Eating on the road: Lounge and plane food from my summer vacation -- part two

 After five amazing and relaxing nights in the Maldives, and some great meals I will review separately, it was back into the air for the next leg of my journey to Bangkok, Thailand, via Singapore.

My first three flights in business were on Aeroplan points, earned thanks to my decade as a frequently-travelling technology journalist (nowadays I mostly earn train and hotel points) but the Maldives to Bangkok trip I paid out of pocket and booked economy on Singapore Airlines.

As one of the top airlines in the world I was looking forward to the trip, even if it would be another redeye to Singapore and an early-morning flight on to Bangkok. But I researched upgrade options and I learned they were often available for purchase a few days out. So I made a point of logging in right when the upgrade window opened and, on my laptop looking out at the ocean in my Maldavian villa, I decided I could justify the price as a once-in-a-lifetime experience (when will I be back here?) and I upgraded both legs to business.

And this business class experience was a step above any other I've experienced. Comfortable lay flat pods, great menus, and warm, friendly and attentive staff that greet you by name. 

But first, they use a private lounge at the airport in Male that was just ok. Very busy, lots of kids running around, food nothing to write home about. No photos taken.

As I settled into my pod I enjoyed a fresh orange juice and looked over the volumnius menu. I had pre-selected my entree, but the drinks selection was quite interesting and abundant. And unlike on Emirates, I was well-rested from my week in the sun and ready to partake.

I ordered a glass of the 2020 Chateau Pey La Tour Reserve Bordeaux which, while only $24 at the SAQ, was excellent and, of course, enjoyed with mixed nuts.

But I couldn't leave it at that, as one other option on the drink menu also caught my attention. I hadn't had one before, but how can you be on Singapore Airlines enroute to Singapore and not try a Singapore Sling?

It was fruity and delicious. And yes, I was double-fisting but hey, I'm on vacation! Also, I wanted to get to bed right after dinner.

Speaking of which, meal service did begin promptly and efficiently for this overnight flight but was still served course by course. As an appetizer, they served a seared pepper-crusted tuna with fennel, crab and togarashi mayonnaise.

I would judge it OK. I'm still not totally sold on tuna. I made little lettuce wrap tuna sandwiches. I was more excited for the main course, and I added ordered the local option: Mee Siam Goreng, or Fried spicy rice vermicelli with prawns, fish cake, chives and lime -- they kindly accommodated my request to hold the hard-boiled egg which I appreciated.

It was a tasty entree, not stellar, but very good. 8/10. They warned me the sauce was spicy, and it did have kick, but it was enjoyable -- though I didn't go to hard to avoid bedtime heartburn. Their bread basket selection was very varied and they came by a few times to top up. I had a few garlic bread. I also enjoyed the sticky date pudding with quenelle of cream and butterscotch sauce.

With dinner complete, I put the bed into lay flat mode and managed a little but of sleep before a sunrise approach into Singapore.

It took quite awhile, and a train, to navigate an airside terminal change at the airport in Singapore. Unfortunately I didn't have time to explore any of the cool airport attractions like the garden or the jewel, but I did have time to try their lounge. Finding the right one took a minute (I didn't have access to the more exclusive First Class one) but eventually I did find the one for business class passengers. 

And wow, made to order noodle bar at breakfast time? Oh, yes please.

After watching a few others go to figure it out, I made my selections and my noodle dish was made to order in front of me. 

I can't use chopsticks so eating some of the bulkier choices with a spoon was a challenges, as was getting the noodles to where they needed to be, but no one here knew me so I slurped without shame. Pretty tasty. A Coke Zero as you see; I found that in Asia it seems like Coke Zero has replaced Diet Coke for the most part as the no-sugar option.

I left the dining area to chill before flight time; it was a very busy lounge for early/mid morning; maybe it was the rush hour I don't know. There were some other buffet and breakfast options but other than the must-try noodles, I was saving space for my next leg.

Which was back on business again for the connection to Bangkok, and in preparing for this flight I saw that it had Book the Cook available, which allows you to pre-order a few days in advance from a much broader menu. 

