The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)

[Okanagancook]

Wow, whole lambs!

Lucky Costco shoppers.

We used to get our farm lambs whole until the local slaughter hose went out of business and the lambs are trucked for slaughter and butchering.

So nice to decide what cuts you want and making fresh lamb sausage.

Those were the days.

[Anna N]

 Since Taste of Oakville is still going strong for a little while longer we decided to go here  for lunch today. 

 

They offered craft beers so I ordered the Nickel Brook blonde that I had tried to get at another restaurant. Sorry we forgot to take a photograph. It’s a beer. In a glass.  It’s pale. 

 

 We both elected to order from the tasting menu. 

 

Kerry’s beef tartar

 

 

 Smoked cauliflower soup for me. 

 

 

 Braised short ribs for Kerry. 

 

 

 Rainbow trout for me. 

 

And then because Kerry was intrigued by the cauliflower on the main menu we shared this. 

[Smithy]

6 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Since Taste of Oakville is still going strong for a little while longer we decided to go here  for lunch today. 

 

And then because Kerry was intrigued by the cauliflower on the main menu we shared this. 

 

General Tso Cauliflower.  Hmm, interesting concept.  I'd have wanted to try the Buffalo Brussells Sprouts, but IIRC you are averse to that vegetable. Did you happen to see any served at another table? 

[rotuts]

I won't mention that theyMight Have Damaged

 

some Calamari

 

but

 

it might have been good ?

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

General Tso Cauliflower.  Hmm, interesting concept.  I'd have wanted to try the Buffalo Brussells Sprouts, but IIRC you are averse to that vegetable. Did you happen to see any served at another table? 

Didn't see any sprouts - lots of lovely fresh looking food going to other tables though.

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

I won't mention that theyMight Have Damaged

 

some Calamari

 

but

 

it might have been good ?

Didn't see it on the menu!

[DianaB]

On 26/10/2017 at 6:38 AM, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

Thanks for sharing the uplifting story of your cousin's recovery and the celebration of that.

 

I agree about the sign! All directions or routes ... wonder what that was supposed to mean? I'd still be lost. 

 

Really enjoyed reading the positive events that resulted in a trip to Nice and the photos are beautiful even if I’m surprised that the restaurant didn’t use linen table cloths.  I had thought it obligatory for a Michelin starred place but perhaps not for the tables outside.

 

The ‘Toutes Directions’ sign is replicated all over France, usually to get traffic away from a town centre and onto a ring road from which drivers can pick the appropriate destination from similar boards but with place names listed.  Am all but certain we have similar in England but these things become so much a part of one’s landscape that they don’t stand out.  

 

ETA I hadn’t realised how long ago the original post was made! I had momentarily forgotten that I’m working my way through months of content at the moment.....

Edited February 11, 2018 by DianaB (log)

[DianaB]

I have now caught up with this thread and really enjoyed all of the details on lunches.  Kerry and Anna’s reports are always of interest but one thing occurred to me repeatedly as I worked my way through.  Perhaps best expressed by way of a question:  If I was able to join you for lunch close to your homes in Canada (please don’t panic, this is very unlikely) what would we eat as a typical Canadian meal?  

 

The question could be broadened if others want to join in:  What would any of you propose for me, European living in England, as an appropriate lunch to reflect the cuisine of your local area?  

 

Looking forward to some virtual lunching.

[suzilightning]

31 minutes ago, DianaB said:

 If I was able to join you for lunch close to your homes in Canada (please don’t panic, this is very unlikely) what would we eat as a typical Canadian meal?  

 

The question could be broadened if others want to join in:  What would any of you propose for me, European living in England, as an appropriate lunch to reflect the cuisine of your local area?  

 

Looking forward to some virtual lunching.

At this time of year up here in northern New Jersey I would take you to Calandra's Italian Village.   Good bread, pizza, pasta.  Or perhaps for Indian food in Morristown.  Or noodles at Shan Shan.  

