Saturday, June 19, 2021

Espresso and Gelato

June 2021 - Toronto ON

May 2021 - Lansdowne Ave Toronto

Last Saturday's sculpture is right downtown behind City Hall.

Monday Mural takes us to Yorkville and more views of a brand new piece of street art.

Tuesday's lanes are in Cabbagetown.

Finally we can dine outdoors! Four to a table.

Outdoor dining on the Danforth near Woodbine published in the Toronto Star October 22nd 1934


We had planned on going out on Saturday but John's ankle was bothering him so we stayed in for the weekend. He should have golfed on Monday but it was a rainy day that we turned into Afternoon at the Movies.

Tuesday we took our first Day Trippin' adventure to Niagara Falls. As mentioned in the post we decided it was a good opportunity to avoid crowds as the borders are still closed as are indoor activities/museums but patios are open for lunch.

Sculpture Saturday was also at the Falls.





Good cider but only one brand/flavour available...we have many, many local ciders available.


Even live entertainment on the patio. 


Meat and cheese board - their definition not mine. Menu was stereotypical, burgers and wings. This was a shame as it is the Niagara Brewing Company set in the middle of average American chain restaurants. They have had 15 months to come up with a sterling menu featuring local Ontario produce, cheeses and meats.


We had fun walking up Clifton Hill minus the hordes of kids tourists.




Mini golf.


Wednesday John golfed and I went downtown early before my second shot.

Construction is just nuts downtown. John St. from King to Richmond is closed off.



Then on Widmer these old beauties are being saved as a front for yet another condo. Widmer is a short two block street running from King to Richmond which is totally under construction. Further up the block will the  Theatre District Residence and Riu Plaza Hotel.

Facadism, façadism, or façadomy is the architectural and construction practice where the facade of a building is designed or constructed separately from the rest of a building, or when only the facade of a building is preserved with new buildings erected behind or around it.

I am adding this word to my labels/tags as this is the second time I have used it.


8-20 Widmer Street Condos will be a 56 storey tower with mixed condo units. The street level will be preserved historic townhouses. The estimated completion date for 8-20 Widmer Street Condos is still unknown.


Artist rendering.


My lunch spot. Champs has added a food truck.


Can you see Champs Hot Dogs dwarfed beside the towering condo, it is surrounded but he is still holding out.


King St. oddness.




Got my second shot in record time in and out before my scheduled appointment.


Along the Gardner snapped from the bus.


Thursday arm was a little sore but was fine other than that. John had an achy knee as we headed out for his shot while I grabbed some groceries. Same thing he didn't wait at all.


This doesn't mean no more masks. The Toronto medical health officer, Dr. Eileen DeVilla, has extended the COVID 19 bylaws until the end September. This means residents will need to keep physically distancing in city parks or public squares and will be required to continue wearing masks or face coverings in common areas of businesses, apartments and condominiums. Which is fine with us.

Friday was a real rainy day so no golf for John and I didn't bother going out. We treated it like a Saturday.




SOPHISTICATED SHAKERS

Blue Diablo - delicious!


1 1/4 oz. Jose Cuervo Classico
1/4 oz. blue curaçao
Juice of half lime
1 tsp. lemon juice
Club soda

Mix tequila, blue curaçao, lime juice, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake. Pour into a short glass and top with club soda.

COCKTAIL CIRCUIT - TO DATE

Mai Tai with orgeat which is new to us
Tequila Sunrise
Rob Roy required bitters which we had never bought
New York Sours 
Gin Fizz
Rusty Nail
Vodka Sidecar
Vodka Cosmopolitan
Negroni
The Perfect Storm
Boulevardier
Side Car
Jalapeno Margarita
The Godfather
Peach Cosmo - FAIL
The Barista

COOKING


Saturday Spanakopita Greek spinach pie, Greek salad and tzatziki that I bought at St. Lawrence Market and we loved it. I wanted a recipe for fresh spinach, most use frozen. This recipe called for the spinach to be sprinkled with salt to sweat out the water. This made the spinach very salty. Some recipes lightly sauté the spinach with the garlic which I might do next time.

Sunday cauliflower and potato pakoras (gluten free and air fryer) and breaded calamari (gluten free and air fryer). I had bought frozen squid rings at the market.
The calamari didn't get as brown as we would have liked but were tasty. I think it used too much flour AND arrowroot flour. I have since found recipes that use less flour and an egg. Perhaps bread crumbs?
I made a couple of dips, an aioli for the calamari (mayo, lemon juice, paprika, garlic and Old Bay seasoning) and a cilantro dip for the pakoras (cilantro, mint, jalapeno, garlic, lime juice, sour cream, cumin, garam masala, ginger).

Monday since I wanted to finish the box of phyllo pastry I made Greek meat (lamb) pies.

Tuesday I decided on hamburger patties, mushroom gravy and mashed cauliflower and potatoes.

Wednesday I made fish chowder.

Thursday I had good intentions but got lazy (shot?) as the day rolled on so we ordered Swiss Chalet.

Friday being Friday, steak and salad.

WATCHING

Monday became afternoon movies as it was raining.

Supremacy 2014 The film chronicles the real life events of March 29–30, 1995, perpetrated by Aryan Brotherhood members Robert Walter Scully Jr. and Brenda Kay Moore. After fatally shooting a police officer, white supremacist Garrett Tully, along with his companion, Doreen Lesser, breaks into a house and takes an African-American family hostage.

A hard movie to watch.


Hustlers 2019  based on New York magazine's 2015 article "The Hustlers at Scores" by Jessica Pressler. It follows a crew of New York City strippers who begin to steal money by drugging stock traders and CEOs who visit their club, then running up their credit cards.



