In a few weeks Joyce and I will be going for a mini roadtrip to Stratford. The people at Stratford Festival well nice enough to give us courtesy tickets for 2 plays, and we will be watching Ghosts at 2:00 PM and London Assurance at 8:00. We are probably going to have a nice dinner there in between plays.
The Stratford Festival is a celebration of theatre that started with a Shakespearean theme but is now dedicated to all types of classical theatre. It even has some musicals playing this year.
I am sure we are going to have a great time and I will be blogging all about it!
Archive for July, 2006
Stratford calling
July 31, 2006Saturday barbecue
July 30, 2006A few friends came over last night and we barbecued. Later we all went to the hot tub for a relaxing time.
Then we crashed someone’s party while in our swimming suit. We got free beer. That was fun.
The great burrito hunt: Big Fat Burrito
July 28, 2006I used to say I had never met a chicken wing I didn’t like. Then I started trying the really good ones and I upped my standards. Since I found the best chicken wings in Toronto (see sidebar for links and reviews) I decided to indulge in another of my favourite foods: burritos.
Yesterday I went to Big Fat Burrito in Kensington Market. It’s at 285 Augusta Avenue on the corner of Oxford and Augusta. The phone number is 416-913-7487 (you can phone in your order and just go and pick up your burrito when ready).
They don’t have anything but burritos and soft drinks and I waited just under 10 minutes for my 6 large burritos to be ready.
Small burritos are 10″ and large are 12″. Pulled pork, grilled steak, grilled chicken and yam are $6.00 for the small and $7.25 for the large. The vegetarian burrito is $4.75 for the small and $6.00 for the large. They also have a breakfast burrito until 3 PM (I believe it is scrambled egg), it’s $5.50 for the small and $6.50 for the large. Taxes are included in all prices. 
The included toppings are: vegetarian refried beans, mexican rice (that means red), guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, green onions, green peppers, jalapeños, hot sauce or salsa, tangy garlic burrito sauce (garlic mayonnaise) or sour cream. I like it that you don’t have to pay extra for the guacamole (unlike at Burrito Boyz or Quesada). Extra cheese or guacamole or burrito sauce is $0.75.
They also have some side dishes (the same things that go inside the burritos): mexican rice $2.50, vegetarian refried beans $0.75, small guacamole $1.50 and large $3.00. There are 9 tables inside the restaurant for 2 to 3 people each. This makes the place an authentic burrito joint, where it’s mainly take-out.
Some of my friends tasted the burritos with me (what? did you really think I ate 6 burritos by myself?). They appreciated that the burritos are grilled, and thought it makes them lighter and easier to the stomach. The taste was good, but according to one of my tasters the pulled pork burrito was better last week; I believe this may happen according to who’s cooking them. They also thought they were a bit bland (as in not very seasoned), and some people who asked for spicy (including me) said they could have used more spice. I was disappointed that they weren’t spicier and I think they might have gotten confused or nervous because I ordered 6 burritos and they were all different (some were medium, some were spicy, some were mild). I can say that other times the burritos have been better, but they weren’t bad at all.
Big Fat Burrito is an amazing place to go for an affordable and quite healthy lunch or dinner. I really recommend it.
The most amazing gazpacho
July 27, 2006
I just made the most amazing gazpacho. It all started this morning when James and I made plans for dinner. Originally I thought we should eat mango salad or something, but later I thought I should make my authentic gazpacho, it is great for a hot day like today and it’s all vegetarian. I went to Kensington Market and got all the ingredients. James was in charge of peeling the garlic, he peeled 6 cloves and I just used the whole thing. OMG, it was so garlicky! I looooved it.
While I was at Kensington Market, I remembered that the other day James asked me if I had eaten cactus (nopales), of course I have (hey, they’re on the Mexican national seal), and I even told him that in Mexico people eat the fruit of the cactus (tuna, in Spanish). It’s called prickly pear or cactus fig. Well, I found that they sold red prickly pears at the fruit stand on the corner of Augusta and Nassau. I have to confess I had never seen red prickly pears, but they seemed to be really similar to the green ones, so I bought two. They were really good and James really enjoyed them. It’s nice to show him some of the (vegetarian) things people eat in Mexico. I told him that next time I’m going to cook chayotes for him! (He has seen them but has never eaten them. As soon as I find them in Chinatown I’m going to buy them and cook them, mmmmh!!)
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Conversational post at Ice Queen’s
July 26, 2006My readers will never believe who called me last week. A certain someone I had an affair with (and with whom I made me make the cover of Weekly Bloog). All the info is over at the Ice Queen’s lair.
Oliver the cat goes to the cottage
July 26, 2006
They were calling for beautiful weather in Muskoka so Oliver decided to go to the cottage for the weekend. On his way there he stopped at McDonald’s for dinner. “No wonder humans are so fat”, thought Oliver, “for only $4.75 I had a double cheeseburger, a junior chicken sandwich and a small order of fries. I could get fat really quickly if I ate this cheap stuff every day”.
The first thing Oliver did when he got to the cottage was open a cold one and swallow it down.
After a few beers Oliver prepared everything for the beach and for his tennis match.
The next day Oliver decided he was going to be napping like crazy. But first he had a game of scrabble (and beer, of course).
He had a nice view from inside the cottage and thoroughly enjoyed his rest time.
Unfortunately the weekend was over. Oliver got in his cat crate and prepared to the back-home traffic. Fortunately he only needed to use his litter box once on the way home. They stopped in a slot house/racetrack on highway 400 just south of Barrie for Oliver to have a pit stop.
Book club meeting
July 22, 2006
This is what we usually do at book club.
Little things that make me happy
July 21, 2006I remember when Amelie came out and everyone talked about how happy the movie made you feel, and how it is that the little things in life make you happy. Amelie liked skipping stones.
I’ve been thinking, what is it that makes me smile every time I see it? It’s soap bubbles. I just like them so much I smile.
(I think that’s good, given that balloons give me nightmares and actually make me run the other direction. No, really).
A nice evening in Kensington Market and Little Italy
July 20, 2006Stitch and Bitch was so nice last night. It wasn’t as hot as it’s been lately, it was nice and breezy. Also, it wasn’t very crowded, their new location is great and Lettuce Knit has some new yarn that I enjoyed touching, feeling and smelling. It was cool that I met a knitter that came all the way from New Jersey, I even gave her directions on how to take the streetcar back to King Street. My Alchemy Silk sleeveless top is doing great and even if it’s not going as fast as I would like it (that’s the problem with using small needles), it is growing fast and steady. Pictures to be posted soon.
Afterwards I went to King’s Cafe for a delicious dinner with James, we had the summer specials and they were so good. Sitting in the patio under a nice breeze in a summer evening is so nice. Afterwards we had a walk and went to Little Italy for ice cream (I had to have sorbet, damn lactose intolerance!).
All in all we had a great evening and the weather was great.
Book review: The Long Walk, by Richard Bachman
July 19, 2006Pfffffrrrrt!
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