Entertainment

Small Town Warmth Outside of Toronto, CA

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.

Inside the Guelph Gothic Cathedral

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 Ring

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!

A Very Rare Visit with Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso Exhibit

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.

Salmon on the grill

Grilled Salmon with Salad

Grilled Salmon with Salad

This is a simple dish anyone can make.  Salmon is a bit tender and can fall apart so I like to use a brush and coat the meat side with olive oil and season with just salt and pepper.  Placing the salmon meat side down on the grill at an angle and coook for several minutes, then using a spatula and tongs I do a half turn to create the nice looking grill marks and cook for another 5 minutes.  Then flip and cook skin side down keeping the grill covered the entire cooking time.  Add to a garden salad or serve with rice, salmon is a perfect quick dish anyone can make at home or for dinner parties.  Enjoy.

Grilled Chicken with Rice and Pico de Gallo

Grilled Chicken with Pico de GalloGrilled Chicken with Pico de Gallo

Grilled Chicken with Pico de Gallo

With the weather turning to warmer nights I love to fire up the grill and putting fire to anything I can find.  This dish was inspired by the cover of Food and Wine magazine May 2011 issue. 

It is simple, cubed chicken with some fresh lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and a dash of cumin.  I like to use little plactic containers with a lid and I shake the heck out of the meat and  spices to get every piece coated.  Then skewer the chicken and grill for about 15 minutes, depending on the heat of your grill. 

My pico de gallo is very much ad hoc with a tomatto base, lots of onions and peppers.  Served here with a bed of mixed greens.  Enjoy

Celebrating Haitian Cuisine

Today I decided to celebrate Haiti by making some traditional Haitian cuisine starting with Griyo (Griot), which is a delectable dish made from pieces of pork. Read the rest of this entry »

The Modern Gentleman

Last night I had the pleasure of spending some time, albeit a short time, with author Jason Tesauro. Jason is the author of The Modern Gentleman: A Guide to Essential Manners, Savvy and Vice, and The Modern Lover: A Playbook for Suitors, Spouses & Ringless Carousers. Jason is very aware of both men and women’s desire to be desired and has an acute sense for the subtle nuances both genders use to demonstrate their likes and dislikes. This evening however was more about his upcoming series of classes for men designed to enhance their understanding of all things a man should know; In my order of preference:
• Whiskey
• Cigars
• the Home Bar
• Being a Gentleman
• Personal style
• Carving a bird
(just to name a few)

 

It was a great evening and if you have the opportunity to participate in any of his evening events, I strongly encourage you to do just that. You can find more information about Jason Tesauro on his website.

Old Town Alexandria Wine Festival

This past weekend I had the pleasure to review the Old Town Alexandria Wine and Food Festival. Read the rest of this entry »

Pulled Pork BBQ Sliders

This evening we attended a party where people were asked to bring an appetizer or dessert type of dish. We decided to bring pulled pork BBQ sliders because it would be easy to make, different from what others may bring (deviled eggs???), and probably something people would enjoy eating. Read the rest of this entry »

Jazz in the Garden, Sculpture Garden that is on the National Mall

Summers in Washington DC are very friendly and enjoyable if you can get past all the tourists that come to this great city. Fridays are special for me because one, it signals the end of a work week and two, the weekend is here. Read the rest of this entry »