Hope Drone

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Last Tuesday I met Lindsay after work for dinner and some beers at Stout Irish Pub before strolling around the corner to the Phoenix.

We were there to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Lindsay for the first time, me for the first time in seven years. We got there late so it was tough to find a good spot, but it’s not like you need to see much of what GY!BE does on stage. They started, as they often do, with “Hope Drone” before moving on to more. We’d eventually hear a lot of their latest album Luciferian Towers (including “Bosses Hang”, to my mind one of their best songs) but I was happily surprised when their second song was “Mladic”, another of my all-time favourites, coming from a few albums back.

Midway through the concert I moved toward the back, which was kind of a mistake, and I drifted away from the show a little. But then they ended with the “Sad Mafioso” section of “East Hastings”, which always reminds me of watching 28 Days Later with Tim in London sixteen years ago, and it was savage and thumping and so amazing to see live when I never thought I would. So for the second time I ended up having a weird, almost offputting experience seeing GY!BE, but they played three of my favourite songs, so it felt worth it.

Of course, it might have been fitting if they’d played “Storm” instead since we exited into an epic deluge which swamped the city and drenched me to the bone trying to get home.

The set list:

  • “Hope Drone”
  • “Mladic”
  • “Bosses Hang”
  • “Fam/Famine”
  • “Undoing a Luciferian Towers”
  • “Monheim” (including Murray Ostril / ‘…They Don’t Sleep Anymore on the Beach…’) from “Sleep”
  • “The Sad Mafioso” from “East Hastings”

Digital Witnesses

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On Tuesday we went to the Sony Centre for one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen: St. Vincent, on her Masseduction tour. The performance was so stylish and sharp and overwhelming, and the music was just as good live as on the albums, and she fucking shreds on guitar. A couple of times it was so good that I actually welled up, just from the sheer awesomeness. It was made all the better by the crowd being so into it (except the two dunces standing next to Lindsay). What an experience.

The set list:

  1. Sugarboy
  2. Los Ageless
  3. Masseduction
  4. Savior
  5. Huey Newton
  6. Year of the Tiger
  7. Marrow
  8. Pills
  9. Cruel
  10. Cheerleader
  11. Digital Witness
  12. Rattlesnake
  13. Hysterical Strength
  14. Young Lover
  15. Fear the Future
  16. Slow Disco
  17. New York
  18. Smoking Section
  19. Happy Birthday, Johnny
  20. Severed Crossed Fingers

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Also: before the concert we tried East 36, which used to be Lucien, and it…wasn’t very good. I mean, our cocktails were good, but after that the problems began: our oysters were served without any sauces, my confit duck leg was too fatty (even for confit duck!), and Lindsay’s NY strip was like shoe leather. Lindsay’s Cab was okay, but my Pinot was rubbish. Don’t think we’ll be going back there anytime soon.

Forty-three

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After a long week in San Francisco I just wanted some time to relax. Lindsay gave me a night. Then the birthday activities started. Pre-birthday, really, since my birthday was Monday, but who wants to celebrate their birthday on a Monday?

First up was a cozy breakfast of griddle cakes at White Lily, followed by an afternoon of beer sampling at Rorschach. It was my/our first time there, and I was pretty psyched. I had a “Syncronicity” Oolong tea & lime saison, a “Malevolent Benevolence – Turtle” pecan coffee & cocoa nib imperial stout, and a “Malevolent Benevolence – French Toast” maple syrup, cinnamon & vanilla imperial stout. All on a rooftop patio amongst trees, by a park. Pretty sweet pre-birthday afternoon, right?

For dinner that night we hit another new place: the Maple Leaf Tavern. I liked the vibe right away: very relaxed, but with a serious (read: meat-heavy) menu. We sampled heavily — to the point where multiple staff members came to our table and told us, “I like what you’re doing here.” We delved deeply:

  • When we mentioned this was my birthday celebration dinner, they brought over glasses of sparkling, which I’m guessing were the N. Pearce Ward 5 Brut Blanc, but I’m not sure.
  • They make their own sausages so we got three: French Onion, Jerk Pork, and Arabiki. Each came with a special mustard. I’d go back just for the sausages.
  • Extra bread
  • Whole Ontario Burrata w/ extra virgin canola oil, Baco Noir balsamic, and Newfoundland salt
  • A bottle of Mencia
  • 24oz tomahawk pork chop w/ rosemary apple sauce
  • 7oz Wagyu flat iron steak w/ tarragon butter
  • Honey & cumin glazed carrots w/ parsley yoghurt
  • Beets
  • A bottle of No Name Barolo

The next morning we slept in until…like, 11 or something. Crazily late for me, at any rate. When we finally got up we made our way to Eastbound for brunch where I annihilated a Bo Ssam pulled pork & kimchi sandwich. We spent most of the rest of the day chilling on the couch, ending the day drinking a bottle of Kew Vineyards 2014 Blanc de Blancs and eating a bowl of plain kettle chips.

