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

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I drove into Ottawa on Saturday at 7 pm and left on Monday at 8 am. This means that I had a lot to do in a short period of time. Guess what? Mission Accomplished. I checked out 4 new places. Here’s what I discovered:

a) Bread by Us…this new bakery is only 6 months old and is already a hit in the neighbourhood.  I had a lovely chat with the owners and enjoyed my coffee with a white chocolate strawberry scone . Next time, I really need to buy a loaf of bread.  Kind of kicking myself that I walked away empty handed.

b) La Trappe a Fromage: I have NO idea why I’ve never been to this store before. It’s only a 15 min drive from downtown Ottawa and WELL WORTH THE DRIVE. There’s a massive variety of Quebec beer and a massive variety of Quebec cheese too. This is now going to be a store that I’m going to visit on a more regular basis.

c) Beyond the Pale Brewing Company:  I drove by this place in the morning but it was closed and then returned in the afternoon. I’m so glad that I did. What a discovery. I had 3 samples and then chose one to bring back to Toronto. This little brewery is soon to be expanding as there’s a HUGE demand for their beer. Very happy for them.

c) Salt.…this restaurant only opened 2 weeks ago! I’m not sure what I should write about first…the space or the food. Both are outstanding. In fact I can’t think of a restaurant in Ottawa that has paid this much attention to the space! The owners wanted to create a restaurant that is open late at night (i.e the kitchen is open till 2am) and where live music is played. As for the food – everything is made in house (the jam, the mustard, etc) and both dishes that we had were well executed and plated to perfection.

For more information

Bread By Us: 1065 Wellington St. W, Ottawa (613) 422 5300 Twitter: @BreadByUs

Beyond the Pale Brewing Company: 5 Hamilton Ave. N, Ottawa, (613) 695 2991 Twitter: @BeyondThePale

La Trappe a Fromage: several locations…I went to 114 Blvd Saint-Raymond, Gatineau Quebec

Salt 345 Preston St. Ottawa  (613) 695 5755. Twitter: @SaltOttawa

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My road trip adventures continue but this time my  adventure was in a cozy Hyundai Elantra.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to like driving a sedan but it turns out that I loved it. It handled well, had all the right bells and whistles and still had the power I needed to accelerate. Not to mention…a very smooth ride.

I drove the Elantra (happily) all the way to Ste. Anne’s Spa.…which is just east of Toronto. In a little over an hour I was happily staring at these beautiful grounds.

After touring the property, we checked into our STUNNING and SPACIOUS room. This was a real treat for me to actually stay overnight as previously I’d only been for a day visit. Please note, that my last visit was two years ago and there has been numerous renovations and upgrades. ie newly decorated rooms, new gym, and a new gluten free bakery too.

I was treated to 3 beautiful meals (which I enjoyed in my robe) and afternoon tea as well (which I enjoyed in my robe).

One of the perks about staying at  Ste. Anne’s is that IT”S PERFECTABLY ACCEPTABLE TO BE IN YOUR ROBE AT ALL TIMES. Yup – I wore my robe for 24 hours and it was DA best feeling. I’m actually kicking myself that I didn’t buy it. (note to self: next time)

The only disadvantage to wearing a robe for 24 hours is that it prevented me from taking out a bicycle to enjoy the rolling hills that surround this property!!

Naturally I enjoyed a spa treatment as well. My tummy was happy (due to the delicious food) and now my skin was happy too due to the seaweed body masque that I experienced.

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Last week I had the chance to test drive a Hyundai Sante Fe XL and this week I had the chance to test drive a Hyundai Tucson. Can you see how happy I am to be driving a red car! Besides the colour, I seriously enjoyed this car as well. It was great on gas, had a spacious trunk and it was a pleasure to drive. Not too big..Not to small…It was “just the right” size.

What I really enjoyed the most was the extendable visor. I don’t know why every car doesn’t have this feature!

Naturally I wanted to go on a road trip with my (red) Hyundai Tucson,  so I decided to visit Ottawa to see my parents and to visit the Tulip Festival. What a great decision. I simply could not stop snapping photos of the tulips. Here’s a few of my favorites.

I also had the chance to visit the Canadian Museum of Nature. This museum was one of my favorites as a kid and it’s still one of my favorite museums as an adult. I love the building itself, the layout of the museum and all the exhibits too. Please put this museum on your radar!

