we had a great time in toronto last week. it was a whirlwind five days from beginning to end. we ate well, stayed at a hotel in the center of the city, walked a lot, did some touristy stuff and saw some great movies (and a few celebrity sightings).
it worked out that this trip was the day after our 20th wedding anniversary. great reason to come along with bobby on his first trip to the film festival. (let's be honest, i wouldn't have missed this for the world.)
we absolutely loved this city. LOVED! it was clean, and people were nice and we could walk everywhere and it has a subway and lots to do and see and places to eat. it's funny because in talking with people we know who used to live there we ask, "why did you ever leave?" and the answer was always, "visit in january and you'll know why." ok, maybe too cold for me but we could definitely spend some more warm weather days here.
this was a great moment for bobby in his career. finding a story and producing a movie that made it to the film festival was impressive. and it was so exciting to be a part of something so big. can i say how proud i am of him? he worked his way up from an office runner at douglas reuther to becoming a movie producer at furthur films. it really makes you believe that working hard and being nice to people will pay off.
we only got to see a few movies while we were here. there were so many movies that we missed. bobby had an industry pass but he was working most of the weekend. i had to buy general tickets and those were hard to get or the screenings were not at a convenient time. but we did manage to see a few.
boy choir with dustin hoffman. great film, amazing performance by the lead actor (who we later congratulated when we saw him at our hotel) and written by ben, a screenwriter that is working with bobby on another project.
whiplash - which was my favorite movie. the cast and director are pictured above. it was an intense movie about what it costs to be great. can't wait to take jordan to see it.
i spent my alone time walking around the festival area and going where the crowds were gathered to see a star step out of the suv. i caught adam sandler (on video) and jason reitman - pictured above signing autographs.
people dressed up like movie characters.
the cast of this is where i leave you going into interviews. we were walking one night and saw stars entering the in style party. we saw anna kendrick posing for fans and photographers but did not get a good picture of her.
i scored a seat at the maverick talk with jon stewart while bobby was off coordinating interviews for the film.
he was so funny and genuine talking about his movie rosewater which he wrote and directed. definitely a highlight to be in the audience for this. the movie screened after we left toronto.
but let's face it, the reason we were here and the absolute best moment of the trip was seeing the movie that bobby has worked so hard for on the big screen. the excitement and nervous energy was palpable. so many people working to make it a successful event.
michael, jeremy, jb and the tiff interviewer after the screening answering audience questions.
yes, we had reserved seats in the 2,000 seat theater!
sorry no pictures of the intimate after party. we have to be professional. but it was fun getting to meet some of the people that bobby spent 3 months with last year. and i still can't get over talking to michael and him asking me about the kids and school. he's just a regular guy, right?
i love this picture of bobby watching the director answer questions after a general audience screening. there were events like this happening all over town.
and here he is with jb after we had drinks at a pub.
in the evening toronto was alive. people walking everywhere. great restaurants and atmosphere. there was rain a downpour one night that had us drenched and running for cover but laughing the entire time.
and there were days that we went back to the hotel in complete exhaustion to skype with the kids and hear about their day. we couldn't wait to get home to them.
of course we went to the top of the cn tower and walked along the glass floor. not an easy thing to do, especially since i have a serious fear of heights.
the tower was right next to the blue jays' baseball field. we had hoped to see a game but they didn't play until the night we left. we also missed going to the hockey museum and taking a tour of the local brewery - although we did have our share of beers.
it was an amazing weekend in an amazing city with an amazing partner. we are so lucky to have had this opportunity to get away for a few days and celebrate our marriage, to see movies which we love to do and to applaud success which was so worth it.
check out this fun interview for the hollywood reporter. listen closely at 1:03 when jb mentions bobby's name.
there were 3 big reasons for going to toronto: to celebrate our anniversary, to see some movies and to eat.
the first thing i do when i know we're going to a new city is to research places and things to eat. i got two great lists of restaurants from friends and used yelp to find places when we were out and about.
we ate at a chain restaurant called jack aster's after going to a screening late thursday night. it was open at 12:30 (which was 9:30pm our time) and it had beer.
we like to go local so i had a canadian and bobby had a steam whistle - which quickly became my go to beer.
they are known for their burgers but we both went with chicken sandwiches instead and a very spicy tomato soup.
for breakfast we typically had coffee and a breakfast sandwich from second cup down the street from our hotel. nothing special but helped us quickly get on with our day.
the festival street was closed off to traffic so some restaurants offered "festival seating" right on the street with special menus. we ate at fred's not here on friday afternoon.
