Catching up for the holdays

We have been out of touch the last couple of weeks, finding ourselves increasingly busy with preparing for the holidays as well as a trip out of town. But before things get really crazy, we wanted to catch up on a wonderful evening we spent earlier in the month.

Chrismukkha

Originating as a pop culture reference on the TV show The O.C., Chrismukkah is the hybrid family tradition of celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas. This duality of cultures was something Chef Ariel Coplan and his business partner Jacob Fox of Thoroughbred Food & Drink  both experienced growing up, so when the good people at U-Feast approached them about doing a one of a kind dinner they took on the challenge of merging the tastes of two separate traditions into one nine course meal.

Before getting on to the food, a few notes about the hosts of the evening. If you have been following the blog then you know that we simply loved our first experience with U-Feast. The combination of great food, good value, a unique foodie experience, and the chance to meet and converse with other similarly minded people makes it tempting to go to every single one of the events they hold. If you live in the Toronto area and you haven't signed up yet, you absolutely should. And if you don't live in Toronto, rumor has it they will be expanding to other cities in the future.

We had not dinned as Thoroughbred before. and although the food we had this night was not on their regular menu, the experience was so wonderful, with each bite being memorable and the serving staff being incredibly gracious that we will definitely be coming back.

And a special word of thanks to ACE Bakery, who helped sponsor the event. Pictured above is one of the centerpiece loaves of bread they baked for the occasion. They also raffled off an amazing basket of their products, which we were incredibly fortunate to win. It was the perfect prize for any foodie and David was so happy about it, he didn't even mind carrying it home on the subway.

The Feast

Things started off with a tasty bite of bacon Challah, which set the irreverent mood of the night. This was served along with a Manischewitz cocktail. It was followed up with sweet potato latkhahs with ricotta and caviar. The sweet potatoes added a faint callback to Christmas side dishes with the sweetness and slight squash taste influencing its otherwise traditional flavor profile. We were off to a good start.

Next up was a deconstructed take on a bagel and lox. Served more as a salad, the crouton-like everything flavored bagel added a good wallop of savory, while the fresh greens and radish gave it a crisp, clean finish.  

  

The turkey matzahball soup was one of the most noteworthy dishes of the evening. Rich and comforting, this served up Christmas dinner in a bowl with all the requisite turkey, stuffing, and cranberry flavors.  

Chef Coplan's take on Kischkah came out next. Served up was a dried fruit mincemeat and blood sausage. This was one of David's favorite dishes as the sweetness of the mincemeat played off the the rich, offal quality of the sausage perfectly. And Jen commented, "I want to eat a tray of tarts made from this mincemeat."

The butter poached lobster with scalloped potatoes was a holiday memory from visiting family Atlantic Canada and might not be what most people think of when they picture a Christmas or Hanukkah meal. But that didn't take anything away from the flavors. The only unfortunate thing was that the bacon jam intended to accompany the dish only hit the table after it we had fully consumed it. It was a shame because one could see how it would have added complexity to the lobster.

  

Our last savory course was the salted meat. This consisted of a luscious piece of pastrami style brisket with parsnip, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. The portions of the dinner had been kept small with each consisting of a bite or two per person,but by this point we were getting very full. Not that we left anything on the plate.

Dessert consisted of eggnog marshmallow and spice cake donuts, providing a wonderful sweet end to this amazing dinner. 

Beer 

The beer for the dinner was provided by High Park Brewery. The English Pale Ale they had on tap was excellent and had many people at the table wishing it was available in the LCBO. One couple even tried making arrangements to pick up a case personally. We were lucky enough to sit next to Dan, one of the founders, and got to chat with him about the brewery's creation and its development. The new company was started by four friends, who all lived in the High Park neighborhood and who shared a passion for beer. We were happy to get the inside track and look forward to encountering more of their brews in restaurants across the city. We wish them well.

Last Words

Happy holidays to all our readers! May this be a joyous time with your families regardless of what faith you celebrate. And may you take the time to connect with the traditions of your past while creating new ones for the future. For us, it should be an interesting Christmas this year with the windows open instead of the fire blazing.

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

Last weekend, we kicked off our holiday season with a blitz of Christmas activities, starting off with the most insanely large craft fair we had ever been to and ending with fireworks over City Hall.

