Located in a historic building in Ottawa’s iconic Byward Market, Restaurant e18hteen is renown in Ottawa for their exquisite and inventive menu and extensive wine list. A local hot spot for foodies, politicians, and visitors alike, each visitor alike is always left please with their ever changing menu. Reinventing classic dishes and marrying together flavours in new and unique ways, Chef Jonathan Korecki has transformed this modern adaptation of a traditional steakhouse to infuse each dish with Canadian and local flavours. Stop by and indulge in their in their highly acclaimed foie gras or experiment with the Chef’s five course tasting menu. Planing a big event? This newly renovated space is also available for special occasions and weddings taking care of all of your event planning needs with their knowledgable and approachable staff. With a variety of private dining spaces and the ability to buy out the restaurant for larger affairs, the possibilities are endless in this…
Come Explore The Gladstone Hotel
Located in the vibrant Queen West neighbourhood in Toronto, The Gladstone Hotel uniquely blends historical Victorian architecture with contemporary luxury, downtown culture and art making it the perfect destination for any visitor looking for something different during their next visit to Toronto. This boutique art hotel supports 37 artists designed rooms and over 70 art exhibitions a year in an all inclusive space that with four diverse event venue spaces and two restaurants that supports the city’s creative economy mixing public and private spaced all under one roof. First opened in 1889, the landmark building of The Gladstone Hotel is Toronto’s oldest operational hotel. After a large restoration project led by Hotel President Christina Zeidler in 2005, the hotel was transformed into a new hub of art, culture and community while preserving both the Victorian architecture and original fixtures of the building and in a open community environment. The vintage aesthetic…
Exploring Ottawa: Lowertown Brewery
Located in the heart of the vibrant Byward Market in Ottawa, be sure to stop by Lowertown Brewery on your next visit for some craft beer and comfort food. With a jam packed menu of delicious sandwiches and freshly made sides, this brewery offers more to its customers than just a unique and seasonal selection of beer. During my last visit to Ottawa, I dropped by to learn more about their delicious flight of beers with the help of their brewmaster Adam Pines. We began the tasting with the LOWERTOWN LAGER. Brewed in the style of the German Lager, this refreshing and light well-balanced beer. Inspired by what makes craft beer so in demand today, the LOWERTOWN PALE ALE is perfectly balanced with malt and hops, giving it a nice round finish. If you’re looking for a refreshing red wheat beer, than look no further than the LOWERTOWN RED FIFE that is made with its true amber…
A Trip Out to the Atlantic
It’s a bittersweet feeling knowing that this challenge is almost coming to an end. We’ve met so many lovely people in Nantes and have been able to experience so many amazing challenges. But this day was probably one of my favourite days of them all. We had the chance to live like the locals and get out of town for a bit to enjoy the fresh sea air. This was the last day of the challenge in Nantes where 8 bloggers from Canada were sent to 4 locations across France to help showcase and share the regional cuisine to you, our readers. In addition to my daily travel diaries, you can follow the adventure on social media under the hashtag #FestiveFrance! Tomorrow we are heading to Paris! We began our day at the Marché de Talensac where, under the guidance of master produce farmer Oliver Durand, we had a private tour of the market where…
The Vineyards of Nantes
To experience the true culture of wine in Nantes, we decided to jump in the car and drive just outside of the city to see the luscious vineyards that surround the city. The areas of Clisson, Gorges and Le Pallet in France are the regions where Muscadet wines are traditionally produced. Having soil that is rich in nutrients, they are the perfect spot to grow and harvest grapes for this refined white wine. This marks the third day (out of five) of the challenge where 8 bloggers from Canada were sent to 4 locations across France to help showcase and share the regional cuisine to you, our readers. In addition to my daily travel diaries, you can follow the adventure on social media under the hashtag #FestiveFrance! We began our day on the water to discover this region by boat with Erdre Intime. With three main rivers winding their way through the…
