#Instaweekend | West End Hot Spots to East End Eateries

This weekend was a busy one for the VTV team. From west-end hot spots to east-end eateries, we were all over the place. Here’s our weekend according to Instagram…

Adam’s Eats | @amazerall | Instagram: amazerall
I started the weekend off at UNION 72 on Ossington with a couple prime ladies. Their Manhattans are killer, as are their apps. We dined on the char-grilled scallops atop pearl barley with celeriac, which were perfectly cooked and came as a trio. A great three-person share plate. Alongside we had the steak tartare, which is now one of my favourites in the city. Just great quality, high-grade beef that hasn’t been overly doctored, served with a habanero jelly, a grainy and a dijon mustard, and some buttery rye. Perfection. And, of course, a dozen oysters graced the table with three toppers, including an uber-tasty thai chili cilantro mignonette.

If all that weren’t enough, I swapped my duo of divas for a duo of dudettes, and we went over to the boisterous Triple A Bar at Jarvis and Adelaide. A few beers later, we ordered up some fish tacos which were rather interesting. The flavours were nice to be sure, and the portions massive (bang for your buck!), however I personally like a bit less breading on my fish when a carb-loaded taco shell is the vessel for olfactory satisfaction. But that’s just me…

Saturday morning apres-French class, I met up with another gal pal and we ran over to Rosedale Diner for some brunchin’. In the mood to be somewhat healthy, I got the roasted granola with fresh fruit, yogurt and honey, and then a super green arugula salad with a champagne vinaigrette. I’d make the same decision next time…

Obviously I couldn’t round out the weekend without a trip to The Combine Eatery to see my sister-from-another-mister Ms. Amy and the rest of the Combine family. The Dad’s Egg Casserole called my name like nobody’s business. Not a drop of chorizo, runny yolk, or roasted potato was left in the skillet.

Then Sunday night dinner plans were made on the fly with my P-I-C as we had no specific craving and no desire to leave the DT vicinity. I wanted something from the sea, she wanted something from the barn, so Biff’s it was… or not. They were closed for a private function, so we wandered aimlessly until we found ourselves in front of Le Papillon on Front. We started with the scallops and celeriac and the Caesar salad. I’d order the scallops again in a heartbeat.

My main was the plat du jour, a perfectly pan-seared piece of salmon with a creamy mustard sauce that had caramel notes and just a slight saltiness. Delightful. And we split the creme brulee and pudding chomeur (kind of like a French bread pudding, just more cake-like in texture) before calling it a night and rolling home.

Nicki’s Eats | @ViewTheVibe | Instagram: viewthevibe
Ms. Nicks didn’t take too heavily to social media this weekend. Sometimes we all need a break, right? However she did get a bit shutter-happy Sunday night during her dad n’ daughter date at Local Kitchen and Wine Bar. Their take on the traditional Caesar salad graced the duo’s table, comprising kale, pears, pecorino, and prosciutto.

Monsieur Laborie tried out the duck egg penne with pancetta and Sicilian tomato basil sauce, while the doting daughter had some bison tartare.

And, for dessert, Local served up a lovely trio of Italian deliciousness. I think I have to follow in Nicki’s footsteps and make my way westward…

Jason’s Eats | @j_finestone | Instagram: finest_one
Monsieur Jason was also a bit MIA this weekend – thank heavens I got around because my counterparts were otherwise occupied with actual life happenings – however he did launch his weekly break with a stop at Belly Buster Subs for some gobbledee goodness, before finishing up the prep for his charity hockey tournie held on Sunday.