The One Of A Kind Show

With over 800 vendors, the twenty-five (very long) aisles of the One of a Kind Show can take a while to go through. Located at the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place it is on until Sunday (December 6th). If you're looking for some unique gifts or wanting to support local artisan's this is definitely the place to go, You will find art, furniture, clothes, soap and beauty products, food, and much, much more. 

Toronto themed T-Shirts are available

If you go, here are some things to know:

• It's big. Plan on at least three hours and up to a couple of days to see it all. We were pretty speedy about it and were there for about four hours. This also means comfortable shoes are a must.
• If you buy your tickets in advance, it's cheaper and you don't have to wait in as many lines when you arrive.
• Taking the street car? Get off at the Strachan stop instead of Exhibition Place and you'll be right at the entrance.
• If you're planning on making a lot of purchases, bring a bag to hold them and which is comfortable to carry (the plastic bags provided get heavy and cut into your hands).
• Bring bottled water. There is no restrictions on bringing bottles in and they are exorbitantly priced on site. Also halfway through at the back, their is a fresh water station where you can refill them.
• There is food available if you need to stop for a meal. There are a few sit down places about the aisles such as the cafe, a sandwich shop, and a Pizza Pizza.  But also tucked away in a nook at the back are a couple of food trucks.
• All of the chocolate, cakes, and other goodies make great gifts but since they are all located in a few rows roughly around Aisles E (sorry I forgot to note down the exact area), plan to tackle these strategically. Nearly everyone of these vendor's of consumable goods are giving away snacks and it's a welcome blood sugar boost when your energy is flagging. We accidentally reached this oasis near the end of our day and were incredibly thankful for it.

Cavalcade of Lights

After shopping until we were nearly dropping, we grabbed some dinner, then headed over to the Cavalcade of Lights. Located right outside City Hall, we joined thousands of other Torontonians for this celebration featuring live music and culminating in the lighting of the Toronto tree and fireworks.

It was a lovely, if cold, event that really brought out both the Christmas spirit and the city pride.

December is a busy month and it's just gotten started. We'll be keeping everyone posted of our adventures here as well as on Twitter and Instagram. 

We are currently celebrating the one year anniversary of our move to Toronto. So many of our adventures happened before starting this blog that we will be doing a year in review. Expect some posts in the last few days of the month with all of the highlights of our fun times in this great city.

Last Saturday, We attended The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo, although it may have been more accurately named: The Wine, Beer, Liquor, Cocktails, and Gourmet Food Expo. It was a telling (and more than a little ironic) that upon entering we were greeted by a representative for a M.A.D.D. associated non-alcoholic beverage company. That appeal to moderate drinking was soon lost as liquor took center stage. Granted, you didn’t need to get loaded wandering around the convention center, but we witnessed many who chose to. And even while trying to take a conservative approach to the drinking, there were so many tempting beverages to try, it soon became a marathon for our livers.

The show

This was the third major food festival of the year which we've attended and although we enjoyed ourselves and had a good time, it was the least memorable of the trio. Why? Well as stated above, the focus wasn’t really on the food. There were food vendors and some really good ones, but they seemed vastly outnumbered by the wine, craft beer, and other alcohol purveyors.  Kiosk that offered food were so few and far between in some stretches, we found ourselves wondering when we’d get to the next one. This was unexpected for an event with "gourmet food" at the head of its title.

Another reason we were disappointed was that the cost. Instead of small bites for a few dollars, thee were larger portions with prices to match. Most items went for a minimum of four dollars and it wasn’t hard to spend six to eight per plate. This made it harder to try a lot and sure made you run through the tickets quickly. 

Which brings me to my final complaint: the tickets. Organizers really need to modernize and move to an electronic payment method like Taste of Toronto or Toronto Food & Wine were using this year. The plasticized tickets were cumbersome and a challenge to tear off, especially once you were holding a purchase in one hand and a wine glass in the other.

The drink

There was no lack of choice in this department. If there is a style of wine, beer, or liquor you enjoy, you were bound to find it. David was overwhelmed with the craft beer selection and we tried many fantastic wines that we will be looking out for the next time we’re at the LCBO. But unlike a wine tasting, these pours were rather substantial and more often than not we turning up things we would have loved to try because our glasses were still nearly full. We mostly kept clear of the hard alcohol but we did have to end the day with some fine cocktails made with gourmet mixers from Fever-Tree. 