And while it may seem like a very odd choice for a morning flight, I had to go with their renowned chicken satay skewers with peanut sauce. And, my friends, it did not disappoint, Even my flight attendant approved of my choice.

I know it looks a but out of place on this tray with the breakfast fruit bowl and yogurt, but it was so good. Juicy, flavourful, the peanut sauce was excellent. And so much chicken, oh my god. I enjoyed it while watching The Pit fit the first time, Noah Wylie's not an ER rip off, which was pretty good too.

All in all, a great experience on Singapore Airlines. Definitely my favourite business class experience to date.

After four nights in Bangkok -- again, food to be chronicled separately, it was time to begin the long journey home. The trip home was another Aeroplan redemption, this time in economy. I has wanted to keep going West to make it a true around the world, but Aeroplan was making me go on Air India and I was not down for that.

So I ended up on Eva Air to London with an overnight layover. Managed to get an aisle seat at least for this all daytime, 13 hour flight.  I was in the middle four seat section, and the person on the other aisle and I had the two middle-seats free so that was lucky. In this scenario I like to watch shows on my screen and have the map on the one beside me.

It was a long but reasonable long haul experience. Good IFE and moving map, free wifi, two meals, many drink services, and snacks. First nosh, this rice cracker snack mix.

I didn't snap menu shots so I can't give fulsome menu descriptions. But for lunch there was a seafood salad, a fruit bowl, a chicken/veg/rice thing, and some sort of desert. For an economy meal it was good, and a lot of food.

I mentioned the moving map and WiFi. It was both fun and a bit frightening to watch the moving map and the route projection. We did a very weird deviation over Pakistan and Afghanistan, perhaps avoiding Kashmir? We seemed to deliberately stay South of Russian air space through Central Asia but the rotue projected us right over Crimea and Ukraine, which seemed a questionable choice and led to some concerned Facebook Messenger activity.

Thankfully though, we turned south, hugging the south side of the Black Sea over Turkey before turning North-West over Eastern Europe. A relief to be sure.

As I pondered the possibility of becoming a statistic, they passed out these snacks. It was fine.

Finally, safely over European airspace they served another meal. 

Some kind of chicken stir fry, that fruit bowl again, and bizarrely, a yogurt and a very beat-up croissant. Breakfast vibes from the sides, dinner from the entree. It was tasty enough though. It was probably after midnight to our bodies, but early evening in London. 

Navigating the Queen's Terminal was a bit of a challenge; more specifically, getting to the hotel bus area. But I made it to my airport-adjacent Marriott, checked in and dropped my bag, and navigated a double-decker, the Elizabeth Line and the Tube to Westminster to pay homage to the Mother Parliament and get a Big Ben Selfie.

I reversed the journey, except with an Uber from the nearest train station to my hotel, and collapsed on my bed to sleep.

No hotel or airport food pics, but there were some adventures. I got a free breakfast in the hotel restaurant as a super shiny member, and they had a prix fixe. There was a 10 pound upcharge to the prix fixe listed on the menu for the steak and I got that because, why not, still on vacation. When the bill came they charged me the full price as if I has ordered it a la carte. Raising this with the manager it was taken off, he said the menu was out of date. Well, it's the one you're still giving out though mate. Steak was decent, anyways, and cooked to order.

I filled my bag with duty free snacks to bring home at Heathrow, and had lunch. I remember whatever it was being over priced, you order from an app at your seat, and while the cola was way overpriced apparently free refills aren't a thing in Europe. I think it was some kind of mac and cheese with brisket at a BBQ place; it was fine.

I managed to use my upgrade credits and some cash to get into Premium Economy for my Air Canada flight to Ottawa. It's my third time in Premium Economy and, if you can swing it, it's worth it for long haul. The meals are supposed to be better than economy. In my experience, they're just different. But the seats are more spacious with more leg room and that's the key thing.

This was another daytime flight, leaving London mid afternoon with an evening landing in Ottawa. Again, I didn't snap a menu shot so I don't have exact descriptions here.

