WE'RE BACK!

After taking a hiatus from the blogging world, we're back and launching a new updated, better than ever blog! Keep checking back this summer to see the changes!!!

High Tea @ The Ritz Carlton

DEQ Terrace and Lounge
Ritz CarltonAfternoon Tea from 2-4pm on Sat and Sun181 Wellington St WToronto, ON, M5V 3G7(416) 585-2500

"The tradition of Afternoon Tea - a midday refreshment, complete with small cakes, assorted sweets, bread and butter sandwiches, and fine tea - remains relatively unchanged since its origin in the 19th century. Some credit the Duchess of Bedford (1783-1857), a lady in waiting of Queen Victoria, as the one who introduced the ritual of Afternoon Tea to London, by inviting friends to join her for “tea and a walking in the fields”. This delightfully social and gourmand pastime sparked a trend that has continued to this day."

As a special treat for my belated birthday celebrations, Melissa treated me to an afternoon of high tea at the Ritz Carlton. I must say I felt the most prestigious and luxurious, as I sat with my own pot of tea, snacking on the most delicious finger sandwiches and sweets. We chose the Ritz-Carlton, not only for its good reviews but for the exquisite tea selection from Sloane Fine Tea Merchants. We enjoyed the "Blush Tea" package for $58", which included: an assortment of savory and sweet delights, a selection of fine tea and a glass of Henry of Pelham, "Cuvee Catherine".

When it came down to picking out which tea we each wanted to try, our server did an excellent job describing them to us, as well as the history behind the teas. The Sloane Tea box was just about the prettiest wooden box, I have ever seen. With a slight glow around it, it showcased each and every individual tea that they offered. 

Overall, the presentation of the food was excellent and plentiful. I can’t comment too much on the level of service at the time because they seem as though they were understaffed, but the two servers that were there were working really hard to keep up.

Summerlicious 2015: America Restaurant - Trump Tower

325 Bay Street - Toronto ON
(31st Floor Trump International Hotel & Tower)

"Experience America, the grand indulgence – with commanding views of Toronto's glittering skyline after dark, its lavish service, exquisite cocktails and decadent food"

We had been wanting to make a visit to America, and we were both delighted to see its name on the list of restaurants participating in Summerlicious this season!

The restaurant is stunningly gorgeous. This was our first time here and we sat on the top floor which was nice and was quieter, and felt more intimate. There was a perfect view and great lighting in the late afternoon/early evening of the city. 

America seems to be featured during Summerlicious/Winterlicious menus every year, so it's definitely a place worth trying. Plus, it's worth it for the $28 lunch/$45 dinner.


Melissa, being a huge matcha fan, had their matcha chicken and waffles as her main course.


While I had the:

Cedar-Grilled Speckled Trout- cauliflower, spiced chickpeas, brown butter
Key Lime Pie - sourdough crumb, meringue, tequila

It was my first time having trout, and well...it may be my last. I enjoyed it but not to the point where I would order it again. Overall experience was alright, the food was decadent but the service was rather slow and I had a hard time hearing Melissa from the other side of the table.

SUMMERLICIOUS @ ARRIBA

For those of you who haven't heard of SUMMERLICIOUS yet, it is "Toronto’s favourite culinary celebration, inviting you to discover and experience the diverse cuisine the city has to offer at exceptional value. For two weeks, Toronto invites you to savour delicious three-course prix fixe lunch and dinner menus at more than 200 of the city’s top restaurants."

Birthday Girl

Yesterday we celebrated Melissa's 26th birthday at Arriba Restaurant and Lounge. Located in the heart of the Entertainment District at 1 Blue Jays Way (located in the Renaissance Hotel), Arriba offered us a dynamic yet eloquent atmosphere with incredible views into the Rogers Centre. While we were there, our view into the Rogers Centre was the stage crew for the "On The Run" Tour for Jay-Z & Beyonce; so there wasn't much to look at other than stage prep.

Now, I know I say this alot but the food here, at Arriba, was fantastic. Lunch only cost us 20$ + a drink (or two!), applicable taxes & gratuities. Everything was fresh, flavorful and absolutely delightful.

Appetizer: Baby Kale Salad

Fresh watermelon, blackberries, toasted pepitas, prosciutto crisp with green apple dressing.

Best.Salad.Ever.

 My Main Course: Brown butter seared Whitefish Fillet 

 Warm quinoa salad with arugula, tomatoes, goat cheese & white balsamic 

(I had the goat cheese excluded, due to my lactose sensitivity)

I. Love. Food.

Melissa's Main Course: Grilled Pork Loin Banh Mi Sandwich

Spicy sambal mayo, house pickled vegetables, arugula, sriracha, garlic toasted baguette 

(and fries)

 Dessert: Housemade Bread Pudding

with berries, dark chocolate & bourbon caramel

Heaven.

 If you have a chance to check out Arriba, whether its lunch, dinner, pre-game/concert/event - whatever. I suggest you do. I cannot express my satisfaction enough..!

We Got Local at #CraveLocal!

