Flower + Coffee at blumenstudio, Ottawa

I've been MIA for a few months because I have been getting ready for my move to LA! I am changing jobs and this new adventure is moving me from Ottawa to California. While I am very excited, the last few months were full of ups and downs. Change is not easy! It was a long 5 months for me, but I finally have everything worked out and I've decided on an end of May move date...which is coming fast, yikes!!

Now knowing that I'm not going to be in Ottawa for much longer, I want to post all of the yummy places I have eaten at lately so that I don't forget how great Ottawa is. I'm consciously trying not to stock up on food at home, so CK and I have been eating out a lot more lately.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a HUGE coffee lover. One of my favorite places in Ottawa for coffee is blumenstudio cafe on Parkdale.

What's really cool about blumenstudio is that it is a flower shop and coffee shop in one. When you enter, you are surrounded by beautiful plants, flowers and sculptures, making it a very warm and inviting atmosphere.

Kat Kosk and Nathan Turner are the owners of blumenstudio. Extremely talented, Kat was trained in Germany as a professional floral designer, spending most of her time in Dresden and Berlin. She moved to North America over 10 years ago and is now living her dream.

Blumenstudio is a cozy little space with great coffee and sweets. I love their marzipan balls and their coffee is consistenly good.

I recently found out that blumenstudio is dog-friendly, so little Pepper (newest member of our family) was able to join us for coffee, which was a lot of fun.

Check this place out. It is definitely worth a visit or two, or more!

Blumenstudio Cafe
465 Parkdale Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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Worth a Trip to Carp. Alice's Village Cafe, Ottawa

The fact that I have been here 3 times in the last 2 months says alot! I am hardly in town because of my work travel and when I am, I usually try to get out to new places because I miss out on so much being gone all the time. Well. Lately, I've just been wanting to visit Alice's Village Cafe in Carp.

Why? I love Alice's Village Cafe for 3 reasons.

1. Their coffee is AMAZE-balls!
2. Their food is DELICOUS. I leave this place, everytime, feeling really full but really good at the same time.
3. It's peaceful out in Carp. I kinda feel like I'm on a mini getaway because it's in the exact opposite direction as the city.

Alice's Village Cafe is modern yet cozy. It's a family-friendly restaurant so you will see people and kids of all ages here, which is nice. The owners and operators of Alice's, Dustin and Crystal Therrien, are also the same people that own and operate The Cheshire Cat in Carp (which has re-opened for business).

For those that love coffee, they have a coffee club where your 10th coffee is free. My favorite dish here hands down is the breakfast wrap, a warm tortilla filled with egg, cheese, avocado, bean, onions and pepper. On the side are homemade hash, fresh fruit, fresh salsa and sour cream. They will change this up little depending on their menu. The first time I had this, the bean used was black bean. The last time I had this, my wrap was filled with a sweet delicious maple baked bean mash which completely made me melt. Two completely different experiences with the same dish.

One thing they are known for is their famous "Big Nasty" cinnabon bun. If you have a sweet tooth, this is definitely recommended.

Breakfast Wrap with Hash and Fresh Fruit

Cappuccino

Eggs Benedict with Salmon, Hash and Mapble Baked Beans

Big Nasty Cinnamon Bun

Apple Almond Muffin

Alice's Village Cafe
3773 Carp Road
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone:613-470-2233

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Cool Little Coffee Shop on Elgin. The Ministry of Coffee, Ottawa

The Ministry of Coffee is a great little place to hang out, chill and enjoy good coffee. The staff is incredibly friendly and they've got a decent menu of coffee, drinks and food. This is a great place to get comfy and slow down, while the quick paced traffic on Elgin buzzes by.

The Ministry of Coffee specializes in coffee but they also offer other drinks, baked goods and sandwiches. On the day I was there, they had a pork tenderloin sandwich and beet & herb goat cheese sandwich on the menu, which sounded delicious.

I decided to be adventurous and try the Nutella latte. What I loved was that the Nutella was very subtle...not overly sweet and syrupy. Their flat white was also good but slightly acidic for my taste. I don't think it was how they made the coffee, but more the coffee itself. It was obvious these guys know their stuff, which is hard to find in Ottawa

Their 'sex sells' sign got a few good chuckles from passer-bys. Smart way to get someone's attention :)

The Ministry of Coffee
279 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-255-3410

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Brother Juniper's Restaurant Serves Up One of the Best Breakfasts in Memphis

One of the best places for breakfast in Memphis is Brother Juniper's Restaurant. You are guaranteed to be satisfied here. Here are 5 easy reasons why:

1. It's got a great casual vibe.
2. The food comes in large portions.
3. The ingredients are always fresh.
4. The service is extremely friendly.
5. The restaurant entrance houses original paintings by local artist George Hunt, an extremely talented mixed media artist who has managed to stay somewhat under the radar despite the popularity of his art (one of his paintings was displayed in the White House and private collectors of his art include Eddie Murphy and Anthony Quinn).