But there's that salad dressing again! Went with a lighter entree with the pasta option. It was fine. Desert was interesting. And, of course, a glass of red.

The hotel night to break up the journey home was nice, and I landed back in Ottawa in reasonable shape. And when I got home, discovered my bag had been pilfered. Surpassingly though, what was missing was two bags of Lays chips from Thailand, one squid and one prawn. They didn't take the chili sauce or the mango candies, so I guess it was a baggage thief that was hungry for weird chips. Probably happened when stored overnight at Heathrow. I was only out like a dollar so no big deal, just weird.

Anyways, this concludes my on the move food chronicles from this vacation. Up next, eating in the Maldives.

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Eating on the road: Lounge and plane food from my summer vacation -- part one

 As I prepare to venture to Montreal for a mini-vacation and a good steak frites, it occurs to me I have fallen woefully behind in my food blogging. So to begin catching up, I'd like to recap some of the snacks and meals I enjoyed during my summer vacation, which took me from Ottawa to the Maldives and Singapore, with a bunch of lounges and business class flights. This update will focus on lounges and in-flight meals.

The trip began with a business class train trip from Ottawa to Montreal, as there were better Aeroplan reward options flying out of YUL. And being paranoid about missing flights, I booked a breakfast train to ensure a large buffer (and more time to enjoy the Maple Leaf Lounge in Montreal).

VIA offers the choice of a hot or cold breakfast, although the eggs are inescapable with either choice. I mean, you could escape them, put the point is, egg features prominently in both. I have never gotten the hard but I believe it involves a hard-boiled egg, yogurt and fruit.

I always get the hot option which is some kind of egg dish, usually potatoes and some sort of protein like bacon and sausage, and fruit. Sometimes it's an omelet; egg bites are a regular new feature. For a few years now the bread choice has been a roll with hints of cinnamon which is delicious.

This trip it was a bacon leek quiche with cherry tomatoes and sauteed onions and mushrooms. I was very happy to see this; their quiche is not supper eggy which is a plus for me and the ingredients and crust help mask the eggs for me.

Which brings me to a side note on ketchup, a regular issue for me when it comes to eggs. When I remember I bring ketchup packets if I can, as availability can be hit or miss. They do have ketchup more often than not, but it's back in the galley so if you're being served early in the service, you could have to wait awhile and your food could get cold. I don't expect them to go and get it for me right then, but I'm curious -- if they have it stocked, and they do more than half the time, why isn't it on the cart? You could argue they stock the ketchup for lunch or dinner, but I take the train a lot and I have never seen a lunch or dinner offered that lends itself to ketchup. One of life's mysteries.

Anyway, after an on time arrival at VIA's Dorval station and a free shuttle transfer to the airport, I cleared security, bought an airport ballcap to protect my bald head in the Maldivian sun, and headed to the Maple Leaf Lounge. It was pointed out I was a bit early (I was crazy early) so I was admitted without issue.

Besides the bar not being self-service, I like the YUL International MLL far more than the one in Toronto, which I last visited two years ago on my way to Jordan and Palestine. There was ample appy selection, hot and cold, as well as a made to order pasta bar. And it just seemed to flow more smoothly than the Toronto domestic or international lounges -- Ottawa is also very limited in selection. Also, when it comes to tarmac plane watching, the order is definitely YUL>YOW>YYZ.

Here's a video tour:

While it wasn't a self-service bar they did give me a healthy pour on my rum and diet coke. I samples the various appetizers but the highlight for me was definitely the popcorn chicken bites -- I may have have had a few helpings -- I was there for quite awhile. So long that they ran out of this variety and replaced them with an inferior, more processed popcorn chicken. Note the corn cause I'm healthy like that...

I also ordered a tasty bow tie pasta with olive oil, garlic, bell peppers and mushrooms. Simple but delicious.

After a few hours of plane watching and probably too much popcorn chicken given the meals I had ahead of me, I headed to the gate for the first leg of my flight journey: Air Canada in business from Montreal overnight to Frankfurt.

