Electric Mud BBQ - Mmm I love chicken!

I'm just going to start this by saying I absolutely love Queen St W. The shops, the art galleries (anyone see the giant Bill Murray painting at Jessgo, it's pretty awesome, oh and Bill Murray if you are reading this my husband is a big fan),  and the huge variety of restaurants makes this one of my top neighbourhoods to wander around. There are at least (and trust me this is a very conservative number) 20 restaurants that I want to try out, The husband and I strolled down Queen St the other night on our way to a hip and happening (yes I know I sound old, trying to sound young and yes I feel old saying "hip and happening") place called Electric Mud BBQ. Believe me when I say, it was hard to not stop and eat at one of the many places we passed along the way, but luckily we were meeting up with someone so we had to go, and I am happy we did.

(Look at the graffiti, it's so colourful and alluring, it draws you right in)

Viking Bakery - Bringing back awesome memories one baked good at a time

Some of you may know of my great love of Iceland, so just imagine how excited I was to read a Toronto Star article describing the newly opened Icelandic bakery, Viking Bakery. Truth be told, it took me much longer than expected to make my way to this magical little place, but it did take me two subways to get there. 

BakeryHaus - I thought I knew love, until I met you (sorry hubster :) )

I am so very excited to be writing about this place! I will admit, I did not find this place, a friend posted on Instagram a pic of her donut, and I knew I had to check this place out (what a time we live in when you can track down food with your phone). This may be a bit pre-mature since I've only tried one donut from here, but my goodness was it ever good. I am heading back this week and will post an update of the other goodies I get (I'm coming for you cronut!)

Bakeryhaus has two locations, one on Queen St West, and the one I visited, on Yonge St, right across from Davisville subway station.

Delica Kitchen - Way better than I expected!

So I know it's been a while since I've last blogged (Jan 1st, to be exact, so much for that New Years promise!), but hey, it's been a rough and cold winter and as much as I love food and telling you about it, I really haven't been up for going out (shocking, yes I know!) But I digress, this post is all about a fun little place I discovered called Delica Kitchen on Yonge St just south of St.Clair St on the West side. It was such a lovely day, a bit cold, but sunny, so I decided on taking a walk along Yonge, and thank goodness I did, because I would not have found this gem of a place otherwise.

(Such a cute little spot)

Rashers - It's a bacon restaurant, that is all you need to know!

Let me start off by wishing everyone a Happy New Year! My new years resolution is to go out to more amazing restaurants more often so that I can do my duty and report back to all of you. I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the new year and start my resolution than to tell you all about a restaurant who has decided to dedicate itself to one of the most magical, heart warming, taste bud tantalizing foods on the planet, BACON!! I, until about a year ago, was completely oblivious to the fact that places like this existed, and you better believe that I am now in the process of making up for lost time.

Rashers is the restaurant I am talking about, and I just gotta say, I am so very happy to be living in a world that includes this place. It's a  small place located on Queen St. East, but it's mighty (mighty tasty), and you can't miss it because of it's very stylish pops of red.

Union Social - A good place to spend a Friday Night (or any night!)

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season and are ready to get back into the TDot eating scene! I apologize for my hiatus, December is a crazy time of year for me. Honestly I started writing this blog post about a month ago because I was so excited to tell you all about it, but life took over and I was unable to complete, that is until now (woot woot!)

The Union Social Eatery is what I am going to talk about in this post (and man I am ever excited). This place has done the near impossible and made it onto my "Gotta Go Back ASAP aka my GGBA" list and has secured a special spot in my heart next to Stack and under The Senator restaurant. I gotta say, I was pretty ecstatic about finding this place and bringing my dining buddies to it. This place is located, very conveniently, on Yonge St right next to the St.Clair subway station (well you have to cross over Yonge to get it, but it's close enough).

Mary McLeod's Shortbread Shop - If I could I would be there everyday

I grew up eating buttery, crumbly, amazing shortbread made by my very own Scottish Auntie Anne. She would make them for Christmas and every year my family would get a tin or two of those bad boys. Her shortbread cookies were so amazingly good, there would be fights in the house over who got the last one. The very sight of a Christmas cookie tin makes my mouth water. Sadly she is no longer with us and I have never been able to find a replacement for those cookies, until now! Mary McLeod's shortbread, I have to be honest, is not as good as my Auntie Anne's were, however they are a close second (and trust me I have eaten a lot of other shortbread).

(Cute little exterior)

This cute little shop is on Queen St. East and must stop when I am in the neighbourhood. Now of course you can buy these cookies at other stores like Chapters and Whole Foods, but I really suggest going at least once, you will not be disappointed.