One thing you have to be careful in Memphis is that their soy milk is always a sweetened vanilla soy milk...even at Starbucks. Opt for regular milk if you prefer an unsweetened soy milk. Love the retro mug!

Latte

Whether or not you are a Rachel Ray fan, the breakfast labelled her favorite is really good! The San Diegan open face omelete sits on a bed of sour cream topped with portobellos, tomatoes, bacon, green onions, feta and cheddar cheese. You have a choice of cheese grits, homefries, toast or biscuit as your sides. Sprinkle some of their secret blend hot sauce on this omelet and you'll be laughin.

San Diegan Open Face Omelet

If you want something satisfyingly filling, try their potato dishes. They are huge bowls of home fries tossed with lots of cheese and various toppings.  A favorite is P2 served with gyro meat, mushrooms, tomatoes, mozzarella, & feta cheese. For sides, you have a choice between biscuit or toast.

Potato Dish with Gyro Meat

Brother Juniper's Restaurant

3519 Walker Avenue

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Telephone: 901-324-0144

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The Village Cafe, Ottawa

Nothing can compare to a close sisterly bond. I love my sis Freebs and get excited everytime we get to see each other. I hadn't seen her in a while so when she called to see if I wanted to meet up for lunch, I said yes! without any hesitation.

I also invited CK and the three of us spent the afternoon laughing and being silly. What I love most is this common understanding Freebs and I have because we grew up together. I never have to explain anything. Freebs just gets it.

For lunch, the three of us met at The Village Cafe. What I like about this place is that its easy and casual. It's in the trendy Westboro neighborhood and its a friendly, no fuss restaurant.

CK and I split the Mediterranean plate, which was plenty for the 2 of us. It had grilled vegetables, marinated eggplant, olives, tzatziki, hummus, grilled pita wedges, spanikopita and rice stuffed grape leaves. This is one of the best Mediterranean plates I have had in Ottawa. What I loved was that their veggies were freshly grilled and not marinated. Their pita was soft like Turkish pide bread which I love. This is my new go-to dish at this place.

Mediterranean Plate

 

Freebs ordered the roast beef & swiss sandwich served on multi grain bread. This was a fresh and hearty sandwich filled with a generous amount of roast beef, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, swiss cheese and rosemary mayonnaise. I have tried a few other sandwiches at Village Cafe and this is my favorite so far.

All sandwiches are served with a side salad with a choice between multi grain bread, sour dough, foccacia, grilled pita, or a grilled tortilla wrap.
 

Roast Beef and Swiss Sandwich

 

The Village Cafe

295 Richmond Road

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Telephone: 613-728-2162

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G for Gelato & Espresso Bar, Toronto

Someone told me about this place so I'm simply passing on the good word. G for Gelato & Espresso Bar has GREAT gelato!!!

CK and I split the cappuccino, pistachio and strawbery rhubarb trio. The cappuccino and pistachio were really good but the strawberry rhubarb is a must try! Tart and full of flavor. It was a new flavor they just started making, along with yogurt stracciatella.

Cappuccino, Pistachio and Strawberry Rhubarb Gelato

It all started in the 50's in Italy with Gerardo and Giuseppina Polsinelli, who ran a small gelato business using their own special technique and serving only 3 basic flavors. They did very well and their refrigerator on a bicycle business expanded to a truck business that served many different flavors. In 1967, they left Italy to start a better life with their 5 daughters. Decades later, the Polsinelli daughters bring back the family tradition with G for Gelato, which opened in 2011.

I love places with a story.

G for Gelato & Espresso Bar
75 Jarvis Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 416-792-1761

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Art Is In Bakery, Ottawa

Happy Canada Day everyone! Hope all you Canadians are enjoying the Canada Day weekend.

I'm continuing the Ottawa post trend with a feature on Art Is In Bakery. I almost feel like this post doesn't need an introduction. People from Ottawa know and love the bread here. Even if you haven't visited their shop, you have probably seen their bread at restaurants, cafes, or local grocery stores like Farm Boy.

Art Is In started out as a stand at the Ottawa Farmer's Market and grew from baking their bread at the Ottawa Bagel Shop to now owning a permanent shop in an industrial warehouse area. It almost seems like an odd place to have a shop when you first pull up, but you quickly forget where you are as soon as you walk towards the bakery. They have created their own unique funky atmosphere, and all the wonderful scents from the bread, sandwiches, pastries and desserts are sure to distract you from everything else.

The mango and aloe drink is especially good. It was a combination of aloe juice, mangosteen juice, and mango juice with chunks of aloe floating in the bottle.

The special of the day was the ginger beef banh mi with fennel, cucumber and pickled carrots. It was a really cool idea but the beef unfortunately was way too salty and overpowered everything else in the sandwich, including the condiments.

