Category: Food / drink

Stretch

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The last time I had dinner in person with T-Bone it didn’t get much of a write-up because of how busy the week was. If I’d known it would be the last time we’d see each other in person for nearly eight years, I’d have elaborated.

It used to be nothing for us to share a meal — we had breakfast together every Friday when we worked a desk or two apart — but kids and job changes and a pandemic and just life have made it tricky. To wit: we’ve been trying to schedule this since our birthdays last July.

This week, though, we managed to keep the date firm, and T-Bone booked Nobu. It was my first time there; it was her fourth. We had:

  • Cocktails
  • Yellowtail Jalapeño
  • Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna
  • Salmon wrapped in some kind of pear (special)
  • Black Cod Miso
  • Lobster Tempura with Tamari Honey (half order)
  • A5 Wagyu Dumplings with Spicy Ponzu
    • CB Champagne, Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs, NV
  • Buttermilk Donuts
    • glasses of Laurent-Perrier Champagne & Suntory whiskey

All of it was good, but the lobster and yellowtail were the stars of the show in my opinion.

Mostly, it was just good to see my friend and catch up.

Gganbu

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The last week’s been pretty social: two days of work meetings downtown which included a Blue Jays win over the Atlanta Braves, coffee from three good spots: the Spadina Neo, the University Fahrenheit, and the Union Pilot, and drinks at The Chase to close it all off.

Friday was a holiday. We basically just binged Squid Game, which we somehow avoided when it came out.

Saturday our friend Upasana made us a delicious dinner, and we had such a lovely time chatting we barely noticed it was midnight. We left feeling fat and happy, as they say.

Sunday night we were the hosts, as Ricky and Olivia came over for dinner. We provided salad and a cheese board; they brought delicious Filipino comfort food. We poured a bunch of fun wine, and served ice cream.

I took Monday off, and kept it chill. Lots of leftovers. Quite a bit of catchup. More Squid Game. Playoff hockey for the first time in four years.

An RO in both places

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I spent last weekend in Nova Scotia, at the family farm, to celebrate my mom’s 75th birthday. Brother #1 & progeny drove down for the day as well. We had a big Chinese feast and chocolate cake and then we surprised mom with her birthday present (to come in a few months).

Saturday I re-lived my youth and went to a pancake breakfast down the road at the local fire hall / community centre. That day, and Sunday, I was able to help a tiny bit with the very end of maple season. [UPDATE: I have been informed that the season in fact continued all week. I’d swear it was wrapping up last Sunday, but what do I know? I’m a city boy now.]

I worked in Moncton Monday and Tuesday, dosing my co-workers with maple sugar, then flew home early Wednesday morning. It was a few days of all-out sprint for us both, but we had enough in the tank to eat a delicious meal last night at Ricky + Olivia:

  • Cocktails
    • White Negroni (Dillon’s gin, Elora elderflower liqueur, gentian)
    • Mr. Christie’s Old Fashioned (Brown butter washed rye, Dillon’s chocolate liqueur, sea salt, vanilla, orange bitters, chocolate chip cookie)
  • Food
    • Grilled kofta of chicken + duck w/ rhubarb, yoghurt sauce, goat feta, endive, fingerling chips
    • Turnip cakes w/ purple daikon, chilli crisp, marinated tofu, mushrooms, black radish
    • Perth pork shank w/ daikon “pineapple” rings, Niagara cherry, maple + mustard
    • Special: spicy carrots, bacon, and burrata
    • Bottle of Big Head RAW Malbec
  • Dessert
    • Chicken liver mousse w/ Parallel Brothers’ beet tahini, Rosewood Estates wildflower honey, VQA red wine gummies, sour cream bundt cake doughnuts (seriously)
    • Glasses of Paradise Grapevine fortified Gewurztraminer and Southbrook The Anniversary

It was all fantastic, but the pork shank and chickenduck were the showstoppers for me. How lucky are we to have that place in our neighbourhood?

Yorkies

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Thursday evening I met up with old friends BC and CBJ at The York Club, where BC is a member. I’d never been — obviously, given my utter lack of poshness — but I’d had a look at their wine list and was intrigued.

It was great to catch up over a drink at the bar, dinner (short ribs all around, plus a 2007 Hidden Bench Terroir Caché), dessert (I eschewed the beignets and had a glass of beerenauslese instead), and a Highland Park by the fireplace.

No pictures of the wine bottle, for fear I’d get scolded by the staff. No phones in the dining room, you see…a rule which, I admit, I do not hate at all.

Kirstrisma

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It’d been a while since we hung out with Kirsten, so we met for dinner last night at Carisma. I’d gotten up early (3:45 EDT) to catch a flight home, and Lindsay wasn’t feeling well, so we thought it would be an early night. We ended up closing the joint, though.

