With March break right around the corner you might be looking to take a trip to “escape” (probably not the best choice of word considering the winter we’ve had here in Toronto) the winter blues. Before you go rushing out to your local travel agent (sorry, but they have the worst prices from my experience and unless you need their knowledge they are a waste of time), here are some cheap travel tips for booking travel online within Canada.

Before I get started I will try to explain why I think I am qualified to write this kind of article. During the last 6-7 years I have spent a lot of my free time traveling around the world. Most years I have ended up taking between 3-5 trips all over the place including the USA, Caribbean (including cruises), Mexico, South America and Europe. Since there is nothing more that I hate in the world than being ripped off, I have spent extensive amounts of time doing research for each of these trips just so that I can get the best prices. I travel at all different times of the year so I am familiar with the high and low seasons and often will book my travel around these things (because my schedule is flexible it allows me to do so).

Here are some of my best tips when it comes to booking travel online: Continue Reading »

Last month I wrote an article titled Toronto Cheap Eats January 2012. My goal is to keep this as a regular post with this blog, so I have decided to do a round-up of some of my favourite cheap eats in Toronto that I have had over the past month.

Seor Ak San – Chinatown

I first discovered this Spadina gem after reading many great reviews about Seor Ak San on Yelp. I am a huge fan of dol sot bibimpab (a Korean style stir-fry served in a stone-pot) and when I heard they were known for their version of this dish I decided to give them a try. Since my first visit just a few months ago I have already returned for a second visit. They are most well known for their Pork Bone Soup and their various Bibimbap dishes ($8.95-$9.95), so I tried both. Both dishes were very tasty and one of the great things about Korean restaurants is you get a number of side dishes (banchan) included with your meal. My only complaint is their dishes lack spice, so order things extra spicy to try to compensate. Total price for 2 was just over $19 with a drink! (I will do a much more detailed review for them soon!)

Pork Bone Soup ($6.95)

Stone Pot Bibimbap w/ Bulgogi ($8.95)

The Overdraught – Union Station Continue Reading »

Up until last night I had never even heard of a place called Chefydrew’s so this was probably the last place I would have expected to be writing my next review about. To be honest, I hate the name and their menu screams out “avoid” to me. I really only stumbled across the restaurant after my girlfriend gave me a free $10 on Groupon’s  “Now Deals” (a section for deals that must be purchased and used the same day). When I saw there was a restaurant with things like Curry Goat, Jerk Chicken, and Oxtail (note I am a huge fan of Jamaican cooking – it’s probably my favourite thing in the world) I knew it was going to be an easy choice. After doing a quick search on Google for some overall very positive reviews I decided to give it a shot.

Chefydrews is located at 255 Dundas St E in the Toronto Downtown core (about a 5-10 minute walk from the Eaton Center). I arrived to the restaurant around 8:30pm which is quite late for most people and have to say the area is not one of the nicest in the city to be in late at night. From the outside the restaurant didn’t really look like much and it was almost empty inside but I figured I would still give it a try. Upon entering the restaurant it was as I had expected, empty other than a few staff hanging around by the bar chatting. I took a seat and waited for a menu to be dropped off. The interior was pretty basic, almost a bit bright for my liking, but I was here for the food so I could care less what the place looked like.

Chefydrew's Inside (Pic from their Facebook Account)

After waiting about 5-10 minutes without anyone coming over I started to get concerned and a little annoyed. I chalked this up to the laid back nature of most Caribbean people which is one of the nicest things about the islands, but when you are hungry it is quite the opposite. It wasn’t until another person entered the restaurant as me at the same time (there to visit the owner) left that I had realized what had happened. They had thought I was with him and was just sitting down waiting for him. Andrew (aka chefydrew himself) came by and was very apologetic for the confusion, which I completely understood. Regardless, it was time to eat, and Andrew handed me the menu to look over. Continue Reading »

A few weeks ago I was invited to come check out Pachuco restaurant, a new Mexican spot in Toronto, for their “blogger preview”. In exchange for getting some exposure they offered to comp 2 items on the menu per table that attended. They label themselves as a “Modmex” restaurant, though I am not too sure what that means exactly other than a guess that they are trying to do a modern twist to traditional Mexican dishes. As a huge fan of good Mexican food, I decided to check them out and went with my girlfriend Amanda.

The restaurant is located on the Danforth in the basement of the owner’s other restaurant, Embrujo Flamenco (at Danforth and Broadview). Upon entering I have to say that they have done an excellent job on decoration and the place has a cool, trendy vibe to it that a lot of the recent popular restaurants have been going with (ie. Chalkboards, Things That Light Up, Slightly Dark, Lots of Wood etc.). Here are a couple of shots on the inside:

Pachuco Inside / Bar

"Musician, Poet & Crazy" a reference to this movie

Up first was our drink order. Since I was driving that night I opted for their Hibiscus Lemonade (as I drank a fair bit of a similar drink called Jamaica on my last visit to Mexico) and Amanda went for a Mojito. Continue Reading »

Since I haven’t written any reviews or blog posts lately I figure I would do a weekly round-up of some of the best cheap eats I have enjoyed over the past few weeks in Toronto. Here is a collection of a few places on all corners of the downtown core:

Buster’s Sea Cove – St Lawrence Market

I must have passed this place so many times over the years of going to the Market but finally got around to trying them out. I noticed they had a sandwich menu, and lately I have been on the lookout for a good fish sandwich. I asked the gentleman working the counter which he recommended and he said it depended if I wanted something grilled or fried. I opted for grilled, and he suggested trying the Salmon Sandwich. The sandwich had a great bread to content ratio and there was lots of excellent flavour. I will definitely head back here for future visits to the market when I am looking for something to eat.

Buster's Sea Cove Salmon Sandwich ($8.95)

The Real Jerk – Leslieville Continue Reading »