I was determined to attend the Toronto Garlic Festival despite the POURING RAIN.

Upon arrival I realized that the rain wasn’t stopping garlic fans from attending as the three parking lots were almost full and it was only 10 am!!

However, the rain stopped and the sunshine came out which meant I could focus on these garlicky treats!!

a) GARLIC COFEE – yes, that’s right…Garlic Coffee. Described as: Warm Garlic Infused Spiced Coffee with Maple Cream and Pumpkin Vanilla Dust. Thank you Incredible Spice for creating this unique cup of java.

b) GARLIC Lollipop – oh how I love these creations that mix sweet and savoury.

c) BLACK GARLIC BUTTER TARTS – this had my name all over it as butter tarts are one of my weaknesses! Kudos to the good people at Smoked and Cracked. I really hope this will be a regular feature on their menu

d) FRENCH GARLIC APPLE TOAST with Creme Fraiche from Magic Oven. – oh what a combo of flavours. ps did you know that Magic Oven is soon opening on Eglinton Ave W.?

Of course I came home with some garlic from Soup Stone Farms and put it to good use…immediately. Please remind me, never to buy garlic from the grocery store again! What a difference.

Congratulations once again to the Toronto Garlic Festival for putting on another well organized and tasty event.

 

 

Recently I attended the launch of the new Flat White at Second Cup. It was a great excuse to wear white ….AND I love my morning coffee. Kudos to the publicists for encouraging guests to wear white and for having the event at 10 am.!

See how happy I am?

 The new Flat White features more espresso and less steamed milk. I was a fan after my first sip! I could taste the bold flavour and loved the creaminess of the the micro foam.

It’s bold with without being bitter and velvety without using an excess of milk. Of course, I paired it with a beautiful butter tart. …I just couldn’t resist. I now live across the street from Second Cup and know that I will be ordering the Flat White on a regular basis. Sadly the butter tart will only be a treat – once in a while!!

PS Look out for this unique Flat White Piaggio truck this weekend at Second Cup at 355 Danforth Avenue on Saturday Sept 20 from 1 to 8 pm and on Sunday Sept 21 from 1 to 8 pm

 

 

For more information:

Second Cup – www.secondcup.com

Twitter: @secondcup

Join the Conversation: #flatwhite  or #espressoloversrejoice

 

 

 

 

This isn’t going to be a typical blog entry!! However I have permission from my friend Kevin that I can blog about it. You see….I can’t believe I have a friend whose favourite drink is MANISCHEWITZ  CONCORD (on ice).

He was recently in Toronto visiting with his lovely family. His parents threw a party for the occasion and  I noticed there were TWO bottles of Manischewitz amongst the wine/scotch/and beer. I was so surprised to see this brand that I said something to Mrs. D….and she replied: “Oh that’s Kevins favorite drink…he requested for me to buy two bottles”.

Seriously…. this just blew me away.

Please meet Kevin who could be the poster boy for this SWEET…SWEET (err…off the scales SWEET) wine.

Most Jewish people (including myself) have a long history with this brand but it’s not something we drink socially…except for Kevin!

A few years ago, I found out that this particular brand is one of ten listed products that you will find in EVERY SINGLE LCBO store. I asked the sales rep: “Who is drinking this brand?” and he replied that it’s widely used in PUNCH, due to its’ high sugar content. Too funny.

Anyway…cheers to my friend Kevin!

 

 

 

I saw a friends facebook update about “Smore’s Popcorn Balls” and when I saw the recipe I knew that I HAD to try it. Anything that doesn’t require baking and has only a few ingredients – is right up my alley.

When I made it the first time – I didn’t read the recipe entirely (this is pretty typical of me) and discovered that I added an extra ingredient. OOPS!! But hey it worked.

Here’s my version of S’mores Popcorn Balls.

Ingredients

3 cups of popcorn

1 cup of Kellogs Rice Krispies

1 cups of graham crackers ground up (I just used my hands…nothing fancy)

2 cups of marshmallows

1/4 cup of butter

Directions

1. Melt the butter and the marshmallows on medium heat in a large saucepan. The goal here is to get the marshmallow to break down which means you need to stir constantly!!

2. Add the Rice Krispies and popcorn and the graham crackers.  Again – stir constantly!!

3. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly. Form into balls.

4. Melt some chocolate and drizzle on top (optional)

FINALY PRODUCT

I swear these will disappear before you can say “why haven’t I made these before”.

I’ve now made them 3 times and I have a feeling I will be making them pretty regularly!

Happy Baking!

I scored…I went to two fabulous festivals in one day. I started off at the Wild Blueberry Festival at Evergreen Brickworks and then proceeded to the Coconut Festival at Wychwood Barns!

Here’s more about my experience at both Festivals.

WILD BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL

I’ve been to this festival before as I’m a huge fan of Wild Blueberries. Did you know…that they have 2x the antioxidants of regular blueberries and have a more intense blueberry flavour?

