Getting Festive in #YQG
Millar Hill | Monday November 26th, 2018
Saturdays are typically spent watching college football with my boyfriend – considering him being the biggest sports fan I know, while on the other hand, I watch in support. But this past Saturday, was anything but ordinary.
We had the pleasure of driving around Windsor and Essex County trying delicious food and getting ourselves a head start into the holiday spirit with events and activities in the region, courtesy of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island and Ontario’s Southwest.
Now, don’t get me wrong, he still managed to make football apparent as much as he could, which I didn’t mind. It’s all about balance.
Our day began with breakfast at STACKS. One of my favourite breakfast foods on the menu is Eggs Benedict, so I inevitably opted in for that. I’ve tried my fair share of eggs benny around the city and to be honest, STACKS had one of the tastiest hollandaise sauces.
My boyfriend had the chef’s omelette that featured sausage, white cheddar and red onions. It was our first time eating at Stacks and we both left very pleased. Not to forget, the restaurant itself had a very clean, crisp and modern aesthetic to it. We will definitely be back.
Following breakfast, we made way into one of my favourite neighbourhoods of Windsor – Walkerville, for the Mistletoe Market and Holiday Walk. Inside the Walkerville Brewery was the market which featured local vendors offering hand-made goods from clothing, ceramics, succulents, soap, etc. It was perfect to get an idea for our Christmas list this year. The market was so busy, it was great to see that many people out shopping and supporting local vendors.
We left the market to grab a coffee nearby at Anchor Coffee House and continued to stroll around Walkerville, stopping in at the unique shops and strolling the streets of the neighbourhood.
Around 1:00 p.m., we set out for Kingsville to have lunch at The Grove Brewing Company. It was a great experience – we got to watch football, eat lunch and enjoy beer that is brewed-in-house.
Each of us got a flight of three beers, so we could try six different kinds. We tasted their Paradise lager, Peachy Motherpucker, Tow the Lime, Blonde Moment, Westcott and Division. All of the beer was really good, but the Peachy Motherpucker was our favourite. Never trying a sour beer before, I was impressed. For lunch, we had the Butcher’s thin crust pizza. On the pizza was a fire-roasted tomato sauce, prosciutto, bacon, capocollo, chorizo and mozzarella. Delicious and unique, and a crisp thin crust!
Next on our list was the Kingsville Christmas House Tour. Every year a bunch of the town’s heritage homes decorate to the nines in Christmas décor. It was definitely something worth seeing, and it lets you take a sneak peek into some of the history of the town and the county. After wrapping that up, we both felt like we needed to up the ante in decorating our own houses this year for the holiday season.
After spending the afternoon in Kingsville, we drove to Amherstburg. Even though we are both in our early twenties, we were both beginning to get tuckered out. Luckily, the first destination was at the cutest and most picturesque café I’ve been to – Caffeine & Company.
The interior of the café is very pretty and chic. Their glossy white subway tile, marble counter tops and accents of black and gold throughout the café make it very a ‘Instagram worthy’ destination. We found ourselves a quiet little nook in the cafe to warm up and enjoy our lattes and tasty French-inspired macarons.
As we finished up at Caffeine and Co. we braved the cold to watch the mob of patrons dressed in Santa Suites who were participating in the Super Santa 5K Run/Walk. We both were very tempted to participate but our stomachs were too full of all the food we indulged in throughout the day. It was really nice seeing the community (and their pets) come together and have such a great turnout of people participating in a fun event like that.
After the run, participants and everyone else were able to enjoy coffee and hot chocolate being served by the Windsor Police Service before the tree lighting at the River Lights Winter Festival.
By this time, it was dark out and everyone, including us, gathered around a large screen that featured old classical Christmas movies that I haven’t seen in ages. We took advantage of the free refreshments to keep warm until the lighting ceremony began.
Immediately after that, we walked down to the Detroit River to watch the fireworks and see the all of the lights along the waterfront before we had dinner at the Salty Dog. For dinner, we shared the bruschetta and brussel sprouts as appetizers – followed by their lobster tacos. The tacos were phenomenal and I would recommend trying those if you find yourself at the Salty Dog in Amherstburg.
I’m stoked that I had the opportunity to get out of the city and visit its surrounding areas. My boyfriend is from Michigan, so he was able to see what it’s like outside in winter and he really enjoyed himself. We had such a blast together, spending quality time that allowed us to laugh, eat some amazing food, get ourselves into the holiday spirit, and explore some exciting stops in our own backyard!
