Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Bro Brunch at Aroma Espresso Bar

"Bro Brunch" featuring @goodfoodtoronto, @hypebelly, @feedmyphone, @ctfillah88
Aroma Espresso Bar is the only coffee shop chain in Toronto that I know of that has a liquor license (only at some locations). I teamed up with Aroma to organize a fun “Bro Brunch” with a few of my foodie friends who love to drink and we had a chance to sample their whole line of boozy cocktails along with some delicious food. The group at this brunch were all guys, with a common interest- eating and drinking everything...and taking pictures of it (yes, guys do this too LOL).

Last Saturday, We met up for the “Bro Brunch” at Aroma Espresso Bar at Shops at Don Mills around 11 AM, a perfect time to sample their cocktails! Highlights included the Ice Mojito, Ice Aroma with Baileys, Iced Berry Tea Lemonade with Rum and Irish Cream Latte with Baileys. Each drink came with 1.5 oz of alcohol, a fun way to get the party started on a Saturday morning! I especially liked the Ice Mojito, which was a blended lemon and mint slush with either vodka or rum. The more we drank, the more pictures we took. The more pictures we took, the more drunk we got. Bro Brunch!!!

On to the food! We ordered a few items to share including a few Fig and Goat Cheese Croissants and Shakshukas. The Shakshuka is a hot tomato and pepper stew, served with 2 sunny-side up eggs and fresh baked bread on the side to dip! They also give you Tahini sauce to drizzle into the bowl. It’s a nice hearty brunch item for a cold winter day. The Fig and Goat Cheese Croissant is a new item on the Aroma menu and I hope it stays for good because the flavours were on point! The croissant was filled with Fig Jam, Goat Cheese, Red Onions, Arugula and Balsamic. Others items we devoured included the Bureka Treat, a savoury Bulgarian cheese pastry sandwich, and the addictive Alfajores short bread cookie sandwiches.

The S’mores Hot Chocolate and the Affogato with Baileys are also must trys.  The S’mores Hot Chocolate had chunks of chocolate melted in steamed milk with marshmallow flavour, topped with giant marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs!  The S’mores Hot Chocolate was delicious, especially with a shot of Baileys!  The Spiked Affogato was a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a shot of espresso + 1.5 oz of Baileys poured on top of it.  With or without Baileys, Affogatos are definitely my favourite way to enjoy coffee. 

Aroma is a nice casual place to not only grab a coffee, but also for brunch! The “Bro Brunch” was really fun and you can see more pictures on Instagram accounts of "The Bros" who attended: Hubert (@goodfoodtoronto), Chris (@ctfillah88), Alex (@hypebelly), Patty (@feedmyphone). Honorary Bro: Jess (@jellymean). 

Special thanks to Loren from Aroma Canada for believing in our Bro Brunch and to Wassim for the hospitality at the Shops at Don Mills Aroma Location. 

Aroma Espresso Bar 
1090 Don Mills Road 
Toronto, ON M3C 3R6 
(416) 443-1430 
www.aroma.ca

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Fresh Burger Toronto Grand Opening

Fresh Burger recently opened its first location in downtown Toronto and I had the chance to attend the Grand Opening event. Fresh isn’t just their name, as they already have many happy customers for their Richmond Hill location. Ran into fellow food bloggers Alex (@hypebelly) and Diana (@TorontoCafeFood) at the event, who were busy snapping pics of the event (+ burgers!). I tried the 4oz Fresh Burger and a Poutine. It’s a simple burger, with simple quality ingredients that speak for themselves. Although I would prefer the meat to be a bit more seasoned. Props to Fresh Burger for giving out FREE Burgers that night to anyone willing to line up!

Fresh Burger
542 Church Street 
Toronto, ON M4Y 2C6
http://www.fresh-burger.com