ChantelleJoy

About a year ago I bought a Bicycle. Approximately 30 minutes after the purchase, I experienced a pretty bad accident involving some streetcar tracks. This not only left my knees in pretty rough shape, it also caused me to cancel a trip to NYC I had been pretty excited about.

Since then I’ve been back on the bike, quite a bit actually, but only in the Suburbs. I’ve always been afraid of biking in The City – and the accident only made things worse.

However, after just two short months of living in Toronto, I’ve realized something. Everybody Bikes, like, Everywhere. Especially when it’s nice out, there are literally HERDS of Cyclists all around the city. It’s impressive, and I really want to be a part of the club! So, yesterday (when it was over 20 degrees out!) I headed to Canadian Tire to outfit my bike with a Proper Bell, and a Side-Mirror, and filled my tires, and was on my way!

I biked along Bloor about 8Km from Yonge Street to High Park to see the Sakura Blossoms (while I still had the chance – a few pics I took can be seen here). It went GREAT! I then biked back along the waterfront to Sugar Beach with no issues! I’m feeling quite proud.

Which brings me to my next topic.
I must be part cat.

Laying down a big beach towel and sprawling out for a nap in the sun under the Cherry Blossom Trees was possibly one of the most relaxing and wonderful moments I’ve had in The City. Later, leaning back on the Muskoka Chairs at Sugar Beach with the sand under my feet was glorious. Finding a nice, quiet, relaxing spot in the city can be difficult – I want to share my experience and knowledge with others on this topic, so I’ve decided to start documenting my outdoor naps, and hopefully catch on and become a fun new project for me, we’ll see if I get bored with it. For yesterday’s (all all future) entries, see ChantelleJoy.com/Naps.
I’m going to update throughout the whole summer as I plan to relax on many a lawn and beach in the sunny days to come.

In the meantime, however, there are lots of exciting things on the horizon. I’ll be heading to Vegas May 4-6 for @Anzi & @BillyBobMac‘s Pastafarian Wedding. I’m pretty stoked about that, and I’m certain I’ll find a poolside or two to add rank on the nap list – so stay tuned!

It was just about a year ago when I first heard about the documentary on the 3-Michelin starred Restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro, and its octogenarian chef/owner Jiro Ono. I couldn’t wait to see it. I was heading to NYC for Easter Weekend, and was excited that I’d be able to attend a screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. Sadly, my trip had to be cancelled and I had to sell my tickets. The film got rave reviews, and made a pretty big fuss as the first film to be sold at Tribeca in 2011. I moved on, but it never left my mind.

I was constantly reminded of the resturaunt at work, and whenever I went for sushi I’d think about Chef Ono and his skill. Similarly to how I was able to vicariously enjoy the food of El Bulli via Cooking in Progress, I wanted to experience his miraculous sushi. Then (to the rescue, as always) TIFF announced a limited run of at the Lightbox – I bought my ticket the very same day to see the film I’d been longing to see for ages, Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

Director David Gelb tells Jiro’s tale, the story of his tiny 10-person restaurant, and how he got to the height of culinary excellence with hard work, obsession, and focus. In that last sentence I wanted to write the word “creativity” but ironically Jiro’s food isn’t considered groundbreaking or innovative. Unlike the cuisine of the majority of what are considered “The Best Restaurants in the World“, we’re not talking about deconstruction and reconstruction, or molecular gastronomy, or even anything but traditional flavours and ingredients – we’re talking about fish on rice. Jiro hasn’t reinvented the wheel, he’s perfected it. He’s looked at every single aspect of his art and constantly tried to improve it. He’s spent decades (and decades) fine-tuning the entire process to make what is simply considered the most delicious sushi in the world. Simple.

