The Location
After our massive brunch at Sunset Grill Michelle and I took off to 60 Carlton Street to go to Loblaws so I could get those harder-to-find foodie treats.
This is not just any Loblaws. It is the Maple Leaf Gardens location!
My first visit to this location was back in 2012 with my sister Shannon. Before that? I saw my first concert back in the 80s. Did you know I used to be a HUGE Duranie? That is right. No hockey for me. It was all about Nick Rhodes.
What a stunning store! The bright colours are so festive and fun. They draw you in and cheer you up at the same time.
The Patisserie would be downright dangerous had Michelle and I visited on an empty stomach.
They even have an in-store Ace Bakery working away.
My eyes were all over the deli though.
Basil pesto pine nut goat cheese ball?! Brilliant foodie idea.
Hello yummy free samples!
I will never get over their wall of CHEESE!!!
The Products
As much as I wanted to buy, well, EVERYTHING, I started to focus. Focus on the products that are hard to find at my store. I was thrilled to see so many Black Label products, my favourite!
It was hard not to pick up both the Coffee and Pistachio ice creams, my favourites, but despite it being freezing outside I knew we had a long day ahead and leaving it in the car just felt weird. Damn it.
Now here we go! I could find the regular PC Vanilla Hazelnut Coffee at my local store but NOT the decaf version! I was so happy to find it here even though it was 50 cents more than what I paid for in Vancouver at my Superstore.
Again, I could find regular Typhoo tea but NOT the decaf. Not cheap but it is an import and will not hurt my brain.
I was shocked that I could not find Earth’s Own So Fresh Almond Coconut milk at my local store. I love this product. So much so that back in 2013 I choose it as one of my favourite products of the year. Super delicious and I am not even a huge fan of coconut but this makes the BEST morning iced mocha drinks.
The best surprise of all was discovering they still made and sold PC Black Label Truffle Aioli!!! Now they call it a whipped dressing so I will see if it is different than the one I reviewed back in 2011. It is one of my favourite products of all time. OK, it may actually be my favourite product of all time, I love it that much. As you can see this made me very, VERY happy!
There Is More!
I had picked up a few 100% berry juice drinks that are hard to find and thought that was it. We were done. Then I saw Nutella! Lots and lots of Nutella! A whole Nutella bar at the Loblaws café. My foodie mind was blown.
Everything Nutella is here and damn, I so wished I was hungry. But I was still stuffed!
You can also find all sorts of weird frozen treats like Chili Chocolate…
Kale, spinach, pineapple, orange sorbet (OMG, seriously?) and…
Sour Cherry and Pistachio, that is better! Much better.
Foodie Conclusion
Not only can you stock up on everything food you can pick up small appliances, kitchen tools, dishes, mugs… This is like a Superstore on steroids but in a good way.
If I lived right downtown, I tell you I would be hanging out at the Nutella bar all the time. What a genius idea!
The Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws location is a foodie dream. It is a tad more expensive but not cost prohibitive and totally worth checking out.
As much as I loved going there I am going to also be checking out the rumour that some Superstores do online delivery now! Hopefully when I start to need my foodie favourites again I will turn to this option and check it out and see if it is worth it and what is involved. I have to keep reminding myself that this is my home now, I am not on vacation. To feel like I am home I need my favourite foods.
Have you been to this location? If you could buy anything from this fantastic location what would it be?
Wow!! That is truly amazing. I can’t believe I’ve never been there. Maybe it’s just as well, because there are a lot of treats that look irresistible!!
Thanks for taking us on your adventure!
Jamie, we will have to go sometime for sure! Even if it is just to the cafe for a treat. After your cleanse.
Thank you! Hope you enjoyed the tour. 🙂
I’d be all over that sorbet/gelato bar, no doubt about that!
I remember the first time (and the only time, quite frankly) that I ever saw Maple Leaf Gardens. Must have been about 25 years ago, maybe? It was a beautiful summer day and I was walking back from the Gay Village to my downtown hotel and I took a different route. I had no idea I was anywhere near Maple Leaf Gardens until I happened to look up and THERE IT WAS! OMG, it was like beholding one of the most fabled places in Canada! That’s where “Hockey Night in Canada” came from, LOL! But all I could think of was “it’s so SMALL!” because by modern arena standards, it was. Plus it was completely surrounded by other buildings, not huge parking lots like the arenas in western Canada.
Glad it’s been repurposed into something still of use for downtown Toronto.
What a fantastic story Debra!!! Amazing how you just happened upon it like that. Yes, it is small in comparison to new place but when I saw Duran Duran I almost fainted. Turns out I have a fear of large indoor spaces, I think because I have excellent peripheral vision. Yes, that’s what I do like about Toronto. Unlike Vancouver which loves to smash everything old down, Toronto repurposes a lot of its buildings which I love.
I would be hanging around the frozen treats! Fun, cool post, love your blog!
Some of those treats are crazy! They also had Nanaimo bar which was genius. Thank you so much for reading Rebecca! So glad you enjoyed the post. It’s nice to be out and about and writing again. A little bit here and there as I recover but it’s fun.
You have to go back and stand on the big red dot on the floor as this is actually centre ice! Fun store. I love it there. Did you check out the varieties of dried mushrooms even lobster mushrooms. Amazing store.
Ann, I have yet to see the big red dot! Where in the store is it and how could I have missed it twice? Because it was so cold out and the food would be in the car for a long time I did not really check out the produce but I will next time for sure. Wow, lobster mushrooms!!! I would love to try those.