Will there be lobster?

When we found out we were going to Prince Edward Island for my sister’s wedding all thoughts turned to the obvious. Lobster.  Yes, lobster and how to enjoy and take advantage (in every way we could), of something, that on the Pacific Coast is very much a luxury.

Madly in love in North Rustico

By my second day in Prince Edward Island I was pretty much in love. The rolling hills, the white-painted churches, the tidy barns, the fields of wildflowers; They had me at hello.

But when I arrived in North Rustico, I was head over heels.

Finding Delicious on Nova Scotia’s South Shore

After two days in Halifax, we took the well known journey along the South Shore and did the drive along route 333 to Peggy’s Cove winding our way around the coast on the 329 and then the #3 to Lunenberg. This is a stunning drive along some spectacular coastline dotted by pretty little fishing villages.

Peggy’s Cove. Yes,it’s a postcard stop that no self-respecting Canadian can pass and stop we did.

Gregan’s Castle

My current trip to Ireland is winding to an end. It’s been great to spend some time with friends here and visit all the old places. But it’s also been fantastic to find a few new ones as well. Gregan’s Castle Hotel is located near Ballyvaughan in the Burren area of County Clare.

Cuban Lunch at Delux

This past weekend, I went to Toronto with my mum and sister to visit my other sister who lives there. Without giving too much away, let’s just say we had an important task on hand. It involved shopping. And we needed fuel.  Somehow I’d heard about Delux on Ossington Street so we decided it to make it our pitstop for lunch on Saturday.

Sunday Mission

For our last day on our recent trip to San Francisco, we headed back to the Mission District where we’d already spent a bit of time…but not enough.

Mission Dolores

The Mission District gets its name from the Mission Dolores, one of the original California Mission Churches. The Old Mission or Misión San Francisco de Asís was founded in 1776 and was also known as Mission Dolores due to the presence of a nearby creek called Arroyo de los Dolores.

Mission Dolores Basilica

Misión San Francisco de Asís - The Old Mission

Holy Bread of a Different Kind

Having heard about Tartine which reportedly makes best loaf of bread in the world we thought we’d try our luck at coffee and a pastry for breakfast. Given the line up which extended a block from the entrance they must be doing something right. Patience not being my biggest virtue we decided to move on and try it later. We did manage a lovely biscuit later in the afternoon. Not bad. I can’t speak for the bread but by all reports it’s amazing and sells out within 45 minutes of 5pm when it hits the shelves each day.

We did a bit of a drive-by on Delfina which seemed to be the talk of the town. All weekend, anyone we asked recommended it as a great place to eat. There is a main restaurant as well a more casual pizzeria. Again – big line up waiting for the Pizzeria to open for lunch. It looked great but we were too hungry to wait.

Down the street is Farina, an Italian bistro, specializing in pizza and pasta. We were there for breakfast so didn’t get to taste the latter but really enjoyed the floor show in the open kitchen where pizza dough was tossed and rolled before being slipped into a forno style oven. Another chef hand rolled pasta and made what appeared to be squash tortellini.

Breakie - Uova con Prosciutto

Later we walked around the Mission to take in the atmosphere and check out the murals which are very prevalent in this area. Some of the more elaborate ones, like the Maestrapeace Mural which covers the Women’s Building, feature incredible detail.

Maestrapeace Mural

Maestrapeace Mural

Mural off Guerrero

We would have been very happy to spend the entire weekend here. Such a lively neighbourhood with plenty of options for food and a great atmosphere. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip to San Francisco.

Addresses:

Delfina, 3621 18th Street

Farina, 3560 18th Street

Mission Dolores, 3321 16th Street

Tartine Bakery, 600 Guerrero Street (at 18th)

Arzak

The lovely Mexican man at the next table said it best when I asked him what he had eaten, “That is the problem, I’m not sure that I can describe it – It’s like nothing I can remember – I think that Arzak must be the Dali of food”

There is no reference point for Arzak – and I will suffer the same problem as my Mexican Friend here. So below is a somewhat futile attempt to describe our meal. If nothing else, the pictures convey the beauty of the plates which really were works of art.