Hello, all! I am back with some more questions. This time, it's about food.

As I am traveling by myself and I'll be in Toronto for 2 full weeks (Free ticket using FF miles and I figured why not since I won't be going anywhere else this year because of high prices), I'm writing a list of some restaurants I'd like to possibly try.

I'm looking for casual or simple restaurants, some things which might not be common around where I live (I'm from the San Francisco area, which has a lot). I eat just about every single ethnic type of dish out there and the only thing I don't eat a lot of is seafood. Fish occasionally, but not seafood. I already have a few things in mind that I came across:

- I'd like to be brave enough and try The Hoof Cafe. Not sure if I will back out in the end, but it's on my list. If I do chicken out, where is a good place for brunch or breakfast? The hotel I am staying at does offer continental, but there might be a day in the week when I'll want a hot breakfast.
-One thing we don't get too much of in my area is Eastern European food. I saw a past thread here that mentioned a Hungarian restaurant on Yorkville called Country Style. Anyone other suggestions of other Hungarian places or other Eastern European style?
-It took me awhile to find it, but it looks like Greektown is on Danforth? Does the street have quite a few Greek restaurants down this road? Easy enough to just pick one if I were to walk along and just see what's inside?
-Of course I want to sample a few things in the Little Italy area. Which street is best for strolling down looking for a casual restaurant? Or is it easy enough to just wander around this section of town?
-Where can I get a good potato pizza? It isn't something that's really available where I live and I want to try it out.
-Where is the area in Toronto with a lot of Indian food? I am specifically looking for Northern/Punjab style as the southern dishes is a little too hot for me.
-What type of Chinese cuisine is in the Chinatown area? I might be getting a little too specific, but does anyone know if it is more Cantonese or Mandarin?
-A good crepe place
-I am also requesting some pub suggestions. Pubs or areas that will be showing world cup games since I will be there for part of it. I figure a few places in the Little Italy area will have something, but I am looking for other possible places too.
-Any other possible suggestions? Like I said, mostly casual...bistros, cafes, etc. I think during the time I am in Toronto, summerlicious will be around and I might check into that. They don't have a list of the restaurants participating up yet, but if it is worth checking out, I might look into it.

Thanks in advance!

Eeeee....I wish I could edit my post and add spaces. Sorry about that.

Am I right in thinking the Cambridge Suites was your final choice?

CASUAL BREAKFAST, CHEAP: Sunset Grill, on Yonge at Richmond, Downtown branch of a Toronto classic old-fashioned bacon and eggs restaurant/

CASUAL LUNCH, CHEAP: Food counters selling sandwiches inthe St. Lawrence Market. Works for breakfast, too -- BAck Bacon on a bun is a Toronto tradition.

DOWNTOWN CHINESE: the expensive, swanky, Chinese restaurants are out in the suburbs now. More causal, big, bustling, and within walking distance (maybe 15 minutes): Bright PEarl, on Spaina, west side, a couple of blocks north of Dundas. Lots of luggage on the street in front. I've brought people from all over the world to eat there.

Did you know that large numbers of Chinese barbecue duck in San Francisco comes from King Cole Farms, in Aurora, just north of Toronto?

Vietnamese: get yourself to the Ropyal Ontario Museum on Bloor STreet, turn your back to the museum, look across the street, to the left (west) of McDonald's. Look for short stairway up to a Chinese restaurant (skip that) and look beside that door for another door leding up an interior stairway to a Vietnamese restaurant. Go there, order the soup. Cheap, cheerful, clean, good service.

JAPANESE: Fune, on Adelaide at Simcoe, ten minute walk from hotel. Sit at the sushi bar in the middle, if you are by yourself.

There are several bistros along the Queen St W. strip and also on King St. near the Theatre district... we likethe Queen Mother Pub on Queen, especially the quirkey outdoor patio and the Kit Kat on King for Italian... but you can just stroll down either strip and check the posted menus for your favorites.... have fun

If you like Hungarian, the Country Style is your place. Very old, very downscale, hearty traditional food. But it's not in Yorkville. It's on the north side of Bloor between Spadina and Bathurst (a couple of blocks east of Bathurst). This is an old part of Toronto called the Annex and it's near the University of Toronto. Nice walking between Bathurst and Spadina. There are lots of other restaurants around there including the By The Way Cafe, Future Bakery and lots of Japanese places. A block or two west of Bathurst, you'll find lots of Korean restaurants.

While you're in that neighbourhood, browse in Honest Ed's. It's lots of fun. At the west side of Honest Ed's is Markham Street (cute, a few nice stores and restaurants). The only restaurant I'm familiar with there is Southern Accent and it's good.

