Category: Food / drink

Grande-Digue

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We’ve just gotten home from two weeks on the east coast. We wanted to be out of the/any city for a while, so we booked an AirBnB in Grande-Digue NB, about 30 minutes from downtown Moncton, so I could continue to work.

The place was right on the water, lovely and private without being isolated. We enjoyed the sunshine and salt air and gorgeous view across Shediac Bay. We saw plenty of birds (herons, ducks, even a bald eagle) and a deer wandered through our yard the first night. We relaxed on the back deck and on the lawn and on the couch and on the beach. We had lobster rolls and donairs (and donair pizza) and fresh produce from Les Digues and fried clams from local staple Chez Leo. We even squeezed in a quick trip to the farm to see my family, and one day Lindsay’s mom dropped by.

I did end up being in Moncton for work most days (and tried a few new places, like Mama’s Charcoal BBQ, the Moncton instance of The Old Triangle, and the Dolma rooftop bar) but most days I was pretty anxious to get home to this peaceful view:

It really felt like home by the time we left. I think it’ll really hit me the first time I have to commute on the Gardiner.

Αέρα

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Earlier this week I met up with Dan and Abtin for dinner at Aera, a new steak & sushi place on the top floor of the new Well complex at Front & Spadina. By the time I fought my way through Toronto traffic, the lads had squeaked an order of Champagne in under the happy hour wire. Good thinking.

The view was pretty tremendous — we were sat right at the window, staring at the CN tower, the lake, etc. Apparently the tables on the other side get the sunset, but we weren’t bothered. It was busy — between the view and it making Toronto Life’s list of best new restaurants there were crowds of people as interested in being seen as eating. But it didn’t feel douchey or crowded at all.

The best part of the night was seeing them both and catching up, of course. Dan even brought a bottle of 2016 Domaine Queylus ‘Summus’ for us to share. I like that we all keep wines tucked away with the idea of sharing it over a great steak.

Here’s what we ate & drank:

  • Bubbles
    • NV Veuve Clicquot, Brut, Champagne
  • Appetizers
    • New Brunswick oysters
    • spicy scallop roll: avocado, spicy scallops, chipotle mayo & tobiko
    • 2022 Domaine de la Pépière, Muscadet Sur Lie, Loire
  • Mains
    • 16oz US Prime ribeye
    • 8oz Australian A8-9 Wagyu
    • whipped potatoes w/ buttermilk, butter
    • crispy brussels sprouts w/ garlic, chili, sherry
    • wild & tame mushrooms w/ thyme, pearl onions
    • 2016 Domaine Queylus ‘Summus’ Bordeaux blend, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
    • 2008 Olga Raffault ‘Les Picasses’, Chinon, Loire
  • Dessert
    • 2019 Château Coutet, 1er Grand Cru Classé Sauternes (for me; the other two were still finishing their red)

Highs and Lows

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The week started off well but got progressively worse.

Last weekend Lindsay’s brother #2 arrived for a week. Always fun when he’s in the house. I’d just completed my WSET3 week 3 tasting (more on that in some other post) which meant there were a bunch of delicious white wines available. We ordered Thai and drank grand cru Alsace Pinot Gris and Tokaji for dessert.

On Sunday night we went to White Lily for dinner, and stopped at Chez Nous on the way home.

On Monday I met someone for a work drink at The Chase, then hustled back home for dinner at Wynona with Lindsay and Laura. I don’t remember exactly what we had, but I think it was something along these lines:

  • Grilled focaccia
  • Ontario burrata, forced rhubarb, wild fennel, brown butter & pistachio vinaigrette
  • Honey roasted carrots, chermoula, tahini, pumpkin seed dukkah $20
  • Ramp tonnarelli, Manila clams, Calabrian chili
  • Ziti, braised shortrib, mustard greens, Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • Blood orange posset, white chocolate & thyme ganache, salted honey crumb, meringue
  • Bottles of Nero d’Avola and Syrah

Tuesday and Wednesday were mostly unremarkable, but by Wednesday evening I was starting to feel sick — sort throat, stuffed up, etc. No one else in the house was sick even though we’d done everything together. It was probably too soon to develop anything I’d picked up the day before at the office, so…I guess it was that work drink on Monday? Who knows. Anyway, Thursday was very tough, and by Friday I was barely able to work. We had reservations for the three of us at Ricky + Olivia’s but I was so sick I had to bow out. I was in bed by 8:00. Today hasn’t been much better; I’m definitely scuffling.

As always, the lone bright spot about being sick is that I sit still long enough to catch up on some TV, so I’ve watched all of S1 and half of S2 of The Bear.

