On Tuesday I joined Dan, Abtin, and three new friends at the King Street Vintage Conservatory. I hadn’t been to this new location before, just the old creaky space on Lombard. Pretty nice spot, and seemed very busy for a Tuesday.
Dan had organized a Burgundy vs. Ontario blind tasting of Chard and Pinot. We didn’t plan it super well and ended up with more Burg than Niag, but the Ontario wines showed up well. Most of them anyway — one participant brought Norman Hardie chard, I think as a bit of a joke/dig. I called it the second I tasted it. But the 2020 Hidden Bench Tête de Cuvée Chardonnay impressed, as did the Dobbin Estates. I kind of knew the HB was there, but think I would’ve had a good chance of calling it nonetheless. The Dobbin stumped me though — I guessed Macon. Really must remember to order some of their stuff.
Dan more or less called the wine I brought — a 2018 1er Cru Beaune — but the others mistook it for Burgundy. Fun event: lots of good food, amazing wine (obviously) and some fun competition.
Saturday morning we had brunch at Bonjour Brioche for the first time in…god, I don’t even know how long. Pre-pandemic, I’m pretty sure. We’d almost forgotten how great it was, and with a few new improvements — like, credit card payments, and a retail window that keeps the bread line outside vs. through the middle of the restaurant — I can see it returning as a regular staple like it was when we first moved to their neighbourhood.
Saturday night the Jays lost again, all but eliminating them from playoff contention. But the Canadiens opened their NHL pre-season with twowins over the split-squad Leafs, so it might be time to put my hopes elsewhere.
Also last night: our neighbours had a big blowout backyard party until 2am as they’re moving soon, which means we’ll have new neighbours on either side of us.
We’ve just returned from three weeks in the Maritimes. Those three weeks were broken up into six distinct…phases? Segments? Legs? Let’s say phases.
Phase one of six: Bedford
After a morning of errands and lunch at Aloette, we scrambled to get packed and leave for the airport. Luckily the Porter flight was easy, as was our drive into Bedford. There’s certainly an advantage to travelling in the summer vs. the winter. The next day was a fairly lazy one: breakfast with grandparents, late lunch at Finbar’s with Toronto friends who happened to be in the province, then backyard hangs and dinner with Lindsay’s sister. On our last full day there we enjoyed another lazy morning, a few errands, one more drink with Tess & Aravind before they flew back to Sweden, and then hangouts & dinner & Taboo with Lindsay’s siblings.
The next morning we got up, drove a few minutes to the local IMAX theatre, and watched The Odyssey, which I thought was excellent. We returned to Lindsay’s mom’s place for lunch from Cha Baa Thai, then got on the road to begin phase two.
Phase two of six: Nova Scotia AirBnBs
We arrived in the Annapolis Valley and checked into the Omar Gandhi Guest Cabin, which I’ve been obsessed with for a while. It’s absolutely stunning, from the design to the surroundings. We were pretty tired, though, so we just picked up some local pizza from Nayya, and some wine from Benjamin Bridge, and went to sleep amongst the trees.
We were really as our leisure the next morning, wanting to fully enjoy the the gorgeous space. Eventually we drove to Planters Ridge winery for lunch (spicy red pepper soup; fishcakes and chow; chili crisp ranch salad; corn crème brûlée) and a tasting. We then made an ill-advised decision to drive to the Blomidon lookoff, which due to road work was all too brief. We had to be back at Benjamin Bridge for a picnic by the Gaspereau river, which was stunning. Our dinner at Terroir at the Old Orchard Inn that night was okay, not great…certainly not worth the money. The menu:
Salted Peach & Thyme (non-alc): fresh peach and thyme simple syrup, bourbon based
Appetizers
East Coast Oyster Bar: six East Coast oysters freshly shucked, served with a blueberry & thyme mignonette and grated horseradish & lemon.
Smoked Tuna Tataki: Quick seared & sliced rare tuna Togarashi with chili-crisp & ginger ponzu. Garnished with pickled daikon, cucumber ribbons, lightly dome-smoked & served with crunchy wontons.
Mains
Ricotta Gnudi: Delicate ricotta and parmesan dumplings with preserved lemon, simmered in a honey garlic milk thistle crab cream sauce, finished with arugula-pecan salsa verde, panko crumble, and seared Digby scallops.
Smoked Pork Chop: Oulton’s smoked center cut chop, charbroiled and brushed with lemon & garlic brown sugar BBQ sauce. Topped with corn succotash.
Lightfoot and Wolfville Ancienne Chardonnay
Dessert
Homemade apple pie
When you drop >$300 and the homemade apple pie is the most remarkable part of your meal, something’s wrong. Anyway. Lesson learned.