I settled into my pod and, once airborne, my tablet was set and the service began with a ramekin of warm mixed nuts and a glass of red wine -- I selected a Chateau De Pistray Les Praries Castilllion from France that was delicious. This was the first of many wine and nuts combos, which seems to be a business class staple.

Next I was served my salad. It was fine. It was served with the same oil/balsamic dressing I have had with every salad I have ever been served on a business class flight, and would see twice more before I got my next solid sleep in my Maldivian villa.

But the real star here was the Mediterranean mezze appetizer. Which I guess some people will fine more acceptable than calling it an Arabic mezze. Whatever you call it, it was excellent. Hummus, Loubieh Bi Zeit, Muhammara and  Za'atar seasoned feta. Truly the highlight of this flight.

Next was the entree, which I has pre-ordered online. I had selected the slow braised beef, tomato demi-glace, garlic pappardelle pasta, broccoli and sweet cherry tomato. The other options were chicken, trout and a bean stew.

It was...fine. Cooked properly and all. I have come to the conclusion that I just think I don't care for braising as a beef preparation. Will keep this in mind for future ordering opportunities. 

Stuffed from lounge food and a three course meal, I passed on desert, got changed into more comfortable clothes and tried to get some sleep in my lay flat pod. Which I don't think I did that well at, so I eventually gave up and watched White Lotus until we approached the European coast and they came around with breakfast.

For this meal there was no choice -- just the standard parsley omelet, chicken sausage with parmesan cheese and spinach, roasted potatoes and tomato cumin chutney. Plus a croissant, a fruit bowl and yogurt. 

With the time change it may have been breakfast time out the window and in Frankfurt, but it was not in my stomach. In my stomach, it was still the day before when I had a train breakfast, copious lounge food and, just a few hours before, a three course meal. So I had the fruit and sausage and picked at the rest, mostly leaving the eggs untouched. No disrespect to their breakfast, but I would have no appetite for quite awhile.

After navigating a terminal change and a train ride at Frankfurt airport -- thankfully, no customs checkpoint for transit passengers, I settled into the Emirates lounge. They had the standard breakfast offerings but nothing super impressive, and I passed knowing I had a big lunch ahead of me. After a welcome shower and a Cola Light, I boarded my next flight -- business on an Emirates 777 to their Dubai Hub, where I hoped a much nicer lounge awaited me.

Again, I had pre-ordered my lunch on the Emirates web site as soon as the option was open. I am the sort that scouts menus ahead of any big restaurant meal. And once we were airborne the service began. 

It's the little things that set the Emirates service apart from Air Canada like the large ramekin of butter instead of  a plastic tub, the real salt and pepper shakers, and the metal napkin holder. Just more classy overall. But there's that salad dressing again, hello old friend.

I was still not super-hungry and was pretty tired -- one reason I went with water instead of wine. And I picked at the salad, picking out the olives. But the appetizer of seared scallops on pea puree with microgreens was outstanding -- again, as on Air Canada, the appetizer outshining the main. The scallops were delicious and cooked perfectly. Here's a closer look:

Next came the main, and I had pre-ordered the fish tahta. The flavours were good but it was dry. I was too full any ways, I had a few bites and tapped out and even skipped desert. I felt bad about not fully capitalizing on the full Emirates business experience, but I just had zero appetite at this point, thanks to both fatigue and having had far more to eat already than I usually do.

Of course, there are multiple deserts on an Emirates business flight, even at lunch. So while I passed on the main desert I couldn't pass on the chocolate box, or the strawberry ice cream served later in the flight.

We touched down in Dubai and it was the evening -- at least outside, I had no idea where it was to my body. After a long and circuitous march through Dubai's airport I found my terminal and headed to the flagship Emirates lounge, a visit I had been looking forward to for years after many travel vlogger videos.

The smiles stopped when I got inside. It was, to be honest, disappointing, I have no videos as, frankly, there was nothing with chronicling. Maybe it was the time of day, which I believe was late evening/post dinner. But I walked the length of the huge lounge to find the different regional food stations. But frankly, they all had only slightly different versions of rice/noddle/sauce/veg. It gave off low rent buffet vibes, and there was hardly any protein to be found. Just as well I didn't have an appetite; if I ate anything it left no memory or impression.

