Emerson Fry

I am not one to blog about fashion but this entrepreneurial story I like and feel there is value in sharing the brand!  There is a great “up close and personal” story with the designer, Emerson Bethany Fry, in the New York Times Insider Style blog here, which is how I was introduced to the company.

Why this is relevant you ask?  Because Emerson Fry’s new spring line is out today:

Here is a handful of my favourite pieces from the collection-

Photo Source: Emerson Fry (NYC)

Modern Grocery Stores

What makes a grocery store a cool place to shop? Rephrased in another way, what are the components that need to be present in a retail store that would make me want to come back again and again to do my food shopping, a task that is repetitive, monotonous and sometimes outright annoying?

I was pondering these questions earlier this week when I noticed that the grocery store down the street changed (upgraded) the refrigeration units that hold the store’s meats.  It appears that the store installed a modern glass refrigeration section to enhances the look and experience of shopping for the rather unexcited and dull packaged (sometimes mystery) meat.

I wish more food retailers would ask and execute on the same questions to make food shopping a more pleasurable experience.  As a customer, you may be focused on your shopping list and grocery mission but it does not mean you can’t also enjoy the experience at the same time.  These two things are not mutually exclusive.

There is nothing I like more when I travel than to visit grocery and specialty stores and see how food is merchandised and sold in different cities around the world.  There is something special about discovering (and shopping in) a grocery store that has clearly worked with an interior designer or an architect to plan, design and execute its food retailing concept.  My favourite concept which I am sure will continue to evolve is the restaurant, market, retail store concept-

Here are some of my favourite modern grocery stores around the world.  Where do you like to shop?  What stands out for you in a store?  Any interesting food retailing concepts you would recommend?

Three Sixty (Hong Kong)- The Whole Foods of Hong Kong.  It offers lots of organic products spread out over two floors, spacious aisles, natural light and soft interiors. I enjoyed shopping there when I was living in Hong Kong.

Photo Source: 1, 2

Pimlico (Paris) Organic epicerie, local, specialty food shop.  Love the white walls with exposed bricks.

Photo Source: 1

Mpreis (South Tyrol, Austria) Super trendy, industrial, spacious, modern store which I hope to visit in two weeks when I go skiing in Austria.

Photo Source: 1, 2

 Unpackaged (London) You bring the bags, containers and cartons.  It reminds me of a hipper farmer’s market meets, Bulk Barn (a bulk food store in Toronto).

Photo Source: 1, 2, 3

Kochhaus (Berlin) A gourmet chef’s delight.

Photo Source: 1, 2, 3

Chocolate beet cake with beet buttercream

I had a blast testing out a chocolate beet cake for Valentine’s day from Joy the Baker.  I was a bit skeptical at first as I have never baked with beets before but to be quite honest, it was no different that working with carrots for carrot cake.  It just took a few more steps because you had to roast, peel and grate the beets into a usable form.

Note, that Joy’s recipe called to make the cake with a beet cream cheese frosting.  The cream cheese situation in Prague, as far as I can tell, is not great and so I swapped cream cheese frosting for a beet buttercream which was just as tasty.  The cake turned out quite moist and fluffy and did not have an earthy flavour that I sort of expected from the beets.  I would totally make this cake again, it was a hit in my house and at the office. Let me know if you try it.

Here are some step by step shots on preparing and icing your cake:

Recipe (adapted) from Joy the Baker

The Chocolate Beet Cake Recipe:

2 medium beets, unpeeled (I ended up roasting 4 just in case since my beets were on the smaller side)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pans
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk  (I used regular milk- could not find buttermilk at the grocery store)

For the beets:
You need to roast the beets (as you normally would) in the oven. Let them cool, peel and grate until you have the desired amount.

For the cake: (I followed this part exactly from Joy’s recipe- it turned out beautifully)
Set oven to 350F or 180C.  In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, for one minute after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once eggs are incorporated, beat in beets and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture. Beating on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk. Once just incorporated, add the other half of the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed until milk and dry ingredients are just incorporated. Try not to over mix the batter. Bowl can be removed from the mixer and mixture folded with a spatula to finish incorporating ingredients. Cake batter will be on the thick side… not pourable.

Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes (for a 9-inch pan) or 30-32 minutes (for an 8-inch pan). Cake is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting and assembling the cake.

The beet buttercream recipe:
I tend to eyeball my butter cream recipes because I go after a specific taste but here is

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated beets
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 teaspoons milk, depending on desired consistency
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Beat the butter and slowly add in the powdered sugar (turn down the speed or the sugar will go flying). Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy (5 min at least). Add in the beets, vanilla, milk and lemon juice (if you want) and keep tasting and mixing until you have the flavour and balance between sweet and butter that you prefer.

