Showing posts with label Restaurant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurant. Show all posts
I finally crossed two places off my bucket list this past weekend when I went to visit my youngest brother. He lives close to Mystic, in Connecticut, so we went to Mystic Pizza! I'm not a huge fan of the movie (I know, I know) but I do enjoy good pizza and this was AMAZING. Christian and I shared the Texas Chicken Pizza and it was so good! We also had some of their fries, which he said were some of the best fries he's ever had.
Next on the agenda was Sift Bake Shop! Christian and I love watching all of the seasonal baking competitions on Food Network - Holiday Baking Championship, Spring, Kids, etc. One season a man from Mystic, Adam Young, was on Spring Baking! He made it to the final three that season and also went on to win Best Baker in America on Food Network. He was known for his beautifully made desserts and the ones in his bakery look like they could be on TV. I wish I could have tried everything but settled on the chocolate hazelnut praline and chocolate raspberry torte. Both were delicious!
Jacket: thrifted, Double V-Neck Cashmere Sweater: Calypso St. Barth 'Gylden' (Gilt), High Waisted Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' High Rise in Supreme (Gilt Groupe), Boots: Audrey Brooke 'Mirie' (DSW), Bag: Dark Purple Chloé Faye (eBay)
Next on the agenda was Sift Bake Shop! Christian and I love watching all of the seasonal baking competitions on Food Network - Holiday Baking Championship, Spring, Kids, etc. One season a man from Mystic, Adam Young, was on Spring Baking! He made it to the final three that season and also went on to win Best Baker in America on Food Network. He was known for his beautifully made desserts and the ones in his bakery look like they could be on TV. I wish I could have tried everything but settled on the chocolate hazelnut praline and chocolate raspberry torte. Both were delicious!
Jacket: thrifted, Double V-Neck Cashmere Sweater: Calypso St. Barth 'Gylden' (Gilt), High Waisted Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' High Rise in Supreme (Gilt Groupe), Boots: Audrey Brooke 'Mirie' (DSW), Bag: Dark Purple Chloé Faye (eBay)
On Monday Lydia and I met up for our annual Christmas lunch. This year we went back to one of our old favorites - The Chowder Pot. This used to be our main meet-up spot. We'd eat lunch, take photos in Branford's town center, and do some thrifting at her local spots. The Chowder Pot is one of my favorite restaurants, they have the BEST honey butter bread, I made sure to bring one home so Christian could enjoy it. I've been going there with my family since I was young, I always recommend it because it never disappoints. It was also a favorite haunt of my friend Hayley and I when we lived together. She was a bit jealous when she found out I went without her, oopsie!
Sweater: Everlane "The Wool-Cashmere Square Crew" in Crimson , Jeans: Genetic Denim 'Shya' in Aztec c/o Piperlime, Boots: Miu Miu (Roundabout), Bag: Emm Kuo 'Calle Bahia' (Roundabout), Necklace: Madewell Stonework Drop Necklace
Sweater: Everlane "The Wool-Cashmere Square Crew" in Crimson , Jeans: Genetic Denim 'Shya' in Aztec c/o Piperlime, Boots: Miu Miu (Roundabout), Bag: Emm Kuo 'Calle Bahia' (Roundabout), Necklace: Madewell Stonework Drop Necklace
Three of the pieces in this outfit are old favorites. My first designer purchase, one of my first shoe splurges (that were actually a birthday gift) and my favorite jeans ever. Sadly I don't wear the Free People jeans often because they're super old and in that odd wrinkly stage that stretch jeans get to. You can probably tell in the photos in certain spots. I have 2 pairs of these because I kept buying searching for them on eBay and then one pair that's similar but not exactly the same.
The Marc Jacobs velvet polka dot blazer was my first designer purchase. I tried to find it for months after Emma Watson wore it (in a different color) in Teen Vogue. I bought it for $80 (and a second one for $20 8 years later because I needed to go up a size. I still have the original in my closet for nostalgic reasons.)
My Alexander Wang Freja boots were a birthday gift from my parents in 2011 - meaning I told my mom I wanted them and she said 'order them for your birthday!' I do love a good statement shoe that never goes out of style. There are a few of these available on eBay (originally from his Spring 2010 collection) and some other sources but you have to be careful when looking for these because AW also made a cheaper version for the H&M collection which won't be as nice/high quality as these. I linked to only the "real" ones below but you can search for AW x H&M boots and find the other version.
