Anna N

Yesterday, @Kerry Beal and I paid a return visit to Cavallonero in Ancaster. (This was after we had entered another restaurant and got rather a bad vibe and decided to follow our instincts and find another place to eat). I enjoyed a glass of an Argentinian Malbec. Kerry had tea with lots and lots of milk (we both remarked on how wasteful it is to use these tiny milk containers). Crispy calamari. It was very tender if somewhat under seasoned but the garlic sauce that accompanied it was so moreish we eventually asked for another serving of the sauce. We each had a bowl of one of the daily soups. This was tomato, rapini and sausage garnished with extra Parmesan and some pepper. And we shared a mushroom pizza. That’s not an entirely a true statement. I was lucky enough to bring most of it home.

Be careful what you wish for. Butterscotch cookies. If all you ask of a cookie is that it be a good hit of sugar these will fill the bill. What they lack in excitement they make up for in ease of execution and very plain ingredients.

Yesterday @Kerry Bealand I returned to Kamoosh in Waterdown. I asked Kerry to take a photograph of their cutlery. It is stamped “Bowering” which used to be a boutique housewares chain but I believe it is long gone out of business. A glass of South African Sauvignon Blanc for me. Tea for Kerry. Then we shared a selection of cicchetti (I had to ask!). Apparently the word means Italian tapas? Polenta chips with lemon ricotta. Duck mousse with preserved pears and grilled baguette. Smoked salmon carpaccio. Lots of lovely grilled baguette. And then we shared the grilled calamari. For once we did not order too much food. The downside of that being there were no leftovers to take home.☹️

Snickerdoodles. Very disappointed that there are no crinkles. I have never figured out the secret to getting crinkly-topped cookies. I suspect, however, not a single complaint will reach me about the missing crinkles.

Yes it was on a daily special menu along with a Wagyu beef dish.

Katherine Hepburn‘s brownies with chocolate chunks.

Thank you for the thought. But I might starve to death in the meantime since she could not leave at lunchtime and was in a completely different building in another part of town except for the very first day, I had a wonderful time, bland sandwiches and all.

I have just finished a delicious lunch but yet I swear I could get my mouth around that sandwich. Him doesn’t know what’s good for him.😂

I looked at the video for the Sharp and it tends to give you the impression that you can cook a chicken in there so you need to watch the video very carefully to realize that the chicken never goes into the oven and never comes out of the oven. It just magically appears on the table. At first glance this doesn’t hold a candle to the CSO. But thanks for pointing it out even so.

Back in our own hometown(s) after a delightful sojourn in nearby London, Ontario, I didn’t have much hope that lunch would happen today. I had a dental appointment and did not fancy being in a restaurant, drooling from one side of my mouth, in public. Apparently things have improved immensely. The freezing had almost completely disappeared before my bill was paid. But something comforting and consistently good still seemed like a practical idea. And so we returned to Sakai. Tea for Kerry and sake for me and this time they did not bring an additional drinking cup! Again we decided that a selection of appetizers was the route to go. Steamed dumplings. Korean kalbi beef. And the signature dish—rock shrimp. Just as an aside foie gras was on the menu. Beef sashimi.

On the way out of town we stopped for a little more nostalgia. Mocha almond fudge for Kerry (hope I got that right). Fresh strawberry sundae for me. And apparently we missed this exciting tour.

Unless your name is Kerry Beal, getting creative in a hotel room with food is a bridge too far for most of us. But I tried. The second half of the ham and cheese sandwich which I opened this morning served up with a new package of Renée’s Caesar salad dressing for a dip. Served with (washed down with?): I have saved the remaining grapes and the chocolate chip cookies for an afternoon snack.

Finally the sun has broken through and I can see a little blue sky. Breakfast and lunch today will again be courtesy of Farm Boy supermarkets. Cheese and ham sandwich. Apple juice. Mayonnaise. Chocolate chip cookies and the only apple in the world undeserving of its moniker —a red delicious. Once again some intricate unwrapping was involved so that the second half of the sandwich could be re-wrapped and re-refrigerated for lunch.

With sincere apologies to Shizuoka Tsuji How do you butter your toast? Click I endorse the pan method, the glue stick method and the cheese/potato peeler method. Cold butter is better by far than hot butter. Life is complicated, so is buttering toast.

So once again I did my one job and researched places for dinner. We toyed with the thought of a Cuban restaurant until Kerry pointed out the rice and beans/peas on the menu. On the off chance that they might have contaminated the plates with such fair, we settled on The Church Key. Kerry had enjoyed Sunday brunch there back in 2016 when she was here in London for a medical school reunion. Their website said that the opportunity to make reservations was forthcoming but not yet available. Kerry did attempt a phone call but was put through to an answering service. Full of optimism we set off from the hotel at about 6 PM giving little thought that this was a Saturday night in a university town. Traffic rivalled that in Toronto on a day when both the Jays and the Leafs are playing. To add to the traffic congestion, many streets were already blocked off for a marathon which will take place today. Eventually we were able negotiate our way to The Church Key. Kerry dropped me in front of the door while she went to find a parking spot. When I opened the inner door, the noise set me back on my heels. Actually I think it set me back at least 6 inches. So when the server informed me that if I did not have a reservation then I was whistling Dixie if I hoped to dine, I could have grabbed her á la the sailor in Times Square on V-J day, bent her low and kissed her full on the lips—gender be damned. I quickly retreated and attempted to text Kerry to tell her not to park the car but to come and rescue me immediately. Fortunately she had parked illegally just behind the restaurant and was there in a jiffy. While I waited for her to bring the car around, a family of three started reading the menu posted outside The Church Key. I told them to move on unless they had reservations. They told me that everywhere they had tried to find a place to eat had the same story. Apparently the myth of starving university students was not holding up too well in London. On our way to this restaurant we had spotted.a ramen house. We headed back in that direction and were very fortunate to find a parking spot just across the road. Dinner was going to happen after all. Tea for Kerry. Warm sake for me. Apparently there must be something uncouth about drinking such a small amount of sake alone. Always we are presented with drinking cups for two. Miso tonkotsu ramen for Kerry. I swear to you she did not request extra corn just to annoy @liuzhou but it now takes only one tiny kernel of the stuff to bring him immediately to mind. Straight up pork tonkotsu ramen for me. Sizzling duck breast Teppan-Yaki. Wow this stuff was good. Even the burnt onions beneath the meat were delicious. Chicken knee cartilage. Shrimp and vegetable tempura. All was enjoyed in a very friendly atmosphere where we could actually hear one another speak.