Parapont

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Earlier this week I had a work dinner at Paradise Grapevine on Geary. I’m rarely impelled to travel to the west end of Toronto (little wonder: that Uber trip took 47 minutes) but I’ve always wanted to check out the urban winery, so…off I went. It turned into a fun little evening. We ordered just about everything on the menu; the duck leg, heirloom carrots, and beef cheek were the standouts. We got bottles of Cremant de Jura, Paradise Grapevine’s own skin-contact Pinot Gris / Muscat Ottonel, as well as their Cab Franc from the Wilms vineyard, and finally glasses of Don PX.

Afterward, a few of us walked down the street to 915 Dupont for a couple of cocktails. My old fashioned made with Japanese whiskey was decent, but a little too smoky. But my Negroni made with coffee-infused gin was very tasty indeed. I had a sip of somebody’s Big Wave cocktail, and wish I’d ordered one. I was not nearly cool enough to be in that place, but I liked it.

Pre-Cosmo

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Just got back from another trip to Moncton. Highlights:

  • Stayed at a different hotel this time, the boutique hotel above the St. James’ Gate pub. It was just okay. Showing it’s age a bit for sure. And the cleaners in the room next to mine had no problem blasting super-loud music at 7am through the thin walls. Luckily I was already up, but if you were looking to sleep in it might not be the place for you. No amenities or anything either…just a room.
  • I managed to coordinate a fly-by hug with my mom on her way to a show at the Capitol Theatre, which was a nice little bonus for us both.
  • Coupla hammered guys outside the St. James’ Gate got pretty aggro with me as I tried to go to my room, making fun of me because — as far as I could tell — I was wearing a collared shirt. Ah, the Maritimes.
  • Wine tradition: picked up a pretty nice bottle of Oregon Pinot and drank it over the course of the week.
  • Tried a few new places: Café-bistro C’est la Vie for breakfast (fine) and Tire Shack Brewing for a couple of work social events (very nice).
  • Ate at a few old standards too: The Keg, Carrabba’s, and St. James’ Gate.

Flew home last night and joined in on the cat-sitting of the cutest boy who ever cuted, Cosmo. We love him.

Clipse

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Months ago I thought: you know, a full eclipse probably doesn’t happen that often, you should just book a room in Niagara on the Lake and figure out later how to build a trip around it. And I did. And then the closer it got to the actual date of the eclipse, and the crazier things got (pre-emptive state of emergency, anyone?) the smarter I felt. We had a room and a dinner reservation at Treadwell. The rest would look after itself.

SUNDAY

We drove down to NotL, and the traffic was better than we expected. We checked into our usual haunt (124 on Queen), had a drink in their new (well, new to us, anyway) NOTL bar, and walked across the street to the Two Sisters satellite restaurant 11th Post On Queen for lunch. This place was also new to us, and a welcome addition to the high street even if it is a tied house. I had the fried chicken sandwich; Lindsay had the beef dip. We left with a couple of bottles of Two Sisters Cab Franc.

We opted against getting back in the car and instead walked down the street to Queen’s Royal Park, where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, and enjoyed the sunshine & warm weather. It’s been a while on both fronts.

As I mentioned, we had dinner booked at Treadwell, a must-visit for us any time we’re in town. It was good, but this one of the first times it hasn’t really bowled us over. Things really dragged at the end of the evening (there were some tables who really monopolized our server), but more than that it was roasting hot inside the restaurant. We were sat right next to the thermostat, and I saw it it top 77°F — that’s 25°C — a few times. Anyway, here’s what we ate:

  • First
    • Lindsay: Cured Atlantic Salmon, Burnt Leek, Chive, Trout Caviar
    • Dan: Pingue’s 24 Month Aged Prosciutto, Bosc Pear, Lemon Aioli, Pecorino, Arugula
  • Second
    • Lindsay: Winter Mushroom Vol-au-Vent with Tarragon Cream
    • Dan: Seared East Coast Scallop, Cauliflower Purée, Piccalilli
  • Main
    • Lindsay: Beetroot & Ricotta Tortellini, Chez Nous Farms’ Spinach, Walnuts & Sage Butter
    • Dan: Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder, Coal Smoked Baba Ghanoush, Mint Jus
  • Dessert
    • Lindsay: Caramel Custard Tart, Vanilla Chantilly, Brown Sugar Tuille
    • Dan: Chocolate Crèmeux, Toasted Hazelnut & Feuilletine Crumb, Espresso Ice Cream

Good, to be certain. Good wine pairings too, for the most part — one of the two sommeliers was lovely, and for three of the four courses she poured us the standard 3 ounces. For our mains, the other sommelier poured me maybe 2 ounces, and Lindsay maybe 1. To the point where she had to order a full glass of wine just to have enough to pair with her pasta. I suppose we should have said something; we were both just kind of stunned that this happened at a restaurant this sharp.