It was also a treat to stay at the Albert at Bay Suite and Hotel. Not only is it centrally located but it has a FULL KITCHEN and a full LIVING ROOM AND DINING ROOM. I absolutely love this hotel and have been a fan for decades!

As you can see…Road Trip #2 was a success. Stay tuned for Road Trip #3 and more Hyundai adventures.

For more information:

Hyundai Canada

Canadian Museum of Nature 240 McLeod St 1 613 566 4700

Albert at Bay Suite Hotel 435 Albert St. 1 800 267 6644

Ottawa Tourism

Disclosure; I’m part of a Hyundai Ambassador program, however all my opinions are my own. Please follow my tweets; #HyundaiDriveSquad

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I love road trips. It doesn’t matter if I’m visiting Elora for the day or a weekend trip to Ottawa.  This year, my first “Spring” road trip was to the cottage, which is a good 3.5 hours north of Toronto. I was all too happy to test drive a Hyundai Sante Fe XL for this road trip. Lucky me…I had the chance to test drive a Hyundai Sante Fe last year so it was kind of cool to be able to compare the two of them. Here’s the blog post from last year.

As you can see, I was pretty happy when I saw the Hyundai Sante Fe XL. The first thing I checked out was the trunk as I knew we would be piling a lot of stuff into it!!

Here’s what the trunk looked like before we headed off to the cottage. Clearly the third road of seats went down to accommodate all the “stuff” we were bringing up north. This car was perfect for this trip!

The car performed beautifully all the way up to the cottage. We enjoyed the smooth ride, the power (um, yes..we did test out the acceleration) and all the bells and whistles.

As for the cottage…it was divine to be back up there after a 5 month absence. We enjoyed good food, good wine and the steam bath!

We were sad to leave the cottage but very happy to be back in the Hyundai Sante Fe XL for the drive back to Toronto.  This 7 passenger car is a true standout when you want space, style and power.

Please Follow me on twitter (@momwhoruns)  using the hashtag #HyundaiDriveSquad for more driving adventures with Hyundai.

Disclosure: I’m a Hyundai Ambassador however all my opinions are my own.

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I’ve just returned from my 7th visit to Las Vegas with my mom. Our trip includes a lot of suntanning (with sunscreen) and eating. Naturally I did a lot of research before our vacation started and made a point of researching restaurants that were OFF the strip. You see, a few years ago we learned that there’s some amazing food to be found that’s NOT on the Strip. Here’s a list of the restaurants that we enjoyed that were just a short cab ride away from our hotel.

1. Night #1: Hot N Juicy Crawfish – we discovered this restaurant a few years ago and even though we try not to go back to the same restaurant twice….we decided that we HAD to go back to this restaurant. The seafood is beyond fresh and we love how your meal arrives to your table in a steaming hot plastic bag. Naturally plastic bibs and even plastic gloves are given out to guests. Not to mention…a roll of paper towels are on your table  as well.

Top Left: The meal arrives. See how happy we are? Top Right: What our table looks like AFTER our meal. Bottom: Love the fact that they have been on The Cooking Channel.

Notice what we are holding in our hands? That’s our dinner!!

2. Night #2: Chada Thai & Wine. I discovered this restaurant after posting on Chowhound. I then read enough fabulous reviews on Yelp and Urbanspoon to know that we would definitely  be dining a this restaurant. We were NOT disappointed at all. I asked our amazing waiter (Bank) to assist us with selecting 4 dishes and he delivered 4 perfect items. The food was fresh, flavorful and light. My mom and I were beyond happy.

Top Right: Pad Hed (Shitake and Shimeji mushrooms stir fried with brussels sprouts and lotus root). Bottom Left: Yum Kai Nok Kata (Fried Quail eggs topped with dry shrimp, cilantro, onion. Spicy lime dressing). Bottom Right: Pla Nua Tod (crispy beef tossed with rice powder, spicy tamarind sauce, onion and mint, served with fresh cabbage).

Not kidding: I would order all of these dishes again in a heart beat.

Save room for dessert!

Night #3: In – N – Out Burger. I don’t know where to start to describe this burger. Let’s just say it’s perfect and this restaurant makes me happy (just like the song…sorry, couldn’t resist). In-N-Out Burger has never chnaged their menu and there is a reason why they haven’t changed it. THERE IS NO NEED. Sadly I forgot to order the Animal Style French Fries which is on a “secret menu” and was kicking myself. #nexttime.

