Magnum Ice Cream - Bullet to the Head

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Date visited: August 17, 2013

Time: 4:30 pm

Party Size: 7

Price: $6 including tax

Website: http://www.magnumicecream.ca/Home.aspx

Food consumed:
- Chocolate ice cream bar dipped in dark chocolate with all 21 ingredients - $6
Some of the ingredients include: bacon bits (can never go wrong with it), nerds, honeycomb, chocolate rice krispies, rose petals, chili, crushed popcorn, pistachios.

Pictures of food consumed: (Click on images to enlarge)

From a different angle

Review of Restaurant:

• Why did I come to this restaurant?

After seeing all the hype all over Facebook, my friends decided to check out this pop-up store which is opened until August 30, 2013. The location used to be a FCUK store, but Magnum took over for a few months.

• What did I think of the service?

We waited 1 hour to get our ice cream, we started the line-up at the edge of H&M, so there were like 20 people in front of us. The staff maintained the line and asked people to move closer to the store as to not impede pedestrian traffic. There is no pushing and shoving like they do in China.

• How did my sensitive stomach feel?
  

My stomach felt woozy after all the sugar, spices and other mishmash of ingredients that went into my ice cream bar. Never ask for all 21 ingredients. I tried to maximize $/ice cream bar by loading as many ingredients as possible. The first bite was sweet, then spicy, spicy and lastly spicy. The chili overwhelmed all the other flavours.

City of Toronto Inspection Report

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Source: http://www.toronto.ca/health/dinesafe/index.htm?show=detail&id=111462

Magnum is opened/organized by Mosaic, some marketing company. As it opens from June 27 to Aug 30, 2013, I don't expect any inspection infractions.

The only thing that worried me was that the servers used their hands to mop the discarded ingredients on the counter to the floor. My server used her hands to mop it into the "drink mixer", which I initialled thought would be reused. However, I ordered lots of peanuts on my ice cream bar, therefore, I came to a conclusion that they wash the drink mixers after each use. If someone gets a peanut allergy from this, the company can be sued and it will leave a big legal mess in which the lawyers always win. It's all assumptions, what you don't see if what worries you the most.

About the title, magnum is a cartridge/round/shell. The ice cream bar reminds me of a cartridge. Come arrest me, I'm a psycho killer. Anyway, this also reminded me of the movie Bullet to the Head, starring Silvester Stallone.

The plot is predictable, full of lame one-liners, bad acting, cheesy fight sequences, macho men fighting, just like the ice cream bar. You can buy this at the grocery store, for a fraction of the price; it's gimmicky, buy the ingredients yourself, it's cheaper; big company opening a pop-up store. Your time in action movie is done. I thought this was a comedy movie. I was laughing my head off with my sister.

My review score of the ice cream store is the same as the movie. A 5.7 of out 10.

VERDICT: Save the bullet. You're just shooting yourself in the foot.

YOLO - The Story of My Life

Adam Samberg and his compatriots from The Lonely Island are the best!

Skip to 1:42 for the reason why I posted this. It also features an accountant =) at 2:00.

My stomach is grateful to be of your service. Sacrificing myself for the greater good.

Here's the Jimmy Fallon version which is also awesome.

E11even - Bad Boy Burger

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Date visited: May 31, 2013

Time: 7:00 pm

Party Size: 2

Price: $25 plus tax and tips

Website: http://www.e11even.ca/

Food consumed:
- Maple burger (Guinness cheddar, double smoked bacon, roasted garlic aioli) - $25
- 16 oz Sapporo - $8

Pictures of food consumed: (Click on images to enlarge)

Review of Restaurant:

• What did I think of the burger/service/overall?

They give you a steak knife to eat the burger. A STEAK KNIFE! This is a first for a burger for me. I found the burger was salty mostly due to the bacon. If Toronto Life never recommended this burger to me, I would have never sat down to order this burger. I would not recommend this burger, especially for $25. There are cheaper places that provide better value for the burger like Burger Priest or Golden Star.

• How did my sensitive stomach feel?
  

