Material Archive

Electric Mud in Parkdale

As someone that lives in Parkdale, I was very sad to see my go-to burger joint Stampede sold off. Luckily, it went to the owners of Grand Electric, who've done a reasonably good job of turning it into a fun, 80's memorabilia glad barbeque smoke house.

We ordered:

• Shrimp and Grits : My fav - great flavour but a bit stingy on the grits and slightly too saucy. More of an app size than a main.

• Roasted Cauliflower: Good sized portion and lots of nice little ingredient details with nuts and raisins that added texture.

• Hot Links: sausages: Way too juicy and spicy with not enough smoke - we didn't even finish the dish, which speaks volumes for people that love meat.

• Pickles: Meh, nothing special at all - skip 'em.

• Collard Greens: Ok - good flavour. Nothing more elevated than one might make at home though.

• Crack Rolls: Freshly baked buns with butter that had pan scrappings in it: Any food name that has "crack" as a descriptor should have a melt-your brain addictive quality - these did not. We used the bread to soak up the saucy grits instead.

• Banana Cream Pie in a jar: Good but not exceptional. The whole dessert in a jar trend is a bit annoying as the portions tend to be smaller (yes - I am a total pig).

• Soft Serve tea flavoured ice-cream: Surpisingly, this was one of my favourite items. The flavour was so subtle and light - it was delicious!

• Watermelon Porch Crawler Cocktail: I loved this drink, it was so light and refreshing and the flavour was delightful. Very pretty colour too.

Overall, the experience was really fun, (good service, fun decor, cool vibe), while the food itself (in total) was just ok.
 

That all said, we'll be back to try all the other items on the menu we missed this first round and see if they've worked out the kinks.

 

Anthony Bourdain shares several must eats in Toronto: 30 Hours in Toronto

Dinner at Balthazar

In all my years of visiting NYC, I somehow never managed to visit Balthazar and now that I have – I'm sad I didn't go sooner. Albeit a bit pricey for what it is, I loved it. Good service, absolutely great food and charming atmosphere.

The escargot, lobster risotto, oysters and steak frites were delicious. Skip the seafood ceviche - it was not on par with the rest.

 

Dinner at Miss Lily's

We tried the jerk chicken (it had some heat!), the crunchy coconut corn on the cob, fish tacos and banana pudding and they were awesome! Such a fun restaurant – great crowd, fun vibe and good music. Will absolutely return for another casual dinner out.

Pies -N- Thighs in Brooklyn

Starting off my reviews with one of my favourite meals of the trip. MB and I ventured out to Brooklyn one afternoon (so fast on the M train!) to sample the fare at Pies -N- Thighs and we were not dissapointed one bit.

MB had the fried catfish (he loved it) and I had the fried chicken on buttermilk buscuit with a side of hushpuppies. Everything was just delicious and the charming atmosphere made for a relaxing meal.

The only bummer was that the food was so filling that we had no room for the peanut butter crunch pie. Next time for sure. 

Dinner at The Grove

The Parsley root soup with snails, bacon & fried bread is awesome. Also, loooved the Pork Pie - it had great flavour. The Cod with smoked potato & bacon was good too. The fancy orange chocolate marshmallow "Viva Puff" for dessert was charming and fun. Go try.

Dinner at Sushi Kaji

 

It's truly hard to find anything negative to say about the food at Sushi Kaji. It really is exceptional in terms of freshness and flavour. The fatty tuna was easily the best I have ever had.

And yet, even after watching Jiro: Dreams of Sushi, that shows the world's best sushi master modestly situated in the basement of corporate building next to a subway, I was still bothered by the lacklustre airport lounge decor and location in an Etobicoke strip mall.

I know these things are not supposed to matter so much when you are in the presence of greatness. I also know that I forgive shabby locations all the time when certain other types of amazing street foods are involved.