The next morning — my birthday — we left the AirBnB, had lunch at The Library Pub, picked up some wine and a book, and drove through some unknown-to-us roads to to Elderbank. There we found our next AirBnB, a geodesic dome overlooking the Musquodoboit River. We opened some bubbly, enjoyed the nature, played some games, ate our weird chicken parm dinner (but the carrot cake was excellent) and got some sleep.
The next morning we were up early, struggled out the door, and pointed our car toward Cumberland County, to begin phase three.
Phase three of six: the farm
After a brief stop at Masstown Market, we drove on to Parrsboro, meeting my parents for lunch at Harbour View. Fish & chips and fried clams ensued. We drove back to the farm and the relaxing commenced. Lindsay skunked me twice at crib, we watched the Jays game, and I fell into a very deep sleep. The next day was the epitome of farm languor: I won 3 games of crib. We took a walk, though we were chased back inside by flies. We made pulled pork for everyone. We watched the Jays game. We slept.
After some Sunday breakfast we drove to our friend’s cottage, where brother #2 and the S-I-L had been staying. We walked to the beach, and eyed the cottage for sale next door. Then we drove on via Tidnish (another road never before taken) toward Shediac, to commence phase four.
Phase four of six: New Brunswick
We arrived in Shediac Bridge to find our beautiful AirBnB. We quickly realized it contained even more space than we though, both indoors and out. But we also quick realized it contained no laundry. That would be a problem, since Lindsay didn’t have enough clean clothes to last the week. It was too late to do anything about it that night, so we drove to Moncton for groceries & supplies, picking up donairs on the way home. One more Maritime task completed.
Though Monday was a holiday, we discovered a brand new laundromat in Shediac, and confirmed it would be open. It was very clean and efficient, and we were in and out practically in the time it took to walk across the road to Timmy’s. We returned to our temporary home, worked on the beautiful deck, made sausage & eggs for lunch, and stepped inside when it rained. A cooked dinner of salmon & vegetables hit the spot, after all the fried food we’d been eating.
The next three days were drive-to-the-office days for me. One day I saw a car burst into flames on my drive home. One day we drove all the way to the Bouctouche dunes to visit the beach there, but left pretty disappointed with the swim quality. One way it was too hot to do anything. We tried multiple times to visit Chez Leo, but it was far too busy.
On Friday I worked from the house in the morning, then we set out for Bedford. After multiple stops along the way, we made it just in time for me to sign in to one last meeting for the week, during which Lindsay left with her family for another cottage– thus beginning phase five.
Phase five of six: Brother & Bramble
While Lindsay and her family drove to the Annapolis Valley, I drove downtown to stay with brother #1, happily relinquishing any further driving duties for the day. We went to Eliot & Vine, a place that’s long been on my wish list. I had tuna crudo w/ saffron aioli, pickled chilies, red onion, capers, olive oil, crispy quinoa, and a glass of DeMorgenzon Chardonnay, followed by the ravioli w/ goat cheese honey ricotta, San Marzano tomato sauce, grilled vegetables, and a glass of Claude Val Rosé. Unfortunately it was almost unbearably warm in the restaurant (we were sat right next to the front door, which remained propped open during a heat wave for reasons that are beyond me). Anyway, we got home, chatted for a bit, and watched a documentary about the Barkley Marathons.
The next day we walked to the (very cool) Brewery Market and back, which was enough to leave me soaked in sweat. A cold shower never felt so good. We killed the rest of the day until friends arrived; the brother smokes steak and chicken, and we had a feast. Once they left, the brother and I watched episode one of President Curtis, then episode one of BoJack Horseman. Then I went to bed and slept for eight hours.
On Sunday I arose, did a bit of catching up on work & life, and drove back to Bedford to await everyone’s return. Once the crowd rumbled in we got ourselves sorted and then drove out to Lindsay’s dad’s for dinner and various animal encounters. The next day we got ourselves ready to depart, bringing in one final lunch from a local seafood spot, which would come back to haunt us. On the drive downtown to our hotel, Lindsay got violently ill — everywhere — and we had to go back to Bedford to clean up. The second attempt, several hours later, went better.
Phase six of six: Halifax.
We arrived at The Muir, our Halifax home away from home, shortly before 9pm. We got ourselves situated, ordered room service (an excellent burger for me, miracle-working chicken soup & brown bread for Lindsay), unpacked, and passed out.
