Ultra Supper Club

We had our last dinner/after party at the Ultra Supper Club. It’s a medium size restaurant/club.

There’s a small outdoor area on street level. The rooftop bar is more spacious.

We had split the restaurant in halves –regulars:

and VIPs

As I was waiting for the talents to arrive , I snacked on a mini slider…

and spicy tuna tartar on a sesame cracker..

There was nothing significant about their mini slider or spicy tuna tartar but they did their jobs—stopped my stomach from grumbling. Since this was my last event at TIFF, I chillaxed and actually sat down and ate with the group! Table was set with their “bread” crackers.

For starters there were the Lobster Lemon Grass Soup with Crispy Shrimp Spring Roll

I didn’t sampled that since I’m allergic to shrimp. No one nearby me had the
Asian Mustard Greens Salad (asparagus, sesame cracker, radish, yuzu miso vinaigrette). I had ordered the Warm Shimiji Mushroom Salad (sautéed mushrooms, arugula, endive, crispy eggplant chips, lemon miso vinaigrette) and loved it! I think this was my favorite dish of the entire meal...?

Of course I skipped the crispy eggplant chips. For the main dishes, there was the
Roast Breast of Chicken (filled with walnuts, gorgonzola and proscuitto,
Jerusalem artichoke risotto & oven dried tomatoes)….

the King Oyster Mushroom “faux gras” (seared king oyster mushrooms, truffle pecorinio risotto, cippolini, aged balsamic)…

Grilled 12 oz Sterling Silver Striploin (jalapeno garlic butter, frites with herb mayo)..

and I decided to switch it up and ordered the Miso Glazed Black Cod
(crispy sushi rice, baby turnips, warm bok choy black bean salad)..

The miso cod was ok -- not like Nobu’s. I didn’t get a chance to try the other entrees as I was sitting with people who I’d just met…didn’t want to come off too weird…”Let me take a picture of your food and let eat it too.” Hum. For dessert, I went for the Fluffy Milk Chocolate Mousse (dark chocolate, raspberry, caramel) instead of the Roasted Upside Down Pear Cake with three milk sauces.

The mousse was ok. I prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate.

Now you may be wondering where the raspberry was…as I certainly was. It was really tough taking a bite out of the top chocolate ball, that when I did, raspberry sauce just poured out, landing on my arm, table, etc. My arm/ hand looked like Carrie’s. The horror. It was very amusing for the people who sat near me.

Despite the sub-par food, I had a lot of fun at Ultra. This joint is really for the nightlife if you want to be in a glitzy atmosphere--not for dinner.

Address: 314 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 2A2, Canada
Phone#: (416) 263-0330‎
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NEOMEZE

Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays…it was a weekend full of birthdays, well, actually just two.
My colleague’s wife, Anya celebrated her birthday at Neomeze in Pasadena. I read on-line that restaurant.com offers a coupon, but I had trouble finding it…days after her party, I was informed that you should search 91101 within a 5-mile radius...argh.

I was happy that the small fire pits, flaming away, were enough to keep us warm outside. They have a good drink list and offer food to soak in the alcohol. I started off with the lychee martini, which was missing a lychee…but tasted like it.

For food, I went with their Little Burgers (3 burgers with gruyere cheese, caramelized onion, bacon, aioli, and arugula $12) and fries ($5). There was nothing special with their little burgers, but it’s best to have food in your stomach when you’re drinking…

The fries were good.

I switched to a Summer Sky (Sky, cucumber, strawberries, lemon juice) martini. It could use more cucumber and less lemon.

The drinks are $12 a pop, so watch out…

Everyone had a good time. You can smoke outside. I am surprised that Pasadena hasn’t become like 90201, where smoking is prohibitive outdoors. I stayed until the birthday cupcake came out, which are not from Neomeze.

I have no clue where they’re from and it’s not worth noting, but I just wanted to post up the pictures because it’s a great idea to do with Milk’s red poppers.

I left right before midnight, and Neomeze was packed. I guess it’s the happening joint in Pasadena? People were dancing inside, outside, whereever they want.

Happy Birthday Anya!


