Visiting Toronto and long for that small town warmth? About an hour west is a quiet college town ripe with unique shops, lively entertainment, and best of all excellent restaurants and cafe’s.

Guelph Gothic Cathedral

Guelph has a good mix of old town charm and new city features. Towering over the town of just over 100,000 inhabitants is a large gothic Catholic Cathedral that is a must see. It’s filled with stories told on stained glass and is open for tours to the public. Just below is the historic town hall, train station, and in the winter, a public ice skating rink. The ice skating rink is free, bring your own skates, and according to the sign food and drink are “not recommended“. I love that Canadians are so nice. Around the corner is the farmers market full of local produce, cheeses, and my favorite, cured meats and sausages.

The downtown streets are lined with boutique shops, book stores, and eateries. No Starbucks or McDonalds here, which is so refreshing. The best croissants outside of Paris can be found at the Artisanale Cafe’ & Bistro, connected to The Bookshelf, a local book store with a small theater.

Down the street and around the corner are even more shops.  Dutch Toko is the perfect shop for imported foods from the Netherlands and pick up a pair of wooden clogs while you’re there.  I love getting the ABC sweet soy which has a thick syrup like consistency and can be used to sweeten any spicy dish like fried rice, curries, and other Indonesian Dutch dishes.  Another excellent find is their Curry Ketchup and Mustard’s.  There is a deli so stock up on authentic dutch cheeses like the red wrapped Gouda.  Aside from the food shops in downtown Guelph you’ll find a lot of unique shops for gifts and clothing.

Guelph is home to two very distinct pubs, one you’ll know about if you follow my blog, Woolwich Arms Pub and the other is the Penny Whistle.  I like both a lot but tend to favor the Wooly for its friendly environment, however the Penny Whistle is the place to go for Curry food.  Here you’ll get some interesting pub fare with a hint of curry in almost every dish.

Guelph Ice Skating

Guelph is more than a place for pub crawls.  There are plenty of established dinning options in and around the downtown area.  Bin 23 is a great date night or take the parents out type of place.  A lot of meat options from beef to duck but also serves up a smoked tofu for the non-meat eaters.  Another option is The Other Brothers where you’ll find mini duck tacos with raspberry and goat cheese, Cabernet braised oxtail, or veal mini-burgers with a side of duck fat french fries (mmmmmm).  Both are excellent options if you only have one night in Guelph.

Another great option is Milestones, which is just outside of downtown but certainly worth a visit, especially for lunch.  I liked the spicy chicken wrap and the spicy Asian chicken bites, enough to share with others as an appetizer.

But wait, there’s more…

Guelph isn’t just pubs and evening grub, it has some fantastic breakfast and brunch options and my ultimate favorite is With the Grain.  I highly recommend getting a loaf or two of their “baked on site” breads (get them sliced there).  These freeze well so take them home and enjoy later, one slice at a time.  The breakfast menu is extensive and heavy on the bakery side of things and you won’t go wrong here.  But you can get a breakfast burrito if you crave such a thing.  My ultimate favorite here is the breakfast parfait made with maple pecan granola.

If you didn’t know by now, you should know that I just love Guelph.  I’ve been a few times and I plan to visit again.  Toronto is a great city but I’ve been to a lot of big cities and they all have similar things.  So if you want to experience something totally different, totally Canadian, and totally worth your time, visit Guelph Ontario Canada, tell them Jimmy Stewart the Hungry Traveler sent you.  Cheers!

Pablo Picasso Exhibit at VMFA

The Pablo Picasso exhibit came within driving distance to home this month and indeed was a rare event as it is the only east coast opportunity to see such a large composition of Pablo Picasso works.  The show hit only 3 cities in the United States, Seattle, Richmond, and San Francisco.   Previously the show was in Finland and Russia.  You have till May 15th to catch a glimpse of the workings of this great artist.  But don’t just go to Richmond for the Picasso exhibit, go for the rich culture and good eats.  The Picasso exhibit is being shown at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art (VMFA).  I recommend getting to the museum early, tickets for the Picasso exhibit are timed so plan to get there with enough time to stand in a long line, again this is a rare event but certainly worth it.   There is a covered parking garage that costs $3.00 and you pay as you go in, so plan to leave the vehicle and take a stroll after visiting the museum.

The VMFA is only a few minutes walk from Cary Town, a trendy little section of Richmond surrounded by mansion like homes from an era long ago.  Restaurants and shops line Cary Street and it is a town where people don’t hesitate to say Hi and hold doors open for strangers.  It is a very friendly town and worth a visit.  A good friend suggested Weezies Kitchen, a great little one of a kind restaurant with southern style food.  The Mac-N-Cheese is a town favorite and the side salads are not small.  The meatloaf po-boy was a moist treat and will certainly make you wish for more.

If you enjoy taco trucks and are ever in the San Diego area, you must find Mexican Fiesta between Little Italy and Downtown on the corner of India and Beech.  This is a walk up order from the window Mexican food place.  I can’t call it a restaurant because you don’t go in to eat, you order from the window and walk away to enjoy some of the best Mexican food you’ll find north of the border. On my recent visit I went at 8:00 AM when they open and there was already a line.  I had the popular breakfast burrito and for less than $3.00 was on my way to the water front to enjoy my meal by the sea.

I don’t know if this place was ever a taco truck, but I’ve been here and it has 2 things in common (1)It is about the same size as a taco truck and (2) there is always a line.

