typical Saturday

You know, if it weren't for Smelts - and especially post-practice brunch - I wouldn't have known Conrad. 10 years ago last month, in fact, he showed up at a Smelts practice when we were offering a stroke clinic to the public and then came along to brunch at Ann Sather with the team afterward. We sat across from each other, chatted, I thought he was cute, nine months later we started dating. All in good time, right?

Brunch with the team was an essential part of our weekend for many years, but for a while, it wasn't happening. Ann Sather was tough to get in to, and to be honest, beyond the cinnamon rolls, the breakfasts were not that terrific. Nookies was our regular team spot for a while, but we were coming in large groups and finding ourselves divided up among small tables. We suffered a few poor meals there and interest in returning waned. Horizon opened near the pool, but it was a real love-it-or-hate it kind of place with the team. Uncommon Grounds and the Bagel were a bit of a hike, and the prices didn't always sit well with us. For a while Conrad and I were skipping brunch altogether. A sad state of affairs.

The arrival of Whole Foods and the Center on Halsted meant good things. The former has a hot bar (and salad and coffee and more). The latter has seating. The team has resumed brunching, sometimes in substantial numbers.

We were there this morning.




We're there most Saturday mornings we're in Chicago. Even when I was marathon training last year, I'd come down to have breakfast with the team after my runs.

It's not cheap, sometimes the food is cold (and the eggs can be terribly overcooked in those steamer pans). That said, it feels like OUR place, our community. It's a good place.

And there was Conrad today, sitting across from me. Ten years. Ten years. By gosh is he still so very cute.

recent trip to BC

So we're sitting here, post-dinner, on our laptops on a Friday night. Conrad is fishing around for potential dinner reservations for us for a trip to NYC next month, while I'm mentally composing a blog entry. Our lives always revolve around food, I know. Small wonder I'm in a soft and doughy phase right now. Back to the gym with me!

Ah, but I wouldn't blog about the gym because I am not certain how successfully I could take photos there (even assuming I would want to put up photos of me in gym gear!). Food it is. And other stuff.

It was a funny trip up in the sense that it wasn't really a vacation. Conrad and I were so very often on the go, appointments to keep, things to accomplish. I'm not complaining, I promise. We did have good meetings with our wedding planner, catering manager from the Club, hotel manager from the Club, and our DJ company. We also nailed down a photographer and a marriage commissioner and ordered rings. Am I forgetting anything? That seems quite enough for a short trip. But no, what was kind of funny in my mind was that we didn't shop or dine out extravagantly (yes, yes, I know: Valentine's dinner at the Club including a bottle of Champagne, but that doesn't count) or see as many people as we usually like to, but we did somehow take a good number of photos of the city. And even that is despite some fairly typical wet winter weather.

I'm going to steer Conrad toward bed soon, and there's an autobiography I want to finish so that I can start another book by Josh, whom I met last winter at Buster's birthday. So, for now, some shots from the city, and a link to all the photos from the recent trip. Ah, if only I were turning off the laptop, turning to my book, and letting the lights of Main Street and downtown Vancouver shine in the background as I read.

why yes, this IS a blog entry

Oh gosh, I know, I know. Let's not count the months. Let's just talk food.
I have just re-read Todd's excellent, mouthwatering, truly delightful account of the dinner he and Michael had at Posh. I'm floored. Not simply because my best friend should have been writing a blog on his food adventures for some time now given his narrative, no. TK had quite a meal, and I can't compete.

But blogging is not competition, or not in my opinion. Our meal tonight can't measure up, but at least I can honour his meal (and ours) a little by once aGAIN turning to the blog.

Conrad and I are in Vancouver for a few days. Wedding planning, that sort of thing. Escaping the recent snow in Chicago, enduring the typical winter rains back west. Loving it. Much coffee consumed. I promise, we've been in the pool, too.

Our Valentine's date night was at the same place as last year, in fact: the Terminal City Club, in its dining room, 1892. We put on suits, hopped in a cab, and headed downtown in pouring rain. I'd seen the special menu beforehand, and I had a few ideas in mind as to what I thought might make for a nice night.

