Yesterday Kate and I had a very indulgent day. The Winterlicious promotion is happening in Toronto right now and we decided to take full advantage of it. We booked a lunch and dinner reservation and then built a day in Toronto around it.

First we went to Barootes for lunch. I had the Chicken, Leek and Barley soup while Kate had the Baby Organic Greens with Apple Cider Vinaigrette. The we both had Penne with Spicy Italian sausage in Basil Tomato Sauce and finished it off with their "Special of the Week" which was Chocolate Layer Cake. Yummy.

Once we left there we walked to the AGO to check out the new building and have a look through the new collections. The walk was a chilly at -8C but we got there quick enough that we did completely loose the feeling in our extremities (about 10-15 minutes).

The new AGO building is a welcome change. It makes the building much more interesting and the extra exhibit space made for the opportunity to see many works that were locked away in the vaults before. Add the new works, and even if you were very familiar with what used to be on display, I am sure you will find something new to see. The new centrepiece staircase goes all the way up to the 5th floor and is outside the main structure of the building between the 4th and 5th floors similar to the staircase on the other side of the building. Disappointingly, they are having a major problem with condensation on the glass between the 4th and 5th floors of the staircase. They had to close that section of the staircase and the water is damaging the dry wall in places. After all the money and effort that went into the transformation I hope they will be able to find a quick solution to the problem and it is just a matter of working out the kinks.

After about 4 hours at the AGO, it was time for the cold walk back to King St for our dinner at Marcel's Bistro. Both Kate and I had the Salad to start, followed by Pork tenderloin in a tomato sauce with mashed potatoes & seasonal vegetables. We shared a 1/2L of the Italian Terrazze Della Luna Pinot Grigio 2007. For desert Kate had Vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce in puff pastry while I had the chocolate mouse cake. Again yummy, but I think Barootes was better.

To complete the day, we had tickets to Dirty Dancing. We had excellent seats, 3rd row, first balcony center which we got for the ridiculously low price of $30 each. Thank you Red Flag Deals. The play was good, but not your traditional the story line is sung kind of musical. It was more like a play with a lot of music and dancing in it. If you liked the movie, you'll probably like the play.

In all it was a very long, fun, expensive but high value day.