Vacation Eats

While it's true we did other things than just eat in Montreal and Toronto, food was the highlight. There's nothing like spending time with family and friends and, especially for me, that always involves food. So I thought I'd give you a glimpse of our trip.

Being a "Montreal Jew", there are a few things I can't live without when I'm in town. Fairmount Bagels is high on the list. Lucky us, my daughter Sharron lives literally around the corner. The ones above were eaten at Beauty's (also near Sharron) with the traditional toppings... cream cheese, tomato, onion and... last but definitely not least... lox (smoked salmon).

Once our tummies were filled, we headed over to the Jean Talon Market which is huge (also close to Shar) and wonderful all year round, but especially in the summertime. Not only is it about being local and fresh, it's about presentation......and samples.Naturally it was hard for me to control myself, but we did buy some lovely fixin's for a relaxing lunch in.Of course, as I've said before many a trip to Montreal...
I crave Yangtze egg rolls...take out and a movie with cousins.
Other restaurant meals were nice, but my highlight dinner was staying in and grilling kebabs with Shar on my old Griddler.
On to Toronto and more foodie fun... especially at the Evergreen Brickworks which didn't exist when we were living there. Lots of history to the area, a beautiful and perfect spot to highlight conservation. But pictures (even my rushy ones) are better than words....Great kids playground
organic farmers market that was bigger, but reminded me of regional Nova Scotian markets like Hubbards. Instead Celtic music, there's Jazzand upscale vendor fare, like a Susur Lee whimsical salad We opted for lunch at the newly opened Cafe Belong and a lovely frittata with mixed greens.

More restaurants... I forgot to take pictures... Jerusalem for great Middle Eastern food, (I had the Maza Platter - combination of falafel, hummos, taheena sauce, baba ghanouje, middle eastern salad and mixed pickles & my Honey had falafel in a pita), Milestones ("the girls" - a tradition we started a million years ago and continues whenever we're all in town), Pho Phuong (around the corner from my sister).I must say though, the best meals were with family (my Honey's mom made a traditional Friday night dinner, Auntie Shelley served a perfect deli lunch, and my cousin Arlene topped them all the last night in town...that's her holding an awesome Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Brandy Butter Sauce and tons of sides. The Grilled Italian Potatoes were perfect.
But the star of the evening was dessert - Strawberry Parfait with Lime Curd. I'm still drooling. All the recipes came from a favorite magazine of mine LCBO's Food & Drink. I guess it's carrot sticks and water for a couple of weeks!