Tuesday got off to a slow start, as expected. I got coffee and pastries from the nearby Java Blend. We eventually tried to visit The Narrows for lunch but it was closed, so we went to Chainyard instead. We (okay, Lindsay) bought some books from Agricola Street Books, and I got a cortado from the new location of Espresso 46 before we returned to the hotel to reset. Lindsay had supper plans with Kealin, so they took over the reservation we’d made at Bar Kismet. Meanwhile, I met up with brother #1 and his progeny for some incredible pizza at Lou Pecou. We had a special, kind of a souped-up Margherita, and a “One Night in Marseille” — tomato sauce, bocconcini, pepperoni, caramelized fennel seed, pickled mustard seed, basil, Parmigiano Reggiano. I had a glass of local Parlan Nadurra skin contact l’Acadie Blanc. We each had a buckwheat chocolate & sea salt cookie for dessert.
Wednesday started slowly as well. Java Blend again, and relaxing. Then: pastries from LF Bakery, coffee with the siblings, drinks with Andrew at Good Robot beer garden. We bumped into Tim picking up burritos from Dee Dee’s, then ate them in Point Pleasant Park and walked around the trails and beaches. After some brutal traffic getting home we rested up for a couple hours, then went just down the waterfront for dinner at Mystic. Our second time there was very good, if not quite as good as our initial visit back in December.
sea buckthorn curd w/ white rum sponge, caribou moss, ponzu ice cream
sweets
We both had the wine pairings, but there’s no way I’d remember them all. The courses I remember most fondly were the caviar with a South African Chenin Blanc and the scallop with a Piemonte Nebbiolo rosé.
Thursday, as you might expect, started slowly. We slept in. We ordered room service. We did some work, and eventually had a late lunch at Drift (lobster hushpuppies, a cheeseburger, a Marque salad). We met Rickie and Bea for drinks at The Narrows Public House, the inside of which was one million degrees Celsius. Then, though I wasn’t feeling well, we walked to Reta’s for dinner with Lindsay’s dad & his wife where I managed to rally enough to eat. We had:
little gem salad w/ giardiniera vin, spicy salami, cured yolk, sourdough, green goddess
parisienne gnocchi w/ cacio e pepe
mains
swordfish w/ potatoes, brown butter capers, white lemon, green beans, almonds (Lindsay)
duck breast w/ cornbread, brassicas, black garlic pickled cherries (Dan)
dessert
corn & caramel swirl ice cream, all around
We’d hoped to get to BKS, the speakeasy in the Muir, but given how I felt, we opted out.
Friday was the last day of our trip. We got breakfast sammies & coffee from Cafe Lunette, checked out of the Muir, picked up Lindsay’s mom and sister, grabbed pizza from On The Wedge, packed the last little bits, and drove to the airport.
Our flight from Halifax to Toronto was quick; our 31km commute home from the airport took nearly as long. We arrived home to find one very happy, vocal, matted, clingy cat.
Earlier this week we did a thing. And then I did two things.
Tuesday
We went for an early dinner at The Wren (pro tip: if you don’t get there by 5:15pm, you won’t get a table, even on a Tuesday), ate delicious food — a fried chicken sando and their take on a crunchwrap supreme — and some killer beer.
After dinner, we subway-ed down the Danforth and walked to the Comedy Bar to see Jacqueline Novak. We saw her on her Fall On Your Knees tour four years ago, but tonight was a different show type. She was doing three nights at this venue; we were clearly catching her on night one, as she tried stuff out, looked stuff up on a laptop at the edge of the stage, refamiliarized herself with standup timing, etc. Still very funny, I thought, and a good venue apart from the air conditioning condensation that kept dripping on me.
Wednesday
I was invited to a wine tasting — the first tasting for Common Ground Wines, a new wine import agency co-founded by a friend of mine. Well, a friend who hasn’t really spoken to me in ten years, it should be said. I was glad she invited me, even if it was hard to shake off the weirdness. Anyway, Laura came with me, and we eventually found the venue inside a pen store. Another long-ago friend who was helping pour made sure our glasses stayed full, but we didn’t get to try most of the portfolio. Still, a few from Savoie enchanted me, so I’ll probably buy some.
I left there and took a streetcar over to Blue Jays Way, where I had a chance to watch a Jays game. I was hoping and they wouldn’t get blown out for a third straight night, and they didn’t — but they still lost thanks to Jeff Hoffman. Gone is the magic of last November.
Right after I got back from Halifax we had some special house guests: Tess & Aravind (och barnet) visiting from Sweden, by way of Halifax.
