Entry #6 – Montreal (Day 2)

Fresh Fruit Smoothie & Lightbulb Tea at Tutti Frutti

Day 2 of our adventurous Montreal extravaganza began at Tutti Frutti, a restaurant that offers dairy free eggs (if you ask) and gluten free bread (listed on menu). Their accommodations made for a wonderful breakfast meal. As well, the service was superb (especially towards people who do not speak French very well (aka me)).

Mi & Stu’s Care Package: Lemon Poppy Muffins, Bread, Brownies, Banana Chocolate Muffins & other food that has already been eaten by me

Following Tutti Frutti, Raye (bae) and I met the owners of Mi & Stu Foods. Ever looking for completely dairy free and gluten free foods to add to your Montreal groceries? Or, are you interested in flying Lufthansa airlines and in need of a gf df meal to satisfy your hunger pains? Well, Mi & Stu are there for YOU! Incredible brownies, muffins, pizzas, pastas, and breads that meet your gluten free dairy free needs. Mi & Stu Foods cater to people with severe allergies to dairy and wheat; they are changing peoples lives, and saving lives to boot. Hopefully, their products will move to Toronto malls and grocery stores in the near future.

Amazing people, powerful cause, delicious food, big hearts. Thank you Mimi & Stephanie for everything you do!!

Thanks to my dear friend Jake, Raye and I also got to visit Sophie Sucrée for afternoon dessert. My oh my, was I impressed. Picture this: a completely vegan and gluten free sundae with caramel sauce on top, homemade floral iced tea, a gluten free vegan chocolate cupcake, gluten free vegan chocolate chip muffin, and gluten free vegan blueberry maple muffin… Mouth is salivating again, oy. If you are passing through Montreal or if you live there, please have the sundae or the blueberry maple muffin. I totally vouch for them. Bon appetite!

Entrance to Sophie Sucrée

My dessert party at Sophie Sucrée

 

My last recommendation: Mlle. Catherine. If you are in Old Montreal for a night on the town, I recommend Mlle. Catherine for dairy free gelato (sorbet) dessert. I didn’t have a chance to take a pic because I ordered and ate so fast (lol) but they offer mixed berry, raspberry, pineapple, and blueberry sorbets that are drool-worthy. Perfect for a romantic summer evening along the sparkling streets of Old Montreal, and the best way to wrap up a magnificent trip.

I am so happy and privileged to know that (tasty) foods exist for those of us with dietary restrictions, in and outside of Toronto. Thanks for embarking on this journey with me. The next blog location is to be determined.

Sincerely,

Carly

Entry #5 – Montreal (Day 1)

Mmmm… fresh gluten free pastas in tomato sauce, gluten free dairy free ice cream and muffins, even gluten free dairy free hot chocolate… Definitely a trip to remember.

This week I had the exciting honour of travelling through Montreal (my first time) to explore appetizing food places for those of us with food needs. You will be happy to know that gluten free dairy free foods extend not only to the greater Toronto area, but also all the way to Montreal! Yay! #travelgoals!

First stop: Pacini. Pacini is a sweet Italian restaurant that offers gluten free breads, dairy free toppings and incredible service. Though it is not exclusively a gluten free dairy free restaurant, it is well-known for its gluten free pasta and bread. I had the best bruschetta I have had in a long time: gluten free bread with the options of dairy free pesto, tomato, and red pepper toppings! And to top that off, gluten free pasta in a tasty tomato sauce with shrimp on the side (in oil not butter). SO. GOOD.

Chez Éric (in Old Montreal) is another restaurant – French cuisine & seafood – that offers similar accommodation to Pacini, yet with the added bonus of FRESHLY MADE gluten free pasta for dinner. Highly recommend! I also hear the oysters are amazing, so if you’re into those then I say do it (as long as it meets your dietary needs)!

Grandma’s Hot Chocolate (dairy free)

 

Next up, Juliette & Chocolat for dessert! Wow, who knew that sweet dreamy dairy free chocolate could taste so good? I had Grandma’s hot chocolate: melted 70% dark chocolate, hot soy milk, and marshmallows completely dairy free. It was like drinking pure liquid chocolate. No. Drinking pure liquid magic.

And that was only day 1.

Entry #4 – Hail Gluten Free Dairy Free CAESAR salad!

As I watch the film Flubber, I am thinking back to all of the wonderful and delicious foods I had the pleasure of tasting this week. From homemade (literally made at my house) dairy free and gluten free desserts to Bang Bang dessert to the Vegan Hogtown’s Caesar salad and its homemade ice tea lemonade, food did not disappoint.