After trying to sleep a bit, flight time approached and I made my way to my gate, after picking up some Dubai chocolate at duty free, and boarded by business class flight on Fly Dubai to Maldives. For a low cost carrier, this was a great experience. A lay flat seat that I managed to actually sleep on (two days awake may have helped). 

But first, I began again with wine and nuts -- this time, a Journey's End Huntsman Shiraz from South Africa that was very tasty.

The meal was served all at once which was fine, as I was more than ready for bed at this point. No pre-order, I had the roasted chicken served with baby carrots, charred broccolini, and herbed-mased potatoes in a cream sauce. There's that salad dressing again. And cheese blintzes for desert, with vanilla creme anglaise and cherry compote. The main was hearty and satisfying, and put me properly to sleep.

And with that, it was off to bed before an early morning arrival into the Maldivian capital.

This got long so I'll save part two for another update, including two business flights on Singapore Air and the lounge in Singapore, before returning to the economy life for the journey home from Bangkok.

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10 thoughts on the Ontario Liberal Party AGM this weekend

I’m on the train on my way back to Ottawa for the return of Parliament after spending the weekend in Toronto for the Ontario Liberal Party Annual General Meeting. And before my train even left the station I needed to come up with 10 new thoughts. Life moves pretty fast. Unlike my delayed train.

1.      1. No one won today. Not the Crombie loyalists. Not the Nate-stans or New Leafers. Not the OLP rank and file. And not Ontarians that want a credible alternative to Ford. Rebuilding will be on hold yet another round of leadership drama. So maybe Doug Ford and Marit Stiles won.

2.      2. Crombie had no choice. The artificial bar set by the New Leafers was silly. But realistically, she needed over 60%. Under that, it would be challenging. Without a united caucus, it would be impossible. Caucus wasn’t united. Credit to her for recognizing it fairly quickly. Her position had become untenable. She’ll stay on until a new leader is picked. John Fraser is sparred a third interim leadership.

3.      3. I heard a lot of talk this weekend about early nominations. They are important. They’re not going to happen this cycle. Sure, you could open things up during a leadership race. But how do you get serious people to invest the time and the money in a run when they don’t know who their leader is going to be?

4.    4.  If this leadership isn’t going to be a wasted year or more, we need the party executive to step up. We have a huge executive, and they have not been as active as they could or should be for years. The workI’ve argued really needs to happen doesn’t need to wait for a leader. The president and her team need to start now with rebuilding dormant riding associations, building up local organizational and fundraising capacity, and recruiting and training campaign workers and managers. And our two relatively new commissions – Seniors, and Rural and Northern – have important  work to do too. This work can’t wait. Rebuild that big red machine so the new leader can hit the ground running. It’s not easy, but they need to run a leadership and a rebuild at the same time.

5.      5. Lots of people will take credit for what happened this weekend. In my last post, I posited Crombie had two opposition groups: the Nate loyalists and the Liberals who believe governing is our manifest destiny. I believe it’s the latter group that were the silent plurality of those that voted Yes for a leadership review. They are frustrated with three straight election losses. I share their frustration. But if they don’t step up to be part of the rebuild, we’ll all be back here in the same place in four years.

6.      6. Let’s not overlook the good Crombie did. She increased our vote. She raised a lot of money. She grew our caucus and got us back to official party status. She rescued the party from near oblivion and left a strong base for her successor to build on. We saw early fruits of that work with a well-run convention this weekend.

7.     7. Let’s not overlook the bad of the Crombie era. There’s lots. But I will highlight a few. Biggest of all, she had a weak core team that were poor organizers, made bad decisions, and didn’t see an election coming that everyone else in the province saw coming a mile away. There is no excuse for how poorly prepared the party entered that election. And these were a lot of the same people that have been in these roles since the McGuinty years. This party needs a new generation of competent organizational leadership around the next leader.

