Hi friends !!
Ok I'm back after a hiatus, I just came back from a few weekend trips and have a bunch of new experiences to tell you about.
First up, Montreal. I know, I know I have my fair share of Montreal blogs are on here, but this time I went to some pretty cool places.
The purpose of this trip to Montreal was just for a long weekend getaway, catching up friends, hanging out with family. And a lot of eating, shopping and more eating, with some partying, oh and a burlesque show. You know typical weekend.
Grub
I visited two awesome restaurants on this trip, one was a gluten free vegan raw food resto, the other a resto with regular food. Both were awesome.
Crudessence - I went to the Mackay location, it was amazing. Its a gluten free, vegan, raw food restaurant. They have items that are nut free as well. I had a delicious gluten free beer, and ordered the Taco Supreme. It was actually very rich, I couldn't finish my meal, which is a testament to how good the food was !!
Holder Restaurant - A great dining option, located in the wonderful Old Montreal area. I highly recommend getting reservations for this place, I was there on a Sunday evening at 7pm and it was packed. The food was phenomenal, my dad had the French Onion Soup and Lobster Ravioli -- and if I could I would have ordered the soup. My dad is becoming quite the foodie, and felt that the cheese overpowered the Lobster in his ravioli dish. I had the Atlantic salmon with potato puree and a lemon beurre blanc, i.died. For dessert we got a cheese plate with some great Quebec cheese's. Go there on your next trip to Montreal.
Places to Party
So normally I don't really hang out in Old Montreal, I like little bars/pubs, unpretentious crowds. But this time I decided to expand my horizons. Also, its a tad pricey, I've warned you, but it was worth it.
Brasero Hardi - So this place was recommended by my hipster brother, so I knew if he went there it was likely a good bet. It was awesome. I will definitely be going there when I visit Montreal again. Great crowd, great DJ, awesome drinks.
Velvet - Really neat story about this place, apparently it was a speak easy during the Prohibition. So once you get in (and spend the $15 cover on a Saturday night), make your way down a dark ramp, and you are in the basement/speak easy portion of the bar. Awesome live DJs spin great vibes, not Top 40 though. Just such a cool place, I'd say its worth the high cover price because you won't find something like this in Toronto at least.
After your night out
Alto Restaurant - Ever had that moment when its 3:58am and you've had a lot to drink, in the cab home you are singing "I knew you were trouble when you walked in" and talking your very limited arabic to your cab driver? Yeah, me neither. But if you did, call Alto restaurant, order the poutine and call me in the morning.
So there you go, another well balanced night out in Montreal. By now if you ever go to Montreal you have a bunch of places to spend your weekend in !!
Next up, a ski weekend in Ontario !!
Showing posts with label Hot Nights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hot Nights. Show all posts
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Monday, 26 November 2012
Hot Night, Wind was blowin': Kathmandu, Nepal
Chances are you are going to Nepal for one of four reasons, a trekking adventure, a volunteering trip, working, maybe you are going to backpack around Asia and Nepal happens to be a stop. No matter the reason, at some point you are going to want to cut loose for a night or two in Kathmandu, because you've deserved it #treatyoself. Here is a recommendation on how to enjoy your evenings in Kathmandu, I personally researched all of these places, it was tough work you guys.
A few key pieces of information you'll want to know before you start your night off:
* Bars typically close around 11pm - I use the word typically because they might stay open later, it completely depends on the establishment.
* There are after hours bars - careful though because I went to one and at 12:15am they locked every floor of the 3 storey building. Was I finally realizing my dream of being locked in a bar? Or was it the start of a made for tv movie, about the travelling nomad daughter who decided to go to the "after hours" bar with a guy who knew the area, except that Liam Neeson is not her father. But I digress.
* I would recommend starting dinner at 6pm, by the time you leave the restaurant it will be around 8pm, and then you only have about 4 hours of partying time. I mean if you're staying in a hostel and strike up a good relationship with the owners you can easily have an after after party at your place.
Alright let's start your night off, this was the song I chose to be my anthem of the evening, just to set the mood of what nightlife will be like.
