As of June 11th Prince Edward County, Ontario’s newest wine growing region, is producing VQA-approved wine. Richard Johnston, chairman of Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association, had this to say – “We are coming of age. In eight short but challenging years we have gone from being dismissed as preposterous dreamers for trying to grow fine wines in an impossibly cool climate, to heralded winegrowers using innovative viticultural techniques.”In full support of dreamers, I think a trip to Waupoos Estates Winery, and others along the Taste Trail, is in order! So far I like the sound of Rosehill Run’s pinot noir, The Grange of Prince Edward County pinot gris and Norman Hardie Winery riesling.
Archive for the 'Food & Wine' Category
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Tonight, as we do every Friday night, Leah and I went out for dinner. But for a change of scenery, we headed into the city. Our original plan was to have dinner at The Bier Markt, but the wait was 50 minutes, so we decided to wander up to Front Street and hit Spring Rolls. One the way, we cut through an alley and caught a glimpse into a neat looking restaurant… so we decided to try it.
That turned out to be a good decision as dinner was excellent! The restaurant is called Izakaya and features a fun assortment of Japanese dishes.
The room, ambience, service and, of course, the food was fantastic. I would, we would definitely recommend it.
We had planned to make yesterday a day for us – doing things to spoil ourselves.
We had scheduled a couples massage and manicure at the Pantages Spa; and then dinner at The Keg followed by seeing Harry Connick Jr. in concert at The Hummingbird Centre.
We booked our spa session through WaySpa.com and received a confirmation message and email explaining what would happen, when to be there, etc.
We arrived at the spa 25 minutes prior to our 3pm appointment, with our confirmation email in hand. Unfortunately the girls working the counter at the spa could not find our reservation, and were unwilling to do anything to help us. Their only suggestion, “Call in on Monday between 9 and 5.”
After some heated words, they suggested that we talk to the manager/owner of the spa, and they sent us to go and find her. (In my opinion, they should have found her for us…). Surprisingly she was no where to be found!
We eventually called WaySpa and the reservation agent Nadine looked up our appointment and confirmed that it was booked at the spa. She even called the spa, but as with us, they simply said, too bad, so sad, buh bye.
In the end, we were left on the cold side of the door with 4 hours to kill in downtown. We ended up having a milk shake at Fran’s, and wandering through the Eaton Centre.
At 5pm we headed to The Keg. We like The Keg, but I remembered that the last time I was there I ordered the New York Peppercorn steak and when it arrived at the table, it was covered in mushrooms. I hate mushrooms. The menu does not indicate that there are mushrooms in the meal.
Before ordering I repeatedly questioned the waiter and warned him that I do not want any mushrooms. If it has mushrooms, I’m sending it back.
Guess what happened? The plate arrived with a few mushrooms in the sauce. The waiter is very embarrassed. By this time, we do not have time to wait for them to remake my meal, so I scrap the sauce off and deal with it.
Now, the steaks were fine, but the mushroom issue was just another downer on the day. Thankfully the waiter recognized that we were unhappy, and brought us our a piece of my favourite dessert, the Billy Miner Pie, on the house. This certainly lifted our spirits.
Off to the show we go. Leah is excited. Very excited.
We take our seats – dead centre, 15 rows back – just about perfect!
The curtain goes up and the band breaks into an instrumental medley of classics and Harry-hits! Harry is not on stage. The set is a steamy club in New Orleans, complete with gas lamps and slowly rotating ceiling fans.
After 15 minutes, Harry comes on stage and rips into the first song. I’ve never seen Harry perform before, but I will certainly not miss him when he comes to town again.
I’ll let Leah fill in the review of the show, but suffice to say, it was great!
Surrender to smooth and creamy Galaxy milk chocolate. This is what the lovely buff-coloured package is encouraging me to do – surrender to the divine milky sweetness of the best chocolate in the world!Â
Since the bar arrived this morning, fresh from England by way of a co-workder, I’ve managed to resist. As the minutes creep by I can feel myself giving in. It won’t be long now until I break off a piece and enjoy all the chocolaty goodness that is Galaxy 
If you’ve never tired it, head to your nearest candy store and pick up a bar. You won’t regret it.
A quest to find gelato on par with what we had in Italy last May. It was fantastic! I’ve never had anything like it, and have been craving it from the minute I wiped the last bit of it off my lips last year.