8.   8.  Can we get Brian Gallant to take up residency here? His speech was great. It was a clear call for compassionate and progressive Liberal values. He clearly has national ambitions. Carney needs to bring him into the fold.

9.      9.The texts and WhatsApps are already burning up with leadership speculation. Navdeep Bains. Jeff Lehman. Probably Nate. Probably a surprise or two. If Bains runs, he will run away with it. If he doesn’t run, It’s wide-open. But I know who I won’t be voting for.

10.  10. I can’t end without a food review. The OLP hands-down beats the federal party when it comes to feeding their convention attendees. Great spread for lunch on Saturday. Two salads, pasta, haddock, chicken, two deserts, soup and bread. At federal biennials, I don’t recall any free food outside the Laurier lounge.

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My pragmatic OLP leadership take that will probably make everyone upset

I have been confirmed as a voting delegate from Ottawa Centre for the upcoming Ontario Liberal Party annual meeting in Toronto, and I will be voting against a leadership review. Not because I think Bonnie Crombie has done an amazing job – in fact, I have a long list of issues– but because I think dumping the leader again and again and expecting different results without doing any of the hard rebuilding work needed is the definition of insanity, and would ensure Doug Ford rule until he gets tired of pretending to be Premier.

Let’s start with Crombie. I ended up voting for her after my initial pick dropped out, and she was the more electable of the candidates on offer. The others left standing were worse choices. And the arguments for her were compelling: Liberal credentials but an OLP outsider, a proven fundraiser, and someone who could help win back the Blue Liberals that we need to win back in areas like Peel and York regions.

Did she deliver? Some yes, lots of no.

Pros: she raised a lot of money. I was a deputy campaign manager in a swing riding where we came up just short; the centre provided a lot of support in calling and IDs.  The size of caucus increased sharply, we regained official party status, and the resources that comes with have allowed for more resources that will pay dividends in the years ahead. Our caucus has always punched above its weight and now, with more resources and strong new MPPs, it continually outshines the NDP’s performative opposition. And we got a helluva lot more votes – it just wasn’t as efficient as we would have liked.

Cons: She lost her own seat. Yes, Patrick Brown sent in half of Brampton to campaign for his mother-in-law and against Crombie. But a loss is a loss and this was embarrassing. On taking the leadership, she brought in a lot of the same old people that have been running things back to McGuinty. I voted for renewal and she delivered more of the same. The scramble to find candidates for an election that it seemed obvious everyone knew was coming was a major organizational failure. The central campaign lacked focus and organization.

So, why not vote for a new leadership process? Because doing so would not address any of the things that are wrong with out party. The problem with the OLP isn’t Bonnie Crombie. It wasn’t Steven Del Duca either. I voted for Michael Coteau and I couldn’t stand Del Duca’s vests, but I don’t think Coteau would have done any better than he did.

The problem is that successive leaders have allowed the party apparatus to atrophy. Riding associations have gone dormant. We got used to being in government and being sent policy and organizers and messaging and campaign managers from on high. We stopped grassroots organizing, we stopped building the capacity at the riding and the regional level so that there were teams and organization ready to go locally when the writ is dropped.

That’s the responsibility of the leader, yes. And the party executive – they have largely escaped responsibility here. And the party grassroots. There is no big red machine. It’s each of us committing to the party’s renewal and revival. That is where the renewal needs to take place.

So I’m supporting Crombie, albeit reluctantly. Not because I am convinced she has recognized the problem. But because it we dump the leader (again) it guarantees that for two years we will be focused on leadership shenanigans instead of what really ails the OLP.

Can she pull this out? Maybe. But I haven’t seen the things I would want to see from her yet. Namely, a fulsome mea culpa on the 2025 campaign and her shortcomings, a recognition of the deeper organizational issues with the party, and a commitment to change.

I would put her opposition into two categories, and here is where I will upset the other half of the party. Half are diehard Liberals who view government as our manifest destiny and any election short of government as a failure. I think she can win them over with the recognitions I have outlined – a recognition of the problems and a plan to fix them, building on a stronger base thanks to the 2025 results.

