A few weeks ago, my friends and I went to try out Four. It's a new restaurant in the heart of corporate Toronto and it boasts healthy dishes only: all dishes are less than 650 calories.

I wasn't going to write about it because it was a huge disappointment. But after I read this article in the Globe & Mail, I decided that some truth needed to be shared.

I deliberately waited three weeks after opening to go. Although my dinner at Two Rosehill (this was many years ago; it's now called Rosehill Venue Lounge) on opening night was spectacular, I don't expect every restaurant to be like that. Some places have a lot of glitches to work out. Unfortunately, even after three weeks, Four still had several.

The reason everything is less than 650 calories is because it's just expensive, oversized tapas. The dishes are too big to be considered tapas, but too small to be considered full-sized main courses. Just because something is all natural and fresh doesn't mean that it's automatically good. If I took a fresh orange and squeezed it on a piece of fresh chicken, rolled it in organic cocoa powder and then steamed it, I doubt it'll taste fantastic. It might not taste horrible (though I suspect it will), but it certainly won't be the epitome of "yum."

The other thing I couldn't stand was the fact that the wait staff didn't know anything about the dishes. A fish dish was served up and there was a large pitcher with some sort of broth in it. When I said, "Wow. This is an elaborate set up. How do we eat this?" The response was, "I don't know." Oh great. So if the staff doesn't know, how the heck are customers supposed to know. Sheesh.

The desserts, though not special, were probably the best thing we got. The four of us (yes, four of us went to dinner at Four) all agreed that in future we'd come back just to have drinks and dessert, but the food was definitely overrated.

In 5 days, we had a fabulous time and here are the highlights the things we did them.

Food Memories

• Wonton Garden on Mott St:
  
  They don't have an official website, but this link will help you find it. As far as inexpensive Chinese food goes, this is pretty good. If you like soupy noodles, regardless of whether it's ho-fun, vermicelli, or chow mein, this is definitely a place to hit. The food is flavourful and the portions are substantial. It's your typical Chinese fast food venue, so it's got the sticky floors and condensate dripping HVAC ducts, but for $6 you can totally stuff yourself full.
• Balthazar really *is* worth the wait (luckily for us, we didn't have to wait). The food was delicious. The service was fantastic. And if you like the hubbub of a French bistro, you will love this place.
• What does it mean to go to Dim Sum with my Uncle? It means eating dim sum in rounds.
  • Round 1: Dim Sum dishes
  • Round 2: Fried dishes (noodles, rice, etc...)
  • Round 3: Dessert

So although I don't recommend that you gorge, I will say that no trip to New York City is complete without going for Dim Sum in one of New York City's many Chinatowns (side note: it's easier to find parking if you go to the Chinatown in Brooklyn).

• Dale & Thomas Kettlecorn is the best popcorn ever! I brought this stuff home and my mom was instantly addicted to it. That is only a significant tidbit of information because prior to trying Dale & Thomas, my mother has always hated popcorn.
• The Chinese bakery at 59th St. & 4th Ave in Brooklyn makes the best yuan yang (served in a Dunkin' Donuts cup).
• Whole Foods at Union Square is *way* better than Whole Foods in Yorkville. If the salad/food bar was *that* good at the Yorkville location, I'd eat lunch there every single day! Eating lunch here was fabulous. It's quick, it's healthy, and incredibly convenient if you're shoe shopping at DSW.
• Bubba Gump Shrimp... that's not real scampi! But it still tastes great.