But yet, I was bothered the entire time throughout the meal by the space design, like a little fly buzzing around my head. I just kept saying to myself, why must this place be so ugly? It felt unnecessary, distracting, inconsistent with the food, and worst of all – cheap.

Hoof Raw Bar: Toronto's Best Kept Secret

That little cube is pickled watermelon rind. The smallest and most delicious detail.

If Hoof Raw Bar was situated next to my office, I would literally eat there every single day – that's how much I love it. As it stands, I'm averaging every Friday for dinner. Last night I missed it, and I can tell you I felt sincere regret because I've come to really look forward to how good their food makes me feel.

Over the last month, I have visited HRB about 5 times, and in that time, have sampled every single item on the menu and like a perfect album, there isn't one song or note out of place. 

I realize I sound like a gusher, but it's so rare to come across an accessible restaurant where you can literally choose anything off the menu and you'll be happy – more than happy in fact. The flavour combinations are surprising and illicit conversations that attempt to deconstruct their layers.

Each time I have visited to date, I've seen a big group waiting next door for sister restaurant Black Hoof, and yet, Raw remains generally empty-ish until almost 1.5 hours later. That's probably why I've avoided posting about it. The place feels like a delicious secret still, without the silly line-ups like BH and Grand Electric.

Dishes that you must try: the shrimp toast with egg yolk cooked sous vide, salmon in a can with chips with pickled egg white, the squid salad cooked sous vide with flying fish roe, the smoked muscles, the ceviche, the cured board, and I could go on...

Also worth noting – they have a excellent selection of tomato-based cocktails (caesars, bloody marys and two other RHB originals).

Lastly, the staff have been consistently warm and generous – even gifting us a jar of the smoked muscles we raved about once.

If you love fish – go!
 

Paulette's Original Donuts & Chicken

Paulette's retro storefront and sweet staff charms you when you arrive. The nostaligic look of it makes you feel like you're about to be taken care of.

Aside from the lack of space to sit and eat, (they have a few stools and one bench outside), I really liked the experience. I certainly wouldn't go there too often given the decidely unhealthy bent to the whole menu, but it was a tasty treat. The chicken has a crust akin to a springroll – which was really crunchy and surprising and the donuts come in some unusually delicious flavour combinations. Defintely go and give it a try!

They also cater. We brought in their donuts for a client meeting recently and they were a big hit.

No trip to Montreal is complete without a visit to Schwartz's

Dinner at Chantecler

When I told people I was moving to Parkdale two years ago, I got a lot of sideways glances that irked me. Happy to say, as I predicted when I moved to Queen West 10 years before, the hood is awesome. Every week, some fabulous new place opens that reaffirms it.

This past Friday, @itbitme and I had dinner at newly opened Chantecler and are excited to report that it was really great.

We tried 6 different items from the menu and not only were they all good, but refreshingly different from anything else we had seen recently.

The potato gnocchi made with a creamy potato sauce accented with cured cod roe and dusted with seaweed powder was delicious and very comforting.

The pork neck, lightly dusted with white tumeric and served with braised lettuce and poached oysters and topped off with a house-made xo sauce, was very tasty and @itbitme's fav. He also really liked a torched mackerel dish served with slaw and toasts.

I loved the melt-in-your-mouth braised beef cheek served on a bed of parsley root and marrow mash, with sweet beet sauce.

The cocktails were also something quite special. We sat at the bar and watched them being made and they were as delicious as they were complex! An old-fashioned was finished with lavender smoke and the ice-cubes were like long sticks of butter.

I already know we're going to be fixtures here. And yes, thankfully they will be taking reservations!

European Tour: Le Comptoir – the hardest reservation to get in Paris

Le Comptoir was the first restaurant we ate at when we arrived in Paris and all I can say is that it was a fantastic way to kick off our European Tour!

There wasn't anything we didn't love about it – the food , the service, the location and the price.