If you are familiar with the Michelin rating system you’ll know that it’s not exactly the chefs themselves who receive the stars. It’s their restaurants. I’d say at the majority of Michelin rated restaurants in the UK, Europe and USA the chefs whom were awarded the honour of the stars are very likely not doing service day-in and day-out. The majority of the work on any meal is a team effort, and while the chefs are certainly credited for their inventions and recipes, it’s the executive chefs, chef de cuisine’s, chef de partie’s, sous-chefs, and stagiaire’s who are churning out the quality and consistency that’s required to receive those stars. In the documentary we do get to meet the young (and not-so young) apprentices that work under Chef Ono to keep the tradition of quality and excellence at this restaurant, but make no mistake that Chef Ono is still there, every day, creating the finished product for nearly every one of his patrons. In many ways this makes him personally more deserving of the Michelin stars than many other chefs who have been bestowed the same.

The documentary also lets us get to know Ono himself, from his difficult childhood, through the second world war, on to family life and cuisine, and finally his legacy. Older son Yoshikazu works tirelessly at his side, and is for all intents and purposes a younger version of Jiro – teaching and perfecting the skills and knowledge that he has learned over his lifetime from his father, awaiting his turn as the head chef, while knowing that it’s unlikley to happen while his father is alive. Ono’s younger son Takashi was sent forward with his father’s blessing to start his own branch of Sukiyabashi Jiro in Roppongi Hills – a mirror image of his father’s restaurant (as he is right-handed, Jiro being left handed) he is considered a master of his craft as well. We get to experience the vivacious fish market, meet a few of Jiro’s choice vendors, and learn exactly what he thinks it takes to be the best in the world at something.

Beautifully shot by Gleb, who clearly has the utmost respect for Jiro Ono. He makes fantastic use of a wonderful score and hyper-slow-mo for some food preparation shots. At one point our guide Japanese restaurant critic Masuhiro Yamamoto refers to the meal that you’re served as a symphony, and Gleb plays directly with this theme throughout by taking you on a journey to experience the breadth of the story he is telling, to experience the resaturant, the chef, and an entire meal as best you can on film.

I will have to say that the pacing did stumble only slightly near the 2/3rd mark of the film. Documentaries can be tricky on finding the right tone and story to tell, and I just think that they offered a bit of a summary too early – I honestly thought the film was winding down, luckily my disappointment was soon relieved as the film continued to its rightful length.

Sukiyabashi Jiro is considered a restaurant that is worth an entire trip to Japan, in which case it only stands to reason that Jiro Dreams of Sushi is definitely worth making a special effort to see (3 Michelin-Stars AND 96% Fresh! What are you waiting for?).
The release is extremely limited, so at the very least watch for it coming to DVD.

I think it finally hit me this week. I know that’s probably a funny thing to say after nearly a month, but it finally hit me that I Live In Toronto. What’s worse, is that I realized in many ways, it’s seriously no big deal. I don’t think I ever realized exactly how well suited I am for Urban life. I love it. Like, it brings me to tears how much I love it.

I think the first time I realized something to this tune was during my move from Hamilton back to Oakville 3 years ago. I loved my apartment in Hamilton and since I had a car at the time it was pretty easy living (even if it was in Hamilton *shiver*). My mom, however, needed a roomate and my apartment wasn’t big enough for two so she asked me to move in with her (also in Hamilton). I really, really, really didn’t want to. I really, really didn’t. So she suggested we try and move back to Oakville – my knee-jerk reaction was this “Yes, please – there are Starbucks’ in Oakville!”. Now, obviously Oakville is way more suburban than Hamilton, but the point is that I crave and need a connection to wherever I live. I love Starbucks (sorry), and Oakville offered that. Toronto has way more Starbucks’ – so we’re already starting off in a good place.

One of my most favorite things in the world is grocery shopping. I think it’s the Chantelle Equivalent of shoe-shopping, or clothes-shopping for normal girls. Given the right environment, I could probably shop for two hours strait and enjoy myself. Another major reason I moved back to Oakville was for the Whole Foods. Shopping at No-Frills, or Food Basics, or even the slightly-better Fortinos is just not as pleasant an experience. For someone so profoundly invested in the experience of shopping, Whole Foods is right up my ally. I’m not vegan, or celiac, or on a raw-food diet, or even all that concerned about Organics – I just like the experience. In fact, when it comes to food itself I don’t have many strong opinions. Lactose-Free Milk (Soy or otherwise) is probably my only peculiar weekly item. That being said, if given the option, I will almost always choose to buy Local. It just makes sense to me. If it’s not an option, then I will gladly eat blueberries from Costa Rica, but I’ll never choose them over Ontario ones.

