Difficult week weather-wise and it was time to get out of
the city. Theatre Season has officially
started for me and with it a season of people watching and sampling of some
rather nice food. Feeling like an
honorary Torontonian these days and a touch guilty about missing what turned out to
be a banner weekend of activity in Hamilton.
Drove down the highway to participate in food and drink while missing
the Food & Drink Festival here at home.
Old Town Toronto...
A sluggish start but eventually left two hours behind
schedule. Of course there is no need for
a schedule. I had nine hours to get
there. What’s the rush? No construction this weekend, no Liberal
leadership convention (must we keep talking about Trudeau’s hair?) and no Marathons.
I send a nod Boston’s way in light of recent events.
Planned to take lunch at Biff’s Bistro but there is no lunch service on weekends. The Steak Tartare will have to wait. Popped
next door to Oliver & Bonacini (same owners). A Cosmo, Tomato soup & Huevos Rancheros. Love the décor. Black and white; tin panels on the walls,
upended cooking vats serving as light fixtures; napkins that don’t leave lint.
Thank-you. Now I’m a firm believer in
not taking pictures of restaurant food.
It is a major social faux pas to whip out your camera for the
edification of the world. I will talk
about the perfectly mixed cocktail, the creamy soup, the parmesan, the herbed
cream; the shredded pork and cheese, the
eggs and charred corn, topped with flatbread and salad of tomato, black bean,
guacamole and arugula sprouts.
Seated next to two women taking an eternity to leave the
table. They were on the last of their
coffee when I arrived. One, a mom at the
crossroads of her career, the other with a second date pending but couldn’t
decide if the religion was going to get in the way. The conversation took forever. I thought this kind of talk only happened in
the movies. Apparently there are
normally three of them, however, because this third friend dominates the
conversation, they needed time alone. I
tried to focus on my lunch. Always
amazed to find out who is a Mom. The
person either doesn’t look old enough or doesn’t conduct themself in a way
that you think they’d be ready for motherhood. Anastasia is in daycare and I refrained from throwing my two cents in that children do not need structured art projects at that age. Give them a box of crayons and some paper and see where they go with that.
A family of four arrived and ordered two portions of
macaroni and cheese. Kraft Dinner this
is not. The kids picked at it but were more interested in the floor. It’s difficult for tourists finding a spot
that both the kids and parents can be happy with. You can’t cater to the kids all the time but
they have to eat a good meal too. I
always get tense when I see food wasted be it in a restaurant or in a
movie. The drink never gets finished or
the action moves to another room before the last course can be touched. Just watched Howard’s End, again. Ms.
Prawer-Jhabvala died this week and it was time to revisit a Merchant-Ivory
film. The housekeeper had just served the dessert when it was suggested the group
take coffee upstairs. Did anyone eat
their pudding? No. There wasn’t time. If
you have not already done so, work your way through the Merchant-Ivory
catalogue. You will not be disappointed.
I digress.
Piece on last week’s The
Sunday Edition-Acoustic Stew. Music
in restaurants or rather loud music in restaurants. Patrons having to text one
another because they can’t make themselves heard over the noise. If you’re the
kind that cannot handle the noise, the owner doesn’t want you there. The noise is OK because it’s cool to drink a
$17 cocktail while your ears are being assaulted. Studies show Mozart is the perfect
digestif. I couldn’t agree more. This week’s crispy rolls were consumed with
the aid of The Horn Concerto played
by Mr. Jamie Somerville. I’d go one step further to include Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins and Korsakov’s Caprice Espangol. Thank-you CBC. Music was well in the background at O & B
and is always low key at Biff’s.
The women started to feel guilty about staying so long
and I took my coffee in peace. A good
server doesn’t ask if you want tea or coffee, they ask if you want espresso or
cappuccino.
Off to the St. Lawrence Market for a browse. Ideal people watching spot; it’s all here. Picked up breakfast for Sunday and a red
velvet cupcake that proved bitterly disappointing. I have high hopes for the almond and cherry
tart. What is the true cost of
anything? Found two Pashmina at Kailash
and was immediately offered over a 30% discount as I was a repeat
customer. Now, she doesn’t know me from
Adam. Nevertheless I’ll take the
discount. Found St. Dalfour tea. I’ve had their jam so we’ll see what they do
with Darjeeling. Also found a Belgian
chocolate with lavender and another with
cracked pink pepper corns.
Today's finds...
The kitchen supply store on the second floor is under new ownership,“a little Korean man”, as the clerk put it. It did not have the same atmosphere as before with three clerks hovering around the perimeter watching out for a potential theft.
Over to the hotel to freshen up. Watched a little of The Masters. Think I could handle golf if it wasn’t for
the endless commentary. Maybe it was the
azaleas that drew me.
Staying in a hotel means a hot shower isn’t
possible. Think a waiver could be made
available. I will sign stating I won’t
take legal action should I accidentally scald myself. Came squeaky clean with the hard-milled,
carbolic-like soap. Took the cup
cake. Frosting like congealed lard and a
dry crumb. Had a vision of melt-in-your-mouth
buttery frosting; far from it. Water at $7.50 here, the Fijian a bargain at
$3.50 Lots of guests buying their own
from the Convenience next door.
Over to the Distillery District. Packed in like sardines at Soma. Word must be getting out. Took a spicy Mayan hot chocolate to ward off the
cold. I may or may not have purchased a
truffle. (Note the sheen.)
Interesting audience. Reminder that fashion and style are two different things. Puffy coat to my left who needed lots of arm room. To my right, a woman who must have taken hours to get ready. The hair, the manicure, the makeup. I envy anyone who has that much time in the day. No intermission; kept watch on the pair in the upper balcony who were clearly enjoying the play. Lots of butter fingers tonight and two cellphones went off. One ,at a critical point in the play. How many reminders do you need to turn off the phone???
The Gooderham & Worts Distillery (1832)
Weather had turned with rain and cold; felt the ache
start across the shoulders. John
Carpenter’s The Thing was
playing. 1982, I think. Alien
on Earth. Always enjoy this and good
to see Kurt Russell before he was doing the comedies with Ms. Hawn. And if anyone knows the name of the movie
where he plays a serial killer out in the desert, let me know. Great music(Mahler?). Was it Russell?? Funny to watch the credits-“Soundtrack
available on RCA records and tapes.” Surrounded by restaurants and bars but went
with room service. New chef I’m told;
it was very good food. Leek and
Potato Soup and Chicken Panini. High
hopes for the cheese scone, tommorrow.
Will it disappoint?
Next time- Spending the afternoon with Patti Smith, Florentine art and
getting lost in Liberty Village.
