Wonderpho- Free PHO for Father's Day.

free pho!...  Wonderpho is a restaurant in North York that specializes in vietnamese food.  I found out from my friend, Jason, who also runs the restaurant, that they are offering a FREE pho for Dads on Father's Day (Sunday, June 16 2013)!!!  It's a nice casual place to go for lunch, as the restaurant has a more modern decor than the typical Pho restaurants in Toronto- the only place in T.O. that I have eaten Pho at an Outdoor Patio!  I went yesterday and had the Rare Beef + Beef Brisket Noodle Soup (Regular Size- $7.99 + tax/tip) along with some appetizers (half price from 3-5 pm!).  The pho is pretty good- with the soup being pretty light, if you are used to heavily flavoured soup bases.  Also had the Pork and Tiger Shrimp Spring Rolls (~$2-$3/ plate with the happy hour special), which are stuffed! I want to go back for more of these super crispy + tasty spring rolls!  Also must try their complimentary Taro Chips, thinly sliced and baked pieces of Taro!

Info for FREE Pho on Father's Day:

- Print or Show Coupon to recieve Free Regular size Pho for Dads on June 16, 2013 (Valid for tables of 2 or more with another full paying adult order)

- Add $2 to upsize to a Large size Pho

2 Free Tickets to "Lobster Love" Event.

free lobster contest!... An event for lobster lovers, appropriately named "Lobster Love" is being held at Evergreen Brickworks on July 19, 2012. Earlier this year, I enjoyed great seafood and lobster during another event held at Evergreen Brickworks. The event runs from 6 PM - Midnight and will be a night full of delicious lobsters prepared by Toronto's finest chefs.  Tickets include admission and also food, with guests selecting a main course of a 1.5 LB lobster prepared in one of the following ways: Lobster Roll, Lobster Thermidor or Boiled Lobster.  There will also be warm drawn butter for dipping, garden fresh side salads and steaming golden cobs of corn-organically grown.  Tickets are $39 (+ $4 service charge) per person and can be purchased here, but here's your chance to get in on this event for free...


"Good Food Toronto" will be giving away a pair of tickets for the "Lobster Love" through a random draw on Facebook.  Follow the instructions below and on Friday July 13, 2012, one winner will be selected and contacted on Facebook. See Good Food Toronto Facebook Page for full details.


To enter the contest, all you need to do is:
1. "Like" the Good Food Toronto Facebook Page
2. "Like" and "Share" the Good Food Toronto "Lobster Love" post to your Facebook Wall
3.  In the comments of the Good Food Toronto "Lobster Love" post, write down your favourite way to eat lobster (ex. Lobster Roll, Boiled Lobster, Lobster Thermidor, Lobster Bisque, Chinese Style... the list goes on.)


Lobster Love, July 19, 2012
Evergreen Brick Works 
550 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, ON
M4W 3X8

7-Eleven: Free Doritos Chips + Free Slurpees.

free doritos!... 7-Eleven is giving out free samples of their unreleased Doritos 3rd Degree Burn Tortilla Chips today (May 17, 2012).  As long as you're 17 or older (not sure how they picked this random age), you can head into any 7-11 location in Canada and grab a sample, while quantities last.  The bags are small at 16 gram bags- half the size of their usual snack sizes by weight, but they are FREE! 

7-eleven is also giving away free slurpees next Wednesday, May 23, 2012 as part of their SlurpFREE day promo. First 1000 guests at 7-11 locations across Canada between 11 am- 7 pm will recieve a free 7.11 Oz Slurpee. 

Macaron Day TO.

free macarons!... Tomorrow (Macaron 20, 2012) is Macaron Day in Toronto, where a bunch of patisseries across Toronto are giving out one free macaron per customer- you just have to mention that you are celebrating Macaron Day TO. Apparently, this event is being held in New York and Paris as well, so free macarons across the world! They are also donating 25% of each additional macaron to charity, so it sounds like a cool event to try some of these tasty meringue pastries. Check out the event and all the participating Patisseries here.