 

Skip ahead to 0.56 sec to see where Bourdain talks about Le Comptoir

If you keep watching the video - you'll arrive at Bourdain's visit to Joel Robuchon's L'Atelier – which we also had the amazing fortune of getting a reservation at. More on that later...



Photographing food with an iPhone is tricky – it really doesn't do the dishes justice, so I'll only post a couple images and simply say, please do yourself a favour and go here – you'll love it!

 

Two Weeks in New York City: Dinner at Lucali

Lucali is succinct in it's vision and offerring. It is a small, humble venue that has one hell of a brick oven that pumps out delicious pizza pies by the minute. As per usual with many small places in New York, they don't take reservations – so you come by, put your name on a list and wait 2 hours in a nearby pub.

The wait does suck, but, on the upside, you can bring your own wine, spot JayZ and Beyonce, and get a second pie really quickly after you've gobbled up the first yummy one you waited 2 hours for.

Lucali 575 Henry St., Brooklyn, New York

Two weeks in New York City: Dinner at Beauty & Essex

 

WHERE: Beauty & Essex 146 Essex Street, New York

MOOD: Cool / fun / nostalgic / clubby. The facade is a faux-ish (you can actually buy stuff) pawn shop that you pass through to get to the restaurant.

PRICE: Mains are between $16-29

WHEN WE WENT: Tuesday night dinner and it was hopping! Packed to the gills as though it was a Thursday night.

WHAT: We ordered almost one of everything on the menu.

TRY: Honestly – it was all reasonably good. The Lobster Tacos stood out for me.

SKIP: Butterscotch Pot de Creme – sounds more impressive than it tastes

SERVICE: Fine. I never expect much in a club atmosphere.

REPEAT?: Sure! It's a novelty that can be fun. The environment is aiming for something in-between fine dining and club so the result is naturally a bit mixed-up but fun nonetheless. Go with a group of friends.

MOST NOTABLE: The scene. If you want to see pretty / hip people, listen to music and eat dinner at the same time – B&E has it all.

ANYTHING ELSE?: You can get a box of donuts to go for when you have the munchies later.

Two Weeks In New York City: Dinner at Corton

 

 

Knowing the backstory behind anything always makes it a richer experience, so it was a special thrill to eat at Corton so soon after enjoying A Matter of Taste at TIFF. You can see my previous post about Paul here.

WHERE: Corton at 239 West Broadway, New York

MOOD: The look of the room is cool and dark – bit cave like at night with the lack of windows. Vibe in the room is quiet, intimate, yet friendly – not stuffy at all.

PRICE: The 9 course tasting menu is $155

WHEN WE WENT: Saturday dinner

WHAT: MB and I both had the 9 course tasting menu.

TRY: Whatever they put in front of you.

SKIP: Maybe only the chocolates, jellies and macaroons at the end because you might be ill from consuming so much. I indulged so excessively that by the end, I felt positively intoxicated with food. But, to be fair, I must disclose, that I did eat at Jean Georges earlier that very same day – so not entirely this menu's fault! I am a piglet! ;)

SERVICE: Consistent and pleasant but hard to understand the food descriptions at times given some softspoken staff.

REPEAT?: Without question, I will be visiting Corton on every subsequent visit to New York. It is a must. Side note: MB and I were walking through Tribeca a day after eating at Corton and saw Paul Liebrandt walking right in front of us (see photo above). I loved our dinner so much that I wanted to grab him and thank him personally but knew it would come across crazy, so I kept my distance and just smiled.

MOST NOTABLE: Being consistently surprised with every dish and the wonderful sense of discovery you feel as you try to recognize and deconstruct your beautiful and at times, abstract food. Paul's unshakeable commitment to excellence and creativity is so deeply evident with every new course presented – you can literally taste the devotion and artistry. The man is a genius. Am I gushing or what?!

ANYTHING ELSE?: Pastry Chef Shawn Gawle created a dessert that was so spectacular that I almost felt like crying while eating it. I realize how absurd and pretentious that sounds, but it was that good!

