Five Troubling Signs You Are Eating Out With A Food Blogger

February 09, 2016 in Lifestyle, Guides

I love to eat. So, you might assume that having a food blogger as a great friend is perfect for me. Think again!

Here are FIVE troubling signs you are eating out with a food blogger.

1. Choosing a place to eat requires meticulous research.

When eating out with a food blogger friend, one cannot simply walk into any old restaurant. No. One is required to scan all menus, either online or in person before making an informed choice. Once said choice has been made, be prepared for your foodie friend to change their mind and have you consider a new diner that has recently opened.

WARNING: Always check to see if a restaurant requires reservations! Otherwise, one will find themselves freezing their asses off while one’s food blogger friend begins the search for a new place to eat.

2. Finding seats becomes a perilous mission because lighting matters.

As any good friend of a foodie knows, the camera eats first. Always. Therefore, when choosing seats one needs to be strategic. The lighting must be on point. Otherwise, what will happen to the quality of the Instagram pictures?

3. The menu. Enough said.

When ordering food from a menu, your food blogger friend will require you to choose items that are both aesthetically appealing as well as delicious. While you sweat profusely at the daunting task at hand, your food blogger friend is busy inquiring the waiter/waitress regarding the nuances of each dish so much so you can’t help but wonder if you are watching a live taping of Master Chef. By the time you finish placing your orders, you never want to see another menu for as long as you live.

4. Never expect to eat your food while it’s still warm.

As soon as the food arrives, your food blogger friend instantly leaps into action. The table must be a clean canvas. You are promptly instructed to remove your cellphone, wallet, hand etc. from the immediate vicinity. You might even be asked to sink down in your seat because your head is casting a shadow over the table. Sinful! While your foodie friend channels their inner Picasso as they accessorize their pictures with salt and pepper packets, you channel your inner Buddha as you resist the temptation to snatch your food and stuff it down your throat.

5. Be prepared for the modeling job you never knew you wanted.

WARNING: If your food blogger friend asks you to accompany them to a bakery or any place where a sit-down option is not available, run. RUN!

At times, you will be required to become a makeshift table for any over the counter purchases. You will be instructed to hold a box of scrumptious desserts at various angles while your foodie friend snaps several pictures, hoping at least one will be satisfactory to post. Although for a second you are content with your fame when your hand appears on your food friend’s Instagram post, your self-esteem soon takes a hit when you bitterly realize the likes are all for the chocolate eclair. Crushed, you wonder if it was even worth it to moisture your hand beforehand.

I’m sure those of you who have ever eaten out with a food blogger can empathize with my sentiments above; however, I am also certain that none of us would ever change the experience for anything.

My Favourite Things Giveaway 2015!

December 15, 2015 in Contests

A week's worth of holiday giveaways of my favourite things!

Favourite Cupcakes 2015. Winner - @sointocupcakes! I was introduced to these cupcakes even before I ventured into food blogging and I’ve never forgot about them. Earlier on this year I was brought back into the fold after trying their special tea collection cupcakes and it just reinforced why I loved them so much.
___
The cake is moist, the icing is not overly sweet, and the flavours are just bountiful ranging from their Smores, to Cookies & Cream, Red Velvet, and Coconut just to name a few. Along with the standard sized cupcakes, minis are also available if you don’t want to over indulge yourself and their homemade cakes are also an option perfect for any occasion.
___
The prize:

6 lucky winners (that’s right 6!) will win a half dozen of assorted regular sized cupcakes from @sointocupcakes! Pick up only.
___
Rules:

1) Follow me @theeverydayfoodie and @sointocupcakes

2) Like this picture

3) Tag at least one friend in the comments below (each tag is 1 additional entry)

4) Optional: Repost this picture for a bonus 5 entries (remember to tag me so I know you reposted)

Deadline to enter is at 11:59PM EST on December 24th, 2015. One random winner will then be selected and announced on Christmas Day!

Favourite Snack 2015. Winner - @cookiescoop! I was going to categorize this as Favourite Cookie, but I think that would have given it away too easily. This is literally the best snack/cookie you will ever eat in your life! These made to order cookies are always super fresh, super delicious, and super addictive. I’ve personally had over 10 flavours and it is so hard for me to pick a favourite, though Blueberry Pie is definitely up there. With over 40 flavours of Cookie Scoop’s gourmet cookies to choose from, cookies will never be the same!
___
The prize:

1 lucky winner will win a 6 pack of cookies. You will be able to customize your 6 pack and choose any 3 flavours you want. You must be able to pick up the cookies.
___
Rules:

1) Follow me @theeverydayfoodie and @cookiescoop

2) Like this picture

3) Tag at least one friend in the comments below (each tag is 1 additional entry)

4) Optional: Repost this picture for a bonus 5 entries (remember to tag me so I know you reposted)

Deadline to enter is at 11:59PM EST on December 24th, 2015. One random winner will then be selected and announced on Christmas Day!

