Trip to Niagara

Recently, I just took a short day-trip to Niagara with my family. I had the best time limping around and trying to check out all the little shops on the pretty flower-lined streets. There was a delicious fudge shop, Maple Leaf Fudge, where I tried my first blueberry flavoured fudge – so creamy and delicious. We then explored all the boutiques on the busy bustling streets.

My boyfriend Mike had never seen the falls – so of course we took a little detour to show him. Tons of people were cramming together trying to get pictures. Thank goodness we had a great zoom on our camera and we were able to get a few closer shots.

Afterward, we stopped in at a small restaurant in a plaza that was recommended to my parents by a couple of locals. It was called Rest Stone Road Grille – a bistro that is located just south of downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake. The walls were lined with beautiful art and the bar was topped with homemade preserves – a perfect atmosphere, making you forget you were in a strip mall entirely. Here, Rest uses only local Niagara wines and promotes an ever-changing menu with seasonal local produce/fruit – right up my alley!

I tried the “Birkenstock” – a sandwich on their homemade bread with hummus and loaded with vegetables. Of course I couldn’t just try one meal off the menu, so I also shared the “Margherita” pizza. It was simple and delicious - fresh basil, garlic oil, oven-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. My parents ordered their “Thai Chicken Salad Sandwich”, and the “Quinn-Tessential” pizza – this was their second time ordering the same meal, so clearly they enjoyed it. Mike tested out the “Steak Frites” – which was served with flavourful herb butter for the steak and spectacular aioli for the fries. What was even more interesting was their lemon cucumber water they served. It was simple and just what we needed after a hot day in the sun.

As soon as we got back home, my mom had a jug of cold water with a few slices of cucumber and lemon ready to try out. I decided to post this because it is so easy and the cucumber adds an interesting twist on normal lemon water. It may not be for everyone, but it is a creative refreshing idea we all enjoyed. I recommend drinking it in the same day, and making a new batch the next day – as the cucumber can become quite strong overnight.