beaten up shoes & FOOD

cccclaire asked: Hi! are the prada flats (the ones you own from the 2012 line) true to size or do you have to order half size up? Thanks!! :)

I ordered half a size up! Takes a lot of stretching in but I have a wide front foot..

The Foundation: NACHO TIME

I realized I haven’t slapped up a Foodie restaurant review in awhile, so I thought I start the first one up in a month with a BANG of weirdness. 

What is this? Curry tofu nachos at The foundation.

Its a vegan friendly hot spot in town with as you can clearly see creative nachos served up at night. To be honestly I have only gone here for beer and nachos, so I can’t give a fair run through on the food but I would recommend coming here on weekdays for a casual dinner or a midnight snack. Why weekdays? Because on weekends it’s almost impossible to get a table, without standing awkwardly in the cramped doorway for 30+ mins.

Every night there’s a featured topping on the nachos and I highly encourage everyone to give it a go, even if your taste-buds are questioning the combination of ingredients. I have never been disappointed. Ya’ll probably wondering if I liked the curry tofu…yuuuuuuup with a thumbs up! The seasoning was very mild and acted as a enhancement to the nachos not overpowering it at all. 

Cheers!

Roasted Potato Salad

I had a craving for fries today, so I hurried home to pop some mini potatoes in the oven at 450 degrees F, for 30mins. I had tossed them in some olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, chili flakes, salt, and pepper.

After burning the roof of my mouth a couple times over, as I greedily popped them in my mouth. I decided to let them cool down at bit and mixed them in a salad. 

Whats in it? Roasted potatoes of course, cherry tomatoes, soft goat cheese, mixed field greens, raw sunflower seeds, raw almonds, and some light balsamic vinegar dressing. 

Cheers!

(Source: beatenupshoesandfood.com)

Bob Blumer’s World’s Weirdest Restaurants

My girlfriend Mons (Monica) managed to score some tickets to Bob Blumers pop-up restaurant at the Waldorf Hotel, to promote his new show “Bob Blumer’s World’s Weirdest Restaurants” on the Food Network. It was a small event so we were extremely fortunate to get these. 

Who’s Bob Blumer? That fellow right beside me.

A special recipe of chicken karaage was served as Bob shared his story of a tiny restaurant in Japan that had a monkey serving diners!

Excuse the bad photo but there was a million flashes going off so I couldn’t snap a clear one. 

Why the toilet??? A restaurant in Taiwan is decked out as a giant washroom, and diners are served in bright little toilets as bowls. 

Pretty tasty for something that came out of a toilet bowl eh?

Mons my date for the night.

Dessert! Maple bacon donuts… DELICIOUS!!!

Me guarding my awesome donut.

Thank you for reading, and I apologize for the delay in post. I have been swamped with duties of a working student.

Cheers!

Hi to all my awesome followers! Thank you for the support, likes and reblogs. I am working on launching a real website so please excuse my lack of post. I will resume with some more drool worthy pictures by the end of this week!

Cheers!

happycrumb asked: Hi, I'm a new foodie with a food blog! So happy to find another foodie!

Thanks hun! Ill be following you too =)

Cobre - Latin Fusion Tapas

I am a huge fan of restaurants that offer small plates. So when an excited friend messaged me raving about a Latin fusion tapas place she had gone to for dinner, I was excited! On the night of my last exam I took the chance to b-line it straight to Cobres for some celebration wine and some good food.

At first I was hesitant to give this place a try because I adore messy Mexican food and wasn’t sure if I would enjoy a fancy small plate dinner charging $15/plate for something I can get down my street for $5 bucks. Well, I am very glad I took a chance here because I had no complaints about any of the dishes. In fact I enjoyed it so much I am planning on taking a few more friends here next weekend!

Ceviche: Steelhead Trout 

I had never had trout raw before but enjoyed it. The texture reminded me of salmon belly sashimi. I loved the fact there was jalapeños and pineapple in it, unexpected but very successful flavour combo. 

Ceviche: Albacore Tuna

Once again the meat was tender and very fatty, which I love! This is fusion food so don’t expect the regular citrous ceviche flavours. Think more West Coast flavours infused with Mexican and Latin ingredients.  