Kelsey's Free 1 lb Wings.

free wings!... on January 21, 2010 Kelsey's is celebrating their 30th anniversary (or something like that...) and they are giving out 1 lb of free wings to each customer. On their site, it says you have to go after 4 pm and also that there is a maximum of 8 wings for each customer. There wings are not the best, but it is FREE wings lol. Last time I went I tried their Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce and it was not good, so stay away from that. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it to this because there aren't too many locations downtown, but check out the locations for yourself if you plan on grabbing these wings.

Chipotle Mexican Grill: Boo-rito Review.

WRITTEN and EATEN by Hu-Yan Leung & Marron Law

burritos… Halloween, the time for costumes and free candy. But how about free burritos? Every year on Halloween, if you dress up as anything on Chipotle Mexican Grill’s menu they will complete your costume with a free burrito. This is only from 6 pm – close. For our costume, all we did was wrap ourselves in some tin foil. The people are pretty lenient with it since we saw some guy who just taped a piece of tin foil to his forehead. There was a sign at the cash register advertising this special giveaway, but surprisingly there weren’t that many people who knew about the free burrito. As usual, the store was filled with customers, but almost all of them had paid for their meal. Even though we did not have to pay for our burrito, Chipotle did not cheap out on us.
For those of you not familiar with Chipotle, it is a popular American fast-food chain that opened one location in Canada. This location happens to be beside the Future Shop across Eaton’s. Although Chipotle is considered fast-food, it is way more healthy and fresh than McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, etc. Chipotle offers burritos, fajitas, tacos and quesadillas. There are 4 types of meat to choose from such as steak, chicken, barbacoa (beef braised in spices then shredded) and carnitas (pork seared, braised in spices then shredded). You can fill your burrito with an assortment of fillings such as cilantro-lime rice, pinto or black beans (or a bit of both), mild to hot salsas (fresh tomato, tomatillo green-chili, tomatillo red-chili, roasted chili-corn), sour cream, shredded cheese, guacamole and lettuce. The burritos are a very generous size and once the woman even ripped and wasted several tortillas just because my burrito was too big to wrap! If you don’t like tortillas, and just like the fillings, you can get a burrito bowl. Chipotle’s burritos always taste fresh, delicious and very satisfying. Every item on their menu is around $8.25 (they raised their prices recently...) and guacamole is an additional $2.22. The guac is pretty expensive, and several times I have not added it. But honestly, it is just not the same without it. To save money and to not compromise on flavour, a good idea is to bring your own guac. On Halloween, we went with a total of 4 people and ended up saving around $45 including guacamole. The price is a bit more expensive than your standard burrito, but in addition to all of the fillings being made fresh in-store, Chipotle also prides themselves in having naturally-raised, unprocessed and hormone free ingredients. This in itself is worth those extra few dollars.

Chipotle Mexican Grill
323 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M5B 1R7
(416) 596-8600

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Hu-Yan Leung and Marron Law are both Guest Stars/ Guest Writers for Good Food Toronto. They are both students who live and enjoy all types of food in Toronto. Marron is a student at York Mills CI, while Hu-Yan (who is my bro) goes to York University and shares my love for deals (especially free ones!).

King Street Crawl.

free beer... I just found out about an event on King Street West happening tonight (July 23, 2009) between 6-10 pm called the King Street Crawl. This event will be happening along different bars on King West (between Spadina and Bathurst). You need to go to one of the bars to pickup a "free passport," and afterwards you can go to each bar and sample a different brand of beer. The sizes of the samples vary from bar to bar but apparently some are very generous. For more information, visit their Facebook page

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Here is a list of the participating bars:

Crush Wine Bar
455 King Street West
www.crushwinebar.com

Brassaii
461 King Street West
www.brassaii.com

Fynn's of Temple Bar
489 King Street West
www.fynnstemplebar.com

2 Cats
569 King Street West
www.2cats.ca

Loki Lounge
577 King Street West
www.lokilounge.ca

Bier Markt
600 King Street West
www.thebiermarkt.com

bar Wellington
520 Wellington Street West
www.barwellington.ca

KiWe Kitchen
587 King Street West
www.kiwekitchen.com

Lou Dawgs
589 King Street West
www.loudawgs.com

The Banknote
663 King Street West

7-Eleven Slurpee Day.

slurpee... Today is July 11, 2009, which means that 7- Eleven is holding its annual 7- Eleven Day and is giving out FREE slurpees all day today. My brothers just went around 3 am to get the first batch of free slurpees and from what I saw, they got free small sized slurpees. Find a location near you on their site.

