Dominion City

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I had a quick work(ish) trip to Ottawa this week. I was there for less than 48 hours and pretty busy the whole time so I didn’t even try making plans with friends there. I did get to try (and re-try) a few decent places though:

  • I tried to go to Union613 but it closes at 10pm. Because Ottawa. Instead I went back to my hotel, the Alt, and tried the Dominion City Earl Grey Marmalade Saison and then had a glass of Norm Hardie Cab Franc.
  • Bread & Sons for a very good cappuccino and a straight-outta-Paris croissant.
  • After a work(ish) dinner at Wilfrid’s in the Chateau Laurier I walked into the market and went to Brother’s Beer Bistro, my Ottawa favourite. I had last year’s Bellwoods Jelly King and it nearly melted my face with sourness.
  • Coffee at the newest (I think?) Morning Owl.

Ostriching

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A terror attack in Nice. A failed coup in Turkey. Murder, snipers, and racial unrest in the US. A murdered five-year-old in Calgary.

This isn’t my usual reaction, but I’m kind of shutting this stuff out. I know the world is getting less violent on the whole year after year, decade after decade, but that…that was a lot to take in a week or so. My brain’s just not having it. I know that’s a convenient reaction for someone out of harm’s way to have, but I don’t feel equipped to process it all properly this week. I’m just going to have a drink and hug the people I can.

Eigensinn Farm, again

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Nearly three years ago we ate at Eigensinn Farm, Michael and Nobuyo Stadtlander’s place in Singhampton, and reckoned we’d never probably never go back. Then, a few months ago, a plan formed with our friends Brian & Mandy to book a dinner (their first time) along with their friends who live nearby. After a lot of follow-up emailing we got the date we wanted, and after some wine planning last week and some road-tripping yesterday we arrived in beautiful Grey County at the friends’ place. It was great having a home base nearby; doing the trip up and back in the same night last time was a little much. Plus, their place is beautiful and they have a dog and a cat, so I was happy. The cat hated me though.

As for dinner, I didn’t think it could possibly live up to my memory of our first visit. I was so wrong. Here’s what we had:

Amuse geule. This was a collection of six or seven things on a horseshoe-shaped plate: a Malpeque oyster, a bit of perch in butter and hazelnut, a bit of pig head cheese, a white fish in a dill sauce so good we licked it off the shell it was served on, something that looked like prosciutto, some kind of cured meat wrapped around a chunk of pear, another cured (and smoked) meat on a triangle of toast, I think one other thing that I’m forgetting. We were handling the wine pairings for the first half of the meal, so we paired this with a 2005 Benjamin Bridge Brut Reserve — a hit, it seemed, with all those who hadn’t tried BB before.

Lobster soup with asparagus. Until we got there we didn’t know what kind of soup this would be, so we brought wine options. Once we found out it was bisque-y we opted for the 2009 Hidden Bench Tête de Cuvée Chardonnay, and it didn’t disappoint. Neither did the soup — great buttery chunks of lobster and asparagus, and the broth was so good we (nearly) all tipped the bowl up and drank every last drop.

Composition of Eigensinn Farm piglet. I mean…seriously. It was so succulent and delicious I almost cried. The wine we paired it with — a 2009 Maison Roche de Bellène Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot — was something I’d been holding onto for a special occasion, and this dish certainly qualified. It was goddamned amazing. All of it.

Pickerel with sugar snap peas. Delicate, flaky but still meaty…just perfect. The wine was another game-time decision since we didn’t know how the pickerel was prepared, so we went with a 2015 Five Rows Sauvignon Blanc.

Black currant sorbet. I was glad to see the palate cleanser is still served in the upside-down bottoms of broken wine bottles.

We went for a short walk around the garden before the main course, during which Brian took over and opened his sparkling: a dry & delicious 2009 Trius 5 Blanc de Noirs. Palates: cleansed.

Eigensinn Farm lamb with garden vegetables. Madre de dios. It was so delicious we (who had been pretty boisterous all night, probably to the annoyance of some of the other guests) went quiet and just made moaning noises. Enough. Mercy. No mas. For this Brian broke out a 2007 Southbrook Poetica Cab Merlot, which I think I would have loved a little more had it been a little less Merlot-heavy. But that’s my thing. We quickly finished that bottle, though, and opened another special one: a 2012 Ravine “Stadtlander” Reserve red blend, which had been signed by chef himself. It put a nice little personal signature on the evening, and how amazing of Brian & Mandy to share that with us.