With that in mind, last week I signed up for a CSA Farm Delivery service. It’s a bi-weekly share of veggies & fruit from Fresh City Farms (from Toronto), and Monforte Cheese (from Stratford), and costs about $40 every two weeks. My first delivery was this Wednesday, and it was OK. The veggies were mostly top-knotch and don’t even get me started on the Cheese (Phenomenal), but I realized something important – it wasn’t about the food at all.

This isn’t a replacement for grocery shopping (also, why would I replace something I enjoy doing so much?), this isn’t for necessity, it’s for fun! Like going out to a restaurant, or what I love most about grocery shopping – it’s about the experience. Food in General (but more specifically Local-Sourced, Organic, Free-Trade Produce & Cheeses) is definitely my New Favorite Hobby. Like this guy says, it’s sort of a bit of an adventure. It’s the best possible replacement for my smoking habit, costs about the same and it actually super healthy for me.
(Behold the amazing salad I made from the Box – so good))

I know that this is something I could have done in Oakville (actually, not with this parciular company, but you get my drift), but I’ve equated it with a perk of living downtown – perhaps it’s because Fresh City’s main farm is at Downsview Park, I don’t know. I’ve already got my feet wet with the local restaurant scene in Toronto, I feel like I’m fairly up-to-date on the major goings-on on that front, now it’s time to get to know the next layer of the onion (har har – food joke!). Stay tuned!

This entry is about four things. Food, Booze, Games & Cars.

Food

It was January 13th when I read my first review of Yours Truly, and have been nagging No-Twitter-Eddie to take me there ever since (I have the email chains to provde it, Jan 18th, Feb 9th, March 7th…). Finally March 8th he agreed, we’ll go on the 10th since we were making double-date plans with @JanelleAwesome and @RobHester, and they were game.

For some reason I was under the impression they didn’t take reservations, so I didn’t even try. Of course, the day before our dinner Toronto Life decides to name Yours Truly #1 in their top 10 New Restaurants. #FirstWorldProblems

We were extremly lucky, however, as there was space at the communal table, just as we arrived, and we enjoyed some really fantastic cuisine with some really fantastic company. I’m missing a few photos of the Amuse’s offered (Cauliflower Soup, Spinach Leaves), a couple ‘Snacks’, and was entirely too tispy on Asahi Blacks (YUM!) to remember to take a picture of desert, but here’s the rest of our plates [click pics to embiggen];

< The infamous “Truffle Falafel” which was the only dish delivered to the table without any description by the chefs, and a found me exclaiming “I know this, this is a trick!”. Eddie also found himself tricked, when he tried to eat the raw rice it was served on. Oh, sad.

>Salt Cod, described as “inari, kewpie, nori, rice” which literally could not sound more Japanese if they tried. I was extra proud of myself knowing that Kewpie is Mayonnaise (AH-HAHAHA HA). Looked great, but it wasn’t my dish so I have no idea how it tasted.

</b>< I’ve learned something fairly recently about Trout. I love it. I think I my first experience at Colborne Lane, when I mistook it for Salmon. But more recently I ate The Whole Thing in Brooklyn. Third time is the most charmed and I enjoyed this offering the best, even if it wasn’t my favourite dish of the night.

</b>> This was my favorite dish of the night. The duck. OMG! Words fail me. The Crispiest of Skins, the tenderest of meats! The onions, parsnips and elderberries matching perfectly! I rarely complain about portion size of food of this quality, but damn, I could have eaten 4 plates of this. One of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten, in my whole life.

After this lovely meal we stopped for a pint on Ossington, then headed to Second City for the new comedy show. Where I proceeded to literally drink my face off. I lost track of the end of the night, but I do remember loudly declaring that I bought a shirt (and it’s so long!), and having a bit of an emotional breakdown over wanting a cigarette once we got home. It was a very exciting night, and after dealing with the hangover-aftermath all Sunday I have come to a certain sort of revelation.

