Gluten Free in Toronto, ON

Last weekend my husband and I decided to make the two hour drive up to Toronto, ON for a fun getaway. Of course, the first thing I did was research gluten free and celiac-friendly options in the city. I quickly had a list of restaurants I wanted to check out!

We arrived on Saturday, June 28 around 10:30am. It was World Pride weekend in the city and our hotel (The Courtyard Marriott) was smack dab in the center of all the festivities. We quickly checked in before heading away from "festival zone" towards Chinatown which bordered the Kensington Market area where our first stop was located; The Kensington Cornerstone.

Kensington Cornerstone

Let me tell you, this place was an amazing find! Located at the end of Kensington Avenue, with an adorable, cozy patio to enjoy the beautiful summer morning, we found the perfect place to start our gluten free eating extravaganza! Kensington Cornerstone is 100 percent gluten free - the absolute best thing a celiac can hear! 

We split a pitcher of Vodka Lemonade which was delightful and just the right proportion of lemonade to vodka. After a lengthy debate between french toast and a breakfast sandwich I chose the french toast and never regretted my decision. It came out looking beautiful and scrumptious and tasted even better. The bread was thick, perfectly cooked, and the crusts seemed like they had been dipped in sugar and cinnamon for extra enjoyment! I loved every second of eating this breakfast favorite that I haven't had since I've gone gluten free - so at least two years! Drew ordered the eggs Benedict and loved it, including the gluten free bread. What an awesome way to start the day!

First french toast since celiac!

I had told Drew there was a bakery I wanted to go to, but looking on the map I realized it was a lot further than I had thought. I decided we'd skip it. We began to wander around the Kensington Market area, savoring the unique shops and restaurants and hipster vibe. Suddenly, I looked up to see "Bunner's," the name of the 100% vegan, gluten free bakery I had wanted to visit! What?! We went inside and quickly discovered that they had just opened up a second location (this one!) the day before! What luck! We ordered a cinnamon bun which they warmed up and cut in half for us, and I also got a red velvet cupcake and a creamie (two chocolate chip cookies with frosting in the middle) to save for later. All three of these items were absolutely delicious and tasted like they had been jam-packed with gluten because they were that good! I will definitely make a point to go back there the next time I'm in Toronto.

Bunner's 100% Vegan and Gluten Free Bakery in the Kensington Market area

After some more wandering and shopping we headed to our next food-specific destination: Poutini's House of Poutine. Poutine is kind of a Canadian delicacy consisting of french fries, gravy and cheese curds. I'd never had it, but decided that if there was a gluten free version I should probably indulge. Drew loves poutine so he was totally on board for this adventure. We had to walk a couple miles to find this place and there wasn't much to it. No bathroom, cash only, a couple high tables and a kitchen. We were still stuffed from brunch and bakery treats, so we split a regular gluten free poutine. I was pleasantly surprised. For some reason, I expected poutine to be a lot, um...grosser? Haha. It was literally a paper cup's worth, so it wasn't too too much. The french fries were good, the gravy was tasty and not overloading the fries, and the cheese curds were not overwhelming either. All in all, a good first poutine experience!

GF Poutine, a Canadian Tradition

The remainder of our daylight hours were spent walking, window shopping, and enjoying a cold beverage before stopping into the Pride Festival to visit some friends we met while on our Galapagos diving trip last year. Soon, it was time to venture out for dinner.

We headed to the Distillery District, a funky area in the historical district I had visited in the fall. I knew Drew would love the vibe as much as I had. We headed to El Catrin, as it was listed on several websites when I was searching for gluten free in Toronto. The restaurant patio was massive and gorgeous with giant rustic metal chandeliers hanging, and a fire pit in the middle. The line was out the door and around the corner. There was a private party inside, so only patio seating was available. We decided to wait. 

An hour later we were seated. The menu had little icons next to certain items stating "wheat free." I asked about this and the hostess gave me a confused answer about it really meaning gluten free. Hmm. So I asked the server and he said yes, they were gluten free if they have that icon. Not to give away the rest of the story, but at this point, I should have asked to speak with a manager. Unfortunately, the place was crazy and I was starving and I did not. Instead, Drew and I ordered a few items (it is tapas style), and our food came quickly. We had Esquites (a corn dip), Sopes de Tinga (delicious little tart looking things), Cochnita Pibil (BBQ pulled pork tacos), and Carne Asada de Catrin (flat iron steak). Everything tasted amazing!! We loved the experience, the food, and our waiter. Unfortunately, about 20 minutes later I quickly realized I had been glutened. I'll leave out the details, but I will say, if you go here, please make sure you do your due diligence and talk to a manager so you can be assured what you order is gluten free. And maybe it would be better not to go on a Saturday night in the middle of summer so they aren't so busy and can be more careful of cross contamination. I'm not sure what made me sick, but it definitely gave our awesome gluten free food day a less-than-awesome ending.

