Toronto
It’s a travel month for me and I headed to Toronto on United Airlines. I was upgraded on my flights and appreciated the extra space. Ironically, I had paid for an upgrade on the return and had to lose it to catch an earlier flight home. Luckily my refund request was approved.
In town for a conference, I opted to stay at the Doubletree Toronto Downtown instead of the conference hotel. I find staying at conference hotel means the hotel is very busy and it takes forever waiting for elevators. There were a number of folks at my hotel too. I wonder if they ran out of the room block.
I was able to catch the Toronto Blue Jays one afternoon. It is a basic enclosed stadium. The weather wasn’t warm enough to have the roof open but I thought it was a good day for the roof to be open. Canadians aren’t much baseball fans and the stadium was maybe a third full. Spring training game kind of attendance in my opinion.
Meals
Given my time was taken by the conference, I can only comment on the various eateries in the immediate area. Toronto city center is fairly compact especially with the University also located nearby. Tons of students and office workers creates a wide variety of eateries and Chinatown is nearby. Ritual is also very big here if you were looking to order ahead and pick up.
Rolltation - latest poke trend is now the poke burrito. On their website, they market as a Toronto influenced creation but I've had sushi burritos in other cities and so I'm not convinced if Toronto can be the "original" idea. Overall, tasty and I liked that you could order from Ritual and customize your order.
Eva's Original Chimneys - I can't recall if I found out about this place through Tasty or Localish or something similar but it was bookmarked in Yelp. Although not cheap, I did enjoy the dessert. It was different and I would like to visit Budapest to see what other foods I'd like.
Blackbird Baking Company - Another bookmark in my Yelp, I enjoyed the sourdough breads made. I bought a loaf and ended up eating it a week later once I was home. The bread was in the freezer until I could eat it. After heating up the bread, it was surprisingly chewy and crispy. I would imagine it tasted best eaten that day but I liked it nonetheless. I also ordered croissants and what not. The pastries were fine. I wouldn't trek through Chinatown for the actual pastries though.
Shish Kabab Express - I wandered in after searching for a quickie mart in the Easton Centre area. I ordered a lamb shank plate and it was pretty tasty. It was the end of the day and the owner seemed happy I took the last one.
Chatime - Next to Shish Kabab, I ordered a signature milk tea and enjoyed the boba.
Pai Northern Thai Kitchen - The food is good but I was underwhelmed. It is a fancy PF Chang without the corporate franchising and thai instead of Chinese food. Packed and popular, it plays more towards western tastes than thai.
Tea Land (231 Queen St W Toronto, ON M5V 1Z4 Canada) - Popped in because it was drizzling walking back from Pai to the Sheraton. I ordered a milk tea with boba and it hit the spot.
In town for a conference, I opted to stay at the Doubletree Toronto Downtown instead of the conference hotel. I find staying at conference hotel means the hotel is very busy and it takes forever waiting for elevators. There were a number of folks at my hotel too. I wonder if they ran out of the room block.
I was able to catch the Toronto Blue Jays one afternoon. It is a basic enclosed stadium. The weather wasn’t warm enough to have the roof open but I thought it was a good day for the roof to be open. Canadians aren’t much baseball fans and the stadium was maybe a third full. Spring training game kind of attendance in my opinion.
Meals
Given my time was taken by the conference, I can only comment on the various eateries in the immediate area. Toronto city center is fairly compact especially with the University also located nearby. Tons of students and office workers creates a wide variety of eateries and Chinatown is nearby. Ritual is also very big here if you were looking to order ahead and pick up.
Rolltation - latest poke trend is now the poke burrito. On their website, they market as a Toronto influenced creation but I've had sushi burritos in other cities and so I'm not convinced if Toronto can be the "original" idea. Overall, tasty and I liked that you could order from Ritual and customize your order.
Eva's Original Chimneys - I can't recall if I found out about this place through Tasty or Localish or something similar but it was bookmarked in Yelp. Although not cheap, I did enjoy the dessert. It was different and I would like to visit Budapest to see what other foods I'd like.
Blackbird Baking Company - Another bookmark in my Yelp, I enjoyed the sourdough breads made. I bought a loaf and ended up eating it a week later once I was home. The bread was in the freezer until I could eat it. After heating up the bread, it was surprisingly chewy and crispy. I would imagine it tasted best eaten that day but I liked it nonetheless. I also ordered croissants and what not. The pastries were fine. I wouldn't trek through Chinatown for the actual pastries though.
Shish Kabab Express - I wandered in after searching for a quickie mart in the Easton Centre area. I ordered a lamb shank plate and it was pretty tasty. It was the end of the day and the owner seemed happy I took the last one.
Chatime - Next to Shish Kabab, I ordered a signature milk tea and enjoyed the boba.
Pai Northern Thai Kitchen - The food is good but I was underwhelmed. It is a fancy PF Chang without the corporate franchising and thai instead of Chinese food. Packed and popular, it plays more towards western tastes than thai.
Tea Land (231 Queen St W Toronto, ON M5V 1Z4 Canada) - Popped in because it was drizzling walking back from Pai to the Sheraton. I ordered a milk tea with boba and it hit the spot.
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