WEEKEND PROTEIN PUNCH

Pan fried cod with pesto, and green beans in mushroom almond sauce

THE PERFECT SANDWICH

I have never been a huge sandwich fan, preferring a hot lunch to a cold one if given a choice. Occasionally I miss the perfect buttered ham and cheese on a kaiser bun that my mom often kept in the freezer and was always perfect, but I can't in good conscious do that to a pig anymore! So this recipe was the game changer! Take two pieces of your favourite bread, spread on Sera's Red Pepper paste generously, cover with 2 pieces of washed romaine lettuce, half an avocado sliced, and a slice of your favourite sharp cheese. Voila! The best sandwich ever!

OSCAR NIGHT

YEAR OF THE RAM

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Tonight we circled around the West Island market to find a cafe style chinese restaurant called WOK CAFE on Sources Boulevard. We had a hankering for Chinese food, and dim sum fit the bill. Our waiter left our tea and had our water on the table before we even opened the extensive menu that even included a page indecipherable to anyone but Chinese readers. We were wished a happy new year and our daughter was given candies. My husband and I had eaten in Hong Kong long ago, and the sticky rice (mushroom for me and pork for him) and dumplings were a highlight tonight. Actually, I'm afraid that I have no pictures because we all ate it up so fast!
Happy year of the Ram, everybody!

THE INNOCENT MAN BY JOHN GRISHAM

This, as far as I know, is John Grisham's first nonfiction work.  It is a difficult story about a few men wrongly convicted, but mostly about one who is eventually exonerated. The book highlights this man's extreme difficulties in both the judicial and then the penal system.  It's a gruelling exposé written artfully by a great writer. It's sensitizing and demoralizing. But first and foremost, it is a well told story about a colourful man, and his lovely family. It is at its core a story about a system failure that is a good balance to my recent viewing of Suits Season 3 on netflix!

LA ROULOTTE IN STE. GENEVIEVE

My brother's obsession with poutine led me to this moment. My hairdresser is the neighbour to this restaurant that has been serving customers for over fifty years. I recalled seeing it on a list of the top poutines to eat in Montreal. Today I experienced it and texted this to make my brother jealous. I think it worked! I ate every lick, but didn't have to eat supper tonight! Fun service and sunny booths added to the positive experience!
If you want to get obsessed, go to the website POUTINEWAR.COM and check out its map! La Roulette doesn't feature, but YELP, FOURSQUARE and the POUTINE CHRONICLES BLOG extol its' praises!

A PERFECT SUPPER: BLACK BEAN CHILI FOOD OCTOBER 2007

BEST OF BRIDGES CASHEW CHICKEN STIRFRY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

BEST OF BRIDGES CASHEW CHICKEN STIRFRY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

My mom's marvellous cinnamon roll, my husband's cappuccino, and my daughter's shared chocolate! A decadent breakfast!

Origami with my daughter (intertwining pieces) to make a Valentine's coaster or decoration.

My gorgeous skier daughter racing to the Cabane a Sucre in Cap St. Jacques Park.

Fuelled for the finish line. 

LAKESHORE PLAYERS NOT NOW DARLING

I realized last night that I have been missing out in sharing some great events, and Lakeshore Players theatre is one of them. I have been a loyal subscriber for several years now, and this is a special year as the 50th season. NOT NOW DARLING is a funny sexy fast paced flight back to the 50s, with a Nathan Lane Lookalike with a Jersey accent, cats eye's glasses, up-dos and a James Bond pocket bar complete with roll out counter and overlapping panels.

Apparently popular enough in 1976 to play at Place-des-Arts, this theatre piece was done by Lakeshore before and voted in as the most popular choice by loyal theatre goers. Full of double-entendre and outrageous impulsive moves, this is a side tickler.

We were lucky enough to score front row seats and directed to them by the director Steve Gillam himself. It's so fun to be served by the cast and crew when they are not on stage! We had a nice glass of fruity nose tannic taste Grey Fox Cab Sauv, and were glad we had a car (often we walk) when we left in a snowstorm last night.

Well worth the cost of a ticket, you ought to see this play!

CHEZ LIEN

Off St Jean in the Blue Haven mall, Chez Lien is a welcome place on a cold winter's night. Although the excellent mains are depicted below, two highlights disappeared without being photographed! The wonton soup is perfect and the fried bananas were a crispy sweet delicious balance to a thoroughly enjoyable meal. The service was rapid and attentive. Next time, we'll plan for a longer dinner and bring a bottle of wine (there is a SAQ next door). I would skip the wontons in peanut sauce - they were watery and the sauce mealy. That'll save a few calories for a repeat performance. I'm looking forward to it!

Check out the intricate embroidered pictures along the north wall.

Gorgeous crunchy imperial rolls on a bed of vermicelli with a side of salad.

Soupe Tonkinoise (Beef)

PATATE DU FOUR/BAKED POTATO

There is a place on Pine Avenue that I have dreamed of for years. We ate there when we my daughter was a toddler and, today, we return with no disappointment! They take a generous baked potato, and with a knife, butter and mozza cheese, they make it into this gigantic potato and top it anyway you like it! Gorgeous!

Mozzarella with a side of salad. Almost too much for my nine year old and me, but I did my best to finish it off!!

Chicken, mushroom and russian salad (peas, carrots, and pickles in a mayo dressing - yummy!
). 

