Not A Very Light House
So you’ll leave the light on for me?
That’s nice, dear.
But it’s a ….lighthouse.
That’s what it does.
It keeps the light on.
I’m going to tell you now “there is no light without dark”
so turn off the sky, now
and disappear.
You want to do something fine?
Something right?
— Bring me starlight —
It is nice you did nothing by leaving a light on,
tonight.
Thanks for trying.
© Sylvie Hill
(Nora at Lighthouse Bay)
Get Out of Jail Free Bard
Escape a jail, sail:
No-no marry
Lest she be changing diapers
instead of windshield wipers on long road trips to Californie.
No-no babies
Lest she be twenty
years young for the uptake not when she’s forty!
Escape a jail, sail:
No-no family
Lest she be tied down
and can’t rope sails when need be like Ulysses.
The prism of a prison seen from different perspectives.
The grass being greener across the field and hedges.
Escape a jail, sail:
Life-long love and friendship?
Penis-snipped vasectomy.
Family at a distance and on special occasions?
Oui, c’est la vie, free this is.
Satisfaction? Fulfilment? Purpose?
Yes, words and stories like wood building solid beams above my head to under my feet, enveloping me in journey, indeed.
© Sylvie Hill
All These Nights
All these nights they come in
And the eyes are open wide
And she sees the guys coming
All night long
And the signs, she sees them
Hearts are open wild
And he never calls it;
He’s always Ho-Hum
Yeah the times they rush in
And the blood it flows in
And it stops as soon and as fast
As the booze stops gushing
Even a body therein
Folded half or splayed out naked on a bed
Does nothing for them
Since she’s lost in thought and…
She starts in and spits on him
And the rub is never a tug
worthy of a Fuck substitution therein
And she throws a condom on him
And she tries it on for old times, then
And tears it off as fast as though
she’s flipping through a catalogue
Yeah?
© Sylvie Hill
Welcome back!
As the winner of the Ottawa Fish Market Project Food Blog 2012 contest, I’m excited to share with you my third, and last, Blog entry of its three restaurants! I’ve blogged about The Fish Market in November, then a great blogging experience at Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro last month, and last stop: Coasters Gourmet Grill!
HERITAGE HOMEY
Coasters Gourmet Grill is housed on the top floor of a gorgeous and imposing heritage building standing tall at the corner of William Street and York, with a full view of the ByWard Market in Ottawa.
The interior brick walls, heritage mouldings, floor-to-sky windows and the historic Canadian photographs framed large on every wall, give Coasters a distinct and stylish Canadiana vibe that will excite tourists and entice visitors to the historic Byward Market. Look up: you’ll see a canoe paddle, instilling pride in the locals.
In short: it feels like home.
Right below it is the street-level Fish Market, designed with an authentic maritime feel perfect for any occasion. And underneath that, Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro with an underground European vibe ideal for a mature crowd that likes their romantic dinners or stylish get-togethers.
At Coasters, you get a chill and casual environment for everyone from university students or couples, through to the solo diner, families and up. And judging by the menu, your options are as interesting as your surroundings.
COZY CATCH UPS
For my meal, I was joined by a couple of old friends, Paul and Jeannie. Their appreciation for a quality space and inspiring atmosphere, and knowledge of good food and drink, are a couple of the reasons I wanted them to join me at Coasters for the last installment of Project Food Blog.
Always great to spend time together, but I was curious: how would Coasters hold up?
FLASHBACK: PITCHER-PERFECT CHOWDER & COUCH
For me, I had been to Coasters before during my University of Ottawa days. Back then, there were sofas we’d crouch into and talk about life, and mostly music, over pitchers of beer and bowls of chowder. While the sofas are gone (and may make their return says owner, Barb) and replaced by fireplaces, the welcoming “Cheers”-bar vibe is still the same.
SO HOW WAS THE FOOD?
Amidst this warm, woodsy decor in an historic building overlooking the ByWard Market, the food also still fulfills.
Paul started with the famous chowder that I used to have. He enjoyed it as hearty creamy seafood delight. Next, for his main, he went with the spicy cajun shrimp linguini, very impressed with the food presentation. It had just the right blend of spicy southern seasoning giving the linguini some bite, and the seafood was fresh.
