Foodie Toronto Trip: Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens

Photo courtesy Loblaw Companies Limited

This trip to Toronto was all about seeing my family. I had not seen most of them in two and a half years. There were a million foodie-related things I wanted to do, people I wanted to see but for the most part, it was about hanging out with my loved ones. That said, when I heard at the end of last year Loblaws had moved into Maple Leaf Gardens, I knew I had to go check it out.

My sister Shannon came with me

I saw my first concert at Maple Leaf Gardens. I remember when the music came on, my knees got weak. My sister Jamie said I turned green. I truly thought I was going to faint. Duran Duran were going to be on the stage any minute.

I was totally caught off guard by my response. Just an hour earlier I had thrown myself onto a white limousine outside The Gardens, hoping it was Duran Duran. Turns out I became quite infamous at my school for that act.

Now you see why I had to check it out. An old obsession, replaced by my new one: FOOD!

Photo courtesy Loblaw Companies Limited

Holy cow, this store is 81,450 sq.ft! Because we were on a limited schedule needing to go see Chris Guillebeau discuss his book The $100 Startup that night, we focused our attention on the first floor.

Which seriously went on FOREVER!

They have their own sushi section with an “east meets west sushi bar featuring both traditional flair and modern chef-inspired creations by T&T Supermarket made as customers watch.”

The holograms? They freaked me out. And I could not distinguish what they were saying because the place was kind of noisy. Interesting though!

The Wall of Cheese was super impressive. It is 18 feet tall and has 400+ variety of cheeses!

And another hologram that kind of freaked me out that I could not understand. I think I prefer the personal touch but it is a neat idea.

The aisles are ridiculously wide. Just in case you can’t tell…

Shannon helped demonstrate the crazy vastness of their spaciness.

I was happy to see my favourite product was showcased and…

… I picked up two bottles of Sriracha hot sauce! One for each of my sisters as a foodie thank you present. Love that stuff!

The bakery?! Ridiculous beautiful. Fancy schmancy cakes made by real pastry artists.

I totally wish I had tried a rootbeer cupcake but Shannon and I were so stuffed from lunch with Mom at Red Lobster we even skipped dinner that night.

I still have yet to have a real macaroon and these were just so pretty. I could not get over the vast array of colours to choose from. They are on my list-to-make!

It is clear this store is popular. With all the condominiums going up downtown, opening up such a record-breaking grocery store in the heart of downtown is a genius idea.

While purchasing my hot sauce I asked the cashier where we could find pay phones. Apparently they did not exist anywhere in the area and we had to call Jamie. Customer service was so sweet, they let us use their phone. Not something I would do every day but Shannon’s cell was dead. Extra customer service like that impresses the hell out of me.

Once again, Loblaws, you rock. This flagship store was a lot of fun to visit, had a huge variety of just about everything and helped us out of a jam. A+ Loblaws. A+.