Booze

Not to bum everyone out, but I simply want to document my absolute concern over the fact that every now and then, I cannot mitigate my drinking and I’ve got a real binge problem. It’s not too often, maybe 2 or 3 times a year, but when it happens, it’s bad, and it hurts. A lot of people do the same, and can deal with it. Not me. The emotional aftermath of over-drinking is some of the worst depression I’ve felt in my whole life, and it’s absoluly avoidable. I’m a grown-ass woman, not some clubgoing 20-something. 90% of the time I can have just one or two drinks, but every now again again I just can’t stop. I need to be In Charge of myself, so I’m putting myself on a self-restricted 1-Drink Maximum for the time being. I cannot bear (nor do I believe it nessisary) to quit altogether (especially on Downton Thursdays), but I think this will help me be mindful, and avoid over-drinking as a whole.

Games

Maybe i’ll employ the same technique I did for quitting smoking, and turning my attention a lot more to games. I played an obscene amount of Guitar Hero on my iPhone in the first few days (weeks) of quitting smoking, and will continue that trend, although it’s going to cost me. I’ve been upgrading song packs, at $1.99 each this might hurt my budget. I nearly bought $20 worth of upgrades on Angry Birds on Facebook (they take Interac Online, it’s too easy!), next thing you know I’ll be the queen of Foxy Bingo.

Cars

Wanting to end this whole thing on a positive note: I passed my final driving test – finally! For anyone still paying attention who may have been around seven years ago when I last took (and failed) the test, this is a pretty big deal. No more driving tests, ever. Proof of my procrastination is that the whole Graduated Licence System can be completed in as little as 1yr 8months, if you take drivers ed which I did the year I first got my G1, in 2000. *pulls at collar* whaaaat?

So, I’m literally one step closer to winning the Driven To Quit Challange.
I’m ready for you, my new car named Peter Jackson.

So, I officially moved to The Big City last weekend. Again.
Third time is the charm, right?

The other two tales of my attempt to move to Toronto are wrought with failure and sadness.

In the summer of 2001 I moved to into a Bedroom/Bachelor (with Washroom) Parkdale for 1 month, bad idea since I was unemployed at the time. In the fall I tried again, near St. Clair/Dufferin in a rental Bedroom, got laid off and promptly moved back to Oakville with my mother. Not proud moments.

Here I am, 11 years later, fully employed and living with My Boyfriend in Yorkville.

I’m actually quite underwhelmed. Having spent 2-3 days a week in this apartment, in this neighborhood, in this city over the course of the last 1.7 years, I’m acclimatized. However, there are certainly a few wonderful perks that I’ve already enjoyed.

1) Eddie’s bed is officially The World’s Most Comfortable Bed. Officially.
2) I am less than 2 full city blocks from my B(Non-Ex-Wife)FF, Ahli.
3) I bought a TTC Metropass today for the first time, and am giddy at the theoretical Unlimited Subway/Streetcar Rides I shall take.
4) Food. Everywhere. I haven’t bought groceries yet, but need to go out of my way to do so since otherwise it’ll be a problematic situation. I simply cannot eat burgers and pizza all of the time simply because it’s available, everywhere.
5) Booze. Everywhere. Seriously, you’re always within a 10 minute walk to a Liquor or Beer store – it’s amazing. No more waiting 4hrs for Dial-a-Bottle.

Although it’s not all fun & games.

My commute to work right now is over 3hrs a day, although I’m hoping to slightly adjust my schedule to get it around 2.5hrs *fingers crossed*

Not living with Angelina is sad. In theory. We never really spent all that much time in the apartment at the same time anyways, but having her stuff around me felt like having her around me, and now that’s gone. Luckily we’ve got a weekly standing date, Changelina Thursdays – the first couple months will be spent getting her caught up on Downton Abbey – it’s going to be super-great.

So that’s what’s new with my living situation.

In other news, I have recently realized I love Dubstep and Dance Remixes. So, there’s that.