Wax Bars and Fuzz

I was all set to write a nice post on the chocolate beetroot cake I baked over Valentine’s Day (I still have a quarter left wrapped up in the freezer) but thanks to an email I received this morning from a friend on the opening of a new wax bar in Toronto, my topic of conversation for today has change to the increasingly visible trend of specialized service businesses.

Let me explain, there is a growing trend among professional service businesses to focus on one service.  I suppose one could argue nail salons and hair salons were the original businesses to offer a focused service but for some reason, in the past couple years, I keep reading about these new, young entrepreneurs who are breathing new life into specialized services.  I love these places because they are able to do an amazing job, quickly, and for a relatively inexpensive cost.  The added bonus is the fun of branding and consumer experience is brought back into to the service which makes returning as a customer a pleasure!

I’ve blogged about a handful of these specialized concepts before including Dry Bar  in Los Angeles which kicked off the blow dry bar trend, followed a more recent post on Blushington Makeup (also Los Angeles) that specializes in make up glamorizing services and now, the next focused service: wax bars.

Wax bars are not a new concept, especially in Europe.   The two wax salons that come to my mind are MaxWax in New York, and  Wax in the City from Germany (Wax in the City rocks in Berlin and Vienna); both companies have been around for several years.  Clearly, wax bars have not finished expanding and evolving as the newest addition to the waxing salon genre recently opened in Toronto on Queen Street.  Fuzz Wax Bar offers hybrid membership and non membership pricing for clients of  its extensive waxing services.  I plan to go check them out in May when I return to Toronto for a week of wedding planning appointments and look forward to reporting back to you all about my experience.

Photo Source 1

Does anyone have any amazing specialty service shops in their city that they would like to share?  Would love to hear what is going on around the world.

Photos Sources 1, 2, 3, 4

Mariánské Lázně + Weekend Roundup

This past weekend was all about relaxation.  My fiance and I have made it a point to take a full break on Saturday, no work, no computers, disconnect and have a mini adventure, so we don’t miss our opportunity to explore what the Czech Republic has to offer.  On Saturday, we woke up nice and early (so much for a sleep in), got in the car and drove two hours outside of Prague to a spa town in the Karlovy Vary region called, Marianske Lazne.   While the “official” spa season in Mariánské Lázně (also known as Marienbad), does not begin until May, there was still plenty of opportunities to unwind, soak, and be pampered at the various hotels around the city.

Prior to commencing our spa going experience, we decided to grab lunch at what has been touted as the only place to dine in Mariánské Lázně, a Spanish tapas bar called Medite. Medite is located on the main strip of the city and according to my fiance, it was “one of the best meals we’ve had in this country!” Since we were only eating lunch, we stuck to sharing a couple cold and warm tapas dishes including the herb pate and olives, two chicken soups, a stuffed zucchini with tomato bechamel sauce and sheep cheese au gratin, a dish that was something like a tortilla espanola (potato/omelet) and (for the fiance) button mushrooms stuffed with ham and goat cheese served on the equivalent of hickory sticks. It was all delicious and quite an unexpected treat surrounded by Czech cuisine.

As for our spa experience, I wanted to try the salt caves, where you sit in a salt cave for an hour which is supposed to be beneficial for a wide range of ailments, except we couldn’t find the location of the address I wrote down.  So we passed on the salt cave in exchange for a mineral bath at the Spa Resort Nove Lazne, a hotel built in the 1800s by the town’s founder, Karel Kaspar Reitenberger (the hotel is on Reitenberger street).  I asked the front desk what the hotel was famous for and found out it was and is famous for famous people staying at the hotel such as kings and princes.  Not the most motivating selling point if you don’t hold a fondness for Kings and Princes but honest nonetheless.

We selected a mineral bath which was an interesting and somewhat of a medical or hospital-esque experience (see my picture below of the room we soaked in).  The bath lasted for about 30 minutes followed by a dry wrap.  The lady who was administering the mineral bath salts, walked in, walked out, helped us out of the bath on to the table, wrapped us, unwrapped us and then just left.  No explanation, no interaction, simply walking us through the process of soak and dry off.

Overall, the experience was relaxing but I am not sure either of us would rush back just to soak.  Mariánské Lázně is apparently less commercial/touristy than Karlovy Vary (44km away) but outside of the spa, there is not much to do except look at the beautiful landscape/scenery/architecture, but I guess that is what it means to relax.

