It’s someone special’s birthday today…
Happy Birthday, Vlad!!!
Here’s a picture of us from Vlad’s birthday a while ago. Ok, ok… a WHILE ago. 
We met for dinner after work at Rosewater (Liberty Entertainment). This is definitely one of Toronto’s finer-dining establishment with corresponding price tag and a mandatory gallery of autographed celebrity photos. I had a gift card to this restaurant from Yoga In Motion, as it was held at another venue owned by Liberty Entertainment Group, so it was a good opportunity to check out the restaurant.
Inside… check out the mural on the wall…
Swanky cocktail area by the window.
Birthday boy himself!
Chewing on bread… Notice how bread always makes me smile. LOL
Drinks were to be had. We started off with draught beer, and that was a mistake. Lukewarm! Blech!!!! Did I mention that I am a beer temperature snob? It HAS to be icy cold, otherwise, why even bother?
Wow… the appetizers took forever to arrive. I mean FOREVER. It was so bad that the manager actually came out and pronounced that the appetizers were going to be on the house. All while apologizing profusely.
Vlad’s Rosewater French Onion Soup with caramelized onions, and molten brie fondue.
I discovered a vegan salad on the menu – King Oyster Mushroom, Grapefruit and Asparagus Salad with soy truffle vinaigrette. As usually is the case with similar establishments, the salad was very good… (and I could have 5 of these).
My main entree was custom made, after I proclaimed that I was vegan. Bok choy, shiitake mushrooms and hiding underneath…
… golden tofu. Mmmmmm!!!!
Vlad’s main entree was, of course, the reason we came here in the first place. Vegans beware.
12 oz striploin, creamed spinach gratin and country style fries. I DEFINITELY helped him with those fries. They were really good – again, the serving was nothing like anywhere else. Look at that teeny cup.
He ordered it medium-rare. Tarzan would be proud.
Manager reappeared closer to the end of the meal, announcing that they will bring out some dessert on the house as well. Vlad did not seem enthusiastic, but when did I ever refuse dessert?
Vlad’s plate – custard (?), ice cream, two small cookies.
My plate – fresh berries! This was PERFECT. Who knows what those little orange berries are? I kept thinking that they kinda look like wolf berries or something crazy like that.
All in all, the actual service was great. It ended up being a REALLY long dinner due to some mix-up in the kitchen, so the wait for our food turned from unreasonable to downright ridiculous. I also didn’t like the fact that we didn’t have one waitstaff, rather we were served by at least four different people over the course of the night. However, the staff’s willingness to make up for the excessive wait was admirable. In manager’s words, they wanted to make sure that we were “taken care of”. They were also incredibly understanding when I asked for vegan options. The waiter went back to the kitchen multiple times to check which bread was animal product free, and which entrees could be customized.
After all this bird food, I was ready for a snack!
Whew. Much better.
