Queen East Isle

Things were all fine and dandy at The Ceili Cottage until…the wind changed and the camp fire smoke blew right into my eyes!  And here we thought blogging was all fun and games – this is dangerous stuff!  Last weekend, while hanging out in the East end, I wore a Liz Claiborne blazer that was an old Christmas gift from my Mom; a striped turtle neck dress from Zara on Bloor for $20; belt, Costa Blanca on Bloor belt for $6; Silks stockings; Roots messenger and H&M on Bloor lace-up boots.

And you caught me without my nails painted.

Love detailing like this.  CM

City Escape

It was a dreary and cold Sunday when we ventured East to meet Carly-Anne in the Beaches.  We knew we needed something hearty to warm up our insides and I jumped at the chance to introduce Julie to The Ceili Cottage in Leslieville at Queen and Laing street.  It was only my second time visiting the cottage but I am 100% in love.  Authenticity is it’s best-selling feature with great food to boot – you have to try it for yourself.

Expect to wait at the bar  for a table on weekends.

The dining room is more cottage like with low ceilings.

Julie ordered the mac and cheese and I had the white bean puree soup with braised rabbit and a side of thyme kettle chips.  All were fantastic and we were especially surprised with the chips.  They offer a different roast dish every day of the week.  My first taste of their menu was the cottage sheppards pie and I was disappointed that it wasn’t Saturday for me to try it again.

Wide selection of beers are on tap.  I had McAuslen’s oatmeal stout and Julie had the cider.

$30 later…enough said!   The smell of the camp fire burning on their front patio crept inside to make it extra cozy and we carried it with us when we left.

Fun fact:  The owner flooded the patio last winter creating a skating rink for the neighborhood.  I think I have to move to Leslieville now…CM

Hippity Hop

Dining room at Boehmer

The lounge at Boehmer

We did a little bar hopping recently on Ossington and Queen and discovered some great new places. We started at Our House which was a chic little place with nice decor and fun dance music. It was dead at 9:30 pm so we had a drink and moved on to Boehmer at 93 Ossington. This new to-die-for restaurant has an aura of coolness. It’s a rather wide space for this street and has a good buzzing vibe about it. We sat at the bar, drank gin cocktails, and sampled the tasty fries. They have a mix of communal and stand-alone tables for dinning and a little lounge for drinking. We found the lounge a little too well-lit and a bit lonerish because it’s tucked off to the side – I called it the loner lounge. Next time we’ll stick to the bar.

The Ossington

Our next few stops were The Ossington, Watusi, The Great Hall, and finally Saigon Flower for late night Chinese. You know I’m against late night eating, but I fell into the trap again! Gets me every time. It was delicious and was a great spot to cap off the night.  We love this city :) JD

Julie’s Cuban

A while back I stumbled upon a cute little place with a sign that read “Julie’s Snack Bar.” I was intrigued because it was part of an old house and tucked away on a residential side street. I knew at first sight, this was a Toronto gem.  I later found out this restaurant is actually called Julie’s Cuban and is known for amazing mojitos and one of Toronto’s best patios.

It took me forever to check this place out but I finally went last week and absolutely LOVED it. It’s a tiny room, filled with cluttered eccentric decor, friendly staff, interesting food, and great latin music.

The mojitos were delicious! Smooth, not too sweet, not too strong, and just the right amount of fresh mint – the way a mojito should be.

The menu is tapas style so we started with scrumptious guacamole dip and frituras de mais (peppery corn fritters and sour cream).

Plantains were a recurring theme on the menu so I thought I should try them out. Plantains are from the banana family, just not as sweet, and kind of have the texture of a potato. These were topped with beef in a tomato sauce, with red and green peppers. It looks a bit weird, like a meaty banana split, but it was good and very filling.

If you’re the type that digs one-off hidden gems, then I would definitely recommend Julie’s Cuban. Now I just need to go back to check out that patio – I hope the weather cooperates this summer (fingers crossed!). JD