Jeannie’s starter was Nova Scotia lobster chunks & stone crab meat in a light cream cheese spinach dip heated slightly and served with warm grilled pita. So good, I shared in some of this goodness.
Remember that at Vineyards, I recommended selecting from the Lighter Fare menu if you’re looking to mix and match an array of filling tasters. Same with at Coasters. Put this dip on your list when you come in for “Threesome Thursdays” – 3 appetizers for $20!
Jeannie also selected one of the trio-restaurants’ famous “sides” and went with two skewers of garlic shrimp to add to her main of salmon fillet stuffed with cream cheese, dill, lemon, red peppers and green onion served with arugula salad, tossed in a balsamic dressing.
I had to try some of her salmon: as usual, the three restaurants, Fish Market, Vineyards and Coasters deliver on what I’m now coining for this establishment about the way they prepare all their fish: SUCCULENCE.
Her dessert was divine: two luscious velvety balls of gelato — one chocolate, one mango. YUMMY!
As for me, my meal was absolutely splendid and delicious! Labourious to make at home, those signature crabcakes were a real treat. I’m going to buy some Gift Certificates for friends and families so they can go try these for themselves!
Another labour-intensive treat I enjoy are fish tacos because the preparing the right salsas or taco fixins takes time, right? So, it was a welcome treat to sink my teeth into one cajun tuna tempura-fried taco, and one talapia, served with shaved radicchio, red grapes, red onion and wasabi mayo on a warm flour tortilla. ONE was filling enough, so you get your money’s worth; I had leftovers.
Speaking of cost, Coasters features a variety of specials, including cheap prices on Taco Tuesdays!
The fish tacos came with fries, which I often leave behind when I’m dining out. But not here (nor at Vineyards with their $12 fries featuring a plump, grilled, juicy steak)!
For dessert, having read Project Food Blog, Rachel knew what I was going for. Three guesses!
You should know that Coasters offers special Holiday menus, too! For the holidays, there are table d’hote selections of divine gems like swordfish.
DOWN BRICK LANE
Before Paul and Jeannie arrived, I sat by myself by the Christmas tree, amidst the heritage brick walls and warming fireplace, took my first sips of my Heineken, and looked out the long windows straight down into the Market.
The view took me down memory lane to the late 1980’s, a time most Ottawa music-lovers will remember. Back then, “the Market” was bustling with Rideau Centre punks, and around it, tiny cafés that attracted music-loving “alternative” crowds.
Up the street on Sussex where Social is, Café Wim was a smoky Dutch gathering place of the old Le Hibou of the 60s where Jimi Hendrix once stepped in.
On the same street as Coasters today, was The William Street Café, where it was rumoured the keyboard player for British icons, The Cure, would sometimes stop into.
And, looking north out my window, beside the deli, I can see the doorway that used to lead underground to a “goth-music” bar where punks and new-wave rockers danced in black to British bands like Boy George and Depeche Mode.
Finally, across the street, past the Buskers quarter and Mother Tuckers was Café Bohemian on Clarence Street.
The Market was a hotbed of culture. I’m probably not the only one who mourned its demise with the rise of more touristy restaurants and chain coffee shops.
And while time moved on, Coasters, and The Fish Market and Vineyards remain as fixtures in an evolving downtown core. Even though Ottawa may not be full of artists visible on the streets and in non-existent cafés of before, I couldn’t stop smiling while I sat waiting for my guests at the long-lasting Coasters.
That’s because 20 years later, here I am in the Market again, eating better food than some of the cafés served and overhead, on their sound system, Coasters were spinning some British tunes. Yup. Wasn’t dancing, but definitely delighted by the 50s, 60s and 70s tracks from The Beatles to the Byrds going, and some gris-gris New Orleans smooth from Dr. John, one of my favourites.
When Paul and Jeannie joined me, our conversation was peppered nostalgically by Paul and I playing Name That Tune [see Paul, deep in thought about a song title, below!]. While we enjoyed the music, there was something for Jeannie, too. Manager Ashley designed a wonderful menu of holiday cocktails. Jeannie & I have got to go back there for some!