Who would think that the one thing to motivate me to update this blog more often (other than the Film Festival) would be quitting smoking. Although, I do have to say that I think it will be less frequent in the coming weeks.

Today is Day 11 and I have to say that the last 2-3 days have been a lot easier than previous days. There are whole hoursthat pass during the day that I’m not thinking about cigarettes, and the cravings that come pass much quicker than before. While the first few days I was having 30+ minute panick attacks, it’s now less intense. The want to smoke has waned from “OMG I really WISH I COULD SMOKE RIGHT NOW” down to “Oh, this would be the perfect time for a cigarette, oh well.”

To keep me on track now, I try to think of all those times I’ve had a cigarette when I didn’t really want it (which, to be fair, were not that often) – how deflated and gross it felt, this has to me my ongoing perspective on the entire habit. I can’t glorify it and long for it any more, I really have to start to dislike (even detest) it. (Even if I’ll never stop liking the smell of it – I’ve never thought it was gross, and I doubt I ever will).

Eleven Days without a cigarette is the longest I’ve gone without smoking in ten years. I recently went on a hunt to find any documentation of the last time I quit (which apparently I did for no other good reason than I seemed to be bored of smoking) and found this entry from my LiveJournal in September 2002, which includes this quote: “… keep in mind that I’ve been smoking since 1994. That’s 8 years. And I’m only (almost) 21!” which made my heart sink deeply – that was nearly a decade ago and I thought Eight Years was a long time to have been a smoker!

Also, another mildly amusing fact from that entry is that my past philosphy on quitting is eerily similar to my current one: “Here’s my one step program, to help all you smokers out there quit. Its 100% effective if you follow it; Step #1: Don’t Smoke.” Sadly, the quitting only lasted until my birthday in November that year (I blame Tequila), and it’s been full-time since then.

But I am certain this this time it’s for good. I’m optimistic, especially after last night.

I’ve been certain that I will definitly remain smoke-free in March (as I am dead-set on winning the Driven To Quit car), but also being aware that getting to March was going to be the the hardest part. I honestly feared that if I were to slip-up it, I knew would be before the end of the month. I’ve not yet really come close to doing so. Untill last night, when I was packing I found these these;

Tools of the Devil!

I flicked the lighter a few times, only because I realized I hadn’t done so in a while. I held a cigarette in my fingers and thought, would it be worth it? Even just a puff? The tightness in my chest returned and I realized… I’ve got to distroy these, I don’t want them at all.

So, down they went.
(The lighters will be donated to my Mom)

So, while this entire episode may have brought on one of the most sustained anxiety attacks I’ve had in the last five days (which inspired me to distract myself by writing this entry), I’m feeling quite proud. I didn’t give in, and hope that I won’t have to make the same choice again anytime soon. If I do though, just follow the golden rule:

#1 Don’t Smoke.

It really is that simple,
but not necessarily that easy.

Thought I’d do a quick update to share with everyone how the whole Quitting Smoking thing is going.

Firstly, it’s true when they say that you’ll never find the best time to quit – there’s always a reason why ‘this weekend was a bad choice to decide to quit’, be it stress, or social obligations or whatever. My first weekend as a non-smoker included a Party-Bus trip to Niagara Falls, wherein (this is absolutely true) 80-90% of the participants were smokers.

Luckily it was a non-smoking bus, and obviously in the casino, restaurant and nightclub we went to were all safe. Except that alcohol is a huge trigger for nicotine cravings, and having a few (near too many) cocktails definitely made the situation worse. Luckily with Eddie by my side, I made it through the trip. Besides, then I had an excuse to play Guitar-Hero on my iPhone while ignoring/surrounded by, a crowd of people – which is pretty much my ideal state of being. My favourite part of the weekend was the conversation I had with my Masseur at the spa in Niagara – he has smoked for 23+ years and quit 8 years ago – and everyone I told said the same thing, they were proud of me! (Mostly strangers, which was strange but still nice to hear.) The next day was easy-peasy as I’ve always hated smoking while hung-over. Hooray.

