Strawberry Social at Toronto Islands

Strawberry Social on Toronto Island, Kiku Corner

On Sunday June 15, Donatello, Tomiko, our mom, and I took a boat to the Toronto Islands for the Strawberry Social and the Blessing of the Boats and Bicycles. St Andrews by the Lake is a tiny church that has been holding the blessing ceremony for several decades (centuries even?). The tradition originally started when the fishing […]

Montreal Eats: Au Pied de Cochon

Montreal Eats: Au Pied de Cochon, Kiku Corner

We booked dinner on Saturday of the Formula One race weekend in Montreal. Yup, four years in a row. Au Pied de Cochon. In an article I found from 2008, the chef Martin Picard apparently imports 70 kg of foie gras per week! That was six years ago, so it may have increased since then…the chef himself […]

Happy Hour: Cape Cod Cocktail

Cape Cod Cocktail, Kiku Corner

  Having just come back from road tripping through Cape Cod, I found out that one of my favourite drinks, the vodka cranberry, is also called a Cape Cod, or Cape Codder! The cape is riddled with cranberry bogs, so it is fitting that its namesake cocktail incorporates the juice of this ruby red fruit. […]

Cape Cod Eats: Hole-in-One Donuts

hole in one donuts on cape cod

After reading about it in one of our guide books, we stopped by Hole-in-One Donuts in Cape Cod. Just entering the cafe, we were greeted by a typical donut shop wall – like the ones in Tim Horton’s or Dunkin’ Donuts. However, the donuts were not your average uniform pastries. These were large, irregular hunks of […]

Vineyard Haven Eats: Black Dog Tavern

Black Dog Tavern

I made the pilgrimage to the Black Dog Tavern in Vineyard Haven, after reading about it in a few of Susan Branch’s books. It was the first year-round restaurant on the island, the brainchild of Captain Robert Douglas in 1971. The Black Dog has now become an empire, with gift shops, a bakery and cafe. […]