If you're looking for a good casual Greek place on the Danforth (aka Danforth Avenue), try the Pantheon. Its address is somewhere around 401 Danforth. Then walk east a block to the Athens (or Athenian) bakery, also on the south side, for dessert.

For crepes, there's a place on Yorkville just a door or two west of Yonge called Crepes a GoGo. There's also a good crepe place on Queen West, north side, just a block or so west of University but I can't remember the name. It's easy to walk past so keep your eye out for it. And there's Le Papillon in the Market area, on Front Street.

Also on Queen West is the Queen Mother, the Rivoli, and Peter Pan.

In Chinatown, our favourite noodle place is Kings Noodle on the west side of Spadina a few doors north of Dundas.

Toronto is full of great ethnic eateries -- you could go to a different one every day for years!

BAK - Yes, I'll be staying at the Cambridge Suites, but I'll be pretty much all over the place. One of the sandwiches I remember having at the St Lawrence Market was an eggplant sandwich? Not sure if that guy is still there, but I remember it being very good. I had no idea that the duck I pick up once in awhile came from Canada. Interesting! Thanks for the help!

Gary and Goddess, thanks for the suggestions! I heard about the Queen Mother a few times. Must be a good place. I almost thought about going to La Papillon when I was in Toronto 4 years ago, but I worried it looked too fancy inside for how I was dressed.

No problemo, Le Papillon is casual. But you should know that it's moved from Church Street around the corner to Front Street.

As godess put it , The annex area is a great place to go for ethnic restaurants.

The east sides are croded with pubs ,japanese , places.On the west side there are mostly korean (Korean Village restaurant ),a few thai and vietnamese and Indian place on the west side call Maroli Indian Restaurants , Their food seems not to be like spicy and they would adjust the seasonings ,it is Malabari cuisine .
The southern accent is a great place for week ends and in summers.The east side of bathrust
In china town there is a nice szechuan place but well flavoured dishes and some dishes are spicy . the name is
Szechuan Garden .

http://www.maroli.ca

Which part of the east side, romaliz? More in the southern section or more up north?

i'm happy to be convinced otherwise, but i'd say most of the suggestions on this forum are a little 'tired' so to speak...

the couple i'd agree with are: the back bacon sandwich in the market and country style for hungarian...

however, the new 'it' restaurant area is on ossington st. between queen west and dundas west. along that strip, there are tons of great restaurants - notable examples = delux, pizzeria libretto, foxley, and paramour. once at dundas, you aren't far from the hoof cafe (or the black hoof, which is across the street). the hoof cafe has an amazing brunch and the food isn't as 'scary' as i thought it would be. the charcuterie at the black hoof is incredible and they also have a decent take on St. John Restaurant's marrow and parsley salad...

for sushi, blowfish has incredible food, though it's kind of expensive and full of the 'see and be seen' crowd. however that area (king west at bathurst) has a number of great spots close by - Lee for some asian fusion, buca for a swanky italian place, le select bistro (a beautiful, though overpriced french bistro, but with an amazing patio in the summer), and a couple good fancy burger joints (ie: oh boy / craftburger).

when looking for a place to watch the world cup, your best bet is the queen and beaver public house on elm st - it's a pretty decent shot at a genuine toronto gastropub and the owner is football crazy so there are plenty of tv's and comfy couches from which to watch. another great new pub is the cieli cottage in another new up-and-coming district (leslieville - queen st east). the cieli cottage is an irish gastropub and is owned by a childhood friend of the 'thirsty traveler' kevin brauch, who designed the drink list and apparently can be found behind the bar from time to time - great patio as well. a cool wine bar near the cieli cottage is called 'swirl' and they have inexpensive bottles of (mostly) canadian wine and serve lots of preserves on toast.

that's about all i got... have a great trip. and if you get a bump in the USD value, splurge for dinner at lucien - my personal vote for the city's best restaurant - it's incredible.

have a great trip, and happy eating.

I admit that I'm completely out of it with the new trendy restaurants even though I live and work in the centre of the city. I tend to go back to the places I know and love. My only alternative to your suggestions, JMWF, is that for French food I'd take Le Paradis on Bedford over Le Select anyday.

I'm not so crazy about the Annex anymore - it seems to be a lot of cheap restaurants that's aren't so good. But I like the Danforth (which some people call Greektown). There's a place on the south side that we love for gyros - they always warn us that the lamb is a little fatty, but it's so delicious! South of there is old Chinatown east from Broadview along Gerrard. There's are 2 Vietnamese places (Mimi and Hanoi Three Seasons) that are pretty good. Further along Gerrard (towards Coxwell) is Little India. Lately I've been keen on Udupi Palace, but it's South Indian and vegetarian, so maybe you wouldn't like it (although the dosas are fabulous, so the channa masala). I live in Leslieville and there are a lot of restaurants in the area now. It's become more 'gentrified', so there are some really good restaurants. We really like the pizza at L'il Baci - they have a potato pizza that's delicious, and if the weather is good, they have a nice little patio.

