Some meals I had in Toronto during the election and immediate aftermath.
M had a show up in Toronto that had him leave on Election Day, and I went with him because I knew no matter what, I didn’t want to be alone for several days following it. I also had never been to Toronto, so this felt as good an opportunity as any.
We spent election night and a few days afterward by the Toronto Airport as that’s where the show was located. I found this local chain called The Keg Steakhouse and Bar, and they had a pretty awesome happy hour where you could get prime rib sliders and tuna tartare for a good price. I also went with the lobster bisque because I wasn’t feeling that hungry, but it hit the spot for something warm and comforting.
The next day, I barely ate as I had zero appetite, but we walked to the Lone Star Texas Grill--another Canadian chain--where they had $4 tequila shots and a really nice chicken adobo quesadilla that hit the spot after I forced myself to do some swimming in the hotel pool in the afternoon.
Thursday I was determined to actually do something, so I got a swim in and then took the UP Express into downtown Toronto. I had a whole list of places that I wanted to go to, but this was more of a reconnaissance trip to get familiar with the layout of downtown before M and I would arrive the next day for 36 hours in the city. I took a walk to Sud Forno, a fun multi-story Italian cafe and restaurant, and treated myself to a lovely portion of cacio e pepe. I had dinner at the hotel later and it was fine, but it didn't need to be documented--though I did have a strawberry and greens salad as I realized I needed more vegetables.
Friday afternoon we went into Toronto together, and started at Chefs Hall which was a couple of blocks from our hotel. I had another quesadilla (trust me, my food choices will improve with dinner) and M had shawarma-style chicken kebabs and rice with a variety of sauces. I had a lovely conversation with a bartender about the election, in which he said that living in Canada lately had been like living next to a crackhouse, waiting to see if the crack dealer would be let back in. Given the shit that the stupid president-elect has been saying about making Canada a state, I definitely want to come back here to ask him how he feels now.
The absolute highlight of the trip, to be honest, was dinner at Aloette that evening. M’s Canadian colleagues were impressed that we were able to get a spot at the bar as walk-ins, but we settled in for a magnificent meal of beef tartare, an iceberg wedge salad, hamachi crudo, salmon tartare with shiso and compressed cucumber, and some fried chicken lettuce wraps. If anything, it was the meal that really brought me out of my funk because as delicious as the food was, the care given to us by our server really made the meal special. We told her what we wanted, she spaced it out accordingly, and we enjoyed one hell of a meal during our allotted two-hour dining window.
