travel by Kat Walcott
The Ultimate FOODIE'S GUIDE
Looking for a food adventure that’s close to home? Last fall I spent four days eating and drinking my way through beautiful Toronto. Here’s my ultimate — breakfast to dinner — guide to the city.
Breakfast If you’re staying at the Fairmont Royal York — which I highly recommend for its central location and proximity to Union Station, CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium and more — a good breakfast is simply a few steps away from your hotel room. Take advantage of Fairmont Gold: the hotel's premium accommodation that gets you into one of the hotel’s gorgeous, upper level suites and gives you access to the exclusive 18th floor Gold Lounge. Along with the views, cozy fireplace, spacious work and lounging areas, the lounge hosts a scrumptious daily breakfast. No overcooked scrambled eggs or stale bagels here, the buffet varies a little everyday but here is a sample of what you can look forward to: skillet-baked eggs with mushrooms, hot oatmeal complete with all the fixings, waffles, fruit, roasted potatoes, quiches and much, much more. For a fun and indulgent breakfast, book a pastry tour with Eating Through TO. 38 OTTAWALIFE SUMMER 2020
The Pastry Crawl will bring you to various cafes and bakeries along Queen Street West where you’ll nibble on uniquely flavoured éclairs at Nugateau, Italian doughnuts at Sud Forno, South American traditional hot drink yerba mate at El Almacen and more! The Pastry Crawl is $75 per person and makes for a great birthday get-together or bachelorette celebration. Check out Eatingthroughto.com for all the great small-group food tours. Lunch Lunch options are endless in this city. For something a bit different, drop by Eataly. The Italian brand has locations in cities across the globe including New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Paris to name a few, but the Toronto location, which opened less than a year ago, is its first in Canada. Located in the Manulife Centre on Bloor Street, the 50,000 square foot indoor marketplace offers everything from an Italianstyle cafe to a full-scale deli and you can rest assured that you'll find Italian
PHOTOS: KAT WALCOTT
to Toronto
ready-made food, like pizza and gelato, or ingredient, such as truffles and cheese, you are looking for. Best of all, everything is fresh. Mix a learning experience with good eats by taking a lunch hour cooking class at The Depanneur. This College Street community-driven space is modest in appearance, but bursting with social activity and delicious food. The space is not a restaurant, but a kitchen that hosts various pop-up food events, workshops, private dinners and more – all with the goal of promoting and supporting Toronto’s rich and diverse culinary scene. One of The Depanneur’s coolest initiatives is Newcomer Kitchen. The program supports refugee women, mostly from Syria and other parts of the Middle East, by providing a space where they can come together and cook traditional meals. The prepared meals are sold online, with all proceeds going back to the cooks and their families. I was lucky enough to spend
