant. My absolute favourite out of the bunch was the Peking Duck Pizza ($18), which was one of their Asian fusion items. If you love Asian food, I do recommend the Peking Duck Pizza! My friend however thought it wasn't that great and preferred "The Hangover Cure" ($16) without the egg. I enjoyed every single pizza at The Red Tomato that I got to try (which is rare!). Each pizza is savoury and you can taste how fresh they are!

I highly recommend The Red Tomato if you want to get some delicious and uniquely flavoured pizzas at an inexpensive price!

G for Gelato

Cafe: G for Gelato
Address: 75 Jarvis St.
Phone: 416-792-1761
Store Hours: Mon-Thurs 8 AM - 10 PM, Fri 8 AM - 11 PM, Sat 9 AM - 11 PM, Sun 10 AM - 10 PM
Website: www.gforgelato.com

Wi-Fi?: Yes
Stamp Cards?: Yes
Study Appropriate?: No

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Coconut milk available
- Roasted coffee beans from Rufino Espresso

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all
- Vegetarian only for regular food
- Vegan and gluten-free snacks available
- Offers snacks from Nutri-Health, such as brownies

View the full menu here: www.gforgelato.com/menu/

Review

Food of Choice: Funghi Pizza, $17

Gelato of Choice: Large Blueberry Lavender and Rufino Almond Fudge Gelato, $6.75

I first heard about G for Gelato when I was talking to an acquaintance awhile back. He raved on and on about the customer service and how awesome the gelato was. After that, I always remembered this particular gelato bar because of that positive review. I finally got the chance to try G for Gelato for the first time this week when they invited me out to their pizza party.

First thing I was able to do when I arrived was received a complimentary massage from Hand & Stone. I wished at the time there weren't so many people so I could've fully enjoyed it! Nonetheless, it was a great start off.

Shortly after, guests were presented with appetizers and their drink of choice as more people started to settle in. I enjoyed the variety of cheese and meat offered, though they weren't on the regular menu. Out of the two salads offered, I went for the Caprese Salad which had Fior Di Latte (a type of cheese). I learned on this very day that I did not like Fior Di Latte, or at least in full form compared to it being shredded on pizza (which I liked). Sadly, I couldn't finish the salad although it looked lovely on the plate. The Fior Di Latte cheese in my opinion was very bland and had that rubbery texture I did not enjoy. I preferred the cheese in the appetizer earlier. My friend actually liked the Caprese Salad and finished his plate. He said he had it at other restaurants and this was one of the better ones. So it's all about your preference!

All the pizzas made at G for Gelato are medium-sized and perfect for two people (or one if you are really hungry!). I tried out the funghi pizza, which consisted mainly of mushrooms and arugula. This was an awesome combination. The pizza had a great consistency and the combination of toppings were done just right. They also had spicy oil, which I added to my pizza and liked! Since I was full from eating a hearty lunch prior, I packed the rest to go.

The most anticipated part of the entire event for me was the gelato. I sampled at least half of their flavours so I could pick out the ones I wanted in the end. In the summertime, they serve 36 whopping flavours! 36! They have unique flavours such as Coconut Basil, Blueberry Basil, and Redbull (yes, Redbull). In the winter however, there's only 18 flavours available and usually the popular ones would be offered during the colder months. They have three cup sizes, small (1 flavour), medium (2 flavours), and large (3 flavours). I took about ten or more minutes to decide on my order so I ended up getting two flavours instead of three for the large cup. I got Blueberry Lavender and Rufino Almond Fudge (inspired by one of Baskins Robins' flavours). Out of the two, my favourite was Blueberry Lavender. I never heard of this combination before but it tasted amazing. I loved the lavender in the flavour. G for Gelato is indeed the place to be for gelato.

Towards the end of the event, I decided to jump in with Davindra from Goat Roti Chronicles to make some pizza! We tossed in a bunch of different toppings, like mushrooms, sausages, and olives. The pizzas made here only need about four minutes to be fully cooked! So you can guarantee your pizza will come out super quick. I ended up only taking a slice of the pizza we made home since I already had the Funghi. Nonetheless, I was proud of our creation. Not only did I went home with pizza but G for Gelato gave the guests some pretty awesome swag, including: a shirt from 1 <3 T.O. (I received the original!), gift card to Hand & Stone, and a pizza cutter!

Overall, I highly recommend G for Gelato if you wish to try a great assortment of gelatos. Do it now so you can enjoy it with whatever is left of Toronto's summer!

Thank you to G for Gelato for the media invite!