A few points before I describe the food:

• it's good to be back in a place in Vancouver where we are recognized and welcomed back. That's part of the reason we love Safari Cafe in the mornings, so.
• with the exception of special events, photography is not permitted in the club. A shame, because the food is often plated quite nicely.
• we rejected the special menu.

That last one was tough. Halibut cheeks? Oh my, yes, please. But we were lukewarm on the red meat options, and there weren't swap-outs possible. Also, Conrad is a huge chocolate freak, but I merely like it, and it wasn't my mood tonight. The table next to us (whom we overheard all too well, sometimes amusingly so) did have the special menu, and the chocolate desserts looked gorgeous. Tellingly, however, they couldn't finish them.

Some lengthy deliberation and negotiation, and Conrad and I had decided:

• a bottle of Bruno Paillard Champagne Brut Premiere Cuvée. This opened up so delightfully as we went along, progressing from a fruity, lemony start to toasty apple notes later. Splendid.

• baked oysters with spinach and gouda for Conrad
• celeriac veloute with wild mushrooms for me

• a shared Bibb lettuce salad with a light gogonzola dressing

• seared ahi tuna with a crab and potato hash and a lemongrass cream sauce for Conrad
• pan seared sablefish with spotted prawns and maitake miso broth for me

• a trio of cheeses with a glass of a Rioja for Conrad and a glass of the Joie Noble Blend for me

• two raspberry and two cassis truffles.

There's the outline, now the commentary...

I didn't taste Conrad's oysters, but to judge by how meticulous he was at cleaning out each half shell, I'd say they were good. My soup? Delicious. A certain meatiness from the mushrooms, and I gleefully swabbed out the last bits with some of the bread provided.

The salad was fine. I mean, look, we wanted greens, we wanted simple. We got it. I just wish the little slivers of apple and celery had had more flavour.

My fish kicked serious butt on his. Beet greens, tempura mushrooms, the unctuous sablefish? So much better than his nice but a little overcooked tuna.

The cheeses were fine, but the wines with them were each rather lovely. I think Conrad's richly fragrant red might have been the winner.

Oh, the truffles, the truffles...

A fine night, and a leisurely pace. The meal of the trip, though it's up aGAINst boil in a bag from ViJ's and last night's fun sushi with random service at Zipang.



What will tomorrow bring?

And that, friends, brings me back to blogging. For tonight. Happy Valentine's Day, what remains of it. I have the love of Conrad, and I revel in what I share with friends and family whom I love so dearly as well. And, it must be said, in the very good meals I get to enjoy time and aGAIN.

coat of many colours

If Conrad had a dollar for every time he received a compliment/comment on his Hudson Bay coat on this trip, well, he'd have a nice chunk of money.

I LOVE this coat. I COVET this coat. I can never wear it: it's Conrad through and through. Darn it.

Revel in his adorableness if you will - I have to get us packed up here at the Maple Leaf Lounge and to our gate....

dining out in Vancouver

After my name, the word "Food" is the most important in the name of this blog. So then, images of dining in Vancouver this week:

Dinner at La Brasserie on Monday night:
Alsatian onion tart (appetizer shared by the table)
truffled poutine (appetizer shared by the table)
cheeses (appetizer shared by the table)
rabbit with spaetzle (my dinner)
halbut (Conrad's dinner)


Lunch on Wednesday from the market on Granville Island:
perogies and cabbage roll


Dinner at Campagnolo on Wednesday night, sitting at the bar in back:
Victoria Gin martini
Chef's choice pizza (artichoke heart, chanterelle, cheese)


Dinner at ViJ's Thursday night (an atypical USian Thanksgiving meal)
Venturi-Schulze Schönburger 2007
Punjabi Heart Attack (in the spoons) with quinoa salad (appetizer shared by the table)
deviled eggs and bell pepper fritters (appetizer shared by the table)
jackfruit in masala (appetizer shared by the table)
pork tenderloin and baby back ribs (Conrad's dinner)
kheer (my dessert)
kulfi (Conrad's dessert)
(no good shots of the venison, alas)

So far so good with a few meals more to go! Rest assured, we may be in Canada this week, but we are keeping the tradition of much eating for Thanksgiving going.

wedding planning

I don't think it's a secret anymore. It shouldn't be. Conrad and I are getting married here in Vancouver next autumn. For some months now it's been a lot of fun conversations about favours for the guests or which of the 17 or so possibilities we should nail down for our honeymoon. And yes, we still have those conversations. But ladies and gentlemen, we now have to get serious about things, and we have to start making arrangements.

