The Cantina by Campbell’s is a pop-up restaurant that recently opened at 501 Queen West and will be serving delicious soups created by Rock Lobster Food Co’s Chef Matt Dean Pettit.

There will be four delicious soups designed by Chef Matt Dean Pettit, and trust me all four were DEE-LICIOUS. I wish I could tell you my favourite soup but I loved all four of them equally. I sampled: spicy vegetarian ramen, roasted beer can cream of chicken, creamy tomato black bean taco soup and a thai chicken & rice khao so (curry). Recipes for all four soups can be found here.

The Cantina by Campbell’s will offer complimentary walk-in lunch and dinnertime soup tasting options. Fact: lately I’ve become a fan of these broths due to the rising cost of celery, parsnips, carrots and other veggies that I usually put in my vegetable stock.

I’ve also become a fan of the Campbell’s Soup Kits as they provide a head start to homemade soup. As you know, I lead a pretty busy life so I don’t mind a little help once in a while and these kits will certainly come in handy!

 

Campbell’s has truly provided customers with a unique experience and something tells me The Cantina By Campbell’s will be a hit. P.S. This pop up restaurant is FREE.

For more information:

Where:  Cantina By Campbell’s – 501 Queen St. West
When: Tuesday, February 2nd – Sunday, February 21st

Hours: Monday – Friday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Twitter; @CampbellsCanada

Hashtag: #WeAllSoupTO

Super Bowl is around the corner and this means that there will be lots of Super Bowl parties to watch the game AND to eat food. In fact, I have a feeling that the food is equally as important as the game. Wouldn’t you agree?

Last week, I went to an event to get a sneak preview of  Chef Matt Deans Pettits recipes which celebrates NFL Canada and Super Bowl 50. It was held at Rock Lobster Food Co. and the event rocked (no pun intended) to the point that it inspired me to throw a Super Bowl party too!

I’ve got everything I need (thanks NFL Canada)! To be specific, I’ve go the Super Bowl table cloth, forks, Super Bowl napkins  & paper plates, and even a fantastic NFL cutting board that’s shaped like a football. I can’t wait to set the table.

I even have the perfect shirt to greet my guests as well as an official NFL football as a centre piece!!

As for the food…I know that dips are always a crowd pleaser and it goes well with beer. LOL  Not to mention I love the serving dish that its’ served in. #socute.

Here’s the recipe for a West Coast Crab Dip (created by Chef Matt Dean Pettit from Rock Lobster Food Co.). Seeing as the Super Bowl is being played on the west coast, there’s no better time to serve this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2 live Dungeness crabs

1 medium Spanish Onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno, roasted and seeded and finely diced

1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning

1 fresh lemon, juiced and zested

1 cup cream cheese

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp paprika

1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, chiffonade

kosher salt to taste

1 large sourdough bread loaf

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large pot, bring salt water to a boil over high heat. Add the crabs and boil for 10-15 minutes.

Remove the crabs from the water and place them in an ice bath or the fridge to cool completely. Carefully remove all the meat from the crabs. Place the crab meat in the fridge until needed.

In a pan, sweat the onions and jalapeños over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. Remove the mixture from the pan and allow to cool.

In a bowl, combine the onion and jalapeño mixture with the Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, cream cheese, rocotta cheese, sour cream and paprika. Mix to combine ingredients thoroughly. Check to make sure that no chunks exist!

Fold in the parsley and the lemon zest. Season to taste with salt.

Hollow out the inside of a bread loaf in the shape of a football. Cube the removed bread pieces. Spoon the cold dip into the bread hole and decorate with pretzel sticks to that it looks like a football!

Serve with the bread cubes to dip into the mixture.

ENJOY THE GAME!! (and the food). LOL

For more information:

Website: Rock Lobster Food Co. (538 Queen St. W. or 110 Ossington)

Website: The Great Lobster Cookbook

 

A few years ago, I was in love with Hot Balls at Table 17!  Now I’m in love with Hot Bunzz! I mean seriously…what’s not to love about these buns that are the perfect texture and filled with fabulous flavours and then topped off with more goodness!!

The brains behind Hot Bunzz are these two guys. Mark (on the right) has been involved with the food business for years and Mitch (on the left) has been involved with marketing for years. They make a great team.

What I love about Hot Bunzz is their ability to join forces with other restaurants to create a unique bunzz. They have collaborated with Cheesewerks in the past and now they have joined forces with Rock Lobster Food Co, Fidel Gastro’s and La Carnita, to introduce the #TUMalumCOLLECTION. How brilliant? All three of these delicious creations will be launched at the upcoming TUM Event.  (Toronto Underground Market)

However if you aren’t able to attend the TUM event, don’t worry – you can still grab a Hot Bunzz at their retail location which is located at 21 St. Clair West. (just west of Yonge St. on the south side of the street).

One last thing I should mention is that Hot Bunzz is doing an incredible job using social media to spread the word about their amazing product!! I love companies that “get it” and these guys “get it”.

For more information:

Hot Bunzz: 21 St. Clair Ave. West, Toronto (647) 748 5510

Twitter: @HotBunzzTO

Facebook: www.facebook.com/hotbunzz

Instagram: HotBunzz

 

I went to Rock Lobster Food Co. on Ossington back in the winter and was totally blown away by their epic Rock Lobster Caesars. I had read that a second location had opened on Queen W and knew that I wanted to go check it out (like a good foodie) Once I read Abbey’s Kitchen blog post about the Queen W. location,  I knew that I wanted to visit sooner than later.

When I heard my mom was arriving from Ottawa on the 7 pm bus, I mentioned to her that we would be enjoying some Lobster Love for dinner. She was just as eager as I was to head to Rock Lobster Food Co. on Queen W.

Here’s a picture of  us with those epic Rock Lobster Caesars.

The menu includes many other delicious sounding cocktails but I can’t stop ordering the Rock Lobster Caesar.  There’s a part of me that really wants to try the other cocktails and another part of me that just wants to have this lobster caesar each time I visit!! #firstworldproblems

We ordered:

Peel and Eat Shrimp – which were plump, fresh, meaty and served COLD. I’m thrilled I ordered this dish.

We also shared the Lobster Poutine (Nova Scotia Lobster, hand cut fries, Quebec Curds and Lobster Bisque Gravy). I love poutine so this was not hard for me to enjoy!!

Naturally, we ordered  the Lobster Roll as well (Nova Scotia Lobster, Yukon chips and McClure’s Pickle). I will describe this in one word: YUMMY.

Now that I’ve shared with you what we ate I would like to talk about the space. To begin with – it’s a much bigger space than their  Ossington  location. This is great news for those of us who aren’t fond of line ups!!

Here’s a photo of the space (kudos to the designer).

 What appealed to me (besides the food and the cocktails) was the fact that we could take advantage of the summer and sit on the outside patio. Again, whoever designed the space thought of every little detail.

As for the service: our waitress Renee was completely charming and was super friendly and attentive too. She had the type of energy you would like to see in every waitress that serves you.

I’m sure I will be returning to try: more cocktails and the Steam Whistle Steampot. Who want’s to join me?

For more information:

Rock Lobster Food Co

Twitter: @rocklobsterfood

Instagram: Rocklobsterfoodco

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rocklobsterfoodco

118 Ossington Ave, Toronto 416 533 1800

538 Queen St. West Toronto  416 203 6623

ps please note that each location has different hours and different menus too.