Favourite Delivery Service 2015. Winner - @usehurrier! If you ever want an easy, seamless service getting food to your doorstep, Hurrier is the way to go. When I first tried their delivery service this summer, I was so impressed at the amount of choices of restaurants to choose from for delivery, the ease of ordering, and also how efficient it was from beginning to end. You get notifications on your phone every step of the way from when your order is picked up, to the moment your food is being delivered to you through their friendly bike messengers.
___
These amazing tacos from Grand Electric for example is just a glimpse of some of the foods that can delivered to you within the hour. Note they can also deliver the food to you in public areas such as parks in case you don’t have a permanent home address downtown. That’s what I did!
___
The prize:

1 lucky winner will win a $25 voucher to redeem when ordering from Hurrier. Please note that Hurrier only delivers in the downtown area.
___
Rules:

1) Follow me @theeverydayfoodie and @usehurrier

2) Like this picture

3) Tag at least one friend in the comments below (each tag is 1 additional entry)

4) Optional: Repost this picture for a bonus 5 entries (remember to tag me so I know you reposted)

Deadline to enter is at 11:59PM EST on December 24th, 2015. One random winner will then be selected and announced on Christmas Day!

Favourite Macarons 2015. Winner - @delyseestoronto! This French bakery is as authentic as it gets and the macarons here are just phenomenal. My very first macaron I’ve ever had was from here and from that point on I’ve never looked back. You also gotta try their Gelato Macarons in the summer time! The owner Fred is a perfectionist and he puts in so much love and care to each macaron that gets made here. It brings me back to the macarons I’ve had in Paris and now I’m hoping a little piece of French hospitality gets to come to you!
___
The prize:

1 lucky winner will win Delysees’s most grandest and luxurious macaron set they offer (Grand Luxe Velour Box) which consists of 20 macarons valued at $45! You must be able to pick it up at their store.
___
Rules:

1) Follow me @theeverydayfoodie and @delyseestoronto

2) Like this picture

3) Tag at least one friend in the comments below (each tag is 1 additional entry)

4) Optional: Repost this picture for a bonus 5 entries (remember to tag me so I know you reposted)

Deadline to enter is at 11:59PM EST on December 24th, 2015. One random winner will then be selected and announced on Christmas Day!

Favourite Dessert 2015. Winner - @woofflesandcream! This combination of a Hong Kong style egg waffle and their soft serve ice cream is just incredible. To best experience this, make sure you go all out with all the fixings! If you find my original picture of this, you’ll see that I said this was probably one of the best things I’ve had all year. And to this day, I haven’t forgotten about it so I would love to share this with you all!

The prize:

5 lucky winners will receive one $5 voucher each to redeem at their store.

Rules:

1) Follow me @theeverydayfoodie and @woofflesandcream

2) Like this picture

3) Tag at least one friend in the comments below (each tag is 1 additional entry)

4) Optional: Repost this picture for a bonus 5 entries (remember to tag me so I know you reposted)

Deadline to enter is at 11:59PM EST on December 24th, 2015. One random winner will then be selected and announced on Christmas Day!

Favourite Restaurant 2015. Winner - @parlorfoods! I’m so excited to share with everyone what I consider to be the best restaurant I’ve had this year! If anyone has read my blog post about Parlor Foods & Co I wrote back a few months ago, you may remember me ending it off by saying this restaurant has sky rocketed to the forefront of my favourite Toronto restaurants. And I wasn’t lying, I’ve been recommending it to friends ever since.
___
So I am here to officially launch “The Everyday Foodie’s Favourite Things 2015” with the following amazing prize:

Win a Dinner for Two (4 course meal) at Parlor Foods & Co (drinks not included). Rules:

1) Follow me @theeverydayfoodie and @parlorfoods

2) Like this picture

3) Tag at least one friend in the comments below (each tag is 1 additional entry)

4) Optional: Repost this picture for a bonus 5 entries (remember to tag me so I know you reposted)

Deadline to enter is at 11:59PM EST on December 24th, 2015. One random winner will theeverydayfoodie be selected and announced on Christmas Day!