The festival had a variety of vendors who had incorporated wild blueberries into their products and I was all too pleased to have a sample or two!  I even met a new vendor..Celia the Celiac and bumped into a vendor I hadn’t seen in a long time (Augies Gourmet Ice Pops)

Congratulations to the festival organizers for putting on another well organized festival.

THE COCONUT FESTIVAL

I discovered this festival on my facebook page as I follow Ely Products  and he posted that was going to be one of the vendors. The whole concept of a coconut festival intrigued me and naturally I thought it would be fun to “festival hop’.

It was their first year putting on this festival and it won’t be their last year. The festival was a huge success with over 100 vendors. It was quite amazing to see all the different applications of coconut!

It was fun to bump into Marni Wasserman (who has a studio that I’ve been meaning to visit for a class) and to discover a great new non dairy gelato product from Grinning Face (540 Parliament) that just opened in June!  I also enjoyed yummy samosas with coconut and raisins from @andriabarrett.

Once again, congratulations to the organizers of the Coconut Festival. ..what a truly unique concept.

 

I recently visited Montreal from Aug 3 to Aug 10. What a treat for both my tummy and my eyes! I’m actually going to dedicate TWO blog posts to the “food” part of my trip. Does that give you an indication of how much food I ate? LOL

Here’s a list  of restaurants that I tried.  Sadly I didn’t make it to Joe Beef as they were closed. Sniff.

Garde Manger:  What did we order? The lobster poutine, Foie Gras with brioche and a blueberry sauce, and the Walleye. We sat at the bar in the back and loved both our food and the cool yet casual vibe of this restaurant. PS almost went back another night for the Foie Gras dish – it was that good.

Au Pied Du Cochon; This is my 3rd time to this restaurant in the past 7 years and I keep ordering the same thing! Foie Gras Poutine and Cromesquis Foie Gras (basically deep fried squares and when you pop them into your mouth – foie gros oozes into your mouth). This visit I felt like I need to add some vegetables to balance the meal and it didn’t disappoint.

L’Gros Luxe: Noticed that they had a poutine sandwich on the menu AND deep fried avocado. Didn’t take me long to add L’Gros Luxe  to the list of restaurants I wanted to check out. There’s a reason why they just opened their second location…great food, great prices and friendly staff.

Olive & Gourmando: This restaurant seems to be packed ALL the time. I went an hour before closing and it was still full of customers (minus the line ups). It was a good strategy not to go for breakfast or lunch seeing as I’m not fond of line ups. The waitress told me that #24 on the menu is a popular salad so I ordered it. It was SO pretty and SO tasty. Just what I needed. I can see why this is a popular spot for tourists and for locals.

Brit & Chips; One night I was looking for a casual restaurant that wasn’t far from Old Montreal and this restaurant fit the bill. Just perfect.

Ceviches: Oh what a treat to discover this restaurant. Love. Love. Love this restaurant. Again – another casual restaurant and exactly what I was looking for. I wish there was a restaurant like this in Toronto!

 

Just so you know – I followed three blogs that were instrumental in helping me decide which restaurants to go to!

1. www.mtlblog.com

2.www.willtravelforfood.com

3. www.shutupandeat.ca

For more information:

Garde Manger 408 Rue St. Francois Xavier, Montreal (514) 678 5044

Au Pied Du Cochon 36 Avenue Duluth Est, Montréal  (514) 281-1114

L’Gros Luxe  3807 St-André  514-447-2227 OR 150 Bernard Ouest  Mile End 514-507-8883

Olive & Gourmando 351 Rue Saint Paul Ouest (514) 350-1083

Ceviches 152 Rue Napoléon, Montréal (514) 419-6391

Brit & Chips 433 Rue McGill (514) 840 1001 or 5536 Cote-des-Neiges, Montreal (514) 737-9555

 

 

The other night I was on twitter (for a change) and I noticed a lot of buzz about @Poutineville. Naturally I wanted to check it out seeing as I just returned from Montreal and wanted to continue my “Poutine Crawl”!!

I had no idea that Poutineville has 3 locations in Montreal, cause I would have visited them on my recent visit!! However I’m thrilled to announce that they just opened in the Annex and will soon be opening a location in Quebec City too!

The space is super cool and much larger than I thought! It really is a full service sit down restaurant with 130 seats (including the terrace) and a full menu

As for the menu – you get to choose the the potato (4 varieties), cheese (10 varieties), vegetable (13 varieties) meat (14 varieties), and your sauce (6 varieties)! EVERYONE WILL BE HAPPY!! There’s even an option to select ” all-you-can-eat”.

And if you are looking for a salad – they have a few varieties on the menu as well. Trust me – there’s something for everyone!

I am well aware that poutine is not the prettiest dish to photograph so please excuse the less-than-glamourous-photos. But trust me they all tasted fantastic…each and every combo!

Wishing Costa (on the left) and his staff all the very best in Toronto!

