Recently I had family visiting from abroad (London and Israel to be exact). They had no interest in visiting attractions or museums and basically just wanted to walk around. I was pretty happy with that objective. LOL

So here’s where I took them:

a) Breakfast at Fika in Kensington Market. (78 Kensington Ave)

I knew they would like the space and the food and I was correct.

b) I thought I was a great tour guide as I introduced my visitors to a unique store,  Cocktail Emporium.  (20 Kensington Ave).  For some reason I’ve never been to this place (my bad). We loved milling around the store – someone has truly curated an amazing assortment of  “all things associated with Cocktails”.

c) We then proceeded to Queen St. West so that I could take them to the new Fluevog store. (686 Queen St. W) Um…three pairs of shoes were purchased, which means that it was a hit. Their cool bank vault made an ideal backdrop for a photo.

d) Then it was time for lunch. I decided that Gusto 101 would be the perfect place and indeed everyone enjoyed their meal. However the shining star was their Sangria. One word to describe it:  PERFECT. Something tells me I will be returning for another pitcher, in the near future.

d) Actually there was one attraction that we all attended; the Andy Warhol Revisited Pop Up Exhibit that’s now taking place at 77 Bloor St. W. This exhibit will only be in Toronto till Dec 31 and it’s worth checking out. Tickets: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for youth and students.

I had a fantastic time hanging out with my family and enjoyed my role as “tour guide”. Curious to know where you would take visitors if they mentioned to you that they weren’t interested in museums or attractions!! Please do share.

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 A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of walking thru Kensington Market with a fellow foodie from Ottawa. Here’s a recap of where we went.

a) Fika: (28 Kensington) We started off our tour with a cup of coffee at this charming coffee shop.

b) St. Andrew Poultry (17 St. Andrew Street). This place has been on my radar since the summer and I’m so happy that I finally checked it out. I managed to inhale a chicken shawarma (in a box without the bread) and will definitely return to inhale some more of this goodness. For me to say this is huge as I rarely eat chicken. I also bought the “spice crunch” which I’m throwing into everything I make….salads, soups, etc.

c) Blackbird Baking Co. (172 Baldwin). Again, I’ve been meaning to check this place out since the summer! Sadly I didn’t buy anything as I’m trying not to eat a lot of bread but I really (really) wanted to. Seriously, I’ve heard nothing but excellent comments about the quality of their bread.

d) Sanagan’s Meat Locker (176 Baldwin). I was too fully from the chicken shawarma but I was lucky enough to return the next day to enjoy one of their sandwiches. #yum. I don’t buy meat but if I did I would be buying it from this place!

e) Jimmy’s Coffee: It was so beautiful out that we decided to end our tour with a cup of coffee. We wanted to enjoy it on their backyard patio but everyone else had the same idea!!

We met for close to two hours and I enjoyed every minute of playing tour guide! Kensington Market is really a fantastic unique part of Toronto that is often forgotten by people who live in Toronto. Hope you get a chance to visit soon.

 

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