A wedding! A wedding!

Hooray for a wedding!

I'm at that time of life when I don't get invited to weddings much anymore.  The people my age tend to be married already or unlikely to get married by now, and if they do get married, the weddings are low-key, small affairs.  We don't have children, so no weddings that way, including weddings of their friends.  I am trying to recall the last time I attended a wedding, and I am struggling.  Maybe Justin and Troy in about 2021?  And before that?  I'm blanking.

Two friends did get married last week, however.  Chris and Allister, a lovely couple for several years, are now husbands.  Congratulations to them!  I'm so delighted.

Chris,

you may recall, is one of our online happy hour members.  I've known him since we met on the gay swim team in Montreal in 1998.  Half a lifetime ago.  Chris invited the whole happy hour gang, and all of us showed up (except for Conrad who couldn't come at the last minute under doctor's orders).  There were other folks I knew there as well:  Bruno (who was the wedding planner) and Doug,

Giuseppe and Brian.

As you can tell from our outfits, we were asked to be the flowers at their celebration. 

I think we did a great job, as did the other guests.  A lot of bold colours and prints and fantastic outfits on them.  Outdo us - that was another directive Chris gave us, and we tried.  But come on:  look at that straight-from-the-runway ensemble Chris was wearing at the reception that followed. 

No outdoing that!  Allister is not similarly inclined to fashion, happily letting Chris shine while looking handsome in an open-weave shirt.

The wedding took place on a late summer Friday afternoon on the lawn at Hart House at Deer Lake in Burnaby.  Cocktails followed, and then we made our way to our tables, named for movies that had significance to the couple.  Van, Marie, and I were at Damaged Lives, which made us chuckle. 

Chris and Allister had left a handwritten card for each of us at our setting, which was touching. 

The drinks flowed, my steelhead was tasty,

and we finished the meal, contented, and ready for the dancing.  I didn't dance much - we were enjoying conversations - but I did get out on the floor for a little bit.  By 10:30, though, Van and I were ready to head back into the city to our hotel.

Congratulations again to the happy couple!  When we're through Vancouver later this fall with Conrad, the three of us will take them out so that Conrad can celebrate their marriage as well. 

unexpected things in Vancouver

Consult Google Maps. Look for Vancouver, BC. Found it? Good. It's in western Canada, you may note. Not the Deep South.

And yet, there is southern BBQ to be found there.

I LOATHE food chauvinism even if I'm guilty of it myself. I find myself wanting to smack people who think, for example, that the British cannot offer good food. I despair of the unwarranted bagel snobbery of New York City. I laugh at the notion that east coast blue crabs are superior. All of which, of course, exposes my biases (I think British food has many fine points; Montreal bagels rock; west coast Dungeness and snow crab are the best).

And so it is that I snicker at the idea that the South is the only place that can conjure up BBQ. Whatever. Insert eyeroll here. And still, I was excited this past weekend while I was on a quick trip to Vancouver to get to a place new to me, Peckinpah in Gastown. Southern BBQ... mmmmmm! And I've stopped eating pork and beef!

No matter, there were a few options on the menu for me. Good beer for starters - White Bark. I enjoyed two pints. Also, the best darn chicken wings I've ever had. Smoked, and I added my own sauce. Tender, salty, good.

But in the end, it was just fun. Food that encourages finger licking. Friends and my sister,

all of us lined up at the bar to eat. A fun evening, managing to dodge the on and off heavy rain last Saturday. A place to take Conrad to some time in the future. An unexpected delight, and thank goodness for that. A little culinary surprise now and then is much welcome, I have to say.

balcony dinner (Vancouver)

As I sit here watching Roger and Rafa play, it's a good opportunity to catch up on some blogging. Vancouver isn't that far behind us, and there are a few posts I'd like to write in the next few days. And first up? Cooking, of course!





Brian left us earlier this spring, heading from Chicago and the Smelts to Vancouver. A big loss to us, though a great gain for Giuseppe, who was already living up in Vancouver. At least we can invite him over for dinner when we're in town.

Conrad and I had a bunch of running around to do up in Vancouver on Sunday, though given the slow pace of our stroll to Granville Island (a blog posting in itself for another time), running around doesn't accurate describe our day. Dinner prep, though, was confined to a narrow window after our meeting with our wedding planner. No worries - we'd purchased smoked sablefish and cheese to snack on, we had wine chilling, and we had a pie from the Market for dessert.

Spot prawns are in season, and I couldn't resist. Spring in BC, an emphasis on local products. Conrad set up the balcony for us to sit out there as long as possible, and I set to work on a wild mushroom risotto with fiddleheads. The prawns needed only light cooking right before serving. Brian came by, we sat with wine and snacks, catching up and enjoying the fine weather. A bottle of a Seresin Sauvignon Blanc to start with, then on to a Joie Noble Blend with dinner.

