Category: Food / drink

“A darker grey is breaking through a lighter one”

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I spent three days this week on a quick work trip to two western provinces: Manitoba (where I’ve visited just once) and Saskatchewan (where I’ve never been before). I met up with three colleagues at Pearson airport, and boarded the first of four flights to come in the next 48 hours. It was an Air Canada Express flight, meaning the planes didn’t have screens in the seats, so I got caught up on podcasts.

First on the agenda was Saskatoon. We landed (achievement unlocked: visit all ten provinces), buttoned our coats, and hurriedly walked to the rental car. We’d been dreading the western weather for days — and it was definitely still in the -20s — but luckily arrived just after the worst of it. (The day before it had felt like -48 with the windchill). We grabbed coffee from Museo, then later had fun with colleagues at Mar’s Mini-Golf and Earl’s.

The next day we had a 6:30 flight, so we were all up stupid-early. We were flying to Winnipeg, but because flights in the prairies are non-sensical, one of us had to fly to Calgary first, while the rest of us flew via Vancouver. If you understand Canadian geography at all, you’ll know how insane that is. Anyway, it gave me a chance to watch a movie (Dumb Money) and try out the first two episodes of a new-to-me TV show (For All Mankind). It also gave me a chance to marvel at the snowy BC landscape and see the sun glint off the Rockies, which is always a thrill. However, somewhere along the way I lost my Nexus card, which is going to be a pain in the butt.

We finally arrived in Winnipeg. Same sort of schedule as the Saskatoon: coffee (Thom Bargen, which was excellent), a fun group event (go-carting at Speedworld, which was very fun), and dinner at One Great City brewpub (which had me singing the Weakerthans song of the same name in my head the whole time).

I wish I’d had more (or maybe different?) time in both cities. I have friends in Winnipeg I’d have like to have seen — in hindsight I should have just stayed for the weekend. Then again, the middle of January probably isn’t the right time to spend extra days in cities like that. The crew I was with, who’ve done these trips many times, swear Saskatoon is beautiful in the summer, so maybe someday I’ll aim for that.

Or maybe it’s time to get to work on the territories?

Halifax, to more or less wrap up the year

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The Muir really has started to feel like home when we’re in downtown Halifax. We stayed there for three nights this week, and really used the heck out of the whole Queen’s Marque complex, before relocating back to Bedford prior to our flight.

Our first day at The Muir, after I got a quiet breakfast downstairs in the morning, we went for a little walk around and then ate lunch at Salt + Ash. Cool spot; nice vibe. And great view, obviously.

  • cocktails
    • warm n’ fuzzy: jim beam bourbon, apple cinnamon syrup, lemon juice, cinnamon sugar rim, dehydrated apple slice (ed: this tasted like a goddamn apple pie)
    • crystal crescent #3: blue lobster vodka soda, benjamin bridge piquette, charred citrus, grenadine, soda, drunken cherry
    • north negroni: willing to learn gin, campari, cinzano rosso vermouth, rosemary syrup, lemon juice, egg white, rosemary sprig
  • starters
    • jalapeño cornbread w/ tequila lime butter
  • mains
    • fried chicken sandwich w/ hot + spicy, beach house dip, nasty sauce, fries
    • lobster salad w/ avocado, potato, green beans, tomato, mixed greens, cider vinegar, boiled egg

That night we met up with Tess + Aravind at Peacock, the wine bar we could practically see from our window. Some of us were not feeling great, so it probably wasn’t the best way to experience the place, but it was still pretty good.

  • Food
    • focaccia, rosemary, whipped white bean dip, preserved lemon
    • fresh burrata, red wine marinated figs, birch vinaigrette
    • grilled beet salad, haskap, basil & dill vinaigrette
    • chicken fried halibut cheeks, sugar kelp, oyster aïoli
    • rigatoni, miso cacio e pepe
    • lamb sausage, spiced carrots, harissa, maple, onion relish
  • Wines
    • 2020 DeLoach, Heritage, Chardonnay – Russian River Valley
    • 2021 Famille Fabre, Tour de Rieux, Cinsault – Languedoc (x2)
    • 2021 Bodegas Alvarez de Toledo, Mencia – Bierzo
    • 2014 Bachelder, La Petite Charmotte, Pinot Noir, Nuits-Saint-Georges

The next day we woke up, faffed about in the very comfy room, and eventually braved the cold & damp to have lunch at The Narrows. We’d heard how good it was and wanted to see for ourselves…and we weren’t disappointed. A true pub (not like so many of the pre-fab joints littering Halifax) in an old house, with cozy rooms and snug tables and relaxed vibes. We ate fish & chips and a fried fish sandwich and chopped salad and drank cask beer. There was even a nearby crib board so we squeezed in a game. What a cool spot.

After that we walked back across Gottingen; Lindsay had an appointment, so I Ubered back downtown and picked up a capp from the new-ish Java Blend downtown before walking back to the hotel and drying off / warming up.

