Joey Yorkdale: A Casual Yet Upscale Night Out

As someone who has been a male for as long as I can remember, I must confess that, like the majority of other males I've known during my life, I have always enjoyed three things over all else: sports, beautiful women, and great food.

Rarely, if ever, however, does this triumvirate occur on the same night, resulting in the ultimate hat-trick. Recently, however, I discovered that good things really do come in threes.

It was one of those rare Saturday evenings when I found myself with no plans other than to watch my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs take on the New York Rangers in an even rarer "Original Six" match up. My wife had made plans to take my daughter to her brothers, my son had a much anticipated sleepover at his friend Josh's. What was I to do?

I quickly took to the phone to set up a guy's night out with my buddy Harold whose wife had left (temporarily) for Mexico the day before, and another friend and work colleague, Steve, one of the biggest Leaf fans I know. My destination of choice was the relatively new Joey Yorkdale restaurant which had been on my radar for some time since my work colleagues and, yes, Harold, had told me that it was just as good as the Joey Don Mills location, where I have eaten on a number of occasions.

Fortunately, I was able to grab a reservation for Saturday night, and as soon as we were shown to our table - located in the bar - perfectly situated between the Raptors/Cavaliers game on one screen, and the Buds and Rangers on the other, I was in sports heaven.

Throw into the mix that our waitress, Bree, who was, of course, beautiful, was also intelligent, funny and genuinely interested in ensuring that we enjoyed our stay, something all-too-rare in many other establishments these days. It may be an oxymoron, but it's true. I found Joey's Yorkdale to be a casual, yet upscale venue, with a wonderful atmosphere, and did I mention the gorgeous waitresses?

Did I mention Bree?

But I digress.

The restaurant has its own unique and palpable energy, with a warm and luxurious setting, without any hint of being pretentious.
And, let's not forget the food. I started with a delightfully warm and fresh chicken Ceasar salad, followed by my entrée, fettucine alfredo. Unlike many other places, the sauce was not too heavy or creamy, but just right.

"It's always about the food," Joey's Yorkdale executive chef, Chris Mills told me. And he should know. Chris is a passionate culinarian who has competed in Japan's Iron Chef, and at France's Bocuse d'Or, to name but a couple.

The evening was going as well as I could have hoped for as we had a few drinks, ate our meals, and caught up. Even better was the fact that as of entrée time, both the Leafs and the Raptors were winning their respective games. Of course, by the time our bill came, the Leafs had lost 5 to 2, and the Raptors had lost on a 3-point shot with 0.7 seconds left.

For me, the measure of a good time is just that, the measure of time. When I see a movie and it goes by quickly, chances are I enjoyed it immensely.

The case with Joey's Yorkdale was the same. Suddenly, I realized that the games were over, and that we had been there for well over three hours. Yet, I was enjoying myself so much that if I didn't have to get up to coach my son's hockey team early the next morning, I would have happily stayed there for another three hours.

Joey's Yorkdale is the perfect setting for a casual yet "special" evening out. It is much more than just another restaurant, it is truly an experience that delights all the senses.

Unfortunately, about the only thing the staff at Joey Yorkdale couldn't do for me on this night was somehow change the results of the Leafs or Raptors games, but I'll be back nonetheless, probably on a non-game night.