The Senator - Aka My home away from home

The Senator has got to be my absolute favourite restaurant to go to.  If I could only eat at one restaurant for the rest of my life, I gotta say I think this would be it. Maybe it's the nostalgia of the place, it is one of the first places my  hubby and I went to when we first started dating.  It could also have something to do with the fact that the mere mention of "The Senator" and I start going into my happy place (FYI my happy place is filled with fluffy french toast and chewy, salty bacon).  Or maybe it's my favourite place because it's a cozy diner, with awesome staff and MAN do they ever know how to make a mean breakfast. And just for your reading pleasure, I have pictures and comments on both their breakfast and lunch menu (the things I do for my blog) So without further ado here is my post on what I call the best damn place to grab breakfast/brunch.

(History of The Senator)

Above is a shot of the menu that has the history of The Senator on it.  The Senator is Toronto's oldest restaurant, it started out as a house in 1860 and through the years it became what it is today...Toronto's best diner (well maybe that's just my opinion, but I gotta say the lineup to get in wouldn't lie). That's a really short version of the history, but it is quite interesting and worth a read while you are waiting for your delicious food.

Banh Mi Boys - A little ray of sunshine on an otherwise dreary day

So I started writing this post about a month ago (pre-holiday) on what was turning out to be a not so great day, until I stumbled upon this place. Now you are probably asking, why the delay in posting? I was all set to write it up and had all my pictures ready to go, until I realized that for some reason the picture of the food itself (the most important picture) didn't take (it was just one of those days)! So rather than posting something with just photos of the restaurant, I decided to wait and go back to re-order the same thing I had before and take a picture of it. And yes that does mean that this place is fantastic, so much so, that I went back to order the same thing just to get a picture of it so I could share it with you guys. So now onto my post!

I was first introduced to Banh Mi Boys when I was watching You Gotta Eat Here, and was intrigued. It just so happens that there is one located right by my hairdressers so I saw an opportunity to try it out and I did (twice).

Roaming report part two - Not so sunny Scotland

So after my fun weekend in Saskatchewan, it was back to Toronto to get ready for my second trip of the month...Scotland! Of course I was super excited, not only to see my family, but also to eat (and boy did I ever!) I grew up in a Scottish household, which means, I grew up eating things like black pudding (I am almost salivating just thinking about it), haggis, steak and kidney (yes kidney) pie and loving every bite. Don't worry, I did eat more "normal" type foods as well, so no need to stop reading if the previous sentence turned your stomach a bit.

While in Scotland, our base camp ("our" meaning my immediate family; sisters, parents, niece,nephew, and brother-in-law) was in Dunoon, which is a pretty, picturesque town across the clyde from Greenock. I arrived a week after everyone else, so the day I landed everyone, but my Dad were off to Glasgow for the day, which meant that my Dad and I  would be spending the day eating and drinking. So naturally after a quick stop off at the house and a quick tour of the town, off we went to the pub for a bit of food and drink.

Ingrams bar was my first meal in Scotland. Both my dad and I went for the steak and chips (french fries) and I opted for a red wine. It was exactly what I needed after a long flight and a long journey from the airport to Dunoon. The meat was tender and flavourful, the crust was flaky and buttery, the chips were hot and crisp, and the peas were pretty good too! I realize now I did not take a photo of the wine, but it was a merlot and it was ok.

(Look at that flaky crust)

Roaming report - Sunny Saskatchewan

Like I said in my previous post, I spent the August long weekend in Saskatchewan visiting my soon-to-be pilot hubby (that's right, I'm married to an almost pilot :D). Now that you know why I was in Saskatchewan, you can forgive me for forgetting to take some photos of the places we ate at (I was excited to see him), but I do know all the places we went and remember if they were any good.

First off lets start with Moose Jaw. Yes Moose Jaw is a place, it's in Saskatchewan, about 45min west of Regina (I only say that because more often than not I get the puzzled look when people ask me where I went). My first dilemma was how on earth do I get from Regina airport to Moose Jaw (hubby was in class all day, and I would have to wait a couple of hours in the airport before he could pick me up). Well a quick look on the Regina airport website and I found I had two shuttle options; Hobo express or Roaming Buffalo.

I decided on the Roaming Buffalo and was pleasantly surprised. Dane is, I believe, the man who runs the company and was very pleasant on the phone when I was booking, explained clearly where he would meet me, and arrived just as I collected my bag (he had a little sign with the company logo and name). He is a very friendly man, helped me with my bags, and we had a great little conversation on the way to Moose Jaw. Total cost from the airport to downtown Moose Jaw was $70 and it was well worth it.

City Kate is back!

I hope you all didn't miss me too much! I do apologize for my absence, but you see, I was living the jet-setter life for a bit this month, and I couldn't find the time to sit down and write a proper blog post. Where have I been (I'm sure you are all asking yourselves)? The beginning of the month I was off to sunny Saskatchewan for the long weekend, and then I jetted off to Scotland (not quite so sunny) to visit my family. Now I did my best to remember to take photos, and take note of where I was eating (it wasn't easy, but I tried).