Please note that my photographs do not do the food justice!

Two weeks in New York City: Dinner at Mario Batali's Del Posto

WHERE: Del Posto 85 10th Ave, New York

MOOD: Traditional and formal

PRICE: Five courses for $115

WHEN WE WENT: Thursday dinner

WHAT: MB and I both enjoyed the 5 course tasting menu. I had:

• Beef & Truffle Carpaccio with Sunchoke Spuma, Sage Grissini & Sunflowers: Buttery!
• Tortello Puzzone with Taleggio Dolce & Black Truffle Butter: one of the best dishes I have ever had
• Spaghetti with Dungeness Crab, Sliced Jalapeno & Minced Scallion: In a word: delicious! Watch a great little video of how they make it here.
• Cacciucco with Burrida & Sweet Shrimp alla Buzara: the only item that I didn't hands down love as it was too salty for me.

At the end of the meal, a cheese grater was brought to the table holding various sweets which consisted of: chocoloate covered lollipops made with olive oil gelato, bomboloni - which are small doughnuts filled with vanilla orange cream, polenta crostata and candied grapefruit. All were wonderful but the candied grapefruit was especially surprising and smile inducing.

TRY: Tortello Puzzone – it nearly melted my brain it was so good.

SKIP: The Cacciucco if you are sensitive to salt

SERVICE: Very formal. An army of servers waited on us. One even brought a small chair for my handbag.

REPEAT?: YES. There's a reason Del Posto is the first restaurant in New York City to get 4 stars from the New York Times in the last 36 years – because it's exceptional.

MOST NOTABLE: The complex and intense flavours.

 

Some images are from here and here.

Two Weeks in New York City: Lunch at Jean Georges

WHERE: Jean Georges  at 1 Central Park West, New York

MOOD: The mood is calm and pretty – thanks in no small part to the lovely dining room – which is beautiful for a few very specific reasons: 1. The light quality during the day is great because the room has windows around 3 sides and when the sheers are drawn, what you see through them are lovely tree silhouettes dancing around in the breeze. This reason alone is enough for me to choose lunch service over dinner. 2. The seating and view is very comfortable in almost every spot in the room. The configuration and layout has been optimized for maximum comfort and view, resulting in almost no bad seats – which is pretty impressive! 3. The room is quiet even when it's full so you can really concentrate on your food and conversation.

PRICE: For the value and quality – I think this place is actually a steal. We had a 6 course tasting menu for $98.

WHEN WE WENT: Saturday lunch

WHAT: MB and I both enjoyed the 6 course Autumn tasting menu. Our choices from the vast list consisted of: Scallop Sashmi, Sea Trout, Yellowfin Tuna Ribbons, Sea Scallops, Peekytoe Crab Dumplings, Comté Risotto, Sweetbreads, Beef Tenderloin and two desserts – chocolate cake and a chocolate peanut butter ganache, plus macaroons, chocolates and marshmallows.

TRY: The tasting menu. The experience of eating over 3 hours in that lovely setting is a wonderful experience. A few stand out items were the Yellowfin Ribbons, the Crab Dumplings, the Sweetbreads and the Tenderloin.

SKIP: Nothing. Order all of it!

SERVICE: Attentive and formal.

REPEAT?: Absolutely! This restaurant is now in my top 5.

MOST NOTABLE: The quality of the entire experience. Loved it!

 

Adieu Oddfellows, Hello County General

I was sad to see Oddfellows go – big fan of their witch's cauldron breakfast and banana split. Luckily, something equally as good has taken it's place. 

MB and I visited County General just before leaving for New York and liked it so much, we came back again the very next day, right before our flight.

To be fair – we've only tried a few things...But the stand out item that brought us back so soon was the fried buttermilk chicken thigh sandwich – delicious!