We actually nailed down the venue and caterer back in January. Yes, we plan that far in advance. Now to get more vendors in place. And so it is that we've skipped USian Thanksgiving in order to come up to Vancouver and meet with a number of people.

A busy week for us, then. Happily, as I write this on a grey Friday morning, sitting with coffee and breakfast at Safari Cafe (sooooo glad to be back here!), I can report that we have no other meetings this week, just some Christmas shopping (we've been doing that already this week)(that coat is Conrad's gift to me!), tree trimming, visits with a couple more friends, and then a flight home. Which is just as well - I loathe simple-minded jokes about how cold Canada must be given how mild Vancouver (and other parts of BC) is by comparison to where we currently live, but this week's unusual snow and cold in Vancouver has not been welcome!



Back to Chicago Sunday, and decisions to be made soon after. I won't let this become a wedding planning blog, but do not be surprised if you hear an occasional outburst from me on the topic.

More photos from this trip on Flickr!

still here

Look, I know it's been a while. I've spent time recently thinking the blogging thing - why am I doing it, for whom? No, I'm not overcome with angst, but I did realize that the blog hasn't been as fulfilling as it used to be. And I'm not yet sure whether and how to continue. I'll think on it more. I have, however, been adding photos to Flickr. I've not forsaken social media.

But golly, much has gone on since last I posted:

Garden party at the home of Rick and Deann Bayless of Frontera Grill, a prize won in a silent auction. No, they weren't there.

A good bye dinner at Mercat a la Planxa for CG before she moved away. Excellent dinner, bittersweet having to have it.

I had a few days in Baltimore with my best friend, Todd. Conrad joined us for most of it, and among the highlights was a long-awaited dinner at Woodberry Kitchen. And I ran a marathon.

Conrad and I had concurrent conferences in Pittsburgh, a quite appealing city. The time there was marred only by the cold I was suffering post-marathon.

John and Bryan treated us to birthday dinners at Frontera Grill.

I spent a long weekend in Toronto with Allison, my Best Woman, and her husband, Sean. Much shopping ensued.

There's a lot more I could write, I know. I have baked and cooked. We've had other meals out (like Sunday night, at Yoshi's celebrating Rachel's birthday). It's been a lovely autumn all in all.

Many of those moments are no longer fresh in mind, though, and I think it best to not look back too very much, just move ahead. I'll return to the blog again, certainly, even if it's to close it down. I still don't know. For now, though, a glimpse of a busy and fulfilling autumn.

Canadian songs

The National Post recently published an opinion piece on what its critic(s) thought were the top 100 Canadian singles of all times. Interesting list. I can't agree with most of it.

Well... scratch that. I have to concede, the list has a lot of well-known singles that put Canada on the musical map internationally, or influenced other musicians and styles in times that followed. So I guess what I have issue with is that I just don't like most of their selections. Of course, my list would likely be 90 Jane Siberry songs and 10 Kate and Anna ones and that's it. I know my own biases.

Some chat about the list among friends on Facebook had me thinking, though. What are my top 100? Good question.

I took a stab at it, and yep, a lot of Jane Siberry (mind you, the National Post list was 65% Tragically Hip, wasn't it?). I deliberately weeded some out in the interest of varying up the list. It was a tough exercise for a few reasons:

• what constitutes a single? In this day and age, it's easier just to go with track or song since so many of them are available as downloads whether released as a single or not.
• what did I listen to in the 80s and 90s? That's a crucial question since that's when I would have been exposed to Canadian music thanks to CanCon rules. I haven't had exposure to much Canadian music in a decade now, and I can't clearly remember the music of the old days.

