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!!)