Stratford, ON boasts quaint, historic, charming architecture, reminiscent of our time in the UK.

The city is well planned in a beautiful natural setting, so you are always a moments walk to green space.

We were very fortunate to get tickets to two plays for the Stratford Festival: Fiddler on the Roof and The Merchant of Venice.  Both works highlighted the brilliant talent of Scott Wentworth and to see him perform in such diverse pieces in the same day, left us over stimulated and quite frankly, exhausted.  We could only imagine how the renowned actor must have felt himself.  We have seen Fiddler many times before and consider it one of our top five favourite musicals.  We declared that the Stratford rendition was the most spectacular and moving rendition that we have ever experienced.

In spite of the fact that I studied Shakespeare while at university, I had never read, nor seen The Merchant before.  I dutifully studied the synopsis many times over, so as to be able to follow the intricate plot lines.  In the end, I was still shaken by the story and Stratford’s decision to set the tale between the 20th century world wars in Italy, rattled me even more so.  The topic was in no way pleasant for me to absorb, but I admire and respect that the Festival had the courage to stage it.

When you are next in the Toronto GTA, do yourself a favour and make the trek to Stratford.  The culinary scene, artistic community, architecture and natural surroundings, make you proud to be a Canadian and you will save yourself thousands by not having to travel over an ocean, to get a sense of the United Kingdom.

Kath’s quote: “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.” –William Shakespeare

Love-that is all.

Our very first stop on the morning that we arrived in Stratford was the Revel Caffe.  We were able to grab a few moments with Anne, Revel’s passionate owner.  Revel features direct trade coffee brewed from high altitude, shade grown, hand harvested beans roasted fresh each week.  Now if that is not a commitment to quality, then what is?  Anne and her staff have personally connected with their coffee producer in Nicauagara-Don Reynaldo where she and staff joined in on the 2012 harvest.

Anne’s baristas are also passionate about creating coffees that work both for the local and global communities.

I was especially enthralled by their community table, not just because it was obviously restored from recycled elements but for what it represented.  This was where “revellers” gather (what the regulars at Revel are so named).

On this day it was a knitting circle.

Outdoor patio season was still going strong.

Here’s a cozy spot that I could while away an afternoon at.

Canadian Grub to Go was our second stop where we picked up lunch to eat in the nearby Shakespearean Gardens.

There, we met Robert, who only serves Canadian food products from his wonderful storefront.

He may have to revise the restaurant’s name because he is now serving “grub to stay” in the rear of his location, which he indicated has just recently been completed.

I tucked into this smoked maple ham with grilled onions.

D chose the pulled pork and gooey cheese.

I admire what Robert has done with his brand and his retail space.

His restaurant felt more like home than a place to grab a sandwich.

Kath’s quote: “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – William Shakespeare

Love-that is all.

Hello readers.  Many of you know that D and I recently took a mini vacation to Stratford, Ontario to take in the Festival.  Upon arrival, it was clearly apparent that Stratford is fast becoming more than a theatre town.  Their skilled chefs and exceptional restaurants would be reason enough to spend a week.  One of the many aspects that we enjoyed was following a couple of culinary trails.  The Bacon and Ale Trail was a fun way to add some structure to our “sight”-seeing tour.  In other words: see it and eat it!

In addition to a number of dining treats, the trail included a couple of retail visits as well.  First up was Bradshaw’s for a copy of the Little Black Book of Beer.   Just around the corner to where our B&B was located on Birmingham was Turnbull & Stewart’s where we were gifted with a cellar of Bacon Sea Salt.  I first used it to brighten up some Swiss chard back home and the results were lovely.

We peeked in the windows of Monforte Osteria on Wellington the evening previous and knew that we would love our light lunch the next day as a part of the trail.

We were heading to a matinee at the Stratford Festival Theatre and did not want to become sluggish, so the small plates of house-made charcuterie featuring pork from whey-fed pigs, were just perfect.  The tastes of capicolla sausage, pork confit, summer sausage and a Tuscan sheep cheese

washed down with a half glass of Ontario craft beer celebrated many of the best tastes of the region.

This was our simple perch for lunch.  At another table in the vicinity we listened as visitors tasted water buffalo milk ice cream (did I hear that correctly?) for the first time.

D and I are quite addicted to all the new (to us) wines that we sampled from Ontario vineyards and Monforte promotes a fine selection.