My renewed interest in this quest was sparked by a drive along St. Clair West on Friday evening. I passed half a dozen places advertising their gelato. Thankfully I won’t have to twist Leah’s arm to come with me as we scour the city for a fix.
So faithful readers, where should we go for the best gelato in T.O.?
On Saturday evening Dana and Trevor came to have dinner and play “Trivial Pursuit 90s Edition” with us. Dinner was excellent. Trivial Pursuit not so much. The game is great fun, just as every previous edition of Trivial Pursuit is; the only downer is that it is very American – and unless you have a keen interest in American culture, politics, etc from the 90s, you’ll be left scratching your head on many occasions.
The most over-hyped night of the year is almost upon us; and as usual we are left wondering what to do. Paying an outrageous cover for the privelege of buying over-priced drinks being “served” by snooty bartenders does not appeal to us. Dressing up to hang out with a bunch of strangers, after spending a silly amount for tickets; We’ll pass. A house party could persuade us to leave the warm and safe confines of the condo, but it’d have to be a real killer party!
In all likelihood we’ll end up over at our favourite local pub, The Galway Arms. Which is A OK with me! Spending an evening at The Galway, any evening is always a good time. It has a near perfect mix of good (sometimes great) food, friendly staff, fair prices, and interesting patrons.
Maybe we’ll see you there…
Last night we went out for dinner with Craig & Jenn and Carey-Ann & Jeff at The Rude Native in Oakville. This was our first meeting of Jeff, and I’d say he passed with flying colours!
Our reservations were at 6pm, so Leah and I headed out at 5:30, figuring that we would be there with time to spare. To our dismay, the QEW was packed – bumper to bumper from the 427 all the way to Dorval! It’s a Saturday afternoon!!!! What is wrong with drivers in this city?!?!?
After nearly an hour in the car, we arrived in downtown Oakville, scored a free parking spot on the street, and made our way to the restaurant. The restaurant has been getting a lot of positive press lately, and, although the meal was pleasing, I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. Our server was pleasant, but seemed somewhat disinterested in serving, and our request for separate bills put him into a tizzy with concerns over how he would figure out who had what, etc. (In the end he got it sorted out without issue…) We ordered a variety of dishes – samosas, mussels, salmon, mahi mahi, steak, and lamb curry – and all were presented nicely, if not promptly. Everyone enjoyed their meal, but I could not see the value – perhaps their rent is high, which is reflected in the prices on the menu.
In the end, it was a great evening out with some great friends – what more could we ask for?
Last Saturday we went out to celebrate Leah’s 30th birthday. Although we had a great time, very few pictures were taken. And none of Leah & I together! Dinner at Dr. G’s was good; not great as it has been in the past. After dinner we headed for The Galway Arms and were greeted by a dozen smiling faces of many of our friends.
Good times with good friends – that about says it all.
Today Leah and I headed to Niagara-On-The-Lake to visit a few wineries. We started at Reif Estates and took in a quick winery tour and some sampling. The samples were so good that we picked up two bottles (2004 Gamay Noir & 2004 Vidal Icewine). We could’ve spent a lot more time (and money) at Reif, but the hunger bug was taking over so we made our way into town for lunch.
This was my first time in Niagara-On-The-Lake and it was much nicer (and touristy) than I had imagined. After lucking into a parking spot – they seem to be a real rare commodity in town – we settled on the Old Town Restaurant for lunch. Compared to the street outside, the restaurant was busy but not packed.
After lunch we wandered the main strip, grabbed a cone at Cow’s, stopped in at a Christmas store and watched the throngs of people enjoying the beautiful day.
As we headed for home, we stopped in at Konzelmann’s and picked up a really good tasting 2005 Riesling. The winery is under construction so there wasn’t much to see; but the staff were friendly, and the wine was good.
Our final stop for the afternoon was Stonechurch Vineyards. The atmosphere was great, and the setting was very relaxed. I almost wish that we had started our day there as they had a barbeque fired up and were serving burgers. We tasted six wines and left with two: a 2005 Sunburst (Pinot Grigio~Shiraz) and a 2003 Riesling. Although it tasted great, the description for the Sunburst is what really sold it for us. “Pair with a light salad or an afternoon on a patio.”
I think that our first, but not our last, trip to Niagara was a success. Our next wine adventure is going to be to Prince Edward County; anyone want to come along?