Last night, after many foiled attempts, we had dinner out with M+LK at old neighbourhood haunt Carisma. It was a nice little catch-up, with excellent service (including a discovery that our server was an active birder who also just got back from Costa Rica, like M+L) and very-nearly-too-much delicious food.
After some cocktails and a glass of Falanghina for me, we dug into the burrata special, some pan seared scallops, and hand-rolled ricotta gnocchi in a four cheese sauce. Our mains were lamb, tuna, truffle pasta, and a ribeye special — the latter being mine, and being superb. We washed it down with an excellent bottle of Sangiovese.
We somehow managed dessert, which came to us just as a cheer went up from the bar as the Leafs scored to tie their game late. Lindsay and I had affogato; the others went for strudel and cheesecake. Three of us got a little sip of Vin Santo; Lindsay got a glass of Brunello.
No surprises expected, none delivered. Just a fantastic meal with old friends.
It has been — and continues to be — a week of visitors. Petite mainstay friend N (sans J, this time) is in from Montreal and has hung out with us a few times. Then Lindsay’s brother and his girlfriend arrived Friday. The five of us had a later dinner around the corner at Frankie’s, our first time back there in yonks. Their servers did yeoman duty, bravely surviving a lot more traffic than they expected, and helped us through a menu in transition for our first patio meal of the year. Felt nice.
The next day was another lovely one, so after dealing with a minor plumbing emergency, we walked to Eastbound for brunch, then took a streetcar up to Riverdale Park east where half the city seemed to be gathered. We sat under a tree and drank beers & pet nat. I got to throw a ball with a cute dog a few times.
Today was a bit more sedate — I did contemplate a Jays game but had too much to catch up on, so watching on TV sufficed — but we did squeeze in a late dinner at Richmond Station:
On Friday Lindsay’s friend K came over and make a lemony pasta for lunch. We provided the wine.
Then last night, after having to defer it a few times, we returned to Greta Solomon’s for dinner. Our table had not yet been cleared, so we squeezed into a corner and made ourselves as unobtrusive in the tiny space as we could while the lingering patrons…just sat there, basically. Anyway, we eventually got to sit, and eat a delicious dinner:
We spent the past four days in New York City, my first time back there in years, and even longer for Lindsay. We were there for a couple of Lindsay’s research visits, but decided to extend it a bit and have some fun.
Friday
We were up early and out the door two hours later. At the airport in plenty of time, no issues at security, had an easy flight, practically sailed through Newark Airport…but our luck ran out when we tried to get into the city. The St. Patrick’s Day parade runs down 5th, right around the time we were arriving, and bisected the city. Our cabbie didn’t know about it, so we got caught circling the upper west side until I just told him where to go. What should have been 45 minutes turned into 2+ hours.
By then we had no time to get to the hotel and eat lunch, so we dropped Lindsay at her first appointment and I took the bags to the hotel in the ricketiest Uber that ever there was. I unpacked our suitcases, drank a beer, and ate some cookies. We were here.
We stayed at The Mark Hotel on the upper east side (near Lindsay’s two research appointments). It’s a very chic hotel, probably too cool for the likes of us. The room was big by NYC standards, even if the description of a “courtyard view” was a massive stretch.
[UPDATE: whilst watching the season opener of Succession Lindsay noticed that Tom was having a drink at The Mark. We then felt even fancier, and possibly more douchebaggy.]
So while it wasn’t the smoothest entry, at least the weather was nice: it was sunny and 14 degrees, so my walk all the way up 5th Ave to 103rd street – passing the dying remnants of the parade – was beautiful. I collected Lindsay and we walked slightly east, into East Harlem, to a wine bar called Alison. We were early so we circled the block and took a load off for a bit, before taking one of their patio seats and taking advantage of happy hour.
Considering we hadn’t eaten all day, we were pretty restrained. We ordered a dozen oysters & a bottle of Provençal rosé, lamb sliders, and some Old Bay fries before wrapping up with glasses of Rioja and Minervois. The food was good and the vibe was chill, but we had dinner reservations elsewhere. As it turned out, we would have done better to stay put.
After stopping in briefly at the hotel to recharge, we walked down to a restaurant called August, which we’d identified earlier in the day. The menu sounded good. The vibe sounded good. We were excited. But we were pretty quickly disappointed – we waited 25 minutes for our cocktails, which were both rubbish. (Like…how do you screw up a Negroni?)
Our apps were decent – charred octopus w/ fennel-herb salad, crispy potatoes & preserved lemon caper dressing and tuna tartare w/ avocado, waffle potato chips & soy ginger dressing, with which we ordered glasses of Gruner Veltliner & Chardonnay – but when the apps came we were told the kitchen was closing soon. So much for the city that never sleeps, I guess. So we walked home, still a tad hungry.