The simple design of the Osteria was so inviting that I would have loved to have curled up with a book and a cuppa tea.  But alas, “the theatre awaits….”

Foster’s Inn Restaurant & Bar was one of our stops on our first evening in Stratford.

We loved this cozy corner in the lounge.  If I were to one day open my own version, it would look a just like this.

I was able to take these between the breakfast and lunch rush on our last day in Stratford.

I had returned for Foster’s hospitality to pick up another item from our trail: country style pork terrine wrapped in smoked bacon and accompanied by tomato chutney.  The delicious treat is usually served with Mill’s Street’s Tankard ale but ours was “to go” and we enjoyed it with the picnic that we had later in the day at the vineyards of Jackson Triggs.

D attempted to single-handedly complete the Maple Trail as well.  For my international readers (and yes, I do have a few): Maple is a cherished Canadian product which is a natural sweetener produced for centuries from red and black maple trees.

Another addition to our late afternoon picnic were the individual blueberry and pecan pies (they had sold out of the maple pie) that we picked up once we left Stratford at Shakespeare Pies. 

Stay tuned.  There are many more “see it and eat it” adventures in Stratford to come.

Kath’s quote:  “And, most dear actors, eat no onions or garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy. No more words: Away! Go, away!”  – Shakespeare- A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Love-that is all.

As we began to meet and chat with Stratford locals, we queried them about their favourite places to dine as we were only going to be able to do so one evening.  The next day, we were seeing both a matinee and evening performance at the Festival Theatre and we knew not to over indulgence before settling into our theatre seats. I expected both The Prune and The Church to be mentioned but afterwards I surmised that they were allocated to special occasion dining among the locals.  Perhaps Peter Mansbridge and his actress wife Cynthia Dale, who reside in Stratford might have been spotted, had we dined there.  But more often a boutique hotel and main floor restaurant was mentioned.

The cuisine at Mercer Hall is described as retaining an Ontario Focus, served in a European Style.  The Ontario focus is a commitment shared with virtually every restaurant and chef that we encountered in Stratford.  The European style is authentic too, as our dining experience was similar to ones that we remember enjoying in Ireland.

The theatres are “dark” on Mondays which makes for a quieter atmosphere around town and also gives the locals a chance to get out and dine.  Mercer Hall designates the evening as Nosh Mondays and offers a flat rate Tapas-style adventure! In my opinion the strategy is brilliant, treating the locals for their hard work over the season, building business on an otherwise slow evening and using up small portions that might have been left over from the weekend.  Stratford restaurants strive to be self-sustaining and this is truly a genius move.  There is no menu, you just nestle in and the steady stream of food starts to arrive until you cry “Uncle”.

Each artisanal plate featured local seasonal items beginning with:

Warm olives and sourdough.  The flavour of olives, subtly changes when warmed.  I am always going to slightly heat olives before serving them, from now on.

Crispy padron peppers stuffed with cream cheese and served with a lime sour cream for dipping, arrived next.  I am not partial to hot peppers and understand that the heat level of a padron can be random.  Mine was mild and subtle.

Even though I did not get a photo of our next plate- a potato & mushroom veloute with shards of Parmesan and truffle oil, this small bowl turned out to be one of my favourite tastes of the evening.  I am a sucker for truffle oil and appreciate that the soup clung to the sourdough bread so that I could soak up a delicious mouthful.

I also did not get a photo of the shiitake mushroom risotto.  We were dining with old friends and had so much to get caught up on, that on a couple of occasions I forgot that I was a food blogger and was just swept away by the evening. Perhaps too, it was the exceptional Malbec that we were enjoying with our tastes.

I was snapped back to attention by the mention of eggplant.  These were petite spheres topped with pickled onion and more Parmesan (the chef finished many dishes with shards of Parmesan which I happen to enjoy a great deal, but may have been a bit excessive).

But oh my, his next dish was sublime.  I was fine with just a taste of the saucy braised bok choy but could not get enough of the crispy brussel sprouts in a sweet and sour sauce!

I am not partial to lamb but D and our dinner quests quite enjoyed the lamb ribs on lentils and arugula with a citrus yoghurt sauce.

My notes say that next up was a shoe pastry but I did not capture a photo, nor do I remember tasting it.  I must have really been having a good time by this time in the evening.  Or perhaps it is simply my menopausal brain…..

