ROASTED MUSHROOMS V - $5
Locally grown mushrooms roasted in a garlic & white wine sauce, served with warm baguette

SWEET POTATO FRITES V - $7
Served with roasted garlic aioli

CHICKEN EMPANADILLAS - $9

Savoury Spanish pastries stuffed with chicken & roasted red pepper purée

PAN SEARED SCALLOPS G - $12

Golden scallop medallions with crushed fingerling potatoes, green onions & pancetta, tossed in a white balsamic vinaigrette

Bombay Crepe $14

Chicken, Mild Curry, Cranberries, Coconut, Almonds, Celery, Apples

CHICKPEA FRIES                                                          7
With Garlic Mayo

POGURKY (Turkey Dinner Pogo)                     14
Turkey, Stuffing, Pumpkin, Cranberries

BUTTER TART BOMB                                                    8
Orange Ice Cream

Fish and Chips (12 Lunch, 16 Cod, 21 Halibut, 18 Cod & Shrimp)

Tacos (8 two, 11 three, 19 six; Baja Fish, Roasted Califlower, Pollo, Pulled Pork)

Ceviche (18 for three; Market fish, scallop, Albacore)

Steak Sandwich

Served on garlic bread with fried mushrooms and onion rings $9.95

Roast Chicken
charred barley and cherry tomato pilaf, basil almond pesto – 15

Local Trout
spinach, lemon, sauce vierge -14

Amadeus is easy to write off as a dilapidated vestige of the Kingston elderly. It certainly has such a clientele. And the Germans and by extension the Austrians might not be culinary geniuses. The portraits on the on the wall were of Amadeus Mozart. Yet they have perfected the sausage and should be fully credited for that contribution to our breakfasts. Amadeus takes the sausage further and worships it, with tangy Dijon mustard, crusted potatoes and potent sauerkraut. But the sausage carries its own, with a juicy, flavourful splendor that absolves their relegation to the menial. It is a surprising treat and completely unexpected.

Two sausages 11.95

It’s hard to believe a curry restaurant can survive in Kingston. This premier locale for Indian fare is tucked inconspicuously behind the flamboyant outpost known as “Lone Star”. The décor is convincing but the novelty wears off after a while. The simple lunch menu lists various meat options in a curry. I avoided the chicken Tikka because it was supposed to be too sweet. But my chicken curry was similarly sweet and devoid of the spices that characterize Indian cuisine. This made the meal boring and far from the exotic immersion I expected. The salad was clearly not Indian, and even so the dressing was blotched together and untossed. It lacked sophistication. Few Indians ever frequent these restaurants. I think I know why. 

Chicken Curry (white meat only) ·················· $12.50 (20% off with student card).

The rickety pub that governs the overlooked corner of King and Johnson is surprisingly full of hardy beer guzzlers of the British tradition. Tiny, uncomfortable stalls and miniscule plates on which sit layered incongruous ingredients make for a difficult dining experience. But this definitively British pub does a compendium of fish & chips, proudly announced in the centre of the chalkboard. Haddock, cod, halibut, sole, and even shrimp and scallops, all coated in an amour of breading with an eggshell finish. I opted for the haddock; it is a denser fish and fit for the task. It rises to the challenge, breaking apart effortlessly and holds its own flavour in the face of vying components. It is a testing experience with a wholesome payoff. 

Haddock and Chips $12.25

This dessert café serves guilty pleasures of unlawful proportion. The pistachio ice cream is deliciously heavy and laden with cracked pistachios, all on a light and crispy waffle. And by some intervention of the divine, the ice cream seems not to melt. The main courses are less stunning. Come for dessert, but just that.

This sunny yellow “corner store” stocks bite sized desserts and premade food in the style of Pusateri's. But the small town feel from the mini-jugs of local organic milk to the unbelievably fresh orange juice brings out an odd homely quality, like that of its sister restaurant Chez Piggy, but more youthfully. The market-style food counters open up to a quaint twenty-top restaurant that serves comforting and unfussy breakfast and lunch. Breakfast begins with the coveted French toast. A dollop of apple butter crème fraîche adorns the thickly sliced toast. The real-Canadian maple syrup runs through the valleys and crevices of the crunchy crust, which breaks to reveal a pristine yet indulgent centre. The breakfast wrapped up is a surprising Mexican twist to scrambled eggs; it is a tortilla stuffed with breakfast (Monterrey Jack) and non-breakfast (black beans) goodies. A potent spicy paste not for the faint of heart makes it all pop. Lunch is just as solid. The lamb pita is a messy delight. The pastel green Aegean sauce and Moroccan chickpeas are a truly international affair. They pamper the break-apart lamb to perfection. Pan Chancho is a Kingston staple and certainly the best breakfast in town.

