toronto eats

the wall coverings at the drake hotel

I confess while in Toronto, I ate sushi from a hospital kiosk (it was surprisingly fresh), and ordered room service late at night because I was craving french fries.  Such is the nature of business travel…

I was fortunate to have three good meals in my three days there.  First a welcoming lunch with my SickKids hosts at Midi Bistro, which is a short hike to the hospital and just up the road from the Art Gallery of Ontario.  My memory becomes blurry, but I do recall eating an open faced sandwich and stealing my colleague’s fries in a hopping French bistro.  Somehow there was only one serving staff for the entire place, and it still all worked.

If I’m a true food and travel blogger, I’d be running all over the city, checking out diverse restaurants.  Here’s how you can tell I’m a hack:  I went to the same restaurant three times in two days.

Bannock has self-professed Canadian comfort food and was a block from my hotel. I discovered they do take-away breakfast, and I love their concept, so I returned there for a Friday night dinner.  I was dining solo again (sad but true), and here’s what I wrote:

So I’m at Bannock, drinking a vodka, maple syrup and lemonade cocktail.  The staff are sooooo nice to me, the solo diner.  I ordered the tourtiere and poutine because this is regional Canadian cuisine and this seemed appropriate.  Bannock is a lively room with an open kitchen, and the chefs are all wearing rather endearing funny little fedora-like hats.  I’m guessing this is Canadian decor – homemade Christmas wreaths and white washed wood walls.  Maybe if I had a cottage in the Muskokas, it would look like this.

The poutine is the most awesome ever.  Soft rosemary flavoured fries immersed in gravy, stretchy cheese curds that I had to twirl like pasta.  Apple pie crust tourtiere with pulled and ground pork instead of apples.  Cheeky peas and carrot coins on the side.  This is fun food.

The next day, I hiked way up Queen Street West to The Drake Hotel.  I love that this hotel is a renovated old dive hotel.  It is like an exercise in recycling in the best possible way. Their press says, do believe the hype, and although I’m normally suspicious of hipster joints, well I can happily admit it is true.  Brunch at The Drake was leisurely served in the lounge, which really was like my living room.  I had freshly squeezed mango juice, and my waiter kept saying ‘cheers’ which kept me happy.  Then I was presented with a huge egg, sausage, cheese and homefry burrito – breakfast held in the hand.  Next time I’m in Toronto, I’m bringing my husband, and we are staying at The Drake.  (Mike, there’s DANCING!).

More hiking to Kensington Market, which I really adored.  If I had an extra stomach and more time, I would have eaten there too.  Sadly, I had to rush to the airport and then eat at a brightly lit Swiss Chalet.

Thank you, Toronto. Until we meet again.

london, ontario

I do eat when I travel for work, but I don’t take many photos.  In London, I went for two lovely dinners – one with my Children’s Hospital host, and the other on my own, just before boarding the Via Rail train to Toronto.  (I haven’t been on a train for 15 years, since taking the train from Winnipeg to Edmonton in the dead of winter, which took eons because the train kept having to stop to clear the tracks of snow.  No such troubles in Ontario).

covent market in london...

London is a lovely little city.  I’d describe it as ‘flat, but with trees.’  There are many old houses made of stone and brick.  I stayed at Hotel Metro, which is a boutique hotel – modern but warm with dark wood and a bathtub in the bedroom.  I wandered about downtown, quickly scoping out the Starbucks down the street for the next morning, visiting the eerie South Hospital display (iron lungs, anyone?) at the Museum London, and poking around in Covent Market, a central food market.

My host, Lisa, took me for a welcome dinner to Trichilo’s, which featured southern Italian food done right.  We shared sardines on eggplant with fat salty green olives, and I dug into rigatoni with the waitress-recommended tomato sauce.  This was perfect comfort food after a long travel day.

The next morning, I met up with hospital staff at the Black Walnut Cafe, which is in the Wortley Village.  I ate a savoury scone and sipped a cappuccino, but how I’d love this kind of neighbourhood bistro in Edmonton.  (The closest I have in Edmonton is the coffee at the Petro-Canada down the road).

