The Week in Yum May 23-28 Local 1974, Travel Massive, The Halal Food Festival and City Fare

Snacking with fellow bloggers at Travel Massive 

Local 1974

I'm pretty excited by what I see happening up on the Danforth right now and even though it's not exactly in my neighbourhood, it's a hop, skip and a jump from the wings and fries of the Upper Beach, so I'll take it.

One of the newest restaurants to open up this year is Local 1794 at... you guessed it, 1794 Danforth, between Coxwell and Woodbine. It's billed as a Gastropub and although I am kind of hating that term, I guess it describes it pretty well. The food is much nicer than you would expect at a pub and much better than most of the restaurants you will find this far east.

The local, in Local 1794, is a nod to the kitchen's promise to keep ingredients sourced locally as much as possible and the owner's desire to create a real local hangout where the people who live in the neighbourhood will start treating as "their" spot. I can tell you that if we lived within easy walking distance from this place, all of my free time would be divided between this place and The Wren.

Decor is warm and cosy with an old timey feel - think lots of exposed brick, dark wood and the booths not only have a light switch so you can actually see what you are eating if you care about such things (and I do) but......wait for it......wait for it....... AN OUTLET SO YOU CAN CHARGE YOUR PHONE.

They have an extensive beer selection with tons of local craft beers on tap (I had that lovely Thornbury Cider up there) and a nice wine list to boot.

The only thing we have ordered that has not been amazing was the burger. Shack deemed it "fine" and I think he was unhappy that it came without condiments and he had to ask the server to bring him ketchup, mustard and some relish. He gets funny about stuff like that so it is possible that this oversight coloured his final thoughts on the burger, so take that with a grain of salt.

Interestingly, my friend who ordered the carpaccio is the friend who told me she didn't care for it when she dined there soon after they opened. She also said the waitress asked her for her opinion and also took note of her suggestions about what might make it better. She was thrilled to see that most of her suggestions were now there, on the plate, and the dish was wonderful this time.

I loved my crab cakes - super crispy, not greasy and full of crab as opposed to filler with a bit of crab. I think the apple celery root slaw might have been my favourite part of the plate too.

On a previous visits we have had butter poutine, which was amazing, a couple of pizzas that were lovely with thin crusts and just the right amount of toppings and the charcuterie board, which at $16 for 2 ($25 for 4 and $45 for 8) is a steal.

I spent five hours in the ESPN booth this week, powdering commentators - it's not all town cars and lattes people

This bag of tea sample arrived from China this week and so far, the tea is amazing

I was offered some sample from a Chinese tea company with an online shop called Tea Vivre and the bag of tea finally arrived this week. So far I have tried the white tea and the  oolong and it's delicious. The packaging is airtight so the tea leaves are really fresh and when you open the top of the little bag, the fragrance whooshes out at you, which I love and their worldwide shipping is free if you spend more than $30. Oh, they also have a good selection of organic tea, if that's your thing.

 Read their manifesto here to see what they are all about.

My monster iris plants are finally in full bloom

Travel Massive

A little teaser of olives and peppers at Czehoski 

I belong to a group called Travel Massive, an international groups of travel media, innovators and insiders (the Toronto branch has been around since 2010) and they have monthly meet ups where travel bloggers, tour operators and other people in the tourism industry, can hook up, mingle and network. This month the event was held on the rooftop patio of Czehoski on Queen West. I have never been to this trendy west end eatery but I can tell you that the rooftop patio is lovely and I will certainly be back to enjoy a very cheap ($6.50!!) G&T.

If you are round this weekend it's not too late to try to grab a ticket for this boozy event at Wychwood Gardens (I will be there for the afternoon session) just click this link and use the code: OSWCityFare and you will get 40% off the price of your ticket. Smoking good deal for an inclusive ticket that will let you eat and drink til your heart's content.

Also, this weekend is the Halal Food Festival  at Mississauga's International Centre, entrance 5 so make an effort to get out to the way, way west for a plethora of grilled kebobs and all of the other halal delights that you will find there.

Pin of the week: It's about time we all make our own farmer's cheese

Instagram of the week: another stunning food filled feed

Facebook share of the week: 

Because, RIGHT?
Posted by The Yum Yum Factor on Friday, May 29, 2015

Tweet of the week:  

I had mine 16 yrs ago. On a Tuesday. https://t.co/3YSOJJerrz

— The Yum Yum Factor (@SMmamashack) May 21, 2015