To me, that I can sit in a restaurant in the center of downtown Ottawa again and eat well, enjoy a pint with friends, and actually LIKE the music, is a very positive thing.
And it didn’t hurt either that highlights from the Manchester United & Man City game earlier that day were being shown on the tele…
THANK YOU’s
Thanks to Ms Rachel for the delightful service, recommendations and interesting stories about travelling in the UK. And a thank you to Manager Ashley, and the youthful Bartender. Kudos to the Chef for preparing a wonderful spread of food on a cold night that we’ll be talking about for months to come!
Welcome back!
As the winner of the Ottawa Fish Market Project Food Blog 2012 contest, I’m excited to share with you my SECOND Blog entry of its three restaurants! I’ve blogged about The Fish Market last month, and coming later in December, I’ll be blogging about Coasters Gourmet Grill. But for now, if you’re looking for a tasty and fun night out, well I’ve got just the place! Let me tell you all about Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro!
***
MIDNIGHT CITY
Before I step into Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro in the heart of downtown Ottawa’s ByWard Market quarter, I’m reminded of a famous scene from a Woody Allen film. The movie is “Midnight in Paris” where during a midnight stroll through Montmartre, Paris, Owen Wilson’s character pushes through the mysterious doors of a quaint bar off the smokey-lit cobblestone streets in one of the world’s most romantic sin cities by night.
What awaits him on the other side is a slick bar playing jazz music and a cast of characters that includes writers and artists of the 1930s—Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway, the Fitzergeralds, Cole Porter and Piacasso’s mistress. Among beautiful soft-licked-locked and flapper-frocked women, everyone is smoking, imbibing and conversing salon-style into the late hours.
It’s a magical place not unlike Ottawa’s unique and only cellar wine bar in the Market, where with a little imagination, you too can recreate your own “scene” (and enjoy one hell of a meal and great service!).
From as stylish an upscale soirée as you would like it to be, to as lingering a lounge Regal-Beagle style over a pint, or Cheers-familiarity at the bar, as you wish it. Whatever your style, when you walk through Vineyards’ side door, off William Street, you’ll feel the pull of this bistro-bar, ready to take you to another world, tonight. We did!
NIGHT ON THE TOWN AND I’M FEELING GOOD
Vineyards was the perfect combination of cool and cozy for my second stop for the Project Food Blog. I was joined by five local artists, from musicians to our photographer. It’s a casual-relaxed atmosphere surrounded by cellar-rock walls and warm hues. There’s no cloud of smoke (thankfully!), but you can catch some live jazz on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday! And, this is a great place for real-life celebrity-watching! (Platinum Blonde came here for drinks when they last played Ottawa).
For us, the wine, beer and scotch flowed as smooth as the conversations about life, love, art, sex and service (at local restaurants). Our food sat well as we did in our cozy curved benched nook. We closed the bar, as they say, well past midnight. It was indeed, magical.
FLASHBACK: STEAK FRITES
I often came for dinner at Vineyards as a couple with the Carpenter on those Friday nights when we didn’t feel like cooking, but hadn’t planned on a date. I would order $12 fries: a plate of fries or salad—and an amazing cut of steak perfectly grilled. This steak-frites supper idea reminded me of the lamb & frites and beans I ate a lot for dinner in Paris on vacation years ago; the surroundings feeling very European as well.
The warm wood and dim lighting emanating from stained-glass overhead lamps produce a romantic feel if you’re on a date; a cozy feel if you’re out with a group of friends like I was; or, a calming oasis for family dinner or a quiet meal to celebrate yourself. I’ve also chosen Vineyards for Girls Night Out, and it’s my first choice for congregating with out-of-town guests. You can use your evening as an excuse to dress up, or make it a throw-on-your black sweater and jeans kind of date.
SO, HOW WAS THE FOOD?
