Figures packs a POW in Yorkville

Location:  Figures Restaurant (prev. Coco Lezzone)
Address:    137 Avenue Rd
Phone:      416-900-1022
Website:   www.figuresto.com
Social:      @figurestoronto

Owner:  Patrick & Nader Marzouk (&Company Resto Bar)
Chef:     Ron Stratton (&Company Resto Bar, Centro, Auberge du Pommier)

When you walk by this Avenue Rd storefront you aren't quite sure what it is with the red velvet stancions in front and the name Figures and a cartoon bubble beside it.  You peek inside and you see a Mickey Mouse sculpture and a wall of old comic books and a display of Comic Book Figures and collectibles but if you know the secret then you know there is a restaurant behind those comic book covered walls and the storefront employees are your restaurant hostesses as well as retail staff for the figures that are for sale.

As you step through the comic book covered doors you enter a whole other world.  There is a large commissioned original Art wall of Comic book figures that is both modern and classic with Mickey Mouse to the current Wonder Woman and Iron Man images.  But shhhhh,  it's all a Secret.  They don't want anyone taking photos of it because they want you to go there to experience it.  The restaurant is midsize with booths on the lower level and tables and the bar steps up from the entrance.  There is also other art on the ceiling like Pacman and a Barbie Time Magazine poster.  This is no Disneyland restaurant though,  it's made for the modern Action movie Marvel type fans who like to eat in upscale restaurants.

They don't publish their menu on their website because they want to be able to change it by the produce they have to work with.  It's not a crazy food menu but you do have to be open to eating a lot of different things to enjoy it because it won't be predictable.

Their Cocktail Menu will probably have more consistent favourites and they are pricey but they are also show stoppers and Instagram worthy.  They were created by a Michelin trained chef and they are named after movies and characters.   My friend ordered 3 cocktails but I chose the Bramble Bee, the more fruit flavoured drink.  All of the drinks are made with house made juices.  I tried the Maleficent drink and it was fantastic. It also looks really cool and arrives with a lime on top that is lit on fire.

Maleficent $19

Rarely on Target $20

Le Diable Blanc $1

COCKTAILS

Maleficent - J.P Wiser's Double Still Rye, Bruchiaddich Cassic Laddie, Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice, Cashew Orgeat, Fresh Sage, Activated Charcoal, Angostura Bitters  $19
Bramble Bee - Havana Club, Passion Fruit Juice, Pineapple Juice $14
Rarely on Target - Bacardi Maestro, Dillon's Absinthe, Egg White, Lime Juice, Pineapple Cordial, Almond Oregeat, Coconut Milk  $20
Le Diable Blanc: rye, Remy Martin VSOP, Dubonnet, Benedictine, fino sherry, Creole bitters. $19
Le Diable Blanc: rye, Remy Martin VSOP, Dubonnet, Benedictine, byrrh, fino sherry, Creole bitters. $19

The Menu is split up in into the sections for Earth, Sea and Land.  These are the dishes we sampled.

EARTH

Beet, Chevre Truffle $14

Fettuccine Pasta with Chanterelle Macadamia sauce $22

SEA

Cherrystone Clams, Fava Beans, Kathi Lime $16

Octopus Escabeche Black Garlic $20

Lump Crab, Watercress, Old Bay $26

Lobster claw, salad, Egg Caviar $38

LAND
Oxtail Plantain, Red Stripe  $18  (photo too dark to use)

DESSERT

White chocolate brownie, rum soaked banana "spring roll", rum ice cream $14

The stand out dishes were the Lump Crab Cake, perfectly seasoned with the cake and crab salad,  and the braised Oxtail in Red Strip was sweet, savoury and very tender. It was probably the best value for your money.   Their fresh made pasta with chanterelle mushroom and Macadamia nut sauce was really well made and the crunch from the nuts added some great texture.
I really liked the preparation of the lobster claw.  Coated in a panko crust it was perfectly cooked but the portion was pretty small.

