My Sunday in Toronto was a full day of professional integration for my healing work as a Life Activation Practitioner in the Lineage of King Solomon energy healing modality. It was a beautiful day of sitting in yummy energy and practicing the art of healing on each other – and it worked up quite an appetite. Perfect for exploring more of what greater Toronto's food scene had to offer.
My friends were not quite done at the same time as me so I took the moment to give my mother a call, it being Mother's Day, and chat about a possible visit to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to seem them this coming summer. Turns out there is an airport in Marquette, Michigan. Can't be worse than flying in a six seater from Islay to Oban.
I also took a moment to confirm my foodie research. It was still impossible to get into Edulis. Bummer. But there were two other options that did not take reservations. The number one on my list being Bar Raval, a tapas bar famous for its giant mahogany bar and its authentic Spanish ingredient tapas. It won the debate because of the theoretical ease of us getting in on a Sunday night on Mother's Day.
I picked up my friends from the conference center and we headed into the city to find a cold and windy Toronto night and a crowded warm tapas place with an amazing giant mahogany structure splayed around and above it.
The size of the mahogany structure was in perfect contrast to the menu of tiny plates.
In my opinion, what really makes a place authentic Spanish tapas is the quality of their boquerones and anchovies.
Oh the pickled and salty butter of the little fishes was so not disappointing. Both had the perfect dense flesh feel and the right zing and umami on the tongue. They went perfect with the shoshito peppers' saltiness.
After our appetites were appetized with the first set of plates we moved in for the real commitment. Squid on black rice and spring greens with pancetta.
The green included wild spring leeks and the best little new peas we ever tasted. The leeks had an almost anise quality in their after taste and they paired so well with the pea greens and the fat from the pancetta. The black rice was almost a risotto underneath the squid stewed in garlic, onion and pepper and fish broth. We joined the clean plate club and realized that after only five plates and some bread we were full.
We drove back to our airport accommodations. I thought I would stay up late into the night writing this blog and enjoying my big hotel suite – but my eyes began to close the moment my pajamas were on. So I did the math for my Niagara Falls adventure the next day and called it a night. It was a good yummy day all around.