i couldn't pass up the lobster and crab soup. i love me some puffed pastry.
and the grilled vegetable flatbread pizza with goat cheese. bobby had the curry shrimp.
and two more local beers.
lots of meals prior to the screening were spent like this. he's working and i'm people watching.
based on a recommendation from a friend we went to momfuku. seriously the best name for a restaurant. it's a noodle bar with a milkbar and it's crazy good.
we ordered pork buns, dan dan mein,
and the momofuku ramen with pork belly and an egg!
and for dessert from the milkbar was an order of cereal milk. it's soft serve ice cream that tastes like the milk you have after you've eaten all your cereal. kind of genius.
saturday after the screening and after party we had dinner with some friends. trying to get a table at 9:30 on a saturday night during the film festival was not going to happen. so we went back to the restaurant where we had the party and politely asked for a table and were told they were completely booked. so our dear friend allen talked to the manager and reminded her that we just had the after party here and bingo a table was available... complete with complimentary champagne and cocktail.
the steak and mashed potatoes were incredible.
loved this sign right over our table.
we met up with some friends from school on sunday who were also at tiff with his company. we are at such a small school yet three of our families were in toronto for the festival. they have been to the festival before, were staying longer than us to watch a lot more movies, so it was fun to share some of their experiences over chinese food.
the best meal we had was at jacob's steakhouse on sunday night after the second screening of the movie. it was a recommendation that we stumbled upon and were not exactly dressed for but no one seemed to mind.
table side caesar salad was delicious. we laughed when she asked us if it was ok to put bacon on it. sister please - bacon is always a yes.
and you can't go to canada without trying poutine. their upscale version had potatoes fried in duck fat with foie gras chicken gravy and cheese curds. unbelievable, but so heavy.
i ordered the fish and bobby ordered a canadian steak.
it came with 3 different types of salt and 3 different sauces. my favorite was the blue cheese spread and bobby was a fan of the soy and ginger sauce.
bobby had spotted the gelato cart outside of another restaurant. so on our walk home we each got a scoop. nocciola is my favorite.
monday we wanted to get some local coffee so we were directed to little nicky's, a quaint little shop that sells coffee and house blend espresso drinks and they make their own mini donuts.
best coffee of the trip and the donuts and nutella biscotti were perfect. the kids would have loved this place.
our final toronto meal was at the gabardine in the finical district as we were rushing from one screening to another. with mismatched plates and cups, a very hipster vibe and some unique menu choices i fell in love with this place.
bobby had the chinese bbq pork sandwich.
and my choice was the fish po'boy with caramelized onions for the win.
it was a lovely spot for lunch and a nice way to bid adieu to toronto.
and now to start the whole30 program all over again. too much good food!
shrimp po'boy with caramelized onion from the gabardine in toronto
it was quite a week last week.
still wrapping my head around all of it.
not quite back on schedule here.
time change.
school starting.
everything in full swing.
this heat is brutal.
i do not feel like cooking.
tough schedule this week; 2 back to school nights, softball practice, band practice, water polo game, but no football game. seriously considering having ice cream for dinner every night until it cools down.
weekend eats saturday: leftovers sunday: eat out -mexican food
making this week monday: cobb salad tuesday: ravioli with marinara wednesday: tuna melts, kale chips thursday: chicken and apple sausages, grilled vegetables friday: pizza
on saturday we finished our whole30 program. we felt good making it a month without sugar, gluten, dairy, alcohol and processed foods. on sunday we had a breakfast casserole, cream in our coffee, drank wine, ate a panini with cheese and had homemade peach pie. that's not the way you're supposed to transition back into everyday food. but now that we have that out of our system, it's back to clean eating.
we had a great 3-day weekend taking a mini trip to san luis obispo and then hanging out by the pool. it was the perfect way to cap off our summer.
this week is packed with lots of exciting things. our dinner schedule is likely to change since i have so much to do and get ready for before b & i head out of town. but it's a starting point.
weekend eats saturday: hamburgers, corn sunday: chicken taco bar, fruit, peach pie monday: bbq chicken, salad, baked potatoes, peach crisp with vanilla ice cream
making this week tuesday: back to school picnic wednesday: sushi and chinese food to celebrate the first day of school and our anniversary thursday: pizza friday: turkey paninis, salad
i have schedules to figure out, carpools to organize, school paperwork to finish, lunches and snacks to prepare, laundry to get done, outfits to pick out, hair to get done, and hopefully a little sliver of time to take a breath and enjoy these moments.