Stay tuned for my "roaming food reports" (I'm still a bit jet-lagged so I shall do my best to write them up ASAP....bring on the coffee!!)

The Rolling Pin Part 2 - I just can't get enough!

 Ok I know, two posts on the same place within a month, really? Aren't there tons of other places out there I could/should be blogging about. Of course there are, but I did promise to go back and get some interior shots, and I really, really like this place!

 If you read my Chez Laurent post, you would know that myself and two of my friends headed down to the bakery for a little pre/post dinner snack (it was suppose to be pre, but we may have gotten a tad carried away and decided it would be best to save the rest for a post dinner treat aka dessert). I know, you are probably thinking it was my idea, but it wasn't, it was my food confidant B's idea (one of the only people I know who truly understands my love/passion for food), and of course I am not going to say no, so off the three of us went.

(Awesome logo)

*Correction to my first Rolling Pin post. I said, I didn't think that it was a cream cheese frosting they used for the red velvet, but upon checking the website, they do indeed, so either my taste buds were off that day (most probable scenario), or they didn't use the cream cheese, either way it was still phenomenal (and you betcha I am going to get myself some more of those bad boys!!)

Chez Laurent - Another week another dining adventure

So this restaurant is in North York (Yonge and Sheppard area), and I must have walked past it hundreds of times without ever going in. Countless friends have asked me if it's any good, but all I could ever say was, well it seems pretty busy, but having not eaten there myself I had no idea if it was any good. So this past Friday I decided enough was enough, and I dragged a few friends out to try this place out. (I also dragged two of them down to The Rolling Pin bakery to buy some pre and post dinner treats).

(Nice little patio with some really pretty flowers)

The Burger's Priest - Or what I call an awesome Friday afternoon!

You may recall two of my previous posts; Butter Ave and The Rolling Pin, where I ventured out in the heat in search of a fun food adventure. Well to end my day of food finding, I headed to a little place called The Burger's Priest. The are several locations, this particular one is at Yonge and Lawrence.

(Exterior)

DIY candles - Or how I spend a gross hot Saturday afternoon

So I finally did it! I finally checked off one of my items on my Pinterest to do list. Saturday (as my title suggests) was a disgustingly hot and humid day in Toronto, and the pooch and I are no fans of heat or humidity (our hair simply can't handle it) so it looked like it was going to be another hide out in a/c kinda day, but what to do? Sure I could have cleaned, done laundry or organized the kitchen, but that's not fun, crafting on the other hand is fun, and can also be very rewarding. So off to my little shelf of craft supplies to pull out my votive candle making kit I purchased from Michaels last year.

(The kit all laid out)

(Read all the instructions, but don't make any up ;) )

I am not going to lie, I was bit apprehensive to do it, I thought somewhere in the instructions I read that the wax was easily flammable and not to go above the 170F or it would light on fire instantly. Little back story, I have a few fears in my life, fire being one of them (I know I know, I'm afraid of fire and yet I am making candles, well they're pretty and smell nice and as long as I have a BBQ lighter to light them all is good) so reading that, or at least thinking that I read that, well it terrified me. Now I know that the flash point of the wax is about double that of which I needed to heat it to and I apparently made the instructions up in my head.

Megalomaniac Wineries Cabernet Sauvignon - Bravado

So I figured it was about time that I right another post about wine. The wine I am working on is a 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon from Megalomaniac wineries (my new favourite winery). It's called Bravado and, as usual, the bottle has a pretty snazzy label to go with the name.

The Rolling Pin Bakery - Love at first sight

As mentioned in my Butter Avenue post, I stumbled upon this bakery, The Rolling Pin, on my way to another bakery (Butter Ave). What caught my eye first was the really awesome name and logo and then my eye was drawn through the window to the red velvet cupcakes. But could I really go to two bakeries in one day?

(How could you ignore that?)

(If you look really close, through the door, to the lower right of the logo you can see the red velvet cupcakes.)

Butter Avenue - Hi there, could you sound any more delicious?

So this past Friday I had decided that I was not going to hide out in the a/c, but was actually going to venture out into the city to do some "research" for the blog. I had read about this place a while back, but had never actually gone. The place I speak of is a patisserie and cafe called Butter Avenue.

(Adorable box that I am having issues with throwing out)

Oh yes it's Ladies Night Friday night at Stack Smmmoked Restaurant Toronto

So Friday night myself and some of the ladies from work decided to go out for dinner.  And seen as I am the "foodie" expert at work it was me who got to pick the location.  I have walked past this restaurant at least a dozen times, and have always wanted to try it, so finally Friday night was the night. The restaurant is called Stack, it is a BBQ joint with a smoker, and it has a bit of fine dining feel without being too uppity (cloth napkins, but no table cloths, which is probably a good thing).


*Disclaimer* This is going to be a long one, so if you don't have the time to read, just enjoy the pictures and go eat here!

(Exterior of restaurant with patio to the left of the photo)

(Another shot of the exterior)