We spent last weekend in Stratford. We packed a lot into 48 hours.

Friday

After a long drive out of Toronto (is there any other kind?) and a brutal rainstorm, we arrived in Stratford and checked into the Bradshaw Lofts before checking out the wine bar downstairs, Brch & Wyn. We had:

• stone fruit w/ fresh mozzarella, walnuts, basil, peach romesco
• chicken nuggies w/ brch dry rub, spicy mayo, lime
• massaman flatbread w/ beer coconut curry, cashew, chili crisp, pickled chili
  • some very tasty & well-curated wines: I remember there being a local orange wine, a Gewurz, a Sonoma Chard, and two local Cab Francs

We threw it all down our necks quickly; we had a play to get to — Cymbeline (link). My haiku review:

A twist on Shakespeare
Casts Cymbeline as queen; pretty
good but kinda long

By long I mean: 90 minutes into the play the lights went dark, which we figured was a shockingly abrupt end, but it turns out ’twas only the intermission and there was another 90 minutes to go. We made it, though. We all made it.

Saturday

Luckily Brch & Wyn is also an excellent coffee shop, so I grabbed us caffeine and breakfast downstairs. We watched some Netflix in the room (I’ve been forced to watch Love Island once again, so that betting may ensue), we made an unscheduled run to Wal-Mart (don’t ask), and then went out in search of lunch. After bumping into a few non-starters — NB: Stratford runs on a schedule, and the 2pm plays drive a lot of people into a noon lunch — we braved the lineup at Features, a Stratford institution. We banked on their ability to turn tables quickly, and it paid off: we had a table right away, with plenty of time to make it to our next play. I even had time to stop at The Ashborne Café for an espresso.

Our second play was the Ibsen classic Hedda Gabler (link). My haiku review:

Stellar work all ’round
“People don’t do such things!” No,
But our Hedda does

After a quick walk home and more bingeing, we were off to dinner at Lovage. It really feels like a home away from home now (to wit: earlier in the day, while walking around town, we were recognized by our favourite host Abra!) and on this occasion it didn’t disappoint. Here’s what we had:

• Lobster salad
• Marinated peppers
  • glasses of Ontario orange and Portuguese white
• Fried squid w/ shishito peppers
  • glasses of Chablis and Sicilian white
• Short rib special (described to us as “pastrami-adjacent”) w/ white kimchi
  • a half-bottle of Tondonia Rioja
• Crème-frâiche ice cream + blueberry sorbet
  • glasses of Port and Madeira

Sunday

Once again: caffeine and breakfast from Brch + Wyn woke us up. We had to check out by 11, but our brunch reso wasn’t until 12, so we killed time sitting in a park on a summer day. Just as we were leaving I saw a hawk fly full-speed into the top of a tree, followed by the screaming chatter of a squirrel(?), then the hawk falling out of the bottom of the tree and flying away. Couldn’t tell if it was a successful hunting expedition or not.

As noon approached we walked to Revival House for brunch. Just as we were about to be seated Lindsay realized I didn’t have my umbrella. It’s the best umbrella I’ve ever owned so I didn’t want to lose it. We walked back to the park, relieved to find it there, and returned to Revival. It’s a converted church (with some stunning gardens out front) that feels quite cozy inside. We had cocktails, a fried chicken sandwich (me) and eggs bennie (Lindsay), followed by an almond coffee cake and some coffees, and then were off to the Studio theatre, just kitty-corner from the restaurant, for our final play.

The Edward Albee play The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia? (link) has been much celebrated since it was first performed in 2002. All four members of the cast had been in Cymbeline Friday night, and one —  Rick Roberts — was someone I watched many years ago on Traders. My haiku review:

Dark, hard, weird viewing
This animal collective
Comes wholly undone

It was a good thing we’d gone back to get that umbrella, because our walk home was through pouring rain. As was our drive home, pretty much the whole way. And that wasn’t the half of it: we knew there’s been weather warnings all over southern Ontario the past few days (including a tornado that touched down in nearby Ayr) but driving home and seeing cars submerged on flooded highways really brought it home. (Also, different kind of danger, but we also saw Batman.)

So, a successful 48 hours overall. Not sure we’ll return to Stratford next year for plays (we might go just to eat at Lovage, and maybe try cocktails at Elizabeth which we missed this time) but I feel like we did it right this time.