Saturday
We slept right the hell in, we did. It was a long couple weeks.
After leaving there we walked across 91st for an early dinner at Kaia, a South African wine bar. And there, we had the kind of meal we’d been seeking in NYC since we landed. The wine, the food, the vibe, the staff: all exceptional. We felt like we bonded with our server Ayo. At the end of our meal we brought us glasses of Amarula, which I haven’t had since I was in Botswana ten years ago.
Gebakte Suurlemoene (baked lemons with artichoke, cherry tomato, green olives & goat cheese)
Eend Vlerkies (duck drumettes with kaia’s sticky mango chutney sauce)
‘Elk’ Carpaccio (elk carpaccio served with the owner’s mother’s mustard and a peppery arugula salad)
Rooibos Tee en Bosbessie Vark Ribbetjies (rooibos tea & cranberry baby back pork ribs, with coleslaw)
The wine was obviously all South African, and we recognized a few – Raats Jasper, Kanonkop Kadette, HER Shiraz – and loved the rest of what we tried:
La Brune Pinot Noir
The Foundry Grenache Noir
Bosman Nero D’Avola (x2; Lindsay loved it)
Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon
I asked Ayo to pick something for me, and he went for a Bordeaux blend, which was terrific.
He also brought us a De Toren Malbec called Délicate to try, which wasn’t even on the list. What a guy.
Anyway, we’d bought way too much food, and took the ribs back to the hotel for later.
We turned on our heels, and took an Uber to Broadway. Our driver made a heroic move that got us there on time. We were seeing A Doll’s House at The Hudson Theatre, and as we arrived Jessica Chastain was sitting, expressionless, on the stage as it slowly spun around. It was exceptional. Ibsen’s play, adapted for modern times, with a wonderfully stark and minimalist set, just chairs and shadows and that rotating floor. Jessica Chastain was her brilliant self; the remaining cast killed it as well. The ending was just the coolest thing. We left, Ubered home, and let our brains process it all.
Sunday
We slept in again. Vacation! I’d accidentally frozen the ribs the night before, so that breakfast plan went out the window into the non-courtyard courtyard. We eventually left in search of food. It was much colder than the previous days, we we used sun and shelter strategically.
We decided we needed proper New York bagels, so after a bit of research we went to Bagel Shop on 3rd. We managed to get a table, and scarfed our enormous bagel sandwiches amongst the deli chaos. After that we decided to have a beer or three, so we crossed the street to the Third Avenue Alehouse. I ordered a Threes Brewing Volition Schwarzbier that was so flat I couldn’t drink it, but my Fifth Hammer Brewing Co. Smooth Jazzmin’ American Pale Ale, Aslin Beer Company Volcano Sauce Sour, and Who You Callin’ Old (Fashioned)? Cocktail w/ Old Forester Bourbon, cinnamon-rosemary maple syrup & cardamom bitters were all very good. Meanwhile Lindsay had a Delirium Tremens Belgian Strong Golden Ale, an Ever Grain Brewing Co. Vivify Red Ale, and a 3 Floyds Brewing Aggromaster Scottish Ale. Full of beer, we walked back to the hotel to chill (but also warm up) for a bit.
We decided we needed a reason to check out another neighbourhood, so we went to the Lower East Side. We were in search of a great pizza slice, and had heard Scarr’s was the best. We waited in line for about ten minutes and got a slice each and, yup. They were amazing. I want another one right now. Anyway, we scooted around the corner to a wine bar called Le Dive. We plopped ourselves at the end of the bar and split a bottle of Baga, then Raclette and some Bibb lettuce salad, then glasses of Barbera and Pineau d’Aunis – a new one for me. It was a cool little spot.
Back in the hotel room, we finally finished off the ribs from Kaia, and washed them down with some in-room cocktails.
Monday
One last thing on our must-do list: that sandwich from Pastrami Queen. They were, as advertised, delicious. We scarfed them down and packed up; after checking out Lindsay ran a half-errand, while I plopped myself in the hotel bar and held the fort until she came back. We drank our way through the by-the-glass list, gnoshed some fries, and Ubered to the airport. Security sucked; our flight was fine; our house was cold; we missed coming home to Kramer.
Earlier this week Lindsay and I attended a dinner we won in the Grapes For Humanity charity auction with three other couples (two of whom were also at last year’s Bachelder dinner at Barberian’s). This year’s prize was a dinner at Richmond Station with Southbrook‘s owner Bill Redelmeier and a board member from Tree Canada. Southbrook has long been a favourite of mine, but I’d not yet met Bill, so that was an extra treat. I also knew the food at Richmond Station would be great, but wow…they stepped up their game even more than usual.