Recently my travels took me to Seattle and having been there a few times before I wanted to explore a bit, which lead me to the realization that Portland is only 2 hours south!  Note to readers: I have been to Vancouver BC several times and decided Portland would be a good investment of time on this trip.

Photo courtesy of Cactus website

The DoubleTree hotel in SeaTac near the airport would be my hub for a few days because I was very fortunate to get a last minute deal there using the Priceline Negotiator at $65.00 a night (about half off).   After checking in I asked about a local place that is both unique and trendy and the suggestion was West Seattle, Cactus on Alki.  This is a true beach town with a lot of people walking around, enjoying the water and sunset, and just having a good time.  They make fantastic margaritas and I’d suggest the Baja and ask them to add an extra jalapeno to spice it up a bit more.  Try the butternut squash enchiladas, very unique.  The locals can be distant at first to visitors but after a while, they warmed up to me.  One in particular, Jimmy, who is a fellow foodie, was most helpful in recommending several downtown locations for future visits. 

After a good nights sleep and a speaking engagement the next day I headed south to Portland where I arived within 2 hours.  Traffic at the 5:00 PM hour is brutal in downtown but clears up quickly.  If you are driving from Seattle, take the I-5 South, merge to the local I-405 Loop and take the Couch Street Exit, turn left at Couch Street and find parking anywhere along the next several blocks.  This is the hip little area of Portland where you’ll find Blue Plate as well as Voodoo Donuts.  I stopped in at Voodoo and stood in line for about 20 minutes to get a Maple Bacon and Old Dirty Bastard, both would have only be perfected by having a glass of milk.

Photo courtesy of Bob Hoever

This visit to Portland was fun because I got to hang out with a friend from Alexandria VA who happened to be visiting Portland and I finished the evening with a visit to Sandfords Bar and Grill just south of Portland’s downtown to meet up with an old friend who I hadn’t seen in 15 years. 

Make the trip to the pacific northwest and check out Seattle and Portland, two great destinations.

Peregrine Espresso

I had been meaning to get to Peregrine Espresso for some time now and I happened to pick the coldest day of the year to do so.  This says a lot about me and my coffee, I’ll go through great lengths to find a great coffee shop and I think I’ve found it at 660 Pennsylvania Av SE in Washington DC, about a half block away from Eastern Market. 

It is small, but coffee shops are not meant to be Big Box Retail in my opinion either, it is green both in color and operation, and it has some of the best coffee you can find in DC.  Believe me, I’ve looked all over.  I know I’ll have some complaints or what I like to call suggestions, come one and come all with any suggestions and I’ll be happy to give them a try. 

Peregrine appears crowded at times but production is quick and painless.  The menu is simple and straight forward and the staff are very pleasant.  I truly believe they are doing what they love based on how they treat the process and the customer and the result is a wonderful cup of joy.  If you are not a coffee drinker, their Tea is served in a nice heavy pot and provides about a cup and a half.  If you are on Capitol Hill or at Eastern Market and want a great coffee, walk on over to Peregrine, you won’t be disappointed.

I have been wandering the earth for almost 40 years now and half that time has included the wonderful world of coffee.  I’ve made several visits to Baked Wired in Georgetown on Thomas Jefferson Street, just south of M St for 2 reasons, the coffee and the granola. By most accounts this is a small shop with two sides, baked goods on the one and coffee on the other.  The two go hand in hand IMO.  The barista makes a great espresso or any variation there of.  The granola is labeled “crack” because of its addictive nature and I have to agree.  The pic  shows individual cup cakes under the glass of what looks to be laboratory vessels but don’t be overwhelmed as the staff are most helpful in selecting delicious cakes for any craving you may be having.  Give Baked Wired a try, I promise you’ll enjoy the visit.

I had visited Alexandria’s Grape + Bean during their opening week and thought hmmmm, this may be OK.  Small place off the main Old Town path where you could get a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.  It looked promising at the time.  That was some time ago and I’ve ventured in a few times here and there to grab a bottle of wine.  Yesterday I visited and wanted to give the “bean” portion of their name a try.  Unfortunately I was was disappointed by the lack of properly trained staff and the coffee itself.  I paid just under $5.00 for a 14oz cup of coffee that lacked any substance or unique flavor.  Throw an “organic” or “fair trade” label on something and double the price regardless of taste appears to be the motto here.  I make better single cup coffee at the PNC bank across the street using their Keurig machine.  For more than half the price, Starbucks provides a better more consistent cup of joe.  For an establishment that puts coffee at the top of their sales pitch, I would have hoped for better results. 

Tell me about your experiences at coffee shops around the world.

I love walking the streets of any town in the world and finding places that remind me of other cities and places I’ve visited over the years. The other day I was walking up Wisconsin Ave from M Street headed to the Georgetown Flea Market and walked by a place called Dolcezza Artisanal gelato and had to stop because of the big “Argentine” sign. If you ever go to Argentina, get the ice cream at any ice cream shop but my preference is Freddo and if you wonder what flavor to get, get dulce-de-leche. Unfortunately for me, Dolcezza did not make a batch of dulce-de-leche this day but my disappointment vanished once I started the tastings, starting with an avocado flavored ice cream which was smooth and not over powering. I love avocados! I moved on to ginger mint and was ready to order but decided to try one more, the lime and cilantro flavor and was immediately struck by the awesomeness of the lime and calmed by the soothing cilantro. I decided to go with both ginger and lime and enjoyed myself some great, made daily, gelato. Next time, I go for the coffee and I’ll write back.