French Toast with Apple Butter Crème Fraîche $11.00

apple cider bread and maple syrup

Breakfast Wrapped Up $12.25

tortilla with ranchero scrambled eggs and Monterey Jack

refried black beans, roasted corn salad and sour cream

Cumin Spiced Lamb Pita $15.00

Aegean sauce, green olives, watercress & onion piyazi with Moroccan chick peas

The Classic $13.75

smoked wild salmon and fennel cream cheese on light rye

fingerling potato salad with caper vinaigrette

A comfortable ‘wayside diner’ does simple breakfast. My co-patrons are almost always oldies who go for two-eggs, sunny side up, or a small party seated next to the window. The service is odd but perhaps because I am not who they expect to turn up. The food is surprisingly good. The an open-faced omelette is covered with ample spinach, mushrooms and grape tomatoes. It is cooked past moist but not too dry to invalidate the creamy cheese. A half-clover of under-cooked red onion is a nice touch. This breakfast joint is consistently good, and often visited, but never becomes essential.

Frittata 

an open-faced omelette, topped with a roasted red onion & your choice of :

• sundried tomato & goat cheese 

• ham, brie & roasted red peppers 

• spinach, mushrooms, grape tomatoes & mozzarella cheese 

• chorizo sausage, monterey jack cheese & tomato salsa 11.50

The industrial atmosphere is a tribute to the working man, as are the unapologetically in-your-face food. It suits a bro-out, perhaps. But little else. The menu is a multi-step mess, with a seemingly unending choice yet still so difficult to find something palatable. My nacho burger was a truly three-dimensional offering, stacked pompously and exceedingly difficult to manage. The burger is interesting, and perhaps well-conceived, with fresh and unexpected ingredients. The sliced avocado is differentiated from the spread used in most other places. But that it is a chain shows: the burger is nowhere as flavourful as the ones at Harper’s. It’s a bit trumped-up and overrated.

Not Yo’ Burger - fried tortilla, avocado, fire roasted cheese dip a blend of diced ripe tomatoes & minced garlic                     12.93

The highest end of the institutionalized restaurant is out of place in Kingston’s tourist-centric landscape. Traveling three hours or more for The Keg seems daft. It is also too expensive for students. Yet businesses, and their Christmas parties love the place. It is a safe and easy way to convey appreciation. And to be completely honest, the food is not at all bad, if overpriced. The pudgy white-bread to start is overly soft and a little mushy and comes with sweet, whipped butter. It is thoughtless and unappetizing. But the Caesar salad is surprisingly good: light with lemony trills. The gargantuan steaks are tender and perfectly cooked but feel like a six-sigma tested process. The vegetables are lonely and misplaced. The Keg is probably the best of the chains. The Americans venture up to Niagara, addicted to the ridiculously thick ‘baseball’ steak. And for certain occasions, there is nothing better.

Top Sirloin (8 oz) Naturally grilled or Teriyaki sirloin, with Atlantic Lobster Tail  39.95

The hang-out of choice for my math professor and apparently owned by Professor Kissick. An extensive beer list misses the mark; it is too institutional. A favourite, Fuller’s Extra Special Bitter, was taken off the tap after going bad from neglect. But the food is much better than that of most pubs. The nachos pile are layered with add-ons yet stay resoundingly crisp.

Nachos
Corn chips cooked in-house, layered with Monterey Jack cheese, diced tomato, red onion, black olives & jalapenos. 
Served w/ sour cream & salsa  Lrg 1299 Sml 799
Add chicken 499 Add guacamole  249

A sad line of small-town restaurants have the same characteristics: ugly chairs, downtrodden carpets, incongruous arches. At Grecos, the atmosphere is definitively pre-modern and sucks any life from the fiery flambéed cheese served tableside. In fact, this atmosphere is almost exclusively German but somehow the Greeks have been able to adopt them. The atmosphere is excusable but not when it so perfectly defines the food. The meat seems pre-frozen and tasteless. The vegetables are an unfathomable hodgepodge of the undercooked and the over-cooked, and again, completely tasteless. Small town charm wears off quickly.

