I’m not much of a Vodka man. Generic vodka requires sugary mixers to remove the medicine-like taste from it while most good vodkas are too harsh to sip neat and require a Bond-like martini and a tux to make you look like you’re not an alcoholic for drinking vodka straight.

Little did I know that sitting in the back of my fiancée’s freezer lied a beautiful Icelandic small-batch Vodka from the distillers of The Balvenie, Reyka Vodka. Not only does it have a clean, sweet taste but it’s also a ‘green’ vodka — in both senses of the word.

From the About.com review:

Amidst the clean air of the village of Borgarnes in western Iceland, sits the distillery where Reyka comes together. The entire operation is run by the abundant geothermal heat of the land, a factor that led to the naming of the spirit as Reyka (Ray-kuh) is an ancient Icelandic word for steam or smoke…Reyka has a strong “green” aspect to it. A delightful nose of sweet rose and fresh cut hay fills the senses with clarity.

I couldn’t agree more with this description. There is a muted sweetness to this vodka that makes it not only a pleasure to sip but abhorring to mix with anything else.

Photos courtesy of Lovely Package

More pics and details at Arch Daily

BlogTO comes through with a top 10 of the Best Bibimbap in the city . The Korean dish is a personal favorite and something I didn’t even discover in Toronto, but in Las Vegas of all places, at a 24-hr Korean resto on the strip, across from Circus Circus. (All class, I know).

I recently went down New York City for the Labour Day long weekend. I had no reason to go other than to visit a friend who lives there and some visiting from California. I hadn’t been to New York for a vacation for a while so this was a good chance for me to get reacquainted with a city that I truly love to hang out in. This time around I remembered to keep my camera close at hand (with my iPhone as a backup) so I’d have something to share when I got back. 

My day started on Friday morning after taking a quick (1hr 15min) flight from Toronto Pearson to Laguardia the night before. Thanks to Reshma, a good friend from University and an amazing ambassador for Western civilization in general, I had a place to stay in NYC for a couple nights before crashing at the surprisingly inexpensive and uber-hip Pod Hotel for the remainder of the weekend.

The first stop, and probably the highlight of the weekend for me, was a chance to visit Yankee Stadium. Not being a huge baseball fan, I still understood this would be a special trip since, first, Yankee Stadium will be torn down at the end of this season to make way for the new Yankee Stadium and second, the Blue Jays were in town playing their last series there.

After my friends and I headed up on the wrong train (“D train as in deer, not B” said the attendant at the station we ended up in) we got to Yankee stadium just in time for the noon tour. The tour included a walk around the warning track, a visit to monument park in centerfield — where the franchise celebrates all-time heroes like Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio and Alex Rodrigues (ha, kidding) — and a visit to the press box for probably the most stunning view of the park. I managed to even sit in the dugout and steal some dirt from the warning track. Though aging and small, it’s still a great stadium and I could tell the throngs of Yankee fans who came out for the tour were getting sentimental about losing such a historic venue.

But me, I’m a Jays fan so in the evening I returned with my Jays retro cap snugly fit to watch the opening of the final series ever between the Jays and Yankees in that stadium. If the park looked amazing in the day it was just sublime when the sun set. Seeing the thousands of flashbulbs go off when Derek Jeter came to bat and watching old fans take tiny new fans out to see the Yankees really made me appreciate what baseball is really all about. Even though the Jays lost a nail-biter (2-1) it was a heck of a game and I have to hand it to Yankees fans for their class — I didn’t get heckled once!

I promised myself I’d get in some shopping so the next day started off with a visit to UNIQLO, a Japanese clothing retailer that’s starting to make noise in North America after success at home and in the UK. Although they have a flagship store right on Broadway south of Prince St. (amusingly right next door to their eerily similar competitor, H&M) they still have no North American online store, which speaks to how new they are. You may also remember hearing their name during the Cannes Lion awards this year when their UNIQLOCK concept won the top prize, a first for an interactive marketing campaign.

UNIQLO did not disappoint. The cutting edge fashion situated on four floors  of beautifully designed space made me realise I had underestimated exactly how long I would be spending there. I originally just stopped by to pick up new jeans  (which are tailored in store the same day for free) and a sweater but I knew as soon as I stepped I’d be leaving with more. 

