Daniel called me late yesterday afternoon to invite me to join a few people for an evening of sipping wine. Which would have been lovely, had I not already planned to have dinner at Luis and Dan's. Daniel asked if photos would go on the blog. I hadn't planned on it, but heck, why not? It's rare that friends have us over for dinner, so such an occasion deserves documentation. Daniel, I'm just sorry that I can't provide more photos of
Tim for you.
Conrad couldn't make dinner in the end - it's an obligatory Yooper weekend for him. He'll be home tonight. I hope his visit is going well, though, because Luis and Dan out Martha-ed, out gay-ed, outdid us outright. Pretty impressive meal in a lovely home.
In truth, not all the photos are going up here. I try to keep this blog family-friendly for the most part, and there were great swathes of conversation last night (with props) that veered far into colourful territory. The price of having six gay men (four of them swim team mates who have, bluntly, seen each other in swim suits and less - Luis and Dan's friend Jim
heard a lot of team gossip last night!) gathered around a table.
Nevermind. On to the food:
Highlights? Jeepers, where to begin? Luis had out a selection of terrific cheeses to set the tone for the night, and his cooking (he did most of the kitchen work,
or so I understand) went from success to success.
Take, for example, the golden beets. A delightfully balanced salad with the greens, walnuts, tangy dressing, and cheese. Simple, delicious.
He served it with baguette he'd split, buttered, spread with a caramelized onion and anchovy (I LOVE anchovies!) topping, olives, some cheese, and into the oven to toast. So much for low carbs!
An effusive start to my description, and well-deserved. The food was outstanding. Like the scalloped potatoes. Seriously, I can't recall having had better ones. The right consistency, and the excellent addition of poblano chiles.
It paired very well with the beef (not pork, as the menu said) stuffed with chorizo and olives. Salty and creamy tastes mingled on the plate, and good manners were all that prevented me from swiping my thumb across it to get every last bit.
I should add here that in the middle of the table were a few bottles of assorted reds. Scott
chose the Zinfandel, and I agree with Dan (whoops, Smelt Dan,
not host Dan) that it had a lovely licorice scent. However, I went with the Cab - a 1990 Cabernet. It had deepened into some earthy notes, and even in the dimmer dining room light, it had a brick tinge of colour. Apparently it was something Dan (the host)
had tucked away at his place. A treat.
Conrad will be sorry to have missed out on dessert. There is a hierarchy of dessert flavours in his life, and lemon ranks not at the top but highly. We each had an individual sponge cake with homemade lemon curd.
Luis was unhappy with the cakes - he thought they were dense and he wished he'd made them that day instead of one day ahead of time. Nonsense. He protests too much. They were beautifully plated and another delicious success. They recalled to me
my trifle recipe, and with summer coming, I'll have to make that at some point again.
It was still a marvellously warm evening close to midnight when Dan, Scott, and I caught a cab home. I didn't get as long a night of sleep, and I was a little full when I got up this morning for my run. But by gosh, was it worth it!
as well as a few from a stop for coffee with my sister at Safari on Main.
The last few are views from our hotel room on Sunday evening - a splendid evening!
I hadn't been in Chinatown much in recent years. A lot of Vancouver's East Asian population has resettled in Richmond, in fact, and I had the impression that Chinatown was run down and desolate. Silly me. On a Sunday at lunchtime, it was lively, and the many shops spilled out intriguing wares and customers onto the sidewalks.
We should have realized that we were in for quite a feast given how abundantly Steven ordered for us the first time we met up with him for lunch at a Chinese restaurant on Broadway. Oh my.
And while the coffee for iced coffee took some time to drip through onto the condensed milk, the end result was mighty good!
Way back in 1986 when the World's Fair was being held in Vancouver, the Pan Pacific was THE big new luxurious hotel. 20 years later, it still has a certain cachet, as well as the the advantage of being close to the cruise ship traffic.
heard a lot of team gossip last night!) gathered around a table.
or so I understand) went from success to success.
He served it with baguette he'd split, buttered, spread with a caramelized onion and anchovy (I LOVE anchovies!) topping, olives, some cheese, and into the oven to toast. So much for low carbs!
It paired very well with the beef (not pork, as the menu said) stuffed with chorizo and olives. Salty and creamy tastes mingled on the plate, and good manners were all that prevented me from swiping my thumb across it to get every last bit.
chose the Zinfandel, and I agree with Dan (whoops, Smelt Dan,
not host Dan) that it had a lovely licorice scent. However, I went with the Cab - a 1990 Cabernet. It had deepened into some earthy notes, and even in the dimmer dining room light, it had a brick tinge of colour. Apparently it was something Dan (the host)
had tucked away at his place. A treat.
Luis was unhappy with the cakes - he thought they were dense and he wished he'd made them that day instead of one day ahead of time. Nonsense. He protests too much. They were beautifully plated and another delicious success. They recalled to me my trifle recipe, and with summer coming, I'll have to make that at some point again.
I should point out that Conrad has a tendency to take photos of me in action and I HATE IT!
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