A dilapidated joint on a sketchy stretch of princess, Kame is dark and dingy and not very Japanese. It is the spot of choice for short-sighted couples rejected from the overflowing Sima, just down the street. The food is decent, if overpriced. They are known to put some unusual pairings in their rolls: pineapple and Papaya, for example. But the black dragon roll was as good as any. 

One down from Olivea, another Italian restaurant lines the street of posh Kingston eateries. Not all are made equal. Casa has a decidedly gloomy feel. Cold, granite lines and mismatched colours create a renovated basement feel. Its being deserted at 12:30 did not help. It was Toronto Life rated in 2005 but has since been revoked of its status (and rightly replaced by Le Chien Noir). That it uses the same frivolous font on its drink menus as at Woodenheads did not liven it up. The Panini special, was essentially uneatable, smothered in multicoloured cheese and soggy onions. The Caesar salad was likewise soaked in a heavy, downtrodden dressing, as if it came out of The Keg. And the value-added pricing culminated in a ludicrous $20 bill.

Romaine, parmigiano, crisp prosciutto, croutons, garlic dressing 10

Panini Special ($12 + 4 caesar)

This is quite simply the best restaurant in Kingston. The narrow restaurant is beautifully furnished with warm shades of vermillion, exposed brick and earthy wood tables. Chalk-board specials, in true bistro fashion, matte paper menus, quintessential French posters and silhouettes provide character.  Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of Toronto Life is its exclusive endorsement of Le Chien Noir in the Kingston area.

The 35% off staff-pricing from 2:30-5:00 on weekdays make this haute-cuisine accessible to students. The mid-day menu served then is laden with a range of tasty concoctions from the abominable duck confit poutine to the less guilt-ridden winter salad. Ten microbrewery on-tap beers also come discounted, making for a wonderfully relaxing afternoon.

Most savored is the best steak frites in the city. Generously slices of marinated flank steak bleed a warm, rosy pink (most of the time). The duck fat frites (with aioli) and a balsamic salad sides are so difficult to choose between, so half-and-half is always a compelling compromise.

The burger is peculiar, as last I checked, the French can’t even pronounce the term. Yet the proprietors have set up Kingston’s best burger joint and have kept one particularly unctuous variety, vertically stacked with peameal bacon, caramelized onions, and so on. Actually, the burger often changes, which makes it all the more interesting.

The oysters are fresh embodiments of luxury and taste so much better 35% off. The salads are an expedition where each bite reveals unexpected goodies (pig ears, poached eggs).

The whole Le Chien Noir experience is worthy of praise. It is a celebration of food and health, as pompously declared on its menus. As a student, it is an enclave of relaxation and social interaction and a fixture of Kingston life.

Bistro Burger 
Naturally raised local 'Enright Cattle Co.' beef, grilled 'Seed to Sausage' capicollo,
'Wilton' aged cheddar, boston lettuce, tomato-chili jam 16

Steak Frites 
'AAA' Ontario flat iron steak, frites, ancho chili-lime butter 19

(35% off 2:30-5:00 on weekdays)

Le Chien Noir also serves a veritable brunch. The dinners are far pricier but certainly worth it nevertheless. Costco also sells 20% off giftcards. 

This gluttonous display in the Radisson plays to the hungry student and is Aquaterra’s most accessible meal. This is probably the only all-you-can-eat experience worth attending in Kingston. The salad bar is filled with beans with other fresh knickknacks and a full-bodied Caesar salad. Herb coated boccaccini are small, well-textured, almost-playful balls; succulent shrimp dip into cocktail and crab legs are fun to crack. Made-to-order omelettes are smothered in butter and coated with cheeses. The roast beef is surprisingly tender and medium-rare. But the faults of a buffet do show sometimes. A beautifully braised sweet pork chop was juicy on thanksgiving but was tiredly dry a week later. The one or two entrées are hit-or-miss. Dessert punctuates this extravagance with a further exclamation mark. Waffles coated with syrup, whipped cream and chocolate are angelically fluffy. Chocolate stuffed puff pastries, chocolate cheese cake and chocolate dipped fruit round out the satisfying meal.

