I was pleased to find that a plus point of the Pogue Mahone management change is that they’ve started serving Brickworks 901 in a regular pint glass, because when I was in Toronto two years ago, they used to serve it in a jam jar!
Unfortunately I did not escape the jam jar, because I found they were still using it at the Elephant & Castle three days later:
Brickworks 901.
Anyway, the cider. Brickworks is one of the most prominent cider companies in Canada – they make a good few different ones – and the 901 is probably the most common on draught in bars. It’s got a lovely medium sweetish taste – you just have to try and avoid the ‘jam jar as glass’ thing!
One of the good things (and also one of the bad things) about being a freelancer who works over email is that I can take my work everywhere I go. The negative side of this is that I’m never truly on holiday, but the positive side is that I don’t miss out on work when it arrives, and it’s still important for me to take every work opportunity that comes my way, because of the specific way in which my business is growing.
This is how I found myself sitting at a desk working all day on the Thursday of our Toronto trip. As work spaces go, though, our hotel suite wasn’t bad – the desk was really nicely set up, and that gorgeous view from the window was a lot more interesting than my usual work surroundings!
In the evening, we all met up at Kalendar, a restaurant just down from Geth’s favourite boardgame cafe on College Street, and I had pizza and blueberry cheesecake. Geth informed me that there was a red phone box next to the toilets downstairs, but my excitement was dashed upon finding this not-at-all-a-classic-British-phone-box:
Most definitely not a K Series.
Also, when I was spinning around confused with my phone camera, looking for this phone box, I got a very strange look from a guy finishing his business in the gents’ facilities, which were in full open view of the hallway. Awkward.
Afterwards, we went back to Malcolm and Steff’s place for a couple of drinks and to meet Sushi the cat.
On the Friday morning, I did a bit more work (and finally finished my Now! marathon!) before heading down to the Elephant & Castle pub to meet Geth, who had just delivered his conference paper. On the way, I did the irritating tourist thing of holding up pedestrian traffic at a crossing to get this nice CN Tower picture:
Pretty skyscraper shot! I like the serendipitous placing of the bird as well.
Readers with good memories might remember the Elephant & Castle from this Phone Box Thursday post about their red phone box. The pub is still a good stop with lots of sports on the TV and good cider on the bar, and Geth was finally able to have some decent chicken wings:
Definitely not Chicken McNuggets!
I also really like the stained glass windows – the patterns are lovely and retro.
I had T-shirts with this sort of pattern on back in the ’80s.
After a couple of pints, we headed outside to make sure the phone box was still present and correct…
Still there, still standing!
…and then went to the Black Bull for some arctic air-con, a very talkative guy sitting next to us at the bar who was telling us about all the gigs he went to in the ’70s (and is apparently friendly with Martin Gore from Depeche Mode!), and Geth’s new favourite pint, a beer called 8th Sin:
Hop City 8th Sin. Geth went back here the following week, after the rest of us had already left Toronto, for some more 8th Sin and some even better chicken wings.
In the evening, we met up with Mum and Dad for another meal of delicious pizza and cheesecake in the Holiday Inn.
On the Wednesday, Mum and Dad came to meet me and Geth outside our hotel, and we all walked down to the lakefront to meet Malcolm and catch the ferry to the Toronto Islands.
The ferry itself is a really nice journey – I always love being out on the water, and it was a gorgeous day for it. Once we got across to the islands, we stopped at a bar for a drink (yet another new cider that I will log soon!), and then went for a walk around the islands. We found a small, pretty beach where Dad went for a quick swim, and then walked along the boardwalk to the next island (they’re very easy to walk between). At the far side of the island, we could see right across the lake to the United States. I think Geth was more interested in a nice sit down though.
Geth on his bench.
We then walked back towards the ferry terminal, through a lovely park full of fountains and trees. At the north side of the island by the terminal, you get a gorgeous view of downtown Toronto:
I love that perfect water!
I could have stayed on the islands all day – it’s such a beautiful atmosphere.
I miss that sunshine. We’ve just had a weekend of thunderstorms in the UK and you forget so quickly what the sun feels like!