I feel that since this was such a big part of the show, I am being neglectful with describing the choices that were available and the great things we sampled. And the truth is we did neglect the beverages. We took almost no pictures and we kept few notes. We were there for the food and perhaps we stuck to that notion too rigidly during our tour.

The demonstrations

Throughout the day there were many different presentations and tastings.We attended The Wine Sisters' holiday tasting. Erin and Courtney Henderson are both sommeliers, who run an event planning business here in Toronto. A small fee was required but this was offset be the four wine tastings that the sisters walked us through. The show covered proper tasting techniques and many holiday entertainment tips. The sisters gave a lively and entertaining change of pace to the day and after a few hours of walking around the convention center, a welcomed chance to sit down. The four wines we tried were under $25 crowd pleasers perfect for the holidays. And one of their top tips was to always hold the glass by the stem, not just to keep your hand from warming the wine (the reason we knew) but to keep oily deposits from building up and grossing out the people you're mingling with.

The Food

There were a few items that we had read about before coming, like the sushi burrito and the "Pig Mac" (on a side note, this was actually the third sandwich in our travels we’ve had called a “Pig Mac.”), but we found both lacking as the concept proved better than the execution. As far as high concept street foods go, we’d have top award the spam sushi the winner. Although not all that original (it’s been a staple in Hawaii for years), it wasn’t something you often in the T.O. and it was our first chance to try it.

But the hands down winner of "the best thing we ate" prize was the Filipino poutine from Casa Manila. We’re huge fans of this North York gem and were eager to see what they brought to GFWE. We had a couple of their extremely tasty skewers but the decedent chicken sauce doused with aioli and sriracha covering our fries wowed us with it’s tart sour notes and generous but not overpowering heat. It was something we could have eaten a few plates of. But then we would have needed a long nap.

Runners up would be: Little Fin’s shrimp and bacon mac & cheese. It was a small portion but packed big flavors; and Bake Three Fifty’s build your own ice cream sandwich. Selecting from different cookies, ice creams, and toppings, it was easy to construct some truly wild and heart clogging combinations.

The verdict

Although we were disappointed that the focus of the event wasn’t on gourmet food, we would recommend it. And in fact, we did recommend it later that night when it came up in conversation. Perhaps next year our expectations will be more in line with the spirit of the show and we’ll go in thinking more about the wine and beer we’ll be trying rather than the food.

U-Feast, We Feasted

Monday night, we were lucky enough to take part in a unique foodie experience: the "Wet" Your Appetite  dinner by Matt Basile. The night was organized by U-Feast, a young company with big dreams.

U-Feast is the brainchild of a few local entrepreneurs, including Terry Mocherniak and Kenn Koid, who I spoke with at different points during the night. The concept is to create an online community of food lovers and create fun and unique experiences for them. Toronto is staged as the testing ground for the enterprise, which began offering "pop-up" foodie events in May of this year, but their goal is to go international with it.

We first heard about U-Feast at Toronto Food & Wine, and we were intrigued, first by the novel idea and then by the amazing looking dinners they were advertising on their website. With the events usually taking place on week nights and not being entirely sure what we were getting ourselves into we hesitated a bit, but finally decided to take the plunge with this one.

A big draw was chef Matt Basile, the hot, young chef storming Toronto's culinary scene with Fidel Gastro and his restaurant Lisa Marie on Queen West. Lisa Marie has been on our radar for months and we had just been waiting for an opportunity to dine there. But this dinner offered something remarkably unique: we wouldn't just get to try Basile's food, we'd get to see his interpretation of Filipino street food. Matt Basile has recently returned from a trip to the Philippines and every dish was inspired by his experiences in their wet markets. As he said afterward: the food wasn't exactly traditional but all of the flavors you would expect are there. It had his own twist on them and also Toronto had made an impression upon them. As people who have spent time around chefs and seen firsthand the injection of inspiration that comes from experiencing new cuisines, this really spoke to us something that could be amazing. 

