Seen: Dance of the Happy Colon People

It's a lovely milk, but so far no dancing around the breakfast table!

Cheap Trick: Add $5 to the value of your pizza wine

We're not exactly wine snobs- in fact, you could call us cheap tipplers. Many trips to wine producing parts of the world have taught us that it's not unreasonable to expect to be able to pick up a good tinto for only a little dinero. However, as we all know, achieving this on a daily basis is a little difficult. So we've become quite proficient at seeking out plonk that is the best value for dollar.

Given our frugality we thought we would be the last to be extolling the virtues of Riedel stemware. Our minds were changed, however, thanks to the recent availability on a semi-regular basis of these babies at Winners. We became the proud owners of matching sets of two models from the economical "wine" series. (OK, confession- we thought we were buying white & red glasses when in fact both were for red, a fact pointed out by a little after-sale research. And we further confess to continuing to use the Syrah model for blancos)

Pinot Noir-Nebbiolo model at top and Syrah-Shiraz (& occasional white) model at bottom

Lets face it, we don't always drink Pinot Noirs or Syrahs, so how does one know which glass is appropriate for which other wine? Riedel has a very useful website for selecting the correct bowl shape. Of course, Riedel has a glass for every wine variety know to mankind and would like you to own a half dozen of each, but we've found that so far the two shapes we own are pretty versatile. And here's where that $5 comes in.

Last evening we uncorked a nice Spanish Monastrell to have with our pizza. Not being familiar with the grape's attributes, we consulted Riedel's guide. Hmmm, no Monastrell. A quick Google search indicated that Monastrell goes by the name Mourvèdre in some parts. Well, a good French name can usually be found on Riedel's page, & sure enough, there it was.

If you check the link you'll see that the recommended glass is similar (though not exactly the same) as the Pinot Noir bowl. We decided a taste test was in order.

And the winner is:

Pinot Noir-Nebbiolo! (as recommended)
While the wine in the Syrah bowl was perfectly quaff-able, in comparison to the Pinot bowl it tasted a bit of stems or pips. The Pinot glass brought out more sophistication & a subtle hint of cherry. There is no question that a perfectly decent wine for $12.95 had become a little gem that we would associate with a price tag of $15-17.

Juan Gil Gos Monastrell 2008, Jumilla region, Spain $12.95 here in Ontario

Of course this was not our first of such taste tests; it's now a regular occurrence around our home when there's any doubt. It adds a little fun, and definitely boosts the bang of your hard-earned-wine-buying buck. Try it- you'll be amazed at at the difference the proper glass can make!

Best Burger in Town

Our favourite burger is served at a venerable diner
on King Street E. near St. Lawrence Market
called The Patrician Grill.

The Banquet Burger Deluxe

mmmm, that was good!!


Closing time. Restocking the condiments with a little home-made ingenuity.

Quelle surprise

What a joy to find this at our corner store recently.

BADOIT

If there is one memory that we cherish is ordering a demi BADOIT with dinner in Paris.

Not too fizzy,not too dry,not too salty.

Just "parfait merci".

Let's hope it catches on in the 'hood.

Paris Fashion Madness

Colorful memories of Rio

In these grey days of late January it's nice to know that somewhere it is summer.

Posto 9

Ipanema

Rio de Janeiro, today, 35c with scattered clouds.

This should help.

Memories of Argentina

We were listening to Gotan Project on the way to work this morning & found ourselves longing for the sultry passion of Buenos Airies (where they are enjoying the steamy days of summer right now)

Gotan Project - Santa Maria from Putumayo World Music on Vimeo.

P****s Envy

That's "praias (beaches) envy"
Paraty Summer House

Rio de Janeiro province, Brazil

Having Trouble Finding Us on the Web? (An Update)

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For the first week after we started this blog we were not yet showing up on Google. Typing in Bobo Feed would lead one to the venerable "Bobo Feed & Farm Supply" in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. A peek around these dusty roads suggested that Bobo Feed had maybe flown the coop.

After a little sleuthing, however (yes, sometimes we have too much time on our hands) we discovered the real Bobo hiding out of site a few blocks away. It's a bit of a mystery- Did they move? Or is there horribly inaccurate information about their whereabouts floating around out there on the web? Perhaps that explains why they look a little short on business- no one can find them!