$18.99 The Fabulous Sunday Brunch Kingston's largest Sunday brunch features over 60 items including Chef-carved roast beef, mussels, salmon, as well as made to order waffles and omelettes

Juice and coffee included

Harpers

Harpers is an urban burger specialist from the proprietors of Le Chien Noir and Atomica. Cutlery and serviettes are stashed at every table for a definitively self-serve environment. But Le Chien Noir influences show through the Dijon mustard, sea salt and selections of vinegar. The food is similarly efficient. Burgers come with toppings on the side and in minimalist pseudo-plates. The simplicity differentiates it from The Works. The quality of ingredients differentiates it from Five Guys and other run-of-the-mill burger-bars. The juicy chicken burger is always messy and Yukon gold fries have a New York quality.

The Lunch Box

#1 Classic burger, fries, fountain drink 10. +1 for chicken. Available 11:30AM – 4:30PM.

This cosy undiscovered Japanese restaurant might be one of the best in Kingston. The entire restaurant holds 20 people. Frivolously written blackboard signs and traditional Japanese décor are heartwarming. The menu seems especially dainty; the attention to detail and sophistication here catapults Izumo past most of its ramshackle competitors. That it stands on princess and university, however, is questionable. The sashimi was fresh, though a bit churlish. The rest of the box was properly constructed.  

$21 Bento Box C (6pcs sashimi, shrimp & vege tempura, Chicken Teriayki, deep fried vege dumpling, steamed rice)

The hip offspring of Le Chien Noir is a dark, ultramodern hub with florescent blue bar lights that are too foolish for haute-cuisine. It is hard to find Atomica a place in Kingston’s scene, jutted between pizza-connoisseur Woodenheads and posh-Olivea. But it is still bustling with patrons. In fact, the pastas might be the best in the city. The fettuccini special (printed on non-descript matte half-paper, as is the tradition one restaurant over at Le Chien Noir) was deeply satisfying. Locally sourced sausage are haphazardly cut into varying sizes and contribute different doses of flavour. The al-dente fettuccini soaks up the light pesto dressing and present with unyielding fervor along with the salsa. The raspberry sorbet was excellent but failed to find its match in the flourless chocolate cake that was neither flourless nor chocolaty. Overall, Atomica makes a veritable challenge for staple-status in Kingston, and almost reaches it.

$18 Fettuccini pasta special (pesto salsa, sausage)

$8 Flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet 

By no means is Woodenheads a standard pizzeria. Its pizzas are not the single topping Neopolitans that seem to define culinary expectations. In fact it isn’t very Italian at all. Most variations are filled to the brim with forward, guilt-inducing toppings. A particular favourite is the Dynamo, an exultation of sweet (honey) and savory (pesto). The tomatoes act as a rare palate cleansing interlude. It goes well with the mushroom salad. The portabello stands out among the oyster and button varieties but together solidify the pairing of fungi with balsamic dressing. Other standouts include the curry calamari coated voluptuously with lobster butter and the Marco Polo, Nonna Mela and Vegetarian pizzas. This chic and youthful restaurant seems perennially bursting at the seams. Reservations are thoroughly recommended.

18.65 Dynamo (pesto, roasted roma tomatoes, feta, smoked chicken, honey drizzle)

13.90 Mixed Mushroom Salad (grilled smoked oyster mushrooms, marinated button and fresh portabello mushrooms served on mixed greens in balsamic vinaigrette, topped with feta cheese)

11.90 Calamari Mumbai (Indian spiced calamari rings simmered in tomatoes with lobster butter, served with fresh baked naan bread)

Other Notable Pizzas

15.65 Marco Polo (tomato sauce, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella, lemon chicken)

11.00 Vegitariana (tomato sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella, grilled eggplant, onions & green pepper)

16.85 Nonna Mela (apple butter, roast garlic, cheddar, sweet onions, blackened chicken)

---

19.50 Poulet Baton Rouge(blackened chicken breast and potato cakes with shallot dijon cream sauce)

The famous dangling oval sign leads patrons down a cobblestone alley away from the heart of downtown Kingston and toward an antiquated country-style house. Inside, ugly chairs and stone walls complete the English cabin imagery. It is all very picturesque. This parents-in-town spot is a symbol of tradition in a historic Kingston. The atmosphere is dominated by les anciens (which suits the occasion of my mother’s fiftieth birthday). Perhaps that is why the food is so boring and flavourless. A gargantuan rib-eye is hardly seared and carries itself as a floppy slab of underseasoned monotony. The duck leg, again nicely sized, falls off the bone but the sauce is curiously impotent. The assortment of squash and carrots are the only highlight of the night, delivering a crunchy sweetness the meal needs so badly. Yet nearby, the over-mashed potatoes sit so lifelessly. Worse still is the the colourless halibut, on colourless rice, surrounded by leaves-a-plenty that complemented the fish with a sustained drone. It feels like a weight-loss regime where you wish that the previous bite were your last. With that said, at $38, the table d' hôte is not a complete rip off. It is still a fine dining experience with locally sourced ingredients and superb service. A special occasion may still call for Chez Piggy, if only for the chance to follow the oval sign.