I’m noticing the main challenge I’m having is that every single craving feels like a full-blown Panic Attack. For the last 3-4 days I’ve been at a higher stage of anxiety and I’m getting all the physical symptoms of that, along side the withdrawal symptoms. I’m trying to use Distraction as best I can, because thinking about it even more is very perpetuating. Recognizing this situation has probably actually made it worse, but knowing that I am (probably) in the last few hours of the physical addiction does help.

*Fingers Crossed*

I really just need to make it till February 29th – I honestly feel like inspiration to Win This Car is going to be enough to keep me quit for all of March! I’m going to name my new Ford “Peter Jackson” after the esteemed director – and the brand of cigarettes I gave up to win her.

Since it is a topic I plan to talk about, probably daily, for the next several months (at least), I thought I’d start with an annoucement:

Now, I could have said “I’m quitting smoking today” but that implies an event that has not yet taken place. I’ve quit, it’s done. Today is Day 1.

I was very much debating waiting saying anything, to anyone (besides Angelina who got an earful this morning already) until after at least a few weeks. Better to share success then risk the embarrassment of failure in front of everyone, right? I guess, but since I plan to make this a permanent change, I don’t really see the point of keeping it a secret. If I mess up, so be it, it’ll be back to Quitting again – there’s no going back. Besides, I sort of like the idea of having an audience for this – will keep me motivated (I hope).

Why Now?

Fact of the matter is that I never intended to quit smoking in my whole life, everyone who knows me knows this. My bestest friends and family rarely brought up the topic of quitting because they knew I wouldn’t.

Until Eddie. Eddie is great because he still dates me even though I smoke, but he wants me to quit. This still wasn’t enough for me to do anything immediate about it. I’m moving in with him, and even then I didn’t plan on quitting. Eddie wants to keep the option open that one day I might bear his progeny, so I said “Fine, if we get Engaged, I’ll quit smoking.” I thought this was a great plan – I’ll get the motivation to quit (eventually), and the timeline will work out so I’m not poisoning the infant I’ll (theoretically) gestate. However, Eddie kept insisting that I quit, and at some point “If we get engaged, I’ll quit smoking” turned into “I’m not quitting smoking till we get engaged”, and that isn’t the same thing at all.

The Catalyst: I went to bed last night with no intention to quit today (tommorrow, next week or month..) but I got a message from a friend this morning, detailing the personal struggles he’s been going through with a very serious family illness, and blatantly asking me to quit smoking. Something CLICKED.

I didn’t quit before, because I was never going to quit. Now that I had an idea I would one day, for me to continue smoking ‘in the meantime’ is idiotic. There’s no reason for me to continue till “until we get engaged”, it’s spiteful and callous.

I started smoking regularly in about 1994, and my last cigarette was about 3am last night. I had it not knowing it was my last. I’ve thrown out the rest of the pack(s) I had, and there are no cigarettes in my house. I did, however, buy nicotine lozenges – which I intend to use to subside the cravings these first few days. I’m going to start exercising again – I know I’ll need the endorphins! I’m also very busy in the next few weeks packing and moving, so hopefully this will provide somewhat of a distraction. Angelina has convinced me to sign up for the Driven To Quit March Challenge (she’s been trying to get me to win that car for years).

I know that I’ll have cranky moments, and I’ll have withdrawl cravings, and it’s not going to be easy. Luckily, I have amazing Will Power, it’s nearly superhuman. I know I can do this – and I know I’ll have a lot of support from everyone. Thanks in advance.

This weekend started the same as most have for the last 1.5yrs, with me heading in on the train to Eddie’s place, and thinking about food. I’m super lucky to have a Foodie Boyfriend and realized most recently that I’ve really missed dozens of opportunities to blog about all of the super great restaurants he’s taken me to (Gio Rana’s, Trevor, Parts & Labour, Enoteca Sociale, Pizzeria Libretto, Parkette… the list goes on!).

Luckily, however, taking pictures of nearly every restaurant meal I ever have is a (slightly odd, but very satisfying) hobby of mine – so buried deep in my iPhone is probably photographic evidence of each. Perhaps one day I’ll unearth them to talk about it – but in the meantime, I’m going to try and make a more concentrated effort to share my meals more frequently.