Whether you are starting off your trip with partying, or ending your trip with a night out, you will want/need to eat food other than Dal (rice, lentils, curried vegetables). A place I went to twice was Fire & Ice in the Thamel District of Kathmandu, a great italian restaurant with a huge selection of pizza and pasta. Please note the Spicy Buffalo pizza was very spicy, a guy in our team ordered it, it was sometimes painful to watch him try to eat it.
So following Lonely Planet's stellar recommendations, my friend and I headed to the legendary Sam's Bar, where for an evening I was transported back to Negril Jamaica, because it was all reggae music. The clientale of this bar ranged from ex-pats, backpackers, members of a commonwealth country's army (the country shall remain nameless), and a wide range of ages, late teens to people in their 60s. So literally everyone who you would see walking around Kathmandu during the day will be here. Everyone is super friendly here, you just grab a seat whereever and starting chatting with people at your table. They have an extensive drink menu, everyone signs the walls, the bathrooms are pretty bad so make sure you have your hand sanitizer.
Around 11pm, my friend and I left this bar with a person we met at Sam's, and said person knew where there was an after hours, I want to say the name of the place was The Fire Club (go to the 3rd floor of the club - trust me), it was probably a 3 minute walk from Sam's. It was obviously dodgy, but the moment I entered I thought ok this is so awesome, there are cats in here, they are showing English Premiership soccer on the television, its super dark, just epic right? Time passed and then when I saw members of the Kathmandu Police force enter around Midnight, i thought "yup, ok meaghan, this is starting to resemble a scene from Dateline NBC, perhaps we should go" - the 3 of us tried to leave the bar but as we went down the stairs we realized we were locked in. You know what came to the rescue? My good old trusty maglite !!
For the rest of the story of that evening, stay tuned for my never to be published memoir entitled "So this one time in..."
After my friend and I recovered the next day, thanks to the Roadhouse Cafe, hands down one of the best greasy spoons I've been to, I had a delicious plate of nachos with a side of regret. The food is great, they have a solid drink menu, and the BEST soundtrack, solid 90s grunge, I highly recommend this place, it has a lovely patio, if you like the sunlight.
So on this evening, my friend and I decided to "take it easy", again what started as an evening with good intentions, ended with us walking through an alleyway, into an emergency stairwell going into the Lhasa Bar, a really awesome bar with a great cover band, I took so many videos, I might upload a few to youtube. This was a really neat place to spend my last night in Kathmandu, you sit on a raised platform of a floor, you can order shisha's, and just spend the night singing along with the band. Someone from the bar even joined the band for some covers of The Doors.
In conclusion, have a great time in Kathmandu, trust me you will.
A few key pieces of information you'll want to know before you start your night off:
* Bars typically close around 11pm - I use the word typically because they might stay open later, it completely depends on the establishment.
* There are after hours bars - careful though because I went to one and at 12:15am they locked every floor of the 3 storey building. Was I finally realizing my dream of being locked in a bar? Or was it the start of a made for tv movie, about the travelling nomad daughter who decided to go to the "after hours" bar with a guy who knew the area, except that Liam Neeson is not her father. But I digress.
* I would recommend starting dinner at 6pm, by the time you leave the restaurant it will be around 8pm, and then you only have about 4 hours of partying time. I mean if you're staying in a hostel and strike up a good relationship with the owners you can easily have an after after party at your place.
Alright let's start your night off, this was the song I chose to be my anthem of the evening, just to set the mood of what nightlife will be like.
Whether you are starting off your trip with partying, or ending your trip with a night out, you will want/need to eat food other than Dal (rice, lentils, curried vegetables). A place I went to twice was Fire & Ice in the Thamel District of Kathmandu, a great italian restaurant with a huge selection of pizza and pasta. Please note the Spicy Buffalo pizza was very spicy, a guy in our team ordered it, it was sometimes painful to watch him try to eat it.
