HUNGRY GERALD

Brunch at the Toronto home of Nir B., the renowned photographer, and Wendy W., the recently retired big time TV journalist. A beautiful old house lovingly remodeled from designs by Nir (a pal for 40 years; yet never suspected he harbored such architectural talent). Big windows bring the rear garden right into the home and saturate the space with such light that you feel miles from urban noise and angst. Lots of wonderful art and photography on the walls.

Nir and Wendy provided a true international feast. A smoked salmon frittata, guacamole, baba ganoush and made-from-scratch hummus. And you know what? If you want really great hummus, let an Israeli like Nir make it — hummus redefined! Dipped Wendy’s biscotti in Nir’s home made red wine. A wonderful meal with civilized, talented loving friends.

Returning to Santa Fe in slow, mellow stages. HG and BSK spent the night at the perfect Sandman hotel at the Toronto Airport. Beautiful design. Efficient front desk. Great price (a penthouse suite for $109). Tired and hungry HG/BSK dined at Moxie’s, the hotel restaurant. Had low expectations. Big surprise. A splendid roast chicken with a goat cheese and thyme emulsion. Top flight stuffed baked potatoes and French fries. Fresh broccoli done right. Knocked off a tasty bottle of Argentine Malbec. Breakfast was super lattes and warm bran muffins. Good stuff.

HG loves Canada. The cities. The farmlands. The mountains. The waters — the Atlantic and the Pacific and everything in between. Most of all, the people. Sane. Rational. Accepting. Of course, HG is most influenced by the fact that that BSK, the love of HG’s life, is a Canadian.

SJ informed HG today that Canadian food is having “a trendy moment in New York.” (see Robert Sietsema’s fine Article on the Subject HERE)HG is puzzled. Of course, there is wonderful food in Canada and chefs who take advantage of great seafood, beef, lamb, organic vegetables. Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are world class foodie cities. But, the predominant influence in Vancouver is Asiatic. Toronto is international and eclectic. Montreal is very French, of course, but there are Jewish influences and some restaurants that feature hefty Quebec dishes (a lot of fat and maple syrup as befitting a climate that can get super chilly). The only uniquely Canadian food HG knows is poutine, a mixture of cheese curds and gravy usually served over French fries. It is ubiquitous in Montreal and the entire Francophone region. It is even on the menu at McDonald’s. How does it taste? Vile. Montreal gourmets are proud of Montreal bagels (totally inferior to New York’s H & H product). They also tout Montreal smoked beef, mentioning it as a competitor of New York pastrami.They must be kidding.

HG’s favorite taste of Canada is the huge array of oysters at Rodney’s Oyster Bar (Vancouver and Toronto). Perfectly shucked. Served with freshly grated horseradish. Nicely priced wine list. Canada at its natural, unpretentious best.

Flying to Prince Edward Island, HG experienced the usual discomfort and sheer madness of air travel these days. Changes in flight times. Flight cancellations. Hostile, invasive and downright unnecessary security procedures. However, there is always (say optimists) a silver lining. HG had to spend the night in Toronto so opted for the Sandman Signature Hotel a few minutes from the airport. Super. New and in contemporary good taste. Very good bed, shower, flat screen TV, etc. For breakfast HG had something that is difficult to obtain in most hotels and diners: A bowl of real, nutty, steel cut oatmeal. Not the instant glop. With it was a big bran muffin that tasted fresh from the oven. Sandman is a keeper. More silver linings. A long wait at airport for PEI plane. HG watched the super exciting USA women battling Brazil. USA won but Marta, the swift and deft Brazilian, has joined HG’s pantheon of feminine paragons. HG was nourished at Fion MacCool, a quasi-Irish pub at the airport. Pub might be faux but the hamburger was for real. High quality meat served the way HG likes it–slightly pink. Layered with cheese, sliced tomatoes, sliced dill pickle and frizzled fried onions. Major league burger. Guinness on tap was welcome.