Pastizza

Pastizza (Twitter: @PastizzaTO, Facebook: Pastizza) is a stunningly beautiful restaurant. The 5,000 square foot two-story Italian eatery at the corner of Market Street and The Esplanade in downtown is home to a magnificent 30 foot tall custom wine chandelier, a massive open kitchen, and a 100-seat patio in the summer. What's even more attractive (to me at least) is its location; Pastizza is conveniently located across the street from one of the world’s greatest markets, the St. Lawrence Market. With over 120 vendors, the St. Lawrence Market is my favourite place to shop for fresh fruits, meat and seafood. It is an awesome place to grab a quick bite (i.e. the world famous Peameal Bacon Sandwich from Carousel Bakery) but if you're looking for a nice, relaxing sit-down place for lunch or dinner, the Market is not the place. What you need to do is head over to Pastizza which is literally just a few steps away.

Co-owners Paolo Paolini (founder of Splendido and Mistura) and Thomas Baker (proprietor of Thomas George Estate winery) opened Pastizza in August of last year. Their vision for the restaurant involves serving Italian comfort food with a strong focus on using local ingredients.

Look at this space. It's gorgeous, ain't it? I'm not feeling those large TV screens though. They can go.

This majestic and elegant wine chandelier is not just for looks; the tower can hold up to 600 bottles.

Exclusive, one-of-a-kind Pastizza branded bottles from Thomas George Estate in Sonoma, California

Porzia

Basilio Pesce, former executive chef of Biff's Bistro, opened Porzia with business partner Marco Petrucci earlier this year in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood. As chef and owner, Pesce (@BasilioPesce) is all about emphasizing and highlighting the classic flavours of Italian cuisine. He uses local, ethically grown and raised ingredients to create dishes that vary depending on the season. With all the breads and pastas made in-house, you can expect honest, home-style Southern Italian cooking without all the fuss and frills at Porzia (Twitter: @porziaparkdale, Facebook: Porzia). From their website: 

"Our staff believes in building memories around food and eating. It’s simple: We like feeding people." 

What?! It must be fate 'cause I love being fed too! 

Speaking of being fed, I remember Pesce fed us proper when my friends and I visited Porzia during their soft opening in January. He fed us the entire menu! Good times :)

Anyway, fast forward a few months later and I was back at Porzia again. Here's a shot of the 68-seat restaurant with its massive 21-foot bar on the left. The room is long and narrow with a decor that's both modern with a hint of vintage.

A custom built host stand made with old warship and plane parts.

CNE Toronto 2013 Media Day

CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION

AUG 16 - SEP 2

18 days of fun, food, rides, games and great entertainment at Canada's largest fair

Yup! It's CNE time~ I know it's sorta bittersweet. Whenever CNE (Twitter: @LetsGoToTheEx, Facebook: Canadian National Exhibition) starts it essentially means summer is over :( but to me it also means it's time for GAMES and FOOD! GAMES as in "I don't care how much money I spend I want a MINION!" and FOOD as in "I want to eat everything that will potentially clog my arteries!" Don't believe me? Check out my deep fried adventure at the CNE two years ago.

This year, I was invited to CNE's Media Day. I arrived at Princes' Gate bright and early yesterday morning and whoa was it chilly! I was so glad to see Gourmet Gringos serving hot coffee and breakfast for us :) Gourmet Gringos will be one of the many food trucks participating in CNE's Food Truck Frenzy on August 23, 24 and 25.

Gourmet Gringos' hot breakfast burrito totally warmed me up.

Welcome remarks from CNE General Manager, David Bednar. 

Kicking off our media tour was husband and wife buskers, Mr. Spin & Pandora Pink.

Stonefire

I'm hardly in downtown on weekends that's why I'm always on the look out for new places to dine in the 'burbs. And in 'burbs, I mean Markham and Richmond Hill, and sometimes Scarborough too, which I refer to all as simply "Uptown" haha. You may have a different definition than me, which is understandable but considering that I'm in Mississauga, everywhere else that is not in the west end, or downtown, is termed "Uptown"  for me (except the Yonge & Eglinton area which I call "Midtown"). If I'm not in ANY of those areas, I simply do not know where I am =D 


My friend Adrienne recommended Stonefire to me a couple of months ago. It is located in Thornhill, near Hwy 7 & Bathurst. I'm excited since besides the big chains, such as Moxies, Milestones, Alice Fazoolis, etc) I'm oblivious to non-chain restaurants in Uptown for casual dining.


Once I walked into Stonefire I already feel good about it because it has an open kitchen. Haven't tasted their food yet but open kitchens are always a +1 for me. However, I can't say the same for their wooden floors. It looks a bit out of place for me; the thought of those chairs dragging on the floor haunts me.

The layout of Stonefire also seems a bit awkward. I think it's because I'm not used to seeing restaurants these days as just one giant rectangular space with booths on the sides and tables in the middle. I mean, I see that in Chinese restaurants all the time, but not in lets say, those chain restaurants I talked about before. I don't think I would feel too comfortable dining in the middle like that couple there - I would feel "exposed". Is it just me?

World's Best Lasagna

I was craving something heavy, gooey, and cheesy on the weekend, and what else better satisfies all those things than lasagna? Other kinds of pasta just doesn't cut it, it had to be lasagna; the classic Italian casserole dish consisting of layers upon layers of pasta, melt-in-your-mouth cheesy goodness, heavy meat sauce, served hot, with a light side salad...YUMMY! This image (pretty close to the picture on the left) was already forming in my head and making me drool way before the weekend.


But my, oh my, making lasagna takes sooo long. I've made lasagna using this exact same recipe from allrecipes.com a few years ago, but I failed to remember just how extensive the preparation was. It also took me longer this time because of the picture taking - the wiping of hands, picking up my camera, and being an SLR newbie, I had to take many pictures to ensure that they were decent, then wash hands again, etc. But I gotta say, it was all worth it, the whole 2.5 hours of it! The lasagna turned out delicious! Of course not so great that I'm claiming it to be the World's Best Lasagna (I'm a humble person), that is merely the name of the recipe I used.