Ginger Beef Banh Mi

I'm a prosciutto lover so you can't go wrong with the warm prosciutto, ricotta, white truffle and arugula sandwich served on their dynamite kalamata olive bread. Delicious!

Prosciutto, Ricotta, White Truffle and Arugula Sandwich

The eating area at Art Is In is alfresco style so they don't have a/c in the summer time.

They have a great selection of pastries and sweets including almond croissants and cookies. And of course, if you want to buy some of their bread before you go, there is a section where you can do that. Two favorites are the 12 grain fennel and the dynamite potato caramelized onion & dill bread.

Art Is In Bakery
250 City Center Avenue Bay 112
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-695-1226

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Smitten Ice Cream, San Francisco

Another great ice cream place in San Francisco is Smitten Ice Cream. What's different about this place is that they make your ice cream to order. On the spot. In 60 seconds. How? With the Kelvin Ice Cream Maker!

Owner Robyn Sue Goldman spent 2 years developing her patented ice cream maker named Kelvin. In an effort to make the smoothest ice cream possible, Robyn uses liquid nitrogen to make her ice cream. Liquid nitrogen produces smaller ice crystals which in turns produces smoother ice cream. In 2009, she tested Kelvin out by taking it out on the streets of San Francisco on a Radio Flyer Wagon, and the rest is history.

It was clear that Kelvin was a success! So Robyn birthed a few more Kelvin's and opened up a little shop in Hayes Valley. Smitten Ice Cream offers 4 ice cream flavors daily, with add-ons for an extra charge.

I had the salted caramel ice cream with almond brittle, and my friend J had the vanilla with pistachio brittle and Meyer lemon caramel. The ice cream was definitely a lot smoother than other ice creams I've tried, which almost gave the impression that it is lighter than regular ice cream. While it tasted like ice cream, the consistency was more like frozen yogurt.

Smitten Ice Cream

432 Octavia Street

San Francisco, California, USA

Telephone: 415-863-1518

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Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream, San Francisco

When you read about the best ice cream places in America, Humphry Slocombe is sure to be on the list.

What makes their ice cream so good is the way they do the whole shebang well. Fresh organic dairy and ingredients. Unique ice cream flavors that rotate daily. Inviting and quirky atmosphere. Friendly Staff. And the ability to try any flavor you want without having to feel bad!

They offer 10-12 flavors a day, and I had fun trying them all. The ones served the day I went included secret breakfast, brown butta, oolong tea, carrot mango sorbet, and jesus juice sorbet (and yes, it had real alcohol!)

My two favorite flavors were the Vietnamese Blue Bottle a McEvoy Olive Oil. The olive oil was especially good...a little salty freshened up with some citrus zest.

Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream
2790 A Harrison Street
San Francisco, California, USA
Telephone: 415-550-6971

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M Cafe, Montreal

A convenient place to brunch or lunch when you're downtown Montreal is M Cafe. Anytime I've been desperate for food, M Cafe always seems to be around the corner.

On my first visit, after a long night of fun, a couple of ladies and I stopped here for a much needed brunch. I ordered the bénédictine fumé, a full plate of two poached eggs with smoked salmon, Swiss cheese, onions, capers, potatoes, and fresh fruit. This normally comes with hollandaise, but as always, I ask them to leave it off. I adore eggs, and want to taste every bit of it which is why I don't like having sauce on my eggs.

Benedictine Fume

Everyone else had the western omelette. Three eggs cooked with peppers, ham, onions and zucchini. This was served with house potatoes and fresh fruit

Western Omelette

One thing I like about this place is their selection of macarons. There is always a beautiful display of them and macarons always get me excited because they are a small reminder of Paris for me. On my first visit, I tried the blueberry, caramel fleur de sel, and hazelnut chocolate macaron. The blueberry was surprisingly good! That one wasn't my choice but I'm sure glad I tried it!

Blueberry, Caramel Fleur de Sel, and Hazelnut Chocolate Macarons

On my second visit, CK and I were starving from shopping and walking all day, and voila, M Cafe was conveniently right in front of us ready to save us from starvation. We popped in for a late lunch.

I ordered la bergère salad. It was a mixed salad with raisins, walnuts, dried cranberries, and a piece of warm, pan fried goat cheese. I would have liked the goat cheese to have been cooked a little bit longer but it was a good salad overall.

La Bergere Salad

CK will always order a burger when he can, so he chose le M burger. The burger was made of angus beef, and was served with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and fries. Wasn't a fabulous burger...it was an average burger was how he put it.

Le M Burger

Of course, I could not leave without ordering a macaron. This time, I chose the peppermint mango macaron sprinkled with black pepper on top. It tasted more like a mango macaron with black pepper on top. I couldn't taste the peppermint at all. But I didn't mind. It was a pretty cool combination regardless.

Peppermint Mango Macaron

M Cafe
1458 rue de la Montagne
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Telephone: 514-842-8825

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