LUXOMME

CANOE

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I still vividly remember the first time I stepped foot into Canoe.

I had just finished my second year of University at Queen's and my girlfriend and I had spent the entire morning at Yorkdale window shopping. Exhausted, we decided to stop for some late lunch and both of us had had heard about this restaurant on the 54th floor of the TD tower on our radar, so we dragged out tired selves all the way over and I vaguely remember one of us being in uggs and the other wearing flip flops, but we felt so grown up and fancy (and clearly out of place) amongst the suits and pearls. 

Fast forward 4 years later, Canoe still holds a special place in my heart as one of my first fine-dining experiences, and I've since graduated from foam flip flops to plastic ones.

Some things never change.

My friend's from Winnipeg had just landed the night before, so some unpretentious fine-dining is an easy start to the day, but we definitely did a bit of pre-fooding at Beavertails down by the waterfront - which deserves a post of its own.

Canoe is a great way to show off the city because it not only showcases the best and freshest Ontario has to offer in terms of ingredients, but it also had the most breathtaking view of the CN tower, which was perfect because I had no intention of actually taking them up the CN tower (gotta fit that tourist sightseeing in somewhere). Often times though these gimmicky places don't have the greatest food, but Canoe completely shatters that stereotype.

They had flown in just in time for Summerlicious and it was too tempting not to take advantage of their menu. As always, Canoe exceeded expectations not just in the food served but also in service and atmosphere.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Summerlicious, it's a city wide restaurant event where eaters can go around to try different tasting menus at a set price. Some sets will be more expensive than others, depending on which restaurant you choose, but universally they will usually be cheaper than going to the restaurant any other day and ordering three courses on the menu.

The girls and I each chose different apps, entrees and desserts for each course, just so we could taste a bit of everything.

Not only were the portions generous, the flavor combinations were so unique that it felt like pure umami in the mouth. Think smoked trout paired with bitter nori.

My three favorite courses were the cured rainbow trout, haiwa gwaii albacore tuna, and lemon tart. Protip: If you make reservation early enough, you can request certain off the menu items that they will re-create for you depending on the availability. These three items are worth the pre-book and their guest relations manager Chloe is an absolute gem.

The full Summerlicious 2017 menu can be found here for Canoe.

Canoe outdoes itself again.


naomi

SMASH BRUNCH

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Saturday mornings are for lazy sleep ins, rolling around in bed and hearty brunches.

Last weekend, these two lovely girls flew in from Winnipeg to visit me for the weekend in #the6ix. They thought they were coming to see the CN tower, but instead were given a full blown food tour of the city instead.

Smash is a special place for me for many reasons, but mainly because it's one of the only places in the city that I'll often crave on a Saturday morning whenever someone mentions brunch.

Their fare is simple with a short but diverse list of eggs benny and omelettes to french toast and chicken and waffles. The options are limited enough to not be overwhelming, but wide enough so you feel like you have a good selection.

My go-to is their classic eggs benedict with the meatiest ham possible. Their eggs are always perfectly done and it comes with a generous heaping of potatoes by default but I like to switch it out for an equally generous serving of fruit.

The girls went for the clubhouse sandwich and an omelette respectively. which judging by their expressions was as delicious as you would expect. All the brunch items come with the choice of making it into a prix fixe for a flat price of $20, which includes tea/coffee, a brunch entree and a choice between three of their decadent desserts.

Would recommend sitting on the patio if you come on a bright sunny day like we did, but do bring sunscreen so you prevent those nasty burns! The cherry on top is that main street Unionville is also a short 10 minute walk away, so enjoy yourselves but leave enough room for ice cream at the Old Firehall Confectionary!

All in all a perfect way to start our day.

A few weeks ago, I was procrastinating on Instagram when a photo popped up of the most delicious brunch spread. 

Going through a brunch phase, I was eager to find out more about this place and found out that Vogue  had recommended as a must try place in the Prairies. They praise it to being a restaurant that is "upping the breakfast game in a bacon-and-egg town" and describes the vibe as being "both a turkish cave and an airy Soho loft"

They weren't lying.

 Taking with me on this adventure is Karen, who maybe loves food as much as I do. 

We had a morning off from classes and was going to get our eyelash extensions done, but I kibosh that plan and convinced her to go for brunch with me.

This girl doesn't need the extensions anyways.

We arrived promptly at 10:30, which is prime brunch time, and pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Karen, who is clearly more on top of the restaurant game than I am, is a frequent here and expertly guided me through the menu. 

"You must try the smoked artic char!" she smiled.

After 15 minutes, we still hadn't made a decision, so she put on her thinking face and before we knew it, food magically appeared on our table!

The first dish that arrived at our table was the Smoked Artic Char [13], which features cubes of cured char on top of a crispy potato cake, garnished with creme fraiche, horseradish and cured dill cucumbers. 

Karen raved about it so much that I had to try it. 

 The second dish was Turkish Eggs [9], which were poached eggs served on a bed of hummus with a side of house-made sourdough bread. Talk about absolute comfort food.

Third dish that came (p.s we're sharing) was what I was most excited about. Coconut chia seed pudding, yoghurt, rose and date syrup, and garnished with raspberries and granola. [7]

Heavenly.

 Karen, being a blogger herself, is a natural when it comes to being in front of the camera and behind. Not only did she patiently wait for me to finish going snap-happy with the food, she helped me arrange it so that I could get optimal lighting.

#brunchdategoals right here.

Famished, we decided to start digging into our food.

Feeling stuffed, satisfied and deliciously happy, this beats going to class any day.

naomi