Taken while I was enjoying my food...

The next morning we went to the Brownstone Bistro for breakfast as I found it on my "Find Me Gluten Free" app. Another disappointment. When I asked about gluten free, our unfriendly waitress sort of laughed and said that the menu she gave us was the menu for Pride Festival and there were no substitutions. OK, then. She also said "you know what you can eat, right?" And I said "Yes, but sometimes there are hidden things in certain items." She didn't seem to care. I ordered an omelet (after verifying with our super friendly waitress that they didn't use anything but eggs in their eggs), and my plate came out with bread on it. I ate the 3/4 of the omelet that wasn't near the bread, begrudgingly. After the night before, I was upset and angry, but felt too defeated to fight. I debated just not eating anything, but I was hungry, so I ate the part I felt should be safe.

Overall, we had a fun time in Toronto. It's a great city that is a melting pot of cultures, making you feel like you could be almost anywhere depending on the area of the city you are in. Plus, we found three awesome gluten free finds in Toronto and I will definitely revisit Kensington Cornerstone and Bunner's the next time we head north!

Barcelona, Spain!

We spent six days in Barcelona and it's safe to say that it has earned a place among my favorite cities. So you might ask, what exactly did I like about Barcelona?

Here's a list:

• The Mediterranean Sea: any city located on water of any type is a huge plus for me, but the Mediterranean Sea?! Over four kilometers of beautiful beaches with an active and well-maintained boardwalk, great restaurants and clubs, easy access to many other countries by sea, and a great place for people watching or soaking up the sun!
• The architecture: First and foremost you've got a bunch of amazing buildings designed by Gaudi, who I am now more obsessed with. This is on top of the gorgeous old Spanish architecture, innovative new designs sprinkled about, and other inspiring pieces from the Gothic period and beyond. In addition to buildings, there are modern sculptures to be discovered all over the city, oftentimes placed just feet from historic old structures.





Gaudi's Casa Batllo (right) 

• Which leads me to the next thing I loved: there is no fear of meshing old and new in terms of design, architecture, art. Here's an example:




Drew in front of a modern sculpture in front of the historic post office 






Another cool piece in the city

• Many beautiful public parks. I grew up in a small town, green space is important to me!




Outside the entrance of Gaudi's Park Guell



Cool view of the city from inside Park Guell

• The Gothic quarter: An amazing old area full of cool buildings, narrow streets, public plazas, stores and restaurants with an endless supply of hidden things to be discovered.



The Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter 

• Ease of getting around: the city is big, but not that big. Drew and I walked most days. However, there's also a wonderful public transportation system of buses, trains and the  subway to get wherever you need to go.
• Gelatterias and patiserrias on every block. Literally...you can't walk a block without going past one!
• The energy: like most cities, I suppose, but there's always something going on here. The only quiet time that we saw was the early mornings which we experienced when walking to our train at 6:30am.
• The schedule: they don't go to work until 10am, allowing more time for fun at night. Athough, yes they get out of work later, but they still manage to fit in a lot more fun time than most Americans.
• The amazing places close to the city: from wineries to the amazing Montserrat





View from our hike at Montserrat

So basically, I'm just saying that I love Barcelona and I look forward to the time I return. AND...you should go! (Check out more of our pictures here)

Have you been to Barcelona? I'd love to hear your favorite things about the city!

Sevilla, Spain: Faith, Flamenco and Flavor

The Andalusian capital city of Sevilla (Seville in English) was recommended to us by many people when we spoke of our upcoming Spanish travels. One thing that especially intrigued me about the city was that around Easter religion dominates the highly Catholic region with a lengthy celebration know as Semana Santa (Holy Week). Semana Santa is apparently celebrated in many cities throughout Spain, and particularly in the Andalusian region, however in my research Sevilla’s celebration was rumored to be the most magnificent. So when our host in Toledo recommended we visit the city, and I realized our time could easily correspond with the beginning of these celebratory activities, I thought to myself (and said to Drew) “Let’s do it!”

Less than 24 hours later we had our train tickets in hand, a centrally located accommodation booked, and excitement building.

We arrived in Sevilla on Saturday evening around 10:30, after a six hour bus ride from Madrid. Our AirBnB.com hosts, Karren and Chris met us at the bus station to give us our keys, a map, and a warm welcome and a few minutes later we were walking up the steps to our next “home.”