SMOKED TROUT & SPINACH SALAD with YUZU TAHINI DRESSING $16
Teriyaki Roasted Tomatoes - Roasted Chestnuts - Red Onions

OYSTERS, $14 for six

BLUE STEAK $34
12 oz. Ribeye - Blue Cheese Cognac Butter - Blue Potatoes - Market Vegetables

TABLE D' HÔTE $38
(Mussels / Duck Leg / Pumpkin Pie)

FISH OF THE EVENING $32
(Halibut)

For sushi, there is no equal to match Sima. Kingston is littered with run-of-the-mill Japanese food to cater to a strangely Japanophile market that is the undergraduate student. There’s the Sodexo variety which I was told buys unsold fish from Loblaw, the molasses-slow all-you-can-eat Sakura, the Justin Bieber pumping Niji or the sketchy ghetto-esque Sushi-Q. Sima is modest in size (36-seats) and modest in price. The sashimi lunch and dynamite rolls are probably the best snacks under $10. Owners June and Daniel Kim worked 11 years at Toronto’s best sushi restaurants and now dominate Kingston’s scene. The iconic yellow sign is a fixture from the time of Ben & Jerry’s. The waitresses are ever-so courteous and fluent in English.  Small details, as the white ginger or the single pearl of edamame that graces the rice, create sophistication. Sima is an unfussy bastion of freshness.  The flaky sashimi melt in your mouth. The dynamite rolls focuses on the perfectly crunchy tempura, with a sprinkling of rice to suit. The teriyaki sauce is very judiciously drizzled on as to not to dampen the lightness of the rolls. Sima might be one of the best reasons to come to Queen’s.

Note: closed on Tuesdays

Sashimi Lunch

9 pcs assorted raw fish, served with rice

Regular $8.95

Dynamite

shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber & tobiko

Regular $8.95

Sashimi Dinner

assorted raw fish, served with rice

Regular $16.95

Kingston Brewing Company calls itself Canada's oldest brew pub. It is tucked away behind Woodenheads near the Four Points Sheraton, so innocuous that it is often missed. Yet as deserted the patio might look, the inside lair is bustling with regulars.  The brew pub experience is one of eclecticism. Memorabilia line every inch of useable wall-space and the meandering menu is a comedy routine. Every table comes with a stack of trivia cards, which may be enough reason to come to KBC alone. I learnt that Hawaii was the only state that ended with three vowels, useful knowledge indeed. Unfortunately, the food was only as good as expected from a place as this. The chicken was not fresh, the coleslaw seemed dodgy, the lump of mash potatoes was a slurpy disaster, and the vegetables were uninventive. Furthermore, the homebrewed beer was subpar. Perhaps there is a reason this establishment has escaped the public eye.

Rotisserie chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and veggies are featured (~$15)

Olivea is on the grand corner of Brock & King by the Kingston City Hall and a few steps from Le Chien Noir. The best French and Italian food in the city can be summarized in this one block. The Tuscan coral orange coverings are triumphantly Italian; the logo feels a bit like Brooks Brothers. Inside is a clean-cut, exposed brick room with dark wood floors and lightwood tables. Giant windows let ample light in for a great brunch; dinners are more intimate but not stuffy. The chicken is brick-pressed to colourful perfection. Burn marks are so satisfyingly bitter. The arugula salad hits high notes and crunch frites dip into a sour aioli. The Sicilian tuna Panini employs non-canned albacore; the BBQ Brisket is full in flavour; pastas are generally good. Judging by how busy it is, Olivea might be the most underrated restaurant in the city.

Chicken al Mattone  Ontario grain fed chicken breast grilled under a brick with salmoriglio, choice of sides 22.95

Sicilian Tuna with Italian tuna, artichokes, capers, lemon confit, black olive mayo and arugula on a panini roll 11.95

BBQ Brisket- Smokey beef brisket with creamy coleslaw and espresso barbecue sauce 13.25