The Fall of the American Empire (French: La chute de l'empire américain) is a 2018 Canadian crime thriller film written and directed by Denys Arcand. It is about a man who, after an armed robbery in Montreal, discovers two bags of money and is unsure what to do with them. It is in French with English subtitles.


READING

2021 Trillium Book Awards Finalists

A Good Neighborhood has to be one of the saddest books I've read in a long time, white privilege and the burden of being a young black man in today's society. I SO hated Brad!

I was so disappointed with Tana French's latest book The Searcher, I normally love her books. Its main saving grace was her impeccable Irish accents. My favourite saying when the men are talking about a certain redhead "I don't think curtains match the carpet" totally new expression to me!
It was so boring and dragged out. Nothing about a retired cop from Chicago moving to a small Irish village rang true.

Ask Again, Yes is my kind of book., a good family drama.

26 comments:

  1. First, yes on pizza toppings UNDER the cheese -- not always the advice in the Pizza Czar cookbook, but we know what we like, so I just ignored the author. How nice to get out on a road trip. I haven't been to the falls in ages, but it's always a good time -- though we always go off season. Yay on being fully vax'd! We still wear our masks in public places and haven't yet eaten indoors at a restaurant, but hope to in July. Bummer on the Tana French book. I haven't gotten to it yet. Will bump Ask Again, Yes up on my list. And now I have a huge craving for something cooked in phyllo -- spanakopita or something else. I think I have some dough in the freezer.

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    1. Glad you are still wearing masks, it is still required here.

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  2. You remind me of the filo dough that's been in my freezer for months, reproaching me for lack of ambition and a good recipe. I hope Canada opens up soon.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  3. ...it's nice to be out and about!

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  4. Very nice. I loved the Niagara Falls photos, and the King Street oddness was interesting. Your spanakopita looks fantastic. It's one of my favorite things to eat. I do quite a bit of cooking, but that's one thing I haven't tried making yet.

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  5. So much bustle! Your photos are always so interesting! Thanks for sharing it all.

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  6. There's a Greek bakery here that makes those spinach treats. They're very good.

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  7. Facadism seems to be on the wane here. People generally don't like it and architecturally doesn't work well in my opinion. Of course developers like it for when a sacrosanct building has to remain but they can whack up o monster glass tower behind or envelope the existing building.

    Blue Diablo sounds nice. I note the brand of the curacao.

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    1. Thought you'd notice the brand name, alas, no relative.

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  8. Your Niagara Falls photos are gorgeous. Good idea to go there before tourists return. Thank you for linking with #weekendcoffeeshare.

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  9. Whacky Ass Coffee made me laugh, they once ski lodge called Jack Ass and now it Silver Mt. All of food dishes sound mouth watering.
    Coffee is on and stay safe

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  10. One of these days I will make it to Niagara Falls but I don't think it will be anytime soon.

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  11. Looks like you had a busy and fun week. Good on you for getting your vaccinations!
    Cheers
    Sherry

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  12. whack ass coffee? hilarious:) looks like you had fun this week. and good on you for getting your jabs! Looks like you made lots of tasty meals too. That phyllo pastry looks divine... have a great week.
    cheers
    sherry

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  13. looks like my comment didn't work! just saying looks like you had great food this week and a fun time. and good on you for getting your jabs. have a great week.
    cheers
    sherry

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  14. P.S. just wondering which email subs service you are switching to? I have gone for Follow.it. It seems to be working but i guess i'll know for sure when my next post goes up, and when Feedburner stops sending out emails for posts.
    cheers

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    1. I am going with follow.it too but can't really tell if it is working.

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  15. Your posts are always full of a variety of things that make me think "I'd love to go there", "that looks so good", and laugh.

    I hope you have a great week!

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  16. I'm so happy to see you out and about. My grandparents eloped to Niagara Falls, so it's a place I've always wanted to see. What lovely pictures you took. It's super that you both got your second shot. It's so freeing. And being able to dine outside again? Fabulous.

    Oooh! Blue Diablo. That looks good. I still haven't made the Jalapeno Margarita, but, after I told my sister about it, she tried one at a wonderful Mexican food restaurant they visited for their anniversary last week.

    I still have Ask Again, Yes sitting here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  17. We haven't been to Niagara Falls in years... your post brings back so many memories. Congrats on your second vaccine!

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  18. Whack Ass Coffee looks great! I loove the name and would enjoy getting a coffee and then a gelato there.
    Funny you posted about the miniture golf. I had gotten it in my head to do a start up business with a cool mini golf theme to get our son to move back to Florida. Alas....no one sees my genius in this idea! Tristan and family could manage it, the start up cost is a bit but the overhead isn't.

    Love the phyllo pastry and lamb.

    Oh yeah, I want Tana to go back to the Dublin Murder Squad. I didn't dislike the Searcher as much as Witch Elm but I am hoping her next novel will go back to the detectives.

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    1. Yes, her last couple of books have been disappointing. Phyllo isn't gluten free so it is a cheat/treat for John.

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  19. Whack Ass Coffee looks great! I loove the name and would enjoy getting a coffee and then a gelato there.
    Funny you posted about the miniture golf. I had gotten it in my head to do a start up business with a cool mini golf theme to get our son to move back to Florida. Alas....no one sees my genius in this idea! Tristan and family could manage it, the start up cost is a bit but the overhead isn't.

    Love the phyllo pastry and lamb.

    Oh yeah, I want Tana to go back to the Dublin Murder Squad. I didn't dislike the Searcher as much as Witch Elm but I am hoping her next novel will go back to the detectives.

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  20. I always love touring your city through your photos. So neat.

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