Canadian Favorites; Kingston Edition

Since my second trip to Canada, I've started to collect a few favorite places to visit while in the country, keep reading to see my Ontario favorites!

Kingston Olive Oil Company

• On my last visit I was introduced to this awesome oil company in a pop-up shop near Fort Henry in Kingston. This year, my mom (who is equally smitten) and I made it a point to visit their full store in downtown Kingston on Brock street. 

Coffee & Company

• I popped into Coffee & Company for a quick "fancy" coffee beverage towards the end our trip (a week sans fancy beverages was almost too much). In addition to receiving a delicious "Milano" with latte art, I had a great 5 minute conversation with a few members of the staff and found myself wanting to sit down and grow some roots in the cute shop.

Cooke's Fine Foods

• Cooke's was recommended to us by one of our fishing guides as the place to pick up pepper jelly. Not a fan of peppers myself, I walked out with a pound of their locally roasted Chez Peggy II coffee beans for my husband and a cappuccino chocolate bar made by Galerie Au Chocolat for myself. Located on Brock St across from Kingston Olive Oil company, you could easily spend an hour in there browsing all the novelty foods available. 

City + Cargo

• Stumbling upon City + Cargo was such a happy accident. While waiting for my mom outside the Kingston Olive Oil Co (she got a bit carried away), I walked next door to City + Cargo after spotting GORGEOUS leather goods in the window. I didn't make a purchase that day, but I kept thinking about this classic tote bag and made a second trip to Kingston specifically for one of these totes to bring home. I love to support other small businesses and part of the fun of purchasing this bag was talking to the owner of the store who made my bag with his own hands. Hearing how passionate he was about his products was infectious and left a strong impression on me.

Bubba's Pizzeria

• While shopping for my beloved tote, the troops became restless. What I mean to say is that my younger siblings who have to eat approximately once per hour became quite hangry after realizing we drove 35 minutes for me to buy a purse. We wandered into Bubba's to appease them and wound up stumbling upon "The Best Poutine in Town". I have to say, I was thoroughly surprised, it was amazing. Having no other Poutine to compare against, I'd say Bubba's was definitely the best. What Bubba's lacks in decor, it makes up for in cheese curds. I'd happily stop back for lunch! PS the pictured size is listed as a "small", Canadians must have different sizing up there because I could only get through about 1/3 of it before one of the troops commandeered it. 

Kingston Olive Oil Co.

While on vacation I stumbled upon an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting bar run by Kingston Olive Oil Company. I dragged my mother into this tasting bar following a tour of Fort William Henry in Kingston, Ontario and I was pleasantly surprised when I sampled several different, delicious oils and vinegars. 24 Olive oils (21 infused varieties too!) and 28 vinegars are available for purchase in addition to 21 gourmet salts as well as handmade Olive Oil soap and spice rubs. All of the oils are infused in Canada and are available for shipping to the US!

Kingston Olive Oil Company imports extra virgin olive oil from around the world based on the harvesting season and guarantees each batch for 18 months, which I am told is the lifespan of any oil. Most oils that we purchase in stores far exceed those 18 months and are not as fresh as they should be. I can tell you that I am now questioning all of the oil I've ingested in my life based on this new found knowledge.

I came home with three bottles that day; Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar, Milanese Gremolata Infused, and Cayenne Infused Oil for my father in law.  My mother came home with 5 or 6 bottles as well, I'm not even sure which she decided on because she loved every single one!

I had no idea how to use it, but I knew that I LOVED the flavor of the Vanilla balsamic, so I took it home and figured out that I would find a way to use it later. Luckily for me, KOO's website offers recipe suggestions and I fully intend to share with you guys what I made-stay tuned!