Arriving next was a delicate gnocchi topped with broccoli and whey Parmesan.  Carb lover that I am, I would have loved more gnocchi and less veggies (just my preference, not a complaint).

The next small plate was not particularly small.  I would have enjoyed the tastes more had they been delivered on separate plates and at different intervals because by this time, I was verging on throwing in the white towel.  But we had seen mussels being delivered to tables in our vicinity and were holding out for their appearance at ours.  The roasted chicken came with smoked corn on the cob and marinated potatoes!

I was definitely done before the pastrami poutine arrived at the table and even though the guys each had a taste, I thought that this was getting just a wee bit silly…..

So we acquiesced, only to find that just meant that the dessert plates would start to arrive.

First a chocolate ganache (which doesn’t photograph very well-does it?)

and then the piece de resistance (in D’s mind at least)-the cinnamon raisin fritters which reminded him of mini-doughnuts that he enjoyed as a kid.

Here’s the kicker-the cost per person for all you can eat tapas? $35!

Kath’s quote: “’What I like about gluttony,’ a bishop I knew used to say, ‘is that it doesn’t hurt anyone else.’”-Monica Furlong

Love-that is all.

One of the many blessings of aging is that my memory capacity is changing.  I won’t say “going” or “deteriorating”; I am not there yet.  This creates wonderful surprises for me each day.  For example: last weekend when I arrived home from the FBC Conference, I left my suitcase just inside the door.  I packed up a different case, to take with me (when I left the house at 5:30 the next morning), to fly back up north, to finish off a teaching commitment.  Now that I am home again, I opened my FBC suitcase like it was Christmas morning!

So too, as I read back over the notes that I took during the sessions, I am delighted by the nuggets of wisdom that I can apply to my craft.  I was especially struck by three people and they all happen to be men, which is ironic when you consider that the conference was primarily attended by females with mostly female presenters.  Don’t misunderstand me, I love the company of women: their insights and tenderness and affection.  Male voices just seemed to resonate with me last weekend, like the feeling you get when watching a parade and the drum corp marches by.

Dan Clapson made an first impression on me when he was part of the panel of speakers for the “Making Dough-Earning a Living with Your Words” session but when I was really inspired was when he spoke up during “The Changing Face of Food Writing” as he passionately interjected that he and his fellow writer/bloggers from Alberta were unified in their promotion of local food, producers and the provinces’ vibrant restaurant scene.  Were you also impressed by his courage to challenge the “Toronto-centric” perspective?

I was bewildered when I saw other conference attendees swarm the speakers’ table to get Corey Mintz’s autograph.  But as soon as he mentioned his rubbing of shoulders with Ruth Reichl, I too might have been tempted.  Her books Tender to the Bone and Garlic and Sapphires are among my favourite culinary non-fiction reads.  I read Corey’s How to Host a Dinner Party in two sittings this week.  I immensely enjoyed his instruction, in spite of the fact that I felt like an idiot for not knowing what “guanciale” was (I still don’t know how to pronounce it).  Sarah Polley’s introduction of her friend Corey instantly connected me to him, with these words:

Through learning to cook, he developed an eloquent, uncomplicated way of showing love without irony.

This declaration confirmed my personal life equation: food=love.  Might I also add, that I adore when people “get” me and I think that I get Corey Mintz.  His book’s final paragraph, reads:

Because in the end, it’s about connecting with people over food.  That’s what’s important to me.  Within this book, hopefully, I’ve provided some guidance so that more people can make that happen more often, and with greater comfort.

The last say was given to keynote David Leite, whom I will admit, I did not remember hearing of previously.  Perhaps it is the memory thing again because I avidly read  The Best Food Writing series each and every year and must have come across he and his writings before.  I really need to listen to his sage advice of backing away from the desk and the stove.  Being a relatively new blogger, I am too focused on the quantity of my posts.  I need to give myself permission to sit longer at our dining room table after the dinner has been consumed, walk my dog with less urgency (“would you please poop, so we can get home”) and just … be.

When David declared: “I love language”, he intended “love” to be a verb.  I consider “love” to also have great significance as a noun and “love language” is my native tongue.  Since last weekend, I have spent time in a troubled Manitoba northern community and watched the horrific bombings of the Boston marathon.  If the language of love could be spoken more often, in our homes, communities, country and around the world, it might not change the world, but then again, it just might.

Kath’s quote: “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”-George Bernard Shaw

Love-that is all.