The Lakeview, Tom Cruise, & Fried Mars Bars

 Tom Cruise in Cocktail: Elisabeth Shue works at "Jerry's Diner", which is the Lakeview in Toronto

 The Lakeview Restaurant Today

“Diner” Treat!

Last night I went to a newly renovated staple in Queen West called the Lakeview. It’s open 24 hours with an eclectic vibe that showcases great art, music, food (breakfast 24 hours), and drink specials. And something else about this place is that the movie Cocktail filmed there. If you remember the young days of Tom Cruise, then you would remember this 80s movie where Elisabeth Shue works at Jerry's Diner, which we now know is the Lakeview (picture above). And yes they even have Nachos Tom Cruise on the menu! Some other recent movies filmed there were scenes with Samuel L. Jackson for The Samaritan and recently spotted Robert Pattinson with Cosmopolis.

As part of the Thirsty Thursday Shenanigans, we went to the Lakeview late last night. One thing on the menu that I thought was quite funny was the fried mars bar dessert. I found it quite interesting that someone would fry a candy bar and slather it with ice cream but they do here! I was not the one to order it at our table but let’s just say someone did and the bite I had was delish! Who would have thought?! I’m not one for dessert (except crème brulee on occasion) but this was a very interesting mix of thinking “that’s disgusting”- but loving it once I took a bite! As my brother says, don’t say you don’t like something until you try it!

Image Source: http://thelakeviewrestaurant.ca/

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame”

"Baseball & Beer" New Treat!

I have officially learned what a typical baseball “game day routine” may look like for me. After a quick stop at the LCBO we were ready to get the night started! I have been to the LCBO before but this is where you can buy your alcoholic beverages (such as hard liquor, beer and wine) in Ontario. No more running down the street to your local grocery store to pick up your beverages as I could before! Beer is also sold by, The Beer Store, which is owned by Molson Coors, Anheuser-Bush InBev and Sapporo Brewery. Great name right?! If you end up going there- you order your case like a fast food restaurant and pick it up at the counter. With over 350 beer selections to choose from, everyone is bound to leave happy!

After getting everything together it was time to head to my first Jays game! Let me first state that I will always be a Phillies fan, but I want to cheer on my new “home” team while here in Toronto too. (Except when the Phillies come of course)! I went to see the Jays play the Red Sox and I was not disappointed! First, the stadium has a retractable roof and I loved that they have a hotel connected to the outfield of the Rogers Centre SkyDome! Literally, you could see people in the windows of the Renaissance Toronto Downtown Hotel, put up signs and cheer from their hotel rooms. I love that idea! 

One thing that took me off guard was they didn't immediately play "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the 9th inning! Everyone stood up and they played a song called "OK...Blue Jays (Let's Play Ball)"! I didn't know what was going on! My favorite (and funniest) part of that song is when people sing: "Is that a fly ball? Or is it a seagull? Coming in from the lake, Just to catch the game"! However, the next song they played was "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and that made it feel like home! What a great night out- I can’t wait to see more games this summer!