Instead, though, we decided to get back on the ferry, and headed back to Toronto for a drink. The bar we went to had run out of cider, so I had a tasty cocktail – then Geth went off to pick up a boardgame he’d ordered from a shop earlier in the week, and I headed back to the hotel to relax with a book.
In the evening, Geth and I met up with Mum and Dad again, and went to the Pickle Barrel. We ate far too much food, and I forgot to take a photo of my cheesecake. It all tasted great though.
The first cider I had in Canada was Somersby. I was actually surprised that I hadn’t already had it this year, because it’s one of my favourites.
Somersby.
The above can is the Canadian version – it looks a little different in the UK.
Somersby, for me, is associated with Resistanz Festival, which Geth and I went to for four years running between 2013 and 2016 (it hasn’t been run since then, but rumours of its return are ever-present). Corporation in Sheffield, which was the venue for the festival, would sell Somersby for £1 per can during Resistanz weekend. £1 per can! I would typically drink about forty cans over the course of the weekend. I couldn’t do that nowadays.
A British can of Somersby, Resistanz 2014.
Me and Geth with a can of Somersby, Resistanz 2015.
Me guarding my hoard of open cans of Somersby, Resistanz 2016. You had to order lots on the Sunday before they all sold out!
You can see from the 2016 picture (and on the website) that the most recent British can is similar to the Canadian one, but not quite the same.
As for the taste – well, it’s a very artificial taste! It tastes exactly like fizzy apple sweets. This isn’t what I would usually look for in a cider, but I’ve grown to love it. If I see Somersby on draught, that will always be my choice.
As promised, here’s a roundup of all the cheesecake I ate in Canada last week!
1. New York style cheesecake – Holiday Inn
Divine, and beautifully baked.
2. Pecan and white chocolate cheesecake – Holiday Inn
I didn’t actually have this one until later in the week, but Geth had it on the first night, which is when I snapped the photo. The cheesecake part was delicious, but I’m not the hugest fan of pecans.
3. Vanilla cheesecake – Pickle Barrel
I was so keen to dive into this one that I forgot to take a picture. It was similar to the New York style one at the Holiday Inn, but the slice was a lot bigger.
4. Caramel cheesecake – Kalendar
I didn’t have this one at all – they have various cheesecakes at Kalendar, and when we ordered, Steff got the last slice of one type, and I got the first slice of a different type!
5. Blueberry cheesecake – Kalendar
The blueberry taste on this one was gorgeous, but the rest of the cake was a little bland.
6. White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake – Pickle Barrel
Again, I didn’t have this one – we didn’t go to the Pickle Barrel enough times for me to sample all the cheesecakes! – but Geth assures me it was delicious.
7. Brown cow cheesecake – Pickle Barrel
A huge slice of milk and white chocolate cheesecake. Absolutely amazing, and so rich. Good thing I skipped the starter!
8. Vanilla cheesecake – Scaddabush
Even more ridiculously big than the ones at the Pickle Barrel – it’s basically a whole mini cheesecake! Even though I’d forsaken the starter again, it was still a real challenge to finish. Delicious though!
So that’s my Canada cheesecake roundup. I’m starting to understand why I put on so much weight while I was away!
After our trip to the Bata Shoe Museum on the Tuesday, Mum and I went to Pogue Mahone for a drink. Pogue Mahone used to be one of our family’s favourite bars for eating out in Toronto, as Geth had discovered it during his visiting fellowship at Trent University in 2010 and absolutely adored the chicken wings. Unfortunately, it’s been taken over by new management, and when Geth went to eat there on the night he arrived, he was very disappointed to find that the chicken wings on the menu are now, in his words, ‘chicken McNuggets’. As such, we never ate there this trip, but I did enjoy a couple of ciders there, which I will log soon.
In the evening, Mum, Dad, Malcolm and I ate out at Jack Astor’s. Portions were huge, dessert was so rich I couldn’t finish it, and there were pots of crayons on the table, which meant I could indulge my inner artistic toddler:
Bonus points if you can tell what it is.
…and Dad could indulge his not-so-inner mad scientist.