I do not expect this to be a popular blog topic per se, but I’m certain I know of at least two people who will get a kick out of it.

So, to start, let’s cover this most recent weekend, which was filled with culinary delights, starting with Friday.

Eddie and I were sitting around his flat, pondering about what to do for dinner. I wanted fish, but didn’t want to cook – he suggested French – after some negotiating availability on OpenTable, I’d remembered a Tweet I’d RT’d about restaurants *not* taking part in Winterlicious – La Societe was listed, and is literally two blocks from the apartment. I booked right away. (Ah, the power of Social Media!)

We arrived a few minutes early and were seated at the (totally absolutely wonderful) bar. I got a Chambord/Vodka Sparkling Cocktail and Eddie got a Rose Shiraz (in the end, not a great choice for him). I’m pretty certain that they’d forgotten about us, as nearly half an hour later we had to ask if our table was ready… they seated us almost immediately.

The dining room is large, and has a fantastic ceiling feature of stained glass.

Eddie says they must have renovated like crazy, since the last time he was there it was a mid-range Chinese restaurant with bad lighting. Now, it’s cozy with its dark wood and plush booths.

To start I got, what can only be described as, The Best Mushroom Soup I Have Ever Eaten. Topped with Truffle Crème Fraîche – just delightful. It was smooth and potent, creamy and dangerously savoury. I could probably eat a bucket full of this soup, and it will most likely be the #1 reason for my future return to this restaurant. Kudos.

Eddie got Duck Confit [left], which looked and tasted heavenly. He said it was possibly the best duck he’d ever had (and he *loves* duck!).

I got the special of the day; Sea bream in Bacon Broth [right]. It hit the spot for my fish craving perfectly, although I don’t know if I would order it again.

I’m very interested in returning to try the items from the $36 3-Course Price Fixe Menu, which has The Soup listed, and other interesting fare.

Next up, a delightful Liberty Village brunch with Angelina on Saturday afternoon.

We were looking for somewhere to grab lunch before heading over to the Bridal Show (she is engaged, after all!) at the Ex, and I had hoped the we’d be able to try Liberty Belle, but apparently it’s shuttered. So, randomly I found The Brazen Head (which Angelina had been to before) – and was immediately drawn to it by the promise of $4 Caesars and a Brunch Menu.

The Caesar was delish, if a bit spicy – and we both agreed there was possibly Lemon it in (although this was deemed neither good nor bad). My Eggs Benny were… alright. They were standard and the homefries were crispy, and it was all very pleasant. I am profoundly jealous of Angelina’s dish: the Brazen Benedict, with its smoked salmon and potato pancakes, and salad. She won at Brunch.

Saturday evening was set aside specifically for our Annual Winterlicious Double-Date. Angelina had been trying to plan for the four of us to go to Mildred’s Temple Kitchen for some time (since she has a brilliant meal there last year), and she finally succeeded.

@BillyBobMac & @Anzi, @ChantelleJoy & No-Twitter-Eddie.

Since she’s written an entire review of the meal – I’ll simply link to it here – and you can read all about it, complete with tasty photos, I don’t really have anything to add.

I have just one last meal to share, which was lunch on Sunday.

Eddie and I spent the majority of the day wandering around the city looking for gifts for his soon-to-be-retired Father. By early afternoon was quite hungry, and had my brain SET on Raman (I actually specifically wanted Chinatown Ajisen), but Eddie didn’t like the sound of that – so we compromised and went to the new Urban Eatery at Eaton’s center.

I love this food court. Seriously, it’s the bees knees.

Eddie got some Vindaloo and I got a steaming bowl of Spicy Chili Beef Ramen from the Liberty Noodle. (Which, is funny since the Main Location is now closed???) It was very, VERY Good. Made me completely forget about Ajisen, and leave with a happy full belly.