So: bonne fête à moi, right?

Snozberries

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Last week I was back in San Francisco for the first time in about five years, this time for a conference which would take up the better part of a work week.

Monday

My flight was around noon, so I worked from home and then had a nice easy commute to the airport. Almost too easy, really — my Uber driver and I were both freaked out by how smooth a trip it was.

My flight was similarly simple, and with a little extra leg room in the exit row. I watched The Post and Red Sparrow and landed at SFO in no time. The night before the conference began I spent a night at the Inn at Union Square, which was fine, if a little noisy. It was well-placed, though, to try a good place for lunch: Hogwash, where I had a dirty sausage sandwich and a Little Creatures Juicy Pale Ale.

It was also convenient for that night’s dinner with other conference attendees, at Scala’s Bistro, just a few seconds around the corner. Dinner was fine. Too loud. Too cramped. But gift horses and all that. Afterward I walked up the hill to check out another beer joint, Hopwater Distribution. I unwound from the forced interaction and closed the place down.

 

Tuesday

The next day I switched to my home base for the remainder of the conference, and spent the day attending session. That night some of us got to attend an event at the SFMOMA, which was showing an interesting Magritte exhibit (and has lots of Cy Twomly pieces that I really liked). There were rare whisky tasting and dessert art stations set up outside, so I…had a good time.

 

Wednesday

On Wednesday, after the conference day ended, I skipped the planned social event for the 20,000+ (!) attendees and had dinner in the hotel restaurant, Luce. My meal was outstanding, and I got to try Keenan Cab Sauv for my first time since visiting the winery eight years ago.

  • Pacific blue prawn, roasted with espelette chili + lemon, pistachio & brown butter (+ Château de Brézé Chenin, “Clos du Midi,” Saumur 2016)
  • New York strip steak w/ , rosemary + garlic Yukon potato “Anna”, Trumpet Royale mushrooms & date marmalade (+ Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2014)
  • Chateau Laribotte 2011 Sauternes

 

Thursday

Before the conference started I made my way to the nearest Blue Bottle Coffee for a cappuccino. It was a long wait. It was not worth it.

After the conference ended Thursday I made my way to the Mikkeller Bar SF to have some lunch and do some work. I’d heard good things. I’d read better things. I was immediately overwhelmed. There were at least a dozen beers I wanted to try, most of them stupidly strong.

In the end, in addition to another tasty sausage, I had:

  • Mikkeller “Blue Hour” gose-style ale brewed w/ pineapple, tart cherry & yerba buena
  • Mikkeller “Orange Yuzu Glad I Said Porter?” American porter brewed w/ yuzu
  • Barrel Brothers “The Snozberries Taste Like Snozberries” blonde sour ale with w/ wild berries
  • Jackie O’s “Oil of Aphrodite” imperial stout brewed w/ black walnuts
  • Prairie Artisan Ales “Bomb!” imperial stout aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla & chilies

I walked (slowly, carefully; those last few beers were 10% and 14% ABV respectively) back to my hotel and chilled for a bit. I was in the mood for more steak, and made dinner reservations (solo) for Alexander’s. It was a killer meal, and one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten. And because I was sitting at the chef’s bar they kept sending over little tastes and treats , and the Sommelier led me down a very lovely path indeed.

  • Hon hamachi w/ avocado, serrano, cilantro, yuzu-soy, garlic & radish
  • Scallop crudo w/ avocado, fresno chile, honey vinegar, apple & mint (+ their customer Riesling from the Mosel, which had been aged just long enough to be outstandingly petrol-y)
  • 20oz Nebraska-raised prime black Angus ribeye chop w/ yuzu kosho chimichurri, baby corn, Blue Lake green beans, charred lemon miso & crispy shallot  (+ Corison 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • Dream Weaver goat cheese from Paso Robles (+ 1968 D’Oliveiras Bual Madeira)
  • Lime cotton candy (!)