Lindsay was also out for dinner, so I just wandered downstairs to Drift for dinner at the bar.

  • starter
    • Atlantic salmon tartare w/ charred lemon, dill, red onion, capers, brown bread crackers
      • Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis
  • main
    • roasted braised Nova Scotia lamb, split pea cassoulet, lamb bacon, mint, turnips
      • DeLoach Heritage Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
  • dessert
    • Famille Sichel Sauternes

After some room service breakfast this morning, we got ourselves together and checked out. Shortly after that Patrick met us and we went back to Drift for lunch. It was too gross out to explore much beyond that. Our food was good, but the service wasn’t great. It culminated in someone dropping an avocado-covered knife on Lindsay’s coat, and definitely noticing it, but just…not doing anything about it. Anyway.

The plan for tonight, after one last quick visit with Tess + Aravind, is to order some donair pizza and then try our best to sleep that off before our flight tomorrow.

And it was thus, that we ate our way through the Maritimes.

Taste

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A couple days ago we got back from Moncton. I’d been there nearly two weeks, Lindsay about half of that.

  • Weather was all over the place. From warm and rainy some days to full snowstorms to bitterly cold to heavy windstorms. That’s the Maritimes in almost-winter, I guess.
  • I mentioned the family & farm visits in my last post, but I also got to have a drink with a former vendor-side colleague who’s moved east, and an old university housemate who I hadn’t seen in (does quick math) 30 freakin’ years. We ended up in the same line of work, which was fun.
  • New places I tried this time: Gusto (not bad) and India King (very good), plus a bunch of delivery places because it was so g-d cold. I also got some intel on other good places, so the list has been refreshed for next time.

Betty’s East

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Earlier this week we met up with M2H2 at Betty’s East, the reincarnation of a now-closed King East spot that we all loved, now in the home of what was The Burren, and Ceilidh Cottage before that. It was good to catch up for the first time in ages, and to have…you know, beer. Which I don’t have very often anymore. After a nice hazy IPA I stuck to my usual poles, a light sour and an imperial stout.

They also brought a bottle of 2018 Tzum Fèis Spring Ephemeral Scorched Earth Vineyard that had been sitting in their cellar, so we walked home with a lovely parting gift.

As I type this I’m in Moncton again, having arrived last night, and I lucked into a fridge stocked with local craft beer. I’m also about to head out and meet brother #2 and family at Tide & Board Brewing, so I daresay there’s more craft beer in my very immediate future.

Post Lily

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I wanted this post to be about Leaning Post winery’s 10th anniversary party yesterday, about their delicious wines, and Ilya and Nadia and all the nice people who work there, and the amazing library wines (2013 Lowrey Pinot, 2013 Wismer Chardonnay, etc.), the yummy food, and so on. Unfortunately the drive there and back was a nightmare of traffic and we spent twice as long in the car as we did drinking wine. It’s hard to be enthusiastic about these events that are ostensibly under an hour away when you know your soul is going to be crushed by the Gardiner.

Still, it was fun to try that 2013 Pinot again. Pretty sure the last time I had it was eight years ago at Barque along with three other winemakers producing Pinot from the Lowrey fruit.

This morning’s activity was a little closer to home: breakfast at White Lily with Matt & Lisa on a crisp, sunny fall day. Makes me think this whole car thing is a scam.

Return to Grey Gardens

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Six years after my first (somewhat underwhelming) visit, I had dinner at Grey Gardens with a work friend. Much better this time ’round, I must say.

  • Food
    • side stripe shrimp ~ tomato xo, scapes, black olive
    • kampachi ~ cabbage, yuzu, kombu
    • smoked fish ~ chips n’ dip
    • cauliflower ~ maitake, dill, lemon
    • duck ~ turnips, sweet potato, mustard
    • bavette ~ potato, cipollini, bordelaise
  • Drinks
    • Ardoisières 2022 ‘Silice’ Savoie / Bourbon Old Fashioned to start
    • bottle of Chateau Phelan Ségur 2014 Saint-Estèphe with most of the food
    • glasses of Bodegas Toro Albala 1955 Don PX Convento Seleccion for dessert

Apart from how delicious virtually everything was, the other remarkable thing was the guest at the table next (but perpendicular) to ours who kept throwing her body backwards in fits of laughter and very nearly ending up in our food.

I continue to not get Kensington Market though. Never have. Probably never will.

Detroit + donair: a fusion I didn’t know I needed

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Once again I was back in Moncton this past week. Of note:

  • I sat next to someone I used to work with on the flight there, and another ex-colleague on the flight back. Last time I saw a former member of a past board of directors. I didn’t expect Moncton flights to be this kind of reunion hub.
  • Once I arrived I set out for my usual dinner plan: buy two bottles of wine at the Experience store, and get a baseball steak at The Keg. On the walk there I was a murmuration of Starlings just outside the hotel — I didn’t get video, but someone else did.
  • New places I tried this time: Cinta Ria (very tasty Malaysian), Taj Mahal (very good, even if I forgot to order rice), and the Tide & Boar brewpub, where I drank some very good beer and ate an extremely delicious (if far too big) Detroit-style donair pizza.
  • No family visits this time — it was a bit last-minute, and I was pretty heads-down whilst there — but there’ll be plenty more chances.

