L'Abattoir

There are people who plan weeks in advance, make reservations, and actually write down the address of a restaurant. We are not those people. After balking at the wait at Café Salade de Fruits, we were headed to Au Petit Chavignol. After four buses and getting within two blocks of the restaurant, we finally ended up at Pigeon Park. At this point, we were getting pretty hungry, so we walked down Carrall Street because we knew that Salt Tasting Room was in the vicinity. Then we remembered that L'Abattoir had opened just a couple of weeks ago.

Wood-Fired Pizza at Galiano Inn

Although we regularly make pizza at home, we rarely go out for pizza. When we tried the pizza at the Galiano Inn, we were hooked. We ended up eating here three times during our vacation.

eat@galiannoinn

On Galiano Island for few nights, we ventured to the Galiano Oceanfront Inn and Spa and their award-winning restaurant eat@galianoinn. Though we arrived a little late for our dinner reservation, we were asked to wait in the adjoining lounge a few minutes while they prepared our table. After we were seated, we understood why. They gave us a great table right at the window with a beautiful view.

Big Night

Big Night is one of the best English-language food movies ever made. Everything about it just shines. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub, as immigrant brothers running an authentic Italian restaurant in 1950's New Jersey, are outstanding.  Minnie Driver, Ian Holm, Isabella Rosselini and Allison Janney lead an amazing supporting cast.

Stanley Tucci plays Secondo, the younger brother, who handles the front of the house of their struggling Italian restaurant, along with helping out in the kitchen. Tony Shalhoub plays Primo, the creative genius and older brother, who refuses to compromise his culinary integrity.

The music is just perfect. The popular songs of the time along with the musical score complement the scenes superbly. The costumes, hair styles and even the cars help establish that we are in a time and place that rarely saw sophisticated dining outside of the city.

Now let's talk about the food. As Primo says, "People should come just for the food."

If you have not yet seen this film, STOP reading now, and buy, rent or borrow it.

Bistrot Bistro

halibut with broth lemon

Hark! Do I hear Paris calling? I'm a sucker for anything French, and when my friend suggested Bistrot Bistro, I could hardly say no. The truth is, we'd been meaning to visit for a while now.

The weather was warm enough that they had their near floor-to-ceiling windows wide open. It was almost like dining on a patio. The beautifully decorated room had rows of tea lights scattered on the walls. The grey and green colour scheme was very soothing.

NYC Black and White Cookies

Thank goodness for vegans! Not only are they animal friendly, keeping their bodies healthy and saving the planet, but they are also creating superb cookie recipes for our egg-and-dairy-allergic kids.

DOW: Florodora

This classic cocktail was created sometime after the New York debut of the 1900 hit musical comedy Florodora. Generally, good cocktails have a good balance of alcohol, sweet and sour. The Florodora hits the mark beautifully.

Marble Slab Creamery

It was just before eleven o'clock on a hot summer night, and as expected, there was a long queue in front of the English Bay Marble Slab Creamery. That gave us plenty of time to decide what mixins we were in the mood for. Twenty minutes later, it was our turn to order.

The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book

How happy I am, nay how happy my children are, that I stumbled across The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book: Great Dairy, Egg, and Nut Free Treats for the Whole Family by Kelly Rudnicki. Everything I've tried has been a smash hit, including recipes that often elude vegan bakers, such as doughnuts, which I featured in a previous post.

DOW: Bruichladdich Links

We're not big Scotch drinkers, but we usually have a bottle or two in the house.  Our latest acquisition is a limited release Islay from Bruichladdich.  Oh so smooth, it has a much lighter peatiness than the Laphroaig and Lagavulin we've tried.

La Brasserie

On the hottest night of the year, we snagged one of the window tables at La Brasserie. Thankfully, the sun had tumbled behind the building across the street and we were well shaded.

Scoop!

It was 12:32, we were standing at the door, noses pressed against the glass. The kind worker took pity on us and came over to open up shop and welcome us in. It had been just yesterday that my frozen yogurt craving began, and I would not be thwarted. I had been to Scoop! twice before; I knew that satisfaction was at hand.

DOW: Château La Gorce

Ever since I found this demi-bouteille years ago, Château La Gorce has been my go-to wine when my lovable partner is off-radar or simply in beer mode.