MONDAY

Eclipse day! We decided not to bother visiting wineries; even those open on Mondays were largely closed for private eclipse parties. Instead we slept in, faffed about, and went for a walk. Ultimately we decided to give Treadwell a re-try for lunch (the idea of splitting that lobster club on duck fat-fried sourdough w/ double-smoked bacon and whipped goat’s cheese was just too enticing) which slightly backfired on us when the server brought our first course to the wrong table. The table next to us had ordered exactly the same starters as us, but like 15 minutes later…so by the time they figured it out and gave us the other table’s food, the kitchen had to put a hold on our sandwich (which was nearly ready). Anyway, what should have been a tight 75-minute lunch ended up being almost two hours, and we were scrambling to get to our eclipse venue before everything began. Sigh.

We ended up meeting up with our friend Laura’s at her parents’ house, which meant we got to meet more of her family (and her cat!) and enjoy the very cloudy view of the celestial event from a spacious backyard. Unlike most other parts of the country which got to witness the eclipse, Niagara was very cloudy. We did get quick peaks of the moon transiting across the sun, and even a few moments of the totality itself, before clouds would swoop back in. But just the experience of the day getting dark as night for 4 minutes was pretty remarkable. Sure, given the weather it didn’t live up to the hype, but honestly…how often do you get to experience being in the path of totality in your lifetime? It was cool. It just was.

And of course, 20 minutes after the eclipse ended, the clouds moved off and the sun came out. So at least we had that. We stopped at the Pie Plate for coffee and rhubarb tarts, then dropped the car back at the hotel. We were a bit at a loss for where to eat dinner, so we just ate at the new NOTL restaurant in our hotel. Sadly, it continued our streak of problematic meals.

  • We couldn’t process what the decor was going for. Furnished like a club, lit like an early bird buffet.
  • I don’t know if we pissed off our server or if she was just having an off night, but we were NOT in sync. At all. Timing? Off. Vibe? Off. No idea, what caused it, but it became a struggle.
  • I started with the Caesar salad, which was okay. Lindsay started with the local greens w/ honey whipped ricotta, lemon, olive oil, and sesame flatbread, which was ENORMOUS. I cannot overstate how big this salad was. This would have been a full meal for two people. It certainly was not a starter size. Both it and my salad were pretty over-oiled as well. Anyway, the salad was so huge our server must have thought Lindsay was still working on it, and it took forever for our mains to come out.
  • I got the burger, and it was good. Lindsay got the gnocchi…of which there were nine on the plate.
  • Again, it took forever for us to locate our server and get the bill, by which time we were almost asleep at the table. Rough.

Maybe it was growing pains — I don’t think it’s been open very long — but I’m not sure I’ll be booking dinner there again on our next visit.

TUESDAY

We’d originally planned to visit wineries on a leisurely drive home, but had to rush out of town to be back in Toronto by noon-ish. We grabbed chimney sandwiches from Budapest Bakeshop next door, which were goddamned delicious. The fancy places in town may have failed us, but the unassuming little Hungarian bakery might have saved the weekend.

It was our night

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Earlier this week, on their grand opening night, we were lucky enough to get a seat at Ricky + Olivia‘s new restaurant. It’s right around the corner from us, and such a welcome addition to the neighbourhood. Laura and James had a table, and we hitched a ride with them.

First of all: stunning space. You enter at the bottle shop, walk through the little casual lounge, and into the dining room. Great look and feel in there, and we all commented on the innovative use of a narrow space.

Second: the wine list. All Ontario, bless ’em. A few beers, a few cocktails, and some inventive martinis which got raves from the half our table who ordered them.

Third: the food. Delicious, cheeky, simple, showy. We shared everything. I posted a hastily-snapped pic of the menu below, and we ordered more than we omitted:

  • Cocktails
    • Martinis, sparkling
  • First wave
    • Chips + dip
    • Crepe cake
    • Steak tartare (this is dressed like a Big Mac, and was so goddamned good we ordered a second one before we’d even finished the first)
    • Radishes
    • Caesar salad
    • Big Head ‘Raw’ Pinot Gris
  • Second wave
    • R+O burger
    • 1/2 Chicken
    • Roast Pork
    • Glazed Tofu
    • French fries
    • More Caesar salad
    • Hidden Bench ‘Bistro’ Pinot Noir
    • Fourth Wall ‘Bricolage’ Rosé
  • Digestifs
    • Amari, I think from Limited Distilling

Most importantly; the company. What great people to spend an evening with. Not to mention Ricky + Olivia themselves, and their whole team.

Before we knew it, it was after midnight and we were the last table by a country mile. We managed to peel ourselves out of there, with some difficulty; I hadn’t stood up in four hours, and my legs let me know it. Mercifully (though perhaps dangerously) it’s only a 5-minute walk from home.

