Up North, Eh?

We’ve been on a wedding circuit as of late, which has been both fun and exhausting. I have not had a chill NYC weekend in over two months and it’s starting to feel like I’m just visiting my city in between events (dramatic).

This past weekend, we flew up to Toronto for my friend’s wedding at The Art Gallery of Ontario. I love parties in atypical spaces, and they really nailed it–the wedding was modern and elegant but not stuffy. Drinking cocktails in a museum feels a little illicit. There’s a small part of me that’s like well, what would happen if I just ‘tripped’ and this martini went all over this priceless painting? I almost have to hold myself together in a weird fantastical way.

Oftentimes getting dressed in black tie seems daunting, but once everything comes together, wearing a gown is transformative.

I’m not big on the wedding-sponsored morning-after brunch unless it’s right in our hotel. I’ll usually convince Jordan to skip the free omelette bar and venture out to a local spot. On Sunday morning, we were able to sit at the bar at a brunch hotspot called Rose and Sons. We shared an amazing Caesar cocktail before indulging in a PLB special melt and smoked fish plate. Apparently a Caesar is Canada’s version of a bloody mary. It’s a bit spicier, which was a welcomed enhancement. I’m looking forward to making my own version based on this Saveur recipe.

Jordan and I love going to museums in new cities. That said, we accidentally spent several hours at The Art Gallery of Ontario the day before the wedding. Full disclosure, we had no idea we were unwittingly previewing the wedding venue for two hours–we were both surprised when we checked the invitation on Saturday. Regardless, we loved both our public and private tours of the museum. It’s basically like we’re members at this point.

One of my favorite places we visited in T-Dot (local slang) was The St. Lawrence Market. There were tons of vendors selling prepared food, cheese and meat. Some Googling led us to try a peameal bacon sandwich from Carousel Bakery, whch we promptly slathered with fresh horseradish, grainy mustard and banana peppers before devouring the whole thing. I mean, if it’s good enough for Ruth it’s good enough for me. I sort of wanted another one but had to save room for the Ukrainian pierogi stand downstairs.