I’m the opposite of a physicist so I’ve no clue what these mean.
After the meal, we went back to the Holiday Inn bar to wait for Geth, who had been out for a meal with conference contacts. I found I was getting really tired, and I would never quite adapt to Toronto time – which is why I’ve been quite surprised at the persistence of the jetlag on my return!
I was excited about going to the Bata Shoe Museum with Mum on Tuesday, because I’d been with Geth when we were last in Toronto two years ago. The main part of the museum, which is a history of footwear, doesn’t change much, but they always have really interesting exhibitions on. Two years ago, the exhibitions included a history of men in heels, so I got to see a pair of Elton John’s ’70s platforms and things like that. This year, they included the use of gold in shoes, footwear of the Arctic peoples, and a special exhibition on Manolo Blahnik, who is my favourite shoe designer.
I like the floral mural on the wall too.
It was the above poster that was the first sign we saw of the museum – it hangs on the east side, just before you turn the corner to the entrance if coming from the south.
Spikes were a big thing when these Giuseppe Zanottis were released (I approved), as were peep toe boots (I did not approve).
I remember drooling over the above Zanottis circa 2011/2012, when platforms were still a huge thing. I wouldn’t wear them nowadays, but they’re still very beautiful to look at.
The gold shoes are Bally – I can’t remember the brand of the red boots, but they’re very beautiful.
The above shoes are mid-century. I’d be more likely to wear ones like these than the Zanottis!
The pointed toe on these Manolo Blahniks is just perfect.
These Manolos are among the many that have been lent to the museum for the exhibition. I had to restrain myself from taking pictures of every pair there – we’d have been there for a while!
Instead, I bought the exhibition book, and a postcard. The gift shop guy was trying to get me to buy another Manolo book as well, which had things like the transcript of an interview between Manolo Blahnik and Mary Beard about his historical influences, but it was far too heavy to take back in my suitcase! I’ll get it online instead.
Overall, it was a really good museum trip, and I’ll definitely be back again next time I’m in Toronto. I wonder what exhibitions they’ll have for me then!
Geth had left on the Saturday – he had a conference in Toronto that we had used to schedule a family trip – but I headed off for my holiday the Sunday before last, carrying two very heavy bags that turned out to be a bad idea when I had to lug them up and down a railway bridge near where I live in order to get to the Metro station. After a cumbersome Metro ride, train ride and taxi ride, I arrived at Mum and Dad’s in Edinburgh and managed to get a few hours’ sleep before a 4am wakeup call.
The flight from Edinburgh to Toronto was nice and straightforward – I read my Kindle the whole time – and after collecting our bags and meeting up with Malcolm at the airport, we got a taxi to the Holiday Inn, where Mum and Dad were staying, and I dropped my bag in their room before going to the St. Louis Diner, where Geth was meeting us after his morning conference session.
A couple of ciders later – logged here – I went with Geth to our hotel, the Grand Hotel, where I was really glad to get out of my comfy plane leggings and put on something lighter (Toronto was a bit muggier than Edinburgh had been that morning). The Grand is lovely, and they’d upgraded Geth to a suite, which had an awesome view:
Downtown Toronto, as seen from the Grand Hotel. You can see the very tippity top of the CN Tower, just behind the tallest buildings!
The suite was great – it had a separate bedroom and loads of space for sitting around. After I’d got unpacked, we headed back to the Holiday Inn for a meal to celebrate Mum and Dad’s wedding anniversary:
You’ve already seen this picture in the Now! #100 review, but it’s worth posting again!
The cider they serve at the Holiday Inn is Strongbow, but the bottle looks different in Canada, so I took a picture of it anyway.
Canadian Strongbow bottle.
After some amazing pizza (the pizza at the Holiday Inn is of the perfect texture, and the sauce is insanely yummy), a couple more Strongbows, some cheesecake (see my cheesecake roundup) and a bit of a wait while a heavy thunderstorm was in progress, Geth and I headed back to our hotel, where it turned out the view by night was pretty awesome too:
I love skyscrapers.
Then I got some much-needed sleep. Part two tomorrow!