Cheese Papusas with Chilli Tomato Jam

As soon as I saw the word papusas I was sold! These came in miniature sizes with a “chilli tomato jam” - basically a mild salsa. Traditionally they come a lot flatter and less doughy but I still enjoyed these. Great starter plate. 

Sea-salt & Chipotle dusted fry bread.

What a great invention and not greasy at all! Warning they do have a nice kick to them; if you are a weary spice eater you might want to keep a glass of their cucumber infused water near by.

Check out the chewy bread texture. Drool worthy goodness!

Pulled Duck Taco with Roasted Garlic

I remembered reading on Follow Me Foodie that these are apparently a hit so I made a note to leave room in my stomach for at least one taco. I thought the flavours were mild (I like my food well seasoned) but the duck was very tender and juicy. 

Pulled Beef Croquettes with Jalapeno Roasted Garlic Chimichurri

Who ever decided to fry a ball of pulled beef is a genius!!!!!! The meat was tender and juicy like all the other dishes so far and packed full of beef flavour. The smeared chimichurri on top complimented it so well. 

Maple Chipotle Tamarind Glazed Wild Boar Belly

Basically this is glazed 3inch thick cut bacon that has been slow cooked. ALERT ALL BACON LOVERS!!!!!

De-constructed coconut banana cream pie

I forgot what the dessert’s real name was and I can seem to find it on the website but my made up name for it basically describes it. I enjoyed it but thought the ratio of coconut to banana was way out of balance. If you are a coconut lover this would definitely be the perfect ending to your night!

The portions were a lot larger than I thought most plates would feed 3-4 people. Like I said I look forward to another dinner here soon and would recommend this place to anyone looking for something fun to try for dinner but keep an open mind. Do not expect Latin or Mexican food but a fusion of it with West Coast foods. 

Foodie recommendations: Perfect for date nights or a good lining to your stomach before a night out and don’t forget to give the fry bread a try or the pulled beef!

Cheers!

Cafe Regalade - Brunch with the Ladies

After waking up and endlessly searching for a new place to check out for brunch with my two favourite ladies (Tracy and Monica), I finally gave up and tweeted @followmefoodie for some well needed recommendations. I was tempted to visit the Red Wagon but weary of the thought of a line-up. Thankfully @followmefoodie responding quickly with a suggestion to Cafe Regalade. After a quick google of the menu I was sold on the thought of a hot skillet breakfast!

We started out with mimosas for drinks (it was brunch after all) and each of us ordered a different breakfast so I could try everything (my friends know me too well by now).  

Monica ordered the Paris Breakfast with 2 sunny side up eggs, cooked ham, panfried tomatoes, swiss cheese, potatoes, and salad. I expected sliced grilled tomatoes but everything was in a comforting stew, which is way better than what I originally thought it was. It came with french baguette slices to soak up the juices and dip in the runny egg yolk. 

I ordered the Basque Breakfast with piperade, chorizo, aioli sauce, potatoes, and salad. Once again it was a thick stew with bread to soak up the hot mess of mainly chorizo and bell peppers. Pure french-comfort-food. 

Tracy, who’s on a “strict healthy food only” diet because she’s convinced she needs to be more toned for her up coming trip to Miami, ordered the Healthy Breakfast. It came with 2 boiled eggs, low fat yogurt, fruit salad, home made granola, milk, and dipping soldiers (fried bread sticks…healthy right?). The granola was a bit too sweet for me but I stole Tracy’s yogurt and used it as dipping sauce for my potatoes and she did feed me a dipping soldier with yolk. Honestly I recommend the skillets but if you are looking for a lighter alternative give this breakfast a try but I’m sure the calorie count in both meals are pretty close (all that sugar in the granola and fried bread!?!?).

I had also ordered a side of Pate (chicken and pork liver). It was kind of dry with only mild flavours, nothing fabulous but not bad either. I would recommend this to someone wanting to try pate for their first time since it’s so mild. 

I loved this place and their deliciously, massive skillet breakfast options and yes of course I will be coming back here! For brunch it goes right up there along with Cafe Medina, Acacia Fillo Bar, Acme Cafe and of course Jethro’s. Thank you Follow Me Foodie for such a fabulous suggestion!

Foodie Recommendation: I never got to try their desserts because I was so stuffed by the end of my main but from what I heard and saw they sound/look amazing. Give them a go and let me know how it goes!

Cheers!