« March 2009 | Main | June 2009 »
While I was in Vancouver, Erin and I stopped by a flower market since she wanted some "spring" to enlighten her apartment. Erin picked up a spray of lilacs, and truly, there were no more than 6 or 7 "bunches" of the flowers in each bouquet. We were shocked and appalled at the $22 price tag!
So Erin, this is a virtual bouquet for you! (And I didn't pay a cent for them!)
For Mom's Day, I headed to Vancouver for a "Girls Only" weekend. Erin graciously opened her home to me for our weekend of girliness. The first night there we were invited to a university chum's birthday. Unfortunately... the evening was a bust. If you live (or are planning to visit) Vancouver do NOT go to Mona's Lebanese Restaurant. Unless you like over priced hummus and pita bread. Or like to wait at least an hour of your drink. Or are no longer interested in hearing. This place has a large dining room which makes is great for parties, right? Wrong. Because after about 8pm the music starts blaring (and is Middle Eastern rock, for a lack of a better word). So even though you have invited all of your friends, you can't actually talk to them. Then next day we had tix to a local production of Les Miserables. I'll admit I wasn't holding out for anything too spectacular. But both Erin and I were pleasantly surprised! Jean Val Jean was an amazing singer and the comic relief (who knew there was anything funny in Les Mis?), Thenardier was most excellent.
We were planning to go out for a nice dinner that night, but after drinks & apps on a sunny patio we weren't all tat hungry. We headed for a light dinner at one of my fallbacks, Legendary Noodle. This place is a tiny hole-in-the-wall with maybe 8 tables? But it is so interesting because you can watch the chefs shave, stretch and throw the noodles. My favorite dish is the pork and green beans with fat noodles. Sweet, salty and slippery goodness! (The other dish we shared isn't worth mentioning.)
On Mom's Day we went and did many of the things I love. First we went mountain bike riding at SFU (E's and my alma mater for undergrad). I was a little concerned since I haven't really been riding in about two years. I like to think I held my own. I even had a pretty spectacular dirt-kiss, and I'm still enjoying the bruises!
Up, up, up we went and then, down! Logs, stumps, bridges, stairs and switchbacks. Thanks to Rose for letting me borrow "Old Nellie". Wheeeeee!
The secret to mountain biking is pretty simple. The slower you go the more likely it is you'll crash. ~Julie Furtado
After getting sweaty and dirty, we cleaned ourselves up and went for pedis and manis. Now I have lovely toes colored with "Wine Me and Dine Me". Seemed appropriate.
We shared a bottle of wine with our friend and Erin's neighbour, Dawn before heading out to Bin. This restaurant was ranked one of Vancouver's Best Places for Tapas. It totally deserved it. We stared the evening with a sun-dried tomato and goat cheese spread on flatbread. Tangy and tomato-y!
Next, on to anchiote pepper rubbed bison flank. This was amazing. Period. The pepper crust had a nice crunch on the thinly sliced steak. I think it's a good test of the kitchen on how well they prepare one of these types of steaks; flank, skirt and hanger can all be tough and leathery if not prepared well. But Bin excelled; medium rare, juicy, and delicious.
We enjoyed a lovely French blend as we waited for our third plate, risotto with black truffle cream. Oh. My. God. We knew it would be arriving before we saw it. The pungency of the truffles was almost overwhelming. Almost. The rice was al dente and smothered in the rich, creamy sauce. I certainly wanted to swoon. It would have been better had we had a few friends to share these dishes, if for no other reason that we'd have been able to try more on the menu.
We ended our meal with another truffle, this time warm chocolate truffle cake with sundried cherries. On the side was a shot glass of dulce de leche espresso creme. Damn. the creme was gorgeous with the cake. I really wanted to lick the glass clean.
Too quickly the weekend was over and I was back on the road. Thanks for a good weekend, E!
And Happy Mother's Day to me and all of the other Yummy Mummies around.
After one night at home, our suitcases were repacked. Except! There were no diapers or onesies or toys or pop-up books. Harry was dropped off at his Grandma's and we were off to the airport again. Ahhhh, these plane rides were so much more relaxing. Even our layover in Seattle was pleasant, since we had "boardroom" passes. That meant instead of 2.5 hours crammed in the boarding area listening to the arrivals and departures, we enjoyed lounging in comfy chairs, sipped on wine, and supped and complementary lunch! A much more civilized way to travel.
A much more civilized way to travel...
Our first night in La Jolla was spent in "Old Town" at a B & B. This was such a lovely place with a luscious garden around back. Our room had a cozy little balcony overlooking the garden and we enjoyed the house sherry and chocolates that evening before heading out for dinner.
Restaurant "Nineteen" was a short walk from the B&B, nestled in one of the larger hotels in Old Town. Normally, I have little love for restaurants in hotels, but Colin (as social director) did his research and was confident in this choice. They had a prix fixe menu that started us with an amuse bouche of chilled beet soup. Sigh... silky, creamy with just the right amount of tang from the swirl of creme fresh. I started with fresh pasta stuffed with lamb which was deicious, but Colin's seared fois gras was divine. Perfectly prepared with a lovely crisp outside and smooth inside, the fois gras was showcased on a bed of grapefruit supremes (a fancy name for individual segments, Don't you watch the Iron Chef?) The Waygu beef medallions with spring vegetables was a little rare even for me (and I usually like mine to moo, I think it was cut too thick). That, along with Colin's braised short ribs were both hearty enough to counter the chill off the ocean. We chose this restaurant, along with the other choices during out getaway, because of thier focus on local meats and produce. And why not? This is where all of the produce is coming from these days. You could definitely tell that these were fresh from the farm and had not travelled across the country before arriving at my plate.
Only one day in this cute part of La Jolla. But before heading to the convention area in the downtown core we spent a great day wandering about and lounging by the ocean...
