This is my definition of “The Perfect Saturday”:

a) 10:15 am – ATTEND A RESTAURANT SALE

Sadly I never ate at Splendido but now I own a piece of history! I got there 15 minutes after it opened so stuff I would have wanted was already taken however I did manage to walk away with some goodies. To be exact 6 chairs and some serving dishes. #SCORED

11:00 ENJOYED MY FIRST TURKISH BREAKFAST – ISTANBUL’S TULIP (1560 Yonge St)

Had no idea that I could enjoy a Turkish Meal at Yonge and St. Clair!!

12:30 CHECKED OUT A CUTE COFFEE SHOP – THE STRONG ONE (68 Wales Avenue – Kensington Market)

This adorable spot in Kensington Market won me over with their cute atmosphere and goodies made from scratch.

1:30 pm CHECKED OUT A NEW ECLAIR PATISSERIE – NUGATEAU  (717 Queen St. West)

This stunning eclair cafe is the first of it’s kind in Toronto. There was no shortage of interesting flavours to catch my attention. I had a lovely chat with one of the owners who clearly thought of all the details when opening this cafe. Last year I had a croissant party, and this year I’m thinking of having an eclair party. What do you think?

3:00 Return home to cook a bit (my favourite hobby)  and rest.

The only thing that was missing from making this day even more perfect, was a trip to the Farmers Market. Next time.

Hope you had a fabulous Saturday as well.

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I’ve been eating Pasta with Burnt Butter and Mizithra Cheese at the Old Spaghetti Factory for almost four decades (see blog post here). I’ve never made it before it as Mizithra cheese is an ingredient that I don’t often come across. But when I saw it at the Global Cheese Shop in Kensington Market (78 Augusta), I knew I had to buy it so I could make this recipe:

RECIPE FOR PASTA WITH BURNT BUTTER AND MIZITHRA CHEESE …adapted from www.cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:

Pasta

Butter

Mizithra Cheese

Instructions: 

To make the brown butter: Cut the butter into tablespoon sized pieces and place in a 2 quart sauce pan and put on a medium heat. Bring butter to a slow boil (about 5 minutes)/

Once the butter begins to boil, stir constantly to prevent residue from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the butter cooks, it will start to foam and rise. Continue stirring..otherwise the butter foam could overflow and catch fire!

Turn off the heat and remove pan from the burner. Let the sediment settle to the bottom of the pan for a few minutes. Then pour the brown butter thru a strainer and into a small bowl. (this is an important step)

The butter will look like this!

Boil the pasta of your choice.

Spread the cheese over the pasta and top with hot brown butter.

CAN YOU SAY – “COMFORT FOOD”?

Happy Cooking!

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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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I really meant to blog about Romeo’s Juice Bar last year when it opened up but sadly did not get around to it. However last week while ordering a juice,  I said to myself  “I really really need to blog about this place”. So here’s the blog post!!

You can find Romeo’s Juice Bar at 285 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market. It truly has a unique look. Wouldn’t you agree?

 There’s no shortage of juice options but here’s two items that caught my eye.

#healthy

Here’s another popular item that they serve.

Due to the fact that I’ve broken up with carbs since June 2012 (and it’s been a good break up by the way) I decided to order my own special low carb juice.  I requested a juice made from Kale, Avocado, Celery, and Soy Milk (they use Silk 80 calories which is oh-so-ideal). It was perfect. Especially because I didn’t have to clean the blender!! Although I have to admit, I keep thinking about purchasing a Vita Mix more and more these days.

Romeo’s Juice Bar also offers amazing hours on the weekend (see photo below) Plus you can receive $1 off your juice/smoothie, if you like them on Facebook. Guess who has liked them already on facebook? Good guess. LOL

So don’t forget to grab a juice or smoothie the next time you visit Kensington Market. Also, don’t forget about Pedestrian Sundays in the Market which takes place on the last Sunday of the month. (Sunday Aug 25, Sunday Sept 29 and Sunday October 27). Always a great vibe to visit the market on Pedestrian Sundays.

For More Information:

Romeo’s Juice Bar, 285 Augusta Avenue, Toronto (416) 597 2300

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I was on twitter last week having a ho hum type of day and then my day changed after reading this tweet!

