I have no clue why I’ve never heard of Habits Gastropub before but I’m delighted that this has now changed!! I love not only discovering new products (see last blog post) but new restaurants that I have never been to before as well!!

You can find Habits Gastropub at 928 College St.  Bonus: I was delighted to find out that street parking is free after 6 pm. The exterior of the restaurant looks like this.

As for the food…I tasted Buffalo Sweetbreads (top left) that was served with a wicked blue cheese dip, A Salmon Duo (top right), the Habits Slider (bottom left)  and Bone Marrow on toast (bottom right). There’s no shortage of appetizers here and someone knows what they are doing in the kitchen!! I noticed on their website that the menu changes frequently and may not be current online. They try their best to keep up to date online but encourage you to just come on in if you see something on the website that interests you.

For dessert –  my taste buds were treated to a trio of flavours: a chocolate brownie, lemon crema, and BEET ICE CREAM WITH ROSEMARY HONEY MASCARPONE. I have spelled that last item in CAPS as it was EPIC. Absolutely EPIC. I want  demand, a whole bowl of that ice cream the next time I visit.

Please take a peek at their website as Habits Gastropub has a variety of events coming up – Jazz Night, A Folk Band,  A Charcoal Sketch Cabaret and More!! Not to mention, Industry Night on the last Monday night of every month with 50% off ALL beverages!! (yes..all of them).

Hope you get a chance to check out Habits Gastropub one day soon. You won’t be disappointed with the food, the Ontario craft beer selection, VQA Wines and the atmosphere.

Many thanks to View the Vibe for inviting me to this special dinner for media and bloggers.

For more information:

Habits Gastropub: 928 College Street, Toronto (416) 533 7272

Twitter: @habitsgastropub

Facebook; www.facebook.com/habitsgastropub

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I went to check out the Delicious Food Show on Friday. I thought my visit would be brief but I ended up staying for hours. There were many more vendors than I had anticipated and no shortage of foodie friends for me to bump into!!

The show is taking place Oct 25-27th at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place and is a well layed out, and a beautiful looking show.

I’m in love with this display that is at the front and would really like two smaller versions for my apartment!!

I walked thru the aisles and discovered new product – like this Organic Chocolate with Mustard Seeds fromKozlik’s. How unique. Don’t you think?

Those small dots are the mustard seeds!!

I also bumped into some restaurant owners that I hadn’t seen in many years who are just to open a new restaurant (Pai Toronto). While talking to Nuit and Jeff, we discovered that we have known each other since 2008, when I visited their first restaurant (Sudkho Thai) on Parliament.

My food adventures continued and I must say that I had a lot of fun at the View the Vibe booth. They had a great set up – including a Lounge.

The highlight of the day was really Martha Stewart! She attracted a HUGE crowd. Please note that the Delicious Show has a variety of  high profile chefs appearing throughout the weekend. Take a peek at the schedule here.

Hope you get a chance to visit this DELICIOUS show over the weekend. You won’t be disappointed.

Show Hours: Oct 25-27

Friday: 11am-10pm
Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm

Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto

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I received an invitation to an event called “Taste of Iceland” that was going to be held at the Drake Hotel, from March 21-24, 2013. I have to admit, that it was the cocktail listed on the invitation that really caught my attention. Specifically, I am talking about the “Sons and Daughters” cocktail that was going to be served that night!

What’s in the drink? Let’s see …some pretty interesting ingredients! Reyka vodka, aquavit, lemon juice and caraway seeds, muddled thyme, and sea butckthorn syrup.

Not your average cocktail. I RSVP’ed very quickly – “Please add my name to your guest list”.

Not only did I enjoy my cocktail (or two), but I enjoyed multiple servings of EVERYTHING.

The evening started off with:

-Hardifskur  w/Icelandic butter (I would travel to Iceland just for this butter!!)

-Grilled Icelandic Langoustine, with garlic, butter and herbs

-Atlantic Shrimp and Lumpfish Caviar, with pickled vegetables and citrus vinaigrette

-Deep Fried Crispy Balls of Cod Potatoes with “Sol” mayonaisse

-Pickled Herring on sweet rye bread, curry dressing, green apples and spring onions (I had 3 of these).

The main courses included:

-Naturally Raised Icelandic Salmon – cold smoked salmon with grainy mustard dressing, sour cream dill oil, and Icelandic rye bread

-Free Range Iclelandic Lamb – seared Icelandic lamb filet with glazed root vegetables, juniper berry infused lamb jus and wild Icelandic blueberry herb dust.

I inhaled EVERYTHING. My table mate, Adam Mazerall from View the Vibe actually said ” he never saw someone devour something so quickly.

Needless to say, I barely had breakfast or lunch the following day!!

For those who can’t hop on a plane tomorrow and head to Iceland – please head to the Drake Hotel from March 21-24 to experience the food and the culture of Iceland. In the meantime, I think I’m going to add Iceland to my bucket list of places I want to visit!!

Drake Hotel 1150 Queen St. West Toronto 416 531 5042

Taste of Iceland: on Twitter: @IcelandNaturally

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