Thursday, June 26th was another well spent evening at CraveTO's #CraveLocal event. This time the event was situated in the iconic alleyway of Honest Eds. As noted in our previous post, we made sure to try everything, and that's what we did (with the exception of OysterBoy & Crazy Uncle's Caesars -- due to my shellfish allergy!). The first thing to mention is Let's Be Frank's mini po boys. Mini hot dogs, covered in pulled pork, topped with coleslaw and hickory sticks...how could you ever go wrong with this delicious snack? The po boy was cooked to perfection and perfectly seasoned. 

Next up, Bite & Sip's soft pretzels, still delicious, but didn't blow us out of the water like they usually do. I was surprised at the lack of creativity they brought to the table at the event. Staff was friendly, but the table was a bit dull. The pretzels are much better when we get them made fresh in front of our eyes in-store. We still love you guys and will definitely be back in for a treat soon. 

Previous to the event, Melissa tweeted Randy's Roti & Doubles truck, requesting to see Bake & Salt Fish.. 

The roti was delicious even if it was spicier than we expected it to be, big chunks of chicken, perfectly cooked potatoes, and the roti bread itself, was really good too. The bake and salt fish, that Randy brought and made just for Melissa, was a GIANT portion, perfectly crunchy golden outside with a combination salt fish, hot peppers, and coleslaw. Absolutely fantastic food with friendly service. We hope to try out more specialties from Randy's truck soon!

The Saucy Pierogi's Jerk Chicken pierogi's were the best pierogi's I have ever had. The stuffing was seasoned, and cooked to perfection. Words cannot explain how good they were, we would post a picture but we ate them too fast before I could snap a pic! But, we did get a quick picture of their frsh dill pickle on a stick that was different but yummy! 

AGAIN CraveTO put on another fantastic event, we had a great time and cannot wait to hear about when their next event!

Honorable Mention goes out to House of Poutini's. If you haven't been by the restaurant on Queen West, you HAVE to add it to your Things to Do in the city! The poutine is authentic, hand cut fries with perfectly squeaky cheese curds and real gravy. You know we just had to mention to the owners, we are both native Quebecers, and this poutine better be up to par! And well, we were both blown out of the water! Poutini's was fantastic and we will definitely be back to get our poutine fix! Stay tuned for our full review of House of Poutini;s restaurant. In the mean time you should head on over to 1112 Queen Street West (just west of Queen & Dovercourt) and witness it for yourself.

      

                          

#CraveLocal

With first attending CraveTO's Ignite Your Senses celebration of another great start of the season of patios, local beers and food vendors; we have decided to attend their second event, CraveLocal. CraveLocal is happening this Thursday, June 26th, 2014 at Honest Eds. Event starts at 5pm, and we can't wait!

We are making sure to try a little bit of everything this time around. Especially Poutini's House of Poutine. Both being native Quebecers, a good poutine is on the very top of our lists. Another mutual favourite of ours is soft pretzels; already being very familiar with Bite & Sip's delicious soft pretzels and fresh fruit smoothies, we can not wait to see what they are bringing forward to this CraveTO event. 

We would like to again thank CraveTO, for sending us complimentary tickets to the CraveLocal event this week. We are more than ecstatic to interact with local independent food and drink creators at such a fun event. 

  Stay tuned, more updates are to come!

For more information regarding event information and tickets, please visit this link to CraveTO's website.

CraveTO

I havent had a chance to write this out as life has been nonstop hectic since after this event..


May 30th was the night that opened the gates to another summer patio season, we celebrated by attending CraveTO. A night celebrating Toronto Food and Beer! The event was held at Wychwood Barns Park. Beer, wine, cider and small batch liquor were all on ice, ready to go when we got there.

Both extremely excited and eager to start, we didn't know where to begin. With the scent of the delicious foods and the friendliness of vendors, we first made sure to beat the line up for the drink tickets before taking a quick tour around.

I first tried 'Naughty Neighbor' Pale Ale by Nickel Brook Brewery. Described as, clear pale yellow with white head. Hoppy aroma, light caramel malt and citrus on the taste. Mild bitterness, and quite delicious.

Melissa's first taste was Seagrams Apple Cider (pictured below). The cider was delicious, hints of fresh pears and strong sense of crisp red apples. Tastes more like fresh apple cider than like most of the alcoholic ciders on the market today. I, personally, was extremely impressed with the delicious flavours of this cider, its light and not too sweet like other ciders than we often find at the LCBO.

I also tried Amsterdam Brewery's BoneShaker. A deep, strong beer, full bodied and full of flavour beer, truly a bone-shaker.


The beautiful Wychwood Barns venue (pictured below), the area was clean and relaxing. Both Melissa and I, have grown up in small towns away from the busyness of the city. and neither of us could believe how calm the area was around us without having leaving Toronto!

Plate of delicious, homestyle plaintain and pulled pork from a local vendor.

 Both the Rhubarb Blosson & Honey Rye Lemonade by Dillon's Small Batch Distillers' we tried were fantastic. The bitters added the perfect crisp taste to the refreshing drinks.

This event was ABSOLUTELY fantastic, we had a great time tasting local beer and food. We cannot wait for the next CraveLocal event on June 26th!