I spent most of the days cloistered in class (continuing ed.) while Colin got to explore. He went to an aquarium, the university, and the farmer's market. But I think his favorite adventure was the brewery crawl; Stone, the Lost Abbey and Green Flash. He was actually concerned that the pours were too generous!
Once the seminar was done we boogied out of the boring concrete jungle of convention centerville and headed to downtown San Diego and the "Gas Lamp" district to a little boutique hotel, Solamar. This was such a great hotel! Easily walkable to the seawall and many great shops and restaurants. We had drinks in the rooftop bar and then a great, low-key dinner in the adjacent restaurant, JSix. To celebrate (or was it commiserate?) our last night away, we ordered a bottle of sparkling to go with the antipasti plate of local cheeses, house made salami and local fruit. Delectable! Then it was onto a light dinner of mixed greens and candied pecans and a shared dessert of house-made chocolates and cookies called "small ending". Mmmmm, Colin always teases me about ordering dessert because I usually don't like them; too sweet, too milky (ie the chocolate's not dark or bitter enough), just too, meh. But this! This pastry chef has got it going on. Rich, dark chocolate, not cloyingly sweet at all and no pasty fruit centers, which ruin good chocolate as far as I'm concerned. Bliss.
Gas Lamp District, San Diego
Sigh.... I guess it's time to head back to reality.
At least the snow has melted.
Will winter never end? Colin made a prediction that we'd still have snow in April. And dammit! He was right! The day before we left Vernon to start our 3 week west coast adventure it snowed. Granted, it wasn't a blizzard, but it was adding to the snow that was still on the ground here. Sigh...
Getting ready for take-off!
So when we arrived in Stumptown and they were forecasting unseasonably warm weather, I said, Yay! We were in town for just under two weeks and it was starting out right. Too bad for Colin though, he was stuck at work (and scheduled to be there both weekends). Really too bad for him because Harry and I went shopping! We had to buy sunblock and sandals. But after two days... Portland spring was back. It's not lush and green there because of the scorching sun you know...
Now that Harry is vertical it was easier to go out for a walk in the rain. All the guests at the Residence Inn (our home away from home) recognized us wandering about. The most comments were noting that Harry wasn't carrying his sip cup in his mouth without his hands. The kid is totally oral-fixated.
As usual, my favorite time of day was the evening. It's two-fold really. One, it incorporated my favorite kind of child (ie, sleeping) and two, we were lucky enough to have a babysitter a couple of nights and got to go out for some amazing meals. But even when we were without a babysitter, we are always lucky to have amazing friends who would (1) join us early, (2) invite us to their house and let H sleep there or (3) come by the hotel with take-out (Jancy, you rock!).
Harry "helping out" at SPI in the phone room...
Some tasty tidbits to tantalize...
It is becoming a ritual when we arrive in PDX - the first night is always a mad scramble to get to the hotel, get settled, feed the Bean, and get him to bed without reaching a nuclear meltdown. I'm all about containment because the breach is uh-gly. Once all that has gone down. I need a drink and some good food. So while I'm wrestling with Harry (Into the highchair, into the tub, into pajamas and into bed) Colin is being a very good hubby and finding me a chilled bottle of sparkling and Ethiopian food. Don't knock it until you've tried it, it is so worth eating together. Bring on the spicy lamb and sizzling mushrooms; the bubbles cool the good hurt. Besides, the injera has bubbles in it so they have to pair.
Harry found Mummy's stash!
One of the "fancy" nights out was to Paley's Place. He is one of the leading edge chefs in Portland really focusing on local, sustainable food. And he makes his own charcouterie, how can you not love it? We were fortunate enough to have made reservations for a Wednesday night which just happens to be "wine flight night". Karma continued to shine for us since they were pouring choices from France. My faves! We chose big, fat Cote du Rhone wines for our flights. Think silky, juicy Gigondas and plump, heady Chateauneuf du Pape for each sip... While all the food was excellent, my entree of boeuf Bourguignon was an outstanding complement to the wines. Rich and hearty as it had been simmering for days, generously slathered over housemade egg noodles. Divine, sublime, all mine...
Speaking of nights out, we were joined by Jason, Nancy and Alex for an early dinner. As far as "kid-friendly" restaurants go, you would have a hard time trumping the Country Cat when it comes to food. Chef Adam is all about local foods with a Southern flare; think grits, braised greens and fried chicken (it's organic so it's good for you, right?). And he gives a gracious nod to the cuisine on the Northwest too with his Grilled Pacific salmon and morel sauce. All prepared without too much fuss, but packed with taste. Their menu suited the foodie in each of us, though I'm not sure who's worse, Jason or me... In fact the braised pork and grits on the kids menu was so good I had to remind Colin it was for Harry!
One final piece of foodie fodder. Hopworks. This is a business model that is pure genius. The urban brewery combines pub and children seamlessly (who knew?). Half of the building is no minors with a full bar and restuarant-style menu; the other side is, well, mayhem. But for those who like beer (and I'll admit they have a decent wine selection too) and have a kid in tow, this is a piece of paradise. They have a large kids section with a train table, two walls of chalkboards, books, puzzles, and other things to entertain a 1 year old to a 7 year old. (By then, I assume you've trained your kid well enough to sit through a meal without too much trouble. Harry was particularly enamoured with the big dinosaurs. You'd swear he'd never seen toys before by the way his eyes lit up. I guess there's a bit of truth to that, but I stick by my story that up until now he couldn't have cared less. TNDC is still alive!
The mayhem that is Hopworks.
The wines have been packed, new clothes and shoes crammed in too, and after one tolerable and one painful plane ride we are back home. And there's still snow.
Luckily, we were only home for one day...
Recent Comments