In the mean time, I also have some inspiration to share with you:

1. I am obsessed with the images and words (graphic design/branding) of La Tortilleria based in Mexico.

2. I learned there are some extremely talented Tel Aviv based wedding dress designers from Hatunot’s blog, not to mention, Hatunot is a helpful wedding site if you are thinking of getting married in Israel.

3. F for Fabulous posted some neat ideas for interior decor with chalkboards.  I am a fan of the first shot, where the entire wall is a chalkboard.  Imagine, you could have a rotating art display all year long thanks to chalk designs of whoever comes to visit.

4. This tart or cake “Galette aux pralines roses” from My DZ Decoration is bright pink and looks super fun for a party.

5. Homemade strawberry juice from The Food Club.  I have never had strawberry juice before but I would imagine it would turn into a mean mimosa.

6. I really enjoyed reading the musings of Like a Strawberry Milk, a pastry chef in London

Wine by the Bay

Do you want to know what happens when an art gallery owner co-owns a wine store?  The answer is Wine by the Bay in Miami.  It is a fine wine store and an art boutique whose contemporary gallery aesthetic presents the perfect backdrop to sample and purchase new and old world wine.

Why is it the case that people in Miami get to buy their wine from a store that looks like this and I am relegated to buying wine at a grocery store or corner store?  I love it when art and business intersects.  Don’t you?  The end product is always fabulous design and smart execution.

via downtown miami news

via downtown miami news

via refinery 29

via miami herald

Dad Dines @ Yardbird Miami

My dad has been down in Miami for a couple months testing out the new snowbird lifestyle in his attempt to wear shorts (or no winter jacket) for most of the year.  Since he has been down there, he has had the opportunity to sample food from Miami’s eclectic food scene and dine at some pretty interesting places.

My father, a fellow foodie (I know where half my passion for food comes from, the other half is my mother) boasts that Miami, is a diverse place.  It has a very international feel as people from all over the world come to live, vacation, work and play.  The dining scene is now a reflection of the energy and the people.  I am not in Miami but I trust my dad’s opinion when it comes to food, so I will be profiling some of his picks over the next couple of weeks.  If you are headed to Miami, at least you’ll have a couple ideas of where to dine.

Yardbird Southern Table & Bar is a restaurant and bar with a focus on southern food. The food is served in smaller portions so you can sample several items (as per my dad’s recommendations below) and the decor is farmhouse chic.  The interior is really stunning filled with lots of interesting items hanging on the walls, high ceilings, and exposed brick.  Chef Jeff McInnis has done a fabulous job with this place.

My dad personally recommends Yardbird’s fried chicken (their specialty), shrimp and grits, homemade biscuits with honey butter and jam and blueberry pie.

Macaron Day Toronto March 20th

If you have been following my blog, you’ll know I have a soft spot for macaron.  I’ve blogged about some of my favourite macaron shops around the world including MadMac (NYC), Adriano Zumbo (Sydney), Bottega Louie (Los Angeles) and Thurel & Thomas (Mexico City) to name few. There is something about their colour, size, texture and taste that I just can’t get enough of.  Macarons were also part of my scavenger hunt marriage proposal that my fiance organized last February.

Toronto macaron lovers rejoice.  The city wide event you have all been waiting for is almost here.  On March 20th, over 15 bakeries around the city will be offering free macarons in support of the Red Door Shelter. The list of participating bakeries in Toroto include several of my favourite shops in the city (I have blogged about a handful of them over the years).

(photo via Macaron Day TO)

The macaron day event, is not new to the world stage.  In fact it started in Paris back in 2005 under the name “Jour du Macaron” by Pierre Herme. The event has spread to far reaching cities such as Berlin, Brussels, Luxembourg, Tokyo, Alsace, numerous cities around France, and  New York.

(photo via la fuji mama)

If you have never tasted a macaron in your life, this is a terrific opportunity to broaden your palette and see what you have been missing for so long.

(photo via The Culinary Life)

(photo via Girl Eat Girl)

Macaron Day TO participating bakeries include:

La Bamboche (my blog post)
Petite Thuet
Patisserie La Cigogne
Butter Avenue
J’adore Cakes Co.
Rahier
Patachou
Moroco (my blog post and my marriage proposal macarons came from these guys)
Bobbette and Belle (my blog post)
Ma Maison
Ruelo Patisserie
Cake Opera Co. (my blog post)
Daniel et Daniel
The Sweet Escape
Julio Bonilla
Frangipane
Patisserie 27