Summer in the City

Friday evening at The Drake Hotel, http://thedrakehotel.ca/

Drinks on the patio, Sashimi salad, Heart shape sushi rolls. on a hot Friday night in the city, it just doesn't get any better. Well, it did, because after the Drake, we went to The Big Chill on Manning Ave. for killer ice cream cones, I had Pistachio Kulfi and LA had the Peanut butter and Chocolate, yum. The best I have had in Toronto (sorry Greg's)

The Jamieson's come for dinner on Saturday night. We had a blast. After a Saturday morning trip to Kensington market and The Spice Trader, http://thespicetrader.ca/ we enjoyed a "Tapas " style dinner:

- Sashimi of tuna, butterfish and salmon

- Buffalo Mozzarella Salad with red and yellow cherry tomatoes, basil, EVOO and creme de Balsalmic(that I bought recently in San Remo, Italy)

-Thai Spiced Scallops with Apricot Mango Salsa (I created this on the fly, see recipe below...it would go great with any fish as well!!)

- Greek Chicken skewers with tzatziki

- Teriyaki Beef skewers

- Cheese Plate

- Fruit cheesecake (thanks Jos and Dave)

Apricot Mango Salsa (makes approx. 1 cup)

3-4 small ripe Apricots, finely chopped

1/2 cup mango

1 tablespoons jalepeno pepper, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped

1 small shallot, finely chopped

juice of one lime

fresh cilantro, finely chopped to taste

Sunday night at The Stockyards, http://thestockyeards.ca/

Wow! is all I can say about our dinner tonight at The Stockyards(check out the last pic above). After watching the Wimbledon final(way to go Rafa!) and an afternoon of shopping, we were hungry and LA was in the mood for meat(unfortunetly, I wasn't on the menu). After a quick surf, LA suggested this place, and I immediatly jumped on it after remembering a very positive review from Toronto Life.This BBQ Diner is the real deal all the way. We stolled in and took a seat at the counter across from the open kitchen. It was hot and the boys were working hard serving up mostly take out orders of smashed burgers, fried chicken, brisket, pulled pork and even a killer house smoked trout sandwich wrapped in pancetta. But a few nights a week, and Sunday is one of them, ribs are available from 5 p.m. and we were in business. LA and I shared a rack, fries, onion rings and coleslaw. The food was absolutely excellent and definetly the best BBQ in the GTA hands down.

Check them out and enjoy this place. The Sunday brunch menu looks especially inviting as well.