Crossing the border always reminds me of how nice we have it

My busy work schedule has recently taken me on a short trip to the US.  We drove down from Detroit through Ohio, into Kentucky and back up the west side through Indiana.  Of course my explorer’s hat came on, driving all of my co-workers crazy, as my stops were nowhere near any of the stops they wanted to make!  Why stop at Burger King when you can explore something new right?

Well let me tell you, the first thing I have to say about traveling on the road across our border to the south is that I am not surprised the Americans are leading the way in obesity.  Sadly, I remember my father commenting on this when we traveled these roads as kids.  It has not change.  In fact, I want to say it’s getting worse.  I can not believe the ailments (I can’t call it food because that’s just not what it is) people put into their bodies.  I witnessed it first hand that the American population IS what IT eats.  I could not believe the size of the people around me everywhere I went.  I say that because everywhere you go, you are surrounded by big chain restaurants (and smaller chains too), that have nothing good to serve you.  I had to go out of my way several times to ensure I was consuming something real.  I wasn’t looking for anything fancy, just REAL.  The problem with that is that I was just pissing off the people I was with.

That brings me to my second observation:  The challenge that I had was making my co-workers understand that my needs of wanting to eat proper food is not very much to ask for.  It might take us off route just a tad but the attempt to save my arteries is worth it to me.  Have we come to this point that we as a society are going to accept the influence brought on to us by the big chains?  Are we that lazy or in a rush that we can’t take the time to perhaps eat from a grocery store market where choices are a little better?

Anyway, I will finish off on a positive note with my stop in Indianapolis, which had a variety of neat ecliptic restaurants to choose from. 

Side note here – Just to clarify, I’m not a food snob who is on some kind of special diet.  I’m just looking for real food made by real people in an honest way.  And if it’s local, fresh and filled with goodness (which is usually something colorful), than even better!

On that note, enjoy the pics of a neat pizza place I discovered on my walk along Mass Ave.

I can say I've been to the oldest shoe store in the US

I should add….

I am so thankful for living in a city that values good coffee!  Our neighbors to the south are so behind on this.  No doubt New York and L.A. probably have that ground covered but really?  Is that where you have to go in the US to experience a great cup of java?  (And I’m not talking about Starbucks).  Perhaps this is something I will no doubt continue to research as I explore other cities in the US.  So Toronto, for all the times I’ve been critical about you, you’ve got a one up on the coffee experience for sure!

Eating healthy on the go – My Tips!

We’ve heard tall the excuses haven’t we?

-       I’m too busy to focus on eating well

-       There’s just no time to make a lunch or snacks

-       I can’t be bothered carrying a lunch let alone making one 

-       I’m on the road a lot and have limited options

-       I’m not sure what is considered healthy
-    ...

My tip for you is: Find and stop at the grocery store – not a fast food drive through!

Most big chain grocery stores now days offer a decent variety of foods you can grab on the go.  It is well priced considering you are eating out, and usually made fresh the same day.  If you can venture into a european or middle eastern style market, you'll find and even more interesting variety to chose from.  You still need to be cautious on your choices but at least the healthy options are there.   

These pre-made salads are a good size and if you chose the dark leafed ones with the most colourful variety of vegetables, you can't really go wrong... unless you chose the wrong dressing!  Pick a vinaigrette style dressing (or don't use any at all) and use about a table spoon's worth.  

If you're a big sushi lover, don't bother getting your hopes up with grocery store sushi.  However, if you're not too picky, this could be a decent option as long as you pick the ones that aren't covered with sauce and filled with too much processed crab.  Stick with the basics like salmon, avocado, cucs & carrots if you want to keep it somewhat lean & healthy.    

Yes!

 Stick to colourful salads with signature grain, bean or lentil blends.  They may seem a little pricier but you will not need much as they are usually pretty filling.

Things like cheeses, olives, nice breads, humus or smoked salmon are also usually available near this section of the grocery store.

Yes!

Yes!

One of my faves - Loblaw's quinoa roasted corn & spinach salad

Avoid anything that consists of mayo being the main ingredient like these potato and macaroni salads.  They are full of empty calories and will likely make you feel heavy and hungry again quickly.  Roasted chicken is something I always like to get at the grocery store when I eat there on the go.  Just make sure you can tell the difference between roasted and deep fried ;-)

No

No

Yes!
Looking for a snack? Walk through the nuts and dried fruit aisle instead of the chips and candy.

Grocery Shopping – The Armenian (or Middle Eastern) Way!

When I was a little girl, we travelled quite a bit as a family driving across the states, usually to spend a couple weeks in either Florida or California – the sunshine states!  My parents were not very wealthy so when we travelled, it was on a budget.  We packed a cooler full of fresh food we could eat on the road (pita bread, tomato, cucumber, feta – Best combination ever BTW!) and made the car cozy because chances were, we would likely be sleeping in there.  Funny, I always wondered why motels on the road were always so booked up…   It’s not that they were booked, my father just wanted to keep costs low.  This way, he can afford to buy a new pair of ostridge or alligator skin cowboy boots.   He also wanted to spend less time sleeping and more time behind the wheel to get there, so he said. 