So here's a list of things that I still listen to mixed with things that I used to like or haven't thought of in ages. Alphabetically by performer - I can't rank these, don't even ask me to. I hope that if you read this, you might respond with some of the more fun and obscure things I might have forgotten. I always like being reminded of fun things I may have missed.

1. Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette
2. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette (when I first hear this, I scoffed, but I came around to appreciating the song despite remembering the poodle hair teen pop queen Alanis)
3. Black Velvet - Alannah Myles
4. Could I Have this Dance - Anne Murray (not Snow Bird for me - I always think of this song as a sweet one my parents would dance to)
5. Sleepy Maggie - Ashley MacIsaac
6. Enid - Barenaked Ladies
7. Lovers In A Dangerous Time - Barenaked Ladies (a cover of another Canuck, I know, but I have always liked this version)
8. Diamond Mine - Blue Rodeo (I considered adding "Try", but it missed the cut)
9. If I Had a Rocket Launcher - Bruce Cockburn (I may prefer BNL for Lovers in a Dangerous Time, but I do like Cockburn here)
10. The World Just Keeps on Turning - Candi & The Backbeat (if Allison doesn't mock me for this, I will be surprised - I almost added West End Girls' "Not Like Kissing You" by the way)
11. Surrounded - Chantal Kreviazuk (the sound of December 1997 in my mind)
12. I Just Came back to Say Goodbye - Colin James
13. Miles From Our Home - Cowboy Junkies (I kind of like "Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning" as well)
14. Superman's Song - Crash Test Dummies
15. Inside Out - Crash Vegas
16. Sky - Crash Vegas (if anyone can spend more time than I care to and track down the video, then great!)
17. Pine For Cedars - Dan Mangan (I could have also picked "Basket", "Road Regrets", heck, the whole album they came from)
18. Robots - Dan Mangan
19. Silence - Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan
20. Hockey Night in Canada Theme - Dolores Claman (composer); Jerry Toth (orchestration) (a national embarrassment that this is no longer the theme song. I can't talk about this anymore)
21. 1234 - Feist
22. Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix) - Feist (a case where I prefer a remix)
23. Black Cars - Gino Vannelli
24. If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
25. Song For A Winter's Night - Gordon Lightfoot (and I love Sarah McLachlan's version)
26. Dance Desire - Haywire
27. Ev'rything I've Got - Holly Cole Trio (tough to pick a Holly Cole song - there are a lot I like and still listen to)
28. Tokyo Rose - Idle Eyes (interestingly enough, the woman known as Tokyo Rose was a regular at Yoshi's in the years before her death, and I was introduced to her there)
29. Bound By The Beauty - Jane Siberry (the song that, in my second year of UVic re-awakened by love for Siberry's music)
30. Calling All Angels – Jane Siberry (and gorgeous backing from kd lang!)
31. Everything Reminds Me Of My Dog - Jane Siberry
32. Map of the World (part II) - Jane Siberry (Dah Dah / Dah Dah Dah...)
33. Mimi On The Beach - Jane Siberry (where the Jane love started - I like the full version of the song on the CD. Incidentally, Mimi is really named Ruth)
34. See The Child - Jane Siberry
35. She's Like The Swallow - Jane Siberry (I actually started to cry a little when she played this once at Old Town School of Folk Music)
36. The Life Is The Red Wagon - Jane Siberry
37. The Taxi Ride - Jane Siberry
38. The Walking (And Constantly) - Jane Siberry
39. I Would Die for You - Jann Arden
40. Free Man In Paris - Joni Mitchell
41. St. Peter - Justin Rutledge (music that Allison introduced me to)
42. Constant Craving - k.d. lang
43. The Consequences of Falling - k.d. lang
44. Trail of Broken Hearts - k.d. lang (not much country music on the list, I know)
45. Matapedia - Kate & Anna McGarrigle (some days I think this might be #1 on this list)