Krispy Kreme’s Day of the Dozens

December 10, 2015 in Promo

I remember the good old days where I would drive all the way down to Mississauga and line up for hours just to get my hands on some Krispy Kreme doughnuts when they opened the very first store in Canada in 2001. There really isn’t anything like it when one of those Original Glazed doughnuts come straight out of the oven. It just melts in your mouth, the warm, sugary glazed goodness.

In what now has become an annual tradition for Krispy Kreme Canada since December 12th, 2012 (12/12/12), it’s biggest event in celebration of the holidays is called Days of the Dozens and will be happening again in just two short days again, December 12th, 2015 (12/12/15).

This Saturday, Krispy Kreme Canada will offer customers who go into one of their Doughnut Café’s two dozen Original Glazed Doughnuts for the price of one! With a recipe dating back to the 1930’s, the Original Glazed is Krispy Kreme’s bestselling doughnut and Day of the Dozens is the perfect day in the year to get your hands on them, a whole lot of them.

This event is valid for the entire day. You can participate on social media using the hashtag #DayoftheDozens or simply visit Krispy Kreme Canada’s social media channels to get the coupon and show it in store.

Twitter: KrispyKremeCan

Instagram: KrispyKremeCan

Facebook: Krispy Kreme Canada

All the Krispy Kreme locations across Canada below will be participating.

Ontario

Toronto (Downtown) – 164 McCaul St.

Toronto (Downtown) – 215 Harbord St.

Mississauga – 5920 Mavis Rd.

Quebec

Montreal (Greenfield Park) – 600 Auguste St.

Quebec City – 1560 LeBourgneuf Blvd.

So for all you doughnut lovers, this is one event you do not want to miss out on! Purchase one dozen Original Glazed doughnuts and receive a second dozen absolutely free! #DAYOFTHEDOZENS

Panago Pizza Party #PanagoChallenge

November 04, 2015 in Products

When given an opportunity to host a pizza party, you take it. It’s one of those universal cuisines that is enjoyed all around the world by all age groups and cultures, so as you could imagine trying to find friends to come indulge in my pizza party was a fairly easy task.

The pizza of the hour came courtesy of Panago. Panago is a Canadian pizza company originating from Abbotsford, British Columbia with now over 180 locations spread across 6 provinces. With their 6 featured fall pizzas, my 13 friends and I had the luxury of getting to try each one of them which is all part of their #PanagoChallenge.

So what is this #PanagoChallenge you ask? Well it’s basically an opportunity for you to win free pizza from Panago for an entire year! All you have to do is use the hashtag #PanagoChallenge on your social media and tell them which of the 6 featured fall pizzas is your favourite. It’s that easy!

All my friends, myself included casted our vote after the pizza party to see which pizza came out on top as the favourite. We tallied all the votes up at the end and It turned out that the winning pizza was my favourite as well. You may not have had a chance to taste these pizzas for yourself yet and vote, but hopefully you may get a better picture of what your favourite may be just by looking at them and seeing their description. Check them out!

#BBQCHICKEN

Tomato - based barbecue sauce, topped with grilled chicken, bacon, caramelized onions, red peppers, mozzarella, cheddar

VOTES: 3

#VEGGIEMED

Fresh passata tomato sauce, topped with fire-roasted tomatoes, kalamata olives, red peppers, baby spinach leaves, red onions, feta, mozzarella

VOTES: 1

#CHIPOTLECHICKEN

Creamy chipotle cilantro sauce, grilled chicken, roasted corn medley, seasoned with onion, red & green peppers, mozarella, cheddar

VOTES: 5 *** FAVOURITE ***

#CHICKENCLUB

Creamy ranch style sauce with a jalapeno pepper kick, grilled chicken, Canadian ham, bacon, tomatoes, mozzarella

VOTES: 0

#DLXTROPIVALHAWAIIAN

Smooth, tangy sweet barbecue sauce with notes of clove and oregano, bacon, Canadian ham, pineapple, mozzarella, cheddar

VOTES: 2

#STEAKMUSHROOMMELT

Cheesy cheddar sauce, steak, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella, cheddar

VOTES: 3

And our favourite is as you can see, Chipotle Chicken! For some I think roasted corn may seem like an odd choice to put on a pizza as an ingredient, but that was the very reason why I liked it so much actually.

But don’t take my word for it. Go out and try it for yourself and see if you agree with us.