We would pack the station wagon, seats down in the back covered with blankets, basically turning the back into a huge bed for us to sleep and play on.  We placed our bags around the perimeter of this cozy mattress on wheels.  Big items like the cooler were somehow secured in the back and this soft square space in the middle was left for us to relax on (“mom, what’s a car seat?”).  It was nice because the view out the window was pretty neat as we drove through desert, Rocky Mountains and big state cities. 

Once we arrived to our destination, my parents would usually spend about an hour or two knocking on a few doors of local beach motels to see what was the best deal we can get for a small family “suite” for the week (this was Florida – we mostly stayed with family friends in California).  My father was pretty good at talking them down to a steal and he knew taking cash out of his pocket to pay up front for the whole week would get us the room he wanted.  Of course, our room had to have a little kitchenette because we would only eat out a couple of times during our holidays and when we did, it was an all you can eat buffet that served children food for free.  We didn’t care.  It was all you can eat and we were eating out!    

Making your own food on vacation means you need to get groceries.  So after our first day on the beach, we’d get cleaned up, finish whatever was left over from the cooler and head to the local supermarket.   Although Florida had amazing local fruits, I don’t recall grocery stores being anything spectacular.  The tastiest juiciest peach I have ever eaten was in Florida.  I was probably about 8 and still remember the huge and flavorful peach that crunched my thirst.  My dad bought a big basket on the side of the road from a local farmer.  L.A. however was no doubt ahead of the game in terms of what they had to offer in their grocery stores.  I remember walking into a huge Armenian supermarket in Glendale (I think it was Vons) and loving all the options of pita breads, baklavas, specialty meats and cheeses and huge piles of local fresh produce. 

Though Toronto has come a long way, it has been very slow at developing high caliber grocery stores that provide plentiful produce and healthy foods at a reasonable price.  Often, I find myself having to make a few different stops to get a complete grocery done with all of the specialty items I’m looking for.  Well, I was happy to find out from a good friend of mine that Toronto finally opened an enormous Middle Eastern grocery store (long overdue) about 15 minutes from my house! 

Adonis – started out as a family owned business in 1979 serving a growing Middle Eastern population, and has since grown into a successful chain with 2 new stores in the GTA (Scarborough & Mississauga).  They have partnered with Metro and from what I’ve read on their website, have shown to live up to their warm, friendly values, and knowledgeable expertise. 

Quick pre-made foods with no preservatives

So many options for fresh salads and pre-made meals for take out or catered events

If you get hungry, these pizzas are delicious and freshly made and eatable while shopping!

On site Pita bread maker

         

Tis the season for April showers and wet patios!

Well, it’s been a busy last couple of months.  With a combination of closing off a few projects at work, spring-cleaning and the usual stuff with the family, it’s hard to believe we’re already in the month of May!  Oh yes, and my work has me away from home for just about 3 weeks of it.

Funny enough, my last few restaurant experiences, all during the month of April included some form of showers as the saying goes. 

My first adventure (literally) was with a group of co-workers on our way to a 100km challenging relay race event on the Bruce Trail in Niagara.  We drove to our destination over dinner and so naturally had to stop and eat.  I was pleased to find out I wasn’t the only “foodie” on our venture.  Side note – I’m not sure that I’m actually a real foodie.  According to Wikipedia, “a foodie is a gourmet, or a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food and alcoholic beverages.   A foodie seeks new experiences as a hobby rather than simply eating out of convenience or hunger.”  I thought being a foodie required some form of expertise.  Well, I guess I’m considered a foodie then.     

1^st Stop – Hamilton’s Chicago style Pizza Shack!  Apparently, these deep dish pizzas are a rarity in our great city and of course since this now famous place was featured on the Food Network show You Gotta Eat Here with John Catucci, it was a must go.  We were starving and skeptical about the waitress’ recommendation that our order would be enough.  Are you sure 2 pizzas and a couple of side Caesar salads will fill all 6 of us?   Well, she was right.  We even packed a couple of “slices” to go!  I quote “slices” because they’re not true slices.  Deep dish pizzas are basically big pizza pies and so one “slice” is actually like a big sandwich pizza.  Oh, and the Caesar salad was amazing! 

