Station Street Grill, Ajax, ON

I had an enrolment seminar to conduct in Ajax this morning ... I was part of larger HR session.

It's a 40 minute drive and I had to be there at 7am so I had to be up and on the road early. You know I'm not a morning person!

Given the nature of the client, the meeting was held at a restaurant called the Station Street Grill (Harwood/401).

After everyone left by 8:15am, I knew the highways would be jammed with traffic of people heading downtown to work so I waited it out by having breakfast there ... my turn!

I had eggs, peameal bacon, fried potatoes and toast. I also had milk (I don't drink coffee). Here it is.

It was HUGE and soooooo good ... I couldn't finish it all. And it only cost $7!!

My server was very attentive. I would definitely go back if I'm in the area.

Alas, the 401 and the DVP were jammed as I headed home.

Ring of Dreams - Week 3 with Yvette Raposo

Gord and I attended the third week of Ring of Dreams workshop conducted by my pal, Yvette Raposo. My pal, Shawna, was also there.

Take one hour out of your week to explore and extract what are your truest desires from life!

Tonight we talked about baseline states ... the state you are in most of the time, how you feel when you are in this state, how healthy and energetic you think you are, how long you have been in this baseline state, etc.

Here's Yvette in action ...

She also talked about the "blameframe" box and getting out of it (if you choose to).

The Rushton, Toronto, ON

This afternoon our department (sales, account management and education) had a work lunch at The Rushton (St. Clair Avenue W/Christie).

We started with bread and hummus and antipasto platters.

And here we are on the patio.

I started with the Mesculan Salad (baby greens with cherry tomatoes, English cucumbers, Belgium endive tossed in sherry vinaigrette).

Then I had the Steak Frites (grilled Alberta flat-iron steak served with roasted shallot jus, caramelized onions, and a mixture of of regular and sweet potato fries with roasted garlic aioli). I substituted my fries for roasted potatoes.

For dessert, I had a chocolate and raspberry tartufo ... yum!

It was nice for us all to get together ... it usually only happens at our Christmas dinner. I've been out of the office on the road the last two weeks (like settles down again after this week) so it was so nice to catch up with everyone.

Supper

We had a late late late supper tonight.

Gord BBQed a roast beef that had been marinating all day.

He also made mac 'n cheese with bacon from scratch for the first time!

Yum!

Gord enjoys cooking so I let him :)

Drake BBQ, Toronto, ON

Gord and I were getting peckish but we didn't know what we wanted so we didn't know what to make. Don't you hate that?!

I was heading towards something reliable when I drove by the Drake BBQ at Queen W/Dovercourt. It opened in the late fall and we hadn't tried it yet.

I got two sandwiches for take-out. Here is the Carolina pulled pork shoulder sandwich ...

And here is the Texas chopped beef brisket sandwich ...

There is supposed to be coleslaw on top of the meat/under the bun. I'm not a fan of coleslaw so I got it on the side. We shared the sandwiches ... here's Gord's plate.

The sandwiches were good. They were juicy and not dry at all.

We liked the beef one better (the pork one is really vinegary). For the size of them, they aren't cheap ... the pork sandwich is $7 and the beef sandwich is $8. You can get a combo for about $12 which includes a pop and a bag of chips or pickle or peanuts.

These whoopie pies were on the counter and I couldn't resist.

They were okay. I found the biscuit a bit dry and the filling was more like icing (I was expecting it to be lighter and fluffier).

Afternoon snooze

How cute are they?!

The Caledonian, Toronto, ON

After we left the Taste of Little Italy, we stopped at the Caledonian (at College/Ossington).

I hadn't been there since January yet Beth and Donna were very welcoming when we walked in.

Here's Beth ... she was our server in January and was bartending this evening. She is so nice and took such good care of us. I'd like to say hello to Joyce, Beth's mum in Scotland!

Gord ordered a Scottish egg ...

And we split the mac and cheese which was delicious.

Here are the owner, Donna, along with Beth and Gord.

There were some Scottish dancers on the patio who were so entertaining.

What a nice place! If you are in that 'hood, you should check it out. I've got to get there more often.

Taste of Little Italy, Toronto, ON

Gord and I walked to the Taste of Little Italy this afternoon. It's not far from us and we go every year.

They shut College Street down from Shaw Street to Bathurst Street. There is lots to see ... entertainment on the corners, lots of food to tempt you, and things to buy.

Here are some of the sights ... we always start off by walking from Shaw to Bathurst.

We always have a shiatsu treatment at the Shiatsu School of Canada. Today we had a 30 minute treatment. Kerri who is originally from Barrie was awesome!

We had a late lunch at Southside Louie's on their patio.

It was a hot sunny day and my Keith's tasted good!

I had lasagna which was good.

Gord had chicken with Alfredo sauce, chicken and mushrooms which he said was good.

Then we had a couple mojitoes at Souz Dal.

As we were leaving, we stopped for some churros ... they were fresh and hot!

We always have a fun time at the Taste of Little Italy!