• Going to brunch/lunch with my aunt means eating until you enter a food coma (recall, ice cream tempura)
• Garrett Popcorn is only good in Chicago. It just didn't taste the same in New York. The popcorn was harder
• I paid $3 for "the best hot dog" in the city (more details to follow in the Memories of New Yorkers section below)
• Ciro makes great pizza, but next time, we'll have it at the beginning of the trip instead of the end. Our particular favourite at Ciro is their Chicken Salad Pizza.
  It's basically an entire Chicken Salad spread over a pizza crust and baked. It sounds strange, but it tastes amazing! If you're ever out on Staten Island, this is definitely a place to stop for a meal.
• When we couldn't find Corner Bakery, we settled for the first Philly Cheesesteak place we could find. Big mistake. We should've went for *real* Philly Cheesesteak.
• Corner Bakery... it was just at 17th and JFK... our hotel was at 17th and Locust... and we wandered all over the place in the wrong directions because we didn't check the map before we left the hotel. bah... we'll know better for next time. Corner Bakery is good... but still better in Chicago.
• The complimentary spring water in our hotel room was opened. Ewww! Gross! But the hotel did send us unopened bottles of water when we mentioned it at the front desk.


• Just how much Starbucks did we drink on this trip anyways? Too much!

Memories of New Yorkers

• You don't need to search for knock-offs when standing on Canal St. If you wait long enough (i.e. less than 2 minutes) someone will ask you if you're interested in knock-offs or bootleg videos. How many times did we get approached? 6?
• Not only do the waiters at Balthazar's speak with a French accent... they actually speak French.
• Who says New Yorkers aren't friendly?! While waiting for a subway, we encountered a screenwriting professor from NYU. He overheard us talking about museums and then kindly informed us that The Met is closed on Mondays (rats!). But, he did tell us that The Museum of Modern Art was open, and he would've given us free passes if he hadn't left them in his office. He also helped out by directing us on what trains we could take to get there since there were many route changes due to summer maintenance. Amazing, the people you meet on the subway in Brooklyn.
• The security guard at the front door of the NBA store:
  • My Best Friend: Do you know what they're filming out there?
  • Security Guard: No
  • Me: You should kick them out. They're blocking the store front.
  • SG: lol
• The Egyptian hot dog vendor:
  • Me: I'd like a hot dog
  • Hot Dog Vendor: Just one?
  • Me: Yes. The best one you've got.
  • HDV: I've got the best in the city
  • Me: laughs
  • HDV: Where are you from?
  • Me: Toronto
  • HDV's friend: Have you ever been to Montreal?
  • Me: I was born there
  • HDV's friend: I'm from Egypt. Very far from Montreal.
  • Me: Uh... yeah.
  • HDV: So have you ever been to an Arabic cafe?
  • Me: No
  • HDV: Then you must go. We can go. We have two pairs. You two and us two.
  • Me: Maybe some other time
  • HDV: When?
  • Me: We'll come find you

Shopping Memories

• How many pairs of shoes did we try on in DSW? My best friend should've bought the Jimmy Choo's. They were only $400; marked down from $1300.
• How many times did we go back into DSW and Filene's Basement just to use the restroom? I guess that happens when you spend all morning shopping and eating lunch at Union Square.
• And we finally found Balducci's.
  I love gourmet grocery stores. I could live there. The closes thing we've got in Toronto is Pusateri's, but Balducci's is much better.
• Remember what happened when we stumbled upon Dale and Thomas? We both exclaimed "Popcorn!" And then, two days later, when we saw Garrett, we did the same thing. We're such geeks.
• How much Bath & Body Works stuff did we (ahem... I) buy?
• How many long distance calls did we make on the iPhone at the Apple Store on 5th Ave?
  • Me: Hi, hunny! I'm calling you on an iPhone at the Apple Store
  • Boyfriend: You called just to torment me?
  • Me: Now you can tell people you talked on the iPhone... sort of.
  • Boyfriend: Argh!
    side note: the boy is dying for an iPhone to use in Canada

Show Memories

• Avenue Q was so funny. It was worth the wait in that long tkts line. It's too bad we had to deal with that scary usher at the John Golden Theatre when your camera flash went off... and the jerk who snitched on you.
• The Michael Bublé concert was the whole purpose of this trip. The perfect end to a perfect holiday. Although it was insanely hot, and despite the fact that this was an outdoor venue (the Mann Center), I think it was a sensational concert and I'm glad I was able to share this trip with my best friend.