Easier if you came to visit in the summer...... down the shore we would have all kinds of fresh seafood, fresh corn, tomatoes and blueberry pie!!!!!!

 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, DianaB said:

If I was able to join you for lunch close to your homes in Canada (please don’t panic, this is very unlikely) what would we eat as a typical Canadian meal?  

 If there is such thing as a typical Canadian meal I have no idea what it is.  One can easily resort to clichés – – fresh seal liver, blubber, poutine, buttertarts, maple syrup.  The list goes on but certainly none of them would show up on my typical lunch menu. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by Anna N (log)

[suzilightning]

4 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 If there is such thing as a typical Canadian meal I have no idea what it is.  One can easily resort to clichés – – fresh seal liver, blubber, poutine, buttertarts, maple syrup.  The list goes on but certainly none of them would show up on my typical lunch menu. 

 

nanaimo bars?

[Shelby]

Well, I know for sure that a typical Canadian meal would include calamari. 

[DianaB]

Thanks for replies to my question to date.  It was because I only know of the types of Canadian foods that @Anna N lists that I was curious to learn more.  Despite the numerous links between Canada and Europe we very rarely hear about events in Canada and Canadian culture is rarely discussed, at least in my experience.

 

If you had to express Canada on a plate @Anna N what would you serve?  Are there typical Canadian cheeses?  I’m ashamed that I don’t know of any.  I know I could search Google but others here might also be interested and an exchange is more rewarding than a screen full of facts...

[Anna N]

16 minutes ago, DianaB said:

If you had to express Canada on a plate @Anna N what would you serve?

 Ethiopian doro wat and injera, Thai beef laarb, Japanese tamoyaki, Jamaican jerk chicken ...  I would tell you we are a country of diverse cultures and cusines. I want to celebrate our diversity and would want to show that to you. I might also show you some regional foods from Newfoundland and British Columbia and Quebec but always I would be trying to show you that we cannot be boxed in or tied to any one cuisine. To paraphrase the American poet, Walt Whitman, “we are large, we contain multitudes”.

[chromedome]

One year, for Canada Day, I served moose curry over couscous. Just 'cause. 

[ElsieD]

My sister and I met for lunch today at a Korean restaurant which had opened it's second location last week.  Alas, when we got there, taste buds a-tingling, there was a closed sign on the door!  I don't know if it was closed closed, or just a temporary thing but there would be no lunch for us there today.

 

So, we went across the street to The Merivale Fish Market.  She had the clam chowder, I had the lobster bisque.  Both were very good.

[Anna N]

Today @Kerry Beal and I made a return visit to Montforts.  

 

 I enjoyed a Nickelback dark while Kerry, as usual, enjoyed some tea. 

 

 

  Tea alongside assorted dips and sauces.

 

 

 Calamari.  

 

 

Bathenjane (eggplant) salad. Even this eggplant hater found it quite palatable. 

 

 

 Montfort chicken for Kerry. 

 

 

Lamb shashlik for me. 

 

We both knew it was Valentine’s Day but usually one is quite safe at lunchtime. Not so today. We barely escaped without a long stemmed red rose for each of us despite Kerry’s attempt to head them off at the pass.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

21 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Bathenjane (eggplant) salad. Even this eggplant hater found it quite palatable. 

 

What was different about this eggplant treatment, that you liked it?

[Anna N]

9 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

What was different about this eggplant treatment, that you liked it?

 It didn’t taste like eggplant. 

[ElsieD]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

 It didn’t taste like eggplant. 

High praise, indeed!

[kayb]

On 2/11/2018 at 7:13 AM, DianaB said:

I have now caught up with this thread and really enjoyed all of the details on lunches.  Kerry and Anna’s reports are always of interest but one thing occurred to me repeatedly as I worked my way through.  Perhaps best expressed by way of a question:  If I was able to join you for lunch close to your homes in Canada (please don’t panic, this is very unlikely) what would we eat as a typical Canadian meal?  