Fast forward to me grabbing a meal before catching that train the next day, and I was pleased at my choice.  Braise is attached to Hotel Metro, and oddly empty on that Wednesday evening, save for the parade of people coming in, looking for a pharmaceutical meeting.

The staff impressed me the most, first patiently redirecting all that misdirected foot traffic, and then treating me like a queen, despite the fact I was dining solo.  (Last time I travelled and dined alone, it was in Australia, where I was often seated near the toilets).

I was seated at a primo both near the bar.  The food was seasonal and spot-on. I ate spicy pumpkin soup with duck confit and a crispy sage leaf on top, and warm bread with salted butter.  I ordered the poached egg appetizer too because I will eat any food that has a poached egg perched on top of it.  After I captured that egg that was sliding all over my toast, I was exceedingly satisfied to break that yolk all over the accompanying pork belly.  This was accompanied by a very cute little bowl of baked beans and a mandatory glass of shiraz.

It was weird the restaurant was empty.  The staff were attentive, and the setting was gorgeous – soft jazz on the speakers, exposed brick walls, red tree wallpaper, 60′s mod lighting and reclaimed wood floors and bar.

Will I be back to London?  I hope so.  Will I return to Braise?  Definitely.

calgary, part deux

We went to Calgary again, two years later.  Still with our youngest, and so this is still the kid-friendly version.

First up, a dinner time stop in Airdrie on the way into town, at Five Guys Burgers.  So the atmosphere is loud and chaotic, but the burgers are damn good- soft buns, melty cheese, patty cooked until just done.  Best of the fast food options, hands down.

the fare at over easy

Thanks to Andree, we went to Over Easy for breakfast the next day.  The tables are crammed together, yes, but the wait staff are very smiley and the food looked delicious.  The sausages were big and juicy.  Alas, the egg was cold, which seems to be a recurring theme for me in Calgary.  But the rest was yum.

the dog that is tubby.

For lunch, we split up.  Me to Janice Beaton for a grilled cheese (Farm special – cheddar and stinky oka) and Mike and Aaron to Tubby Dog a few doors down.  The staff in Janice Beaton were very formal and oddly anxious, and the staff at Tubby Dog were a stark contrast and were having a riotous amount of fun.   My grilled cheese was very ‘bready’ and less ‘cheesy’ but the bite I had of the Tubby Dog was delicious.  It might have been pigs’ head parts for all I know, but it did taste good.  Plus, there are Ms. Pac Man games at Tubby Dogs.  Gotta love that.

Some time passed, and we had to eat dinner.  We ventured out to Inglewood’s Without Papers, again based on Andree’s review.  We trust the Andree.  This was the best meal of our modest trip:  the wait staff were fabulous with Aaron, even bringing him to the kitchen to take a look at the fire burning oven.   We watched the Talking Heads movie and then the Rocky Horror Picture Show on the wall.  We ate thin crust proper pizza, and consumed a very expensive ($12) but fresh tomato buffalo mozza sald.  And some meatballs.  And a float.  And a banana split.  Then we rolled out of there.  Extremely impressed – highly recommended and we will be back.

Without Papers was the highlight of our trip, and we should have left it at that, but noooo, we had to try dim sum the next day.  While standing in line for a table at Silver Dragon, a gentleman came RUNNING behind the host desk and grabbed the fire extinguisher.

You are right – this is never a good sign.

We were all politely evacuated, and we ended up across the street.  The fire trucks came.  This was exciting, but did not fill my tummy.  We opted for a near- by dim sum place, which I do not wish to name.  They were overwhelmed with the overfill crowd from Silver Dragon.  The food was greasy and cold and took at least 24 hours to digest.  I believe the last of it digested just a few minutes ago.