PS I have a friend visiting from California next week and think this would be a fun place to visit with an out of towner! Oh how I love introducing friends to the novel restaurants here in Toronto!

For more information:

Poutineville 296 Brunswick (647) 349 2345

Twitter:  @poutineville

Instagram: @poutineville

Disclosure: I was compensated for my meal however all my opinions are my own.

I love the CNE. What’s not to like? There’s plenty of entertainment, rides, the Canadian International Air Show and FOOD. For me…it’s all about the food and this year my taste buds were introduced to the following.

1. Chocolate Fried Chicken with Chocolate Ketchup. This is NOT to be missed and can be found Coco’s Fried Chicken

2.The Chunky Elvis…  A Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Cheddar Cheese, Peanut Butter, Sliced Bananas and bacon. Again – NOT to me missed. Brought to you by: Chunky Cheese Cafe and Espresso Bar

3. The Thanksgiving Waffle. Sadly I didn’t get a chance to sample it but I will be returning the CNE and #itsonmylist. Brought to you by: Fran’s Restaurant. 

4. Bao with Nutella, Graham Crumbs, Marshmallow whip and Condensed Milk. If you like something sweet – this is for you! What a combo! Brought to you by: Far East Taco

5. The Crow Bar….A croissant with a chocolate bar inside. What will they think of next? Brought to you by: Hula Girl Espresso

Clearly I didn’t need lunch after this media preview!

This year the CNE runs from Aug 15 to Sept 1st at the Toronto Exhibition Place.

Twitter: @LetsGoTotheEx

Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/theEx

Instagram: LetsGoToTheEx

I know..I know….I’ve posted three restaurant reviews in a row. I promise next week there will be NO restaurant reviews K? However bear with me for my last restaurant review K? I attended a media event for Portland Variety and they really nailed it with some spectacular presentation and flavours. Not to mention…they serve coffee that is WICKED.

Ok let’s start from the beginning.

The front of the restaurant serves breakfast (coffee and pastries etc) …take out lunches (sandwiches etc) and after work there is this INCREDIBLE spread of  tapas.  I mean INCREDIBLE…with incredible prices too. There’s also dinner!!

Now let’s talk about the food that is served during dinner. Top Left:  Chickpeas in a creamy sauce, Top Right: Smoked Octopus, Iberico Chorizo, Smoked Tomato, Olive Oil, Lemon. Bottom Left: Crispy Pork Rinds that I wrapped up and put in my purse (no joke).  Bottom RIght: House Made Ricotta with Honey, Hazelnuts and Pear

I’m in love with all the sauces. I could marry them!

I didn’t taste any of these cocktails but I sure did want to take a photo of them. One drink was prettier than the next drink!

Naturally I didn’t have any battery left to take photos of the desserts but I beg of you to try to beignets. (I haven’t begged before but seriously – Im begging you this time).

As for the coffee. It’s not to be missed. Milton (one of the co-owners) made me a spectacular Americano. It was so good that I had one at the beginning of my meal and one at the end of my meal. This is NOT something I do on a usual basis – especially at night.

ps..Notice how gorgeous the machine is? Well, there’s only 2 in Toronto and he spent a week in Delaware learning how use it!

Congratulations to Portland Variety. I can’t wait to return.

For more information:

Porland Variety  587 King St. W, Toronto (416) 368 5151

Twitter: @PortlandVariety

A few weeks ago I received an invitation to a media event at Mata Petisco Bar and I have to be honest…I didn’t reply in a timely fashion as I wasn’t sure if I was going to like South American Cuisine. At the last minute, I quickly replied “Can you please squeeze me in?”. I’m ever so grateful that I changed my mind.

The restaurant is located at 1690 Queen St. West and just opened recently. (errr…in time for the World Cup).

Here’s what I inhaled!

Top photo: Cheese Bread and Lobster Pastel; Bottom Right: Corvina Ceviche with Maple Candied Sweet Potato, Celery & Lime Marinate & Fresh Cilantro.  Bottom Left: Smoky Crispy Chicken Hearts w/Cauliflower Puree & Ancho Chili Oil.

The meal continued….

Top left photo: Grilled Octopus w/Hearts of Palm Puree, Raspberry & Balsamic Reduction & Taro Root Crisps, Bottom Left: Beef Cheek Poutine w/Casava Frites, Fresh Curds & Scallions. Right Photo: Picanha Sliders w/ Cachaca Carmelized Onions, House Made Catupiry Cheese & Malagueta Pepper Aioli.

I was enamoured by these small jars of HOT sauce which I put on everything…ok not everything but close to it.

If you asked me to nail down my fav dishes…here ya go: a) the crispy chicken hearts, the grilled octopus and the beef cheek poutine. Yum..Yum..and more Yum.

Hope you get a chance to check out this restaurant soon.

For more information.

Mata Petisco Bar….1690 Queen St. West, Toronto (647) 691 0234

Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 5 pm to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 5 pm to 11 pm

Twitter: @MatabarTO