North Of The Border, There Is More Than Maple Syrup

Work has felt more manageable of late, despite a barrage of non-stop calls from start to finish, Tuesday through Thursday, but for some reason, I've been feeling pretty good and at peace with it. In part this is because I've had a good book to read at lunch and on breaks, The Pillars of Hercules by Paul Theroux, describing his journey circumscribing the Mediterranean. There is something about travel literature that I always find soothing, especially when the author talks about eating; plus, I have now realized that my lifelong ambition has always been to eat bouillabaisse on the French Mediterranean coast, while reading and watching the sea. The closest I have come so far was eating seafood paella in a cellar restaurant in Palma (featuring cuttlefish, one tentacle of which went flying into the ashtray due to poor knife skills on my part).

Or perhaps my sense of well-being was imported from Canada, on the heels of our mad dash through Ontario for Ben and Yona's wedding. It was a lovely trip, if too brief--for instance, I did not have time to meet a writer friend of mine from various websites who lives in the area. Here, then, is the diary-by-food retelling of Toronto and beyond. The individual experiences I write about will be ranked on a scale, not from 1-10, but from 1-10.5, because of the exchange rate. I'm hoping to get Marina to write a response to this, a culinary rebuttal or supporting statement, as the case might be. Look for that soon, when she returns from her Hawaiian escape.

I. ARRIVAL

We flew into Toronto on Friday, August 6th, landing and clearing customs around 4 p.m., and after some traffic confusion--missing the exit, and having to bail out of a traffic jam--we defied the advice of a stereo equipment salesman and did not get back on the highway, but instead cut through the middle of various villages surrounding downtown Toronto until we reached Queen Street West. Our destination was here, the Drake Hotel.


Queen Street West is considered a hipster, artistic neighborhood. I don't know what that means, in general, but for me, it was full of interesting stores, old bars, and people having fun, so that was good. We ate in the Sky Yard Patio at the Drake, which was as good as it sounds. Benches ran around half the perimeter of a courtyard, under a transparent roof; the middle of the yard was open to sky, full of tall tables and stools. At one end, below the movie screen where they sometimes show films, was a tiki bar, and the other end featured a regular bar where you could buy "tubs" of beer.

The exciting part was that fish and chips came with mushy peas, which reminded me of England--I can't imagine why. Mushy peas are surprisingly good, better than you might think from the name. I've found several good fish-and-chips places in San Francisco (The Pig & Whistle, The Irish Bank), but I haven't found any places that serve mushy peas. Apparently, this might be a west coast thing, because after we commented on this, our waitress, from Vancouver,remembered that she couldn't remember seeing mushy peas in B.C.

Unfortunately for my theory, I think I just remembered eating mushy peas at John Foley's.

Also, I had a very good Maple Jack Sour cocktail.

There was a persistent fly of some description that buzzed around for a bit. That, and the fact that I don't want to overinflate the grades, means that I will give this a 10.23 out of 10.5.

II. LIMBO

Our first night in Toronto was spent at the Sheraton in the downtown. A cheap room booked on Hotwire in a massive, business-conference environment, all you need to know about the experience at the Sheraton was that I had no interest in the room service breakfast meal, which never happens. I ALWAYS want room service breakfasts. The Sheraton, therefore, gets a N/A rating, because it was indifferent.

III. TOURING TORONTO

In the morning, we were eager to explore, so we stopped to eat at Tim Horton's. As I understand it, Tim Horton's is to Canada what Dunkin' Donuts is to the USA.



The thing that struck me about Tim Horton's was that the bagels, coffees, and cinnamon rolls all seemed rather small. My theories were either that the exchange rate also applied to portion size, or that in the United States, we are used to inflated portions. Tim Horton's provided good fuel for the day, hence a 6.3 rating.