Cheese with walnut raisin bread. There were three cheeses: a Grey Owl (my perennial favourite), a mild blue (Benedictine from Quebec, I think?), and a third which I can’t remember but which was delicious. They all were. We finished off the rest of the Stadtlander reserve.

Dessert with strawberries. Uh, yeah. We expected a small dessert. Out came three desserts on the plate which, to be totally honest, I don’t quite remember. Nellie says there was a crumble of some kind and some sage ice cream. I just remember being really full. I also remember that we had it with the friends’ Colaneri late harvest Riesling. Oh, they told us while we were eating that one of the desserts had hand-written fortunes inside. That explained the over-chewy bite I had just pulled out of my mouth and had attributed to their first miss of the evening. Needless to say I could not read my fortune.

Petit fours. Sure, okay.

All in all, this meal was significantly better than our first visit, and probably ranks in my top ten of all time. We left feeling very fat, and very happy.

.:.

This morning the friends fed us a grand feast (bacon, eggs, french toast done in a waffle-maker, and enough coffee to waterboard my hangover) and we were on our way back to the GTA. Brian & Mandy were headed elsewhere so they dropped us at the GO Train to Union Station, which afforded us an excuse to check out the food vendor market on Front Street. I had an excellent brisket sammie from Carbon Bar, and Nellie had a lobster roll. We’ll be headed back there in some upcoming weekends.

Cover photo by Chris Connolly, used under Creative Commons license

Re-Cava

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Since going to Cava a few weeks ago I’ve been meaning to return with Nellie, and Wednesday night we did. We had to meet friends nearby around 8 anyway. It wasn’t as epic a meal as last time I was there, but we did just fine:

  • pincho of valdeon with sherry-roasted figs
  • croqueta of jamón with caper-sultana sauce
  • roasted beets with honey, valdeon, and grilled escarole
  • jamón iberico, salchichon, chorizo, and idiazabal cheese

Had some good wine too, obviously.

I will say, though, that both in terms of the food and the value for money, I’d have to say that I prefer Patria. Twice now we’ve gone, both times being blown away by the food, and both times come away paying less than we’d expected. So while Cava’s a good midtown option I think Patria will remain at the top of my Spanish craving list.

.:.

Cover photo by Chris Connolly, used under Creative Commons license

CA+DA Day

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We’ve just had a bit of a whirlwind visit from brother #2 and his better half. They arrived Thursday; that night we had dinner at Batch and attacked our wine inventory.

On Saturday we armed ourselves with umbrellas and coffee and drove around the lake to hit some wineries:

  • First: lunch and a tasting at Redstone, and wow what a burger. Can’t wait to go back there when their patio is open.
  • A tasting appointment at Pearl Morissette with the lovely Melissa. It was just the four of us and one other couple, who ended up with the patented Dan’s Shortlist Of Wineries To Visit Whilst In The Okanagan.
  • A quick stop at 13th Street.
  • An even quicker stop at Tawse, which was much too crowded. Pretty sure I’m done with that place for a while.
  • A much more in-depth visit to Back 10 Cellars, a first for all of us. We sat and tasted their entire lineup, and Nellie and I left with 4 bottles. I’ll be curious to see if the second taste justifies the enthusiasm we had on the spot.
  • A big haul from Hidden Bench: a dozen made up mostly of 2012 Terroir Caché and La Brunante. After the buying was done and the wine was shlepped to the car, we sat outside on their patio and enjoyed a glass in the shade.