My stomach was bloated the whole evening which may have been due to the lack of snacks during my afternoons at work. Note to self, keep a drawer full of snacks to eat between lunch and dinner time.

City of Toronto Inspection Report

Source: http://www.toronto.ca/health/dinesafe/index.htm?show=detail&id=105099

100% pass rate! A+, they deserve a sticker! At the price they serve their food, this doesn't surprise me.

VERDICT: This restaurant is for the rich, Lobster Mac and Cheese for $18!?! I wouldn't recommend the burger.

I like the envelope in which the bill comes in.

Big Smoke Burger + Kinton Ramen + Greg's Ice Cream = The Russian Roulette

This post will take an unusual format. It will feature the three restaurants I frequented on August 3, 2013. Explanation to follow.

Big Smoke Burger

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Address: Toronto Eaton Centre 220 Yonge St Toronto, ON M5B 2L7

Date visited: August 3, 2013

Time: 12:00 pm

Party Size: 2

Price: $6.99 plus tax

Website: http://bigsmokeburger.com/

Food consumed: Craft burger (sautéed mushrooms, rosemary garlic mayo, lettuce & tomato)

Pictures of food consumed: (Click on image to enlarge)

Review of Restaurant:
The burger was juicy, it was dripping the minute I lifted it off the plate. However, one bite and the taste of the beef was tasteless. They need to season the meat. Sauteed mushroom and the sauce was good, but here are better tasting patties around.

City of Toronto Inspection Report

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Source: http://www.toronto.ca/health/dinesafe/index.htm?show=detail&id=106055

The city has the wrong address, it should be on Yonge Street, not Dundas Street.

February 9, 2012 - Operate food premise - fail to keep facility in good repair

October 18, 2012 - Operator fail to properly maintain rooms

Just minor infractions, nothing major.

Kinton Ramen

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Address: 51 Baldwin St, Toronto, ON M5T 1L1

Date visited: August 3, 2013

Time: 4:00 pm

Party Size: 2

Price: $13.80 plus tax and tips

Website: http://kintonramen.com/

Food consumed: Lunch Combo Special which includes:
- Ramen (Miso rich soup with pork shoulders)
- Calpico/Calpis drink (extra $1)
- Side dish (wasabi ton don)

Pictures of food consumed: (Click on images to enlarge)

Review of Restaurant:
For the extra $3 combo price, you get a drink and a puny side dish. Though the side dish was good, they used Japanese rice and I believe shreds of the pork used in the ramen. The drink was in a very small cup. However, I found the combo is a big rip off. I would rather get the Extra Pork Ramen which cost the same but has so much more meat.

City of Toronto Inspection Report

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Source: http://www.toronto.ca/health/dinesafe/index.htm?show=detail&id=108099

November 29, 2012 - Operate food premise - mechanical equipment not constructed to provide clean wash water (Significant)

October 18, 2012 - Operator fail to properly wash surfaces in rooms

Japanese owned, I expect it to be spotless but I guess this was not the case. What kind of water was spewing out then?

Greg's Ice Cream

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Address: 750 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M4G 2H7

Date visited: August 3, 2013

Time: 6:00 pm

Party Size: 2

Price: $5.97 plus tax

Website: http://gregsicecream.com/

Food consumed: Triple scoop with the following flavours:
- Green Tea (Asian self just had to try it)
- Mint Oreo
- Lemon Meringue
They ran out of the most popular flavour, Roasted Marshmallows

Pictures of food consumed: (Click on image to enlarge)

Review of Restaurant:
The ice cream is to die for. I don't know why people like Häagen-Dazs, it's not even European, it's an American brand using marketing tactics to make it sound like a high class ice cream for the elites. On the other hand, I know why Greg makes the best ice cream in the area. It so delicious and that it melts in your mouth, duh, ice cream melts in your mouth. Go check it out and see for yourself.

City of Toronto Inspection Report

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Source: http://www.toronto.ca/health/dinesafe/index.htm?show=detail&id=95420

October 20, 2011 - Fail to have test reagent available at place of sanitization (Significant)

October 1, 2012 - Operator fail to properly wash surfaces in rooms

May 6, 2013 - Operator fail to properly maintain rooms

I witnessed the ice cream scooper drop a bucket on the floor. The whole bucket was dumped without hesitation. If this was an Asian ice cream parlour, the scooper would scrape off the top layer and continue on.