“Windhouse” sounds more polite than “Pumpjammer” so let’s go with that

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I’ve just spent the week in Moncton, a more-or-less monthly occurrence now. This time it was rainy — very rainy. But at least it wasn’t snow or sleet.

I managed to try some new places this time, not just the same-old. On Monday I made a quick run to my favourite ANBL, and finally grabbed apps & beers at Pumphouse.

Tuesday I grabbed coffee at Brix, had lunch with my team at the Tide & Boar brewpub, and dinner with colleagues at Cinta Ria.

Wednesday I had drinks with more/other colleagues at Carrabba’s, and took a salad to go.

Thursday I decided to treat myself and had dinner, solo, at The Windjammer — a Moncton institution, but new to me. On the way I stopped in once again at the best ANBL, and found they were doing a little wine tasting. I just missed the Champagne, but sampled a fantastic Chablis and some excellent Beaujolais from Morgon. Good timing, I must say. Then, off to dinner.

The Windjammer wasn’t busy; I had a large booth to myself. The staff were just lovely, and matched my pace (i.e., I never waited for a course to show up, but never felt rushed) perfectly. My meal:

  • Amuse-bouche of beetroot and smoked salmon
  • Beet & goat cheese salad
    • Champagne
  • Granita (palate cleanser)
  • Bone-in ribeye w/ vegetables & Béarnaise sauce
    • Chianti
  • Chocolate truffles
    • Port

The steak was cooked perfectly, if a little over-salted. Still, I demolished it. They also very sweetly gave me a little jar of smoked salmon to take home, but I forgot it! Gutted.

Since it’s a long weekend I’ll leave Moncton this morning and drive to the farm for a couple of days. Just in time for the end of maple season!

POSTSCRIPT

It was a fun weekend at the farm. I tried to help out a bit with what turned out to be a very busy maple season, but I’m far too rusty. A bunch of family showed up Saturday and Sunday to partake of some maple, so that was an unexpected bonus. I also squeezed in a few hours up the road visiting one of my oldest friends, who I haven’t seen in…god, I don’t know how many years. But we got caught up, and fell right back into our love for music, and laughing about the days when we were kids. When I left he told me he loved me, and I told him the same. I’ve missed him, a lot. I’m excited to get more chances to see him.

Look, look: an American fox

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Last night we saw American Fiction (imdb | rotten tomatoes) at the Fox Theatre, followed by dinner at Mira Mira.

So, first things first: what an excellent movie. Funny, insightful, multi-layered. Jeffrey Wright was outstanding, but everyone in it was just so strong. I want to watch it again right now.

It was my first time at the Fox, an independent community theatre in the Beaches. Old-school feel, and very much a neighbourhood place. Given the strength of the lineup they have there, I can see us going there a lot.

Mira Mira used to be an ordering mainstay for us, though I think the food was probably coming from their other, now-closed location. This was our first time at the sit-down diner/restaurant though. Pretty good, even though we were in and out quickly because of how late we arrived.

  • Appetizers
    • Ontario burrata w/ warm peach & honey cardamom compote, toasted pistachios, grilled sourdough
    • Cocktails (Negroni, whisky sour)
  • Mains
    • 10oz bone-in Kassler pork chop, brined & smoked w/ sauerkraut, cherry jus
    • seafood bisque w/ saffron, scallops, tiger shrimp, mussels, sweet corn, chives & toasted challah
    • glasses of cab sauv and chard

Fun things I’ve done in the last couple weeks

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  • Went to an extensive Ontario cab franc tasting at Chez Nous. Like, 40-odd different bottles. It would have felt overwhelming if it hadn’t been a dream come true for a CF nerd like me. It also afforded me a chance to ask Ricky + Olivia about their soon-to-open restaurant.
  • Drank some very yummy older wine.
  • Saw Mitski on Superbowl Sunday, her second show in three nights at Massey Hall. Her setlist was heavily weighted to her new album, but there were plenty from previous albums as well. I assumed there would be few if any changes from the previous night’s setlist (there were none, in fact) so I knew I wouldn’t hear “Best American Girl” or “My Body’s Made Of Crushed Little Stars” (I think the chorus from that one is going to keep it out of rotation for a while) but I did get an excellent rendition of “Washing Machine Heart” to close out the night. Emilie Hanskap in The Star does a more eloquent job of describing the concert than I could; suffice it to say it was a pretty landmark show.
  • Finished Doctors and Distillers (goodreads), a book I’ve been slowly reading for months. A really fascinating look at the history of spirits, cocktails, wine, and so on, and how they were used medicinally throughout the ages. I learned a lot, and wanted a lot of cocktails. (Also, I now know the etymology of the word cocktail.)
  • Had dinner & drinks at our friends Shannon & Warren’s place last night. Warren made excellent Detroit-style pizza, and we drank some good wine (probably slightly too much of it) and were sent home with surplus tiramisu.