So there you have it – my weekend food adventures. Now I’m hungry :(

For the first time in recorded history I have seen exactly ZERO of the current nominees for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Even more shocking to me is that this pattern continues to Best Director category, and onwards to the Best Actor (and Supporting) and even Best Actress nominations for the Oscars this year. In fact, of the “Major” categories, I’ve seen one single nominee – for Best Supporting actress and Original Screenplay – Bridesmaids. Does that seem right?

Either I am losing touch with my Cinephile heart, or this year’s nominations are idiotic. I submit the following as proof of the latter: King Fu Panda 2 is nominated in the Best Animated Feature category – Tin Tin is nowhere to be found.

Has the entire Academy taken Crazy Pills?

As an annual attendee of what is considered one of the most important pre-Oscar Film events each year, the Toronto International Film Festival, I honestly thought that I’d be on the cutting-edge of good cinema each year. At the 2011 Oscars I fared very well – having seen plenty of Academy-nom’d movies, and even more excitingly, several winning ones (including Best Foreign Film – which is basically the Holy Grail of Festival-goers ambitions). I saw several really fine films at TIFF in 2011, and while yes, many of the attendees are reflected in the nominations as they stand, I am generally baffled by the exclusion of others in favour of the ones listed.

Where’s Shame? Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan’s performances were heartbreakingly profound – and they should have been recognized for them. I’m not even going to mention the brilliant Directorial choices of Steven McQueen. What an awful oversight.

I hate Kirsten Dunst, have ever since Interview with the Vampire, but Hollywood loves her, and I’m honestly surprised she didn’t get mention with her genuinely decent role in Melancholia. Lars von Treir deserves some recognition for his work too, saying nothing of the absolutely wonderful Art Direction and Cinematography on the film.

Poor, unfortunate, Elizabeth Olsen, she really should have gotten a mention for Martha Marcy May Marlene. Similarly to Dunst she obviously put her heart and soul into the role this movie would not be nearly as poetic and haunting as it was with her pitch-perfect acting. This is one of those breakout roles that usually the Academy eats up – but instead this year they have decided to ignore it.

Finally, I offer Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin. Her performance was so raw and real, certainly it deserves a mention among her peers? Did nobody see this film besides myself, Angelina and Allison? As compared to The Iron Lady, does Meryl Streep *really* need another nomination for a role that was not nearly as emotionally deep as Tilda’s in Kevin? I don’t hate Maryl Streep – but stop it – STOP IT! STOP NOMINATING HER FOR EVERY SINGLE THING!

How about the male performances of the season? Ryan Gosling blew up at TIFF in Ides of March & Drive and yet the only noms those films get are for Adapted Screenplay and Sound Editing, respectively. What the What? I’ve already mentioned Fassbender, but seriously it’s worth mentioning again. Fassbender was robbed.

This brings me to the largest gripe I have about this year’s nominations. There have been numerous articles recently (such as this well-written on in the Toronto Star from last week) regarding the option to include Mo-Cap performances into the Acting categories. Although I haven’t seen, nor am I convinced that Andy Serkis deserves a nom for his particular performance in, Rise of the Planet of the Apes – the fact is that these actors are working just as hard, are just as talented and bring just as much to each role they take on as traditional roles. I suppose I was hoping that they’d give him a trophy in honour of his innovation in the field, and a decade-late nod for Gollum in the LOTR Trilogy (as the Academy does have a tradition of pulling moves like this). But there you have it, the CGI crew gets a nom and Serkis is ignored. My only resolution on this topic is that they have two years to change their mind and give him a nom (and ideally a win) for Gollum in the upcoming Hobbit films. We will have to wait and see.

I suppose I’m pleased with the attention given to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and how Harry Potter 7 (pt 2) has been given a few nods as the last hurrah for the franchise. I didn’t dislike Bridesmaids at all – and consider it one of the funniest films of 2011 – but it’s more suited for an MTV Movie Award than an Oscar. Maybe that makes me elitist – but I rather think the point of this entire rant is to proove that I’m not. The ‘Blockbusters’ are great, and some are definitely award-worthy, but never at the expensive of so many talented performers and filmmakers that are in the indepentan

I’m seriously considering not even watching the ceremonies this year – and hoping for a better in 2012. How disappointing.