Mandarin Canada Day Lineup.

canada day... On July 1 (Canada Day), 2 friends and I trekked out to the Mandarin at Eglington and Birchmount, hoping to get some free Mandarin Buffet. This being the first time any of us had tried to get in on this promotion, we went at about 12 pm since it opens at 12:30 pm. When we got there, we couldn't believe how crazy it was as the lineup had to be 400 + deep and the lineup wrapped around and around the building, so we decided to just skip out on this packed event. We could barely drive through the parking lot as it was so packed! From what I heard, people had been lining up since around 8 or 9 am. I guess for some people, there really isn't much to do on Canada Day other than lineup for free Mandarin Buffet.

Mandarin Buffet- Free on Canada Day.

On July 1, 2009, Mandarin Buffet locations are celebrating Canada Day by offering their all you can eat buffet for FREE to all Canadian Citizens (12:30 pm-8:30 pm). They have 21 locations. This is an awesome free event, as mandarin will usually cost $12-$24 regular price depending on lunch or dinner. Here is some more info that I got from their site:

We ask for your co-operation in respecting the following:

• Buffet meals (including soft drinks, tea, and coffee) are free for all Canadians* with one of the following proofs of citizenship: Canadian birth certificate, Canadian passport, Canadian citizenship card
  
• No reservations will be taken – guests will be seated on a first come first serve basis
• Our first seating is at 12:00pm and our last seating is at 8:30pm
  
• All guests in your party must be present in the line. If a member of your party needs a break, please inform the people behind you o
  
• Dress code is in effect
• This offer does not apply to: other beverages, take-out or delivery meals
• Tips are not included and are appreciated by the staff
  
• À-la-carte will not be served on July 1, but we will continue serving take-out & delivery at regular prices

Review: Harvey's Free Burger Day.

free burger review... A couple weeks ago I posted about the Free Burger Day at Harvey's (May 24, 2009), so obviously I had to partake in this special day of the year.haha. I actually went to my friend's cottage for the weekend up in Muskoka, so we made sure to hit up a Harvey's on the way back to Toronto. We got to the lone Harvey's store in a town called Gravenhurst at 2:44 pm, just in time as the free burger promotion ended at 3 pm. There was no lineup at all, and the staff there were all super friendly, reminding everyone that you could get a free burger. Many of these free food promotions often end up in the places skimping on the food and giving you a bit less, especially when theres lineups. For this promo though, Harvey's gets the Good Food Toronto seal of approval as the burgers were the same as usual, with the employees taking time to put all the condiments and toppings on (extra pickles ftw!).
I heard from friends that there were long lineups in Toronto locations, but I guess I was just lucky enough to be at the Gravenhurst location that day. If you missed out on this, no worries... since Harvey's is giving away free burger coupons for each burger you buy until August 2, 2009. Check out the pic of the receipt as well, I love getting receipts that show $0.00 for free food promos (like the one I got for the 72 oz steak, haha).

Harvey's Free Original Burger.

free burger... Harvey's is running a promo for their 50th birthday. For every burger you buy (any kind), you will receive a coupon for a FREE original burger on your next visit- kind of like the Wendy's FREE burger deal. I saw my friend with one of these free coupons, and it is just printed on a receipt (according to the redflagdeals thread, the free coupon receipt automatically gets printed out for any burger purchases, including hot dogs).

• The coupons cannot be used on the same day (got to wait at least 1 day) and they expire within 3 weeks (the entire promo runs until August 2, 2009).
  
• Make sure you get a free burger coupon for each burger you buy, even if they are bought together- ie. if you buy 3 burgers, make sure you get 3 free burger coupons

Wendy's: Free Single Hamburger.

wendy's... I went to Wendy's recently to grab some of their value meals and I noticed that they have signs on every table advertising a "Free Single Hamburger." Upon further inspection of the sign, it says that you can get the free burger by doing a survey from the receipt you receive. I remember that you could do this before and get a free small frosty.

