Flavor (of Love!), redux

Hello, my lovely readers! I haven't forgotten about you. I've been busy at work, and I've also been working on my knitting. I'm submitting my work for product assessment with the local craft and design centre. I'm also teaching knitting! It's heaps of fun and I have some really eager students... really eager. Like go home and knit twelve dishcloths eager. I can't wait for the next session!

And, November is coming up, which means I'll be taking part in NaBloPoMo and posting every day. I won't be eating in restaurants every day, but I'll be cooking and talking about food. Just wait until you see what I've got planned. I have lots of plans and plots. And knitting.

Aside from the plotting and knitting, I have been eating. Eating deliciousness, might I add. 

A few weeks ago, I went out for lunch with my dear friend, Sheila. Sheila and I have been crossing paths for years, both in Canada and Japan, but we only met for the first time two years ago at another dear friend's wedding. Sheila spends her time in Canada, Australia, and Japan, and is at home in all three countries. She came up to Sydney for the Celtic Colours event. We had a great time. I wanted to take her somewhere delicious, so we headed down to Flavor; I wanted to go back for a proper lunch. It. Was. Fabulous.

We both had the soup and sandwich combo (oh, how I love this combo and all its variations!). I had the Signature Seafood Chowder and the Joe's Flavor Bomb, which has chicken breast, smoked bacon, onion frites, jalapenos, fresh guacamole, mozzarella & mayo.

Here's a close-up of the sandwichy goodness.

Sheila had the Roasted Red Pepper Bisque and the Smoked Pulled Pork Pita, with homemade coleslaw, applewood smoked Cheddar, and sriracha dill sour cream.

A close-up of the tastiness.

We split the sandwiches, so we could share the tasty bits of awesome. So fresh! So tasty! So colourful! I am a big fan of colourful, fresh, tasty food. In fact, I'm a big fan of colourful, fresh, tasty anything. How can I not be? Sheila was just as happy as with her meal. The chowder was fabulous, smooth and full of seafood. The bisque was equally as nom-nommynous, and I will get it the next time I eat there. I plan on having a three-course meal there. I'm certain the dinner entrees and desserts are as incredible as the soups, chowders, and sandwiches.

You should join me! I promise I will not eat like someone is about to take it away from me, and I will try my hardest to get through the appetizer without swearing. I will keep my giggling under control, so people won't stare at us and wonder if I've been kicked in the head by a donkey. How could you not want to be my dinner date?

dinner ditty ~ Moving - Supergrass

Gobble-free Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! 

As you can see, I'm in the process of tweaking the look of Let's Eat Sydney! I have lots to post, mostly because I've been eating lots. And lots. 

It's Thanksgiving weekend. I've got heaps to be thankful for here in Sydney. I have a fantastic family, wonderful friends, a great job, a cute apartment, and a healthy appetite. Who wouldn't be happy?

To celebrate the turkey weekend, Aunt Margie, Blaine, and I headed off to Baddeck to Gisele's. I had heard it was pretty tasty, so I wanted to check it out. 

The outside, and the view! I love Baddeck.

I'm a bit funny when it comes to turkey. I'm not really a huge fan of it. I pretty much only eat it when it's prepared by a family member or friend. I never eat it in restaurants. I knew the special would be a roast turkey dinner, but I wanted to order off the menu. 

I went with the Hors d'oeuvres Plate, because I wanted smoked salmon. 

Duck! Baby Shrimp Aurora! It was fabulous.

Margie and Blaine went with the roast turkey dinner. The appetizer ~ 

I went with the Vegetarian Classic, which was described as 'Fresh vegetables, sautéed with garlic, herbs from our garden, house Marinara sauce with freshly grated parmesan on  

nine grain risotto.'

It was delicious.

Mushrooms! Asparagus! Risotto! I couldn't resist it. It was perfectly seasoned and super colourful. I wish I could have gotten a better photo of it, but I was sitting by the window and it was getting dark out, and the flash was throwing shadows. Anyhow, it was fabulous.

Here's the turkey dinner... it looked so good, I wish I had ordered it. Again, flashy shadows can't quite pick up how colourful the plate was.

There was some broccoli hiding behind the gravy boat! The plate really popped.

As for dessert, well, apple pie or crisp always wins. 

I loved the fork outline in the back. 

Again, this was perfectly seasoned and it tasted like autumn. The crust was fabulous. 

The dessert with the turkey dinner was equally as glorious. 

The restaurant was hopping the entire time we were there. The staff was friendly and the other customers were extremely happy with their meals. The bathroom was SPOTLESS (which is always a great sign when a restaurant is that busy). Cynthia, our server, was wonderful and had a great rapport with the other customers. 