Dinner was nice. The risotto wasn't as creamy as I'd like, and it ended up seeming a bit too salty against the sweetness of the prawns, though it did introduce Brian to fiddleheads. But ah, the prawns. Yes, a bit of a mess to get into (and we all decided against sucking out the heads), but cooked nicely, and delightfully tasty. Also, they look kind of cool on the plate!





We moved on to a BC Merlot and dessert, and Giuseppe was able to join us for a nightcap (and egg balls that Conrad picked up from the Night Market on a quick mission in search of dark chocolate)(though given the size of the martinis Marie was pouring for Giuseppe and Brian, I am glad I stuck with sparkling water as my nightcap). Two good friends originally from Chicago now very much part of our Vancouver life, and a meal to share. A fine Sunday evening indeed.

dinner in honour of Brian

Sad, but true: our friend/neighbour/teammate Brian is leaving Chicago. His partner, Giuseppe, will be in Chicago next weekend to help Brian finish off the last bits that need finishing and then export him out of the country. No more Project Runway nights or other casual dinners out. A nice piece of our social lives here in Chicago, gone.

Happily for us, though, Brian is moving to Vancouver. Last night's dinner in honour of him promises not to be the last dinner I make for him.

I think it may only have been once that I made us food for a Project Runway night at Brian's place, and it was a bunch of baby back ribs. When Brian, Daniel, Conrad and I were together recently - was it at Nightwood or a team brunch - the recollection of those ribs came up, and we decided that I would make us more on the evening of the team going-away party. Food first, then off to a gay bar. I rather enjoy ribs, so I was up for it.

Four of us became five with the addition of Rudy, and Conrad and I shifted plans for dining from the kitchen to the dining table. Cooking and set-up was not too difficult, and by the time the guys arrived (and nope, no photos of them, sorry), we were relaxing. A bottle of Champagne chilled, a few things to nibble on. Conversation started.

As for the food, well, it was fine enough. A rundown:

When I make ribs, I season them with salt and pepper, wrap them in foil, and bake in a low oven for 2+ hours. I don't have a standard sauce recipe. I usually mix up some sweet, some sour, some salty, and taste as I go along. The sauce yesterday had a mixture of garlic, ginger, sriracha, ketchup brown sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and white wine vinegar. I usually unwrap the ribs then brush on the sauce a few times as they cook a while longer.

I don't make rice or pasta or potatoes for me and Conrad when we're alone, but I made up rice yesterday, returning in spirit to something we used to do at the restaurant, firecracker rice. I cooked basmati then tossed it with green onion, pine nuts, currants, diced red pepper, and a sauce mix. I reheated the rice before serving and placed mounds on each plate.

I'm a brassica fan - the vegetable sides give me away. Broccoli unadorned to add some green to the plate. A red cabbage slaw to add some purple. The slaw used a vinaigrette with a bit of sesame oil to tie it to the vaguely Asian flavours of the ribs and rice.

It all made for a satisfying plate of food, I think, I hope. And I didn't stop there, of course. A simple dessert of a ginger cake plated with a thin, quick creme anglaise and dried sour cherries soaked twice in brandy.
Best part of that is that there is a nice, big piece of extra cake leftover, and I'm mildly tempted this morning, before Conrad gets up, to slice a bit and toast it up for my breakfast.

A good meal, and as I noted, not the last meal I make for Brian, I am sure. As for Daniel and Rudy, well, they both liked the food AND cleaned their plates, thereby meeting the the conditions for being invited back.

Nightwood

As I write this on Sunday morning, just before we head off to meet Darth and Heidi for brunch, I have to admit, I'm feeling a little overindulged today. Read that as "hungover" if you must (though I think that's not quite the case), but know that we had a terrific, late meal with Brian and Daniel last night. We said we would make it back to Nightwood after our first visit there this year, and sure enough, we did.

Michael was the one who first suggested it as a nice dinner out for us - I think he saw it on "Check Please" some time before that and had been intrigued. We agreed on a midweek evening, and given reasonable winter weather, Conrad and I were able to walk there from the Library.

Arriving a bit early, we ordered some fun cocktails from the bar and were soon joined my Laura and Michael. They, too, ordered drinks, and eventually we made it over to our table. The menu looked great, we had some Pinot Noir to sip, and the food turned out to be really very good. Fried smelts as my appetizer - like popcorn! A duck confit for my dinner. Warm cookies to share for dessert - all of them delectable, not a dud in the assortment. Conrad and I agreed that we very much wanted to come back.

And then the opportunity quickly arose.

