Wisconsin Foodie Girl

Thursday, November 17, 2011

OMG yum!

Sprizzo's Friday soup!

Got a sneaky sample.... Harvest Soup topped with

crasins and pepitas.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Day 2: Toronto

Day Two

First stop, Marche for breakfast, located in the Brookfield Centre near the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The surrounding area around Marche is lovely. The morning sun peers in through the glass arches and you can hear the sound of the center's fountain trickling in the background.

Marche has a "unique" restaurant format. The menu is entirely based on fresh, seasonal products that are prepared in front of you. When you enter you are told the "rules" of Marche; Have your Marche card scanned whenever you want to purchase an item and Don't loose it!! (I didn't want to find out what the "standard" charge is for a lost card, so I kept mine.)

As I strolled around the restaurant the colors and smells of fresh food being executed all around was a bit overwhelming at first. I was however immediately drawn to the little green house in the center of the store! Yes a GREENHOUSE with growing lights and an abundance of fresh herbs!

I decided to find a "healthy" breakfast option, truly I wanted to dive right into the crepe station, but eggs seemed like a wiser choice. I had an excellent Denver omelet that had an abundance of fresh cheese (ok not so healthy) and fresh squeezed, super pulpy OJ.

Mike had the breakfast panini on cheesy flat bread and coffee, the sandwich was excellent.

Later in the day, after the Hockey Hall of Fame, we stopped back by for a snack and a beverage. The lunch hustle and bustle was in full swing, with a fresh seafood station, sushi station, salad station, and dessert station producing more delectable delights.

I wish we had something of this caliber here, the Milwaukee Public Market would be the closest thing to this concept, even though it isn't really very similar.

After our snack we walked to the Cn Tower, about a mile away, to take in the view,it was outstanding and the IZOD F1 race was going on down the road and you could hear the cars as they whizzed around the street course.

After a trip back ot the hotel room to freshen up and get our bearing as to the evening plans, we headed to BierMarkt because their menu had a great variety of food and beers.

We decided to try another poutine for starters with a Polish beer, Zywiec, per the servers recommendation.

Markt Poutine- house smoked chicken, Quebec cheese curds, Markt fries, and Leffe Brune peppercorn gravy

Different from the poutine at Irish Embassy the previous day. This poutine had more flavor and texture, the gravy was much richer, the cheese curds were very fresh (being from Wisconsin, I know my cheese curds) and the smoked chicken was a wonderful addition.

Entrees:
Sea Scallops and King Prawns- seared Nova Scotia sea scallops, grilled King prawns, crispy saffron risotto cake, citrus buerre blanc

Paired with an Erdinger weissbrau.

(Bad photo but excellent beer.)

Mike had a 1/2 kilo mussel bucket.

Pot of Moules: Espana-smoked chorizo sausage, roasted red pepper, leeks, and sherry

Served with crusty bread for dipping and paired with an Estrella.

There was no room for dessert, so we went for a walk around town and spotted another pub that was recommended by Roger.

C'est What is a super cool pub, serving only craft beers, located in the cellar of a historic century old building off of Front Street. Once inside we were warmly greeted by Jeff, the bartender, and given a moment to look and the long line of tappers.

Oh and there are more in the other room!

We ended up needing the written listing to help decide and the nice part was they sold 1/2 pints, so we could try a large selection.

We ended up trying: Denison's Weissbier, Railway City Pilsner, C'est What's own Caraway Rye Beer, Smashbomb Atomic IPA, St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat, Black Oak Pale Ale, and Steve's Dreaded Chocolate Orange also made by C'est What.

C'est What was the perfect finish to the busy day, the bartender was AWESOME, the beer was cold, refreshing, the variety was great, and most importantly, it was a "comfortable"bar. A place the locals enjoy, a little off the beaten path for most tourists, we enjoyed the other places we stopped, but this was the best one.

Stay tuned for Day 3............

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Small Glimpse of Toronto's Food and Beer Scene: Day 1

This past weekend my husband and I went to Toronto to see U2. While I love U2 and seeing the sights was a high priority, so was eating and drinking yummy stuff we can't get in the states. I did my research before we left and here is the recount of the last 5 days, 1400 miles, and 4 types of poutine.

Day 1:

Check into the hotel (I could write a whole blog just about that) and a cab ride to our first gastropub, The Irish Embassy, for a well deserved pint of Kilkenny.

My husband and I first had a pint of Kilkenny at my Dad's house over a year ago from the "secret" supply he brought back from Ireland. (Unfortunately you can't buy this wonderful ale here in Wisconsin, only a few select East coast bars, so I was determined to find it somewhere! After research I found it was available in Canada and with the help of Rodger Mittag locate several pubs that had it on draught.)

We Had been driving quite a while so the cold pint hit the spot, but we were starving as well. Instead of a single entree we went for the sharing of appetizers route.

Jameson Chicken Liver Pate- peppercorn crusted, with mini toast, gherkins, and berry compote

This was probably one of the best combinations I have ever had. It was an awesome mix of texture, smell, spice from the peppercorn, sweet from the berries, and the sour pickle! Photos can not do this dish justice.

Irish Poutine- fries covered in garlic mayo topped with shredded cheese, served with a side of gravy

How can you go wrong with this combo??
Tandoori Chicken Skewers- with spicy peanut and raita dipping sauce served in a papadum "bowl"

I am a huge fan of Indian food so this was right up my alley!

While we ate we also tried some Canadian brews and a concoction recommended by the bartender (a new fave).

Irish Black Russian- Vodka, Tia Maria, Coke, and Guinness

Day 1.... the adventure was just beginning......

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Summer

Summer is such a crazy time in Wisconsin. Wisconsinites wait so long for summer to arrive and then cram as much in as we can over approximately 12-16 weeks! I am guilty of over scheduling myself to the max and neglecting my blog! But I still take photos of food.... So here are a few things I've tried in the last month or so.