Pho Mi Gia Phung (House Noodle Restaurant)

Rated this place:

598 Gerrard St. E, Toronto, ON, M4M 1Y3

Need another visit to confirm thumbs up: I went on a reco from some foodie friends at work (Janel). I've been to about 10 Pho joints in Toronto and this is certainly the best value for your dollar. The XL pho bowl ($6.50) clearly violates the "never eat anything bigger than your head" rule. The ambiance may have been lacking, not sure, wasn't paying attention. Who looks for ambiance in a Pho restaurant anyhow?I skipped the regular pho and went straight for the Thai-style pho. While I thought it was really tasty, there was something that bugged me about it: It tasted like the chef had slopped some tom yam paste into his pho broth and called it "Thai Style". Hints of lemongrass and mushroom with wilted thai basil (already mixed into the broth) all conspired to be one flavour too many. Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving this place a thumbs-down - I suspect I just chose the wrong thing on the menu. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Pho Pasteur's 'Pho Satay Rare Beef'. Will try their regular Pho next.

Pho Pasteur Restaurant

Rated this place:

525 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON, M5T1H4

Pho Pasteur: The last time I went a week without having a #3, rare beef satay, (medium) Pho from Pho Pasteur was when my daughter was born. The resentment I hold against her for that will probably have to be worked out in therapy later on.

Diesel Fitness

Rated this place:

99 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON, M5V3P8

This gym is closed: Nicknamed "Cheese-el" by folks who don't need a goddam DJ spinning while they work out, this place closed about a year ago. Go figure. Apparently co-owner Josh Feuer split with a considerable amount of money owed to both clients and staff - not avery popular dude in Toronto.

Worst part of this whole closing fiasco to me was the deluge of gym-less douchebags that ruined the once-chill vibe at my beloved Totum Life Science around the corner.

Sadie's Diner

Rated this place:

504 Adelaide St. W, Toronto, ON

Sadie's Diner: Hipster douchbag hangout that makes fantastic vegetarian and vegan nosh.

Pho 88 Vietnamese Restaurant

Rated this place:

270 Spadina Av, Toronto, ON, M5T2E5

Pho 88: The Spadina Pho 88 has been renovated according to the stuff-white-people-like handbook, all designery and arty. Not that there's anything wrong with that... but the effort they put into the reno has somehow had a detrimental effect on their formerly-delicious Pho.Do yourselves a favor: Walk out of Pho 88, north till you hit Dundas, turn left (west), go 50 metres, enter Pho Pasteur and order up a Rare Beef (Satay) #3, eat it, then tell me it doesn't totally dominate Pho 88.P.S. I heard the other Pho 88 is still great.

Rasoee The Indian Kitchen

Rated this place:

140 Spadina Ave. Suite 101, Toronto, ON, M5V 2L4

Rasoee: Not so much. The staff were clearly bummed about being there and the size of the portions was really weak (I left really hungry). I understand they've gone though a bit of a re-analysis of their offering since I was in there. While I was in there, actually. They had this consumer-opinion guy armed with a video camera asking people in the dining area how rasoee could improve. So, take this review with a grain of salt - it could be improved now but my experience of the place, at the time, sucked.

Gandhi Roti

Rated this place:

554 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M5V2B5

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• roti