Welcome Ashlyn Kane! She's stopping by the clubhouse today to make us all jealous and talk about that best food she's ever eaten. Find out more about how that finds its way into His Leading Man below! See our 5 ❤️ review here!
Top 5 Places I’ve Eaten
Hi, my name is Ashlyn, and I’m a foodie. Today I’d like to
I’ve been over the years and the food I’ve eaten there. I’m hungry basically all the time and
food is great. Anyway, here’s the list. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, maybe you can drop
by and check these places out!
5. Porto, Portugal. Honestly, this place was the inspiration for the post. Why? It’s
gorgeous, reasonably priced, and it’s the site of one of the most unique tourist
experiences I’ve ever had. You see, Porto was the first place I ever did a food tour.
On the Taste of Porto Food Tour, we sampled countless local and national dishes, put
several kilometers on our walking shoes, and topped off the evening with some unique
local cocktails—made with the fortified wine beverage that is named for the city, port.
We got some great history on the city as well as on different types of local eats and
culture. Well worth the price of admission, though I do have to mention that the entire
city is uphill on uneven cobblestones, which present a real accessibility challenge.
4. Naxos, Greece. Naxos is a Greek island in the Aegean, population just shy of 20,000. It
features Greek ruins, private sandy beaches, and smaller crowds and lower prices than
the more popular islands. One of the real gems is a restaurant/bar called La Vigne,
which is run by two wonderful French ladies named Eli and Fred. It’s dinky, so make a
reservation, and keep in mind that if it’s hot you may want to sit outside. But even if
you’re inside, it will be worth it. The wine menu is like 50 pages and the food offerings
fit on a blackboard. Order everything and let the sommelier pick your wine. We had
rabbit rillette here, which there was a 0 percent chance of me ordering on my own prior
to this, and a 100 percent chance of me ordering if I ever go back.
3. Lisbon, Portugal. I just really enjoyed Portugal, okay? And one of the unique
experiences I had there was when we went to a fado bar. For the uninitiated, fado is a
music genre that is sort of bluesy, mournful, very rhythmic. It’s difficult to describe
because it’s not quite like anything else. In Lisbon you can go to a fado bar and, you
guessed it, order food while the performers play! (Or maybe they only do this in tourist
places and it’s gauche in real fado bars; I don’t know.) Anyway, prepare for very warm
temperatures because everyone always orders the flaming sausage thing, but it’s worth
it.
2. Tampa, FL, US. You might have noticed that all of these places are warmer than
Ontario. It’s possible that I’ve been slightly traumatized by how cold and long this past
winter was. But you know what I like as much as I like warm weather and almost as
much as I like good food? Hockey. Friends, I am here to tell you that hockey in paradise
is real and Tampa is the place to get it. This picture was taken in January! (IDK why these
people are not wearing shorts.)
But don’t eat at Amalie Arena. I paid 8 bucks for a Coke at the All-Star Game. Instead,
take a drive out to Indian Rocks Beach and go to LuLu’s Oyster Bar & Tap House. Order
the blackened grouper tacos. Take a selfie with the giant flamingo. You’re welcome.
1. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. Warm weather is great, but sometimes you
need something closer to home.
For the hockey fan, NOTL is close enough to Buffalo to catch an NHL game. It’s also just
an hour’s drive to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto (but don’t go watch the Leafs at
home unless you’re a zillionaire). You can also go out to Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery…
where they have an outdoor rink in the winter.
For the foodie, there’s Treadwell Cuisine, a farm-to-table restaurant in the heart of
downtown. Or just stay at any one of a zillion B and Bs competing to outdo each other with the most wonderful breakfast (shoutout to the Porch and Pillow and their crunchy
french toast).
Oh, and there’s always the falls.
Winery pick: Big Head has a great ten-wine tasting package that comes with gluten-free
crackers and an enormous block of parmesan cheese that you get to take home if you
don’t finish, but they’re one of the pricier ones. Budget winery pick: Coyote’s Run Estate
Winery has some great wines with a fraction of the sticker price of other, more popular
vineyards, plus one of their wines is called Pawsitivity.
There’s a little of my love for warm locations in my new book, His Leading Man. And a few of
my weird food quirks too (movie star Drew loves dill pickles, but hates dill). Maybe one day I’ll
be filling you in on the best place to eat in Hollywood! Until then, a woman can dream… and
write about other dreamers.
He wrote a comedy. Fate directed a romance.
Drew Beaumont is bored of the same old roles: action hero, supervillain, romantic lead.
He’s not going to let a fresh gay buddy comedy languish just because they can’t find him
the right costar. No, Drew bats his eyelashes and convinces everyone that the movie’s
writer should play Drew’s not-so-straight man.
Aspiring writer Steve Sopol has never had a screenplay optioned. Now one of
Hollywood’s hottest properties wants to be in a movie Steve hasn’t finished writing—and
he wants Steve as his costar. Turns out the chemistry between them is undeniable—on
and offscreen.
Drew swore off dating in the biz, but Steve is the whole package: sharp, funny, humble,
and cute. For Steve, though, giving in to the movie magic means the end of the privacy he
cherishes. Will the credits roll before their ride into the sunset?
Buy it on the Dreamspinner website or on Amazon.com.
ASHLYN KANE is a Canadian former expat and current hockey fan. She is a writer,
editor, handyperson, dog mom, and friend—sometimes all at once.
On any given day, she can usually be found walking her ninety-pound baby chocolate
lapdog, Indy, or holed up in her office avoiding housework. She has a deep and abiding
love of romance-novel tropes, a habit of dropping too many f-bombs,
and—fortunately—a very forgiving family.
Twitter: @ashlynkane
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ashlyn.kane.94
Website: Ashlynkane.ca
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