 

The question could be broadened if others want to join in:  What would any of you propose for me, European living in England, as an appropriate lunch to reflect the cuisine of your local area?  

 

Looking forward to some virtual lunching.

 

Well, I'm a good ways from Canada, but if you were to come visit me, I'd have a lot of choices for lunch...but I'd narrow it down to a couple.

 

First, of course, is barbecue. And by barbecue, I mean smoked, pulled pork, accented prior to cooking by a complex spice rub, cooked low and slow until the meat shreds at a light tug of a fork. Topped, or not, as you please, with a dollop of tomato-based barbecue sauce, and a heaping spoonful of slaw, embraced between a couple of pillowy buns. It's the regional cuisine of the mid-south, and no place in the country does it any better.

 

Specifically, I'd probably take you to Jones' BarBQue Diner, recipient of a James Beard American Classic award, where the 'cue is served on white sandwich bread. You want a side, you grab a bag of chips from the rack. You want a drink, you get a canned soda out of the case next to the wall. The pork carries the show, and it needs no assistance.

 

If for some reason we were not in a barbecue mood, we'd visit one of the many "meat and three" locations that dot the landscape. The range from "soul food," with a choice of breaded pork chops, chicken wings, neckbones and dressing, sweet potatoes redolent with nutmeg, greens, soup beans, fried potatoes, to more mainstream blue plate specials, featuring standbys like fried chicken, beef tips and noodles, meat loaf with a dizzying array of sides from which to choose. My personal favorite is The Cupboard in Memphis, where I've been going for more than 40 years, always eating the same thing -- eggplant casserole, corn pudding, cucumber salad, and field peas. 

 

We could do Indian, or Mexican, or Thai, or Middle Eastern, or African, or Jamaican, or any number of other cuisines. But the two I described are home.

[DianaB]

Thanks so much to @kayb, @Anna N and others for joining in the lunch game.  I find it extremely interesting to begin to understand the basics of our different food cultures and this is a great place to learn.  It would be lovely of course if we could all meet in person over a lunch or dinner.  Given that for numerous reasons that is unlikely I shall continue to salivate here, and elsewhere on eGullet, savouring these virtual moments of togetherness and joy over food. 

[Anna N]

 Today @Kerry Beal had business to conduct in Cambridge.  It’s a small town northwest of Burlington and about a 45 minute drive from my house Oakville.  When we knew we would be heading to Cambridge Kerry asked me to research places to eat. A small family run Mexican restaurant, Latinomerica Unida called out to me.   That is where we found ourselves at lunchtime today. 

 

 

 We shared this appetizer called Choriqueso.  It is described as Mexican chorizo mixed with melted mozzarella cheese and served with flour tortillas and pico de gallo. 

 

 

Kerry had the Carne Asada. 

 

 

 I had the Tacos de Carnitas —  pulled pork, mozzarella, onion, sour cream lettuce and Mexican sauce. 

 

 

I also had a Mexican beer but forgot to take a photograph and be darned if I can remember what it’s name was. I asked our very pleasant server to bring me a beer of her choice.  It was quite a tasty beer that came in a squat bottle. 

 

The flour tortillas were so good and they were for sale in a refrigerator display case so I came home with a package of them. Should have grabbed some of their corn tortillas too!  

[rotuts]

@Anna N

 

looks like the real deal

 

those totillas were portably made there

 

better go back soon and study those Beers.

 

those tacos look like the real deal

 

soft tortillas , not too big  and just enough filling

 

Yum !

[heidih]

24 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 I also had a Mexican beer but forgot to take a photograph and be darned if I can remember what it’s name was. I asked our very pleasant server to bring me a beer of her choice.  It was quite a tasty beer that came in a squat bottle

 

Modelo perhaps?  https://www.google.com/search?q=modelo+beer&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS755US755&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjfzOOrv7XZAhXBv1QKHT3ZCBgQ_AUICigB&biw=1163&bih=561