The restaurant has a spectacular location, high above the city with a great view. We were seated at a comfortable sized table. I took the banquette seat looking outwards. My companion faced into the restaurant where she could watch the tables rapidly filling up. They have a large open kitchen area where one can observe the action. Doug, our server, was knowledgeable and attentive without being intrusive. He had worked in Vancouver and we shared perspectives on the incredibly abundant restaurant scene in the city.
Shortly after we were seated, we were presented with a glass each of Nino Franco Primo Franco Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut from Veneto, Italy on behalf of Amanda’s friend, Paul, who works as a pastry chef at the restaurant. We followed this up with a glass of 2006 Cave Spring Oliver & Bonacini “Canoe” Riesling from the Niagara Region. I puzzled over the name till Doug brought me a card listing Canoe and the four other restaurants in the Oliver and Bonacini group.
Mexico and Me: Day -3 (T): Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
Dire warnings from Environment Canada greeted me when I woke up the morning before I was to catch a plane to Toronto and then later to Cancun. “Snowfall overnight, expect delays on your morning commute.” Hmmmm, I thought. With an early morning flight I did not want to find me and my taxi in a ditch while my plane took off into the clouds. The scene adjacent shows my destination - you can see why I did not want to be delayed getting there!
So here was my chance to work on that spontaneity issue. You know - throw away the careful planning and attention to detail and occasionally do things on the spur of the moment. Such as get to YVR the night before and have a nice stress-free sleep at the airport hotel.
I decided to check out the Fairmont Hotel at the airport – an indulgence I could justify thanks to Environment Canada. After the initial gulp at seeing the on-line rate for the available rooms I decided not to book on line but instead called reservations at the hotel. I checked my various memberships with the very helpful person on the reservations line and found that one of my memberships would get me a considerably lower rate so I went ahead and booked for a late check-in. That gave me the rest of the day to get organized, pack and check in online for my flight.
Omi Restaurant
243 Carleton Street, Toronto
Ph: (416) 920-8991
On my last visit to Toronto during another cold, snowy spell, we visited Omi Restaurant in its old location on Church Street and had our first introduction to their Omakase meal. Omakase essentially is a chef's selection of dishes based on high quality fresh ingredients available on that particular day. On that first visit we were so impressed that we actually went back a couple of days later to try it again. Then it closed.
When we learned that it had relocated to Carleton Street (see Mexico and Me: Day -2) we decided it would be our choice of restaurant for one of my two nights in Toronto en route to Mexico. So again we went for the omakase.To acompany certain dishes of the tasting menu our server provided a smoked soy sauce – interesting and unusual aroma and taste.
I have been a fan of German Rieslings for years. Raised eyebrows, quizzical or even somewhat patronising looks and comments about sophisticated palates and full bodied red wines would wash over me. I just smiled to myself as I picked up my Rhine or Mosel Riesling at the BC Liquor Store for a very reasonable price, and prayed to Dionysus and Bacchus (depending on whether I felt more Greek or Roman that day) that these wines would not become too "fashionable."
"Let them drink Chardonnay", I thought. And they did. And I bought my favorite Rieslings for a mere pittance.
Of course prices of the German Rieslings increased over time as with other wines but the idea that a preference for white wine indicates a lesser palate or ignorance of the "French paradox", still lingers in some circles. Yes I know about resveratrol and its possible health benefits but I figure I can get that anyway enough just by eating red grapes, skin and all. And fulfil a fruit requirement of the Canada Food Guide at the same time! So I continue to indulge in my preference for white wines and choose a Riesling or Gewürtztraminer over the ubiquitous Chardonnay every time.
The Sweetest Swing
The Sweetest Swing in Baseball by Rebecca Gilman
Directed by Liesl Lafferty
Beaumont Theatre (316 West 5th)
Evolving Arts Collective
Nov 29 till Dec 20th, 2008 www.evolvingartscollective.com for schedule and tickets
Vancouver, BC. Well folks here is another little gem of a production to brighten our rainy December scene. I have been a fan of contemporary American playwright Rebecca Gilman, since I saw her play, Spinning into Butter in Chicago two years ago. So I was excited and curious to see this production of one of her newer plays
The first nice surprise was on entering the Beaumont Theatre. I don't think I have seen anything there since Adam Cowart's Alone and and Matthew Bissett's Money in early 2006, and I remembered the space as being small and rather cramped with uncomfortable seating not holding many people. Well not any more. It is now a nice little black box theatre with comfortable seats, nicely stacked so visibilty is good.
The December Man by Colleen Murphy
Directed by Patrick McDonald
Performance Works
Green Thumb Theatre
Nov 20 to Dec 7, 2008
Bridget O'Sullivan, Charlie Gallant and Ron Lea. Photo by David Cooper
Vancouver, BC:
The December Man ends on a note of such painfully tragic dramatic irony that on the night I saw it the audience sat silent for a seemingly endless time before the applause began. Colleen Murphy's powerful play shows us in stark simplicity that the devastation wrought by violence extends far beyond those who are, at first glance, the only victims.
Drawing from the incident in the 1989 massacre at Montreal's École Polytechnique when Lepine, armed with a semi-automatic weapon forced the male students to leave a classroom, leaving nine women behind to be shot, Murphy shows how the guilt and shame engendered in one of these young men ultimately destroyed him and his family.Although at the time some people questioned how these men could have left the women to face an obviously deranged and dangerous man, it is difficult to imagine how anyone would react differently with an automatic weapon pointed at one's head. Be that as it may, many of the students involved experienced profound psychological disturbances that lasted years after the event and several committed suicide.
Canoe Restaurant and Bar
,Charlie Gallant (M), and Ron Lea (R).David Cooper Photography.thumbnail.jpg "Bridget O'Sullivan, Charlie Gallant and Ron Lea in The December Man:Photo by David Cooper")
Recent comments