Margie, Blaine, and I were stuffed like turkeys by the time we left. Stuffed with awesome!

dinner ditty ~ The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead - XTC

Campaign race sandwich? Yes, please!

The race for mayor has never been so delicious.

*This is a mini Let's Eat Sydney! post. I plan on going back for a three-course meal. I wasn't that hungry at lunch today, but wanted to check this out.

You want to make me love you? Give me a sandwich. Even if it's a crunchy peanut butter on whole wheat bread, I will follow you to the ends of the earth. 

If it's a fancy grilled cheese, I'll name a constellation after you.

Anyhow, it was a sandwich day for me today. Ruby told me Flavor was hosting a mayoral race sandwich battle. 

I love elections! I love sandwiches! I wasn't going to miss out on this...

How fun is that? I think food should be a key ingredient to a successful election campaign... which is probably why I'm a chef, and not a campaign organizer. 

Both sandwiches looked pretty, and it was a tough decision. I went with the Cecil. Here's another picture of the grilled cheesy goodness.

Smoked meat! Bacon! Mozza and Swiss! Spicy mustard! It was all good. 

I will be going back to Flavor for a proper dinner. I liked what I saw, and the service was great. Ashley, my server, really loves her job, and it shows. The decor is colourful, and the food I could see looked fresh and pretty tasty.

Apple green walls! Vintage Sydney pictures!

Tasty take-out treats!

On the outside, looking in ~

The menu looks great, and I'm looking forward to having a proper meal. I've heard they are souper stars... and I love soup as much as I love sandwiches. I'll be heading back very soon.

mini-dinner ditty ~ Little Love Letter #1 - Carlene Carter

A belated introduction

One of my earliest memories with one of my greatest loves.

A gingerbread woman from McFadgen Bakery in Glace Bay and a coffee.

I love gingerbread people. The taste of gingerbread is one of my earliest memories. I was born in Glace Bay,  but my family moved to Dartmouth when I was three. My dad used to pick up these cookies for us when I was a little girl. It's one of the only things I vaguely remember about living in Cape Breton. The coffee shop (more about that later) behind my apartment building sells these cookies, much to my happiness. 

So. I realized I'm more than a month into this blog and I haven't properly introduced myself. It's somewhat presumptuous of me to assume all my readers know who I am and what I'm about, especially when it comes to food.

My family is pretty adventurous when it comes to food. My mom is an incredible baker and my father is an amazing cook. We were always eating something different; I had my first boeuf bourguignon when I was eight. It took my dad two days to make it and he swore he'd never do it again. Which is too bad, because it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. My mom makes the best chocolate cake in the entire universe; my sisters and I always preferred them to the fancy bakery cakes.

You'd think with this kind of upbringing, I would have developed some baking and/or cooking chops of my own. Not so. In fact, I could barely pass home ec. I set off fire alarms boiling water. I couldn't even master Kraft Dinner. It made me the butt of many jokes in school and university. 

I got tired of people making fun of me, so I decided to learn how to cook. How hard could it be, I thought... I can read a recipe! I can follow directions! 

I started small, and just kept working through all the mistakes and disasters (ooh! I'm going to add even more cayenne to this!). I had dinner parties and brave friends. I had a great support system.

I found myself in Japan. I ate everything. I came back to Canada, worked at an Italian grocery/deli (where I met my best friend, DeeDee), went back to Japan for a year and stayed for just over six. I traveled throughout Asia and the Middle East. I ate everything there, too. 

I came back to Canada, went to culinary school for four years with my other best friend, Molly. I lived with a bear (hello, Mr. Bear). I worked in kitchens and product development. I designed meals with some fabulous people. I got laid off, which made me sad. I found a new job... and moved back to the homeland, Cape Breton.

So, here I am. Eating and cooking and eating and ranting about margarine (don't use it!) and eating and finding my feet here in Sydney. 

I'm pretty happy to be here... I feel like, for the first time in years, I'm home. 

So, enough about me. I'll get back to the food tomorrow. 

dinner ditty ~ Heroes and Villains - Brian Wilson

A chip off the old block

Well, maybe not quite the block. A few blocks over from the old family home in Glace Bay, you can find this little blue wagon of happiness.

I present to you, the Chip Wagon.

Do not sit! I had no plans on sitting, because I wanted to get them chips into me as fast as humanly possible. Sitting would have delayed the awesome.

More pics of the chip wagon, which is a 1942 GMC truck, built for the sole purpose of selling fries. How awesome is that! 

The Yorkes have been running the Chip Wagon since 1987. They've kept the original menu (pop, chips, and hot dogs)... why mess with perfection?

Mike making magic... magic being awesome chips!

Worth the drive to Glace Bay (thanks, Lily)!