Chocolate ice cream, white chocolate ganache, chocolate shortbread
Paired with Southbrook Cassis Dessert Wine
Lindsay and I just went back over the menu trying to pick out a favourite course, and realized every single thing was excellent.
As for the guest of honor: Bill’s been in and around this space forever, and it was amazing to pick his brain and hear his thoughts about the industry. Terrific wine, excellent conversation, superlative food, and great friends. The kind of night you wish wouldn’t end.
Last night we experienced what would have been a fairly typical Saturday night prior to 2020: we went to dinner and a show. Specifically, dinner at Gare de l’Est and a play called Girls & Boys at Crow’s Theatre.
First: dinner. It was a lovely, tasty time, and we ended up swapping wine stories with the general manager. I was also eyeing the brunch menu and thinking we need to get back there some weekend. Anyway, here’s what we ate:
Starters
baguette & beurre
scallop crudo w/ plantain chips
olives
cocktails
Mains
crispy confit duck leg, cherry preserve, green salad, frites
steak tartare
bottle of Pearce Predhomme Pinot Noir
Then, the play: ooof. It was good, but it was about such a tough subject. We were wondering why it came with such an emphatic content warning, but we found out soon enough. It was one woman on a small stage for 90 minutes, and we left wondering how she could run that dialogue night after night after night. One patron actually had to get up and leave about 3/4 of the way through, which they expected — the actress stopped the dialogue briefly to let the woman know it was okay to cross in front of the stage, and explained that it happens sometimes. I don’t want to give away too much of why the content was so harrowing, but…yeah. Incredibly impressive performance, and it’ll be sitting with me for a while.
Today is day one of ~1.5 weeks’ vacation. We’re not traveling to Nova Scotia this year, though, choosing instead to stay here in Toronto and be cozy. Good thing, too — today would have been our likely travel day, and it’s a brutal winter storm out there.
So, we’ll stay put. We’ll catch up on TV shows (we just finished season one of Yellowjackets (imdb) and an old British miniseries called Secret State (imdb), and I have plenty more lined up). We’ll delve into the wine collection. We might finish Pandemic: Legacy. I’ll watch the World Juniors and write up my year-end lists & summary. We’ll try to tackle the mountain of sweets our parents sent to our home. We’ll snuggle with Kramer. We’ll watch Die Hard and Four Christmases.
We’ll miss visiting family, but it’s going to be a fun end of the year.
First was Greta Solomon’s, a little French bistro down the street from us in Leslieville. It was our first time there. What a cozy, charming little spot — and one of our favourite ex-Chez Nous servers Trinette was working there! I think that, for first timers, we did pretty well:
I really didn’t think I’d like a fish pie, but it was goddamn delicious. So were our mains, and that Cab Franc. Next time: dessert!
.:.
Later in the week, I had a work-related dinner at Barberian’s, a very well-known commodity to both I and the friend I had dinner with. No surprises with the food — surprises aren’t really the point at a classic steak house — but we asked the sommelier for her opinion on what wine we should be drinking, and got an absolute treat in return.
Caesar salad w/ parmigiano & grilled bacon
Jumbo shrimp cocktail
Old fashioneds
New York strip
Rack of lamb
Mushrooms
Spicy, crispy Brussels sprouts
2003 Andrew Will Sheridan red blend
Glasses of vintage port for dessert. Don’t ask me which.
I also left with a recommendation for an Italian Cab Franc I need to check out. So it was a Cab Franc kinda week, I guess.
It’s the time of year when dinners abound. This week it was Aria, where the food was very good, but the highlight was the long chat I had with the sommelier as he poured various dessert wines and amaro for us.
Just before we moved into this house (two years ago now!) we thought we’d use the basement the same way the previous owners had staged it: we’d put the TV and a couch down there, and keep our living room TV-free. However, once we moved in we realized that simply wasn’t realistic — the basement’s too small, it’s too cool in the winter and humid in the summer, and…y’know, Kramer shits in a box down there. So: on to plan B.
One of the top candidates for plan B quickly became to build a wine cellar down there. I had grand visions of a full-scale cellar, but that just wasn’t feasible, or even necessary — my collection currently stands at 453 bottles, only 415 of which are reasonably cellar-worthy. Still a proper wine cabinet could be good. And so, we had Rosehill build us one. It holds 722 bottles, and they finished it Monday of this week. (Thanks Chris!)
Look at this beaut:
After the first day of constructionThe finished product
Since I took today as a holiday, I might just spend the afternoon filling it up. I’m surprised I’ve waited four days, frankly.
Skirl | Dan Dickinson 