Here’s what we had:

  • Appetizers
    • Burratina w/ shaved truffle
    • Carpaccio di Manzo
      • A Negroni; glasses of Gavi Di Gavi & Falanghina
  • Mains
    • Pasta del giorno: agnolotti stuffed w/ ricotta
    • Pappardelle w/ wild board ragu
      • Bottles of 2018 Antinori Pian Delle Vigne and Tolaini Valdisanti Toscana
  • Dessert
    • Affogato
    • Classic Italian cheesecake w/ strawberry compote
    • Warm molten chocolate w/ house-made chocolate gelato
      • Glasses of Vinsanto & Reccioto

Elbow mists

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I’m in Moncton this week. A&D drove over for dinner this evening, which was the perfect excuse to finally try Les Brumes du Coude. It’s a lovely casual vibe inside, and the food was wonderful. We shared everything (except that glass of Pineau).

  • round one
    • house ciabatta
    • fromage: Alfred le Fermier
  • round two
    • steak tartare, all dressed w/ rosemary crackers
    • fancy stuffed pie of mushy peas, house bacon, lettuce chiffonade, and Fundy scallops
    • seared salt cod fish cake, boiled market vegetables in salt pork broth
      • bottle of Pouilly-Fumé
  • dessert
    • Carmélita
      • Pineau des Charentes

Carismaro

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I’ve eaten well the past week. Maybe a tiny bit too well.

First, for v-day, we made a return to Carisma. It was, as usual, superb. Wonderful food, and Adriano picked us out a winning bottle as usual.

  • Burratina Salad
    • glasses of Falanghina, Negroni
  • Penne w/ Pancetta & Fresh Summer Peas
  • some agnolotti special I don’t quite remember at this point
  • 32oz Grilled Bistecca Fiorentina Per Due
  • Sauteed Mushrooms
    • bottle of Brunello
  • Warm Molten Tortino Al Cioccolato w/ House-Made Chocolate Gelato
    • glasses of Vin Santo / Recioto

Then, just this past Wednesday, I met a work colleague at Ricky + Olivia. Yes, I selfishly wanted to go there for both the food and the proximity. We shared:

  • big mac steak tartare
  • r+o burger (actually my first time having it, and wow was it good)
  • turnip cakes
  • french fries
  • garlicky steak special
    • both reds on their BTG list and the two Pearl Morissette red specials

Fantastic, as always. Well worth hurdling a bunch of snowbanks.

The east-za end

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

One thing I take for granted is how much incredible pizza exists close to where I live, in the east end of Toronto.

Danforth Pizza House may be in Greektown, but it is in my opinion (and many others) the best in the city. It’s classic, delicious, and I never feel gross after eating it.

Of all the Detroit style Pizza I’ve tried, Descendant is by a country mile the best — and most interesting. The flavours, the consistency…all top-notch. The fact that Slowhand, an excellent nearby shop in its own right, sits #2 in my mind, says a lot about Descendant.

I’m alone on this in my household, but I think Blondies kicks ass.

There’s even a Maker, which I find too greasy, but which scratches the itch sometimes. Especially when it’s one of the few places in Toronto that even makes an attempt at garlic fingers.

What a time to be alive.

Ace object bureau

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Last January I visited Winnipeg and Saskatoon for work, in the middle of a severe cold snap. It was my first time participating in what’s become an annual work trip; this year I was on the roster for visits to Edmonton and Calgary. Luckily the weather worked in our favour this time: in spite of some bouts of snowy weather, it was above freezing pretty much the whole time.

It was my first time in Edmonton. In between all the work stuff I had some bites at the bar at the JW Marriott and coffee at Coffee Bureau, Obj3cts, and ACE. There was also a fairly random lunch at a place called Continental Treat Fine Bistro (one of our party is gluten-free and we somehow ended up a completely gluten-free Eastern European diner) and a team event at Ashford House Pub. There was trivia. My team won.

The next day we drove down to Red Deer (hitting terrible weather, and very nearly going off the road multiple times) and then on to Calgary. Only one coffee stop this time: a Monogram location.

With business concluded, we all left early the next morning. I flew Porter both ways, and my experience was great. Definitely becoming my preferred method of flying west.

Hey guys, we’re over here

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

A few days ago Streets Of Toronto (which is, I guess, part of Postmedia?) released their 25 best new restaurants in Toronto list. If we exclude the three geographical outliers (North York, Vaughan, and Etobicoke) and focus on the 22 in the downtown core, it re-awakened an old annoyance for me: no one thinks any restaurants exist east of Jarvis.

News flash, reviewers: we also eat east of St. Lawrence Market.