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.

YOU DON’T SAY

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Toronto drivers facing a soul-crushing 250% spike in travel time on the Gardiner. [via]

A new study reveals that travel times on the Gardiner Expressway — a major transportation route that is traveled by approximately 140,000 vehicles each day — have increased up to 250% on the westbound lanes during morning rush hour and 230% on eastbound lanes in the afternoon rush hour as a result of the latest construction project on this route.

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)

L’ours

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Between sickness and lack-of-playoff-making by my favourite teams, I’ve been able to catch up on a lot of TV over the past few months.

  • Drops Of God was like beautiful catnip to a wine nerd (and would-be travel nerd) like me.
  • Silo felt like it had so much promise but turned into a slog by the end.
  • Similarly, For All Mankind started out very strong and medium-high-concept (how would history have changed if the Russians landed on the moon before the US?) but then it got stretched into four seasons.
  • I was utterly mistaken about the premise of Black Earth Rising (I don’t know why, but I thought it was about aliens, not about Rwanda) and I ended up really liking it. As much as one can like a story about genocide. I appreciated it, I guess?
  • Season 3 of Slow Horses was a good as ever — the story kind of doesn’t matter nearly as much as the charisma of the actors. The scene where Lamb asks Roddy, “Can you talk me through your thinking here?” was comedy gold.
  • I love Band Of Brothers, so it makes sense that I liked Masters of the Air. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are doing their best to tell all the WWII stories they can before that war fades from collective memory. (Though, this Substack post by Dan Gardner suggests we might already be there.)
  • The Bear lived up to the hype. I actually liked season 2 better; “Fishes” was the star-studded flashback episode that garnered all the hype, but for my money “Forks” was the real magic. Glad I watched it just in time to feel momentum heading into season 3 next month.
  • Speaking of: I am extremely excited for the start of season 2 of House Of The Dragon in a few weeks.

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.

“BOB!”

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Just back from another trip out east. Couple days in Moncton (no new places visited) and a couple days on the farm with my dad while my mom, sister-in-law, and brother #2 were overseas. Flew back Thursday (and fell kind of ill on the flight, which wasn’t great, but it’s also not the first time I’ve experienced that…I’m starting to think it’s the white wine they serve) and spent Friday working & recovering.

Right before I left for Moncton we had binged The Jinx. Lindsay had seen it; I somehow had not (though I knew what happened in the final episode). Still, learning the whole story was…pretty shocking. So of course when I got back we starting catching up on the new season, and suddenly I’m back to impatiently waiting for Sunday night TV.

“You ARE aware there’s a really huge civil war going on everywhere?”

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I watched Civil War (imdb | rotten tomatoes) last weekend. It was a lot more reporter-centric than I expected it to be, and a lot less shoot-y. Sure, there was a big battle scene at the end, but up to that point it was an interesting look at how confusing, logistically challenging, and weirdly pocketed an American civil war would be now. Most of all, it showed how the worst elements of society would suddenly feel even more empowered, or at least unchecked. Looking at you, uncredited Jesse Plemons.

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.