How to get the free burger:

• Save your receipt and on the back of the receipt, look for the website or 1-800 number
  
• Either call the number or log on to the website, complete the survey to recieve validation code
• Fill in validation code on the back of the receipt
• Go to Wendy's and redeem the free hamburger (within 14 days)!
• Eat the free hamburger..mmm!

Harvey's Free Hamburger Day.

free burger... Once again, Harvey's is having their annual free hamburger day. On this coming Sunday, May 24, 2009, Harvey's across Canada will be giving away free original hamburgers between 10:30 am- 3 pm. The lineup for this is always long, but these lines usually move pretty fast. Harvey's also has drive thru, so I'm guessin you could pick up the free burger through drive through as well. More info from the Harvey's Site.

Tim Hortons Free Iced Coffee.

I saw this in a Facebook event from Tim Hortons. On May 21, 2009, from 12 PM-5 PM, you can get a small Iced Coffee for FREE (regular price: $2.29 + tax for a small... ripoff!). If you've tried their new Iced Coffee (not Ice Cappucino), feel free to comment about how it tastes or even send me a quick review for it....

From the Facebook Event:
"Drop by your local participating Tim Hortons store on May 21, 2009, and enjoy a new small Iced Coffee for FREE!*

It’s a creamy, sweet blend of Tim Hortons coffee on ice. It’s a refreshing way to enjoy your Tim Hortons coffee!

*No purchase necessary. Limit one small Iced Coffee per customer. Offer valid in Canada only, excluding British Columbia and Manitoba."

Earth Day/ Week Free Stuff.

earth day... So tomorrow is Earth Day and this week is Earth week, which means there is plenty of free stuff being given out around this time. Here's a list of some of the free stuff you can grab that I already posted and a few new ones.

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Previously Posted
Mcdonalds: April 20-May 3 (5-10:30 am)- Free Small Coffee
Ben and Jerry: April 21 (12-8pm)- Free Cone Day (only at Vaughan Mills)
Starbucks: April 22 (all day)- Free Coffee (if you bring your own mug)
Baskin Robbins: April 29 (5-10 pm)- $0.31 Scoops

New
Planet Organic Market: April 22 (all day)- Free Cake and Organic Coffee (locations across Canada)
Yonge- Dundas Square: April 22 (1-6pm) - Free Brita Pitchers (3600 to be given out, until quantities last)
Longo's Supermarket: April 22 (all day)- Free reusable Shopping bag (see link for details, you need to get some card + coupon)

The Lone Star 72 Oz. Steak Challenge.

