Local explorations

A tour of Europe in Bronte

To feed my travel appetite I have been listening to Travel with Rick Steves from time to time as I walk. In his entertaining weekly podcast he talks to tour guides, travel writers and other travel enthusiasts. It’s fun to hear their stories, get inspired and discover interesting travel themed books (this is how I heard about Eric Weiner’s Socrates Express). There are hundreds of episodes and I have merely scratched the surface. Anytime I listen though, I am ready to book a plane ticket to Europe.

Maybe not right now.

My appetite for travel inspired foods however, can be satisfied. I love trying the local cuisine when I travel. Then it hit me! I can enjoy food from several European countries, locally, here in Bronte. No Eurorail pass required. Pack only your appetite.

If you’d like to join me on this jaunt, stamp your culinary passport and let’s go!

We’re starting in France. Superbe. One of my first posts was about this French bistro and it’s a great way to kick off this tour. La Parisienne Crêperie is run by a husband and wife team (he is the son of the original owners who immigrated from France and opened the restaurant in 1991). I’ve eaten many of their traditional French crêpes, sweet and savoury, sipped the French onion soup, and enjoyed the Crêpe Gratinée at home (designed to be baked from frozen). It’s all good. Délicieux. On a hot summer evening recently I decided to try something new: a Parfait. The creamy layers of ice cream, homemade caramel sauce, and toasted almonds were decadent treat.

A leisurely meal is very French indeed but my favourite way to enjoy this traditional French crêpe is “street style”. It reminds me of the crêpe stands in Paris. A quick tasty snack you can eat while strolling along the Seine…or the lovely Bronte Harbour.

If I had followed through on my dream of opening a beer garden, our next stop would be quite boisterous. There is no beer at this Bronte destination, representing Germany on our tour, but it’s definitely worth a visit. I do frequently. The Denninger family from the Black Forest region established the speciality food store Denninger’s in 1954 (the first store was opened in Hamilton). The Bronte location was expanded and remodelled a few years back. I remember the tiny takeaway counter tucked into the old store where you could get a sausage on a bun with a good assortment of mustards, sauerkraut and toppings. The Bistro in the current store is definitely more spacious.

I usually go to Denninger’s for their meats (we enjoy the pork nacken and of course the Black Forest ham is very good), and on my latest visit I stopped by the Bistro. The Schnitzel Burger was the taste of Germany I was looking for. A juicy breaded pork patty wedged in a soft Kaiser bun.

After the hearty Schnitzel it’s time for something refreshing. Over to Italy. This gelato shop may have a very un-Italian name but they make gelato in “the traditional Italian way”: The Flavour Fox. I don’t have an origin story to share, but the flavours are original and utterly delicious. Some of our family favourites are strawberry-basil, mango and dark chocolate. With the easy curbside option introduced last summer I started to bring home a tub quite frequently. This summer I have continued the tradition. On my 90s backpacking trip I limited myself to one gelato a day in Italy, but that seems silly now. In the height of summer gelato should be eaten with abandon.

My daughter may roll her eyes when I say “Doesn’t it feel like we are in Italy!” (as she happily eats the gelato with me) but this truly is one of the easiest ways to get a taste of Italy at home: visit your local gelato shop!

If I could get on a plane today, it would be to Spain. While this next destination is not a Spanish restaurant per se, it’s as close as I can get to the Spanish tapas crawl I have been dreaming of. The Wine Bar has a wonderful selection of small plates, and an even more plentiful selection of wine. My husband and I both seized the opportunity to have a wine flight curated by Devon, the owner and sommelier. She asked us a few question about our wine preferences and “surprise!” she returned with elegant stemmed wine glasses in a myriad of lovely shades. It was a gorgeous display. What a treat to have a wine enthusiast select the wines and share her stories.

Spain did feature in our double flight of wines (a Tempranillo from the Toro region) as well as a beautifully dry Prosecco (only bottled in a magnum), Rosés from Languedoc and Provence (did you know Rosé has to be a certain shade to meet the standards in Provence?), a mighty bold and spicy Australian wine (The Boxer knocked us over) and an Italian grape I have never tried (Schiava). As we took our final sips, Devon deftly appeared at our table with two clean glasses and a scrumptious dessert wine. Yum.

The food was a great match to this fun wine experience. Skewers of manchego cheese, chorizo and plump green olives hit the spot for a Spanish inspired tapa served in a traditional terracotta bowl. The beef brisket sliders were served on pillowy soft homemade brioche buns that you could dress as you please with sliced tomatoes and hot peppers. Dee-lish. We were also lucky to have a young man playing guitar outside the patio which added a lovely ambience to our “tapas” experience (and triggered nostalgic memories of Seville for me). This was my first visit to The Wine Bar (it opened in 2020) and it won’t be my last.

No need for a gruelling overnight train to get to from Spain to Portugal. We only need to go around the corner…to Farm Boy. This may seem like a bit of a cheat, but this is an imaginary trip, and if you’re still reading you must be longing for travel as much as I am. What you need to know is there is excellent canned seafood, such as sardines, mussels, clams, and anchovies, in Portugal. It’s of such high quality, this tinned delicacy (called conservas) is served in restaurants.

The tinned seafood section of Farm Boy was not a colourful and artistic display of conservas like grocery shelves in Lisbon, but there was one brand of Portuguese sardines. It’s smelly when you peal back the tin lid. The pungent aroma will transport you to Portugal. If we were in a restaurant in Lisbon they would pour the contents of the can – seafood and sauce – on the plate and sprinkle it with some fresh herbs. That’s what I did at home. The sardines above are packed in olive oil though I also like the ones packed in a chilli pepper tomato sauce (Farm Boy did not have that variety when I went). Smelly, yes. Tasty, absolutely. I will definitely be on the lookout for more conservas to sample.

Thank you for joining me on this European tour in Bronte.

Merci! Danke schön! Gracias! Grazie! Obrigada!

I enjoyed getting back out in my neighbourhood over the summer. Most of these Bronte spots were already familiar but the tour gave me the nudge to try new menu items and visit a new restaurant. And that’s the fun of travelling: trying something new.

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