Houston Avenue Bar & Grill • New Menu

There is no better way to end off a week of work than with a delicious prime rib dinner & a glass of red. Amiright?!

Why You Should Spend Thursdays at Blowfish

Spending my Thursdays at Blowfish Restaurant from now on - at least for the next thirteen Thursdays.
-

Travel Guide: Feasting & Drinking in Chicago

All About CHICAGO:

Specifically, Chicago's food & alcohol scene ;)

To me, the best way to celebrate something is by treating yourself to a vacation. And that is exactly what I did when I went Chicago! I've been before, but this time was different because I planned to only do what I do best (aka eat and drink haha). Although I booked my flight very last minute (literally 4 days before leaving), I actually had our activities lined up for us this weekend before confirming our flights. Read on to see what we did (and hover over the photos for a photo description)! Please note that this itinerary is focused around eating & drinking, and not so much sightseeing. A little tidbit of sightseeing is listed below the itinerary.

Campagnolo

After hearing many great things about Campagnolo, I decided to take matter into my own hands and make it out to the west end. Verdict? It was the best decision I made all week.

Nugateau's FW17 Collection

What's better than the Toronto skyline? An edible Toronto skyline with a maple cream filling.

TRAVEL: Cruising with Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas

This past August, my annual family vacation brought me on board Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas. Our itinerary started us off in Venice, Italy and stopped at the following cities: Katakalon, Chania, Mykonos, Santorini, Karadasi, & Athens. I had a wonderful time at each of the stops, and probably posted way too much about it on Instagram haha. But regardless of the destinations, I always have such a good time on cruises because of all the activities, the food, and of course, the people I'm with.

About the ship - Rhapsody is one of Royal Caribbean's oldest ships. It has been in business since 1997, but it sure doesn't feel like it! On the ship, there were a number of amenities to entertain us including: two pools, multiple dining areas, a rock climbing wall, 6 bars, a solarium (where children aren't allowed - yesss), a gym + running track, and theatres with entertainment. Every night in your room, you will get an itinerary of all the activities on board that you can take part in. Trust me - you'll never run out of something to do.

But more importantly (to me, at least), was the food. There was the main Edelweiss dining room, where we dined every night. You won't believe how good to food is!! A lot of people have a misconception that food on cruises had the quality of food at a buffet. If you think that, you're 100% wrong!! The food was amazing every night, and although it can get repetitive, I promise that is only because I ordered 3 appetizers & 3 entrees for myself every meal lol of course I'll end up eating the same thing multiple times haha. And sometimes, the food is so good that I had to order two of the same dish, as you can see here. Lol, I'm just a fatty - sorry! I actually got messages from people saying how I changed their mind about going on cruises just from the pictures of the food I posted.

There was also the Windjammer Cafe, which was a buffet upstairs on the deck next to the pool, and the Park Cafe, which was a little cafe serving personal salads and snacks throughout the afternoon and at night. In addition to these dining options, there were also four specialty dining spots for you to eat at: Izumi, Chop's Grill, Giovana's, and Chef's Table. My favourite exclusive dining experience was at Chef's Table! I highly recommend making a reservation at one of the specialty dining restaurants at least 1 of the nights on board.

If you want to see more of my photos on board the Rhapsody from Instagram, you can click here! I had a great time, as always, with Royal Caribbean and can't wait to be back on another cruise with them.

Maman à Table

Did you know that in France, people take 2 hour lunch breaks on the regular? I can only dream of that! But at Maman, you can attempt to pretend you’re in France by taking a 45 minute lunch break for a 3-course prix fix meal on Fridays – and that’s what I did.

InstaBottles Bottle Service Club Crawl through Chicago

Throwing it back to when I visited Chicago for a weekend in August, one of the best nights I had there was when I joined InstaBottles on their first ever Bottle Service Club Crawl through the city. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. You start at a club and ‘crawl’ (read: take a limo bus cus we fancy) around the city to multiple clubs - sounds like the perfect Friday night to me!