 2nd Stop – Bi Bim Bap on Eglinton West (mid April)– I know I know this stuff is not new.  I ran into a Korean guy who looked at me cross eyed when I asked him to educate me a little on the history behind these cool Korean dishes that come in a hot stone bowl, and are basically a cool concoction of vegetables and rice stir-fry.  I’m sure he’s thinking – “what a naïve white girl who wants to know where stir-fry comes from – are you serious?”  to which I reply secretly in my mind: “Listen, I’m writing a blog and I’m hoping you will give me something cool and insightful to write about – I get it that it’s just stir-fry”  Oh, then I also want to add that I’m actually Armenian and therefore have the “knowing how to cook” gene but that’s just taking it too far righ?

Starters that are included with your meal order

So overall, the hot stir-fry in my hot bowl that I could not touch without burning myself was fantastic! It was kind of neat getting to the bottom of my bowl and still having to blow on my food before taking a bite.  I would say, best stir-fry I’ve had out.  It was healthy, plentiful, colorful and delicious.  But wait, where’s the egg?  After seeing the picture at the front door of the Toronto Life article commenting on the addition of the egg to the dish, I was really looking forward to that experience.  I think I just got overwhelmed with the whole experience of simply ordering the food that I didn’t realize until half way through my dish that I forgot to order the egg! 

And for desert: Sweet cinnamon tea 

Last Stop  - (technically, this stop was on the 1^st of May but it was raining again so I’m categorizing it in April ;-) Pure Spirits Oyster Bar & Grill in the Distillery.

So this was my second experience with the oysters so I am by far no expert in critiquing them.  Nevertheless, I want to say that my experience at John & Sons at Yonge & St-Clair was a little more tasteful.  It probably helps that the waiter we had and J&S was absolutely phenomenal and knew just about everything there is to know about oysters.  He looked the part with his cute fisherman hat and was quite charming.  He got a great tip that night!

Calamari

 Back to the distillery though – I can not remember which oyster I chose but they were basically the cheapest one from BC and the cheapest ones from PEI.  Maybe that’s why they weren’t as good? Lol

 My main dish definitely hit the spot though.  BC Halibut served with crushed potatoes, foraged mushroom, roast garlic and spinach with a warm tomato and almond vinaigrette.  It was divine.

My husband had the Calamari, which was cooked (fried really) like Tempura so a little Asian twist there, followed by the Black Cod Paella.  This dish was good but a little salty to our liking.  In fact, I like my food salty so believe me when I say this was a little overkill, almost to the point that we figured they may have made a mistake cooking it.

Black Cod Paella

BC Halibut

1 Massage, 2 Restaurants, 3 Glasses of wine - In 1 day!

I recently had the chance to take a day off to myself.  Long overdue and certainly time well spent!  It started with a long drive out of town to drop the kids off at the grandparents, followed by a massage at one of my favorite Yoga spots - Moksha Yoga.  Moksha seems to be the Goodlife of yoga.  There are many of them around and they seem to be doing very well.  They have a nice variety of experienced and talented instructors and run many classes throughout the day/week to keep customers coming.  It is a nice studio and convenient to be able to get a massage there too.

I was hoping to get some yoga time but that was just a little ambitious seeing as I was also meeting a friends for a late lunch, and then another for dinner! 

First, a light lunch meeting at Oliver & Bonacini. What a fun menu and great place to stop for food!  But wait, first I need to talk about the daily fresh squeezed juice they offer.  It’s not cheap but totally worth it.  Well, that is if they are serving the mango peach lemonade!  It was delicious and probably the best juice I’ve ever had.   Once our thirst got crunched, we each had their signature mushroom soup – which is nothing like your creamy white Campbell’s stuff.  This soup is actually made with mushrooms and of course it was delightful.  Following this, we split the fish tacos and dumplings. 

Quick stop at home, change the boots to fancier ones and off to downtown Toronto to one of Bay Street’s new hot spots - Chase Restaurant.  This restaurant was built in an old reconstructed downtown building that was in pretty bad shape not too long a go.  They did an amazing job at giving it a facelift, adding a glassed in top floor with a patio, which is where the restaurant sits (on the 5^th floor).  One the main floor is the Oyster Bar owned by the same guy.  This is not quite the place to be taking take blog pics so you may want to check out their website instead of my discrete and quick iphone pics (what do you mean tourist? I come hear all the time!).  You know, you need to walk in there like spending $30 for a glass of wine is totally normal and expected on a night out in the financial district.  Well, all I have to say is, what a great night!  It was great wine, amazing food and best of all, I got to share it with a good old friend of mine as we celebrated our “milestone” birthdays together.  I will leave the milestone age as a guess teaser – not because I don’t want to announce my age, more because I like playing that game ;-)

We decided to split everything we ordered.  Too bad the knife got to the Lobster salad before the camera did!

Not the best pic - This does not do it justice and once again it is half the real dish!  It's the cauliflower and scalops with ham hock and an egg sitting on the quinoa and cauliflower pure.  Every bite was full of delicious flavours.

What a great waiter! He watched us contemplate on which desert to order so he brought us both the key lime pie and the chocolate cake --- on the house for the birthday girls!