Not your average dinner party

The night dinner was held in an area of town more famous for its meat packing industry than fine dinning. Walking up to the nondescript building next to a self-storage facility made us feel like we had taken a wrong turn somewhere. But once we stepped through the door of the loft space and smelt the heavenly aromas of food, it was clear we were in the right place. The location, a it turned out, is Matt Basile's studio kitchen used for photo shoots and the filming of cooking shows.

The night had a convivial atmosphere of a friend's dinner party, where no one knew each other. As one guest was overheard to say, "But it's a party where you don't feel guilty about not sticking around to clean up." A room full of strangers could have become a quiet and cold place but the common love for food broke down any barriers and as people eyed the preparation of the meal with a glass of wine in hand, the conversation was loud and friendly.

The Feast

At a cozy, communal table, the feast was served up family style, starting with sambal head on prawns and smoked lechon lettuce wraps. The prawns were gorgeous and meaty packing lots of sweet flavor offset by the spicy sambal sauce. The pickled cucumber that accompanied it wasn't just garnish, it was just as good as the seafood. The pork lettuce wraps was one of the stars of the night. By midway through the meal, it was winning the informal poll of people's favorite bite. The meat was succulent and smokey. The pickled mango, sweet, tart, and fresh. And the fried pork skin light, salty, and crispy

Wine was being poured by John Paul Adamo of the Adamo Estate Winery, a vineyard in one of Ontario's non-traditional wine making zones and one of the event's sponsors. John Paul accompanied this first round with a  crisp and refreshing Chardonney Musque

From there, we moved on to spicy curried mussels and adobo chicken wings. The mussels were perfectly cooked and the broth was lively with coconut, green curry, and kalamansi limes. To sop up all that wonderful broth, coconut cheddar  hominy grits were brought out. They were rich and creamy and worked some fantastic alchemy with the curry. As for the wings, the smoke taste wasn't overpowering and added to their addictiveness. It was hard to stop eating them with all their fall-of-the-bone goodness and the platter sitting temptingly close. These dishes were perfectly paired with an Adamo Riesling, which had the right amount of sweet to balance the spicy and the right amount of citrus to balance the richness.

By this point we were getting to know some of our dining companions well and restaurant recommendations were flying across the table quickly. It was a nice change from a restaurant atmosphere. Just about everyone here was a foodie and no one was here for some other reason than to revel in the food. It was also nice that you didn't get any odd looks for photographing the food, since everyone was doing it.

Offered not so much as a palate cleanser but more of a respite from the meat heavy plates that had been served so far, the black noodles were the next to land on the table. Traditionally these are cooked in copious amounts of lard but Basile went with duck fat and it's impossible to say that was a bad decision. This simple looking dish just may have been the best of the night. My only complaint was that only one poached quail egg topped each family style bowl and I wanted my own. It was incredibly rich and decadent making it a revelation—this is how you cook noodles, people! Along with the noodles out came the Pinot Noir, which provided a surprising compliment with it's subtle fruits and acidic backbone. 
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We were starting to feel more than full, but we weren't done yet. Our last course was whole sea bream and stewed eggplant and king oyster mushrooms. The fish was lovely, delicate and light and the eggplant was creamy and tart. We wished we could wind back time and save room to eat more of these late arrivals, because it was feeling like we were bursting at the seams.

The night ended the way it began with lots of conversations. The hosts and the chef were out among us diners, talking about this wonderful experience we all had just been a part of.

Future feasting

U-feast is a concept and a business I hope will thrive and grow. This celebration of food culture is something that any resident of Toronto who loves food should experience at least once. As for the two of us, we're already anxious for our next adventure with them.

Halloween

Last Saturday was an important day in our calendar. A day where we usually go all out with costumes, a huge party, and with much time spent decorating and cooking. This being our first Halloween in Toronto, things were a little quieter. Our temporary housing doesn’t have the space for much more than a small get-together and all of our (many) Halloween decorations are boxed up at the back of a storage locker. So we decided to get tickets to an event and a have nice dinner beforehand.

Scary good

Despite that headline, there was nothing scary about Byblos, although it was hard to believe how good dinner was. We've been dying to try it for months, and it didn’t disappoint.

