The Addisons Residence launched about 2 weeks ago, and I had the pleasure of attending their launch party. The new lounge now occupies the space that used to house C-Lounge on Wellington Street. From the outside, it was difficult to gauge that this was a lounge, as there was no signage at the front. Rather, the building looked quite unassuming, but there was a number clearly displaying #456, and a tongue-in-cheek doormat at the front.



"EVERYONE KNOWS THE ADDISONS
THROW THE BEST PARTIES."

The concept behind The Addisons Residence is that it's the home of a fictional family called The Addisons, who were known to throw spectacular parties. There were plenty of photographs of the family displayed near the main entrance to play into the concept. I definitely do think that this idea sets them apart from other lounges in the area, as they brought something different to the table. Overall, I really enjoyed the ambiance, and space of The Addisons Residence. I'd say that it's a great place to drink, dine, and connect with new and old friends.

 ** Photography of the interior are all by Joel Levy.  Provided courtesy of The Addisons Residence **


Address: 456 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON, M5V 1E3

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Addisons-Toronto

Instagram: https://instagram.com/theaddisonsto/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theaddisonsto

Website: http://www.theaddisonsto.com/

Disclaimer: The food, and alcohol provided in this post was complimentary. However, all of the opinions expressed in this review are of my own.

&Company Resto Bar is a unique venue located in Mississauga; just steps away from Square One Shopping Centre. The restaurant was established in 2011, and has since become a local hot spot. &Company Resto Bar offers contemporary dinner service in the evening, and then slowly transitions into an entertainment venue at night. Their slogan is "Life's better when you're in good company". Coincidentally, I was invited to dine at &Company Resto Bar for both a Zomato Meetup, and to check out their revamped menu headed by a new Executive Chef in the same week. This blog reflects both of my visits to &Company Resto Bar.

First off, I am going to start with their revamped menu headed by their new Executive Chef Ron Stratton. He was hired in November 2014, and came with over 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, as he has worked in several fine dining establishments all over Canada. He has revamped the menu to center on "fine familiar" cuisine. Basically, Executive Chef Ron Stratton is taking familiar and conventional dishes, and providing a more creative take on them using high quality ingredients.

J got the Caesar Medley ($13) - candied bacon, crisp egg, and grana padano tuile on a bed of romaine hearts with red wine vinegar dressing. The chef's take on the uncut bed of romaine lettuce was a refreshing take indeed, as I have never seen a Caesar salad served this way before. Although J was not too fond of having to cut his own lettuce, he did thoroughly enjoy the crisp egg, and the tangy red wine vinegar dressing.

For my appetizer, I went with the Crispy Thai Calamari ($15) - flash-fried calamari with pickled vegetable salad and green curry coconut veloute. Out of all the appetizers that I have tried at &Company Resto Bar, this was by far my favorite. I loved how light the green curry coconut veloute sauce was, as it wasn't overwhelming at all. Additionally, the calamari themselves were crispy without being overly oily or heavily fried.

 For my main, I opted for the Hickory Smoked Burger ($27) - 8 oz. AAA beef patty stuffed with hickory smoked mozzarella, topped with crisp bacon, sunny side egg, rustic tomato ketchup, and lemon aioli, "Fred's" brioche bun with a side of root chips and signature dip. The burger was priced higher than average, but it was a large and generously packed burger. I thought that the hickory smoked mozzarella, and lemon aioli, added great flavor to the burger. Overall, I was impressed with both the presentation and taste, as the 8 oz. AAA beef patty was thick, and juicy. As for the fries, I was expecting thinner cut ones, but the side of root chips had an interesting crunchy texture to it.

 

For J's main, he chose the USDA ($36) - in-house dry aged 10 oz. steak with Ontario goat cheese scalloped potatoes, ratatouille vegetables and veal jus.


We shared the dessert, Brownie Banana Split ($12) - dark chocolate brownie with a banana spring roll, seasonal berry compote, ice cream and sorbet. The first thought that came to mind was that it was beautifully presented. I liked that the chocolate brownie topped with seasonal berry compote wasn't overly sweet. Additionally, the well-wrapped banana spring roll was a nice touch to what is normally a standard dessert. Perfect treat for chocolate lovers.

A couple days prior to the revamped meal tasting (reviewed above), I was invited to a 7-course meal tasting for a Zomato Meetup. Please note that the meal was a tasting menu so the portions served were not full-sized items.

A small team of bloggers started off with the amuse bouche - in-house smoked Ontario pork, oven roasted tomato salsa, crisp lettuce, cilantro crema, and corn tortilla. The smoked pork was served on a crunchy corn tortilla, and complemented the flavors of the toppings well.

The next item that we tried was two pieces of Cheese Sticks - in-house smoked mozzarella, Challah crusted, Arrabbiata sauce, which is on their late night menu. This was the chef's take on a traditional snack, as they were lightly seasoned and breaded. Overall, the cheese sticks were nice and crunchy, and the perfect complement to the thick spicy sauce.

Our second course was a Slider - AAA beef patty topped with marinated bocconcini, "Fred's" brioche bun, rustic tomato ketchup, and lemon aioli; another item on their late night menu. I liked the slider a lot, so I was pleasantly pleased when I realized that their Hickory Smoked Burger was the large burger version of it. The beef patty was extremely tender, and the marinated bocconcini was a wonderful addition.

The third course was the Duck Confit Poutine - hand cut Russet chips topped with Brome Lake duck leg confit, marinated curds, Tarragon gravy and crisp onions. Since this was a tasting menu, this was not the full portion of the dish. Some of the people at the table were not too fond of the idea of ducks (images of dead ducks hanging from the windows in Chinatown resonates in their minds). However, I grew up eating a lot of duck meat, so I was very familiar with this type of meat. The poutine dressed with duck confit did not disappoint. The Tarragon gravy added great flavor to the dish without overpowering the curds or duck.

Our fourth course can be found on their starters menu. We tried a piece of their Jumbo Tempura Shrimp - lime tempura with seasonal vegetables, and rice wine vinegar. The tempura shrimp was pretty standard, but I did like that the shrimp that they used was indeed jumbo size.

We had a quick intermezzo, where we were served raspberry sorbet with candied lemon, as a palate cleanser.

Next up was the sixth course, where we were served Salmon Wellington - Chinook salmon filet with light puff pastry, sweet corn puree, and red wine jus. I cannot recall any recent restaurants that serve salmon en croûte on their menu, so this was a nice surprise. Furthermore, the lightly seasoned salmon was stuffed with spinach, and the puff pastry was perfectly browned.

 This is going to be an extremely short review as it was a pick-up order for my family. Congee Wong is my family's go-to restaurant for some Chinese food uptown. They offer quick service, consistent food and the prices are good for what you get. It's not amazing by any means, but it sure gets you full as the portions are big. Congee Wong has an extensive menu offering a wide variety of Chinese dishes between $10-20 each. I called for pick-up, and the entire food order was ready in 20 minutes (all packed to go), which was nice. The overall food quality that night was pretty good, and my favorite was the stir-fried lobster with ginger.

Address: 10 Ravel Rd, North York, ON M2H 1S8

I have also been the Congee Wong that is attached to the T&T at Promenade Mall on several occasions. This location is a lot smaller, but it does get busy on the weekend. Service leaves a lot to be desired for, but the food has been pretty consistent with all of their other locations.