Does this help? If only the strawberries made as much profit as the cannabis! I only mention it because it is part of the same link

Nah. It’s not the beer that doesn’t appeal — It’s the cold. I just don’t fancy a cold beer at the moment and a warm beer is the devil’s special torment. I have settled for some grapes and a hot cup of coffee. This was a pick-me-up after my postprandial nap.

If you mean a chauffeured limousine, I don’t think there’s a problem there. If you mean renting a car to drive, it would take more than one beer. I would need a whole case of beer to persuade me to get behind the wheel of the car. And then someone would have to carry me there, place my hands on the steering wheel and push the starter button. I haven’t driven for some years for which there are many, many people very grateful.

Now these are much more familiar to me and much more what I would’ve expected to see than a wild turkey. Since I had breakfast about 6 AM, as soon as the maid had mucked out my Augean stable as it were, I decided I needed some lunch. From our trip to Farm Boy yesterday, came: their own branded potato chips. some marinated artichokes and a spoonful of orzo salad. With these I assembled my lunch. The remaining half of the chicken salad sandwich which I opened at breakfast now seasoned and textured with some potato chips. Even without a microwave or a Control Freak I managed to assemble a perfectly good lunch. The trick now will be not to finish off the whole bag of potato chips. I am debating whether to open a beer.

Truly, Teo, I jest. As long as Kerry is my friend no bad karma can ever get too close to me.

You are just hanging around the wrong Canadians. 😂

Thanks for this. I shall be on the lookout.

Kerry has gone off today to another part of town to carry-on doing her best to keep us in qualified positions. After our lovely dinner last night and our nostalgic trip around town, we did a little bit of grocery shopping. While Kerry is off in another part of town and unavailable for breakfast or lunch (she started there at 7 AM), I wanted to take advantage and confine myself to my room so I can concentrate on my project. Hence we shopped for items that would be suitable for lunch and breakfast for me. There is no microwave in the hotel room but there is a small refrigerator. Unlike Kerry, who is more than happy to cook in her room, I am the world’s biggest chicken. I know for certain I would set off smoke alarms, perhaps even attract the whole fire department of the town of London. She has the Control Freak in her room and tried to persuade me that I could survive the use of it. She has no idea of the bad karma that follows me around. And so breakfast for me: A chicken salad sandwich from our newest chain of supermarkets, Farm Boy. Said to be a clone of Trader Joe’s, after my first visit I wonder if the person who made that comparison had ever actually been to a Trader Joe’s. No matter. The sandwich was fresh and apart from lacking any real seasoning, perfectly adequate. Since before I even opened it I knew very well I only wanted one half of the sandwich, the trickiest part of breakfast was unwrapping it so as to spare as much of the wrapping as possible . I did a fairly good job for a klutz so the second half is in the refrigerator and waiting for me the next time I feel peckish.

But the magnolias are in bloom!

Kerry would have been well within her rights this evening to point out that I only had one job. I did my research and I found an Indonesian restaurant called the Dragonfly Bistro. After spotting beef rendang on the menu, I spent some time eloquently describing the dish to Kerry. I suspect that is what might have tipped her in favour of this restaurant. However, when we arrived I learned that I should have been a little more thorough when I conducted my research. This dish is served at lunchtime and on a rotating dinner time menu. Tonight was not the night. If anyone is in need of a not particularly competent research assistant who will work for food… I’m sure Kerry will be looking for a new one soon and I will be available. But even without the beef rendang, we had a lovely time. The restaurant is run by a couple — he is Indonesian, she is Irish. For the most part, I think we have enjoyed eating in establishments run by couples/families a thousand times more than those run by mega corporations. This evening‘s Indonesian menu. Kerry was quick to notice this branding on the business side of the fork. Most cutlery, as everyone knows, is engraved on the back. For reasons known only to me and possibly @Smithy, I wanted to be sure to get a photograph of this plate. Those are reflections not chips. Something about the plate brought Smithy to mind. We shared a half litre of a Pinot Grigio. The meal is served family style. Three warm crusty buns with loads of butter. I did not want to fill up on bread, which is usually my downfall, so I cadged just a bite-size piece from Kerry’s bun. But before dinner was finished and while the buns were still on the table..... I have no shame. The beans. Tasty but still a little toothsome for both of us. Rice. The chicken which was truly moreish And the prawn crackers. We each took back to our hotel rooms a serving of sticky toffee pudding. There was a gorgeous sunset tonight but this is the best I could do. You will have to imagine the rest of it. After dinner we did a little drive around London in the name of nostalgia as this is where Kerry did her medical training at the University of Western Ontario.