Mac'n Cheese Festival

In June 2015, Toronto held its first Mac'n Cheese Festival. Once word got out, I gathered up a few people and headed out to Liberty Village and saw what this Festival was all about. I absolutely love the atmosphere of Liberty Village, great space but the only thing was that it was a very tight space for so many people. I think they didn't expect such a big turn out and did not prepare for such a big crowd. Unfortunately, that was one downfall of the Festival. Hopefully this year they will prepare for a bigger event and have it at a different location.

Starting from top to bottom (Left to Right): Mac'n Cheese Sushi, Mac'n Cheese Spring Rolls, Mac'n Cheese burger.

How can you go wrong with Mac'n Cheese, right?!? Everything that we have tasted was good, BUT what we thought was missing was flavour.! Each dish needed a little kick, some spice, something sweet, just something! We liked everything we tried, but we didn't love it. Vendors had the concepts of being different, and I absolutely loved that, but it just wasn't enough for us.

I have to say out of all the food we tried at this festival, our favourite was the Mac'n Cheese Sushi. It was made with mac'n cheese rolled in Dorito chips flakes and covered in a spicy ketchup, with extra creamy cheese sauce underneath. This was our favourite because the concept was different and the ketchup added some flavour.

Overall I give this Festival a C, I really hope they step up their game for this year's festival!

Cheers!

Website: http://macandcheesefestival.ca

Shotberry

Shotberries are by far the best gift ideas or partying favours! :) I came across this business through Instagram and I am so glad I did! I have ordered from them at least 3-4 times in the past year and every time they have not disappointed. These ladies are situated in Toronto and I may say have excellent customer service! One time I was not able to meet them to pick up my order due to a tight schedule and you know what they did?!? They sent the shotberries via Uber. I really appreciated that and will never forget it. These ladies definitely go out of their way for their customers! :)

Not only is their customer service excellent but their actual product is such a neat, unique concept and absolutely delicious! In the picture above I ordered one of my best friends these shotberries for her birthday. Shotberry gives you the option to pick the type of chocolate you want your strawberries dipped in, the colour/decorations you want on your shotberries and the type of shot you want. These ones above have a shot of Crown Royal, as that is my friends favourite drink. Shotberry has a variety of shots that you can choose from whether it is alcoholic (i.e.: Tequila, Baileys, etc) or non-alchoholic (i.e.: Milk, etc), the options are endless. There are different ways you can eat these shotberries. You can take the shot, then eat your strawberry or you can shoot the shot in your strawberry and eat it. Can you say delicious?!?? :)

I rate this business an A+++, not only is their customer services excellent but their shotberries are a lot of fun and just absolutely delicious!

Check out their website below to place your order for Shotberries. Trust me, you will not be disappointed! :)

http://www.shotberrystore.com

Queen Margherita Pizza

Queen Margherita Pizza (QMP) is one of my favourite Italian restaurants in Toronto. Coming from a half Italian family, I can appreciate and recognize great Italian food. :) 

QMP has several locations throughout Toronto, but my favourite location is Leslieville. The environment of this location is warm and comforting. I love the decor of the restaurant and their "warehouse" type windows are just beautiful! It definitely completes the place. 

Appetizer: Meatballs

The food is phenomenal! You don't find many Italian restaurants in Toronto that serve traditional Neapolitan pizza. You can tell that the food here is made with love and passion. Not only does the delicious food stands out to me here but the option for a prix fixe meal is pretty awesome as well. You have the choice to pick an appetizer, pizza and desert for a certain amount of $$$. It is definitely worth it and i like to believe cost efficient, especially if you want to try more than one thing on their menu.  I absolutely love this idea! This is something that you don't always find in restaurants and i think they do a great job in being their own unique restaurant. I give QMP a big A++! You should check out their website below and head down to their restaurant for a delicious slice of pizza. :) Cheers!!! 

http://www.qmpizza.com

Santa fe at Lola's Kitchen

I highly recommend this dish and others at Lola's Kitchen (located on Church Street) downtown Toronto. I am in love with their dish, Santa Fe. This dish includes rice, black beans, guacamole, roasted corn, grilled sweet potato, romaine, green onions, pico de gallo, crispy tortillas, yogurt, lime drizzle. You have the option to either add chicken, shrimp, tofu or salmon as a protein. You also are given the option to substitute the rice with quinoa. I usually have my Santa Fe with quinoa and shrimp and it is delicious!!! 

The restaurant is truly a hidden gem that is just a couple steps from Church and Bloor. The restaurant consists of a fresh from scratch menu, using naturally raised local meats, fresh organic products and serving only local craft beers. Which i find very impressive! The food here is delicious and just so fresh! You will never leave this restaurant feeling disgustingly full. The environment is casual and relaxed.  I love the restaurants on Church Street as majority of them are restored houses and i absolutely love it! Lola's Kitchen has some awesome artwork on their walls as well which i believe just makes the place! :) 

Overall i give this restaurant an A+. :) 

Please see the link to their website below: 

http://lolaskitchen.ca

Cookies, cookies, cookies & cream #sweetjesus

You will definitely be yelling "Sweet Jesus!" after having their cookies, cookies, cookies & cream ice cream cone! The Cookies, cookies, cookies & cream ice cream cone was definitely very sweet but nonetheless still delicious! 

Sweet Jesus has had a lot of hype recently in the past year due to their new and unique ice cream inventions. They definitely caught mine and my friends' attention. :) The concepts that they are have are definitely creative and make them different from any other soft serve ice cream shoppe in Toronto (that i am aware of). They do not only focus on ice cream but coffee and other deserts as well. I have seen on their Instagram profile that they have some interesting coffee options. These are definitely on my bucket list to try!!! 

The venue itself is very small but is to be treated as an in and out place, so i completely understand that. :) They do have an outside area where you can sit, eat and mingle with friends so this makes up for the small space. 

Overall it was a great experience at Sweet Jesus and I definitely do plan on going back to try other flavours of their ice cream and/or drinks. I give Sweet Jesus an A. If the ice cream was made in house I would have been even more impressed!!!! 

Happy eating! :) 

Check out their website below: 

http://www.sweetjesus4life.com 

Li's Oriental Kitchen

Looking for a place to check out for ordering in? Look no further! If you are craving oriental cuisine, you are in for a real treat. :) Check out Li's Oriental Kitchen (located in Etobicoke on Dundas St. West just west of Kipling). We ordered the bbq spareribs, vegetable lo mein, general tso chicken, fried rice with mushroom and beef with snow peas. Everything was delicious! My family felt that everything was fresh and not greasy like other places (ie: Mandarin or Mayflower). I have to say that this place will definitely be my next go to when craving that oriental cuisine. 

My favourite dish was the general tso chicken! It is fried chicken (of course) but the sauce is sweet/spicy and it is just delicious! It is deifinitely a great mix. I highly recommend this place for take out, i give this restaurant an A. Hope you guys enjoy! :) 

Please check out their website! (See link below) 

http://liok.ca