So following Lonely Planet's stellar recommendations, my friend and I headed to the legendary Sam's Bar, where for an evening I was transported back to Negril Jamaica, because it was all reggae music. The clientale of this bar ranged from ex-pats, backpackers, members of a commonwealth country's army (the country shall remain nameless), and a wide range of ages, late teens to people in their 60s. So literally everyone who you would see walking around Kathmandu during the day will be here. Everyone is super friendly here, you just grab a seat whereever and starting chatting with people at your table. They have an extensive drink menu, everyone signs the walls, the bathrooms are pretty bad so make sure you have your hand sanitizer.
Around 11pm, my friend and I left this bar with a person we met at Sam's, and said person knew where there was an after hours, I want to say the name of the place was The Fire Club (go to the 3rd floor of the club - trust me), it was probably a 3 minute walk from Sam's. It was obviously dodgy, but the moment I entered I thought ok this is so awesome, there are cats in here, they are showing English Premiership soccer on the television, its super dark, just epic right? Time passed and then when I saw members of the Kathmandu Police force enter around Midnight, i thought "yup, ok meaghan, this is starting to resemble a scene from Dateline NBC, perhaps we should go" - the 3 of us tried to leave the bar but as we went down the stairs we realized we were locked in. You know what came to the rescue? My good old trusty maglite !!
For the rest of the story of that evening, stay tuned for my never to be published memoir entitled "So this one time in..."
After my friend and I recovered the next day, thanks to the Roadhouse Cafe, hands down one of the best greasy spoons I've been to, I had a delicious plate of nachos with a side of regret. The food is great, they have a solid drink menu, and the BEST soundtrack, solid 90s grunge, I highly recommend this place, it has a lovely patio, if you like the sunlight.
So on this evening, my friend and I decided to "take it easy", again what started as an evening with good intentions, ended with us walking through an alleyway, into an emergency stairwell going into the Lhasa Bar, a really awesome bar with a great cover band, I took so many videos, I might upload a few to youtube. This was a really neat place to spend my last night in Kathmandu, you sit on a raised platform of a floor, you can order shisha's, and just spend the night singing along with the band. Someone from the bar even joined the band for some covers of The Doors.
In conclusion, have a great time in Kathmandu, trust me you will.
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Hot night, wind was blowin' - Montreal
Hello !!! Sorry about the lack of posts, I was getting ready for a big music weekend in Montreal. I went to Osheaga , an awesome music festival over the August long weekend (at least it was one in Ontario). So many great bands at such a great price, for a one day pass to the festival for $85 I saw some amazing bands, one of my favorites being The Black Keys. A little musical interlude if you will, here is my favorite Black Keys song...
So I have a new crop of things to do, places to see while in Montreal. It was definetly a party weekend this time, as opposed to last time where it was super relaxing. Here we go:
We had a great lunch in Old Montreal at Bevo Bar and Pizzeria, my friends had the pizza's and they loved them. I had a great caprese salad, sadly they didn't have any gluten free pizza options, le sigh. But I still highly recommend it, they a great patio as well.
A great street to party on is St.Laurent, now I come from a family of current and reformed hipsters, so these are their favorite places, you will have fun and they aren't you typical bars you would normally go to.
We started off our night at Bifteck, incredibly cheap drinks, 2 pool tables, what more do you need right? Its a great place to start your night off. Once you're ready to move on, just head north on St.Laurent to...
Korova, now this is the most hipster place I've been to, and I used to live next to Kensington Market in Toronto. But for a fun night of dancing, foosball and $5 Pabst you can't go wrong, I happened to have loved the music playing that night, it was retro music great for dancing. Its small, hot, sweaty, but you'll never go to a place like that anywhere else.
After your night of partying you need to go somewhere to help you out the next day, and what better than chicken shawarma, go to/order Boustan, get the trio, you'll thank me the next morning.
So enjoy an amazing night out in Montreal !!
After your night of partying you need to go somewhere to help you out the next day, and what better than chicken shawarma, go to/order Boustan, get the trio, you'll thank me the next morning.
So enjoy an amazing night out in Montreal !!