We arrived back in Toronto, dropped the car, relaxed for a bit, and then went to dinner at Patria. We were a little slow getting into it (it’d been a long day already) but quickly picked up the pace. And what a feed it ended up being:

  • Pan Con Tomate (bread + tomato)
  • Aceitunas (house marinated olives)
  • Pimientos de padrón (blistered peppers + sea salt)
  • Sátiles (dates + ibérico bacon + manchego + guindillas)
  • Selección De Embutidos (ibérico lomo + ibérico chorizo + jamón serrano + salchichón)
  • Pulpo (octopus + olive oil + paprika)
  • Bombas con salsa brava (chorizo + aioli + spicy piquillo sauce)
  • Albondigas (wagyu meatballs + spicy tomato piperade + onion + manchego)
  • Brussales Bravas (brussels sprouts + spicy tomato + aioli + chorizo)
  • Paella De Bogavante (lobster + gulf shrimp + chorizo + peas)
  • Desserts (churros, chocolate pudding, mousse, etc.)

We struggled home, barely able to walk. I was still full the next morning when we woke up. After a while we did head off to Hank’s for brunch while Nellie slept in, then to the market, then back to Fahrenheit, and then off to Wvrst. Unfortunately Wvrst was already rammed in preparation for the Germany/Italy game and we couldn’t find a decent table. We left there and walked to the new(ish) Bar Hop, finding a spot on their fantastic rooftop patio. Well, three spots: we gingers had to keep moving out of the sun. We drank excellent beer and cider and had a very decent lunch — I’d heard troubling things about the food at the new Brewco, but my pork belly steamed buns were fantastic.

We swung back to Spadina to get some Quantum coffee and Soma chocolate, then trundled home. It was still beautiful outside so we drank gin + tonics on the balcony and enjoyed the day. Eventually Nellie started cooking, and over the next 5 (?) hours we ate seared Yellowfin tuna (with a Five Rows Pinot Gris), a small rack of lamb (with a Pearl Morissette Cuvée Métis Cabernet Franc), and two ribeyes  (with a Church & State Quintessential Bordeaux blend from the Okanagan). At that point we were done all around…too full, too tired, too richly-fed over the past 48 hours. We all kind of threw in the towel.

They left this morning, and hopefully their flights home went smoothly. As for us, we took advantage of the sunshine in our last few hours of long weekend, having beers and lunch on the near-empty Bier Markt patio.

Come back anytime, guys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Calgary

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Last night I got back after a 5-day excursion to Calgary, ostensibly for work but with an extra 36 hours or so thrown in for a city visit. Little did I know I’d develop a sinus infection while there. Anyway, here’s the extracurricular summary:

Beer sampled: the rooftop at the National on 8th with my now-Cowtowner friend Andrea. I had a flight of 6 locals. Beer Revolution, where I tried two local pints while having an excellent (pizza) lunch with a colleague. I also had a coffee at Kawa which, once the sun’s over the yard arm, serves a very solid beer selection; alas, I was there too early.

 

 

Coffee drunk: I had a nice little espresso at Cucina, another at Kawa, a cappuccino at Phil & Sebastian‘s Simmons Building location, a latte to go from P&S which I drank sitting by the Bow River, and…like, 8 coffees over 3 days from Monogram, which happened to be right next door to my conference hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

Food scarfed: The Catch’s Oyster Bar for some crab cakes and oysters when I landed. CharCUT for dinner my first night, since it was in my first hotel. Small world confirmation: the bartender had also gone to Dal, and her boyfriend used to work at Bishop’s Cellar and, as such, has probably sold me booze at some point. My last night there I went to Modern Steak in Kensington, which was outstanding and had a nice Irish bartender. I walked home, along the Bow for a while and then across the Peace Bridge.

 

 

 

 

Movies watched: Sicario and Eye In The Sky on the flight there. Hyena Road and most of Stories We Tell on the flight back. I had to take my headphones out for the last twenty minutes of the flight because my ears weren’t popping (never did) and I was in such severe pain.

Random thoughts thunk:

  • The Le Germain is a much better hotel than the Westin.
  • Downtown Calgary is pretty compact, but the walkability is marred by highways and rail lines bisecting the core.
  • I skipped the private rodeo organized by the conference, partly for health and partly because I despise rodeos, and don’t regret it one bit.
  • While I generally prefer an aisle seat when flying, when flying into Calgary I will always try for a window seat so I can see the mountains when I land. We did this time, and I also happened to get a smashing picture of Winnipeg from the air halfway through the flight.

