June 2023 Eats: Surprised and Impressed
The theme for June was surprised and impressed. When talking about food, I’m ecstatic when I can use those words to describe what I’m having. This month included a lot of travel. We went to Banff for a weekend and Waterloo to see my sister graduate from University.
We got to try different restaurants (old and new) that we don't usually go to and some delicious home-cooked meals at my parent's house.
The list for this month is not extensive but it's curated. Here are my food highlights for the month of June 2023:
Nuba
Rating: 4
Pleasantly surprised. This wasn't our initial plan for the day, but lucky for us, it was exactly what we needed. I love Nuba and its colourful plates, but it doesn’t reach the 5-star yet. To eat Mediterranean food you need to be in the mood. I take full responsibility for the missing star. I had the cauliflower platter which was an amazing choice.
Mangia Cucina & Bar (closed)
Rating: 5 - just because of what they are doing next
We went to Mangia for one specific reason, their gnocchi primavera. They were the parent restaurant of La bottigleria (which I talked about a few months ago before it closed). The gnocchi wasn't as good as the other restaurant and I left this place feeling defeated. I would never have the gnocchi of my dreams ever again.
A few weeks ago I found out Mangia will be closing its doors too to start a new and exciting venture that has been quickly added to my bucket list. To keep it brief, if you ever wanted to stay at a villa, have an Italian Chef take you around markets and then bring you to their kitchen and show you how to use those ingredients, you are in luck!
You can find more information about it here: https://www.viaggia.ca/
I can’t wait to go!
Añejo Restaurant
Rating: 1
Stuffed Poblano pepper? Yes, that sounds delicious! Worth going here? No. The tomato sauce was straight from the can and you could taste the “canny” flavours. It just wasn't good. It disappointed 5 very hungry adults, and it was pricey…
Three Bears Brewery & Restaurant
Rating: 4
You know when you are not very hungry and your tummy hurts so you decide to get just something small but their cheesy fries sound amazing, you get the cheesy fries and they are even better than you imagined but your stomach is crying? No? Just me?
Three Bears was the best meal we had in Banff and I would highly recommend it. I only had an appetizer so I can’t judge it fully.
Cous Cous Salad
Rating: 5
It was always a good day when my mom would send us cous cous salad for lunch. This was also the first meal that brought me back to life when I moved to Canada. This salad has a special place in my heart. It’s delicious, nutritious and citrusy. You can put anything on it and it will work. I love adding olives or hearts of palm. Just cook the cous cous and add your favourite salad ingredients cut small. For the dressing, I recommend you go simple with salt, olive oil and lemon. You just can't go wrong with this one.
Feijoada
Rating: 5
My mom’s feijoada is another level of comfort. She started her prep around 9 and we were able to have it for lunch. I don't know why mine takes 3 days while she can put it all together in 1hr or so. This meal was just for Ian to enjoy while we were visiting Waterloo and oh he did. He had it for 3 days straight and took two frozen containers home. During the weekend, my mom kept giving me tips on how to make Feijoada for Ian. This will never end, I’m glad I enjoy cooking.
ZUBU
Rating: 5
I might go way too often to Zubu because I got this ramen for free. Zubu is a special/entertaining place. It tries to be more than just a ramen place. It's a mishmash of things, their ratings are not that good, it has a royalty system so I get texts with discounts fairly often, 2000’s top hits are the type of music you will be listening to and they really push for their cocktails. I mean, I am on the Zubu train. Their spicy vegan ramen has a special place in my heart.
This is it for this month’s list. I didn’t take many photos of this but I did bake lots (nothing good though) and made fresh pasta twice. I pushing for an even more eventful July as we embark on many food-related adventures!
What were some of your favourite foods from June?
Oh Ian’s a very lucky man ❤️
My favorite meal(s) in June was the fejioada I ate 3 times!!!