Our Vet has her office at the Williamsburg Plaza. Friday we had to stop in and get drugs for Puggy Molly. We noticed that a new Japanese Resto was having it's grand opening. We decided to try it out for lunch on Saturday.

Tomoya

325 Max Becker Dr. UNIT 102

Kitchener

519-749-9997

Scootor and I have a two pronged attack when dealing with Japanese Places. The first visit we order just appetizers the second visit we order Sushi. We ordered Gyoza( the Japanese version of pot stickers) Veggie Tempura, Yaki Tori(chicken on a skewer) which came atop a cute little brazier with a tea candle inside to keep the chicken warm, Calamari(squid) fried Oysters, and a salad bar. The dressing was so wonderful I drank what was left. Everything was terrific. The fried stuff was relatively grease free, the Gyoza were vegetarian and delicious, the Yaki Tori was yummy. Scoot and I thought it could have used a bit more sauce. The Calamari was totally unlike what I had imagined when I ordered it. It was all tentacles. Squid has a tendency to be very chewy but this, while al dente was very good. The Tempura was light and crisp. The veggies were also al dente which isn't my preference but Scoot likes his veggies crunchy. Now for the Oysters. I had my first experience with Oyster at the age of 12. I was staying in New York with my friend Karen Burke Murphy. Her father took us all out to Luchows, a famous eatery that has been around for ages. Her father, the head of the household, ordered for all of us. I was about as stunned as a 12 year old could be. I'd been ordering for myself for 10 years so what the hell is going on here? When the Apps. came I was presented with 6 Oysters on the half shell not only raw but still alive. I'd seen my parents eat clams on the half shell before but a shrimp cocktail was about as adventurous as I had gotten. I watched to see how it was done picked up a shell and knocked her back. It was like a giant phlegm ball. I chewed and chewed and I couldn't get it down. I finally had to spit it out into my CLOTH napkin. I offered the 5 remaining to everyone at the table. Faux pas yet again. Nobody EVER shared food of another's plate. It just wasn't done. I was so N.O.C.M.D.

Back to the Oysters. They came 6 on a lovely long plate with a nice ribbon of BBQ sauce. I ordered them because I feel it's silly to let a 12 year old dictate what a 60 year old can eat.

DRUM ROLL please. I bravely picked up the smallest Oyster and took a bite. It wasn't bad, good almost. Scoot picked one up and eyed it suspiciously. He popped it in his mouth and chewed. You'd have thought I have made him eat fishy Play Dough. He was not impressed, not one bit.

The remaining Oyster were mine by default and I ate every one. They weren't fishy but briny like the ocean. Maybe when I go to NOLA I'll be able to order an Oyster Po' Boy and not disgrace myself.

This place has the makings of a very nice place. You should go out and give it a try.

TTFN

Meg

Creme Brulee - Creme Brulee - I could eat you every day

The Keg is the Keg. It makes no apologies it is a steak house. Our Friday night dinner group has eaten there before and while the food is good(Red meat and lots of it) the noise is deafening. After a table change to one of the several alcoves we could sufficiently talk and be heard.

We all ordered our meat and sat back to wait for our carnivorous repast. Starters came and were universally good. I had a Caesar salad w/o croutons (I'm trying not to do wheat) and a whole lot of Parmesan cheese on top. It was very nice. Crisp lettuce. Scouter ordered a Flat-bread with tomato-basil salsa, mozzarella and a Balsamic reduction. Everyone loved it except me due to the wheat thing. It being Lobster Fest at the Keg their new App. was an Escargot dish with chunks of lobster covered with cheese. Tracy, who normally always shares, gobbled down the whole thing.

Tracy and her mother Marilyn took advantage of the Lobster Fest and ordered the Lobster encrusted Sirloin. I ordered the Filet Mignon without the bacon wrap and with steamed veggies and Asparagus. Gino, Tracy's father and Scoot ordered ribs and chicken. My steak was cooked perfectly. I like my meat blue rare and blue rare it came. Marilyn and Tracy liked their meat well enough but in a move I totally missed Tracy was persuaded to order something else. It had a seafood "crust'' but instead of all Lobster there were shrimp on top with "some" lobster. It was OK. Gino who isn't a complained was fine with his dinner but Scootor found both the ribs and the chicken were dry. Interestingly there was a half cob of corn wrapped in bacon on the plate suffering from a monumental lack of flavor. On the negative side I don't like their meat rub and would have preferred my steak au naturel. On the VERY positive side I really liked the BBQ sauce.

