Alfresco Lunch on 401 Richmond’s Roof Garden

401 Richmond is one of Toronto’s urban gems. Having once been an old tin factory, this converted building is now one of the busiest art hubs in the city, housing over 100 arts and cultural organizations such as Open Studio, Vtape, imagiNATIVE, as well as niche bookshops like Swipe Design. Walk in on any Saturday afternoon and you’re bound to come across an opening reception or two! There’s always something happening.

Their roof top garden seems to be a bit of a secret, known mostly to Entertainment/Design District workers…so…shhhh. If you’re around the area, grab a sandwich or a cookie and make your way up for a nice little en plein air meal. It’s a great little lunch time getaway.

Sandwich pictured is from The Sandwich Box. I got roasted peppers, avocados, and slices of pancetta on a rosemary focaccia bread.

The Sandwich Box
388 Richmond Street West | Website

Abraço Espresso

Abraço Espresso is this effortless cool little coffee bar in the East Village that can barely fit more than three people at a time. There are no tables, no wi-fi, just a window ledge and a high bar and a bench outside for a short, lingering chat. On top of serving great coffee, they also offer a variety of housemade treats. For that morning we went with the ricotta scone and their famous olive oil cake; the recipe for the cake was published in Bon Apetit, but a quick search online has proven it to be rather elusive…

Abraço Espresso
86 East 7th Street | Website

Stroopwafels!

It’s been a while since I found a yummy video for my Edible Inedibles tag. Here’s something that caught my eye: stroopwafels! It’s a Dutch brown sugar waffle filled with hot caramel. A must try for my grand European trip one day?

Lately…

I was pretty good during the first few weeks of May. I was at the gym a few times a week, doing some cardio and building up some leg and lung strength for my hiking trip in Peru. Then I went to New York for a few days and completely lost momentum. I’m freaking out a bit. I’m nowhere near the fitness level I hoped I would be by this time, but it’s pretty amazing what a bit of exercise can do though (dashing for the bus or streetcar has been a breeze lately)! At least I still have about two good weeks to squeeze in as much body prep as possible, which will likely involve a lot of stair climbing.

From the top left:
Grilled Cheese & Green Apple sandwich, sliced oranges for a quick office breakfast, grilled meats on a DIY backyard fire pit (more on that later!), savoury oatmeal with a poached egg, Hana Korea on Baldwin (our go-to Korean restaurant by Chinatown), ramen at Kinton on their soft opening, oatmeal with blueberry and chocolate, and ice-cream eating at my friend’s poolside.

Lunch at Momofuku Noodle Bar

There isn’t much that I can say that hasn’t already been said about David Chang and the Momofuku family. We went to the noodle bar for lunch and had a pleasant time. We didn’t much care for the chicken or ‘burnt honey’ soft serve, but their pork buns are the best I’ve had and the Momofuku ramen (poached egg, shredded pork, pork belly, scallions, nori and naruto) was as delicious. The broth for the ramen itself was surprisingly clear and light, almost healthy even, in the same way a nourishing chicken noodle soup can be… But I gotta say that it didn’t seem to taste as good as Ippudo.

Canon AE-1 | Fuji Pro 400h

Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 First Ave., Manhattan | Website | Yelp