We finished up the morning in the Distillery District, a collection of shops and restaurants in old brick buildings, and where, apparently, everyone in Toronto, if not Canada, goes to get married--seriously, we encountered three separate wedding parties in the hour we were there. Great architecture, cool photos, more of which will be posted in other, non-food-focused blogs, but here is this picture from where we ate:



Yes, it was a pub, and a good one, notwithstanding the sign's disturbing similarity to the logo for Budweiser, American for bad beer. Interestingly, I had fish and chips that were completely different in preparation and shape than the fish and chips from the Drake. I also tried a Canadian beer, Tankhouse Ale, which was satisfying.

Set in one of the narrow, cobblestoned side streets of the Distillery District, the outdoor seating gave a great chance for people watching. Overall, I would give the pub an 8.73 out of 10.5.

THE CANADIAN VINEYARDS, WEDDING LIFE

So, apparently in Toronto, it is considered a good idea to shut down the Gardiner Expressway, the major freeway to get from downtown out to the QEW to head south and east to Jordan and the Niagara region where Ben and Yona were getting married. Seriously, the freeway was a ghost road above our heads, as we and thousands of other cars crawled along the city streets, trying to get free. We learned that Canadians, while stereotypically polite and nice people--and we generally found this the case--can be evil drivers (who drives down the left side of a residential street past all the other cars stuck at a stoplight ahead of you, only to cut in to the line at the last possible moment?)

In this manner, a 1 hour, 20 minute drive turned into a three hour slog.

So it was indeed a lucky thing that a) there was a Dairy Queen at the Ontario Road exit, where we got blizzards--no Butterfinger flavor, but something with a different name that was totally Butterfinger--and directions to the country road where Yona's family farm could be reached, where we had a lovely meal of various salads--I think there was couscous, veggies, etc--and meats, light and tasty, along with a good local chardonnay and pastries.

The meal served the next day at the wedding was also exquisite, bread, salads, chicken, so good! I can't do it justice of describing it in full, because I was focusing on the wedding, but the wine was great, and the cupcakes for dessert were highlights! Because a wedding is such a unique, isolated event, I won't attempt to rate the food, because that would steal the focus from what was a lovely ceremony, a lovely gathering, and a happy moment in the lives of two wonderful people.

We stayed at the Best Western in Jordan, on the edge of Lake Ontario, with great views across the water from our private patio. During the Saturday evening twilight, you could see the outline of the CN Tower and the Toronto skyline in the mist of distance. It was a much more relaxing hotel experience, much friendlier service. We swam, we watched TV, and of course, we ordered room service for an early Sunday morning breakfast. French Toast, a side of eggs, orange juice and coffee. Lots and lots of maple syrup, because this was Canada. It would have been rude not to have tried the maple syrup, you know? I'll rate it a 7.23 out of 10.5.

After that room service idyll, we dashed down the freeway to Niagara Falls, because it was there. It was impressive, for sure, though not as impressive as the Yosemite waterfalls. It was, however, impressive in a much more interactive way, because we took the Maid of the Mist boat ride to the base of the falls, and I have never been more soaked in my life. The little plastic ponchos they gave were of little help.

It certainly whet my appetite. On the way out of Niagara Falls, we drove down Lundy's Lane, because, well, we had to see the doppelganger to the Lundy's Lane where we live in San Francisco. For all the charms of the SF version, proximity to the Mission and Bernal Hill, being home, it does not have a diner in the shape of a flying saucer, called, appropriately, the Flying Saucer Diner.



And of course, when at a diner, one must have pancakes. It's the raison d'etre for diners. Plus, the maple syrup imperative must be obeyed.

All that needs to be said was that I could not finish the scrambled eggs/house potatoes/five large pancake combination, and that wasn't because they were bad, but because there was so much food. And two such meals, one for me and one for Marina, with coffee and orange juice, all for less than $28 Canadian. Amazing deal in a fun atmosphere, decorated in sparkly red booths and mirrors, like a disco flying saucer. I'd rank it 8.12.

So, yes, there was more to Canada than maple syrup. There was also fish and chips. What can I say? When I travel, there are certain routines I have when it comes to meal selections.

Do you have certain foods that you find yourself choosing when you travel? Was there something else I should have tried in Canada?