We hosted them here for four nights, and it was great fun. We caught up and cooed at the baby. We got coffee and bought gifts. We ate dinner in our backyard and at a few restaurants (Avling, White Lily). We watched the World Cup and had a picnic in Riverdale East Park. The visiting baby delighted in Bianca; the visiting adults did not care for her. The baby also took bites out of some cork coasters and gnawed marks into our coffee table. It was good for our souls to have them here, and we’re hoping to see them again when we visit in July.
Shortly after leaving Frank we turned north and began the long, boring drive up to Calgary. There was plenty more snow, and a few more deer.
Driving into Calgary was kind of annoying. Lots of bad drivers on the highways. Still ice in the underpasses. Knuckleheads cutting me off and forcing me to miss turns — which, in a city with as many one-way streets as Calgary, is a serious pain. Parking lot full of slush. And then we couldn’t get into our friend’s condo, as someone had…glued her lockbox shut. What the hell is wrong with people? And why did Calgary hate us so much? Anyway, we spent about 15 minutes trying to scrape the glue out of the lockbox before giving up and checking into the Calgary Le Germain.
We didn’t have long to shake that whole encounter off, though, as we were meeting our friends Stevie & Sarah at PARK by Sidewalk Citizen. Sarah had booked it, and what a find she made — food is listed below, but the decor, the vibes, the staff were all terrific.
Three Cuts of Beeswax Dry-Aged Lamb (12-day dry-aged sirloin, 12-day dry-aged ribs, 21-day dry-aged leg) w/ house garlic fries, garlic toum, red pepper jam
Dessert
Daily Donut (strawberry + almond)
“Turtles” Ice Cream
Chocolate Hazelnut Layer Cake
Drinks
Various beer, wine, cocktails…at this point of the trip I wasn’t keeping track
I’ve never heard of dry-aging lamb in beeswax, but my god…it was incredible.
We walked home, chatting, and then Lindsay and I staved off crashing long enough to drink some Burrowing Owl “Athene” (which was tremendous) and change our flight.
Sat Apr 18
After two weeks in the west, in which we’d encountered every type of weather possible, it was time to go home. We showered, packed, and scooted over to Kensington. Our plan had been to leave the wine we’d accumulated along the way at our friend’s condo as a means of payment, but since that plan fell through and we hadn’t the spare kilos in our luggage to bring them home with us, we gifted them to Sarah & Stevie along with some treats from COBS. But really, it was just an excuse to see them again and play with their level-10 adorable dog.
We left them, drove to the airport, dropped the rental car, checked into our flight, and had an easy flight home. There we found one very happy, snuggly cat.
.:.
And so: thank you, BC. Despite nearly killing me in a mountain pass, you remain my second-favourite province.
Earlier this week I had dinner with T-Bone at aKin, a Michelin-starred restaurant we’d both been meaning to try. It had been a year since our last dinner, which was similarly extravagant.
We ordered cocktails, and were told about the menu. It’s ten courses, and rotates every few months. When we went it was the Lunar New Year menu, described thus on their website:
This Lunar New Year menu at aKin is shaped by Chinese cultural traditions, where food is chosen not only for flavour, but for the meaning it carries. Each course is guided by ingredients traditionally associated with intention, prosperity, balance, and reunion, creating a thoughtful progression through the meal. The menu reflects Lunar New Year as a season rather than a single day of celebration. Familiar ingredients and ideas are presented in new forms, honouring tradition while allowing it to evolve through aKin’s perspective. Course titles reflect the values they represent, offering a dining experience that is both considered and expressive.
Our server, who was peak enthusiastic, also let us know there were two optional courses: a Wagyu dish, and a dan tat. I’m sorry, said we, a what? A dan tat: a Hong Kong-style egg tart. We explained that since my name is Dan and her name is Tat, we kind of had to order that. I honestly can’t remember when in the menu those things came; the night was a blur of food, Champagne, and emotions. Anyway, here’s the menu according to the card they gave us when we left:
AUSPICIOUS VEGETABLES
intelligence: scallion, potato, mascarpone
endurance: leek, onion, black truffle
diligence: celery, celtuce, preserved plum
optimism: heirloom carrot, taro, curry
prosperity: fat choy, watercress, coconut
WEALTH: new brunswick oyster, jellyfish, kaviari kristal caviar
TREASURE: buddha jumps over the wall, abalone, sea cucumber
ABUNDANCE: madai, mala spices, sauerkraut
LONGEVITY: nova scotia lobster, tajarin, stracciatella
JOY: zabuton, yellow chicken, sambal, purple bok choy
FULFILLMENT: foie gras, périgord black truffle, wagyu, glutinous rice
HARMONY: kumquat, winter melon, ron goddess lea, chinese almond
RADIANCE: black sesame, peanut, mochi, rice wine
GOOD “FOUR” TUNES
niangao: canelé, brown sugar, chantilly
yuanbao: pâte de fruits, mandarin, gold
tanghulu: macaron, hawtharn, sesame
red bean: bon bon, valrhona opalys, adzuki
DRINKS
bottle of Appalonis Champagne
glasses of red wine: Carinena for T-Bone, Barbera for me (there were also glasses of red wine with the beef, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was)
dessert-ish: tea for T-Bone, 1983 Grenache Blanc for me
Was it good? Yes. Was it great? Not really. A couple of courses were excellent, but almost as many were left half-eaten on the plate. And considering the cost, suffice it to say this one would be near the bottom of my value-for-money scale. Still, an adventure, and a reason to see an old & dear friend who, it should be said, was soldiering through something quite awful and yet somehow her effervescent self.