CLOSING REMARKS:
For those who stuck around for the important part, here is the fun part. What is with the Russian roulette title? Good question. That same night I was leaking like a tap left unattended. If you didn't understand the metaphor, I was have the leaky kind of diarrhea. I made my washroom my heaven for the 2 hour period that I was there. I sat for so long that my legs were wobbly. One of these restaurant was the culprit for my misery. I vowed to return to all three places and test them one by one until I rest my case.

Weekly Updates on the DineSafe inspection reports

blogTO provides a weekly report on the inspection report from Toronto. Check them out here:

This week on DineSafe: Aristokrat, Berries & Blooms, Bow Thai, Dragon Dynasty, Subway

Wished I discovered this site earlier. It's a good site to check for good restaurants to dine at.

Update on Congee Town - BANNED

This is an update to the Congee Town - Congee helps with your diarrhea blog post. While browsing around the DineSafe website. I revisited Congee Town's inspection reports:

Source: http://www.toronto.ca/health/dinesafe/index.htm?show=detail&id=104279

Here are just the SIGNIFICANT AND CRUCIAL infractions:

December 14, 2011 - PASS - 4 significant infractions
1. Fail to provide soap or detergent in food preparation area
2. Operator fail to ensure cover will prevent contamination or adulteration
3. Fail to have test reagent available at place of sanitization
4. Fail to provide accurate probe thermometer

April 25, 2012 - CONDITIONAL PASS - 2 crucial and 1 significant infractions
1. Employee fail to wash hands before commencing work
2. Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration
3. Use basin other than for hand washing of employees

August 29, 2012 - PASS - 1 significant infraction
1. Operator fail to properly wash surfaces in rooms

February 27, 2013 - CONDITIONAL PASS - 1 crucial infraction
1. Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

July 4, 2013 - CONDITIONAL PASS - 1 crucial and 5 significant infractions
1. Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration
2. Operator fail to clean washroom fixtures
3. Use basin other than for hand washing of employees
4. Operator fail to provide hand washing supplies
5. Operate food premise-mechanical equipment not maintained to provide sufficient material chemical solution rinse
6. Fail to clean multi-service articles after use

It's amazing how I survived my countless visits here. Either I have developed an iron stomach or I got lucky and survived a diarrhea-free dinner.

VERDICT: BANNED! Congee hurts with diarrhea but can also lead to more...

The Burger's Priest - Thou Shall Dine Here

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Date visited: May 10, 2013

Time: 4:00 pm

Party Size: 1

Price: $15.98 plus tax

Website: http://www.theburgerspriest.com/

Food consumed:
- Double cheesburger - $7.99
- Option (Cheese between two portobello mushrooms, breaded and deep fried) - $7.99

Pictures of food consumed: (Click on images to enlarge)

Review of Restaurant:

• What did I think of the burger/service/overall?

Double Cheeseburger was full of beefy goodness. Juice was spilling out even before I ate it. The option, on the other hand, was not worth it. For the same price as the double cheeseburger, I would have gotten another one. Then again, I wanted variety that time. I was still hungry after finishing both, but ran out of cash. This place is cash only, a red flag in my books.

• How did my sensitive stomach feel?
  

My stomach didn't have time to churn. It was too busy digesting the beefy goodness into good protein for my body. Boy oh boy was the double cheeseburger tasty.

City of Toronto Inspection Report

Source: http://www.toronto.ca/health/dinesafe/index.htm?show=detail&id=105810

I will only mention the significant infractions.

January 19, 2012 - One significant infraction
1. Fail to have reagent available at place of sanitation

July 9, 2012 - Two significant infractions
1. Fail to store food on racks or shelves
2. Fail to provide thermometer in storage compartments

June 27, 2013 - One significant infraction
1. Store utensils in manner not preventing contamination

VERDICT: As expected, why would I get food poisoned from this lovely burger joint. It was so good that I will come back for more burger goodness.