The Yum Yum Factor

Leslieville Farmer's Market Last Sunday was not only Mother's Day, which I can take or leave to be quite honest, but it was the opening day of my favourite farmer's market, the Leslieville Market. It was a cold, blustery day, marred with rain and wind but I was determined to visit and pick up a few things for dinner. There were quite a few diehard shoppers, happily chatting with vendors who looked cold but enthusiastic and I managed to grab some new plants for my garden to go with the tasty Cider, bread and greens that I threw in my bag before the weather got the best of me. I was too cold to have my customary fish taco from Hooked and those oysters will be mine  another time but this Sunday but I wimped out. Alas, I have become a fair weather shopper. even terrible weather couldn't put a total damper on the first day of the Leslieville Farmer's Market Mimi's Mimi is one of my favourite places for Vietnamese in the city Because it was al...

Covarrubias demonstrated this whimsical chocolate dessert honouring Cacao , native to Guadalajara  This week has been a crazy week in my world. We don't really celebrate Easter and usually use it as an excuse to visit with friends and family because we are all forced to take a couple of days off but this year, Easter Sunday also happened to be The Kid's 20th birthday. That meant some fine eating occurred. My Friday Sous Weed class at The Depanneur  sold out AGAIN, so we added a second class on Wednesday so I was busy getting everything ready during the week, alongside much tasty eating and celebrating. Fishman's Lobster Clubhouse The highlight of the birthday meals was our first trip, at long last, to Fishmans Lobster Clubhouse in the heart of Scarborough. This iconic Lobster (and crab and lots of other seafood) emporium is so popular that people fly to Toronto just to eat there. With walls lined with tanks that are fully stocked with lobster and crab, ...

Ziggy's Beach Club Tulum has changed so much since I started going there almost 30 years ago. Back then, we rented a palapa on the beach for a couple bucks, slung our hammocks and just hung out on the beach, eating cheap tacos and fried fish to the sound of hippies playing bongos in the sand. Soap was optional. The beaches of Tulum are pristine and are not as badly plagued with seaweed as the more northern beaches closer to Cancun and Playa del Carmen Now, Tulum has become this laid back, boho chic beach community that is chock full of eco friendly beach clubs, boutique hotels, shops selling carefully curated and very stylish lounge wear. Even acclaimed Danish chef, Rene Redzepi, opened a pop up restaurant there in 2017. There are still some affordable places to eat and sleep scattered about Tulum but most of those are in town. The places that line the prime beach front tend to be a bit more on the upscale side, all instagram ready and full of beautiful people,...

It would be an understatement to say that we probably ate some of the best food in recent memory while we were in Barcelona. Unlike Paris, where I found that between the fabulous sandwiches that we would grab from any old boulangerie and some bazillion dollar 2 Michelin star restaurant, the food was inconsistent and often not very good although always expensive. Sorry people, you can send me all the hate mail you like, but all three of us agree on that point - the restaurant food was expensive and disappointing more often than not. This cannot be said of Spain in general and in Barcelona, you get the added bonus of eating the delicious, regional cuisine of Catalunya. You get a bit of anarchism, Catalan pride and beauty in every bite! Like Rome, even the worst food we ate was still great but we were there for ten days and I don't have the energy to tell you about every single thing I put in my mouth so I will share my favourites with you. Oh and if you a...

Artichokes presented like bouquets of beautiful flowers were everywhere, including IN my belly I know I might be making enemies when I say that the restaurant food in Paris was, on the whole, often underwhelming, but I also know I am not alone in that opinion. Although we did enjoy a few great meals, the fact that my restaurant list from our three day side trip to Rome is longer than the list I shared after 7 days in Paris is telling. Where, in Paris, I felt we had to work to find a great meal and really travel to specific restaurants, in Rome we would have had to work to find bad food. In Rome, we did not eat ANYTHING that was not, at the very least, very good. From the more formal dinners right down to the sandwiches shared from little shops along the street, we ate with gusto for three solid days. The gelato made my heart sing, all three plates of my pasta vongole ranged from really good to OMG, the pizzas were thin crusted, fresh and delicious, the wine was generous (see m...