REDPATH MUSEUM DINOSAURS

Gorgosauruses scare the pants off me! I can't believe it took me til last week to realize there was more than just a lobby to this museum! The two floors above are amazing! Minerals, shells and curiosities! Check it out! Sunday has a bunch of volunteers and you might even meet Dinoman!

Cast of the Triceratops found in Saskatchewan and housed in the Eastend Dinosaur museum called T Rex Discovery Museum. Both places, if you ask nicely, and sometimes by surprise, you can handle 65 million year old poop officially called coprolite.

LOLA ROSA'S TUNISIAN TAGINE RAGOUT

I don't know what the spice is in here, but it is a delicious heat! I love the cabbage, roasted almond slices, pressed cottage cheese, stewed tomatoes, chick peas, plump raisins on a bed of bulgur, garnished with orange slices, pickled cucumbers and the finest julienned beets you can find! Next time I'm sitting by the window or the east wall. The seats in the middle are awkward, but serves me right for thinking I could just walk in to this busy restaurant for lunch on a thursday without reservations!

BOOKCLUB SWEDISH STYLE

Thanks, dear heart, with the decorations!

A variety of IKEA cookies: Kex Choklad and Apple Sandwich cookies, Sotsak Kakaoboll and Dammsugare (vacuum cleaner) cookies. 

Rosti, Pea soup, Meatballs, Janssen's Temptation, Jarlsberg cheese, Brod Mjukkaka soft bread, Brodmix Flerkorn multigrain bread with margarine and Lingonberry Jam, served with Glogg (a mulled red wine with raisins and blanched almonds served in the bottom). 

BOOKCLUB READ: A Man Called Ove

It took me a while to get into this book. It seemed a little too familiar, like a younger version of the hundred year old man all over again. It seemed that the curmudgeon called Ove (pronounced OH-VEH) was unsympathetic. The second chapter introduced an interesting character, and things slowly moved forward from there. The background is a tragic story of a man of integrity, and the attempts at ending his life are sorta shadenfreude-y and interesting. It picked up at the end although it felt a little like, "Okay, this is where it was going!". A pleasant read, and nicely translated, but not a revelation. It did give me inspiration to try some Swedish dishes for my book club, like Janssen's Temptation, and thanks to ikea, some great  rosti, yummy bread (Mjukkaka soft bread, buttered), swedish meatballs and imperative sauce, and amazing sweets like Sotsak Dammsugare (named after a vacuum?!) and Kakaoball. I couldn't find any saffron though, so the saffron rice will be a future menu!

VICTORIA SECRET'S CHANGEROOMS

CAP ST JACQUES IN THE AFTERNOON

PUY LENTILS ON PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM WITH A GLASS OF MENAGE A TROIS

Lunch date with my husband and my new favourite berry laden California red. Lovely!

PORTOFINO - SUPER POPULAR AND TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTING

Mushroom soup was very underwhelming but the garlic oil was very nice and the rolls were warm. Why can't all restaurants do this?! 

Risotto as pablum. Very disappointing - no texture, drowned in cheese, pre-digested! DO NOT ORDER! Fast waiter , which I feel silly to criticize, but if you are putting your spoon down when the main course is served, it feels a bit rushed! Turned out okay because we were freezing by the door to the west - not winterized!

Very good cappuccino with biscotti.

Although I regret bidding on a gift certificate at Portofino (I confused it with another local restaurant Portovino), if I was recommending a decent cappuccino or feeding a kid pasta, this place would cross my mind. So take your kid out for a delicate bowl of cheesy (alla inglese) and have a cappuccino and enjoy. But don't go here for a family meal even if someone else is paying. There are too many great italian restaurants to waste any more time on this one! (See Scarpetta)

SCARPETTA ENOTECA, A TASTE OF SICILY ON PARC

A Sicilian Kiss with the personable owner Antonio while I wait for my (very) late colleagues  at Scarpetta on Parc.
Check out the bathrooms. A conversation starter at the very least. I'm trying to figure out how to build one in my basement! 

Pollpettine di melanzane  - Eggplant with pesto - Delizioso!

Paccheri alla Norma- a spicy tomato-ey sauce - yum!

So glad I made room for dessert! Cannoli with candied oranges and a Caffe Americano. Perfetto!

TAVERNE ON THE SQUARE IN WESTMOUNT SQUARE/ MIES VON DER ROHE

I had plans to eat here the week before I did. A blizzard later and the supper was cancelled. But the stars aligned and when I suggested it for a supper place before plans to see a show at the Comedy Club, it turned out a friend worked across the street from the restaurant and agreed with the recommendation. Unfortunately we only had time for one course and a glass of wine before we had to go, but I was not disappointed. I love a good homemade pasta, especially if it's filled with butternut squash, and this version with a maple syrup and hot pine nut decadence. With an oaky chardonnay and a couple of fun friends, it was a great dinner on a cold night.

Interesting factoid: This restaurant is housed in a complex of tall buildings called Westmount Square, designed by a famous German - Chicagoan architect Ludwig Mies von der Rohe. He is famously quoted as saying, "Less is more" and "God is in the details". Curiously, he is recognized for designing a Barcelona chair, that I recognized far before I ever saw a building he had designed! Another curiosity is that he was born (Maria) Ludwig (Michael) Meis, but added his mother's maiden name when he divorced.  He is famous for buildings you may have seen but not yet learned to recognize (like yours truly!) like the Seagram building on Park Avenue/52nd in NYC, and a "Twin Towers" on the Lakeshore Road that can easily be missed in the beautiful skyline from Chicago's Magnificent Millennium Park.