Figures is a bit out of the way I think because it's not near any attractions so it's more of a destination restaurant and a place you take a date you want to impress or to celebrate a special occasion.  It's a great place to have fantastic cocktails if you have a lot of cash to spend or you are a lightweight in the drinking game.

The restaurant is really beautiful and the staff provided a lot of assistance in explaining everything.

We didn't select our dishes and I wish we were able to because there are other dishes I would have liked to try.

This would be a great place to go for dinner before seeing the next Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Iron Man etc.  movie.  You get the picture.  It's a super fans dream restaurant.

Be prepared for an adventure.


*Disclaimer:  The meal was complimentary but the opinions and photos are my own.

Paramount Fine Foods introduces new menu items.

Paramount Fine Foods introduced a New Menu recently and I stopped in to the Yorkville restaurant to sample some of the new dishes.

You want to try everything but it's a lot of food for a couple of people but my friend and I sampled the new smokey spiced BBQ Chicken Wings which had a really great grilled slightly spiced flavour.  Our favourite was the Yalla Special which is fries topped with Chicken shawarma and garlic tehini sauce.  Who knew that tehini could be the new fries condiment but it really worked.  Think garlic fries and mayo and you will get it.

We tried the Mezze plate,  it had 2 mezze's including hummus, tabbouleh and a fantastic eggplant dip that I couldn't stop eating with the massive hot fresh pitas.  We also sampled the Shredded Chicken Saj Wrap which is served Tabliyeh style , on a wooden board.  Another great dish was the BBQ shrimp plate, it's served on basmati rice with a tomato and garlic sauce and pickles on the side.  The shrimp had the just off the grill taste and they were perfectly cooked.

Paramount Fine Foods restaurants are popping up all over the place and they have 30 restaurants to date. They are the fastest growing Halal Middle Eastern restaurant chain.  You can even get their food delivered through the Just Eat delivery app.

It's nice to see a restaurant chain that serves real healthy food and that's probably why they have grown so much in the past year.

I am sure you will find one in your area soon if you don't have one already.

For additional information, location and their menu visit their website: www.paramountfinefoods.com




*disclaimer- I was provided a sample meal but have not been compensated for this post.  Opinion and photos are my own.

When Health meets taste you get RAWLICIOUS

When you think of Raw food or Organic Healthy food what do you think of? Bland, boring, healthy, dull food? Well it doesn't have to be that way. There is a good example of a place that makes it work in Yorkville and a few other locations and that's RAWLICIOUS restaurant on Cumberland St. I visited it today for lunch. It followed a healthy tour of the Big Carrot Grocery store on the Danforth for healthy shopping consultation with Julie Daniluk the Healthy Gourmet's nutritionist. I wanted to show the subject of the film we were shooting that there are places to eat at in Toronto that are healthy while still feeling like you aren't sacrificing taste.

First up we all ordered the Red Pepper Soup. It wasn't exactly raw as it was roasted red pepper soup and it was hot but it was really delicious and hit the spot on a cold day. It had a fresh roaster pepper full flavoured taste that just felt like comfort.

Next we ordered a couple of Taco flavoured creations. I ordered the Taco Salad and my lunch mate ordered the Taco Wrap. Similar but slightly different. The salad had a nice kick of spice that really perked up your taste buds. I am not usually a salad person but the avocado and taco flavourings sounded like huge flavour to me....and it was. I would go back for this salad anytime. It came with a couple of some kind of tortilla chip but I am not sure exactly what it was made of but it was something that was probably made in a dehydrator.
This is my Taco Salad:

This is the Taco Wrap:

it's wrapped in collard greens.

This place was a lovely little place on Cumberland St. just west of Yonge Street. The service was really good as well so it was a really great healthy lunch experience. I would recommend it if you need to skip the junk food and eat something that will help you get through your day.

They have a few locations but we were closest to Yorkville so that's the one we tried.

It really is RAWLICIOUS