The place was perfect; stylish, clean, and centrally located. We rested up Saturday evening and Sunday we began our exploration!

We wandered, walked, and absorbed the city. We immediately liked it. It was bigger than Toledo, smaller than Madrid. It had a great feel and a unique character with its gorgeous old buildings that you see so much in Europe that they almost become common, except for that fact that we just don’t get them at home so they could never get old! It had personality and style, old and new, hidden alleys and bustling plazas.

A typical gorgeous sight in the city

Drew and I in front of the Cathedral

The Cathedral

The Cathedral and fountain

Around two, after exploring for a few hours, we decided to take a rest on a fountain in a plaza near the Cathedral  People had been setting up endless rows of chairs outside the church and in many different parts of the city. We had heard about the religious processionals that were supposed to begin today, but hadn't seen anything.

Resting by the Cathedral

Then we heard something; a marching band. We walked a couple hundred feet to the main road outside the Cathedral and the procession had found us! It consisted of a marching band, followed by hundreds or thousands of people walking in white robes with tall pointed hats. Eerily they reminded us of KKK costumes, but of course they were nothing of the sort. (Apparently the KKK adapted the costumes from these religious processions in Spain into their outfits, which most people now associate with a fearful and gruesome symbolism).

In addition to the robed walkers there were massive “floats” (for lack of a better term) emblazoned with gold, figurines of different religious scenes, and detailed adornment. As the first of these passed us, just inches away, we realized that these “floats” were not moving on wheels or motorized – they were being carried! We saw the human feet along the edge marching perfectly in sync, and even watched the men lower down, and later, pick up the structures. It was incredible! These things are huge, old, and must weigh a ton!

We watched the procession for an hour and decided to walk against its flow to find the end – it seemed that the robed people just kept coming! Finally we found the “caboose” which consisted of a second elaborate float with the virgin atop it. Behind the procession, people were swarming, heading to their favorite bar for a drink and some tapas. This is clearly one of the most important days of the year – everyone is dressed beautifully – men all in suits, women in cocktail dresses and their highest heels (I didn't envy them walking on the cobblestone streets!), and children fancied up in their special outfits.

Taking a break...this is how these "floats" are powered.
Apparently people pay to carry them!

Later that night we headed out to dinner at a restaurant that I read about online, Al Solito Posto – supposedly they had gluten free pizza and pasta and even prepared it in a separate kitchen from the gluten-containing food. I ordered meat tortellini and I even received my own (large!) gluten free roll and crunchy bread stick things. Drew got spaghetti and his was OK – mine was fabulous – but anytime I can get gluten free pasta safely prepared is an amazing moment, so it no longer takes as much to impress me. I guess my standards are lower – if I can eat it I am excited!

GF place mat to alert servers I need GF food!

My gluten free tortellini!

On our walk home from dinner we started to hear music. We quickly came upon a procession. The streets were flooded with people again and our route home was blocked. We managed to get around it for a moment, but quickly realized that they were heading in the direction we needed to go and we would simply have to follow them! And so we did. It was a long, drawn out walk until we got to the plaza where they split off from us. It was exhausting, crowded and a bit frustrating, but overall a pretty special experience.

During our next day in the city we ran into processionals two more times and saw robed people several additional times, walking from point A to B. It seemed that their outfits changed day to day, with the colors evolving and seemingly having some type of important symbolism that was unclear to us.

The next day we walked some more, visiting the famous Plaza de Espana and later the Plaza de Toros where we took a tour and learned about the history and current controversial practice of bullfighting (which is now illegal in several parts of Spain). Little did we know, six bulls are killed in every bullfight, and occasionally horses (and humans) get killed as well. That night we went to a local bar to get a taste of flamenco that is so famous here!

Plaza de Espana

One of the bulls who was a casualty - notice the ear missing - this is part of the "game"

The blur of a flamenco dancer in motion!

Overall, our time in the city was fun, exciting, and varied. We got to experience firsthand the importance of religion to the people, and we also got to see the way they gathered and celebrated post-processional. We watched a flamenco show, enjoyed gluten free food. We walked a lot and didn't find any use for the public transportation available. At one point Drew asked me if I had to pick RIGHT NOW to live in Madrid, Toledo or Sevilla which would I pick? I picked Sevilla; preferring its medium size over the hugeness of Madrid and the slightness of Toledo. Madrid was cool but didn't have a real character of its own – it could be anywhere in Europe to me. Toledo had a ton of character, but everything is almost too similar. Sevilla has character, but variety. It meshes the old and new well and seems to be a great place to live, not just to be a tourist.