Good times, good food

We had a fun weekend with some out-of-ordinary food activities.

On Friday night, we went to dinner at a restaurant which is usually "fusion Italian + Cuban" (sounds strange, and when I first read their menu online it was mostly pasta-ish), but as part of the Toronto WinterCity event, they were offering a "Winterlicious" prix fixe menu with Cuban food. We had not heard of the restaurant, and were even skeptical when we saw it was in a small side dark street. The only reason I picked it when I was browsing through restaurant's winterlicious menu:  Ropa Vieja with sweet potato mash, and Steak with chimichurri and sweet potato fries. Need I say more :)  Started with a caesar salad w/ bacon and a grilled calamari with pistachio pesto, followed by the two mains above. The food was amazing and super delicious. The calamari was warm and perfectly cooked, and the pesto sauce was a nice touch. The bacon was yummingly crispy. As a plus, we got a table by the window (with a nice heater to keep us toasty warm) with candles on the windown sill. We were also surprised at the amount of people and the environment. The place was dark and cozy, and the people seemed like regulars - they knew the waiter and the waiter knew them. We later read an article which listed this place in the top 10 restaurants to try for Winterlicious. :)  *We also got dessert, but unfortunately my stomach starting acting up (not related to the food, though) that we asked for the desserts to go. We thought they wouldn't do that for a prix fixe, but we saw another table ask for it since they were running late to a play/show. Creme caramel with pineapple sauce and coconut chocolate cake awaits me at the end of this post.

Saturday night, we invited some friends over for "Make your own tostada night".  We had the chicken, beef and carnitas, with the regular fixings (cheese, tomatoes and lettuce) and the twist of tzatziki instead of sour cream. Yummy. Our friends brought some apple pie and berry pie to top the night off.

Today was a lazy Sunday, starting with really good ramen for lunch at this japanese ramen place - nothing better on a cold winter afternoon - and turkey chili (with tostadas on the side) to end the weekend.