I also discovered a restaurant called Eat which is only open from 8 to 3 during the week and on weekends from 8 to 2 pm. The reviews I read were outstanding so off we went on a cloudy day for lunch. Even though I love sitting in the sun, I was thrilled that we had this day to discover this restaurant and go shopping!!

Top Right: Cinnamon Biscuits with warm strawberry compote Bottom Left: Green Chili Chicken Posole Bottom Right:Truffled Egg Sandwich.

On our last night: We celebrated the end of another mother/daughter Vegas trip with our usual jello shots from Fat Tuesday & Chippery inside Caesars Palace. We’ve been going to this little gem of a spot for 6 years to enjoy this $2 treat. LOL.

As you can see, I had another amazing trip with my mom and would like to thank her for this perfect birthday gift. I’m so lucky have a mom who also loves to travel, sit in the sun and eat good food. I’m already looking forward to spending my birthday with her next year in Vegas!!

For more information:

Hot ‘N Juicy Crawfish 4810 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas,  702 891 8889

Chada Thai and Wine  3400 S Jones Blvd. Las Vegas, 702 641 1345 (reservations recommended)

In-N-Out Burger (2 locations in Las Vegas)…4888 Dean Martin Drive or 2900 W. Sahara Ave.

Eat 707 Carson St. Las Vegas (702) 534 1515

Fat Tuesday & Chippery: Forum Shops at  Caesars Palace, 3500 Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas.

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I recently discovered a website called “Stay at Blue Mountain”. To sum it up , they rent out chalets that are equipped with luxury appointments and are perfect to accommodate families, large groups, team building retreats or executive getaways.

The chalets are within walking, or skiing distance, of the Blue Mountains activity area. Not to mention, that these large chalets sleep between 16 and 20 guests and are equipped with EVERYTHING YOU need. From indoor and outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs, fireplaces, barbecues, air conditioning, saunas and WIFI…they have a chalet to suit your needs.

It was a tough choice but we selected the SUMMIT RIDGE chalet which offered 8 bedrooms, 2 “common areas” with flat screen TV’s, 4 bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen and an outdoor hot tub (the selling feature for me).

Our super immaculate chalet.

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I adore a quick getaway. This past weekend, I had the chance to getaway to Kitchener Waterloo. My itinerary included: a visit to St. Jacobs Market, Tubing at Chicopee Tube Park and a visit to the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory. Of course I had to squeeze in a visit to an independent coffee shop as well.

Here’s exactly how we spent 24 hours in Kitchen Waterloo.

Friday March 7th:

6:30 pm Arrived at the Four Points by Sheraton Kitchener-Waterloo Hotel & Suites and was immediately impressed with their contemporary decor. Bonus points for the box of ear phones in the Fitness Room for guests who forget to bring a pair! Wow…talk about paying attention to detail. Everyone loved the clean pool and bubbling jacuzzi as well. I would stay at this property again in a heart beat.

Saturday March 8th:

9:00 am Quick coffee at DVLB. We loved the coffee and the cool space that this coffee shop offered. I’m sure it’s a hit with customers both in the morning and in the evening too!!

10:00 – 11:00 Visit to St. Jacobs  Farmers’ Market. This was my first time at this market and it will not be my last time!!

12:00 pm – Another visit to the pool at Four Points by Sheraton and then checked out.

1:00 – 2:00 pm – Dropped by the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory  and totally was in love this space.  Three words come to mind: peaceful, beautiful, and tranquility.

2:30 – 4:30 pm.- A visit to Chicopee Tube Park. Disclosure: I did not participate  (um…tried it a few years ago and it’s not for me!!) but my boyfriend (who had never been tubing before), was a happy camper.

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Travel back to Toronto (sniff).

This getaway provided us with an opportunity to getaway, explore Ontario, and visit some attractions that appealed to us. It would be a great destination for the upcoming Family Day Weekend as well.

Many thanks to Waterloo Regional Tourism  Marketing Corporation for reaching out to me and for making this trip happen!!