the steak... Last Wednesday, we finally went to the Lone Star Cafe to take on the 72 Oz steak challenge. 2/3 people who attempted it succeeded and tasted the sweet victory of a huge free steak. (RECAP: Lone Star Steak Challenge , Training Day 1 , Training Day 2 , Training Day 3, Training Day 4). We called in 2 days before to reserve the steaks and they took our credit card number just in case we didn't show up to eat the steaks. I felt good that day and I prepared myself for the meal (at 9pm) by constantly eating very small bits of food all day (mostly yogourt and fruit). Daniel prepared himself on the day of the steak by playing some rugby to build up an appetite. The third contestant, Yale, went another route as he prepared his body to eat the steak by eating an XL bowl of Pho for lunch (beast!). When we walked into the restaurant, our other friends who came to witness the challenge ordered first and our steaks came soon after. The steaks were 72 Ounces (4.5 lbs) and each one sat on a sizzling hot plate. Each of us had to choose 1 side as well (Daniel and I got the garden salad, Yale got the mashed potatoes with gravy). Right when we sat down, our server brought over some nacho chips as well (Yale also killed these, he just keeps eating!). We all ordered the steaks medium rare, and they came out to be more like medium (if you want to try it, I would suggest ordering rare). As you can see in the pictures, the steaks are huge! Not only are they wide, but they are really thick. At the thickest point, they were probably over 3 inches thick.
If we finished the 72 Oz. Steak + Side in under 1 hour it would be free. When we first started eating it tasted pretty good, but as we approached the halfway mark, that was when things started slowing down. One person started to give up, as Daniel stopped at half the steak (he still ate an impressive 2.25 pounds of meat). Yale and I kept going, and by 3/4 of the way, I seriously started to not feel so well (haha!). I did not want to eat the steak anymore, but I continued to cut and chew. The hardest part was that my jaw was getting tired and the meat was quite dry on some parts (especially the charred parts). We did tell the waiter that the steak was way too well done for medium rare and they said we could get 25% off if we couldn't finish it (Daniel definitely benefited from this as the steak cost $54.99+tax if you can't finish it). At about the 50 minute mark, both Yale and I finished the entire 72 Oz steaks and quickly inhaled our sides!!! I wish I could say that I felt really happy about finishing it (LOL) but I really felt jealous of Daniel, who stopped eating his and felt great. The craziest thing that happened was that Yale then went on to finish off some Ribs from somebody elses plate. "When are we going to do the steak challenge again?!" was the first thing Yale asked me the next day.
Quick Notes: I could not have completed this challenge without the training that we did. Eating entire cabbages actually stretched my stomach, increased my appetite and helped me mentally when I didn't want to eat any more of the giant steak. In terms of price, this was the "DEAL OF THE YEAR." As you can see in the picture of the receipt, the two steaks me and Yale finished came to a total of $0. Between the 2 of us, that was 144 Ounces of meat + sides for nothing. "Some people run marathons, we eat!"
Can you do it? The staff at Lonestar told us that around 1/10 people who attempt the steak are able to finish it. My advice to you is to make sure you train and are able to eat a lot of the same thing in one sitting (ex. entire 4.5 lb heads of cabbage lol). On the day of, eat as light as possible, but make sure you eat little things throughout the day so your stomach doesn't shrink. During the challenge, my strategy was to cut the steak from one side only, to keep as much moisture and warmth in the giant steak as possible. Yale's strategy was to use huge amounts of HP steak sauce (a total of 3 bottles were used between Daniel and Yale). In addition to this, it is important to watch the time and to continuously cut and not stop chewing. If you can complete it, it is a free meal. I'm pretty sure that I have eaten much more at some all you can eat sushi places, but the huge steak and the 1 hr time constraint was a definite challenge. Try it at your own risk. Click here for locations

Here are 2 videos documenting our challenge.lol: 1. before we ate the steak and 2. the process of us eating the steaks...

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day.

Free Ice Cream... Looks like lots of places are offering free stuff next week, or very cheap (Starbucks, McDonalds , Baskin Robbins). In addition to this, Ben and Jerry's is also holding their annual Free Cone Day (got this off RFD). On Tuesday April 21, participating Ben and Jerry locations around the world are giving out free cones between 12 pm and 8 pm. Unfortunately in Toronto, the only location participating is at Vaughan Mills. If you are in the area though, make sure you take advangtage of some free ice cream. If your not around Vaughan Mills, theres always free coffee or 31 cent ice cream from Starbucks, McDonalds and Baskin Robbins haha.

Note: For people in other parts of Canada or around the world, you can look up which locations in your city are giving out free cones.

Free Coffee at Starbucks.

free coffee... If you don't like McDonald's Coffee and want some free coffee still, Starbucks is also offering free coffee on Earth Day (any Starbucks across Canada)! On April 22, 2009, you can go to any Starbucks, and as long as you bring your own tumbler/travel mug, they will fill it up with some "Pike Place Roast" coffee. You can bring any travel mug (doesn't have to be a Starbucks one). You can also save $0.10 next time you go to Starbucks by bringing your own mug. Get free coffee + help the environment = a deal and a half. More Info

Free Coffee at McDs.

free coffee... I've been posting too much stuff on McDonald's lately, but when stuff is free, I need to share the deal with everyone. From April 20- May 3, 2009, McDonalds locations across Canada are giving out a "FREE Small Coffee" to all customers between 5 am-10:30 am (opening hours may vary, and until 11 am on weekends). I saw ads for this on the counters at Mcdonalds yesterday. So for those 2 weeks, go and grab some free coffee from McDonalds. I don't drink coffee, but I gotta share this free deal! lol