Tag Archives: SQM Inc.

Hungry for Hungarian Food?

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A few weeks ago, I visited a popular, Toronto restaurant, that has been around for many years….Country Style Hungarian Restaurant. It’s a cozy Hungarian restaurant located at 450 Bloor Street West, and should not be confused with the larger donut chain, Country Style.

Country Style Hungarian Restaurant has been around for over 50 years as a family-run business. It’s an old-school restaurant with classic red and white checkered tablecloths and wooden chairs and tables. They’re famous for their schnitzel, but some of their other go-to dishes include cabbage rolls and perogies. They of course, also have goulash soup and cucumber salad, and their wiener schnitzel is absolutely to-die-for.

Aside from ordering a la carte, they also have a delicious platter prepared for two or four, which comes with a variety of meats, sausages, and potatoes. For those who are less hungry, there are schnitzel and chicken sandwiches. If you’ve saved a little room, they have great desserts including palacsinta…a Hungarian-style crepe with chestnut puree, as well as apple and cherry strudel. All of their desserts are tasty and most are homemade. Lastly, one of my favourite items on the menu is their raspberry soda…..a cold drink that is somewhat different from most pops.

Their food always comes out hot, fresh, and very quickly, and in addition, the service is great. All of the waiters are friendly and helpful, and if you ask for the sauce on the side or other dietary requests, they are very accommodating.

I find the restaurant is busy at any time, especially on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, but you usually do not have to wait too long to be seated. After dinner, if you want to listen to live music, there’s are some bars in the area, as well as live theatres, all of which are accessible via public transit.

If you’re looking to experience a different, homey kind of restaurant, head on over to Country Style Hungarian Restaurant…you will not be disappointed.

Country Style Hungarian Restaurant

416-536-5966

http://countrystylehungarian.com/

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Why you should visit the St. Lawrence Market

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As is the case in many cities, there are always one or two popular markets where people go to get fresh fruit, vegetables, baked goods, high-quality meats, and specialty foods. Toronto is no different, and for many years the go-to location has been the St. Lawrence Market.

The market, run by the City of Toronto, is located on 93 Front Street East and is currently comprised of three main buildings: The South Market, the North Market, and St. Lawrence Hall. It’s a combination of vendors where you can buy anything from fresh meat and pastries to seafood, olives and cheese. You can also get breakfast and lunch, as well as coffee and juice.

My understanding is that the lake used to come right up to the back of the market and vendors were able to bring their fish right up from the water, but the shoreline has since receded.

The market always exhibits a fun, bustling atmosphere. The vendors are always kind, and it’s great to support small, community businesses.

There’s also a number of places where you can buy meals….for example, Carousel Bakery at the market is known for its superb peameal bacon sandwiches. Buster’s Sea Cove has amazing fish and chips and Uno Mustachio is known for their large veal sandwiches.

What people often go down on a Friday or Saturday morning and get their groceries for the week. Since the market is closed on Sundays and Mondays, a couple of hours before closing on Saturday afternoon some of the vendors will put their products on sale or markdown the prices. Regardless, you can always kick it old school and try negotiating a deal.

Whether it’s to stroll around, grab a bite, or do your grocery shopping, I highly recommend visiting St. Lawrence Market.

St. Lawrence Market
416-392-7219
http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/

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Ask and ye shall receive (great customer service)

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Quite some time ago, I wrote about a great phone repair store called Stellar Cellular on College Street. The person who ran that store was named Richard, and he was an overall great guy to deal with, who did amazing work.

A couple of weeks ago my wife was having a problem with her phone, and so I reached out to Richard and asked him for some help. To my surprise, he said his store had moved out of town and he was not doing repairs anymore. He highly recommended Maaz at Ask Computers and suggested giving them a call. Ask Computers is run by two brothers, Maaz and Mani, on Front Street.

I called up Maaz and mentioned his colleague, Richard said I should give him a call. I explained the problem with my wife’s phone and he invited me to stop by whenever I could. They’re closed on Sundays so I drove down on a Saturday, showed him the phone and explained the problem. Right away he knew what the problem was.

Unlike some places that gave you a ticket, Maaz writes up a work order and a quote, then have you sign off electronically. Additionally, he will also text you updates when repairs are underway and when repairs are completed. He told me he’d try and get back to me later that day, but otherwise, it’d be done on Monday.