We're proud to say we are now the #1 search result for Bobo Feed!

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Jaw Dropper

Merci Garance Doré

Haitian Solidarity

The CN Tower has wrapped itself in the colours of the Haitian flag in support of charitable relief.

IDS10 Toronto

We recently attended Trade Day at the Interior Design Show here in Toronto. This show always manages to bring some amazing talent to town to inspire us in the middle of winter. The three outstanding "Trade Talks" speakers were the highlight of the day.

Joshua Prince-Ramus of the New York architectural practice REX kicked things off with a call to arms on the need to power through real-world impediments to creativity (little things like clients and budgets). Along the way, he showed us some remarkable work.

Nipa Doshi described how her native India is inspiring the work at Doshi Levien, her design partnership in London, and how not everyone needs to use a computer to draw.

Jaime Hayon took us on a laughter- filled romp through his prolific mind & the zany pieces he has gifted to the world of decorative arts.

Doshi Levien sofa for Moroso

Jaime Hayon urn (?) for Spanish porcelain manufacturer Lladró

Gracious seat & table from Ministry of the Interior

Klaus by nienkamper: fabulous stuff, as always

MotI pavilion, best of the rest in "The Ultimate" Concept Spaces exhibit

As is often the case, the strongest part of the actual show was the Studio North & Prototype exhibit area, featuring many up & coming Canadian designers. Elsewhere, there were more fireplaces, plumbing fixtures and kitchens than you could shake a stick at. (This is, after all, the more residential sister to Neocon IIDEX held in the autumn) We felt that the Concept Spaces exhibit, entitled "The Ultimate" was pretty weak this year...but hey, that's just us.

Books

A Book Review

On my way home to Montreal, for the usual Christmas festivities with the parental unitz I came across Cirque du Soleil 25 ans de Costumes being advertised in the train magazine.

Having always loved Cirque du Soleil, I knew I would have to get my hands on this book since it was a celebration, of not only their 25 years of performing, but also the celebration of the costumes and the designers so instrumental in making “Cirque”what it is today.

The spectacle that is Cirque du Soleil is just that a spectacle.

The acrobats, the clowns, it’s all too magical. Here was my chance to see these incredible costumes, up close and in detail.

To paraphrase Ernest Hemmingway as the book does “The circus is the only place on earth where one can dream with their eyes wide open”.

What wonderful dreams these exquisitely designed costumes truly are and how wonderfully presented they are in this book

All is explained and chronicled, from the first sketches to the first of many prototypes..

Such details as the weight, how it will wear and how, the chosen fabric, can withstand the rigors of repeated cleaning, and of course, “Can we get enough yardage?” for the doubles and sometime triples needed for a show of this magnitude. The ability for unencumbered movement, involving many fittings, is the primary function.

This book is filled with photos of the workshops, sewing and dye rooms, even the making of all the wonderful, fantastical shoes that make the costumes of Cirque du Soleil what they are.

The book starts in 1984 and goes on to showcase most of its past and current productions, and credits all of its many designers through the past 25 years. Who knew Thierry Mugler worked his “special eye brow raising talents” with “Cirque” in 2003.

As you can pretty well establish now I highly recommend this book. If you cannot read French the visuals alone will blow your socks off. I must also mention that not only are the costumes out of this world but the artistry of the make-up department of Cirque du Soleil play a HUGE part in making the designers vision come even more to life.

CIRQUE du SOLEIL

25 ans de COSTUMES

is available through Les Editions LA PRESSE

librarie.cyberpresse.ca

$39.95

Dinners

OK, so this was pretty good. Taken from Jamie Kennedy's SEASONS cookbook.
Poached Black Haddock with Roasted Winter Vegetables and a Horseradish Cream Sauce.

Along with this fine bottle: 2008 Cabernet Franc VQA from Niagara Peninsula
a fine evening was had by all.

Taco lunch in Kensington Market

One of our Kensington Favourites

Always lots of tangy Salsa Verde and a fiery Chipotle salsa

The full lunch spread. Guacamole with corn chips and tacos al pastor (filled with pork, onions, pineapple and cilantro) and a couple of ginger ales. Mmmmm....

Seen