Address: 20 E Colorado Blvd, Suite 102 Pasadena, CA 91105
Phone#:(626) 793-3010
Rating: 3 ot of 5

THE CASTLE

We caught the tail end at the Castle after the James Joyce Irish Pub. Everyone had pretty much left...except the hardcore techno dancers or the drunks (like us). The Castle is probably the closest thing to Cherry's (LA -it's closed a long time ago). It's dark, you have the go-go dancers, techno music, and I really wanted a glow stick --just kidding. The music wasn't the annoying "thump, thump" techno music. And that's all I remember...

Address: 2004 N 16th St Tampa, FL 33605
Phone#: (813) 247-7547
Rating: 3 out of 5

HEAVEN & HELL

I'll admit it, this is not my scene, so I'm going to be nice and give 'em 2 stars.

It was my first time in Adam Morgan where all the bars and clubs are in DC last Friday. It's a cluster f*ck. Btw, the city should really build more parking lots. It's ridiculous that we have to go to the mid-street to valet park or park in the lot. My cuz, newly wife and friends wanted to hang & dance there. I checked the Yelp reviews and just dreaded...luckily, It wasn't crowded --guess Alison S' word is out that it's "actually just Hell."

Heaven & Hell is situated across from Maggie Moo's (I like that name!) in what looks like an apartment at one point. That being said, it felt like I was back at a college house party with pschodelic posters/paintings on the wall, tripping on acid (never touched it), lights flashing, everyone moving in slow mo like you're in a circus fun house. This part was "Heaven" (second floor). I didn't even bother to hang out in "Hell" (first floor).

Drinks are not as cheap as we had thought --about $9/drink. Yeah....it's tough paying drinks at that price when you're at a dive bar...We ventured off to Meze.

Address: 2327 18th St NW (between N Belmont Rd & N Kalorama Sq) Washington, DC 20009
Phone#: (202) 667-4355
Rating: 2 out of 5

AKBAR

Akbar, my home away from home in my young'n days. I was there a couple months ago, and it's still fun!

Akbar was (or still) is like the gay version of Cheers -"where everyone knows your name." Stephan's is Sam Malone, Gina's a mix of Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane and Rebecca Howe, Bo's like Norm Peterson trapped in a slightly taller version of Dr. Fraiser Crane's body, and Sebastian's Diane Chambers.

I would always have fun here and occasionally run into trouble (86 2x's - guilty by association but they took me back a week later). Drinks are STRONG & CHEAP. The crowd is cool and friendly. Music is good. What more can one ask for?

Update info: Sebastian, Gina, and Bo no longer work there... : (

Address: 4356 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90029
Phone#: (323) 665-6810
Rating: 5 out of 5

LAX

Just another Hollyweird pretentious b.s. place...

My first time at LAX tonight and granted if I was a guy I might have enjoyed the place more as there was a porn party that night. I had called earlier in the morning to check if there was any event that night as I wanted to avoid a dreaded line standing out in the cold. The girl who answered the phone said,"Um..no." She clearly didn't know of the event or she was a porn star herself and didn't want to scare off future clients.

I stood in line for a little more than 30 minutes; granted less time than the other yelpers who complained about the place, but I was cleared to go into the vendor for a birthday party, but STILL the big black man wanted me to wait for another 10 minutes....I hate pretentious places, seriously, don't you want to make some money? I am a drinker; I even took the subway to the place! I'm a responsible drinker!

Besides the ridiculous wait time, I find it odd that the first bartender charged me $12/ drink as opposed to the other bartender (in the smoking area) charged me $10/drink. for the same drink....hmm..I happened to be a very good tipper, and get really pissed off when things don't add up (hence, the 1 star).

This place plays the usual hip hop music...I stopped dancing when they played the Brittney Spears song," Gimme More.." as all I could think of is that parody that I saw a few months back, "Gimme S'more." But as song states, "Gimme More"......

Address: 1714 N Las Palmas Ave Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone#: (323) 464-0171
Rating: 1 out of 5

BAR LUBITSCH

Bar Lubitsch opened up early this year and quickly became this hotspot, known for scantily clad Russian models enticing you to try their 200 vodkas. I'm kidding about the model, but not about them carrying over 200 vodkas.

The problem when you hear of a great place is that you have high expectations. I was expecting the interior to be more "Russian." The good thing is that there were a lot of people, but the bad thing was that there were a lot of people--it was so difficult to move around! Also, I don't know how my tab came out to $50 for 4 well vodka/diet coke...??? Hmmm....

Address: 7702 Santa Monica BlvdWest Hollywood, CA 90046

Phone#: (323) 654-1234

Rating: 3 out of 5