The Hogtown Vegan

The Hogtown Vegan’s gluten free menu

 

The Hogtown Vegan is a trendy vegan restaurant, which – to my obvious excitement – has all of its food completely dairy free (because it’s vegan) as well as an entirely separate gluten free menu. As such, I managed to taste the following items before being way too full:

• Homemade ice tea lemonade
• Mac n cheese
• Tortilla salad
• Caesar salad
• …and a bite (excluding the bun) of my boyfriend’s “bacon” “cheese” burger with vegan poutine on the side

 

 

My favourite, hands down, was the gluten free dairy free Caesar salad. It reminded me of the Caesar salad I had at Crossroads (a vegan restaurant that Ellen DeGeneres frequents in California); it LITERALLY tastes like real Caesar salad. It was heavenly. Though nothing beats the Caesar, I also recommend Hogtown Vegan’s homemade ice tea lemonade and tortilla salad. They were yummy.

After that whirlwind of a dinner, my partner and I decided to go for a nice 25-minute walk. Doing so, we were able to work off enough food in order to make room for a big dessert! That brings me to our next stop: Bang Bang Ice Cream & Bakery. Bang Bang has many dairy free ice creams (vanilla, chocolate, and Pina Colada to name a few) as well as its famous gluten free dairy free “almost everything” cookie.

As you can imagine, I decided to go out with a bang by having a full ice cream sandwich. I had it with the almost everything cookie (which includes dark chocolate chunks) with smooth vegan chocolate ice cream in the middle. It was beyond delicious, like… other worldly. HIGHLY RECOMMEND that dessert, though maybe the half sandwich as opposed to the full one – it’s bigger than you think.

All in all, Hogtown Vegan followed by a walk and bang at the Bang Bang made for a glorious evening of gluten free and dairy free elements. I will definitely be going back to both places for a second visit in the near future.

To further encourage your taste palette, I highly recommend this quick & easy-make recipe for a cool summer evening dessert: Dairy Free Chocolate Banana Split.

Ingredients include:

• 1/4 cup of dairy free chocolate chips (which you can get at Shoppers Drugmart believe it or not)
• 1 full banana
• 1/4 cup of marshmallows (make sure there is no dairy in the ingredients)
• 1 scoop of frozen fruit sorbet (of your choosing)

 

Recipe:

• Cut the banana peel in half and pour in all of the ingredients EXCEPT for the sorbet
• Wrap the banana in tin-foil and put on the barbecue for 5-10 minutes
• Take the banana off the grill and top it off with a scoop of your favourite frozen sorbet
• Eat and enjoy!

 

That’s all for now, folks. Next stop, a trip to Montreal of all things gluten and dairy free! It’s gonna be epic, talk soon.

Entry 3 – Sweet Freakin’ Jesus

Have any of you ever heard of Sweet Jesus before? Maybe you saw a couple of their Instagram posts, or the other day you overheard a friend talking about the most ridiculous ice cream they ever had in their entire life? That’s the one; they mean Sweet Jesus.

Though the majority of its treats are off limits for people with our dietary restrictions, Sweet Jesus offers a unique few items that are absolutely mouth-watering, gluten free AND dairy free (even vegan). The unique items usually fall under the “daily feature” category…. and you can never really go wrong with the chef’s special, so I suggest you go with that choice when you visit. Just make sure you ask if it is gluten free and dairy free that day, to be safe.

Maybe you will be lucky and get to have the delicious special that I had, which was the vegan chocolate-banana peanut butter popsicle. Guys, no joke, it was out of this world AND believe or not, it was easy on the stomach. So please, if you go visit Sweet Jesus in the near future (whether for the Instagram-worthiness of the dairy treats or for personal pleasure), PLEASE PLEASE have that popsicle. You will not regret it.

BEST VEGAN GF DESSERT EVER!! Banana, Chocolate, Peanut Butter goodness

Dairy Free Gluten Free Beverages at Sweet Jesus

 

Additionally, right around the corner from Sweet Jesus is one of my favourite dinner places: Il Fornello. Il Fornello is a quaint, romantic, lovely Italian restaurant that caters well to people with dietary restrictions. Gluten free? No problem, try some of their gluten free pasta with any of the dishes listed on the menu. Dairy free too? Have no fear, dairy free PIZZA is here! Yeah, it is pretty amazing. So if you happen to be in the area and want to go on a nice date, I highly recommend going to Il Fornello for dinner and then finishing off with a sweet peanut butter popsicle at Sweet Jesus for dessert (Sweet Jesus is open until 10-11pm all week long, so this is a totally possible date idea)!