For more details, feel free to visit their website but here is a quick reminder again on how to win free pizza for a year from Panago! You have 3 ways on social media to enter:

1) Posting the name of your favourite featured pizza on our Facebook wall with the hashtag #PanagoChallenge, OR;

2) Following us on Twitter and tweeting the name of your favourite featured pizza with the hashtag #PanagoChallenge, OR;

3) Sharing a pic of your favourite featured pizza on Instagram with the hashtag #PanagoChallenge.

Panago will also be giving away cool prizes throughout the challenge so just more incentive to enter! Contest ends on November 25th, 2015 at 10AM PST. Good luck!

Disclaimer - sponsored by Panago Pizza, compensated monetarily and with product.

Toronto Food & Wine Festival 2015

November 04, 2015 in Events

Amidst food and wine enthusiasts alike, I found myself soaking up the ambience that radiated at the world-renowned Evergreen Brick Works during the 2015 Toronto Food and Wine Festival. Setting afoot this venue for the first time, I was in awe of my surroundings – traces of rustic-industrial, country-chic and Mother Nature enveloped the entire vicinity. As someone who is fascinated by both street art and food, I found that this Don Valley gem was the perfect location in marrying these two. Already recognized as the first organization to start building gardens across Canada, the Evergreen Brick Works also champions the coming together of community and food. At this inaugural event, I witnessed first-hand how this was showcased – just as their motto advocates – with “good food, happy people, and a healthy city”.

Atop the media preview tour that I was there to participate in, we were greeted by our hosts, who gave us the general overview of the then forthcoming event. Spotted in the crowd were celebrity figures Roger Mooking (Everyday Exotic), Brad Long (Restaurant Makeover) and Gail Simmons (Top Chef). I saw glimpses of how the three-day long event was planned to unfold. Different sections of the Brick Works devoted to various special mini events, such as cooking classes and demonstrations, and Chef’s Talks, were primed and well-equipped. Lights strewn across in rooms, picnic tables and benches scattered throughout, and food and wine vendors abound, the place seemed ready for the throngs of people waiting to be entertained.

After the tour, with my plus one by my side, we hopped from one area of the Brick Works to the next. Our first stop was a Tutored Tastings session. For that particular hour, author and wine connoisseur Ana Fabiano presented the history and offerings of Rioja. Sipping on the five Rioja samples prepared for the audience, the wanderlust in me perked up at the vision of Spain and its vineyards on a screen across of me. Imagine being in the presence of the real deal – how majestic would that be? Meanwhile, my friend immediately favoured the Faustino V Tempranillo Rosado 2014. Had she been able to, she would have bought a bottle of this red wine then and there. I can tell you that the greater part of our wine consumption for the day involved this brand (which continued on to the next part of the agenda).

Heading onward with our food adventure, we proceeded to the central hub of all things food and wine that weekend. Dubbed as the Grand Tasting Pavilion, it acted as the epicenter of the main event, where the space was abundantly occupied with food and wine stations endorsing the vendors’ respective products. Following is a sample of this vending population.

Appealing to those craving exotic and unique flavours:

Bombay Street Food

Of Indian origin, this Sev Puri is “a delicious, savoury staple of Mumbai street food.” Akin to a tostada, crispy puris are topped with potatoes, tamarind and coriander chutneys and fried noodles.

Little Sister

Serving Indonesian fare with this Babi Guling – Balinese roast pork, pickles, peanuts on an ice berg wedge, my palette recognized a celebration of spices.

Black Angus

If you are hunting for some game meat, cupped within is their game toast featuring elk, water buffalo, caribou, and venison.

Dirty Bird

Popularized at the Kensington Market location, this chicken and waffle had a sweet and spicy sauce accompaniment that tickled the tongue.

El Catrin

Chorizo, potatoes, caramelized onions, and a special green sauce all fit in this one bite-sized mouthful.

Rasa

Easily one of my favourites, this simple but hearty piece of shawarma slider with hummus, tabouleh, feta, tzatziki, and pickled things left me both satisfied, but gluttonously wanting more.

Tori’s Bakeshop

Niche to organic and vegan eaters, this seemingly innocent baguette crostini layered with cashew chevre and smoked beets with Maldon Salt packed a delicious punch to my taste buds.

Pulse Restaurant

Quack Taco - this Singaporean duck ensemble, adorned with bamboo intestines, pickled beets, and Pulse’s special samba sauce, deservedly claimed its RSVP’d spot in my belly.