Banana Coconut Pancakes

I started off my Sunday with some banana coconut pancakes. I never make pancakes but just felt like it today. I used a basic recipe and added some diced banana and dried, sugarless coconut. Really yummy and the perfect way to start off the day.

Happy Sunday!

Lately ...

The yummy zucchini and mushroom pizza we made on Good Friday

We started that day off by making some banana cinnamon pancakes. Delicious!

Onion dyed easter eggs

Finally bought the foundation and make up sponge I've had on

my list for say 4 months now

Spotted some deer when out for a drive with the fam

Finally finished making our wine cork place card holders!

Happy Weekend :) 

(too bad it's not another long one)

~B

Saturday Brunch Obsession: Beast

Today, the fiance and I ran some errands which included doing some shoe shopping for him, shopping in Kensington for our Halloween costumes and prepping for our upcoming engagement shoot. We (I) woke up late and since we had access to his parent's car we decided to drive over to Queen West to have brunch at Beast.  

I think I've written about Beast before on the blog (most likely about their awesome fried pickles). They also do a happy hour but are really known for doing a good brunch, so naturally we've been curious about their brunch and decided that today would be the day we go. 

The first thing I noticed is that they have really and I mean REALLY good coffee that comes straight to your table in French press and all. You even get a timer to make sure the coffee has finished brewing. I chose one of the Ethiopian medium-dark roasts and every sip was YUM!

I've heard a lot about their maple-bacon donuts so of course we had to try one. I once baked peanut butter bacon cookies and really wasn't a huge fan of the combination. I also don't think that the maple-bacon combo is for me. If you're really into bacon they're worth trying...  

The fiance had the beastwich which is basically a buttermilk biscuit sandwich with friend chicken, pimiento cheese, 2 friend eggs and pork sausage gravy in the middle. He said it was "okay."

I opted for the israeli breakfast which included chicken shawarma, hummus, eggplant, pickled zucchini and two fried eggs. It was good and I'd eat it again. 

Overall, we both enjoy Beast for their fried pickles and casual atmosphere. The brunch was good but honestly it wasn't amazing and I've definitely had better. Not sure I'll be going back for brunch :(  I prefer their tapas style dinner which I've gone back for a few times now. 

Click here for their menus. 

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend :)

B~

Vancouver Travel Diary - Two

This post is all about the delicious, yummy stuff I at while in Vancouver. If you missed the previous post about what I did/like to do in the city click here. As I mentioned in the previous post the bf and I discovered several places we love to eat when he lived there. We went back to each and every one of these and added a few new ones to our list.

I went to the famous Japadog after seeing it on Eat St. I had the Beef Terimayo (fried onions, teriyaki sauce and Japanese Mayo). It was yummy and worth a try but I didn't love it.

I ate this delicious banitza from Acacia Fillo Bar on Denman Street. It was AMAZE!! GO THERE!

And how could I go all the way to Vancouver and not visit the famous Cupcakes store! There are a few in the city stocked with yummy cupcakes. My faves are red velvet and anything with coconut icing YUM!! Have you ever seen their TV show on the W network?

We also went back to Mink where they have the most interesting and yummy chocolates. I highly recommend the "Greetings from Canada," not just because I'm Canadian lol!

Our fave Thai place is called Sala Thai. Lucky for us our friend Pairry is Thai and is friends with the owners so we got to bypass the long line ... sssshhhhh! She swears it's the most authentic in the city.

Enjoying this light, fluffy vanilla bean cake at Thierry. This place has the most awesome deserts and fancy coffees.

Me all excited and ready to have a feast :)

I saved the best for last!!! 

If you're in the mood for a really nice dinner check out Chambar. Chamber is a Belgian restaurant owned and operated by Chef Nico Schuermans. It is my favourite restaurant ... period! I have tried to find something comparable to it here in Toronto but so far no luck. The atmosphere is great - dimly lit with red walls and great music. The food is to die for! The Le Camping desert (pictured below) is probably the best desert I have ever had. 