A few hugs later we were playing Uber roulette, wondering why nothing at all was coming (I blamed the Leafs, as is my wont) until I snuck in for the win. Getting up at 6 the next morning to drive to the office wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.
Earlier this week I was lucky enough to have dinner with old friends CBGB, here in town for the week. They were even kind enough to book JZ2 too; I hadn’t seen them in 10+ years.
We met for dinner at Adrak, and the consensus was that the food was freaking great. Fantastic cocktails, a familiar favourite Indian wine, and incredible food. We didn’t even order; we kind of just let our host pick everything, and he nailed it.
cocktails
Papad Ki Tokri (papadams, assorted chutneys & salsa)
On Wednesday, after meeting an old friend for a drink at the Library Bar in the Royal York, I met Dan & Abtin for our annual steak dinner tradition. This time we tried Sammarco; Dan’s second time, my and Abtin’s first. An overdue catchup, and a wonderful time as always.
Here’s what we ate & drank:
Cocktails
Il Capo (Sammarco rye whiskey blend, Turbinado & aromatic bitters) for me
Two gin martinis for the boys, despite a few gin inventory (ginventory?) issues
After the holidays, most people pull back on how much they’re eating and drinking. This past week, I went the other way.
On Sunday we had dinner with Ricky & Olivia at DaiLo. Being out with friends who have their own Michelin-recognized restaurant changes the experience somewhat, as other chefs want to share their top stuff (and maybe show off a bit) with respected peers, so Lindsay and I benefitted from that. As a result, I can’t remember everything we ate — a lot of courses came out unbidden — but do remember these ones, and recall that everything was fantastic.
Hakka Brown Wontons (pork & shrimp) w/ toasted sesame oil, house xo sauce, almond crumble
Smoked Duck Bokkeum w/ kimchi pickled spring vegetables, gochugaru onion jam, miso blue potato salad, crispy wild rice
90 Day Dry Aged Butcher Shoppe Rib Eye w/ Asian bordelaise sauce, braised shiitake, truffle pomme puree
Desserts
A bottle of Beaujolais (Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Cuvée Tardive)
On Tuesday I had dinner booked with Shannon, which we’d been trying to set up for a while. I chose Wood Owl, and while it wasn’t quite as tasty as our first time there late last year, it was still pretty great.
apps
yellowfin tuna, aji amarillo & Cara Cara orange w/ cucumber, lime leaf oil, Thai basil, red chili
braised short rib, celeriac & Gruyere puree w/ caramelized onion & red wine sauce, escarole, crunchy dijon vinaigrette (Shannon)
steak frites, Café de Paris butter, fries, aioli (me)
I had glasses of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc / Weissburgunder, and Sangiovese. Shannon was on dry January.
On Thursday I had a work dinner at DaNico. It was a more intimate affair than usual with just a handful of attendees. One of those was an old employee of mine, so that was an unexpected treat. Also a treat: these dinners don’t usually happen at Michelin-starred restaurants.
canapé selection (all five of which were exceptional)
seared Ontario venison w/ organic chestnut purée, red beets, port jus
Spaghettoni pasta from Gragnano boiled in an extraction of organic Ontario mushrooms w/ Parmigiano Reggiano aged 24 months, fresh Italian black truffle
Chilean sea bass steamed and deglazed with miso w/ radicchio tardivo all’ agro, Oscetra sturgeon caviar, white vermouth sauce
After opening a bottle of Bollinger (!) for the aperitivo, they let me pick the wine. I decided to champion Ontario wine, ordering bottles of Bachelder “Les Villages” Pinot Noir and Hidden Bench “Tête de Cuvée” Chardonnay. Even snuck in an Amaro at the end.
