Lovely London...

This is where you go when you're a 'trend setter' in London...apparently the first real gastro pub... (Ps - I'm absolutely not a trendsetter, totally dependent on reccomendations). Loved it. 

Sunday burger spot! Found!

So it's practically "impossible" to find a great burger place for a Sunday night in Paris. But tonight, I think we hit the jackpot. Chez Justine at 96 rue oberkampf. Chill, relaxed, friendly, quick service and really great burgers. A perfect end to a relaxing weekend.  I'll be back for sure! 

Wine Tasting in Bordeaux

One of the most amazing things about living in Paris is that you can take quick weekend trips to explore the absolutely phenomenal wine regions around the country. A few weekends ago I joined some friends for a weekend in Bordeaux. We decided to focus on one specific region, St. Emilion. One specific word to describe it: Magical.



Here are the highlights:

1. The wine (of course): we visited the Chateau Pindefleurs, Clos de la Madeleine and Chateau Rozier, as well as the Maison Riviere and its underground wine caves in St. Emilion. The robust, fruity Merlot / Cab Franc blends were so varied, but similar flavour profiles across the chateau that we tasted.

2. The wine-makers: quirky, passionate, curious, fun...the winemakers and vineyard owners each spent at least an hour with us to show us their vines, cellars, production equipment, storage, warehouses...the more questions we asked, the more they told us! Oh, and we had a tasting of various wines at each spot. Delicious, and very fun to be able to compare across the different wines.

3. The lunch (delicious): we ate at a wine bar / restaurant in the adorable town of St. Emilion. L'Envers du Decor.

4. Wandering through Bordeaux on Saturday evening - the lively student town is filled with cute bars and beautifully lit up mansions.

I will definitely be going back to explore more of the wine regions in Bordeaux!

Top restaurant lists for 2012!

Part of my obsession with restaurants all started when a friend in London told me about her dream to eat at 40 of the World's 50 best restaurants by the time she's 40. She then proceeded to introduce me to the San Pellegrino top 100 restaurants list. And I was hooked.

I've only had the chance to eat at one of the restaurants on the San Pellegrino list (Chateaubriand, in Paris), but was amazed at how varied the list actually is in terms of style and price points for the various restaurants. This isn't the Michelin starred restaurants that all cost an arm and a leg...there are some actually accessible restaurants on this list! In the last few weeks, the new list came out for The Worlds' top 50 restaurants for 2012...check it out here.

When I moved back to Toronto in 2009, I started looking for a 'best of Toronto' restaurant list, given that none of the Toronto restaurants make the SP list. That's when I found Joanne Kates' top 100 restaurants in Toronto list. Perusing it, I realized a bunch of my favourite restaurants were on her list in 2010...so I figured we might have similar criteria, and started to make my way through it. I found her 2012 list as well today, take a look here.

I was in Toronto for a quick weekend getaway to visit friends and have fun, and managed to visit two of the establishments on the list...one of my all time favourites, Starfish (#73), and Khao San Road (#30). I personally feel that Starfish is underrated, while Khao San Road is way way too high on the list...but they're both great meals. I also enjoyed my first bbq of the season...Cumbrae's ground beef and chef Chris' burger mastery hit the spot perfectly.

I'll keep you posted if I visit any of the restaurants on the San Pellegrino top 50 list...enjoy!

A picnic by the Seine

What to do on a sunny Saturday in Paris? Why a picnic by the seine of course!

Key ingredients:
-4 (or more) good friends
- a blanket
- a well scoped spot along the water
- freshly baked baguettes from blé sucre, a local (and incredible) bakery in the 11th close to the Marché d'Aligre
- saucisson sec and thinly sliced Parma ham from our new favorite butcher (also in the Marché d'Aligre)
- fresh pears, cucumber, tomatoes, avocados, rocket and mandarins from the French organic market stall
- delicious cheese (a 36 month aged compté, a soft and creamy goat and a seriously stinky cheese)
- a chilled bottle of cheap and delicious rosé
- some fresh Madeleines and a few (ok...maybe more than a few) pieces of dark chocolate

Baguettes, Bike...en route to the Seine!

Instructions:
- Vélib to the marché in the morning (ps - Vélib is the public bike transport system in Paris. It's AMAZING)
- pop your purchases in the basket
- stop for oysters at Le Baron Rouge
- swing by home to pick up a knife, cutting board, glasses and the blanket
- Vélib to the seine
- scope a spot on the quai in the sunshine

Enjoy while watching the boats go by!

Skiing - the Italian way

I spent this past weekend basking in the sunshine on a ski hill in Italy.

Gorgeous views, great runs and tons and tons of sunshine. The Italians really know how to do skiing. Here's a snapshot of a typical day:

8:30 - wander towards the gondola, stop en route for a morning espresso or cappuccino, and freshly baked (still warm) marmalada - a croissant filled with piping hot apricot marmalade to give you energy for the skiing ahead.

9:00 - gondola up the hill. Ski ski ski ski.

12:30 ish - stop for lunch. A proper sit down lunch involving pizza, pasta bolognese, penne Siciliana or a polenta with cheese and mushrooms....accompanied by a carafe of local wine, filled from the wine tap (I'm not kidding)! Followed by a dessert blueberry tart and A second round of espresso. Mmm

1:30 ish - take a breather on the patio in the sun to digest

2:00 ish - ski again, maybe with a little bit less zip than in the morning

4:30 ish - end the day with a glass of wine on a patio, or a cold beer after skiing down to the base.

7:00 ish - head to a local pizza joint in the basement of an old old stone building to have the most amazing pizza's, accompanied by burratta and Parma ham, delicious chillies in oil from Caprese, and of course, the local house wine.

12:00 - bed time & repeat the next day!

The italians - they definitely know how to ski.

And it was lovely London indeed!

Could not have asked for a more beautiful, sunny or delicious weekend...and here are some snapshots from the adventures!

My favourite chorizo sandwiches....mmmmmm

Borough Market breads,...

And an Oyster stop? Bien sur!

Caerphilly anyone?