We ate upstairs in their very chic dining room. The décor was a beautiful blend of classic and modern. Showpiece light fixtures hung down just about everywhere, giving it the feeling of some indistinct era of the past or perhaps the future.

The service was incredible. There is something special about any restaurant the exceeds expectation in the service department. Service can so easily make or break a dining experience—it can elevate mediocre food and ruin wonderfully prepared meals. But when it's attentive, friendly, never hovering, and exceptionally helpful...and the food is amazing, then you know you have a winner.  Which might be why Byblos is a hard place to get a reservation, especially on the weekends.

The cuisine is described as Eastern Mediterranean and consists of items from the Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, and Israeli culinary traditions. Our waiter wasted no time making us feel at home with the somewhat unfamiliar selection and was generous with his help and suggestions.

We started off with two incredible cocktails that surprised us with their fresh and original flavors. Then we ordered six plates to share between the two of us consisting mainly of a selection of appetizers. I could easily spend a few pages gushing about the food that greeted us, but I'll save you having to read through it all with some food porn pix.

 

 

One of David’s favorite things about the meal was that thought was put into how the food came out. The dishes we ordered were brought to us in sensible courses, rather than simply their placement on the menu. So we got our grilled octopus main before our lamb ribs and duck kibbeh appetizers. It was a small thing but it showed the level of care that Byblos puts into its food.

We were pretty full by the time we were done, but not so full that we weren’t tempted by the dessert menu and ordered a couple, which were pleasantly light and not overly sweet.

The Main Event

But the big event was the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The symphony’s airing of films with a live orchestra providing the score occurs fairly regularly and the week before they did the same with Back To the Future. If you have never been to one of these screenings, you should definitely take advantage. It is an incredible way to elevate a night out at the movies into an event. And you don’t even need to spend a lot on the tickets because at Roy Thompson Hall, there really isn’t any bad seats.

We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of concert goers (and performers!) who showed up in full costume. Jen regret not wearing hers, but only slightly as the theatre was on the warm side and would have been hot under a wig and extra garb.

The movie is a classic for a reason, even though a few out-dated lines generated laughs from the audience. But overall, seeing the beautiful 35mm print on the big screen play out the twisted tail of Norman Bates generated all the right amount of tension and creep that one could ask for.

Thoughts of next year

So that was our first Halloween in the big city and it already has us thinking of next year. We found out about the Toronto Public Library Foundation's Hush, Hush party a little too late to attend this time, but a Halloween party in a library...how can we say no to that.

Preparing for Halloween

Last weekend was spent in anticipation of one of our most loved holidays: Halloween. How does one prepare for Halloween? In our case we took a ghost tour and went pumpkin picking.

I ain't afraid of no ghost

David has been itching to take a ghost tour of the city since the summer. The other thing that he's been wanting to do is visit the Necropolis Cemetery (the ghoulish interests of a horror writer). So it was a great disappointment when we missed out on last week's haunted tour of the cemetery. It apparently only takes place once a year (organized by Mackenzie House) and we waited too long to get our tickets. A mistake we won't make next year.

Fortunately, this Halloween season had almost too many ghost tours to choose from and we had no problem find something else to get us in the mood. Jen found the "I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost!" tour from Tour Guys. Tour Guys offers many seasonal and year-round tours around the city, most are of a historic nature and some are even free. This one, named after the line from the Ghostbuster's theme song, only runs in the autumn and just until Halloween (but there is still time to get it in before next year). It promised to be a gimmick free tour, offering possible scientific explanations for the sightings and an explanation of ghost hunting techniques. We were sold.

Faces carved into pillar at Old City Hall

We met up on the steps of Old City Hall on a blustery Friday night (read: cold), where a group of about twelve of us joined our guide Steven for an exploration of Toronto's haunted sites. Being recent arrivals to the city, the in-depth history  was fascinating and gave us a new perspective on some of the places we passed that went far beyond the spiritual realm. For example, even though we got many ghost stories about it, the most intreguing tale of The Winter Garden theatre was of how it was sealed up in the late 1920's and lost from memory until it was rediscoverwd during a renovation nearly sixty years later.

