Winter's Touch

Refusing to mope about being stuck in town, I set out on a lunch date yesterday with my mom at Pickering Wharf.  She wanted to be able to see the water so I took her to Victoria Station.  Last time I was here, we had dinner out on the patio for Mike's birthday in August.  The scene was a bit different now and definitely demonstrated winter's kiss.

The indoors was how I remembered it though, warmly lit and inviting.

We were seated by the window overlooking the harbor.  I happily snapped a picture of the Friendship and even noted that people were still taking tours on the ship despite the cold, cold weather.

After ordering my signature, non-alcoholic drink, Diet Coke with lime, I was pleased to discover that their lunch menu was fairly robust.  I was choosing between a few things, but ended up settling on Frank Purdue's Turkey Burger ($7.59).  The burger was served with roasted plum tomatoes and feta cheese, along with a plate of fries.  

Mom ordered the Traditional Fish & Chips ($9.99).

Considering this restaurant is known for its prime rib, they did extremely well with these two non red meat dishes.  Mom even went so far as to say it was the best fried haddock she had in years, citing its clear freshness.  We both were unable to eat all of our fries, not because they were tasty but because the portion was immense.  We agreed it would be very unlikely for someone to leave this place with any room to spare.

After a little down time at home at the condo, Mom dropped me off at the commuter rail station.  I was headed over to the North End to see Daisy.  Life's been so busy for the both of us lately that I hadn't seen her in way too long and was having withdrawals.  However, before I could get my Daisy fix, I had to deal with a wee problem.....missing my train.  Yep, I was the cool kid literally running after the train with a look of disappointment as she realized it really was too late.  With an hour to kill until the next train, I decided to walk over to the Gulu-Gulu Cafe up the street.  Outside of the cafe is the Samantha from Bewitched statue.  She looked too cute holding an ornament in front of a large (also decorated) tree.

I had only ever walked by a crowded Gulu-Gulu at night once, so I was pleased to see that it was still very vibrant and happening in the daytime.  I chose a seat on a comfy couch and popped open my laptop (free WiFi provided).  Still somewhat full from lunch, I decided on a Creme Brulee Latte ($3.50), made with vanilla & caramel syrups in steamed milk with a shot of espresso, and a slice of Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake ($6).

The latte came in a pint glass, which was surprising!  I had to ask for a to-go cup after a while because I wasn't able to finish it in the short amount of time I had there.  The dessert was unbelievably amazing.  Baileys is such a good ingredient for desserts (i.e. my Irish Car Bomb cupcakes)!  The guy next to me also told me that they have open mic nights on Wednesdays and that they always have a packed house.  Seems like I'm going to need to pop in here again soon to check out the night life!

I had better luck catching my train the next time and happily made my way over to visit with Daisy.  After a failed attempt at the $6 spaghetti & meatball night at Prezza (too crowded), we ended up on Tresca on Hanover St.  In between being Chatty Cathy's, we enjoyed a couple of drinks and a pizza. She took the pics this night so I will leave it to her to recount on III :)