After stopping at UNIQLO I visited a few other places with my friends Eric and Eunice, who were visiting from San Francisco; APC, Nike Sportswear at 21 Mercer and Jack Spade Greene St. come to mind. And though I don’t doubt the SOHO shopkeepers tell all their clients the same thing, everyone seemed really happy to meet our unique group of a couple West Coasters and one Torontonian. 

Stopping at Tarina Tarintino to pick up something nice for the lady, I had a great conversation with the owners who had their eye on Toronto as their next market. Like a true citizen, I convinced them that Toronto women were stylish enough to want to get their hands on everything they owned (including the custom Kid Robot Dunny they had in-store) and they agreed they’d have to move Toronto to their top of their expansion list. So in future, some women owe me some thanks when they see a TT boutique open up on Queen West one day.

And my trip wasn’t all shopping and baseball — it was about eating too. I found some great eats while in New York, including a savory Cubano Sandwich with a sidecar of amazing Chicken Liver Toast from the acclaimed gastro-pub, Spotted Pig in the West Village (West 11th and Greenwich St.) Out late with for drinks in the East Village I snacked on a Chicken Tikka wrap of some sort from Kati Roll one night and fries from Pomme Frites (123 2nd Ave) the next. Joe (multiple locations) had some great coffee to go with my cupcake from Magnolia Bakery nearby. Lastly, the entire crew enjoyed the tasting menu at Hakata Tonton back in the Village (61 Grove St.) which included Salmon Carpachio, a Hot Pot with Pork Belly strips, tofu, dumpling and greens, amazingly grilled pigs feet (yes pigs feet), Bibimbap and Sesame-Vanilla ice cream for the knockout blow.

By Sunday night I was stuffed, tired and ready to crash. However, my flight left early (5am!) Monday morning so I toughed it out, skipped my sleep, showered at my hotel and went straight the airport for the quick flight (1hr) home.

My latest trip to New York was definitely the best and that was the goal to begin with. I missed some spots that I didn’t get to, like Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, but I’m sure I’ll find my way there next time. And when it comes to New York and me, there’ll be a next time for a long time to come.

This time I’ll be taking in a Jays-Yankees game and a tour of Yankee stadium. Pending no rain this will be really special since it’s being demolished after this season.

I’m also planning on making stops at The Spotted Pig for some gastropub fare, Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack, Uniqlo for some jeans and tees and the new Nike Sportswear store at 21 Mercer St.

I’ll be hanging out with my good buddies Reshma, Ed and Eric who are also shutterbugs, so I’m sure I’ll have tonnes of shots to share when I get back.

Cheers!

• The Olympics – NYTimes.com created this great tool to track all your favorite events here
• Bell Canada rebrands and relaunches
• Pantry, a local gourmet-to-go kitchen, grocery and coffee shop owned and operated by my friend Greg Bolton gets some love from blogTO
• Greg Washington, the visual god behind inqmnd, joins the crew at teehan+lax and promptly launches a new blog, anotherfaceinthecrowd
• The Salvation Army of Ontario is looking for men’s shirts and pants, please help
• Three words. Scooters. Fatties. Info.
• Are you a Redesigner or a Realigner?
• Ride the Pineapple Express. You will not be disappointed.
• Meant to post this a while ago: The Sartorialist captures Kanye and his fiancee
• EA Skate is coming to the Wii

Thanks to Bodum’s Shin Bistro though I’m enjoying some of that great coffee everyday at work. There’s also something nice about not going down to Starbucks to have your coffee made but instead watching the grains blend with hot water (for exactly 4 minutes) before pouring yourself a nice cup*.

I strongly recommend anyone who enjoys coffee to pick one up.

*Not more than a cup a day though.

The article covers off some personal faves including MoCCA and Czhehoski (where I celebrated my birthday last year) but fails to mention other great spots including Chippy’s (best fish and chips in town), San (original, well-priced Thai) and the Nutty Chocolatier (no need to explain here) to name a few. If you’re ever in Toronto on a Sunday, you’ll find me around this area pretty regularly.