Lots of good cheap restaurants in Toronto.

Oh, I agree about Queen Mother - it's really good.

Le Papillon - there are now 2 of them. One is on Front, but the one I've been to is further east towards the Beaches on Eastern Ave. The original owners each went there own way. I liked the one on Eastern - they have some Quebecois food and it was really tasty.

Can you tell I like to eat?

I didn't know that about Le Papillon, Susan. That's interesting. Whereabouts on Eastern? Can you give me a cross street? I miss the fireplace at the Church Street Le Papillon.

What you say about the Annex is exactly how I feel about College Street west of Palmerston. It's a great street for a summer night walk and a gelato and maybe a drink but despite the bazillions of restaurants, I've never had a fabulous meal there. Best of the bunch by far is Grappa but it's older and more old-style, not new and trendy.

oh, and if you like pulled pork sandwiches, my favorite example is from the black camel, a quasi-takeout joint a couple blocks north of bloor, just off yonge.

goddess - i've never tried le paradis, i'll have to check it out... i agree with you on le select - the food isn't great, certainly for the money, but that patio for a glass of wine in the summer is incredible...

I think you'll like le paradis, J. And then I'll feel proud that I recommended it! (However their patio is a dud.)

It's called Papillon on the Park, and it's on the south side of Eastern, just before Coxwell, I believe, before you get to the movie theatre. They have a fireplace, and I thought that it was quite nice inside.

I second garyt22 for both Kit Kat- drink specials nightly and especially the Queen Mother. They have plenty of bar seats or small tables that hardly fit 2 anyway. Queen Mother has a thai chef, so don't miss the Ping Gai- BBQ chicken and the sticky rice with peanut sauce appetizer.
The Hoof was packed last weekend for brunch, as was several restaurants along that strip, Saving Grace included. Take a stroll along Dundas West and see which one fits your bill.
Prague on Queen West near Czehoski (also a great place) served Eastern European from a counter with stools in the front. Tripe is always on the menu, but I've never eaten there.
The Village Idiot pub (across from the AGO) brings in a TV especially for the World Cup/Euro Cup games with garage doors that open and everyone on the sidewalk stops for a look.
For potato pizza- head to Terroni (meh) or Libretto! on Ossington at Dundas. Should be close to some old men's clubs in that area where soccer will be on... for sure.
Indian food is everywhere. I especially like Trimurti on Queen, but Gerrard East has a lot of Indian restaurants, but most of what I've liked there is South Indian.

I don't think anyone mentioned crepes yet- Bretonne Creperie on Queen West in the gallery district has the best. Cafe Crepe is a chain found in many places (Los Angelos), but they aren't bad. Cora's will have huge lines on the weekends, but they are only open for lunch and dinner and I personally can't get enough of the fruit filled, maple butter crepes there!

katlake has reminded me that if you're going to (or near) the AGO - Art Gallery of Ontario - check out Baldwin Street, just a block away for a nice selection of restaurants. If you don't mind eating on a bench outside, the Chinese bun place is great.

Lots of people like Wah Sing on Baldwin. I go there for the lobster with ginger and green onion.

Susan, thanks for that. I assume by 'the movie theatre' you mean the Beach? I'm out that way fairly often so I'll give it a try. We usually go to the Tulip when we're going to the movies out there.

So many yummy restaurants to eat at in Toronto, you'll definitely not run out of options in two weeks.

If you go to Mimi's for Vietnamese, be aware that they only take cash. It's a friendly, casual restaurant. Our family has been going for years. Hanoi Three Seasons is a touch more gourmet but still casual.

The last time I went to Le Papillon it wasn't very impressive. Nothing terribly wrong with the food, just not very exciting.

If you're wandering along the Danforth [between Pape and Broadview], you can take your pick of the dozen or so Greek restaurants while also finding Thai, Chinese, Pizza/Pasta, Irish (Allen's, also a good pub) and others. A tasty place for brunch or lunch is Mocha Mocha -- I love their BLT avocado sandwiches. For hearty breakfasts/brunch either the New Yorker Cafe on Broadview or the Detroit Diner offer good value for simple food.

If you're interested in Ethiopian food, you can find a few restaurants further east on the Danforth or out west on Bloor.

Have a great trip!