Silly me... expecting the average trip home: Mamabear's yummy cooking, dinner out with my Dad, coffee with my brother, lunch at the Jewish deli with my Grandma and Great Aunt (the same one they've been going to for thirty years. One day, just for fun, we calculated how much money they must have spent there after all these years. Let's just say they could probably buy a small car. Or two), and quick catchups with whichever friends happen to be in town.
This was not 'that' weekend.
This weekend, in fact, was beyond 'that' weekend. It was magical. Colourful. Fruitful, I might even say. And that, my friends, is because this weekend will go down in history as The Weekend I Realized Toronto is a Great Vegan City! It may have taken me all of my twenty-and-a-half years to figure out, but my God was I impressed.
So, through the epic skills of my iPhone, I bring you...
Toronto the Vegan
I arrived via train late Thursday night. Mamabear, knowing that I wouldn't have eaten beforehand (she's a Mamabear... Mamabears know all), cooked up the most delicious vegan meal for me! This is where it began. It was so pretty, I had to capture it forever, so that the next time I was eating really terrible vegan food, I could gaze longingly into my phone and remember my fond memories of my Mom's ever-so-accommodating kitchen:
Brown rice with, quite possibly, the most delicious tofu I've ever had, which came from the market (details below), greens entirely from my Mom's garden, with tomatoes and mixed nuts, and sliced avodcado with a spiced oil on top. De-lic-ious. Almost too delicious...
Then, as if that wasn't enough, my Mom had a little surprise waiting for me at home. A JUICER!
'For me' is a bit of a stretch, as it, well, wasn't for me. But I kinda pretended it was for my four days at home, and definitely put it to work...
I'm not sure what it is -in fact, it very well might all be in my head- but I swear I sleep so much better after drinking a green juice before bed!
Side note: Last Monday, after working for four hours at the yoga studio, I decided to take the 90 minute class. It happened to be a particularly great class for me, and afterwards, I rode my bike up to Crudessence for a green juice. I drank it, biked home, showered, and had the best sleep I've had in SO long. SO long. I woke up feeling delightful -so refreshed and happy and smiley! It was the first green juice I've had in a while, and coming out of a weekend full of them, I have to say, it's confirmed. I'm a believer.
Next up was the Evergreen Brickworks Farmer's Market! The one with the dreamy tofu. It was gorgeous! Fragrant, bright, and full of people (and their dogs) who love food as much as I do! I had no idea this gem existed, but it's right in the city, in Toronto's incredible ravines, linking together endless walking/cycling trails.
We started the trip off with a mini hike, and met this little guy:
...Ohmygod I love turtles...
What really blew me away, aside from the many young, bright eyed, baby slinging, golden retriever owning couples who usually frequent farmers markets, was the number of YOUNG(er) people there. There were a ton of folk my age, and that was super nice to see. It reminded me that a) markets are affordable, and b) this IS our generation's cause.
If only you could see me smiling right now.
Just as I thought this place couldn't get better, the crowd parted like the red sea, and a Godly light shone through the nonexistent clouds, leading me to this:
LPK's Culinary Groove (click here to see their site!)
D'aww.. aint they cute? What was even cuter, my friends, was their mostly vegan selection of goodies for sale. I wish I had a picture to show you, but sadly, the ginger cream cookie I devoured was, well, devoured far too quickly for film to pick up. But let me tell you, it was pretty perfect.
Then it was off to The Distillery District! Another adorable area unique to T.O. Famous for their (mostly meaty) sandwich shops and (definitely dairy-filled) ice-cream shops, I was sure that my vegan weekend had come to an end. But then we peeked at the menu at Cafe Uno (Click here for their website -it's cute!), and I was, yet again, proven wrong...
Apple-beet salad, and this explosive wheatberry medley... so simple, yet so delicious. Thanks Cafe Uno.
The next day, which happened to be this morning, we started the day off right at Fresh, my all-time favourite vegan restaurant in Toronto! I had the 'Brunch Special', which offered scrambled tofu with onions and spices, grilled whole wheat pita bread, baked beans, and home fries. It was pretty great, but nothing beats lunch or dinner at Fresh. More on that another time, I'm sure.
Just when I was sure it couldn't get any better -just when I thought I had tapped all of Toronto's vegan weekend specials, I decided to spend my last afternoon before heading back to Montreal in my very favourite Toronto hangout: Kensington Market on Pedestrian Sunday.
If you haven't been, go. Enough said:
It was a lovely, vegan weekend, and to end this post on a Toronto-appropriate note, take a gander at this little piece of graffiti I noticed just as we were leaving...
Hehehe... Only in Toronto.
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