October 2016 - Barrie Through The Seasons
The October Tasting Trail is a walking feast of fall
flavours, filled with memories for me. Once you share my journey through our
downtown, I hope it will become a must do event on your seasonal calendar.
You may ask what makes the tasting trail memorable.
Might it be the tasty mix of downtown Barrie establishments
creating an amuse bouche that best represents their establishment, from sweet
to sipping that tempt the palate while introducing us to their wares?
Perhaps it is the opportunity to draw upon the harvest
season with a refreshing, family friendly, Saturday stroll, all the while
window shopping and taking note of businesses one is keen to explore on a
return trip.
Are you new to Barrie or the downtown and out to discover,
or a regular, engaged in the weekend tradition of supporting local with no rush
shopping, such a pleasurable experience with not a shopping cart in sight!
As a champion of local, I am familiar with all the shops and
stops on the tasting trail, traverse along with me.
This brainchild of the BIA is brilliant, an annual October
event that engages downtown local merchants with the larger Barrie community,
inviting them downtown to explore with their taste buds. An altruistic event that
supports a community cause as all proceeds are donated. As Craig Stevens,
Managing Director of the BIA shared with me, the October Tasting Trail raised $1000
for The Seasons Centre for Grieving Children.
Five dollar passports were available to purchase at all
sites, travel took place on each Saturday in October from 11 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Each stop had a window of two hours, plenty
of time to taste while moving along the trail. Travellers who turned in their
stamped passports were eligible to win a $325 dollar prize package.
My photographer and I visited all the stops, meeting
familiar faces and bumping into new visitors on our journey.
First up was WH Food Market where a full plate of tastes,
both sweet and savory awaited us. A tiny cheddar shortbread, a wee scone made
with caramelized onion, flavoured with Flying Monkey’s Acadia Maple beer, a
bite of spicy bread dipped in Flying Monkeys Deep Tracks beer cheese dip and a
sliver of chocolate cake. It was a mouthful!
Over to Owen Street we went next, the home of Homestead Artisan Bakery and Café; where on their specialty ‘country blonde’ sourdough
bread we were served a house favourite, the ‘Veg’. This open faced tidbit of
tastiness was a combo of roast veggies, goat cheese and tapenade. Try the sandwich
version when you go for lunch, because I know you’ll be back!
Down to Dunlop Street we strolled to RIPE Juicery, as I type
they are celebrating their win of the New Business of the Year Award at the
Barrie Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. RIPE served us fresh apple cider
and a seasonal fave, a pumpkin spice smoothie!
Healthy, freshly made and energizing, just the boost we needed to carry
on.
Another perk of the #OctoberTastingTrail is the opportunity
to chat with the vendors. I found each shopkeeper keen to share a story, it’s all
part of the process and the kinship that exists in the downtown core, they call
it #locallove. There is an abundance of goodwill among merchants for their
customers and neighbours.
The timing was right for a saunter over to The Barrie Bean Counter, where Balzac Coffee is one of the beverage options, served with a
perfectly spiced house made gingersnap cookie, it was a delightful respite. The
Barrie Bean Counter is a cozy nook with newish owners; welcome them with a
visit, as they warmly greeted us on the trail.
Next to explore was J’adore Fine Cheese & Chocolate in
their new home at 123 Dunlop Street East. This is a gorgeous space, totally
reinvented but with traditional touches, serving smiles and accoutrements of
every imagined cheese delicacy, gorgeous fine chocolate too! Our tasting trail
treat was a slice of freshly toasted baguette, topped with Bouchee D’amore aka
‘love bites’ goat cheese, plus a nibble of chocolate bark.
Our journey continues to the Lazy Tulip Café. With constant
rave reviews, an expansion in the works, this is the epitome of "bloom where you
are planted." The Lazy Tulip Café garden grows and multiplies. Memory takes over for me here. We are
gracefully served perfect petite savory cheddar herb scones and offered a choice
of soup. With beautiful deep colours and
flavours we decide on one of each; curried squash with apple and tomato basil. Tasteful,
all the while Buddha watches.
The Grilled Cheese Social Eatery is the personification of
great kitchen karma. The grilled cheese offerings were a gorgeous combination
known as ‘The Canadian’ with apple smoked cheddar, bacon, apple slices and real
maple syrup to dip, a few sprouts on top for crunch and colour. Randy always
gets it right! Buddha watches over things here too. Welcome is extended to all with
their suspended sandwich and coffee program, just ask.
Shane L.S. Dennis embraces us with a warm hug as we walk
into Unity Market where they are serving bowls of broccoli cheddar soup and
gluten free chocolate brownies. The brownies were so popular there were only
sample sized bites to try. I call Shane altruism personified; this man has
generosity tattooed on his soul. Participation on the tasting trail with
proceeds donated would be a natural for Unity Market.
Avōco Bar opened their newest Barrie location on
Collier Street recently. They were serving up
butternut squash soup and a vegan chili, both loaded with toppings. It
was great to see a specific vegan option available on the tasting trail.
Welcome to the downtown!
Now we have been nibbling, noshing and slurping for many
hours, before we hit the sipping portion of the trail it was timely to saunter
over to Maple Avenue to see what Nutrition Plus was offering. As luck would
have it their new café was serving espresso in delightful demitasse cups with a
Sweet From the Earth caramel pecan bar. This tiny jolt of caffeine and a power
snack was just what we needed!
As bubbles surface in a glass of champagne or prosecco,
memories surfaced. Last year on the tasting
trail, while at The Lazy Tulip Café I conversed with a woman who shared in a
rich French accent that she was exploring the trail to learn about Barrie, as
her daughter was here on a school exchange program. They wanted to learn about the
city that would be their home for a year. We walked the trail together, sharing
stories of local food cultures; the tasting trail was the walk towards a
friendship for us and our daughters, maintained though now oceans apart.
What did you discover on the tasting trail, a new café or
restaurant, a shop or perhaps you bumped into a fellow traveler?
The #OctoberTastingTrail isn’t just a hashtag for social media;
the event is an activity that exemplifies the social consciousness of the
downtown merchants.
Experience it!
In our ongoing collaboration in support of local; Erin Corcoran Re/Max Chay Realty Inc., Brokerage Sales Representative and enthusiastic owner
operator of Simcoe County Shop Local and I are pleased to share our
finds with you.
See you in November!
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