Travel tips and restaurant reviews from around the world
For Mother’s Day we took our mom and grandmother out for brunch to Smith in the Church Wellesley Village.
Smith is a staple brunch spot in the area. It’s a lovely restaurant with beautiful décor details, such as antique umbrella holders, cute wallpaper, and a pretty mismatch of plates and coffee cups. The staff was very friendly and made such a thoughtful gesture by presenting each mother with potted daffodils.
I really can’t say enough positive things about raw desserts. They are naturally gluten free, soy free, gum free, and oh so delightful. I’ve been a fan of them since living in Port Credit where I was a frequent visitor to Raw Aura. It’s such a treat to be able to pick out anything from the dessert case.
One raw chain with several convenient locations across Ontario is Rawlicious. I’ve visited a few of its locations – Yorkville, Bloor West, and Barrie.
Recently we had a family celebration in Barrie, Ontario and it was such a lovely indulgence to stop at Rawlicious in downtown Barrie to pick up a raw Key Lime Square for me and my cousin so that we could partake in the ‘birthday cake’ celebration in our own allergy/intolerance-free way.
Canoe is consistently ranked one of the best restaurants in Canada. It truly is incredible and never disappoints. For the past few years, Canoe and Winter/Summerlicious have been synonymous to me. Canoe is always a great bet for the semi-annual event put on by the City of Toronto since it reliably serves up interesting dishes made with local ingredients and wonderful wine pairings.
OK, really I just want an excuse to have Canoe’s gluten free jalapeno cornbread.
Canoe is so amazing when it comes to food intolerances. The staff has always served me well and the chefs are accommodating and modify dishes that aren’t gluten free so that I can have many options on the prix fixe menu. It’s one of those restaurants where you honestly feel as though having a severe food intolerance doesn’t prevent you from tasting the dishes as the chefs envisioned them.
Family dinners are typically home cooked with everyone sitting around the dinning room table. Usually it’s a stretch to convince my parents to go out with all of us for a nice dinner downtown (a burger joint is more of my Dad’s style). But a couple of months ago, we all went out for a celebratory dinner downtown. Seeing as the kids were treating on this occasion, I was allowed to pick the restaurant. We went to Terroni Adelaide because I had heard great things about the food, it was able to accommodate our party of eight, and let’s be honest I’m always drawn to Italian food. My aunt who is Italian has spoke really highly of Terroni (especially about its panini), so I was excited to finally be able to test the food out myself.
Terroni has three locations across Toronto. The Adelaide location is gorgeously set inside the historic Adelaide court house built in 1852 in Toronto’s financial district. It has a great atmosphere, and the bathrooms provide an interesting topic of conversation since the stalls are the old holding cells.
Italian restaurants are often able to easily accommodate gluten free guests. When I called to make the reservation I double checked with the restaurant that they had gluten free options. Of course they did.
Impromptu dinners out are great; however, they can be a bit nerve wracking if you are gluten intolerant or have Celiac Disease. I bet I’m not alone when I say that I like to plan my dinners out since it gives me an opportunity to check menus online and call the restaurant ahead of time to see if they’d be able to serve me a gluten free meal. Thankfully, over the past few years I have found several staple restaurants around the city that are able to prepare safe and good tasting gluten free meals. They have become my go-to places when I suddenly find myself out and about, and ready to eat.
The Hot House in the St. Lawrence Market area is one of those places as it has gluten free pasta on its menu. The restaurant was first introduced to me a couple of years ago by an elementary school friend. She worked nearby and recommended it when we met for dinner to settle a bet over an NFL game. The staff at The Hot House is really knowledgeable about gluten intolerance/Celiac Disease and they have always served me well. Plus, it has a huge patio with couches, which is very appealing during summer. It’s conveniently located at the corner of Front and Church, which offers a stellar architectural view of the city.
Last Friday I went out with some female colleagues to celebrate the recent marriage of one of our friends. We went out to Trattoria Nervosa in Yorkville for a lovely, classic Italian dinner.
Yorkville is one of the swankiest neighbourhoods in Toronto and has a very European feel. It is littered with Italian restaurants but Trattoria Nervosa is easily one of my favourites in the area because of the good food and great atmosphere. So maybe it wasn’t the most appropriate place to start asking our new bride sex-themed ‘Would You Rather’ questions, but hey you gotta do what you gotta do! Since she didn’t have a Bachelorette party, we had to add an element of fun and embarrassment to our evening. ‘Would You Rather’ questions are hilarious and always lead to a good deal of discussion and laughter. It’s funny how certain questions need a lot of hemming and hawing, while others require no second thought at all. Thankfully, this time we were seated on the crowded main floor of the restaurant which is always buzzing so hopefully our vibrant guest of honour shouting “paid for sex” wasn’t too noticed.
We had a lovely date night at Canoe during this year’s Winterlicious. Like I have mentioned before, Winterlicious is such a great event where Toronto’s restaurants open their doors and offer prix fixe menus. Not only is it a great opportunity for an evening out with friends and family, but it makes a pretty sweet date night. Ryan and I are now in the habit of trying one of the top tier $45 Winterlicious meals as a fancy night out. It’s such a fabulous way to taste the menu at one of Toronto’s top restaurants. Usually when I go to one of these more expensive restaurants I wouldn’t order multiple courses, so Winterlicious gives the perfect opportunity to do just that with it’s three course prix fixe menus. This year we had an incredible evening at Canoe, which is critically acclaimed as one of Canada’s best restaurants. It is one of Oliver and Bonacini’s restaurants and offers Canadian inspired cuisine. While I had been to Canoe before for martinis with vising relatives from Finland, this was my first time eating there. It is such a prestigious restaurant that Winterlicious reservations for Canoe get booked up quickly, so we were lucky to snag a weeknight dinner reservation.
I can’t say enough how lovely an evening it was. The fantastic meal was made even more exceptional by being accompanied by wine tastings, great company and stunning views of our gorgeous city as a backdrop. Canoe is located on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower and the views are beautiful.
In case anyone has been hibernating and has not stepped outside into Toronto’s -20 degrees celcius weather, it’s winter out there. I’ll admit, I’m not a winter person. I don’t like snow or the cold and I gave up my dream of being a snowboarder many years ago when I spent more time on my butt than on my board. Thankfully there is a two-week bright spot during Winterlicious, when Toronto’s best restaurants open their doors and offer prix fixe meals. Since taking part in Winterlicious for the first time last year, now it has a regular place in my calendar. Winter/Summerlicious is such a great opportunity to try new restaurants and new dishes. This time of year reminds Torontonians how incredibly lucky we are to live in such a vibrant city with so many culinary choices.
On Saturday, I went to Jump Restaurant with a friend for a much needed girls’ night out. Although neither of us had heard of Jump before, we noticed it was one of Oliver & Bonacini’s restaurants. We always enjoy going to their restaurants and had heard good reviews. It turned out to be a fantastic choice.
I can tell you right now that I am going to take full advantage of having Barque within walking distance of our new home. Earlier this year when we first explored Roncy, we had an incredible brunch at Barque. Since then I have been wanting to go back for dinner. I seriously have daydreamed about eating their smoked BBQ for dinner.
Playa Cabana located on Dupont St. has been rated the city’s best taco and they recently opened up another restaurant, Playa Cabana Cantina, in the Junction. Ryan and I love tacos and so we had to go test them out on our recent excursion to the Junction. There is a great vibe inside the restaurant; the decor seemed very authentic with its bright neon signs…much better than other over-the-top, tackily decorated restaurants I’ve been to with cactuses and sombreros! There was a great bar area too!