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Blue Ascari

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Two excellent meals in Toronto this week, the first at a familiar neighbourhood place, the second at a new (to me) steakhouse in my old neighbourhood.

First up was Ascari. We’ve eaten there many times, but this might have been the best visit yet.

  • Cocktails
    • Negroni
    • 2020 Pra Otto Soave
  • Appetizers
    • insalata di burrata w/ roast carrot / chestnut / radicchio / endive / orange / roasted garlic vinaigrette
    • zucca fritti w/ lemon thyme / spiced honey / amaretti
  • Mains
    • agnolotti di ricotta w/ carrot / yam / brown butter / pumpkin seed tuile
    • campanelle con salsiccia w/ pecorino and ramp sausage / broccolini / fresh chilli
    • 2020 Capezzana Barco Reale di Carmignano
  • Dessert
    • Amaro Nonino
    • Villa Marone Malvasia Passito

Everything was good, but the fall-inspired agnolotti and zucca fritti were both unbelievable. The zucca might as well have been dessert.

Later in the week I had a work dinner at Blue Blood, the new-ish steak house in Casa Loma. It was fun to take an uber back there, through my old neighbourhood (it occurred to me I moved there 25 years ago because I. Am. Old.) and atop the hill I used to run up most days.

I wasn’t doing most of the ordering, but as best I can remember here’s what we ate:

  • Appetizers
    • grilled octopus w/ chorizo sausage, scallion, cherry tomato, aged balsamic
    • chilled jumbo prawns w/ housemade lemon + gin cocktail sauce
    • oysters
    • table-side classic Caesar salads
    • Big Head Chenin Blanc, Niagara, Canada
  • Mains
    • 12oz canadian prime centre cut filet, aged 28 days from Green Bay, PEI
    • 18oz bone-in rib eye from Wichita, Kansas
    • Wagyu filet tasting: 4oz American Mishima reserve, 4oz Australian MB9+, 4oz Japanese Kagoshima A5
    • sautéed broccolini w/ mornay
    • creamed Welsh farm corn w/ corn nuts
    • sautéed hand-foraged woodland mushrooms
    • 2018 Mullineux ‘Schist’ Syrah, Swartland, South Africa
  • Dessert
    • coconut cream pie: butter graham crust, coconut bavarois, whipped cream w/ toasted coconut, pineapple coulis
    • royal cheesecake: west coast black raspberry, white chocolate
    • 2013 Château de Suduiraut Sauternes

Back to NB

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Three weeks ago Moncton was so hot I was sweating as I walked around. This past week, my first return trip for my new job, started with a day so cold I needed a scarf. It moderated through the week, but still…fall came on quickly.

No visit to the farm this time, but my parents, brother #2 and my s-i-l drove over to have dinner at The Keg, my second visit there in the week, so I ate my weight in baseballs. I also picked up food twice from Red Satay, given how close it was to where I was staying. Brix was similarly close by, thus it was my coffee home base, but I did also have an exceptional cortado down the street at Epoch Chemistry. I also tried quick lunches from Fahda’s (meh) and La Vida (pretty good) during the week.

My wine plan — buy two bottles I’ve never tried before from the EXPÉRIENCE store my first day there and drink them over the course of the week — worked pretty well. I picked up a lovely Garnacha-forward blend, and a 100% Merlot from Saint-Émilion.

The new job

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My new role has me travelling to Moncton on a pretty regular basis. This past week was my first week with my new company, and it was a good one. I never say much about work here, but in keeping with the main thrust of this blog, I’ll recount the good places I visited whilst in Moncton.

There’s a Carrabba’s (!) near my office, so I ate and drank there a lot, just out of sheer convenience…a habit I hope to break in future visits. I ate meals at St. James’ Gate (decent), the Moncton Gahan House (decent), Monk10 (good), and Red Satay (excellent). I also had coffee at Brix (excellent) and picked up a bottle of wine to to bring to brother #2’s house from the new Experience by ANBL store. It’s a very nice spot with a fun selection; I reckon I’ll make a few trips there in the coming months.

Being so close to the farm, I extended my stay by a couple of days and drove there Friday evening. Brother #1 and his fam drove in Friday night, arriving shortly after I did, so just about the whole gang was here for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday — they moved it up to Saturday to accommodate my flight this afternoon. It’s a quick visit, but any time at the farm feels regenerative. I’ll get to do these more frequently now, and once we settle into a cadence Lindsay will be able to visit too.