Our (Short) Chocolate Trail at Stratford

Chocolate Barr's in Stratford

We went to two of the three chocolate shops in Stratford before catching a show. Yes, this small city has three chocolate shops! We didn’t have much time but it would have been great to go on the entire Stratford Chocolate Trail featuring 25 restaurants and shops that offer a range of cacao-based goodies. They do love their chocolate! We checked out Rhéo Thompson and Chocolate Barr’s. The third chocolate store was Rocky Mountain, which we can access closer to the GTA, so we no longer went here.

Rhéo Thompson bars and Dark Chocolate Mint Smoothies

At  Rhéo Thompson, I got some  Dark Chocolate Rhéo bars as well as Dark Chocolate Mint Smoothies. Twice the price at the theatre concession stand, these are melt-in-your mouth goodies that are hard to resist. The dark chocolate for both the bar and smoothies were not bitter and were very smooth.

Chocolate Minties and truffles from Chocolate Barr's

At Chocolate Barr’s, we got some fruit jellies (just because) and more mint goodies!! The fam LOVES mint chocolate. We got milk chocolate covered minties and an assortment of truffles—strawberry cream, chocolate covered cherries and coffee cream. So divine. Because we like milk chocolate more than dark, we really enjoyed their mint chocolate. Every bite was savoured and enjoyed as much as the Mint Smoothies we had from London. While each bite was heavenly, it was also a reminder that we were almost running out. I wonder when we can go back?!

According to their tourism site, at Stratford: "come for the chocolate, stay for the plays.” It truly is a destination for chocoholics. 

Pre-Show Dining: Stratford Thai Cuisine

For our lunch before the matinee at Avon Theatre in Stratford, we decided to check out Stratford Thai Cuisine. We came just in time, with the restaurant opening only a few minutes before we arrived. By the time we were well on our way with our meal, the place was packed and there were folks already waiting for the next available table. Whew. Just got lucky without reservations! With lovely chandeliers and linen tablecloths, I almost did a double take, thinking they would be very pricey. At about $11-15 per dish, it is quite comparable to Thai Basil.

Service was prompt and the food was delicious. We started off with shrimp Tom Yum soup with lemongrass, lime leaves, fresh chillies, mushrooms, tomatoes and spring onions. They also had some broccoli in there, which was the only thing that threw me off. It was on the sweet side but DD#2 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. They didn’t scrimp on the shrimp either.

We then shared, family-style, our traditional favourites--Curry Pad Thai, Pineapple Fried Rice, and Beef Red Curry. We also tried the Chef Recommended Crispy Garlic Chilli.

The Curry Pad Thai was really good and was one of the best I’ve had recently. The noodles were beautifully sautéed with the egg, tofu, bean sprouts, ground peanuts and chicken. The added curry gave a nice punch.

Curry Pad Thai @ Stratford Thai

The Pineapple Fried Rice was a nice all-in-one dish with stir fried jasmine rice, cashew nuts, pineapple chunks and peppers. It was a bit on the small side to share, but we all got to have a spoonful or two.

Pineapple Fried Rice @ Stratford Thai

The Beef Red Curry was just ok for me. While the beef was tender, the curry was not thick enough, nor was it spicy enough for me.

Beef Red Curry @ Stratford Thai

The Crispy Garlic Chilli was surprisingly nice—like a twist on the Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken. The diced fried chicken was very tender and moist, lightly battered and sautéed in a rich chilli garlic sauce.

Crispy Garlic Chilli @ Stratford Thai

Our orders were just right for our party of 5 (with 2 kids). We had to save space for dessert as we were planning to check out some of the chocolate shops nearby. Would definitely come back next time we catch a show!

Apples to Apples: Spirit Tree Cidery and Apple Factory

Spirit Tree Cidery

The fam always looks forward to my Apple Crumble pies which I only bake in Autumn. We say these are even better if we picked the apples ourselves! As I also wanted to check out the goodies at Spirit Tree Cidery, we decided to go apple picking at their orchard. They charge per bucket or reusable bag ($20)—you cannot use your own unless to transfer your pickings later on. Each bucket cost $7.50 and yields about 14 or so apples. Please don’t make me estimate how many pounds that is equivalent to. We went for our favourite Golden Delicious and Honey Crisp varieties. A wagon ride takes you to the beautiful rows of apple trees.  The apples were deliciously sweet-tart (according to a source :P) and nicely-sized and the trees were full. Perfect for picking!

After we were done picking our apples, we headed to the store so I can get my loot—got all sorts of hard cider and hubby and I are slowly trying them out. The sparkling pear non-alcoholic cider was a hit with the kids. The apple cider, though, was a bit on the sweet side. Still, the kids enjoyed it. We also tried some of their baked goods. The Normandy Apple bread was nice with bits of apple inside. We also enjoyed the Leek and Asiago scones which were very flavourful and had a great texture! They also have a bistro which we will definitely check out next time! I heard they have some woodfired pizza on Friday/Saturday nights. There were really many things to see and try here!

goodies from Spirit Tree Cidery

As we mostly got drinks, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out Apple Factory. It was along the way anyway! They sold all sorts of produce, meat, and baked goodies. They even have a puppet show (Jamboree) running every so often for the kids.

Apple Factory--only remembered to take the shot when we were in the car already!

We don’t really like pumpkin pie much but good thing that I decided to try theirs. We are converts! Maybe it is acquired taste, but we really enjoyed their pumpkin pie with some whipped cream. I passed on the apple pie, of course. We did get some divine lemon blueberry coffee cakes (gone in an instant) and yummy date squares. Well, the holiday season has started, so might as well enjoy with all the eating that is to come!

goodies from Apple Factory