Mackenzie House

The tour took us to several sites but the haunted highlight was Mackenzie House. Home to William Lyon Mackenzie, Toronto's first mayor, it is reputed to be the most haunted building in the city. And it must be a well earned reputation if the traffic-jam of ghost tours was any indication. It was a hot spot that night and we had to wait to get our turn on the small patch of lawn in front of the building. The tour in front of us was a the traditional style with caped guides carrying lanterns. Having been on similar tours before, we had nothing against them, but it made ours feel a little more special. The lack of theatrics lent an air of authenticity to the evening, and the note of skepticism made the stories without explanation seem all the more real.

We ended up at The Keg Mansion or  Euclid Hall as it was called when it was a home. By this time it was late and we were tired and anxious to get somewhere warm. And here the genius of the tour's plan came in: the bar being only a few feet away. We didn't make that stop, favoring a nightcap at home instead, but the tales of dining room haunting has put this steakhouse on our list of plaxes to eat.

Pumpkin picker

On Sunday, we went with the family pumpkin picking to stock up on jack-o-lanterns for the big day. We ended up driving to Coopers Farm in Zephyr. Coopers is a Community Supported Agriculture enterprise and boasts a ten acre corn maze. Having a four year-old with a short attention span with us (and Jen who was traumatized by Children of the Corn when she was a youngster), we gave it a skip and concentrated on getting our pumpkins and some locally raised meat, which is sold along with vegetables and preserves in their shop.

Halloween

Now Halloween is just a few days away and we're all set. Being away from so many of our friends, this will be the first Halloween Saturday in years where we won't be hosting a huge costume party. So we will be off in search of other entertainment, which will include a fine dinner, an airing of Psycho accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and maybe some surprises. Who knows, maybe we will encounter our own ghost story while out on the town. Whatever happens, be sure to check back in next week for a full recap.

A Feast at Montecito

Last Friday evening, as the Jays' game let out and throngs of blue jersey wearing fans hit the street, we were making our way to a favorite dinning spot, Montecito.

Located on Adelaide and  John Street, Montecito is the lovechild of film icon Ivan Reitman and chef Jonathon Waxman, bringing California flair to Toronto. The space is large, elegant, and comfortable. Many of the tables have sofa-like benches to add to that comfort. One wall projects moving images of the California country side, and another displays photos from behind the scenes at Reitman's films. In the bar lurks a miniature Stay Puft Marshmallow Man of Ghostbusters fame.

Among the wonderful, ever changing daily menu, Montescito has a section dedicated to meals for two (or more), and the last time we dined here with friends, David looked down at their Tomahawk steak for two and said, "That's what we're having for my birthday." So it was with this mission in mind that we booked our reservations.

Although dinning out is one of our great pleasures and an activity we seem to do a lot, Resident Tourist Toronto is not a restaurant review blog. But we couldn't resist sharing this special meal.

A special touch

One of the things that makes this restaurant one of our top picks and one we keep coming back to is the way the staff never fails to make you feel special. After we settled into the luxurious sofa benches, we noticed that the chat with the hostess concerning the special occasion we were celebrating had resulted in personalized menus being printed up. Although a small touch, it helped set the tone for evening ahead and assure us we were in good hands.

Another way they make the experience special is by frequently featuring rare and hard to find culinary items that are sure to delight foodies. That night percebes (or gooseneck barnacles), a Spanish delicacy, was featured as an appetizer. Jen ordered these and declared them to look "prehistoric" when the landed in front of her. Not put off be appearances, she polished them off, comparing them to a milder, sweeter razor clam.

David feeling the chill of the fall air and a little less adventurous (that night) ordered the onion soup. As someone who frequently makes onion soup from the Thomas Keller recipe, he is not easily satisfied by restaurant versions. But this one was perfection, showing the time and care the kitchen had put into it developing the deep, rich flavors of the caramelized onions.

The Main feast

With anticipation and awe, our main course arrived. When they say for two or more they aren't joking. It wouldn't have been hard to imagine this massive platter serving four. Not that we minded having it all to ourselves. The forty-eight day aged rib steak was cooked to an ideal state of rareness. The meat was tender and earthy. The flavors heightened by the aging process to a carnivore's delight.

