Special K Revolution.
Are you guilty of making New Year resolutions where you promise to make big changes going into the next year? While we always have good intentions and most of the time, we are very determined–most of us fall short.
I know I do.
Will you be making a New Year’s resolution? Well, Special K wants to inspire all Canadians in 2015 and they have teamed up with Nia Vardalos, which you may recognize her from My Big Fat Greek Wedding! While a New Year’s resolution is all about changing something about yourself or doing something differently–a revolution is big, bold, forward-looking and positive! It’s all about trying something new, jumping outside of your comfort zone and knowing that you did something that you never thought you would!
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My Revolution.
Well, even though my resolution isn’t exactly a New Year’s one, I want to find a balance and get healthier for my kids. That is very important to me, that means healthier all around. But, this coming year, I want to travel often, laugh a lot and embrace new cultures and experiences. By committing to this, it will include trying new foods that I wouldn’t normally try and learning all about the inspiration and culture behind the flavors.
I believe by learning about different cultures, their history and sitting down and enjoying a meal–you can learn so much. Whether it is in a restaurant, gastropub or in the quaint and humble home of a hard working townsperson in a different country. I want to experience this and I want to give back.
My #2015Revolution brought me to an amazing experience that is offered in my own little city, a culinary crawl. While I am a foodie, I enjoy comfort foods and foods that I know are the ones that I tend to stick to. You can call it my comfort zone. Pun intended. In 2015, I am going to expand my palate, dare to try foods that I wouldn’t think of trying and through this journey, learn the stories behind the dish, the locale, brewery or country.
All Aboard!
Dara and I met up with a few friends so that we can truly party it up and celebrate my #2015Revolution in style! It was a full ride and we met up at a music hall. Once we heard the bell toll that was rung by our engineer, we headed out to board the trolley. We set off and after a few rounds around downtown, we arrived at a new locale in our city, a gastropub dubbed the Foundry Pub.
A Delicious Experience.
We were greeted at the door with a special drink mixed with grapefruit, pineapple, ginger and vodka. We were served a basket of various flavors. A Montreal-spiced sliced beef on rye sandwich with Dijon mustard and topped with sauerkraut.
The rye sandwich had a triangular sample of one of their gastropub favorites, grilled cheese. The grilled cheese was my favorite as it was slathered with a delicious garlic sauce. Our sides were a cold bow-tie pasta salad with feta and cucumber and a cream-based red-skinned potato salad. Let’s not forget the pickle!
I’m more of a chicken gal and I had never tried this type of sandwich, much less sauerkraut! I enjoyed it and I will definitely be coming back for this! The Foundry Pub owners explained how their business came to be and what they hope for its future. They also mentioned that it is newly renovated and all the wood is repurposed!
Travel to The Orient.
Our next “stop” was to a very innovative restaurant experience, a restaurant with a lounge that is attached to a pub, sushi bar and a music hall. So, I guess whatever you are in the mood for, you are covered when you visit 255 Ouellette.
This night, Pan-Asian cuisine was in the stars for us. Many that know me, know that Asian cuisine is not my favorite. I haven’t been too daring in trying new things but, this night, all cards were off the table and I was going all out!
We were served two of their most famous appetizers, Crispy Cauliflower Fritters that is Chickpea battered fresh cauliflower with a tamarind chutney on curry yogurt greens. The other one is one of their most famous apps, the Avocado Egg Rolls that are served with cashew-cilantro pesto. To end the plate, duck lollipops topped with sesame teriyaki sauce.
One of our city’s breweries was in attendance and they brought with them Walkerville Milk Stout. This stout is only available during the winter season. I tend to stay away from dark beers but, trying this for the first time–it was amazing! It tasted just like coffee, that’s a win for me.
Let’s put it this way–no one left disappointed and we stepped into a whole new world of flavors. 3 of us had never tried duck before us so it was definitely life-changing!
Open-Concept Dining?
Bring it! The bell tolled and we hopped on the trolley to our third and final stop, Mauro’s on Erie. The restaurant had an intimate restaurant setting, brought the heat to our seats with their one of a kind live stream kitchen camera. If you so wished, you could watch the kitchen staff bring the freshest ingredients from pans to plate.
On my #2015Revolution night, well, we were treated to a special menu from the chef. A one-of-a-kind egg ravioli, none of us have seen nor tasted anything like it before. A carefully crafted ravioli with an entire egg yolk inside, placed on a bed of greens with garlic and mushroom and sprinkled with grated cheese.
Exquisite.
The plate also had a sample of crab cake on a mysterious yet delicious cream sauce and for a sweet ending, their french toast topped with strawberry and drizzled with a creme sauce. To keep the mood going, there was a live entertainer playing contemporary songs and bottom-less red and white wine from a nearby Oxley winery. We chatted with the brewery representative and she mentioned that they use a process that uses metal tanks opposed to casks.
What is YOUR Revolution?
All in all, the culinary crawl took me out of my comfort zone, I tasted new and different flavors from different types of cuisine. It helped me to embrace NEW things, different cultures and helped kick-start this trend for 2015. We travel often and I am making it a point to try something out of the box every single time we visit somewhere new!
We’ve had the pleasure of traveling to Costa Rica and not only did we taste different cuisine, we were able to visit the townsfolk and an elementary school. We visited a plantation to see how the locals work for a living and we had a chance to give back. It was an amazing experience to discover different cultures and I want to do so much more of it in 2015.
That is my #2015Revolution!
Starting on December 5, 2014 and up until January 30, 2015, if you share what your revolutionary goal on Twitter using the #2015Revolution hashtag or on the Kellogg Canada Facebook page, you will be entered to win one of three $1,000 prizes to help you achieve your goal. If you need some revolutionary inspiration and to see what others are looking to achieve, follow @SpecialK_CA.
What is YOUR 2015 Revolution?
Let me know, til then–cheers m’deres!
The post My Special K Revolution: Next Year, I’m Embracing New Cultures, Cuisine and Experiences! #2015Revolution appeared first on Whispered Inspirations.