Select photos via County General

Evergreen Brickworks Picnic

You'd think the rain would keep people away from the annual Evergreen Brickwork Picnic – but not hard core foodies – oh no! :) My gang and I arrived early and there were already throngs of people lined up to get in at noon. Luckily, being friends with a sponsor got us to the front of the line and in no time we were gobbling up everything in sight from Ontario's best restaurants and merchants.

Almost everything was wonderful, but, of particular note, was Auberge du Pommier's cassoulet topped with foie gras! It was very rich & perfect for a cold rainy day.

This year was my first and I can safely say I will not miss it again going forward – very worth it and totally fun.

August Restaurant, NYC

Based on this photo alone – I'm posting this so that I remember to go to August restaurant when I'm in NYC next month! 

High Tea at the Windsor Arms

Last weekend, a group of friends and I enjoyed High Tea at the Windsor Arms.

The Red Room we started out in was charming as all hell but very hot, so we had to move to a cooler area. Once re-seated, our tea arrived quickly and we were grateful! The rose tea we had was wonderful, as were the scones and Devon clotted cream. The sushi style rolled sandwiches were not remarkable though – a bit dry and flavourless. The petit fours were also not terribly inspired either, although pretty to look at. I would advise skipping those courses and simply focus your attention on what they do best – scones & tea!

Overall, a nice experience, with attentive service.

Next up for High Tea – MoRoCo & The Four Seasons!


P.S. There was a wealth of great art all around too – many great Charlie Pachters throughout the space.

 

Jeni's Splendid Ice-Creams At Home: The Book

The last two weeks have been a bit rough at work and so @itbitme decided to cheer me up with a wee preezie when I arrived home today. How lucky am I? :)

Jeni's Splendid Ice-Creams At Home is a book that catalogues Jeni's 15 year history of making all manner of ice-creams in her bakery / creamery.

I'm super excited to try:

♥  Grapefruit Hibiscus Frozen Yogurt

♥  Wildberry Lavender Ice Cream

♥  Toasted Rice Ice Cream with a Wiff of Coconut & Black Tea

♥  Earl Grey & Cherries Ice Cream

♥  Cucumber, Honeydew & Cayenne Frozen Yogurt

♥  Star Anise Ice Cream with Candied Fennel Seeds

♥  Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Torched Marshmallows

 
Stay tuned – experiments will be documented!

In the meantime, here's a cute video about JSIC:

 

 

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

Keen to see this! Might go tomorow – message me if you want to join ;-)

*** Update!

I saw it and really enjoyed it.

It's received many bad reviews criticizing it's lack of interviews or voice over, but for me it was a voyeur's delight. It's a style of filmmaking that allows you to simply observe without the lens or bias of an interviewer – you simply spend the entire time listening to the occasional exchanges Ferran Adrià has with his staff and watching them experiment tirelessly – drawing your own conclusions instead of being spoon-fed every insight.

My take-away – the man is very precise and understands that the core of what he is selling is something magical, creative and inspiring – an experience to remember.

Barque has bite

I've been to Barque Smokehouse twice, once for brunch and once for dinner and here's what I have to say:

• Call ahead – it's always packed
• Be warned, the cocktails are strong – the mint julep I had was so potent I couldn't finish it
• If you must choose between going for brunch or dinner, choose dinner as they do not serve the BBQ sampler at brunch
• Order the babyback ribs – after having the sampler with chicken and brisket, which was all good, they were still easily the best item on the menu

Enjoy!

Brunch at La Société

 
Last Sunday, the city was very quiet on Bloor Street, as all the ladies who lunch and their hubbies were in Muskoka for the long weekend. This provided my friends and I a rare opportunity to experience La Société sans "scene" and just focus on what's really important – good food!

In an effort to cleanse ourselves of a very indulgent series of rich meals over the previous few days, we skipped the Croque Madames and opted for the fresh seafood tower.