 

Friday

Nothing to do Friday but more work in the morning, and then fly back to Toronto. In the crap bar at the airport I happened upon one last killer beer: the Ballast Point grapefruit “Sculpin” IPA.

The flight home went super-quickly: I was somehow upgraded to premium economy, and watched two movies (Avengers: Infinity War and Detroit) and suddenly I was back in Toronto. Body tired, brain full.

Slight, delicious deviation

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Our calm new GoodFood routine got thrown off a little last week with some visitors and outings. I/we needed them though.

First was a visit from one of Lindsay’s friends, in from out of town. They came back to our place for a drink after going out for dinner, and we popped a bottle of red.

 

 

 

 

 

The next night I had a drink with Matt at Beerbistro, which I haven’t been to in a long time, and we had a great catch-up on work and life and food, and I gave him a recommendation for Lake Inez that he jumped on later in the week. After that I met up with the two of them and had a few glasses of Le Vieux Pin Equinoxe Chardonnay before we all piled into an uber.

 

 

 

 

Dinner was at Gare de L’est, and it was fantastic as usual. Coq au vin, duck confit, charcuterie, Bordeaux…so, so good. Service was a little…odd? Not our server, but another guy who circled around and just seemed to be trying too hard. We finished our meals and escaped him, stopping at Chez Nous on the way home for one last glass of wine.

 

 

We spent a few quiet nights at home, and then Friday slid out of work to meet Mike + Heather at The Wren. There were SO many good beers, and by the time we got there we were into the bottle list. Luckily they’re game to try a lot of the same stuff, and the staff there seems to like it when you try the fun bottles. They stopped back at ours after to see the new kitchen (I used their contractor) and collect their maple syrup for the year. It was good to see them. It’s always good to see them.

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning we slept the hell in before finally dragging ourselves to Frankie’s Italian, the new incarnation of Lil’ Baci. I pretended nothing had changed and ordered the spicy pork meatballs and eggs.

Photo from https://www.leselect.com/photo-album/photo-album.php

Le Select

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Though it’s been an institution in Toronto’s French dining scene for years, I’d never managed to get to Le Select. Until last week.

I had the beet + goat cheese salad with chestnuts, and the smoked duck breast special with celeriac purée. I had a really excellent bottle of 2010 Château St-Georges from St-Émilion, and a glass of 2010 Château Suduirault 1er Grand Cru Classé Sauternes.

I’ll be honest: it made me miss France.
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A couple months ago I posted pictures of our old busted kitchen, and the interim state in which it existed for a while during renovations:

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Finally, a few weeks ago, it was done. Well, more or less. We’re still waiting for the backsplash, but we finally have a functional (and beautiful) kitchen!

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More storage, more counter space, new appliances, better design. I love it so much.

To celebrate having a new kitchen we decided to actually put it to use, and signed up for GoodFood. We’ve long contemplated a service like this (where they drop off pre-measured, pre-prepped ingredients and simple instructions) since we have neither the time nor the energy to come up with ideas and recipes. Even shopping for groceries is a stretch, so we end up eating out constantly. From both a health and financial standpoint, this made a ton of sense. I admit to being nervous about the quality of the food though.

However, we prepped our first meals this past week, and I have to say: they were amazing. Like, all three were delicious, and they took 20-25 minutes to prep. So far, a week in, this seems like one of our best ideas ever. Bonus: each meal gave me an excuse to open good bottles of wine from the collection, so:

[Missing: the lovely Domaine Louis Moreau 2016 Chablis we had with our fish.]

Bedford Basin

50th & 12

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We arrived back in Toronto last night, ending an awfully busy 5-6 weeks of travel. The last ten days have been pretty intense family time, spread across a few locales.

Last weekend my mom was in town, in the middle of a trip to visit her sister in Guelph, so a bunch of family and a few friends drove into town for dinner before they went to see Come From Away. We all met at Locale Mercatto for an early dinner and had a good old chat, not to mention some good food and nice volcanic wine. Apparently we were also meant to go to the play but we got our wires crossed; in any case I had a work issue in progress, and we had packing to do.

The next day we flew to Halifax, had a quick stop in Bedford, then drove to the Annapolis Valley and met Lindsay’s mom and brothers at the same cottage as last year — but for two nights this time. We played games outside and had a big grilled steak dinner the first night, but spent the second day huddled inside around a fire for warmth on what turned out to be a cold, rainy day. It was still completely relaxing though, and the rain broke long enough for some grilled sausages after our games were complete.