Best to put this memory in the vault.  We will try you again, Silver Dragon, the next time we venture 2.5 hours down south to the New West.

where i eat in edmonton

These are some of my favourite places to eat in Edmonton.  This is totally subjective, and where I’d direct folks from out-of-town to eat…

Best breakfast with friends – New York Bagel Cafe
Best place to take teenage kids – Sugarbowl
Best family friendly burger joint – Delux Burger
Best dark wintery night place – Culina Millcreek
Best splurge – Red Ox Inn
Best meat – Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse
Best Italian – Corso 32
Best French – The Marc
Best dim sum – New Tan Tan
Best Indian – Daawat
Best Thai –  Viphalay Laos and Thai
Best wonton soup – Dumplings
Best pho - Phobulous
Best wine bar – Somerville Wine and Cheese
Best pizza – Royal Pizza

rocky mountain food & wine festival

Sadly, Foodie Suz is not travelling much.  She was in Victoria for a week, but it was at school, where I ate cafeteria food, bad pub food (twice) and really bad sushi (only once).

So let’s focus on food in my hometown of Edmonton, shall we?  I was fortunate enough to score an industry pass to the Rocky Mountain Food & Wine Festival last night, at Shaw Conference Centre.  What I liked most about that was not the free booze, but the fact that the doors were opened early, and the crowds were thin.  This was a contrast to the bone-crushing crowds that appear later in the evening.  I also gave away two tickets on my facebook page.  It was fun to make two guys in business suits happy.  People love free stuff.

A few photos from the event.  This isn’t cutting-edge food journalism folks.  It is a few pictures from a gal that drank vodka and ate cupcakes.

fuss cupcakes display

flavoured vodka, yum. i sipped the root beer one.

sparkling vodka, yum. like boozy perrier.

coconut vodka. mixed with pineapple juice. super yum.

still with the vodka. hypnotiq is fruit juice, cognac and yes vodka.

regina

Yes, Australia to Regina in one fell swoop!

My husband is traveling to Regina for a new contract.  Here are food recommendations I found from chowhound, yelp and urban spoon.  I was last in Regina about 15 years ago, and remember a really good coffee place on Albert Street.  But it has since disappeared.

Comments and additional suggestions are most welcome:

Eat:

Italian Star Deli – http://italianstardeli.com/ – 1611 Victoria Avenue – sandwiches

Cathedral Village Freehouse – good pizza  http://www.thefreehouse.com/cathedral/ – 2062 Albert Street

La Bodega – tapas – try the lamb enchiladas – http://labodegaregina.com/ – 2228 Albert Street

Beer Brothers – pub and good food – http://www.beerbros.ca/ – 1801 Scath Street

13 avenue coffee house – http://www.13thavecoffee.com/  – 136 13 avenue

 

The City, Sydney

It was a comedy of errors to get to Sailor’s Thai for a late lunch.  For some reason I thought it was the other way down George Street, and following the numbers I had to hike back to the Rocks (where I had just come from).  Can you say goofy tourist? I might as well be wearing a fanny pack.

I’m the only one on a very long communal table at Sailor’s Thai, and I just ate a rice paper salad roll of pork and tofu.

A young family with a baby just came in, and the chefs behind the counter are very enamoured with the baby.  They have taken the baby and are passing him around in the kitchen, over the counter, to each other – all the while cooing and obviously delighted by their special guest.  This makes me smile.  Then comes the stir fried rice noodles with peanuts, tofu and prawns, and I get both dishes tidily boxed up for later consumption in my hotel room, after dark when I lay low in the big city.

I amuse myself in the evenings in my hotel room by eating cold leftover lunches on my bed, and watching ‘Master Chef Australia’. I become thoroughly hooked on that show.

I picked a central hotel to stay in – a ’boutique’ hotel, although it is a strange cold place – reserved for celebrities and exclusive clients (and me).  There’s a swipe card to get access through any doors, and a three room bathroom, and a platform bed that I smash my shin on at night every time I get up to go to the washroom/toilet.  The bathtub is infinity style and spills over into the bedroom.  Once I discover Surry Hills, I realize I’ve chosen the wrong location for my accommodations.  I’d fit better in a real neighbourhood rather than the financial district.   But that’s ok.  Pre-planning does not avoid missteps.

evidence i really was in my hotel's bathroom at some point

My last day in Sydney was spent in Surry Hills, smartly termed the ‘Notting Hills’ of Australia by the Hungry Female.