Last night was something of a going-away dinner for Brian. Sort of. A last chance for a good meal out in Chicago before he moves, though we know we will get to see him in Vancouver in times ahead. Daniel was there, too, another enjoyable dining companion. We started out with a cocktail at nearby Skylark, then made our way to Nightwood for a 9:00 reservation.

The restaurant was jampacked, and we had to park at the bar for a short wait for the table. We ordered a bottle of a Pinot and a plate of fried lemon slices with aioli, and - of course - no sooner had we ordered than the table was ready.

I've got an image of the menu from last night from the restaurant pasted in here. It changes, perhaps nightly, though I think that some things are somewhat constant in idea even if the sides change. There was the duck confit again, though served with different accompaniments (Brian had that). The chicken was Conrad's choice the first time we went (he had the steak last night). We shared a plate of the smelts (once again good), and then I opted for the pate. The sardines were the obvious choice (to me) for my meal, and they were very good - three of them, grilled. I love sardines. As for dessert, I ordered the sticky fig cake (the brittle with it was the best part, the cake was fine but not exceptional), while we had a plate of cookies for the table (all of them again good) and Brian ordered a scoop of peanut butter gelato (truly peanut buttery, not especially sweet).

The only dud of the evening was my last glass of wine, a red blend I thought would be a rich finish to the evening. It tasted completely maderized, and I was brought a replacement that was better but not satisfying. We noticed this with the first bottle of wine (we had two with dinner): too warm. The second bottle had a bit of a chill on it and was much better for it. I should have said something to them - they seem to store their reds in too warm a spot.

Wine incident aside, we will go back.

It was a late night. A 9:00 reservation down in Pilsen meant that Conrad and I crawled into bed, overindulged, at 1:00. That is so far from our normal habits, and I'm afraid to admit it: I'm getting old.

Dan Mangan at Schuba's

First off, let me say that the beer tonight was delicious. And, in the interest of re-hydrating before bed, I am taking the time to blog a bit.

CG drove us home from Schuba's tonight, and on the drive, we three reflected on how we live in a big city but perhaps do not take good enough advantage of that. I admit: Conrad and I are old marrieds. We have a cozy life of dinner at home and a bottle of wine. It suits us.

But by gosh was it fun to get out tonight.

Dan Mangan was playing at Schuba's. Never been to that bar/venue before, and now I'm keen to go back. An intimate space for music, and - a happy addition to the evening - Conrad and I had an enjoyable dinner out on the sidewalk. Grilled pork chops, a bottle of modest Chardonnay at half price. Nice weather as a backdrop. Oh, and isn't that Dan Mangan sitting over there (pale blue t-shirt, on the left)?

Sorry, I'm such a fanboy, I know. Look, I like his music. A lot. Giuseppe introduced me to him last year (almost a year ago!) in conversation over a good lunch together in Vancouver. That is why Giuseppe is so totally A-list for the wedding. I've listened to >Nice Nice Very Nice so very much since, and I've tried to indoctrinate friends, too. During the Olympics, we dragged Brian and Conrad to a show at the Yaletown Roundhouse, and though the act that preceded him was, well, dreadful, it was so worthwhile.

And now tonight, there he was, a small room, not many people, and a good set. He opened with Sold,
closed with Robots, and encored with So Much for Everyone. Perfection would have meant playing Pine for Cedars, but I'll cut him slack since he wasn't the headliner. Still, how great was it? He was funny. He was cute. He and his band came down to do the last two songs acoustically in the middle of the room. The four of us chatted with him before the show, and then I stole a few words with him after the show as I picked up something for TK (TK, pretend you didn't read that) at the merchandise table.

And CG said he sounded Canadian.

:-)

So I sit here, having enjoyed beers during the show, high on the concert, looking toward Hawaii on Saturday, and I have to think how terrific my life is at this very moment. Now then, when can we see Dan Mangan again, and how do I convince the rest of you to go out and try his music?

A fine night, and the capper? He complimented me on me Camp Mangan t-shirt.


Peter, a giddy and girly fanboy this evening. Yep, no two ways about it...

last 40th birthday post (I think)

I know, I know: we're all a little sick and tired and bored to tears of Peter's 40th birthday.

Suck it up, princesses.

;-)

No, not a lengthy post in terms of words here. I think I've gotten across the essence of our Vancouver vacation for my birthday, and I think I've commented enough on the celebration itself. Want photos? Check out Flickr!

We hosted two get-togethers for the birthday, one at the condo in Vancouver, and one here in Chicago. Casual, easy affairs. Nibbles and wine at the first. At the second we attempted some fun cocktails. Nice to see friends, catch up, have a good time of it. Special thanks to Brian who made both gatherings - again, I very much love how our Vancouver and Chicago lives can overlap.

Some photos from both, then, with thanks to all who came. May it not take until my 50th to see you again!

(and with that, let's move beyond the birthday postings for another year...)