Tuesday morning was much nicer so we squeezed in a last game of washer toss before departing. We stopped at Lightfoot & Wolfville on the way back, having just missed their grand opening last year. We bought a few bottles to bring back, and ate (extremely delicious) pizza and garlic fingers outside. Then it was back to Bedford.

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We spent the Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Lindsay’s dad’s place, zipping downtown for a quick dinner Wednesday at Your Father’s Moustache, and on Thursday attending her youngest brother’s graduation. After a big feed of Chinese takeout that night back at their mom’s, we played washer toss ’til it got dark and Yahtzee (seriously) into the wee hours and then crashed.

We took it easy Friday, eventually exiting Bedford and driving to my parents farm. We arrived late that night, just late enough to crash hard in the nice cool basement. The next day we slept in a bit before getting up and getting to work — it was the day of my parents’ 50th anniversary party, and there was an open house from 1-4. A friend of mom’s (the same one who accompanied her to the play the week before) catered, and we were all put to work slicing and setting and placing and cleaning. Nearly a hundred people wandered through the house on a stiflingly hot day, all to congratulate my parents on a pretty remarkable accomplishment.

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We did manage to squeeze in a tiny bit of relaxation time at the farm as well, from playing many games of crib, to perpetually scratching the dogs, to lying in a hammock.

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Everyone left Sunday morning after things had died down. We got to the airport and had a glass of wine at Vino Volo, which might have been ill-advised since Porter boarded their flight almost instantly, resulting in us actually getting paged as we walked down the terminal. We worked on the flight back, arriving to a moist blanket of heat draped over Toronto, and have scarcely left the loft since.

It was a fun trip, if not terribly relaxing. Frankly, we’re pretty excited to not have plans to fly or drive anywhere the next few weekends.

 

 

 

Pugwash

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Another weekend, another quick trip. This time we were in Nova Scotia for a wedding, a rather short-notice one for a friend of Lindsay’s. We left Friday, getting a bunch of work done on the plane, and arrived quite late. We were staying in the Alt Hotel attached to the Halifax airport, which doesn’t really have a restaurant, so rather than resort to airport food court food, we stopped at the Vino Volo wine bar as soon as we stepped off the plane. (But, uh, we still got some food court food.)

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The next day we woke up early, drove into Halifax to pick up a friend of the bride who turned out to be charming, funny, and an all-around delightful car guest. We gathered her at Java Blend, so I had some (very) decent coffee, and we hit the road. We drove to Pugwash, after a stop in Truro, and met other friends at our cute li’l bed & breakfast, Inn The Elms. We walked next door for a pizza anda football-sized wrap and enjoyed the beautiful weather. That was short-lived.

The wedding ceremony, held at a family cottage, was lovely. We met some great people and toasted the new couple and got sunburned and heard speeches and pitched tents and walked on the beach and enjoyed the sunset and scratched dogs and huddled around bonfires and stuffed chicken nuggets in our mouths in the wee hours. There was even a random Japanese exchange student party crasher. We walked home to our B&B and I ditched my solo cup full of red wine just before the po-po drove by.

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The next day we dragged our burnt bodies from our beds and had a killer breakfast at the B&B before popping back round to visit the new couple and their families and wish them well. Just after that brother #2 and his wife drove up to say hi and have a coffee with us at Chesnutt Cafe, right before he takes off to Egypt. We chose to take the long way back to the airport, enjoying the pretty drive through Tatamagouche (after a stop at Tatamagouche Brewing) and on down to Truro. We had lunch and a beer at the Nook and Cranny before driving back to the airport. We hit Vino Volo again to bookend the trip, and flew home, tired but glad we got to be part of such a beautiful weekend.

 

Lower Canada –> Upper Canada

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After a lot of highway driving and a bunch of toiling around one-way Montreal streets and a very great deal of stair-climbing, we have extracted Lindsay from Montreal. Lindsay and her stuff, that is.

We managed to squeeze in a trip to the best (beer) dep in Montreal and a burger with her friend Naakita and some quality time with Roscoe. We also managed to squeeze our minivan rental into an AirBnB back alley parking spot before quitting the city deadly-early the next morning. Expert squeezing all around, really.

So: welcome to Toronto, Lindsay’s-clothes-and-desk-but-really-mostly-books. I’m sorry in advance for our new premier.