Much to my surprise, about two and a half hours after I dropped it off, I got a message saying it was ready. I stopped by again, paid him, and tried the phone out. The phone was working perfectly fine again, and I even got a follow-up email thanking me for my business and asking me to leave a review.

The location is a small store but it was neat and clean, and right away, between the look of the store and the initial conversation, I had felt I was in good hands the entire time. The whole customer service system he had in place was great—something you don’t see often in small businesses.

Whether you’re looking to buy computer equipment, get something repaired, or whether you just need advice, Maaz and Mani have a great store and I highly recommend stopping by for your tech needs.

Ask Computers

416-862-9595

Askcomputers.ca

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A Taste of Good Customer Service

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Lady York Foods is a unique, one-off grocery store, often frequented by folks in the Italian and Portuguese community who live nearby. They’re well-known for their butcher shop, deli and cheese section, locally baked goods, and their produce. I also go there for seasonal items, like figs and fresh olives. If you happen to be making prosciutto, you can easily get the leg of a pig and similar items—all high quality.

Last Friday my wife and I decided we wanted to make a rack of lamb for dinner. I headed over to my neighbourhood Costco and much to my sadness and shock, they didn’t have any lamb in stock, which was a rare event.

Although they had other meats, my wife and I were both craving lamb. I put my thinking cap on and while I was at Costco, I called up Lady York Foods to see if they had a rack of lamb in stock. I spoke to a young, friendly guy in the butcher shop and told him what I was looking for.

When I arrived, it was all wrapped up and ready to go. I thanked the young man for his help and headed home, eager to start digging in. When I got home my wife opened the package and was surprised because it looked different from the usual rack of lamb.

Usually, it’s Frenched so it looks very presentable, and so we were surprised it wasn’t Frenched already but we didn’t think anything of it. When we went to cook and slice it, we realized there was an extra bone in there, and when we went to continue slicing it we realized there was no actual meat, just bone and fat.

I called up Lady York Foods again and asked to speak to a manager. I told her there might have been some miscommunication and confusion, and that I was sold something that wasn’t butchered and properly presented for sale.

The young man from the butcher section told me to come in whenever it was convenient, and he would be happy to refund me. I took a picture of the lamb so I could prove I wasn’t yanking his chain and stopped by the next day.

When I approached him we ended up having a nice chat and he apologized for not having the product I was looking for, and for making me return to the store to get a refund. Lady York Foods was willing to step up to the plate to ensure customer satisfaction and the young man in the butcher shop was willing to make things right.

I showed him the picture I took of the lamb and we had a good chuckle. He ended up taking the picture for training purposes for the rest of the butchers.

I applaud Lady York Foods because they stood behind their product standards and readily refunded the money in the case of a simple miscommunication.

Lady York Foods

416-781-8585

www.ladyyorkfoods.com

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A Special Thank You

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Many years ago, SQM did a project for a gentleman by the name of Wassim, who works for a Canadian company called The Travelway Group. The company is a distributor of various travel-related products: suitcases, gym bags, and travel accessories. One of the products to which they have the licensing rights to are for various cartoon and superhero lunch bags, overnight bags, and knapsacks, such as Dora the Explorer, Frozen, and The Avengers.

Although it’s been several years since we last did any work for the company, I’ve kept in touch with Wassim. From time to time I’ve asked Wassim for a favour, related to some of the charity initiatives that SQM is involved with. In particular, when I’m working on any children’s related initiatives, I’ve called up to see if it’s possible to get some old or extra items that may be sitting around the warehouse, to pass along to the various organizations we are working with.

While I try not to take advantage of his generosity, whenever I’ve asked for something, without hesitation he takes down the delivery information and within days I’ll have a box full of items at my front door.

During my time in business, I’ve always made an effort to support those companies that actively support charitable causes…and especially the ones that and SQM is involved with. As a result, I wanted to do a shout out to the team at the Travelway Group for being a great partner and a great supporter of myself, and SQM. Thank you very much!

The Travelway Group

http://www.travelwaygroup.com

 

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7 Numbers Restaurant is Number One in Customer Service

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For many years, there has been a restaurant in Toronto known as 7 Numbers. It’s a quaint and casual Italian restaurant, with food that could be best described as homemade meals and cooking.

