Hello there!
Two for two this weekend for beautiful weather. It will be a shock to my system when we get more snow! Because, you just know we have not seen the last of it…
But…for now it is SPRING and we live it up! :mrgreen:
We had a great meet-up in Toronto at a vegan restaurant called Fressen. I had never been before and I was dying to see how it compared to Fresh.
I have a soft spot in my heart for indoor brick.
One of the things I like best about blogging is the opportunity to meet new people. The energy is just off the wall when you put a group of women with similar interests in a room together!
I like to compare blogger meet-ups to a BLIND DATE.
Firstly, WHAT DO I WEAR?
There is a little apprehension and a lot of excitement at the beginning of the meet ups.
Secondly, WHAT TO EXPECT?
Will the person be like I imagined?
Will they be nice?
Once the introductions are over and the nerves fade, the fun really starts.
We get loud. We laugh.
If the date goes well we make plans for future get togethers. We exchange numbers, emails, and blogs.
Meet my lovely BLIND DATES :mrgreen:
Kristin, Kristen, Christina, Steph, Kelly, Nienke, Morgan, Alex, Julie, Haya, Karly, Jaclyn, Noelle! Some were previous blind dates that blossomed into a wonderful friendship. ;)
Christina, Steph, and Kelly:
Karly and I:
Lots of tea was ordered!
I started off with some green tea and a green juice. I was a bit disappointed to find out that their juices were pre-made and you could not customize them. If you are paying $5 for a juice you want it made fresh, right?
Can you guess what I ordered?
Clue: it wasn’t the following delicious looking dishes…
Sweet potato, coconut, and ginger soup:
Pancakes with fresh fruit:
Tofu scramble:
If you guessed I ordered the avocado sandwich you are right! I think at least 6 of us ordered it. :) I am going to turn into an avocado.
This sandwich was OFF. THE. HOOK. Creamy and rich, with a slight vinaigrette tang.
SEEDS!! Seeds make bread, don’t they? The more seeds and crunch the better.
The sandwich included charred tempeh bacon (you can see it peeking out below). This was my first time trying tempeh and it was quite good. I could see how it could blend into just about any dish.
Unfortunately, the roasted potatoes tasted old like they had just been warmed up under a heat lamp.
Overall, I thought Fressen was a good restaurant, but it was certainly no Fresh!
After brunch, some of us hit up Queen West for some shopping.
Urban Outfitters:
[Source]
Urban Outfitters is FUN, KITSCHY, and HUGE.
Signs of summer!
They had these disgustingly cute bowls on sale and I took this as a sign from foodie heaven shining down on me. The cherry on top was this cute mug. Sickening, isn’t it?
I now have to host an oatmeal party. Or a banana soft serve party.
Look at all the people out running and biking along Lakeshore! Toronto is a very fit and active city.
I was so tempted to join them and go for a run, but alas, today is a rest day. It is hard to take rest days on nice weather days, isn’t it? At least I did enjoy the sunshine with the ladies today. :)
I am currently plopped on the couch, living it up, and enjoying some banana soft serve while watching the Oscars.
My newest craze is adding chia seeds to banana soft serve. It makes it super thick!
Have a lovely night!
Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived. ~Captain Jean-Luc Picard
{ 71 comments… read them below or add one }
What a fun blogger meetup! That food looks amazing – loving the pancakes! YUM!
I can’t wait to try chia seed banana soft serve!
That is so fun! I wish I lived semi-close so I could attend one, but I think NY is a little far! Glad you all had a great time and that the company and the weather was wonderful!
That mug is toooo cute!! I might have to pick up one!! The meet up looks so fun!!
Yay for blogger meet ups! I’ve met some bloggers before, but never any food bloggers. I think that would definitely be an awesome group to hang with.
What an ~awesome~ day. It was so great to meet you!
Dinner soon.
x
The meetup looks like so much fun. I get really angry with food disappointments when I’m out to eat, lol..especially because you’re paying good money at some of those places. Juice – $5 – it better be fresh! I love that you described the bowls + mug as “sickening..” hahaha I get really mad when I see cute plateware!! Crate + Barrel has new spring colors of their mini spoons..good thing they’re only $1.95!! :) It was SO nice out here today and I was stuck inside on my butt trying to heal my foot. GAH!
Wow – I’m drooling for avocados right now! I love that tea mug – too perfect
Looks like you had SUCH a great time! I want to come to Toronto!! :)
PS. I TOTALLY called the avocado sandwich!! :)
niiiiiice :)
You are the lucky winner of ONE HUNDRED ZILLION DOLLARS. :)
Currently obsessed with banana soft serve too :) But I keep using up all my frozen naners on green monsters!
Ok that avocado sandwich looks TOO good, I want the bread!
I love all of these photos you took!! I just had tempeh at a vegetarian restaurant last night and it was great!! It was just so so when I made it myself : /. I’ll have to play around with preparation.
I love seedy bread.
And yes, $5=choosing FRESH juice.
I never got to try Fressen while I was living in Toronto. It looks gooooood though!
It’s great that you guys had a nice blind date.
Also, I loved your last post on natural beauty products.
What a fun meetup! The avocado and tempeh sandwich looks wonderful too, but ugh, reheated potatoes/hashbrowns are the worst!
What a great meet up…Fressen looks really good but I do LOVE Fresh. I still remember my trip there in NOvember! What a great bunch of girls! You guys are all beautiful.