For more information:

Four Points by Sheraton Waterloo-Kitchener Hotel & Suites, 547 King St. N, Waterloo, ON 519 -884-0100 Twitter: @4PointsWaterloo

Chicopee Tube Park: 1600 River Road E, Kitchener, ON 519-895 2322 Twitter: @chicopeepark

Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory: 250 Kossuth Road, Cambridge, ON 519 653-1234 Twitter; @

St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market Twitter: @stjacobsmarket

Waterloo Regional Tourism – Twitter: @ExploreWR

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My weekend in Ottawa consisted of the following elements: seeing family, eating great food, and  Winterlude! I couldn’t have picked a better weekend to visit. Seriously.

On Friday night – we checked out Confederation Square to see the ice sculptures. It was so impressive and so so pretty.

Here’s a breakdown of our day on Saturday:

10:00 am.  We went directly to Art Is In Bakery to eat a Cronut and their potato buttermilk donut with a maple glaze and maple bacon crumbs. There’s only one word to describe both of these items: WOW. I would not have discovered this treat had I not been following @AMWATERS on Twitter as I read a tweet that she had enjoyed  a Cronut the other day. (well, her 25 gram portion of the cronut!!)

12:00 pm We went to Flapjack’s  Pancake Shack which is located right behind Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s in the Glebe. We ordered the JimBerrr! Watson – Double Smoked Bacon, Gouda & Egg between two original buttermilk pancakes. There is clearly a reason why Ottawa has embraced this new food truck!!

5:30 pm. For dinner, we checked out Prime Burger Bar. We inhaled our deep fried calamari, steak poutine and the Chipolte Burger  (double jack cheese, double smoked bacon, avocado and chipotle mayo). Not to mention we ended our meal with DEEP FRIED OREOS.  This restaurant opened in October and as always I discovered them on twitter. The owner took the time to chat with us and in that short chat, we could tell how he really does care about every aspect of his restaurant. I later asked my cousins if they had been to this restaurant and they also had a a great story to share about the owners amazing customer service!

Our day on Sunday continued with more yumminess!!

10:00 am – Black Pepper Biscotti and a Nutella Cannoli from Simply Biscotti.  Note: We were celebrating World Nutella Day early!! (it’s officially on Feb 5th)

11;00 am – Maple Syrup Taffy on a stick – which I enjoyed while skating on the Rideau Canal. Oh how I love this childhood treat and of course skating on the canal was a treat too!

12:00 pm – A veggie Zatar from Aladdin Bakery

1:00 pm – Eggrolls from Golden Palace.

As always, Ottawa is an amazing place to visit. I can’t wait to visit again in March!! In the meantime, I’m heading to Goodlife Fitness to hit the treadmill and burn off a few calorie..

For more information:

Winterlude – Jan 31 to Feb. 17, 2014

Art Is In Bakery 250 City Centre (613) 695 1226

Flapjack’s Pancakes Shack, 809 Bank St, (613) 355 2927

Prime Burger 780 Baseline Road, (613) 680 2051

Simply Biscotti 354 Preston St. (613) 234 5336

Aladdin Bakery 1801 Carling Ave. (613) 728 5331

Golden Palace 2195 Carling Ave. (613) 820 8444

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Are you looking for a “unique” gift? Well, Samba Days might be the answer!! Samba Days is all about giving a unique “Gift Experience”. Infact there are over 70 different experiences to choose from. There’s Body and Soul experiences, Golf experiences, Adventure Experiences and more.

Naturally I selected the  Gourmet Getaway Experience. I simply activated my gift card, picked the location for my Gourmet Get away and booked the date when I wanted to go.

Here’s what the cards look like

Pretty cool, if you ask me.

We chose to go to the Westover Inn which is located in St. Mary’s, Ontario.(about 2 hours away from Toronto). We could have selected from over 14 different properties throughout Ontario but this one caught our attention.

We weren’t disappointed with our Samba Day Gourmet Getaway experience at all! We were impressed with the property, the accommodations and the food!!

My dinner consisted of a beautiful 4 course dinner – Spinach Salad, Walnuts, Blue Cheese and Pancetta with a Roasted Pear Vinaigrette, an amuse bouche, Grilled Beef Striploin with Dark Ale and Madagascar Peppercorns with Roasted Fingerlings Potatoes and a warm apple tart for dessert! Could not complain.

My breakfast was equally as delicious. It was difficult to chose from the menu as there were so many delicious sounding options!

Seriously…if you are looking for a unique gift….please consider Samba Days!

For more information:

Samba Days: 1 888 95 SAMBA

Disclosure: I was approached by Samba Days to experience one of their gift cards. However all opinions in this blog post are my own.

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