The original restaurant is on Eglinton Avenue between Bathurst and Avenue Road and the second one is down on the Danforth. The owner of the restaurant, Rosa, is often standing right in the kitchen and is an absolutely lovely woman.

You have a couple different options to choose from when you come in: appetizers, primi / first courses, and your secondi / main entrees. In addition, there are the options of ordering a prix fixe family style meal, that includes a sampling of appetizers and several kinds of pasta, along with your choice of the main course.

While there are some staples on the menu, they do change it up from time to time, so there’s always something new or different. While all of the food is quite tasty, my absolute favourites are the calamari, the fig and goat cheese salad, and the veal lasagna. As for mains? My go-to dishes are the duck leg, the lamb shank, and one of the other popular choices….the veal meatballs. You get two huge meatballs with a tasty cheesy treat inside. In terms of drinks, there are several options for non-alcoholic and alcoholic, with wine served by the glass or the bottle.

The seats and decor are very casual, with brown paper-covered tables, chalkboard menus, and colourful lighting. The kitchen is right at the front of the restaurant, so whether you’re looking inside or standing out, you can see exactly what is going and how your food is being prepared.

It’s an awesome family business, with Rosa running the uptown restaurant while her son runs the downtown location, and both provide great service. Between the atmosphere, the service, and the amount of food you get, it’s a guaranteed fabulous meal for a reasonable and fair price.

A number of my friends and colleagues have made 7 Numbers their go-to place and it’s become a place where regulars hang out all the time.

If you’re looking for some authentic, homemade Italian food, 7 Numbers is always a top choice. Buon Appetito!

 

7 Numbers

www.sevennumbers.com

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Top Ten Things to Do This Holiday Season

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via GIPHY

There are plenty of fun and festive things to do this holiday season. Here are my Top 10 places to check out:

  1. Toronto Christmas Market – Experience the magic of the holidays with carols, hot food, and plenty of handcrafted goods to choose from! Treat your kids to a storytelling session or pictures with Santa himself. You can explore the Distillery Christmas Market until December 23rd. Admission is charged on weekends only, beginning at 5 PM on Fridays.
  2. Skating at City Hall, Harbourfront, or The Bentway Skate Trail – Sharpen your skates and head on over to the shoreline of Lake Ontario, Nathan Phillips Square, or underneath the Gardiner Expressway. If you don’t have your own pair of skates, you can rent them for a small fee. Show off your skating (and dancing) skills at the Harbourfront Centre on their DJ Skate Nights!
  3. Christmas Lights Across Canada 2018 in Ottawa – It’s obligatory to include at least one light festival in every holiday list. Take a trip to Canada’s capital to be dazzled by festive lights across the city and the Magical Winter Lightscapes show projected on the Parliament Buildings.
  4. Day Trips to Niagara – The Falls are always stunning in the winter. There are plenty of casinos, restaurants, and museums in the entertainment district.
  5. Rochester, NY – For a quick overnight trip, visit Rochester, New York. The holiday spirit is very much alive with Christmas Markets and plays such as “The Nutcracker”. I also highly recommend the Minnesota Children’s Museum, as it has great exhibits that emphasize education mixed with fun.
  6. Ripley’s Aquarium – To see amazing creatures from under the sea, there’s always Ripley’s Aquarium. For the holidays they have special events such as breakfast with Santa! The aquarium is open daily from 9 AM to 11 PM.
  7. Eat Out – It’s never a bad time to take your family out to a nice dinner or lunch for some quality bonding time. Of course, nothing beats a home-cooked meal but sometimes it’s nice not to do the dishes. For those lazy mornings, go out for a nice brunch!
  8. Afternoon Tea – Feeling fancy? Head over to Fairmont Royal York for holiday tea and sandwiches at the Library Bar every Saturday and Sunday. A special new year’s day tea is also available on January 1st.
  9. Skiing and Snow Tubing – If you don’t mind heading up a bit north of Toronto, the ski hills are open at Snow Valley and Blue Mountain! For something a bit different, try out snow tubing—it’s easy and fun for the entire family.
  10. Great Wolf Lodge – The Lodge transforms into Snowland for the holiday season. Not only do they have a life-sized Gingerbread house, but they also have daily holiday events. You can also enroll the kids in North Pole University

Whatever you choose to do over the winter break, all of us at SQM hope you have a safe and enjoyable holidays!

 

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