You totally summed up the emotions of meeting new bloggers! It’s always confusing and sometimes a little scary. I love doing it though because you’re right, they end in lasting friendships.
I also HATE when nice days fall on my rest days. It usually happens where I’ll be scheduled to run on a Sunday and on Saturday it’s beautiful and Sunday it isn’t. Oh well :-)
I totally called it on the avocado sandwich. I’d have gotten the same thing. I’ve been eating an avocado a day lately. Can’t get enough. And I always stay away from the home fries, because they always taste like they’ve been nuked. At least you got a good looking salad with it!
I love reading about blogger meet ups! It looks like you ladies had so much fun. I hate taking rest days when it’s nice out! I usually squeek out the door for a short and slow run because I can’t contain the urge.
I bet that restaurant and store didn’t know what hit them! I can’t wait until the day that I can finally be part of a blogger meet up; they just look so exciting!
How fun!!!! I hope to meet up with some other bloggers someday!! I think I am going to go to the FoodBuzz Festival this year, so that may be the time!
When you meet up with other bloggers does anyone in the restaurant ever ask about why you are all taking pics of the food?? I have always wondered that.
When I am out, and the only one taking pics I get a few looks, but I can imagine it would be way different if EVERYONE at the table was taking photos!!
The servers typically don’t say anything…which is strange because you’d think they would!
Oh, that avocado sandwich sounds so good! I died laughing at how you compared the meet up to a blind date. I bet it would be pretty similar. How fun!
I can’t wait to start having some blind dates (bloggers, of course) :)
I can’t believe that was the first time you’ve tried tempeh! It’s pretty versitile
that’s quite the group! sounds like a fabulous meet-up :) i love the color in the sweet potato, coconut and ginger soup!
THat looks like an amazing blogger blind date! ps. urban is my FAVORITE store!
Hi Angela! I’ve been lurking around your blog for awhile now and I must tell you what an inspiration you’ve been to me on my journey towards a vegan lifestyle! I’m loving it!
Your blogger meet up looks wonderful and I can’t wait to experience one of my own sometime!
Vegan brunch looks great. Question- when and why did you switch over to a vegan lifestyle?
Check it out: http://ohsheglows.com/2009/11/18/my-road-to-health-part-vi/ :)
The restaurant looks fantastic – and so does your sandwich! I laughed at your comment about having a soft spot for indoor brick – I feel the same!
What a fun looking day!!! The food looks AWESOME!
daaannng thats alot of blind dates, aha!
that restaurant looks amazing! I only wish
i had something like that
closer to where I live!
Have an amazing week,
xoxo Vera
That lunch looks so good, you go to the best restaurants.
That looks like a fantastic meet up!! I called the avo sandwich too ;) hee! It’s so cool that so many people were at the blogger meet-up, can only imagine the energy was amazing.
That’s such a pity about the juice – $5 is a LOT for a juice that isn’t fresh. Tempeh is yum – I haven’t made it myself but had sweet chilli marinated tempeh and it was so lovely! I hated tempeh the first time I tried it though, heh!
That restaurant looks amazing! And a blogger meet up sounds like tons of fun!
I have met so many amazing women through blogger meet ups and yes you are so right! It is like a blind date. I was so nervous to meet my first internet friend in person, haha I am glad to hear that you had such a great time! xoxo
Oh wow. That avocado sandwich looks awesome. I think I need to make that at home. That’s one heckuva blind date!
That avocado sandwich looks amazing… it’s got me thinking about maybe mashing some avocado with red wine vinegar and slapping it on flatbreads. I looooove avocado! And to think I used to hate it!
Urban Outfitters makes me LOL… they always have the best products! I once found a sleep mask that said ‘F*ck Off’, which perfectly captures my ‘morning mood’, or so my bf says. They also have such cute yellow rain boots and amazing kitschy products. I could shop in there all day! But I would come out poor, as they’re super expensive.
a)if you’re in Torronto so much, you should go to LUSH for natural cosmetics with limited packaging. (making your own is good too, but for somethings it doesn’t work like shampoo!) i suggest it. i believe there is one on queen west.
b) just an observation, that i don’t think you will feel comfortable affirming, denying, or commenting on, but i noticed that all these women are caucasian! do you think vegan/healthy food blogging runs in this type of group of women?
c) I totally agree, if you’re paying that much for juice it should be fresh.
Hey!
Everything looks too good!
However, I think Fressen is a very odd name for a restaurant with a slow food philosophy. It means “to devour” in German :)
The Picard quote made this for me. What a great way to start my day! Thanks for the healthy-Trekkie-gasm!
Mmmmmh that avocado sandwich, that’s what I would have ordered. And I too love indoor bricks!
Gosh sometimes I wish I lived in Canada or the US, you guys seem to have all kinds of nice restaurants and healthy food stores that I can’t find here :-(
I don’t eat much soy, but tempeh is my occasional treat…I LOVE it! Last week I had it marinated in organic barbecue sauce, lol! It was actually really delish. Most of the time I have elaborate recipes for it in mind, but it doesn’t make it that far, as I often devour it cold and raw…haha. My favorite is the 5-grain kind. BTW, the banana soft-serve looks awesome!
That avocado sandwich looks so amazing. I want to make one right now. So creamy and good for you!
It looks like you guys all had a great time.
In Orlando there is a great place called Greens and Grille you should try out. When I visited there my friend took me and it was awesome.
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