	Shaan Sunder (@s_cubed)
2013-04-11 11:22 PM @momwhoruns @SevenLivesTO Carne Asada Fries, Gobernador and the octopus pumpkin seed Tacos are amazing. I ordered pretty much everything

I then “favourited” the tweet  so my little brain could remember what to order. Soon after, I picked up the phone to invite two friends to join me so we could check out this new restaurant that opened up in Kensington Market. The more the merrier right?

We couldn’t find the restaurant initially as they had moved from a smaller location to a new stand alone restaurant. (it is NOT located at 214 Augusta which is where google sent me). But once we found it, we quickly examined the menu and ordered. At $5 a taco – this is certainly going to make my list of “Cheap and Cheerful Restaurants for 2013”. I’m sure CheapDude will LOVE this place as well as many of my other foodie friends!!

 Of course, I ordered the Pulpo En Mole Verde (octopus with pumpkin seed mole). Definitely not something I’ve had before so it totally appealed to me.

Friend A ordered the Gobernator (smoked marlin, shrimp and cheese)

Friend B ordered the Carnitas (slow pulled pork).

We were all happy happy campers. The shell was the real deal and there was enough filling in it to make this taco, a small but satisfying meal.

Sadly I wasn’t able to get a good shot of what the restaurant looked like but it was hip and cool and very appropriate for Kensington Market.

Please look out for this restaurant next time you are in Kensington Market and are craving a taco. You won’t be disappointed.

For Further Info:

Twitter: @sevenlivesTO

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SevenLivesTacosYMariscos

69 Kensington Ave, Toronto (416) 803 1086

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Back in December, (Friday Dec 21st to be exact)  I went to Kensington Market to celebrate the Winter Solstice. I went last year and thought it was quite the event so I made a point of returning to celebrate the shortest day of the year once again!

The biggest bonfire I have ever seen!! trust me…

After marching down Augusta and witnessing the huge bonfire it was time to EAT something (and warm up). I had just bought a $10 for $5 deal on Buytopia for Dr. Augusta’s Samitorium and figured it was a really good time to use that deal! Not to mention, I was walking right by it. PERFECT.

The restaurant is located on the north west corner of Augusta and Dundas St. West (602 Dundas St W) and is one of those very casual restaurants. It’s a spacious restaurant with a long bar and a few stools so you can sit and enjoy your sandwich. It’s sparse but clean and exactly the type of cheap and cheerful restaurant I like!!

I ordered a sandwich  (the shrimp po’ boy) and managed to get a quick photo of it after I ate half. (silly me). I didn’t have my good camera either so please forgive the less-than-beautiful-photo. But please oh-please visit their facebook page for great quality photos that reflects the food that they are serving.

While inhaling my sandwich, I got the chance to speak to both of the owners behind the bar.

(L) Vlad and (R) Chris

Two friendly guys who know what they are doing in the kitchen as my sandwich was flavorful with just the right amount of everything.

I was also super impressed that they were making their own sodas too and can’t wait to return in the summer for a float.

Next time you are craving a sandwich, make sure to check out Dr. Augusta’s Samitorium.

For More Info:

Dr. Augusta’s Samitorium 602 Dundas St. W,  Toronto (647) 748 5522

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It’s that time of year to enjoy some hot chocolate. So I put together a list of a few places and off I went.

First on the list was Jet Fuel Coffee Shop  (519 Parliament St)

Can’t say I was impressed: it was watery. I would go back for their coffee though in a heart beat.

Second stop was The Grind House (281 Augusta) in Kensington Market. I ordered their chili hot chocolate and thought it was  simply divine. Not to sweet, not to chocolately, not to spicy. It was well balanced and perfect (in my humble opinion)

Third stop was MoRoCo Chocolat ( 99 Yorkville Ave) in Yorkville. This white hot chocolate was certainly pretty but man oh man was it sweet. Not to mention a small cup (12 oz) was over $7. I know they use REAL chocolate and I know they are in Yorkville but still…..I was kind of shocked.

Fourth and final stop was Aroma Espresso (went to the Forest Hill location at 383 Spadina) Love the fact that they put a huge chunk of white chocolate in the bottom of the cup and then add steamed milk in order to produce the perfect cup of white hot chocolate.

Here’s proof of the white chocolate that they use:

I am now looking forward to my next crawl! I think it’s time to do a ________ crawl.

PS really meant to go to Soma (443 King St. W) but never made it. Who knows there might be a hot chocolate crawl part 2. Ya never know.

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