Blazer: Marc by Marc Jacobs polka dot velvet jacket (eBay, green one here), V-Neck Tee: Everlane, Jeans: Free People (Marshalls), Peep-Toe Boots: Alexander Wang suede Freja boot in brick red (The Outnet), Bag: Dark Purple Chloé Faye (eBay, exact bag here), Necklace: Marrin Costello
Speaking of favorites - I wore this outfit on Monday to check out the recently renovated Luna Pizza in West Hartford. Before I went my Aunt told me it's one of her and my Uncle's favorite places to go for pizza. After going myself I can see why! I'm not normally a thin crust fan, but their pizzas are delicious. I wanted to keep eating all night!
While there I sampled their meatballs, garlic knots a baby spinach salad with strawberries and three pizzas! All the appetizers were delicious, especially the salad. Lydia, Jen and I tried the BBQ Pulled Pork, White and Margherita pizzas. They were all super good. The white pizza is just mozzarella, romano, garlic, parsley, and olive oil and it was amazing. The BBQ pulled pork had the perfect amount of sweetness from the BBQ sauce and the Margherita pizza was loaded with fresh tomatoes. I finished my meal with a delectable chocolate torte. It was very smooth and really chocolatey, just how I like it! I will definitely return to Luna Pizza if I'm ever in the area again.
What I ate:
The Marc Jacobs velvet polka dot blazer was my first designer purchase. I tried to find it for months after Emma Watson wore it (in a different color) in Teen Vogue. I bought it for $80 (and a second one for $20 8 years later because I needed to go up a size. I still have the original in my closet for nostalgic reasons.)
My Alexander Wang Freja boots were a birthday gift from my parents in 2011 - meaning I told my mom I wanted them and she said 'order them for your birthday!' I do love a good statement shoe that never goes out of style. There are a few of these available on eBay (originally from his Spring 2010 collection) and some other sources but you have to be careful when looking for these because AW also made a cheaper version for the H&M collection which won't be as nice/high quality as these. I linked to only the "real" ones below but you can search for AW x H&M boots and find the other version.
Blazer: Marc by Marc Jacobs polka dot velvet jacket (eBay, green one here), V-Neck Tee: Everlane, Jeans: Free People (Marshalls), Peep-Toe Boots: Alexander Wang suede Freja boot in brick red (The Outnet), Bag: Dark Purple Chloé Faye (eBay, exact bag here), Necklace: Marrin Costello
Speaking of favorites - I wore this outfit on Monday to check out the recently renovated Luna Pizza in West Hartford. Before I went my Aunt told me it's one of her and my Uncle's favorite places to go for pizza. After going myself I can see why! I'm not normally a thin crust fan, but their pizzas are delicious. I wanted to keep eating all night!
While there I sampled their meatballs, garlic knots a baby spinach salad with strawberries and three pizzas! All the appetizers were delicious, especially the salad. Lydia, Jen and I tried the BBQ Pulled Pork, White and Margherita pizzas. They were all super good. The white pizza is just mozzarella, romano, garlic, parsley, and olive oil and it was amazing. The BBQ pulled pork had the perfect amount of sweetness from the BBQ sauce and the Margherita pizza was loaded with fresh tomatoes. I finished my meal with a delectable chocolate torte. It was very smooth and really chocolatey, just how I like it! I will definitely return to Luna Pizza if I'm ever in the area again.
What I ate:
We only had 3 full days in Montréal and it was raining on one of those days so our options for sightseeing were limited. One of the major things on my list, the Biodome, is also closed until Summer 2019 so that was a hit on our itinerary as well. But here's a quick list of what we fit into our 3 days in Montreal.
Christian says this was one of the best pizzas he's ever had. I've had a bit more pizza experience (thanks to traveling Italy and other places more well known for pizza) so it isn't my favorite ever, BUT I do agree it was very tasty!
Christian was the winner of the evening. It was restaurant week in Montreal and they were running a 3 course special for $33. So he got Québec Beef Jerky salad, Beef Sirloin with cheddar mashed potatoes, asparagus and for dessert he had Churros with dulce de leche.
For our visit we just stuck with plain dark hot chocolate, which was DELICIOUS. I was still a little full from lunch so I didn't try one of the various snacks. But I bought a dark chocolate bar that I have yet to try, I'm sure it will be very tasty. Our two travel partners had cookies and said they were really good. I'll share some photos of the inside in my mini travel guide later this week!