Forest Berry & Strawberry Gelato with Fresh Grapefruit Juice at Hotel Gelato

Lastly, I wanted shout out to my forever favourite gelato place in the city. Hotel Gelato always lifts my spirits. For us lactose-intolerant, vegan, or dairy-free humans it can be fairly disappointing that we cannot and/or should not have regular ice cream. I have two solutions though: gelato and sorbet. There are many gelato and sorbet options at Hotel Gelato that are dairy free and gluten free including: forest berry sorbet, strawberry sorbet, soy chocolate gelato, lemon sorbet, grapefruit sorbet, and more. It is a place of happiness, sweetness, icy goodness and I highly recommend a visit there. You will not be disappointed.

All this food talk is making me hungry, so I’m going to go have a lemonade popsicle now. *Insert mouth salivating here*

Until next time, stay sweet! XO

Entry 2 – Pineapple & Mango Smoothies with Ice for Life!

Tonight I had the lovely pleasure of accompanying my dear friend Sam to a music gig. And guess what? The gig just so happened to be located at a VEGAN artsy place, which is called D-Beatstro (located on Bloor St W). You can imagine my excitement. Music AND good food?? Yes, please!

The Menu at D-Beatstro!

Of course, the very first thing I did was order a pineapple-mango smoothie with ice. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for milk substitutes – I find soy milk often to be too heavy, and almond milk occasionally too sweet – so ice was the next best thing! Let me tell you: that smoothie was sensational. Best choice. The ice was so nice.

As for the meal options, unfortunately I was a little disappointed. Please by all means, if you have been to The Beatstro before and think otherwise about the food MESSAGE ME. I do not like giving less-than-great reviews. However, I do think it is important to mention a few things:

1. They have minimal gluten free options. The majority of vegan dishes are sandwiches made on wheat or rye bread. I personally asked the waiter about what gluten free options existed and he literally said “potato salad”… That was it. I tried the rice krispy square instead, but I have a feeling it was not fully gluten free. So for my gluten-free friends, this might not be the place for you.
2. If you are new to vegan food, or have a highly sensitive stomach to common foods, please be careful at this restaurant. I had the vegan BLT (on rye toast which was a mistake but I was starving so yknow, YOLO), which had delicious vegan cheese on it but I cannot say the same for the fake bacon. It tasted like the bacon was made out of coconut strips with sugar or something… I do not recommend it. Ya live and ya learn though, amiright?
3. This is a place more for music and tea than it seems for food. I suggest you keep that in mind if you decide to visit. I am a giant tea fan, so this worked in my favour. I also happen to be a music lover, so I was fairly content even without the grand food options. I cannot speak for everyone though.

Overall, The Beatstro is not perfect for gluten free folks, or sensitive tummy people (I know you exist and I am with you! Don’t worry, there are better options for us out there). On the plus side, it IS a decent location to visit when you are in the area at night and in the mood for listening to some startup bands, digesting a pineapple-mango smoothie (my fav), and drinking some lovely herbal tea concoctions. Oh, and it is a totally rad place for hanging out with friends. I’m glad I went.

That’s all for now. Take care & stay fresh! Next stop: gluten free dairy free treats!!

PS. If you are ever craving a gluten free dairy free beverage, and nothing is coming to mind, go with a Black Tea Lemonade half-sweetened from Starbucks. Works wonders every time. Or tea in general. Tea is great.

Entry 1 – Learned that Vegan & Gluten Free Zucchini-Chocolate Muffins are a Real Thing…

Home of the Chocolate-Zucchini Muffin

The Actual Chocolate Zucchini Muffin! On the right.

Welcome vloggers, bloggers, Instagramers, Facebookers who are still going strong, and dearest food-for-life lovers,

Did you know that V & GF zucchini-chocolate muffins were a thing? If so, kudos to you; I wish I discovered them sooner. For those of you who haven’t tried one yet, particularly the kind from @Bloomers, may the force be with you to go down and grab a bite.

Picture soft, almost mushy but not too sweet, vegan chocolate chips in a vanilla-like DF GF batter. The zucchini – not an ingredient I would ever consider in the past for desserty snacks – made it extra soft and fluffy. You can ask my boyfriend; I ate the whole thing in less than two minutes. Yum.

That zucchini muffin from Bloomer’s is just one example. To cheer you up, here is a current list of my highly recommended foods/drinks/restaurants for you food lovers out there with some dairy free & gluten free needs:

• The Grow Op – delicious GF DF smoothies, cold drinks, & V sandwiches; I highly recommend you try the grapefruit watermelon drink if you are a fruit fan & the hummus sandwich if you like… well if you like hummus
• Starving Artist – OH MY WAFFLE honestly their waffles are so freaking amazing; they offer dairy free & gluten free waffles caked in tasty fruits and maple syrup; go go go!
• Kupfert & Kim – one of my best friends works here and he does not disappoint; try one of @camfoxrevett ‘s freshly made blue smoothie bowls or for an afternoon snack the guacamole and chips… so. good.

Until next time, explore & eat away!