Having left Toronto over 20 years ago, it is always with mixed emotions that I go back for a visit. I love my laid back life in the country, but miss my friends and some aspects of the life a big city can offer.
Although my new home town has many fine restaurants, the dining experience in Toronto is not to be missed. Thanks to my friend Nancy T, I took an express elevator to the 54th floor of the TD Tower to spend a few hours feasting on an extraordinary lunch at Canoe Restaurant
One of the added bonuses is the breathtaking view. Alas, the weather gods were not with us that day and these views from the ground showed the pea soup outside our 'supposedly' fabulous vista.
The view did not stop us from enjoying our superb lunch!
We both started with the 'northern woods mushroom soup'.
Nancy opted for the 'West coast halibut, with summer squash, Swiss chard, fresh wasabi mayo + crispy brandade fritters'
Although I am trying very hard to cut back on meat, my European background yearns for dishes I grew up with. One of those was satisfied with 'steak tartare,
applewood smoked bacon, foraged flavours + pretzel toast'
Again, my upbringing moved me to have cheese instead of a sweet desert and I was not disappointed with a choice of '14 arpents' which is a pasteurized cow’s milk, washed with salt water twice daily for 90 days, from Fromagerie Médard, Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean, Québec
Not one to be beaten by weather, the following day, during the lull between lunch and dinner, I rode the elevator back up to the 54th floor, strode into Canoe and asked the M'aitre D if I could take a few pictures of the view I was denied the day before....
that specializes in 'comfort food'. As we are both originally 'Quebecers', we couldn't pass up the 'poutine pizza with curds, fries, caramelized onions and duck confit'
Walking back through the downtown, even the concrete jungle tries to bring a little 'country to the city'