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Hot night, wind was blowin' - Toronto
I’ve said this countless times to my friends,very few things beat a hot night out in the City, there is something about the summer
heat that brings out my love of Toronto.A few summers back I had the chance to live in the heart of Toronto, at College and Spadina, next to Chinatown, Kensington Market and the University of Toronto. Basically a few of the places you want to visit while in town. So here are a few of my favorite places to go at night, that will help you discover Toronto at its finest.
A great night out always starts with a great dinner:
1. Pizzeria Libretto - for the best pizza you will ever have, I advise on ordering the pizza with the sausage, as it is made in house. Sorry pals, no gluten free pizza here. I go to the location on Ossington, it is the original spot.
2. The Grilled Cheese - in Kensington Market, its grilled cheese done great, my little "insider tip" is, order your grilled cheese, and tell them you'll be at Ronnie's (the bar across the street from the restaurant) and they will deliver your grilled cheese to you !!! Ronnie's is a great place to start and end your night, but you can just stumble outside the bar and hit up any of the hidden bars in Kensington.
3. The Beaconsfield - the best macaroni and cheese you will ever have. Just go.
Watering Holes
After you have had your pizza at Libretto, Ossington Street is a great street to start and finish your night off, if you want dancing, head to Levack Block for a great night of d. Or The Painted Lady, if you don't feel like paying cover at Levack Block. The DJ's are outstanding at both places. Around the corner from The Painted Lady, on Dundas Street, is Communist's Daughter , its a little hidden, but once you find it, you won't forget it. It is seriously a chill place, but gets rowdy nonetheless. I spent a wild Halloween there, but that is another story for another day. Or never.
Another area that is worth discovering, is Roncesvalles (again in the West end of Toronto), its traditionally a Polish area, but its becoming the next great neighborhood with great shopping, and its proximity to High Park. The pub that my friends and I hang out is The Local, a tiny pub with a great selection of beers. A guaranteed great night out.
After pub grub
After your night out on Ossington, you're going to need something to help you and your stomach the next day. Stumble over to Poutini's on Queen Street, for some Poutine, I always order the standard classic poutine. Tip, consider leaving the bar a tad early to get your poutine, yes its worth leaving the bar early for.
Do you have a list of favorite places that you wish tourists knew about for your City?
 |
| Cremini Mushroom Pizza at Pizzeria Libretto |
1. Pizzeria Libretto - for the best pizza you will ever have, I advise on ordering the pizza with the sausage, as it is made in house. Sorry pals, no gluten free pizza here. I go to the location on Ossington, it is the original spot.
2. The Grilled Cheese - in Kensington Market, its grilled cheese done great, my little "insider tip" is, order your grilled cheese, and tell them you'll be at Ronnie's (the bar across the street from the restaurant) and they will deliver your grilled cheese to you !!! Ronnie's is a great place to start and end your night, but you can just stumble outside the bar and hit up any of the hidden bars in Kensington.
3. The Beaconsfield - the best macaroni and cheese you will ever have. Just go.
Watering Holes
After you have had your pizza at Libretto, Ossington Street is a great street to start and finish your night off, if you want dancing, head to Levack Block for a great night of d. Or The Painted Lady, if you don't feel like paying cover at Levack Block. The DJ's are outstanding at both places. Around the corner from The Painted Lady, on Dundas Street, is Communist's Daughter , its a little hidden, but once you find it, you won't forget it. It is seriously a chill place, but gets rowdy nonetheless. I spent a wild Halloween there, but that is another story for another day. Or never.
Another area that is worth discovering, is Roncesvalles (again in the West end of Toronto), its traditionally a Polish area, but its becoming the next great neighborhood with great shopping, and its proximity to High Park. The pub that my friends and I hang out is The Local, a tiny pub with a great selection of beers. A guaranteed great night out.
After pub grub
After your night out on Ossington, you're going to need something to help you and your stomach the next day. Stumble over to Poutini's on Queen Street, for some Poutine, I always order the standard classic poutine. Tip, consider leaving the bar a tad early to get your poutine, yes its worth leaving the bar early for.
Do you have a list of favorite places that you wish tourists knew about for your City?
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