so fa...

so good.

i am now the proud owner of my first couch. it's like having a new best friend. who enjoys watching reruns of dubbed japanese iron chef as much as you do...

the meal wore khaki.

it's been a week since that dinner at canoe that i mentioned - the fact that i haven't written about it until now is a fairly accurate index of its intrigue. main complaint would be that we were waiting at the bar for about 45 minutes after the time of our reservation to be seated. fortunately, i went with someone i don't see very often.. so we had lots to catch up on. unfortunately, there was no redemption to be had with the scallop appetizer. 3 bay scallops and 3 shrimp, scattered baby shitake mushrooms, thyme vinaigrette, and popcorn. for crunch. if this was the first i'd seen of jiffy-pop as garnish on a small plate, i might have been interested. this time it was just popcorn. my companion's salad was nothing special. creamy dressing and croutons drizzled with basil oil. main plates: i chose the salmon with micro greens/mache salad. beautiful piece of fish - a toasted crispy perfect golden crust and juicy inside. large serving too. greens came with a simple balsamic vinaigrette, and fish was plated with two sauces - one cream and one butter based. my companion opted for the pork loin. again, nothing special - and slightly overdone. dessert was a highlight: i had the hazelnut and sour cherry tart with a scoop of ginger beer ice cream, while my companion had the wild blueberry cheesecake. the sour cherries and the ginger beer of the ice cream on my tart were the only outstanding flavours of the evening.

after getting home from another of these summerlicious meals last night, i started to wonder if my tastebuds were failing. i mean.. it's late july in southern ontario! perfect ripe red tomatoes, juicy golden nectarines, tender young zucchini, eggplant, and pattypan squash, black plums, luscious strawberries, blueberries, and cherries, umpteen varieties of corn on the cob... i could go on. yet not a tender veg in sight on my plates of past week. looks like i'll just have to take matters back in my own hands... picked up some gorgeous red bell peppers, black plums, cherries, and 3 quarts of blueberries at the grocery store tonight. can't wait for the market on saturday.

regarding the tastebuds - not a problem. my chilled beet soup at lunch today was fully enjoyable. as was the ice cold schneider weisse i had when i got home out of the 42 degree humidity. as is the caffe latte gelato i'm currently savouring.

intergalactic broadcast #1

a first post need not be eloquent. right?

i'm having dinner at canoe tomorrow. i would have the word 'canoe' link to the restaurant's web site, or else some funny ironic web site about canoes, but it's too late to figure out the html at this time of night. instead i'll just indicate that it is a much talked about spot located on the 54th floor of the TD building in downtown Toronto. food by chef anthony walsh is a showcase of canadian fresh produce, seafood, game meats, and creativity. clever decor - though i'm told the curvy lines go against everything mies van der rohe intended for the TD centre itself. i'm looking forward to the citrus cured mahone bay scallops with truffle oil, as well as the endearing ginger beer ice cream with hazelnut crunch.

wow - it's not that hard to sound like a pretentious food critic.