Discovering T.O. #6

I just had a GREAT weekend!  Beyond having sorted out my computer situation (which only got better, by the way, when I figured out how to update my iPhone via a different computer than the one I originally installed it on), I also discovered a new spot in Toronto and revisited some old ones.  Would you like to hear about it?

Friday night I reunited with an old friend and a new friend at 416 Snack Bar (Queen & Bathurst).  I had heard some buzz about this place and was really keen to go.  I was blown away!  I love the vibe of the place -- it's small and cozy and BUSY!  We were lucky enough to get a table for the 3 of us and started off the evening with some glasses of prosecco, which was delicious and made me feel like a classy lady.  416 Snack Bar's thing is that it's cutlery-free -- all the food you can order is bite-sized, finger-friendly, and snack-like... but not popcorn-type snacks, classy snacks.  We had lobster rolls, wild mushroom toasts, and I think a sushi side salad and Korean fried chicken.  Everything we ate was delicious, the company was top-notch, and when the bill came I couldn't believe how reasonable!  All in all, the perfect "dining" experience and you can be sure I'll be back there soon.

On Saturday, as part of some Mother's Day treats, my sister and I went out for a bite and a movie with our Mom.  My Mom actually treated us to brunch/lunch to start with at Lola's Kitchen (Bloor & Church).  I'd been to Lola's before back when it was called Lola's Commisserie (maybe they changed the name because people I didn't know how to pronounce it).  It was as delicious the second time around - the first time I'd had the eggs rancheros, which appealed to me again, but I branched out and tried their 'shroom benny with some Lola's potatoes on the side.  I'll be honest -- as delicious as it is, it's not in my top 5 brunches in the city (I'll try to officially list them sometime, but #1 may very well be Hotel Gelato's brunch), but I still highly recommend it if you're in the area.

From Lola's we went to the Varsity to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", which I thought was really great!  It was nice to see a movie about seniors.  Seriously.  It's not often they're the stars of the show, and it was refreshing to see that, never mind the fact that it was a SOLID crew of actors - Dame Maggie, Dame Judi, Tom Wilkinson... STELLAR.  I liked it!

From there I headed north to Eglinton West and a great Vietnamese resto I've been to before -- Ha Long Bay.  My GF and I went together (she was my date the first time, too) and we both went with the prix fixe... although since she's a vegetarian, she created her own veggie prix fixe which turned out to be less than the ones they offered.  ANYWAY, I got the $25 prix fixe with mixed spring rolls to start, followed by a crab and asparagus soup, and then finished off with some delicious shrimp curry (if I get a prix fixe, I always get the seafood or steak options when they're there.  When else are you going to get them so cheap?).  It was a delicious meal, and then we walked across the street to Hotel Gelato to finish things off.  YUM!!!

After dinner and dessert we went home and watched the rest of series 2 + Christmas special of "Downton Abbey".  This is a hard show to write about in its own post... it's almost too special, if that makes any sense.  I don't want to analyze it and offer my own opinions because I just love it and don't want to go into it more than that.  Not my usual approach, but that's how I feel.  I will say this - I can't wait for series 3.

And that, my friends, was my weekend.