Vino Italiano!

June 21 to 26 is Italian Cultural Week at the Italian Cultural Centre (www.italianculturalcentre.ca).  They have a variety of events going on all week, including events for the family and events with wine!

Check out the schedule of performances and the information about the dance and banquet at http://www.italianculturalcentre.ca/itoolkit.asp?pg=ITALIAN_WEEK_2009.

MIA - Missing in Action?

I like to think that I've been MIA since October when I made my last post. I'll tell you what I've been up to:
Most of November was spent yachting in the Mediterranean, stopping only to go to beaches in Southern France and stock up on find champagne and baked goods. Thankfully, I managed to burn enough calories sunbathing and swimming during the day and then dancing under the moon at night to keep the pain-au-chocolat and other fine French pastries from settling on my thighs.
For December, I moved on to Italy, where I bought a fabulous new designer wardrobe, about fifty pairs of oversized sunglasses to keep out the glare of the paparazzi, and a small cockapoo named Francesca (I just call her Frannie or Frannie-poo).
Well, fine, those are the things I WISH I had been doing instead of adding to my blog. But they weren't. Really, I spent the holidays in town and didn't even do anything for New Years. I had wanted to go on one of those cruises, but wasn't organized enough so they were all sold out by the time I checked into it (admittedly, it was December 30th).
But the past is not important: the future is. And here I am, back, and ready to track down some great drinks for you. Happy New Year!

More Italian Coffee

I surprised myself by finding and trying out not just one, but TWO Italian cafés this week, without specifically looking for them. The first was Caffe Buongiorno, and the second is Sciué Italian Bakery Caffe, at Pender and Howe.

I was actually headed for the Bread Garden at Pender and Hornby when I noticed Sciué and decided to head there instead. No offense to the Bread Garden, but this place actually looked Italian and there was a huge line, which I took as a good sign. I was in no hurry, so I thought I would try it out.

I didn’t try the pastries today, as this has been a pretty sweet-laden week for me already, but I did try the coffee.

This was possibly the most amazing latte I have ever had in my life. I think the best way to explain it is that normally, I take sugar in my coffee -- two packets per cup of coffee. But this latte was so divine, so frothy, and the coffee so perfect already, that I added no sugar.

I have to reiterate that I can’t even think of one single time in the past when I have not added sugar to my coffee. This latte was absolutely amazing.