I soaked those straight-outta-the-fryer bad boys with vinegar and salt. I ate them so fast, they didn't have time to get hot. These chips don't need ketchup... although I would have loved to have tried them with some olive oil mayonnaise. But, I can't really carry olive oil mayo in my bag just in case I run into a chip truck, right? Hmm.

Yes, I know I've already raved about Fuzzy's Fries. I have enough love in my heart for more than one chip truck. The Chip Wagon is my new crush. I think we'll be very happy together!

dinner ditty ~ Handbags and Gladrags - Stereophonics

A day out with Lily

I had a proper weekend this week! Yup, I had Sunday and Monday off this week. It's the first time in months I've had a proper weekend. I got heaps done, and more importantly,  I was able to hang out with my cousin, Lily. We went out to North Sydney to check out the Black Spoon Bistro.

We were there earlier this summer, before 'Let's Eat Sydney!', and it was fabulous. I wanted to go back and get some pictures.

The outside.

The inside.

Cute, eh?

I had the lunch trio, which is a bowl of the soup of the day (Chipotle Chicken Chowder), half the sandwich of the day (Hawaiian Ham Panini), and the house salad. I had it with the house dressing, a lovely maple vinaigrette. A great deal at $8.99

A close-up of the deliciousness.

Lily had the Beef, Mushroom, and Swiss

Panini with the soup.

I had this the last time we were there, and it was pretty tasty. 

So, yes... it was all lovely... but we were looking forward to dessert. I decided I was going to get whatever Lily wasn't going to get, because I wanted to take pictures of at least two desserts. 

Lily went with salted caramel cake; I had this the last time we were there and it's AWESOME.

I was tempted, but I really wanted to try the peppered strawberries, mostly because I love strawberries and black pepper and vanilla and whatnottery. It was fabulous.

The owners, Monica and Mike, are super friendly and also have a fabulous bed and breakfast in town. Should you find yourself in North Sydney (you know, when you come down and visit me and we go out there), you should definitely head to the Black Spoon Bistro. The food is fresh and delicious, the decor isn't too busy (that drives me nuts), the menu is focused (I'm not a fan of huge, unfocused menus), the prices are reasonable, and the service is great. 

Lily and I were busy! Afterwards, we went into Sydney so I could pay the remainder on the chocolate brown couch I ordered. As we walked into the furniture gallery, Lily spotted a lovely yellow couch. It was lovely... so lovely that I asked if I could switch my order and pay the extra (it was $100 more than the couch I had ordered). Not only did they happily change my order; they gave me the yellow couch for the same price as the one I had originally ordered. Hooray!

Here is me on my new couch, which will arrive in a few weeks. 

I feel like a proper adult! I'm going to dress it up with some orange and grey pillows, I think. 

We didn't stop there! We also headed into Glace Bay, where I got some pics of the Chip Wagon (more on that tomorrow), and went to Lily's parents' home. 

It was a fabulous day, filled with family, food, furniture, and fries. Fantastic!

dinner ditty ~ Darkest of Discos - Slowcoaster

She ate reeeeeddddddddddddddddd velvet...

Red velvet fudge cupcakes, that is! 

More on this later.

Today, I went to the Cape Breton Fudge Co. for lunch. I was in there last week after I had already eaten lunch, so I didn't get to try the grilled cheese sandwich and soup they had for the special that day. I know! Me, turning down a grilled cheese sandwich! I am just as surprised as you are. Even better, they name the sandwiches after their regular customers. I imagine my sandwich would be called, 'Crazy Grilled Cheese Sandwich Obsessed Woman Wrap'. I'm fine with that. I hope it will have bacon, caramelized onions and shallots, pear, and goat cheese on it.

Here is how you'll find the tastiness downtown.

More signage.

This is what I saw when I walked in the shop.

But, I knew I had to eat lunch first, so I had a look at the sandwich of the day.

Duane, the awesome fella in charge, told me to have a seat. The decor is welcoming and has lots of charm.

I love this bench/table! 

Where the live music happens when it's happening.

I had a frosty root beer while I waited for my wrap.

The wrap of the day. Mmm... mapley!

It tasted even yummier and fresher than it looked.

I ate the design off the plate, and stopped short of devouring the toothpicks.

I wanted to get a shot of the delicious fudge with the Celtic Cream coffee, but Duane brewed a fresh pot for me, and I just couldn't wait. Patience, my friends, is a vulture.

So, you should head on down to Cape Breton Fudge Co. for fudge, popcorn, more fudge, sandwiches, coffee, even more fudge, some great tunes (I heard Meg Hutchinson for the first time, and loved the CD), and wonderful people like Duane and Mona.

I can't wait to go back!

dinner ditty ~ Sleep Tight - Rebecka Törnqvist