Meet Shanea
I may not be a professional writer, but I consider myself a professional eater ... on the recommendation of friends and family I've started this blog. I love to eat, read about food, travel, shop, take in the arts, and explore new places. Focusing mostly on Toronto, my home base, Miami, my second home and New York and Italy where I travel to the most, while also featuring other places I'm fortunate enough to visit, I'll share with you my most savoury tidbits along the way. I hope you can take something away with you, a restaurant to try, fantastic shopping experience, great hotel to stay in or something to do next time you visit a new locale.Happy Dining,
Shanea
Shanea Rakowski
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Out and About ...
July 27, 2017
Osteria Francescana in Modena, IT serves modern Italian cuisine in a sophisticated setting. It's the ultimate stage for Chef Massimo to showcase his supreme talent.
July 19, 2017
I have never seen such a beautifully designed, chic restaurant in Italy before as Ristorante Berton in Milan.
July 17, 2017
Dry is a contemporary spot in Milan with a unique combination of pizza and mixology. It became so popular they added a second location.
July 16, 2017
Hosteria Giusti in Modena, Italy is very authentic, focusing on regional and classical dishes of pure Emilia cuisine. We were truly enamored with this delightful spot.
July 14, 2017
Da Danilo in Modena, Italy is a family run restaurant where the food is made the same way as it was 50 years ago. It's an unexpected surprise.
July 13, 2017
I know when I book Ristorante Da Giacomo in Milano I will always get a consistently good meal. It is an old Milanese trattoria that is tried and true with a kitchen that is well-executed.
July 4, 2017
Everything is extremely fresh at Sud Forno in Toronto. One fabulous treat is the bombolini, an Italian sugar donut with fillings of Nutella or crema.
July 2, 2017
Toronto's La Palma is a new fun restaurant with respectable food.
The menu is Italian at heart with a California sensibility.
July 1, 2017
Estia is Toronto's new "it" restaurant of the moment. The emphasis is on fresh, simple, uncomplicated dishes, that are cooked well. And really, isn’t this just what people are looking for?
The restaurant is chic, and sophisticated with a hip vibe.
June 28, 2017
If you go to Gabriel Kreuther in New York be prepared to be wowed. The chef presents inspired tasting menus in an impressive setting.
June 20, 2017
Motel Morris in New York Motel is not a motel, it's a restaurant in Chelsea with an ode to the 1960's motel culture.
June 19, 2017
Augustine restaurant in New York is stunning. You would never know it just opened in November of 2016. It looks like it is right out of Belle Époque Paris.
June 14, 2017
Avra Madison Estiatorio in New York is a new "it" restaurant serving upscale traditional Greek cuisine, conveniently located across from Barney's and the shops on Madison Avenue.
June 14, 2017
The meal was indulgence – a culinary adventure that was expertly served in a magnificent art deco setting. Everything that adorned the plates was thoughtfully conceived and gorgeously executed.
June 12, 2017
The Bake Shoppe in Toronto will make you happy and nostalgic, and provide comfort that makes you want to buy all these scrumptious creations.
June 11, 2017
Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva offers refined tasting menus and a la carte dishes featuring carefully sourced ingredients, and bold flavours, some dishes using more than twenty varieties of chilies.
June 11, 2017
Located in the new Found:Re Boutique Hotel, Match Cuisine and Cocktails was on Phoenix Magazine list of promising Valley restaurants. But less than 6 months in, this attractive restaurant had already lost its chef, ouch!
June 11, 2017
A restaurant that has been generating a lot of buzz in Scottsdale is Fat Ox, a mega restaurant that opened in November 2016 at 6316 North Scottsdale Road under the leadership of Chef Matt Carter, previously of Zinc Bistro and The Mission.
June 8, 2017
Dining at Binkley's in Phoenix was one of my most memorable experiences that I won't soon forget. Without a doubt, it is the best restaurant in the city.
June 8, 2017
The views are wonderful and the music is chill – relax in a cabana or a day bed, and order bottle service. If you don't travel or have a cottage, this is a nice little refuge from the maddening crowd, and it is right in the city.
June 5, 2017
One of the things I love about New York is that are no shortage of wonderful little neighborhood restaurants everywhere you look. One such gem, new to the scene is Gloria.
May 31, 2017
Georgette Frakas has herself a great brassiere that serves French fare, and serves it to a well-heeled upper east side crowd. As the New York Post said, "it is something to cluck about".
May 30, 2017
Chris Bianco, the James Beard award-winning chef, who has a national reputation for pizza has himself another winner, with his newest venture, Tratto in Phoenix, AZ.
May 28, 2017
Virtu Restaurant, in Scottsdale, opened four years ago in 2013. That same year they were named Best New Restaurants in America by Esquire Magazine and they have also received a James Beard nomination. I thought I needed to check out the place and see for myself.
May 25, 2017
Ocotillo in Phoenix is the quintessential modern Arizona eatery. They are a new gold standard, capturing the hearts of locals and tourists alike.
