March 2014 – Page 2

Ride the Tempo on CBC Music!

March 7, 2014Inspiration, Life, Music, Social MediaLeave a Comment

Today my music blog Ride the Tempo was featured in CBC’s list of “Canadian Music Blogs You Need to be Reading”. Normally I don’t care for lists but CBC was one of the early outlets that got me caring about Canadian music and influenced me to change the blog’s format to focus entirely on it. It was actually a difficult decision to make. Canadian music is not as popular or hit-generating as some of the bigger indie artists out there. Blogs that write about everything get a lot more hits, and return generate more ad-revenue.

I don’t blog because I think I’ll one day get rich off of it. I love exploring the Canadian music landscape. I care about it and will continue to do so.

Gluten Free Pizza @ Strada 241

March 4, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

A lunch date with my boss landed us at Strada 241, a fancy looking place close to China Town. The menu was very Italian and I had to Google a few things to make sure I knew what it was. We ordered the Gianpolo Pizza which was supposed to have a wild boar, but the person I was with didn’t eat pork so we asked if they could leave it off. Substitutions were not allowed but we were allowed to leave ingredients off. The result of our order was a gluten free pizza with spinach and mushroom. I’m not a health conscious person, but I actually enjoyed the gluten free pizza. It did not break apart or taste weird.

We also shared this cured salmon salad with fennel, onions, peppers and more. It was very fresh tasting and I think I may have enjoyed this more than the pizza.

I think I may come back later with Nash so we can order the more meaty (and less healthy) looking items on the menu! I’ll be back with an update later.

Birthday Dinner @ Union Social Eatery

March 3, 2014March 3, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

For my birthday, I hit up Union Social Eatery at their Mississauga location with my family and Nash. We ordered a little bit of everything from the menu.

As a starter Nash had the Killer Soup ($4.95). The type of soup varies every day and his was a Potato Bacon. He said it was okay, but it had corn which was unexpected and less creamy than he thought it would be.

These Parmesan Truffle Fries ($7.84) were very flavourful and addictive. The truffle flavour was only from the oil but that didn’t stop me from eating them all.

The Korean Short Rib Tacos ($9.96) melted in my mouth.

The House Braised Short Rib Firecracker was crunchy and served with a sweet chilli sauce.

Since it was my birthday I thought I’d try the Social Punch which was made with Amaretto, Southern Comfort, orange, cranberry and pineapple juice. It was so delicious I drank it before our food came.

My sister’s main was the Thai Red Curry Bowl ($13.96).

A few people ordered the Steak and Sushi which was a cute take on surf and turf. The steak was cooked in a Korean beef sauce and sliced and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The shrimp in the sushi was fried and it had a nice crunch.

Nash had the Korean Swordfish Steak ($18.98) served with veggies. I’ve never had swordfish before and I enjoyed that it wasn’t fishy tasting.

I ordered the Steak Frites ($19.73) but since I ordered truffle fries as an appetizer, I replaced it with a Candy House Salad. The steak was very juicy and flavourful. The Candy House salad was sweet and there were mini surprises of figs, mango, walnuts and more in every bite.

All the food was beautiful and delightful and I would definitely recommend it for a nice night out.

Toronto Grilled Cheese Festival

March 2, 2014March 2, 2014FoodLeave a Comment

On Friday, I attended Joylister’s Grilled Cheese Festival. The premise was that we paid $39.99 ($45 with tax) for an all-you-can-eat grilled cheese and soup experience that included 4 drink tickets. We did a similar non-Joylister event, Burger Day, during the summer and loved it so we thought Grilled Cheese Festival would be something like it. I didn’t take any photos of Grilled Cheese Festival because we were in a frantic mood to try everything. I did however, have this vlog of our first hour:

I didn’t capture the chaos that ensued afterwards. Joylister had totally oversold the event and by 7pm the Roy Thompson Hall lobby was so full of people you could hardly move. My friends arrived during this time and were stuck outside for half an hour before being let in. Me and Nash felt really bad for them so we lined up in separate lines to help our friends get their share of food and drinks. The two of us were lucky because we lined up before doors and were able to sample the majority of things within an hour. There were only 12 vendors and it was ultimately underwhelming, especially for $45. I was surprised when I found out that only half the lobby had vendors. My favourite picks from the night included the Tandoori Chicken sandwich from Market Fresh, that most people ignored. A stand-out soup included the Tomato Feta & Basil from Soup N’ Such.

Personally, the overselling of tickets didn’t affect me because I came early but I felt like what I got for $45 wasn’t worth that price point. Burger Day was $30 and I was completely satisfied with my experience. I don’t know what Joylister did with our money, especially since it was beyond sold out and there wasn’t enough food to feed all.

The vendors themselves were friendly, and worked as hard as they could, despite not expecting the chaos that would ensue. The guy running the bakery stand even offered those that stayed till the end some full-sized pretzels to take home. Cheesewerks is giving out free sandwiches this weekend for those with tickets. I felt bad for sponsors that had to tie themselves to a disastrous festival. Look at this adorable ketchup bottle I won from the Indie88 booth!

Anyways, I don’t think I’ll be attending another Joylister event until they get their stuff together and I hear some better reviews.

Kinton Ramen

March 1, 2014March 2, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews5 Comments

Hey guys, I’ve been so busy the past week that I didn’t have time to post but I have a bunch of post-worthy content (especially food posts). Recently, I visited the new Kinton Ramen in Korean town.

When we arrived, there were two black doors. One had a chicken and the other a pig decal. We picked the pig door, which led to the restaurant. We tried the chicken door on the way out, but it was locked. Perhaps, that side will have a venue of some sort in the future. The restaurant was open-kitchen style and we were greeted by the entire staff upon entering. I ordered the Shoyu Ramen with Pork belly ($9.80). A gigantic slice of pork belly sat on a bed of noodles, scallions, beansprout, a sheet of nori and an egg. The pork was comforting and the broth was very flavourful. The portion size was very generous compared to places like Ryoji.

Nash had the Spicy Ramen with Chicken ($10.80). The broth had jalapeno paste, aosa-nori, onions and scallions. It definitely had a bit of a kick but he finished everything to the last drop.

To drink, we both had Japanese Lemonade. It was a sangria-like drink.

Our bill came in this cute little steamer. Nash was also surprised to find out that since he finished his ramen to the last drop, he got a card with a stamp for a free bowl after a certain number. We also had our picture taken for their Instagram. The idea is such genius and encourages people to not waste their food and also return.

View this post on Instagram

Nash Bussieres

A post shared by KINTON BOWLER (@kintonbowler) on Feb 16, 2014 at 4:32pm PST

Regretfully, I did not gulp down all my soup because I was full and did not know about this promotion beforehand. I had a great time at Kinton. The food was delicious, generous. The atmosphere was welcoming and the restaurant was beautiful decorated. This may be one of the cutest one-person-bathrooms I have ever seen: