Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

no, not at all! Or, at the most, it can be like drier cream cheese, but its always soft.

I actually feel a bit shocked that no one's mentioned the Pomegranate restaurant on College St, near Bathurst St. Incredibly delicious and authentic persian food, in an interesting room, and the most expensive item on the menu is 14 bucks.

On the one hand, all things you write about (feeling good, being balanced, at a maintainable level) are all really important. Potentially the most important. BUT. One of the things that's weird about American society is that most people's conception of what a truly 'healthy' or 'slim' weight actually is, is quite skewed from a global or health-based standard. Having very few slim people around has caused people to believe that slimness is an 'extreme' state not to be aspired to, rather than the weight that Americans used to consider 'normal'. So maybe think about that - does 218 lbs seems 'normal' based on the people around you, or does it seem like 'your ideal'? Are you settling for the average, or aspiring to the healthy?

Beets! I thought I hated them, and then a restaurant gave me a side of roasted caramelized beets, and I rediscovered them wholeheartedly. Turns out that I actually just hated canned, vinegary beets.

(I also hated hamburgers and meat sauce and meatloaf as a kid - anything with ground beef, basically. I'll eat those things now, but its more about slowly 'getting used' to them, than it is about re-discovery.)

I don't get it. This isn't fondue. When the cartoon reads "serve on the side", does that mean on the side of fondue? Or, is this simply meant to be fondue-esque? In which case, what do you eat it with?

Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner would probably be beautiful! I went there for dinner a few weeks ago and could so easily visualise it for a wedding.

Also, The Fifth would probably be great (but, like Jamie Kennedy, quite expensive). Sunnybrook estates are also beautiful, although not a restaurant. The Drake Hotel and the Gladstone both also do weddings, and would bring your wedding some 'downtown cool'.

And keep in mind... you can do some pretty delicious and sophisticated things with meat and potatoes!

And just curious - to the commenters who think that canadian food is bad/food in canada is bad, what food are you talking about, exactly? 'Canadian' food, whatever that is? Or are you actually saying that there is no decent cooking in the country? (Which is patently ridiculous, considering that the kind of food and the range of quality is virtually identical to what you'd get in the states.)

Ed, if you 'suffer' through the non-extra-sweetened yogurt for a while, it will begin to taste sweet enough. Give it a shot. Having a palate that is trained to prefer food that is extra-sugary is a guaranteed way to prevent weight loss.

That being said, here's my list:
- Sushi
- Soups (non creamy, but otherwise any kind)
- Chickpeas and beans
- OATMEAL (this is truly the ultimate diet food - it can be flavoured however you want -try diced apples, cinnamon, splenda or sugar, and slivered almonds- and it keeps you full for hours and hours due to all the fiber and lean 'perfect protein')
- Eggplant (roasted in the oven and then drizzled with a miso/honey/sesame oil sauce)
- Edamame, pomegranates, and artichokes: healthy foods that can be a good munchy slow snack in front of the television.

I actually dislike the taste and quality of the food. Everything is beautifully presented, but everything tastes exactly the same (they use the same 3 or 4 sauces for all their dishes) and very little of it actually has any relationship with actual asian food. Its homogenized 'asian food'.

I know several people who like it and more people who hate it. The food doesn't actual taste that bad but it certainly doesn't taste as good as any of the hundred thai/vietnamese restaurants scattered around the city. If i was visiting Toronto and was focused on trying good food, it's certainly not the place I'd want to try on my trip to the city. It's a bit like recommending the Olive Garden.

You know what's better? Roasting chickpeas in the oven for about a 45 minutes until they're crispy and crunchy, and then sprinkling salt, or chili powder, or cumin/cinammon/chili, or herbs/garlic/parmesan. Crunchy snacky goodness!