As we waited for it to arrive, I toured the new space and was very impressed not only with it's size, but the lovely attention to detail with the decor. The ceilings, the wood panelling, the beautiful floor are all evidence of Charles Khabouth's commitment to making La Société feel like an authentic French Bistro and it's fair to say, he has succeeded.

During my walk, I also came across a chef photographing the seafood tower he had just finished assembling for my table and I was delighted to learn that he loves to document his work. This pride in his craft was evident in the tasting that soon followed – we gobbled up all the oysters, prawns, tuna, salmon, lobster and crab with big smiles on our faces. Our dessert of macaroons, jellies and truffles were also delicious!

Will return for dinner soon and report again –

The Burger's Priest

Ok – so I got three different things: fries, The Priest with an "Option" of a cheese filled, deep fried portobello mushroom added on top of the beef patty AND...the "Vatican City" – which isn't even on the menu, you have to just ask for it by name. It's essentially two grilled cheese sandwiches with two beef patties in the middle.

 

The "Priest" with the cheese filled portobello mushroom on top was really good. The meatiness of the mushroom paired with the beef patty makes for a very substanial burger. Vegetarians will love the meatless version.

The "Vatican City", (2 grilled cheese sandwiches with two beef patties inbetween) which almost seems like a dare – like a DoubleDown, is something at first I felt I had to try just to say I had...when in Rome as they say. But, the surprising part is that I would totally get it again – minus one beef patty – as the shear thickness demanded I eat it like a squirrel nibbling at an acorn. And nibble I did – all around and through the gooey and crispy grilled cheese right into the super yummy freshly ground beef burger patties – which were really well seasoned.

So my verdict? Amazing. I'm sad they don't have a more central location. Which is probably a good thing, or I'd be there way too often.

Burger's Priest

 

 

Your next cocktail should be:

 

Some of the most delicious cocktails I've enjoyed this summer have been at Campagnolo. This one was called the Harvest Cooler and it was a watermelon, cucumber vodka and lime concoction. Waaaaay too easy to drink!

Dinner at Campagnolo

WHERE: Campagolo 832 Dundas Street West (just west of Bathurst)

MOOD: Rustic & charming. It's not a hugely inspiring or beautiful space but it's comfortable. There was enough space around our table that we didn't have to listen to neighbors conversations – which was appreciated.

PRICE: $$ / $$$

WHEN WE WENT: Sunday evening

WHAT: The menu changes daily

TRY: If they have it, get the spaghetti amatriciana, the smokey grilled asparagus with fennel, the grilled nectrarine salad with escarole, the Hendrick's Tipple cocktail

SKIP: We didn't order as many dishes as we usually do, but, what we had, we really enjoyed!

SERVICE: Attentive

REPEAT?: Absolutely!

MOST NOTABLE: The spaghetti amatriciana was amazing. I could have easily eaten another helping and am salivating right now thinking about it. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was salted by crisp pork jowl bacon. I savoured every bite!

 

Wvrst: A Sausage Hall

My friend LadyB took me to her friend's restaurant Wvrst tonight. Described as a "sausage hall", the space and food were simple, comfortable and charming. I ordered a traditional Sicilian pork sausage with fennel which was served on a bun. MissB got a Kranjska sausage with sweet peppers which is what we were raised on as kids and so I was immediately reminded of home the second I bit in to it. In addition, they have a pretty varied game sausage selection – like guinea fowl, pheasant, venison, rabbit, bison, wild boar and even kangaroo.

We both also got the duck fat fries – which had great flavour, but were a bit too thick and not crispy enough for my liking. They did have a very robust selection of flavoured mayos as dipping sauces though – which helped. We shared a bottle of Plowman's to wash it down and felt perfectly content after.

We'll definitely be back. I can already tell this is a place that is going to get very loud quickly.

Back to Ruby Watch Co.

When I like something, I can go back to it again and again with no delay.

Last night, a group of friends and myself enjoyed another super cozy and delicious dinner at Ruby Watch Co.