The meal came with two sides. We ordered the brussel sprouts and the must-have JW Potatoes. These have become something of a legend in our house and here's why: first, the potatoes are baked, then they're broken up into small chunks, then they're deep fried and coated in pecorino cheese. The process delivers what might be the absolute best roasted potato, even though they aren't actually roasted.

This meal also came with an option to get the house labeled Cabernet Sauvignon at a discount and we did just that. It was well worth it! It not only paired beautifully with the steak but was a smooth and mellow sipper after the steak was done. Or at least, after we could it no more of it.

Finale

While sipping on our wine, we waved away the dessert menus, tempted but too stuffed to contemplate more food. Determined to end the meal in a classic celebratory way, our waiter brought out a complimentary plate of ice-cream and sorbet with a birthday candle (did I mention they make you feel special?).

It is the attention to detail in both service and the food that make Montecito one of our favorites in the city. It's where we bring our friends when they're in town.  And where we go to celebrate. The memory of this meal is still fresh in our minds, but it will be slow to fade and we'll be telling people about it for years to come.

Going to the Country

Sorry for the lack of a post this week. We were in Montreal for a few days visiting family and friends and had so much to catch up on when we got back we ran out of time.

This coming weekend is a long one and we'll be spending part of it in the Kawartha Lakes area enjoying some country air and the fall foliage. We will be back next week with a new article about our adventures. Until, then we wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!

A Day in Stratford

Last spring, we saw our first ad for the Stratford Festival's new season and we knew we would be heading out at some point to catch a play. Spring passed and then summer, and here we were in autumn and the time was running out for the year.

So even with all kinds of events we would have loved to do in the city, we headed out on the 401 West on a bright, clear Saturday morning. 

We arrived early and were surprised by the amount of available parking by the Festival Theatre.  Certainly, it wouldn’t be like this during the summer, when the season was at its height. It was great getting there before the crowds that would show up just a little later and not just because of parking. We were able to spend some quiet time, surveying the surround gardens without anyone else around.

When do we eat?

From there, we headed into town in search of a place to have lunch. This turned out to be a longer walk than we had anticipated but the weather was so beautiful that it was impossible to mind the time outside. We took a meandering route through the side streets, walking passed picturesque old homes and staying away from the busy main street for as long as we could.

We decided on Mercer Hall for lunch because of the many positive reviews it has received. It was a beautiful and surprisingly large dining room.  It was just the place we love to go for lunch: well-made casual fare and a good selection of Ontario craft beers on tap.

We started off with an amazing Thai chili chicken wings, they were more sweet than spicy, but good and crispy as wings should be. Then Jen had their excellent burger and David had the curry chicken salad off the specials menu.  The burger was good and classic and you could see the care the kitchen took in the way the stacked the fries on the plate. The salad with watermelon and feta was fresh and flavourful. Everything tasted great but there seemed to be an odd disparity in portion sizes as the appetizers we saw going out were huge and the mains tended to be smaller than average. Not that we left hungry.

Take me to the River

Heading back to catch our play, we followed the Avon River. Since its inception in the early nineteenth century, the town of Stratford has paid homage to its namesake. Every year swans are released on the river to add to Shakespeares birthplace. In addition to the swans, numerous species of ducks and geese flock to the banks.

In the wonderful autumn weather both people and birds filled the river's shores and the lovely green-space that flanks it. The water fowl brazenly claimed the shore, and in some instances the path as they awaited handouts.

But as warm and enjoyable as the weather was, there were signs that summer was quickly fading and fall colours were occasionally spotted.

It was impossible to stroll along there and not wish to have a picnic. We vowed next year, we would plan one.

The play's the thing

The town may have been honoring Shakespeare since it was founded but the festival has only been there for a little more than sixty years, but in that time the Festival has built a world-class theatrical destination.

We attended Love’s Labour’s Lost, one of Shakespeare’s earliest and perhaps least conventional comedies.  The cast and direction was amazing and proved that even after four hundred years, the play was still funny and a joy to watch.

If Shakespeare is not your thing, they perform a wide variety of plays. One of the big productions of the 2015 season is Sound of Music.  We would have loved to see just about everyone of their shows, if we had enough time to do so.

Stratford is at a distance that makes it unlikely that our visits will be often, but the quality of the Festival’s plays and the charming town has earned it a place in our plans for next summer.