a birthday dinner

An unusual dining post to share because - weirdly - there are no food photos.  Oh, one cocktail photo, because you know us, but no food.  In part this was because the lighting was low, in part this was because we were dining family style, and I didn't want to make anyone wait for me to photograph a shared dish, in part because we were simply having a very nice evening.  So no food photos, just a little commentary.

We all came together (minus Brenda, who joined us for dinner at the restaurant) at The Oud and the Fizz, an Armenian bar near Kensington Market. 

It was cool in a ramshackle, in formal way.  Chris and Allister had arrived early to have a snack and a drink, and they recommended to us a variation on a Last Word called the Ayki. 

Cool drink - it swapped out the maraschino for attar, a rose water syrup.  I need to try making that at home some time, because it was tasty.

After that enjoyable stop, we headed to the restaurant Allison had picked out for her birthday dinner:  Grey Gardens.  I just saw the latest Toronto Michelin awards yesterday, and Grey Gardens had received a Bib Gourmand, so good for them!

Allison had worked with the restaurant to do a set menu of multiple courses for us, two items per course, all shared at the table.  She also gave them guidance on wines for us, so we had a nice range of pet-nat, white, and red.  Highlights of the dinner?  The pickerel, hands down, the best item.  I think everyone raved about it.  So good.  The bread was delicious, and the potato chips and smoked fish dip were a great opener.  I was very fond of the gnudi and the Basque cheesecake, too.  Not a dud among the courses.  It was all excellent.

But best of all, all of us together. 

Somehow it was women at one end and men at another - weird coincidence - but it was easy enough to talk along the table and share laughs.  There was no rush to the meal.  We sat in the front window area near the bar, and we had ourselves a really terrific dinner.  A fitting 50th birthday meal for Allison.  I'm glad we all shared it.