A great spot for brunch is Cafe Medina. It has the same owners and chef as Chambar (go figure) and is located next door to Chambar. We went there for the first time on this trip and it was soooo good! I am such a brunch person and the Belgian brunch I had there was so different from anything I have ever had before. They have the most delicious Belgian waffles served with toppings like milk chocolate lavender and white chocolate pistachio rosewater. We had one with dark chocolate and a second with salted caramel and they were sooo good that they disappeared before I could get a photo. The lavender latte I had was also yummy. To say I was in heaven is an understatement. I really wish that Cafe Medina was located in Toronto :(

Cafe Medina Fricasse: fried eggs, braised short ribs, roasted potatoes, smoked applewood cheddar

Cafe Medina Tagine: poached eggs, spicy tomato stew, merguez sausage, sundried black olives, cilantro

Chambar Fletan et Petits Pois: roasted halibut, sweet peas, saffron curry veloute, jalepeno sauce verte

Chambar Le Camping: graham cracker ice cream (soo good), salted chocolate cremeux, toasted meringue.

So there you have it. That's what we ate, which was of course a really important part of our trip. If you go to Vancouver I hope you have a chance to visit one, or two, or three of these places. 

If you have any suggestions for other great Vancouver eats please let me know.

Bon Appetit!

Saturday Brunch Obsession: Edward Levesque's Kitchen

Several weeks ago I had brunch at Edward Levesque's Kitchen, located in Queen East's Leslieville. The bf and I heard about this place from a friend, so of course we had to check it out. We met some friends there who were just as hungry and excited as we were. Here's what we saw while waiting in line ... 

These reviews made me even more hungry and excited to get inside, order and start eating. Unfortunately I cannot agree with all the reviews. I agree with the "simple, fresh, tasty" but completely disagree with the "best service" review. We ended up waiting in line for about 30 minutes and didn't get our food for about one hour. The reason we were given was that one cook was sick and another one was in training. I realize that this is likely an isolated incident (I hope) so will not base my whole review on this one aspect. 

On a more positive note, we had great conversation with our friends and shared many laughs, one including the text pictured below which was written at the bottom of the menu...

Please do not leave children!?! I guess this happens a lot at Edward Levesques?!?

Anyways, there's no question that the food was tasty. Feast your eyes on these yummy cheddar/chive biscuits served with apple butter. They seriously melt in your mouth. I (and three others) can attest to that!

I had the poached eggs with tomato/basil sauce, cornbread and Italian sausage. It was good!

Overall the food was great, but not amazing. The service was pretty crappy, but I think I will give this place another chance. What do you think? Would you go back?

Menu

Located at 1290 Queen Street East 

416-465-3600

Saturday Brunch Obsession: Table 17

I am sure it is no surprise to many of you that I love brunch. I have mentioned that one of my favourite things to do on a Saturday is to go out for brunch. The weird thing is that I have not blogged about brunch in a while so here goes ... I have visited Table 17 on several occasions and it has quickly become one of my fave brunch places in Queen East. Pictured below is the delicious scotch egg I once ate with a selection of cheeses. I did not know what a scotch egg was before that lovely Saturday morning. For those of you who are not familiar with it, it is a hard-boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage, coated in breadcrumbs and then deep-fried.

Below is another wonderful dish I ate for brunch at Table 17. I recall it being two eggs over some beef all on brioche bread. YUM! Their rosti is also very good :)

Check this place out if you live in T.O. They also serve lunch and dinner which I have heard is worth the wait in line.

What's your take on a scotch egg? Do you like them as much as I do? 

Table 17

Location: 782 Queen St. East

Leslieville 

Saturday Brunch Obsession: Morning Glory Cafe

 I am obsessed with brunch and like to try different spots in the city. There's nothing better than sleeping in on Saturday and catching up with friends over brunch. Needless to say I am going to be posting about brunch quite often. Today's pick was Morning Glory Cafe located in Corktown. Morning Glory is one of my fave brunch spots. It's one of those small, quaint spots where I can always count on seeing the same elderly man sipping his coffee while he reads the Saturday paper.  

waffles with sausage and apple/plum compote

Another plus is that the food does not disappoint. It's consistently good and there's a great variety of brunch items, everything from omelettes to french toast and sandwiches. The prices are also good but beware they only take cash. Trust me there are no ATM machines/blanks close by! The spot is also small with little seating but in my opinion the food is worth waiting in line for.