At Bill’s for breakfast, I’m totally in my comfort zone.    Bill’s has simple decor – wood chairs and white walls with splashes of colour.  It is filled with tony-looking moms with their toddlers wearing sequined sunglasses and dudes with ties and cardigans.  The flat white is good but I’m certainly no expert of the flat white, am I?

My ricotta hotcakes are taking some time, but who cares?  I have all day.  A kind gentleman next to me gives me his newspaper and I amuse myself by trying to look like a local.

Ricotta pancakes with bananas and honeycomb butter arrive, and I carve and eat as much as I can.  They are fluffy but filling and I make a mental note to combine honey and butter for pancakes at home.  That’s a winner.

my sole photo of surry hills

I can tell I’m on day 10 of my trip and am getting tired and homesick.  My photo taking is waning considerably – I’m sorry Surry Hills.  I don’t do it the justice, as it is my favourite neighbourhood in central Sydney.  I thought it was Sydney’s Greenwich Village.  The Book Kitchen is especially lovely, and everybody is so gosh darn nice to me.  I buy a wine book and wander back downtown.

the eats at marigold

I somehow end up on Oxford Street, Sydney’s porn and tattoo central, and wind my way west to Chinatown to have ‘yum cha’, which to me means ‘dim sum’.  I pick the Marigold, which is on the fifth floor of a shopping building, and huge.  I am the only solo diner – I mean, who goes for dim sum by themselves?  I do.  I’m pleased with my haul of dumplings and buns that I can take back to my room and eat later tonight.  I feel like a squirrel, hoarding all this food.

Somewhere in there, I eat a peanut butter brittle banana tart from the Opera Kitchen, have a honey amaretto cocktail at their bar, and top off my Sydney eating with tempura and sushi for lunch before I catch my plane.

My favourite thing to do in Sydney central is to take a tour of the Sydney Opera House, which I almost did not do, but thankfully booked a tour just hours before I went to the airport.  This was very smart of me, and the tour was beautiful.  The inside of the Opera House is so stunning that it made me weep.  As the Danish architect, Jorn Utzon said – if you do something out of love, then it is art and not work.   The building took 16 years to build, instead of the planned three – so rare to put such heart into something artistic in this modern age.  It was finished in 1973.

And that, my friends, is my Australia adventure.  In short:  highly recommended, yes you can survive the flight, and I’ll be back – next time with my loved ones in tow.

queen victoria market, melbourne

I went here because Anthony Bourdain told me to.  I also ate a bratwurst for breakfast for the same reason.  No, I do not have an original thought in my head.  Queen Vic Market is multi-building and huge, and full of lamb and tea.  Here it is in pictures.

 

eating on bondi beach

the jewel in the crown

I had the good fortune to take the train from Melbourne to Sydney for two days on Bondi Beach and two days in Sydney city.  People in Melbourne seemed aghast I was going to Sydney (and vice versa), so I made up an elaborate tale about how my flight left from Sydney so I had to make my way there (leaving out the details about spending four extra days as a tourist).  And how I had to go to Melbourne, because that’s where my conference was.  In reality, I loved both places equally – Melbourne for its family friendly eco ways, and Sydney for being so hip and glittery.

My two favourite things in Sydney were not food related, but of course I also ate along the way.  I’d never miss a meal.  That’s just ridiculous.

bondi cliff walk. note the view.

First, I hiked from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach.  This took a glorious two hours, snaking along a paved cliff-side path.  There were some odd sights for my gawking pleasure – beach volleyball in the middle of winter, dreadlocked gentlemen crawling up from amongst the rocks, a full cemetery with dozens of gravesites embedded on the side of an ocean view, outdoor pools that spilled into the ocean (including a polar bear one, aptly under a restaurant named ‘Iceberg), and lots of overheard talk about the Tour de France win.

But first, I had to eat.  I was staying half a block from Bondi Beach, at Bondi Beach House. My accommodations were terribly tiny, but quaint, and in a perfect pedestrian location.  I ambled down to Bondi Trattoria for breakfast each of my two mornings, and here’s what I saw…

the fare at bondi trattoria

It was sunny and +15.  In the dead of winter.  I’m situated on a porch of a cafe right on Bondi Beach – I arrived from the train in the dead of night, and so have little sense of my surroundings.  There are lots of babies and dogs around here – it is obviously Sunday and a day for families.  High end babies and dogs, mind you – this neighbourhood reminds me of Kits in Vancouver, but with a more magnificent and open beach.