Vineyards has a very “London” feel according to Manager Jaden, who says the style mimics the British “belly-up-to-the-bar” concept where you travel up to the bar to get your drinks. When you’re seated, a server comes to take your food order. I suggest you sort your drinks out first. Servers are more likely to stop by for a food order if they know you’ve had time to settle in after a few sips.
There are more than 300 wine choices and Vineyards boast one of the largest beer selections in the city. Sorry, why are you going anywhere else?!
Our group enjoyed beers from the West coast of Canada over to Belgium classics. Sticking with the travelling theme, author/performer/artist Danniel Oickle and I each indulged in a “wine flight” – three glasses of international splashes of wines from different countries. Through my reds, I travelled from California to Spain and Italy. A great way to taste a place, and pace. With so much to choose from, helpful bar managers like Jaden and Adam, are there, patient, to help you find something you will savour.
Appetizers at Vineyards are incredible and must be shared. The crab cakes from Blog 1 described as “une caresse au palais” pleased us with their fluffy filling of crab meat blended with herbs, shallow fried and finished with lemon and garlic. The house cheese of the day plate was our photographer Pierre Gallant’s choice, which came with an assortment of fine cheeses served with mango chutney and candied nuts. Fruit fresh. Cheeses nicely paired. Chutney none too candied.
Myself, I dove into a dozen Prince Edward Island oysters that I enjoyed even more than the last time because of the accompanying mignotte sauce. Make sure to ask for it if you get oysters upstairs at the Fish Market.
But the appetizer to die for, was Fourstroke punk-rocker Ken Ketchum’s order of the panko-breaded and deep-fried camembert, with a soft center, served with a blueberry port wine and caramelized onion reduction.
We found the appetizers so delicious and substantial, that for a small meal, why not combine treats from this “Lighter Fare” menu. Our late-comer, Jazz musician and foodie Emmanuel Simon, went this way with the caprese salad of vine-ripened tomato slices, mozzarella, fresh basil leaves and drizzled with olive oil, balsamic glaze and sea salt, and a skewer of shrimp.
Onto mains, the highlights were Danniel’s cajun seafood jambalaya about which he consulted with Jaden on the spice factor. It’s not that this theatrical performer himself, very spicy, could not handle it! It’s that while the temperature was great for me in my sleeveless dress, Dan was boiling in wool. I would have thought that a cellar bar might be cold, also.
The jumbalaya, no doubt, warmed his palate, as he later commented: “Neither firm nor mushy, delicate and perfectly cooked rice made a filling bed for the succulent and generous mix of seafood [succulent shrimp, mussels, sea scallops, assorted fresh fish], chorizo sausage, and delightfully spicy sauce [tangy Creole sauce laced with southern spices].” I also recommend that if you’re at the Fish Market, upstairs, you order the conch chowder for a delightful mix of seafood and slightly spicy but not overbearing.
Another winner was Ken’s exquisite meal of fresh halibut fillet baked with a pocket of lightly seasoned fresh halibut stone crab meat, topped with a rich spinach and onion sauce. To this he added a shrimp skewer, one of many Vineyards’ “sides” options. “I was pleasantly surprised at the generous and succulent serving of halibut,” Ken said. “There wasn’t a scrap left on my plate once I was done.”
For singer/artist Olexandra Pruchnicky of Ottawa-based The Peptides (who are CBC Stuart MacLean’s choice for musical soundtrack to his new Vinyl Café book), it was the shrimp and scallops sauteed with bell peppers, onions and mushrooms with fresh garden herbs in garlic butter. “My shrimp and scallops were perfectly firm, but not rubbery,” Olex said. “Pulled off the heat at just the right time.”
For his main, Pierre enjoyed the juicy chicken parmigiana over a layer of fresh arugula and creamy alfredo linguini. A touch of vegetables he said would round out this dish just perfect. Breaking from my steak and frites, I went for the Atlantic salmon fillet and ceasar salad.
I was not disappointed with la dolce vita chocolate cake, with its rich chocolate with a baker’s sweetness, smooth and delicious. Olex recommends the crème brulée, Emmanuel indulged in an apple treat with ice cream. About his raspberry scene-stealing cake, Danniel said: “I must say that the cheesecake and I will be having a romance for many years to come. