CaliPoutine

Please try the bagels from The Sage in Hallandale Beach( but dont eat their matza ball soup, they use spagetti for the noodle). The bagels are consistently voted best Bagel in Broward. The bagels are chewy and dense. I actually cut them into 3rds when I'm at home and toast them. They are so dense, that sometimes its hard to scoop them.

I always ordered a Georgia Rueben at Zingerman's in Ann Arbor. Perfect for me, since I dont eat red meat. It was made with Turkey, swiss, coleslaw and some type of russian dressing.

I'm just not that impressed with Anthony's. I guess its the "new" and different thing in SoFL, but I've had much better Coalfired pizza here in Socal. I had some anthony's a couple weeks ago and the pizza was soggy and overly burnt in spots.

Jason, Not sure where you're going in Broward County, but I grew up in Plantation( and just returned from a week vacation to Ft. Lauderdale) and let me tell you, there are good bagels. The best bagels I've found( and I've tried a lot) are at Sage Bagel and Appetizer shop in Hallandale Beach. There is great NY pizza there too. Forget about Chinese food, it pretty much sucks there. There are a couple of good delis. Pastrami club in Lauderhill comes to mind. I've had some great Italian food too. So many places have closed in the last couple of years. Broward County has been hit hard. You'll be able to find some great seafood restaurants too.

The evil Walmart (where I shop) stocks condensed milk at a very reasonable price. Carnation brand is about $1.50 a can on special around the holidays. Sometimes 2/$5 during the rest of the year. Yes, but the poster is in Ontario. Wal*Mart is cheaper, but there is no way condensed milk is 1.50 in Ontario. When I lived there, I used to bring it back from Port Huron, MI. My store had it, but it was really expensive.

Can you find Old Bay in Ontario?

How far are you from Sudbury? I bought some of those same Oxo containers at Home Goods( same as Home Sense) and TJ Maxx( same as Winners). They were on clearance too. I like to store my dry goods in them. I miss those thrift stores in Ontario. I still cant find those metal ice cube trays I love so much.

I'm watching too. I have the big cuisinart that Darienne has. Its works great, but its big and heavy. I blew out my KA with bagel dough so that is always my first concern when buying a mixer.

The same people who will eat at The Olive Garden or Outback or Red Lobster while in NYC( Times Square) will eat there. Still, for the life of me, I dont get it.

What types of restaurants do you have access to and do you guys go out to eat? I remember living in my small town in Ontario, I cooked almost every single night. Now that I'm a big city, I do a lot less cooking. Its too easy to run down to a taco stand for 1.00 street tacos, especially when its 100F outside.

Hi Kerry( and Anna) Nice to see you blogging again. Oh how I miss that Liberte' yogurt. Its one of the couple of things I really miss from Ontario. Eat some for me : )

I also like the fruit and yogurt snack size parfait. Its 1.00. The one thing I dont like about it, is that when I get mine, the berries are often frozen. I recently found out that you can substitute that for the hashbrowns in a breakfast combo if you so desire.

One thing I really like from McDonald's is the ice cream cone. Its cheap( less than 1.00) and only has 150 calories. Its a nice treat when I'm craving something cold and sweet.

I dont drink alcohol, but I love those stainless straws for my iced coffee. Love them so much, I take them with me on vacation.

Dont forget to use the 20% off from Bed, Bath and Beyond. They mail them out to you( if you sign up) and they are also in a lot of women's magazines each month. Real Simple being one of them.

canned Vienna Sausage. I gave that to my dogs as a treat. I cant believe people eat that crap. Also, canned chicken breast. I've never bought it and it seems so odd to put chicken breast in a can.

When I lived in Ontario, I used to buy a PC organic brand of canned mushrooms that were made in the USA. I really liked them on my homemade pizza. Then, my store stopped carrying them, and the only canned mushrooms they had were made in China. I wouldnt buy them in that case.

I have a brand new kitchen with so much counter space and its all jammed full. 2 big crocks with utensils, toaster oven, coffee maker, stand mixer( same as Dariennes), seltzer maker, food processor( huge cuisinart), vita mix, wine bottles( in a holder on the side, this is wine I use for cooking), cutting boards, fruit bowls, salt box, electric peppermill, salt mill, dish drainer, 2 knife blocks...... I could go on and on. Its so cluttered, I need to clean it off.

Kim, I have the same tablecloth as on your island. It doesnt fit anymore because I know have a round table. I loved it though.

I lived in a small town in Ontario, Canada for 7yrs. The town was connected to many small towns. I cooked a lot because the restaurants sucked. I probably thought they sucked more than most people because I didnt grow up there and I wouldnt eat a spagetti sauce that came out of a can. A Greek restaurant opened in a neighboring town. We went there and I ordered a slouvaki sandwich. It did not come with tzatziki sauce. If you wanted that, you had to be an extra .75cents. I sent the owners an anonymous letter telling them that the customer would not get the full experience of the sandwich if they didnt order the sauce and I know some people might not want to pay the extra money. I gave them a few other hints as well. In my town, a fish and chip shop( take away only) opened on the corner about 3 doors down from my house. The fish was great, however, they would put the fish and chips in a box and seal it up. By the time you came to pick it up, it was a soggy mess. I told them that they should not seal the box to allow the steam to escape. They were thankful I gave them that tip( I dont know why they didnt think of it themselves). I think for the most part, its not what you say, its how you say it.

Move down to Exeter. I used to get 10 avocados for 1.00. Nobody wanted them in my tiny backwards town.

chicken milanese. Yummy. With a nice arugula salad on top.

I buy the McCanns Irish Oatmeal. I like it better than generic steel cut oats. I also get maple sugar and pure maple syrup. I get everything with subscribe and save and then cancel the subscription if I dont want to keep it.

Thanks for mentioning these. I'm almost out of the 2 cases of san marzano tomatoes I schlepped with me from Canada. This is a great price too.

I do too. Plus, no tax for me and 40lbs are delivered to my front door( up 3 flights of stairs)