I’ve learned to order the flat white, which is a cappuccino without the foamy bits, and not nearly as milky as a latte.  In Edmonton, only Transcend offers the flat white.

The waiter just came around and asked, “do you mind if I nick your pepper?”.

I’m eating a crostini – a big piece of bread – with lox, avocado and mayonnaise – surely three of my most favourite toppings in the world.  Oh, with ‘rocket‘ – I’ve eaten lots of rocket – it seems beloved by the Australians (and me).

After my big walk, I wander around Coogee, looking for a phantom restaurant at an address that does not exist.  I finally give up, and head to the place that is packed with the most people – Barzura.  This is a big risk for me, an obsessive restaurant planner…but my hunger and need to pee win out.

I order the fish and chips at this place at the tip of Coogee Beach.  It is stuffed with families doing the Sunday nosh, and I talk the host out of seating me at the bar and get a proper table.

I eat.  The fish is a flathead, lightly battered with beer, but the chips look floppy and frozen, Irish pub style.  But I cannot say for sure.  Ordering a raspberry muddled alcoholic concoction helps everything go down smoothly.  It starts to rain, so I use that as my excuse to cab home and forgo the two hour trek back.

bondi trattoria, again

The next day, I frequent Bondi Trattoria again.  If it worked yesterday, why not today?  Plus, they let me sit on the patio, instead of by the toilet.

This morning I indulged in two poached eggs on a potato frittata, heaped with smoked salmon and spinach, floating in a mustardy hollandaise sauce.  Since I did not have dinner last night, and I walked eight hours, AND I’m on holiday, I’m indulging, big time.  I happily eat the whole thing.  This is my last few hours on Bondi Beach before I head into Sydney city.  I order another flat white and wander down to the beach to contemplate life (no epiphanies as of yet).

Up next – Sydney city, and the Opera House that reduced me to tears.  Some good eatin’ too.

a good place to contemplate life

the european, melbourne

I’m not sure why I flew 14,000 km to Australia to go to a restaurant called The European.  Probably for the same reason I ate bratwurst for breakfast at Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne.  Because Anthony Bourdain told me to.

seated at the back, by the kitchen at the european

I found a recurring theme in my solo dining experiences in Australia.  I was inevitably seated at the worst table in the house, or at the bar (if there was one).  This was unless I spoke up and asked for a different seat, but the status quo seemed to be:  single person = loser = bury them in the restaurant near the washrooms.  (Or, as the Australians say, ‘the toilet’.  Even more appetizing).

I did not let this daunt me!  Many times I requested another seat…but at The European one early Friday morning, almost all the tables were taken or occupied by ‘reserved’ signs.  This was not a ruse – sure enough, the tables filled quickly with what I’d term ‘well dressed government types’ for The European is just across from the Parliament in Melbourne.  (State government is parliament, not legislature, as we have in Canada.  Where we also have provinces, not states.  Australian politics are both complex and confusing to me).

Here’s my Moleskine-written account of my breakfast at The European:

Just ate a mushroom brushetta with rocket, tomato, proscuitto and poached egg at The European.  I suppose I should be frequenting restaurants called ‘The Australian’.  Sitting by the kitchen again, but I’m enjoying getting a peek of the chefs in the peek-a-boo window.  This place is French with an Australian accent, and is filling up with patrons – there are many working breakfast meetings booked here, by the looks of the clientele.

Funny how when you are travelling with someone else how you are so fixated on each other that you miss the majority of the surroundings.  Travelling solo allows for much more observation.  But it is a little lonely.  And dicey (note to self:  sitting at a bar restaurant and eating seems to send a bad message).

So the service was uber professional, but not unfriendly at The European, and despite the nagging feeling I was in Montreal at L’Express again, I enjoyed my sophisticated European/Australian breakfast.

More on my bratwurst at Queen Vic market later.  Thanks, Anthony, for the leads.  Your devoted servant, foodie suz.