Category: Food / drink

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.

“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.