Session VII

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Our seventh Session craft beer fest went off yesterday, and once again our friends Adam & Alicia joined us. Actually, they came over first to enjoy the views, do a bit of snacking, and sample a few beers before we left: Refined Fool Pouch Envy Australian Pale Ale, Left Field Sunlight Park Saison, and a phenomenal one-off Saison/rosé collaboration between Burdock and Pearl-Morissette winery. That bottle went straight to the hall of fame.

Then, off we went to Yonge/Dundas Square for the event itself. Here’s what I tried, as best I can remember:

  • Sextant “Why So Sirius?” pale ale
  • Big Rig “Great White North” hoppy wheat (collaboration w/ Central City)
  • Oast House “Haarlem Globe Trotter” koyt beer (collaboration w/ Jopen)
  • Stack vanilla chai amber
  • New Ontario “Sap Sucker” maple brown (collaboration, but not really)
  • Redline “Cruise Control” mango + lime session IPA
  • Nickel Brook “Arkells Morning Brew” coffee brett pale (collaboration w/ Detour coffee)
  • Nickel Brook “Uncommon Element” brett pale ale
  • Sawdust City “1606” barrel-aged raspberry stout
  • Sawdust City “Bitter Beauty” double IPA (collaboration w/ Jason Collett)
  • Muskoka “Ruff Draught” tropical blonde (collaboration w/ Born Ruffians)
  • Sawdust City 1606 (again)
  • Amsterdam “Revelator” Bock (collaboration w/ Jordan St John)
  • Sawdust City “Blood of Cthulhu” imperial stout

Oddly enough the Oast House was probably my least favourite, which surprised me. The New Ontario and Stack were pleasant surprises, but the 1606 was friggin’ outstanding.

We returned to our place, stopping at Batch to pick up some wings, and knocked down a few more beers (Fat Tug IPA, Great Lakes Hanlan’s Point coconut coffee porter) before calling it a night.

Overall, pretty happy with this event again. Lots of great beers, not too crowded, and unlike Cask Days I actually got every single beer I asked for. Add good friends and gorgeous weather, and it was a pretty top-notch day.

Cover photo by Seth Granville, used under Creative Commons license

“Show me a hero, and I’ll write you a tragedy.”

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Being sick, and then really sick, and then less sick, and then cold-ish, and now just slightly underpowered, has meant that I’ve had time to watch a lot of TV, including some mini-series.

I really liked The Night Manager (imdb | rotten tomatoes). I’m hit and miss with Tom Hiddleston (note: Nellie is not. She is very, very hit.) but he was terrific in this, and so was everyone else in the series. Could have done with another two episodes since the middle (middleston?) felt a bit rushed, and there were a few characters who could have done with a touch more development, but overall excellent. Very clever dialogue too.

Speaking of dialogue, Show Me A Hero (imdb | rotten tomatoes) was adapted by David Simon from Lisa Belkin’s book and it told such a deep, detailed story about one long, unbelievable (and, of course, utterly believable) story of Yonkers in the late 80s as integrated low-income housing was forced on them. Oscar Isaac was outstanding, as is often the case, and a few other surprising turns (Jon Bernthal, Winona Ryder, Catherine Keener) added to it. Recommended, especially if pneumonia fells you and you have six hours to kill.

We’ve also started watching Bloodline (imdb | rotten tomatoes) but I’m not sure yet if I like it. It could be an interesting, if slow-building, story, but apart from Kyle Chandler and Chloe Sevigny I despise literally every other major character on the show.

.:.

Cover photo by Seth Granville, used under Creative Commons license

Cover photo by Matthew Winterburn, used under Creative Commons license

“The last word always belongs to the mountain.”

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Last weekend we watched Everest (imdb | rotten tomatoes), a movie made a couple of years ago about the same disastrous attempt to summit Everest described in Into Thin Air (amazon | google play). It wasn’t necessarily a great movie (though it was lousy with Oscar nominees…5!) but I was so enthralled with the story that I downloaded Into Thin Air and read it until 3am. I finished it Monday.

Like I said, not a brilliant movie, but worthwhile. It’s fascinating to watch (or read about) these people who willingly climb into a place that is trying, by its very nature, to kill them.

.:.

Cover photo by Matthew Winterburn, used under Creative Commons license