My Gastro Tour of Nantes
Our second day in Nantes started bright and early. With three challenges ahead, yesterday was focused on discovering the unique culinary landscape that characterizes the Nantes Atlantic region. Over the next few days, 8 bloggers from Canada have been sent to 4 locations across France to help showcase and share the regional cuisine to you, our readers. In addition to my daily travel diaries, you can follow the adventure on social media under the hashtag #FestiveFrance! Clothes: Oak & Fort | Shoes: Lacoste | Watch: Wittnauer We began our day in place Saint-Felix at La Petit Boulangerie for a lesson in traditional French baking from Franck Deperiers. This bakery is not only just a neighbourhood favourite, but known all over France for it’s exquisite standard in baking and recognized for their exceptional bread. For our first challenge of the week, with the help of Franck Deperiers, we had the chance to make the…
A Canadian in Paris
This morning, we woke up bright and early to hop on our Rail Europe train to back to Paris for our final day in France. This marks the last day the challenge where 8 bloggers from Canada were sent to 4 locations across France to help showcase and share the regional cuisine to you, our readers. In addition to my daily travel diaries, you can follow the adventure on social media under the hashtag #FestiveFrance! We started off the day by checking into our accommodation at Hotel Pullman in La Defence and enjoying a delicious three courselunch from their exquisite chefs. WIth the afternoon off before our final challenge, I relaxed and explored Paris on my own discovering the Marias Quarter and sneaking in a bit of shopping! We finished off our trip by all joining together at the Cordon Bleu for a cooking class. This was an exciting opportunity to not only…
My Journey to Nantes
After a long night of flying, we finally arrived at our destination, Nantes, yesterday morning. Although I’ve travelled to France a few times over the years, this was my first time visiting the Atlantic coast of the country. Located in between Brittany and the Loire Valley, Nantes is a dynamic and cultural city that is only 2 hours away from Paris by train. Over the next few days, 8 bloggers from Canada have been sent to 4 locations across France to help showcase and share the regional cuisine to you, our readers. In addition to my daily travel diaries, you can follow the adventure on social media under the hashtag #FestiveFrance! Yesterday morning, we arrived in Nantes bright and early to begin a full day of touring. During this long weekend adventure, I am staying at the gorgeous art hotel, The Pommeraye Hotel, located in the hear of Nantes vibrant city…
Bon Voyage for Festive France!
Okay. So I have some really exciting news to share with you. Today I am leaving for France with Air France to attend the French Cuisine Festival (Fête de la Gastronomie) this weekend with 8 travel and food bloggers from all over Canada. With over 10,000 events held all over France, this festival is an exciting opportunity for locals, visitors and foodies to come together to enjoy and indulge in the unique gastronomic landscape that makes France so unique. From tasting menus to larger events and held by local chefs and restaurateurs, the French Cuisine Festival engages both industry professionals and the public in this unique weekend long event. But the excitement does not stop there. The 8 bloggers will be assigned 4 different locations all across France (Nantes, Bordeaux-Périgueux, Bayonne-Pau and Mulhouse en Alsace) to help showcase and share the regional cuisine to you, our readers. It’s pretty much the Amazing Race for…
A Summer Weekend In Ottawa
Whether you are travelling by plane, train or automobile, Ottawa is the perfect destination for you next weekend away. Only 4.5 hours from Toronto, or under two hours from Montreal, our nation’s Capital is an exciting city to visit if you are looking for a spot to get outdoors and explore. Last week, I packed my bags for a quick little escape to Ottawa to visit some of my favourite spots and restaurants. So today, I am sharing with you some of my favourite things to do in this great city. Where To Eat: Breakfast: Wake up late and relax over a nice cup of coffee and brunch at The Manx Pub. This cozy underground pub is the perfect spot for great food and good conversation after a busy weekend. With an extensive and affordable brunch menu, there are a ton of options that please anyone looking for brunch, bruncher or bruncherer dishes. Lunch: Stop by the Lowertown Brewery for some…