HC U of T Reviews: Sorry O&B, But Not Next Year

Having just passed Thanksgiving weekend,how can we not talk about food? Thanksgiving is all about family and eating a warm home cooked meal.

When I think about Thanksgiving all I can think about is cuts of turkey meat, creamy mashed potatoes swimming in gravy, sweet and tart cranberry sauce, and of course, dessert, which is always pumpkin pie. But my mom have gone on strike from the kitchen just before Thanksgiving dinner and I, myself, being limited to cooking only instant noodles and defrosting pizza, we all decided to settle to eat out for a holiday meal.

I searched up restaurants in Toronto that would offer the Thanksgiving specials on their menu. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot, which only goes to show you that most people still prefer or choose to eat at home than eat out for Thanksgiving.  Out of the few that I’ve found, there was Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill in Bayview Village.

I admit I did like the interior design of O&B, especially with the silver, black and white colour themes, which provided a sleek and modern atmosphere. But at the same time, the dim lights and booths tables offered a cozy atmosphere, despite the fact it was a huge restaurant that could accommodate a lot of people, with the exception of Thanksgiving Day that is.

The servers were attentive but lacked warmth. My water glasses were always refilled, but it was done with a more robotic or automatic gesture before my waitress turned back and rushed away to another table. It was then when I realized I even missed my mom scolding me from across the dining table at home to eat my vegetables or relentlessly forcing me to finish my second helping of turkey even as my stomach felt like it was about to explode.
As we listened to our waitress’ monotonous reciting of the specials today, I was already disappointed over a meal that I had not even eaten yet. Not only was the table, consisting of an elderly couple, complaining about the meat being cold, the waitress had revealed that there was no pumpkin pie in the dessert menu! No pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving?!

That meant I had to settle for the only pumpkin related thing they had on the menu, which was an unexpected juice consisting of pumpkin, cinnamon and apricot. This was a very pleasant surprise because I never had pumpkin as a juice before but it was a sweet blend of the smoothness and richness of pumpkin, with the tang of apricot and the spice of cinnamon.

While we were waiting for our main meals, my family and I filled up on the free bread, which was ciabatta. While I enjoyed the soft and chewy bread, I wished they had given us warm, smooth butter instead of the cold hard ones they served with it. We also enjoyed our favourite appetizers of sweet potato fries which were delightfully warm and sweet, served with a side of sauce that made a savoury and spicy contrast to the fries. 

Finally, the mains arrived and we were aghast to see plates heaping with turkey. There was white meat, dark meat and what appeared to be a kind of turkey meatball. However, the taste wasn’t as impressive as the presentation. I found myself agreeing with the couple next to us about the coldness of the dish. And I also found myself reaching over for the salt and pepper because the meat was a little bland. But the turkey meatball was perfectly seasoned and practically melted in my mouth. However, my favourite part of the meal was still the mashed potatoes which were creamy and smooth. But the gravy was too thin and not rich enough. The cranberry sauce was deliciously tangy and tart and its acidity helped cut through the fattiness of the turkey, but there was not enough of it.

And not soon enough, it was time for my favourite part of the meal – dessert! The Thanksgiving meal included only one dessert option, which was an apple strudel with pumpkin gelato. I was more excited about the pumpkin gelato, as you probably noticed I love pumpkin! And the pumpkin gelato did not disappoint! It was not overly sweet and you could definitely taste the pumpkin. But the apple strudel on the other hand was one of the worst desserts I’ve ever had. The strudel was cold and so hard that I could barely cut it through with my fork. When I finally managed to saw it through and take a bite, all I could taste was pastry and dough, and barely any apple.

My family had filed out of the restaurant in disappointment as dinner had ended on a low note. My stomach was full and there had been some highlights of the evening, but the lesson learned? Thanksgiving dinner is always best at home, especially if you have a mom who’s an awesome chef.