Everything was great but the steak and mushrooms were especially good, as was the sweet and sour cherry tomatoes with the cheese course. The portions are very generous, so leaving with To-go containers at the end of the night are a guarantee.


We gobbled up:

RUBY’S SHRIMP COCKTAIL SALAD

Romaine Hearts, Avocado, Garden Radishes, A.F.G’s Cucumbers,

Marie Rose Dressing

 

MUSTARD MARINATED TRI TIP STEAK WITH TOMATO & RED ONION RELISH

Charred Ontario Ramp & 10 yr Old Cheddar Pasta Salad,

Grilled Norfolk Asparagus with Black Pepper Lemon Crumb,

Balsamic Roasted Button Mushrooms

 

LE CENDRE DES PRES BY FROMAGERIE DOMAINE FEODAL

Sweet & Sour Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Country Bread

 

VANILLA PANNA COTTA

Honey & Ginger Rhubarb Sauce

 

The cocktails were also quite fun –

I finally made it out to Ruby Watch Co.

 

WHERE: Ruby Watch Co.  730 Queen East – east of Broadview

MOOD: Sophisticated, Hip

PRICE: Prix Fixe  $$ / $$$

WHEN: A Tuesday night after work

WHAT: Everything on the menu above

TRY: Whatever they put in front of you – it's all delicious and served family style (which I love!)

SKIP: If I must complain about one thing – there was a redundant salad course

SERVICE: Lovely

REPEAT?: Absolutely! Very comfortable atmosphere with excellent quality food & service

MOST NOTABLE: The veal tenderloin & sweet breads

416 Snack Bar

 

 

WHERE: 416 Snack Bar: 181 Bathurst just north of Queen on the East side

MOOD: Hip, Casual

PRICE: Cheap & Cheerful  $ / $$$

WHEN: A Wednesday night after work

WHAT: Highlighted items on the menu above

TRY: Everything. It's a small, inexpensive menu of tapas sized servings – get one of each.

SKIP: I live for corn dogs but the meat sort of just fell apart.

SERVICE: Decent, pleasant, relatively attentive

REPEAT?: Yes. Super cute place and the gimmicky comfort food is really fun.

MOST NOTABLE: The Ribwich. I ordered two (see above). YUM.

 

 

Arepa Café

Just picked up a grilled corn bread chicken sandwich (La Catira) from Arepa Café and all I can say is wow! Sooooo delicious. This is going to be a new lunch time favourite.

Woodlot: Second time was still a charm

 





Enjoyed my second visit to Woodlot last night – and again, must say that it's really a lovely addition to Little Italy. Their delicious bread is baked in-house in a wood-burning oven along with the cozy chicken & smoked ham pie (see above) that I gobbled up. The wine was also nice and the service was attentive and accomodating. Loved sitting at the main floor communal table and watching all the open-kitchen action.

While in Austin, eat at Stubbs

 


While attending SXSW this month, I learned that "Gospel Brunch" at Stubbs is a must-do while in Austin. The combination of delectable barbecue featuring southern-style grits, fried catfish, their famous brisket and amazing music is a win all around. When you go, make sure to make a reservation, as they do 2 seatings – first one at 11am and second one at 1pm.

For other Austin restos and bars – scroll way down and see the Austin Favs column on the right.

Taschen's Barcelona

 

Since I've been doing research on Barcelona, I thought I would share the lovely series of books from Taschen that I like to refer to when visiting certain cities. All of the books (Paris, London, Berlin, New York & Barcelona) are so well designed and thought out and have beautifully illustrated covers and maps.

 

Loveable Leader: Nobu

I just watched a really great documentary about Nobu Matsuhisa and was really inspired and moved by his story and outlook. A tireless family man, who failed many times before succeeding really reminded me that it's a never stop trying attitude that prevails in the end. I was also surprised by his lovely manner and disciplined work ethic – which were never at odds. One can be a happy, motivating leader to their staff without sacrificing quality or their standards.