What to Do
Mount Royal
Our last day in Montréal was spent hiking/climbing stairs up to the Chalet du Mont-Royal. It has a beautiful view of the city and the Chalet has a small cafe and some places to sit and rest inside. I was crazy and wore heeled boots to walk up but you'll want to wear more comfortable shoes for lots of climbing steps and/or sometimes actual hiking trails. There is also a longer route to the top that is paved road, but it snakes all the way up and will take much longer.
The Biosphere Environment Museum
On one of the rainier days (we had multiple) we headed to the Biosphere, an interactive museum dedicated to the environment. The Biosphere was pretty cool, even though the rain made it hard to view one of the cooler parts of the museum. Christian absolutely loved it because he's a sucker for science and being environmentally friendly.
Notre-Dame
Unfortunately I only have photos of the outside of Montreal's Notre-Dame because it was just closing when we arrived in the afternoon on our last day. So I recommend heading there earlier in the day so you can take a tour of the interior. 
Where to Eat
We actually only ate out 3 times, and one time was McDonald's because it was rainy and we were too cranky to find a real place to eat after his cousin accidentally led us to a mall food court for lunch. WHOOPS! BUT his cousin did get some tasty poutine at the food court.Geppetto Pizza
Geppetto Pizza was our first experience dining out in Montreal. We were walking around the area and as we were getting hungry for lunch we happened upon this place! The inside was very fun, and you could see the pizza oven but unfortunately we were on the other side of the restaurant. We shared their chicken pesto pizza while his cousin and his wife had the meatlovers. I tried both and they were both great.Christian says this was one of the best pizzas he's ever had. I've had a bit more pizza experience (thanks to traveling Italy and other places more well known for pizza) so it isn't my favorite ever, BUT I do agree it was very tasty!
Méchant Boeuf
On our last night we decided to have dinner near Notre-Dame in Old Montreal. We decided on Méchant Boeuf because it was close and the menu appealed to everyone. Christian's cousin got their Brisket beef poutine and said it was the best of the trip (we only tried 3.) His wife got the Chicken Supreme with sweet potato and asparagus and I just had a Wagyu Burger. I know, I'm boring.Christian was the winner of the evening. It was restaurant week in Montreal and they were running a 3 course special for $33. So he got Québec Beef Jerky salad, Beef Sirloin with cheddar mashed potatoes, asparagus and for dessert he had Churros with dulce de leche.
Atwater Market
Since we stayed in an airbnb we wanted to take advantage of the kitchen and decided to do some home cooking. Rather than going to a regular grocery store we decided to visit one of Montreal's many public markets. Atwater Market was located near one of our stops so we headed there to buy some fresh veggies and meats. For dinner on our second night we made chicken with peri peri rub (we still have a bunch to use now that we're home, YAY!), potatoes and broccoli. We also picked up some fresh bread, for under $2! Can't beat that.
Cacao 70
My friend Kristen told me we had to visit Cacao 70 while in Montreal for some delicious hot chocolate. They have a ton of locations in the city and we chose one that was near a location we were visiting on our first day. It wasn't as crowded as many others we walked by later in the week, probably because it was in a less dense area. I'm wondering if other places would have had more fun options to choose from.For our visit we just stuck with plain dark hot chocolate, which was DELICIOUS. I was still a little full from lunch so I didn't try one of the various snacks. But I bought a dark chocolate bar that I have yet to try, I'm sure it will be very tasty. Our two travel partners had cookies and said they were really good. I'll share some photos of the inside in my mini travel guide later this week!
Point G Macarons
Everyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with french macarons. I first learned how to make them in 2010 but didn't try "real" ones until I went to Paris in July 2011. My mom and I continue to amke them for special occasions including my cousins wedding shower and my wedding. This means I ALWAYS find macarons when I travel. Someone recommended Point G to us and it didn't disappointing! I got mostly chocolate but I also tried Raspberry Litchi, Cherry, Blueberry, Poppy Flower and Raspberry. Christian tried the lemon and chocolate caramel. They were all delicious! And very well priced compared to higher end brands like Ladurée. It was $18 CAD ($13.78 USD) for 12, which worked out to around $1.15 per macaron, a steal!
Poutine
Another must-do for people in Montreal is to have some poutine. Basically fries, gravy and cheese curds. I don't do cheese or gravy (except on my Thanksgiving turkey) so I left this to my travel buddies. They had some at a food court, McDonalds (HAH!) and at a restaurant we ate at. Sadly I only got pictures of the first 2 and not the one from Méchant Boeuf, which was voted the best by the group. I blame last night of travel fatigue.