Drum roll please..........................................For dessert we had Creme Brulee. Oh my God it was delicious. It is the standard by which all Creme Brunets should be judged. No fruit or coulis or anything else that doesn't belong. Just plain light delicious custard and nothing else. The next time we go I'm just eating Creme Brulee.

So, dinner for 2 ended up at $93.00 with drinks, food, and dessert.

God that Creme Brulee - YUMMO!

Perogi Recipe (or if you're Jewish, Verenicas)

Dough:

1-Cup Flour
1 Egg
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
About 4 Tablespoons of Water

You may use the processor. Mix the flour, egg, and salt with enough water to make medium soft dough. Knead well. Let rest for an hour or so in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap.

Filling:

We use potato and fried onions. Leftover mashed potatoes are just fine. We like it oniony, very oniony. The recipe is to combine leftover mashed potatoes and fried onions and mix well. You can use fresh mashed but let them cool well. Taste the filling for salt and pepper.

My youngest likes potato and cheddar cheese, while Ryan (her boyfriend) adds bacon.

Roll the dough out until thin. You may cut into squares or use a nice sized glass or a cookie cutter. Place 1 teaspoon of filling in center of each dough piece. Pinch the edges really well to keep filling from escaping. If the edges don't stick, dab on a drop of water.

Cook in boiling salted water. They are done when they float to the top.

I like mine just boiled (hot or cold). Scoot prefers his fried (after boiling) - in butter, but you may use oil if you prefer. Arlene likes to add sautéed onions and crumble crisply cooked bacon on top.

Serve with sour cream. Yum yum yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meg

Feh!

It being Friday night, we all went to St. Louis Wings and Ribs on Northfield. It was awful - bloody awful as Arlene would say. As Scootor said it was barely OK. The four of us had the special of 6 wings and 3 ribs plus fries and little onion schnibbles. The fries were OK and so were the onion bits. I asked for honey garlic wings and plain ribs. When the plate arrived I grabbed my "succulent" ribs ready to jump into their wonderfulness anf found them stone cold and as far from yummy as they could be. I called the server over and very apologetically she took my plate away saying she'd bring me a new plate. What showed up 15 minutes later was my old plate and still no ribs. Another 20 minutes later when the ribs finally arrived they were warm, but I was full. The wings were small and dry and if there was any of the honey garlic sauce on them it was news to me. They dimmed the lights before we had ordered and it seemed like no one knew what" Inside Voices" were. All said this was not gastronomies finest hour, and I'd advise against a visit.

Meg

We Saw God!!!!! at Verses

May the 13th was my 60th birthday. My dearest Papa died the day before his 60th, so the 12th of May was fraught with concern. Our Friday dinner friends, Tracy and Al, went with us to celebrate to VERSES, my favourite restaurant. It is located on Victoria Street between Margaret and St. Leger streets. Transformed from an old church, it has a real cathedral feeling to it. The staff are both friendly and prompt. The kitchen is VERY user friendly. They respect everyone's food issues and will alter dishes whenever possible. This is so rare in restaurants. Our meals were almost perfection itself. Tracy and I decided to have just apps. You get more choice that way.

Tracy started with a lovely spinach salad. I had Kobe Beef 3 ways, and it was so delicious. It came with a little shooter of light green nectar - To die for. Next came the fois gras and the God part with apan-seared piece of Fois that defies all explanation. We both saw God! Even better were the 3 little shortbreads made with the fois fat. We swooned!!!!!!!!!! Sadly we were not to swoon again. The four seared scallops were sadly overcooked. The time it takes to go from cooked to latex is a few short seconds. The chef sadly miscounted. We told the boss this on the way out, and she would have liked to have been told earlier.

I just love this place. So if you want to have WONDERFUL food and a friendly good time go to VERSES. It's a little on the pricey side, but well worth every dollar. Just think how many bad expensive dinners you've had under the guise of "fine dining", and you put all that wasted money together, you'd be able to eat at VERSES every night! Check it out!

Meg