The other opposition group are the Nathaniel Erskine-Smith acolytes who never got over him not winning the leadership and have always viewed Crombie, despite her long history in Liberal politics well pre-dating his, as a Conservative plant. These folks will not be dissuaded from their position. And for all the reasons I put him last on my ballot for OLP leader last time, he is not the answer to anything this time.

So that’s where I land. I am voting for a slim hope for renewal versus the guarantee of two years of no chance of real renewal because another leadership race will not solve what’s really wrong.

Back when the federal party was deep in the woods, as a leadership candidate, Justin Trudeau astutely made the point that the party could not rely on his personal charisma or family name to rebuild the party – it would take hope and hard work and collective effort by everyone. He did end up being a bit of a messiah anyways but his point was bang on.

As Liberals, we have a habit of investing all the credit for our successes and responsibility for our failures with  the leader. And sometimes you get lucky, whether its with the son of a popular former Prime Minister born on Christmas Day, or a former central banker arriving on the scene when the US is declaring economic war.

But other times, you have a nice guy from Vaughan with a penchant for sweater vests or a lady from Mississauga trying her best. It’s not fair to expect them to carry us. Yes, we need to hold our leaders accountable. But we need to hold ourselves accountable as well.

Hope and hard work can’t just be a slogan.

 

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Eating on the Road: Summerlicious at Aria Ristorante in Toronto

It's Summerlicious season in Toronto, when local restaurants offer a prix fixe menu to entice new patrons to give them a try. As Summerlicious coincided with my recent trip to the constituency, I booked a dinner at Aria Restorante with a friend to have a nice elevated Italian meal a short walk from my arriving train next to Union Station.

Frankly, the bevy of options and menus available through Summerlicious can be dizzying and overwhelming -- even when narrowing by cuisine and geography. I narrowed it down to a few, and Aria won out thanks to their inclusion of local, seasonal ingredients.

I went back and forth in the days leading up to my dinner, but ended up deciding to err on the light side after a heavy lunch of veal meatloaf on the VIA trip down to Toronto.

Aria is an open and modern looking space at 25 York Street at Bremner, right next to Maple Lead Square or Jurassic Park or whatever they're calling it at the moment. It was not busy at all for our 7PM reservation on a Wednesday night, and they kindly offered their closet to store my suitcase and backpack during the meal.

Their Summerlicious menu is priced at $75 for a three-course dinner; on a higher end but suited to the offerings and the location. These were the three choices for the starter; while the lobster was interesting I had locked into the burrata pretty early.

And with my decision to stick to the lighter side, the burrata is what I went with.

I was happy with my choice. It was plated beautifully, and the peaches were a particular standout, fresh and juicy and with a nice char from the grill that added another flavour element. The hot honey added a nice bit of heat, present but not overwhelming. At least for me; a decade of regular exposure to South Asian cuisine has ramped up my spice tolerance. But all in all, very tasty. 

For the main, I had been locked in on the fish, but the desire to have a lighter meal led be towards the pasta -- I have never been a duck guy so that was never really under consideration. But the pasta sounded delicious while being a bit lighter.

Again plated beautifully, I was really entice by the Ontario corn, both creamed and kerneled. The pasta was delicate and flavourful, and the portion was just right. And the bacon was a nice touch, although I presume it would have bee excluded if ordered as the vegetarian option.  

For desert, I had earlier been tempted by the Meringa alla Pesche, but as I got my peach fix earlier with the burrata I went with the Crostata di Noci.

It was good. A reasonable portion nicely plated, sweet and tasty. But it didn't rise to the level of the other two courses. I would have liked a flavoured gelato, maybe pecan to complement the tart. Still, a tasty end to the meal.

Not pictured, a tasty glass of a BC Merlot (so nice to find a BC wine on the menu in Ontario) and a very tasty rum and prosecco cocktail that packed a wallop.

The only down note on Aria was that you need to go out into the lobby of the office building and use a code to enter the washroom. Seems an odd design choice for a space of this caliber.

But all in all, an excellent meal.

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