Fredericton, NB: Food & Flowers

Did you know New Brunswick is the only constitutionally bilingual province in Canada? Oui, oui! Fredericton is the capital of the province and has a population of almost 86,000 (city centre).

bilingual street sign in Fredericton

The downtown core has a few good pubs  along with a couple of fine dining restaurants. After a few days of pub food at  Snooty Fox and Dolan’s, a friend and I went to The Blue Door which was a nice treat. I had the gorgonzola tenderloin (yummy!) and she had the yellow thai vegetable curry (which was full of creamy white goodness).

The Blue Door, Fredericton

vegetable curry at The Blue Door, Fredericton

Although I was surprised to learn that there was no Starbucks downtown, on the recommendation of several people, on one afternoon I stopped in at Jonnie Java Roasters & Espresso Bar (in the Paradise Imports store) for some freshly roasted coffee. Although people told me “it was the best coffee”, I was a little skeptical. I have a thing for coffee, you may remember (read more here, here and here). Well, to my surprise, it was amazing! So amazing, in fact, that I had two cups of coffee – an espresso and a cappuccino – along with a delicious oat cake made with love by a group of ladies down the road. The coffee – and the people I met at Jonnie Java – definitely made my day!

A heart just for me!

coffee + oat cake = a delicious snack

Flowers were in full bloom last week in Fredericton and the lilacs – both white and purple – really caught my attention. So pretty!

Read more about Fredericton at Tourism Fredericton.

Photos by Jordana.

The Friday Five: Eataly

Eataly New York: We sell what we cook. We cook what we sell.

After several years of planning, Oscar Farinetti, Mario Batali, and Lidia and Joe Bastianich partnered together to open Eataly in Manhattan in August 2010. Eataly is a space to shop for, to eat and to learn about delicious Italian food. According to the Eataly manifesto, food unites us all, brings us all together, and the source of the greatest joy is what happens around the dinner table. Indeed.

If you have already paid a visit to this immense food emporium, then you will have wandered around in amazement. Only steps from the Flatiron building, Eataly is an incredible source of authentic Italian food products and it encourages a very lively atmosphere (kind of reminds me of loud family dinners, actually). Although I found many of the products to be  over-priced, Eataly remains one of the few places, if not the only one, to carry such a variety of true Italian eats!

Today I am sharing with you five photos from Eataly that my mom and I took on one of our most recent visits to NYC. For us, and hopefully for you, these photos are great reminders of Italy.

aqua minerale naturale (water)

Orzata was always a summer treat when I was a kid. It has a very distinct sweet taste.

Bialetti. No other espresso maker will do.

Mmm…chocolate torrone. The best ever.

How lucky are those New Yorkers who get to experience Eataly on a regular basis?

Photos by Jordana and FG. Pasta photo courtesy of Eataly.

Friday Five: New Orleans Food & Flowers

If you’ve been following me on Twitter then you already know that I was in New Orleans last week. I’m looking forward to sharing some of my photos with you over the next little while. Today it’s all about some of the food and flowers that I came across in this über-lively city.

Flowers in the French Quarter, New Orleans

Beignets (ben-yay) at Cafe du Monde, New Orleans

A popcorn snack at Hermes bar, New Orleans

Photos by Jordana

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