46. Mother Mother - Kate & Anna McGarrigle (my discovery of the McGarrigles, in 1990, I think)
47. Talk To Me Of Mendocino - Kate & Anna McGarrigle (I especially love the version on The McGarrigle hour with Rufus and Martha joining in. Gives me the chills to hear Rufus on there with his mother)
48. Terrier Song - Kids in the Hall (I was torn between this and "Daves I Know", but the part in French and the line about corn chips and the scantily clad women in the video give this the edge
49. Crabbuckit - K-Os (Canadian rap!)
50. A Criminal Mind - Larry Gowan
51. Steal My Sunshine - Len
52. Working For the Weekend - Loverboy (the sound of elementary school dances in grade 7)
53. Giving Away A Miracle - Luba
54. How Many - Luba (I kick myself for not trying to get to her concert at Expo 86)
55. Let It Go - Luba
56. Cooling the Medium - M+M (aka Martha and the Muffins)
57. Let Your Backbone Slide - Maestro Fresh West
58. When the Day Is Short - Martha Wainwright (if Snow Patrol were Canadian, then "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" would have made the list)
59. Pop Goes the World - Men Without Hats (I like this more than "Safety Dance", but who can resist "Safety Dance"?)
60. The Safety Dance - Men Without Hats
61. Dead Disco (Kylie Kills Mix) - Metric
62. Rain - Michael Breen
63. Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Buble
64. Bye Bye Mon Cowboy - Mitsou (Quebec's answer to Madonna, or so they used to say)
65. King of Spain - Moxy Fruvous
66. For Tonight - Nancy Martinez
67. I'm Like A Bird - Nelly Furtado (ah, Nelly - Allison, commence scorn now)
68. Powerless (Say What You Want) - Nelly Furtado (her second album was so underrated)
69. Say It Right - Nelly Furtado
70. Promiscuous - Nelly Furtado & Timbaland (Steve Nash namecheck - awesome!)
71. At The Feet Of The Moon - Parachute Club (I played this cassette to death)
72. Hallelujah - Patricia O'Callaghan (the first version of this song ever I heard, and still the best for me)
73. Take This Waltz - Patricia O'Callaghan (ah, the memories of Serendipity Boy)
74. Crying Over You - Platinum Blonde
75. Let's Go to the Mall - Robin Sparkles (ok, so this is bending things some, but really, how awesome is this?)
76. Dirty Water - Rock and Hyde
77. April Fools - Rufus Wainwright
78. Barcelona - Rufus Wainwright (does it make me a bad gay that I kind of like his sister more? Gorgeous song, though)
79. Brother Down - Sam Roberts
80. Steaming - Sarah McLachlan
81. The Path of Thorns - Sarah McLachlan (memories of seeing her live at UVic in the er-lee 90s)
82. Vox - Sarah McLachlan (she was around in the 80s, you know)
83. Tell Somebody - Sass Jordan
84. That Don't Impress Me Much - Shania Twain
85. You've Got a Way - Shania Twain (an ideal wedding song, though not for next October, sorry)
86. I Want You Back - Sherry Kean
87. The Lines You Amend - Sloan
88. And If Venice Is Sinking - Spirit of the West
89. Frankfurt I’m Sorry - Spirit of the West (first heard on a mix tape a young guy I was sort of pursuing made me. Long story not worth going into but the ring I wear reminds me of that time)
90. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) - The Arcade Fire (though really, shouldn't that be "Neighbourhood"?)
91. Heart of the City - The Arrows
92. Ordinary People - The Box
93. Wasn't That a Party? - The Irish Rovers (although I remember their children's music more fondly)
94. I Will Give You Everything - The Skydiggers (good concert in Victoria late in 1993)
95. Slow Burning Fire - The Skydiggers
96. Romantic Traffic - The Spoons (the National Post picked Nova Heart? I barely remember that song)
97. Locked in the Trunk of a Car - The Tragically Hip (there are a few Hip songs I'm ok with, but this is the only one I utterly and enthusiastically like)
98. In the Meantime - The Waltons
99. Brothers - Tiga
100. Just Like Ali - Tom Cochrane (but NEVER "Life is a Highway" thanks!)