“Is this lettuce leaf all for
me?” Norman in Table Manners
The
long weekend continued with a day in Toronto that included all three plays from
The Norman Conquests, the St.
Lawrence Market and some nice nibbles at Pure
Spirits where I’m pleased to report there was substantially more on offer
than just lettuce leaves.
A
little panic stricken about the drive in-long weekend and all the joy it
brings; QEW jammed with families bound for the US. Never understood why people wait ‘til
mid-morning Saturday to make a move or indeed travel South on long weekends at
all. You know what you’re getting
yourself in for; pick another weekend. What’s the fascination with pastry shells,
anyway? Often wonder if it’s worth the three hour wait at the border. Okay, so
you cannot get rolled pastry in this country; take them out of the case and lay
them flat. I digress. Piece
on the morning show regarding exchange rate.
CA dollar on par so why are we paying so much more in the North? Move to get shoppers to stay away from Black
Friday. Fortunately the traffic
presently at a standstill was going the other way so the rest of us enjoyed a
smooth run.
Parked
up and sprinted to the Distillery District while shovelling down a chocolate and
caramel pretzel. By nature, I’m not an
inhaler of food but there wasn’t time for a proper lunch. In fact I thought I was in for a day of
grazing due to intervals of sixty and ninety minutes. Would this be an espresso laced day?
Never
got ‘round to The Norman Conquests with Richard Briers and Penelope Keith so
long overdue to see the play. If you
have the choice, try to see all three on the same day. To be perfectly honest, I think I would have
difficulties remembering all the little things going on from one week to the
next. (We were spoiled with Angels In America-another
marathon.) Mass confusion with the seats
and guests were a little ruffled. I
couldn’t get the damn phone to shut off and we all know how I feel about cell
phones going off mid play. Conferred with seatmate and think we got there but
slight paranoia over telemarketers making their calls during a critical point
in play. Meant to ask where seatmate was
visiting from.
Conquests is comprised of three plays
that revolve around six characters with each play taking place in a different
part of a house but in the same time frame as the preceding plays. Hope that’s
clear. Table Manners was a romp and everyone had a
good laugh. Very often, you’ll get
veteran theatre goers who look downright miserable. They’ve seen everything so many times I think
they go out of habit and don’t really get into the plays.
Sterling
cast for this one-Shultz, Reid, Boyes, Mennel, Condlin & Dennis (if memory
serves). It seems as if you could enjoy your character night after night; all
very playful and flirty. I enjoyed the
table mats; we’ve got some old Sheffield scenes in the top drawer. I like that they were given pride of place,
like fine crystal. Norman
is a bit of a disaster but his zeal for life comes through and you willingly
cheer him on. Loved the breakfast scene;
oh to have so much energy (and self-control) in the AM. Confess to examining actors’ bare feet for
state of arch support.
Off
to get rid of the phone and have a browse. October is good time of year to go
to the Distillery District. Crowds are
manageable, temperature is good and it’s usually easier to get into a
restaurant. (Or so I thought.)
On
the To-Do List is a sake tasting. They
also do a sake-based Cosmopolitan and salad dressings. The Cosmo sample was rather nice. The air was thick with when I arrived as
someone had just dropped a bottle. Quick whip ‘round the St. Lawrence for the
Foodie Pen Pal. Decided on Bisket-a-Basket apricot jam with brandy, chocolate
and lemon. How can you go wrong with brandy and chocolate? Another dash back to the theatre; another
pretzel in hand.
Getting
good results on the plea for phones to be turned off. Second disembodied voice to encourage eyebrow
raising. What can be done about mint
popping? It too deserves an equally
sound thumping.
Living Together finds us amongst the Lounge
chairs with the family trying to maintain some sense of normalcy. The play
mellows out and we get a little deeper into the characters. I call it a romp but there is great
poignancy. Different
seatmates for this one and I asked about my neighbour’s bracelets. Plastic zippers which turn out to have been
promotional prizes from Italian potato chip packets. Who needs Cartier?
The
generation gap was the only thing that got in the way for some of the under
30’s. Not sure they knew what to do with
Reg and his nudge-nudges and wink-winks.
I thought he was great fun.
Master of cereal. The dinner gong
went and we filed out with visions of what might have gone on under the rug.
I
made a second stab at getting a table at El
Catrin; 6:30 and they were jammed.
Over to Pure Spirits, equally
jammed but managed a bar stool. Note to
selves: if you want a meal in TO after
6:00, make a booking. Not a fan of
sitting at the bar, however, things worked out well. This was my third visit to the restaurant and
I was ideally situated for a lesson in the fine art of oyster consumption.
I
have always been told to stun the oyster with a little lemon juice and let them
slide down unencumbered. Not according
to tonight’s shucker; oyster eating is more like wine tasting. First, get a sense of the oyster; second, sip
the oyster water and third, let the oyster slip in and give it a good
chew. Lots of texture and you want to
get the most out of it. Our host
explained the difference between the various oysters and he and his partner
made light work of getting them plated.
So obviously a return visit is in order to sample a dozen or so. First the sake tasting then the oysters.
Like
to see a cocktail menu in flux. The
Autumn cocktail of gin, rhubarb liqueur and lime cordial was very
refreshing. The bar staff work hard at
Spirits and are constantly on the move.
Started with the tuna tartare which I raved about before. People love
those root chips. Followed this with
macaroni and cheese with seafood; the smaller elbows are used here and it was
light on the sauce which is a good thing in my books. Don’t like getting a plate of food that’s
gone through death by sauce. And since a
trip to Soma was not in the cards on this day, took a Gin & Tonic
dessert~gin semifreddo, tonic bubbles and lime gel. This would make a very nice equivalent to
sorbet in between courses. It’s not
sweet so those who shun dessert would be very at home with it. Lots of different textures to play about
with. Lovely.
And
we’re for off Round and Round the Garden.
Consensus (before intermission) amongst audience on preferred play order-Manners,
Garden then Living. By Act II- Manners, Living, Garden.
Apologies
to all for my outburst mid-way through.
It’s one of those laughs I would normally reserve for the privacy of my
living room. A couple of Gen X’ers
mystified at what all the fuss was about, but, they soon go into it. My mind was racing to remember
what happened at one o’clock; trying to piece the scenes together. Must try not
to think so much. Norman was in his
element seducing Sarah, again. How could
she refuse? Annie seemed to have gotten
off the fence by play’s end and we’re told the rendez-vous will happen, some
day. Compliments
all ‘round. Very nicely done.
Hadn’t
factored the Leafs game into the drive home.
Lots of long faces so one can only assume it was business as usual for
the team. But somehow, they still manage
to sell tickets. Next home game pop down
to the east end, instead. Think you’ll
get more out of Soulpepper and the Distillery District than you will a hockey
game.
Until
next time.
Mind
the shrubbery.
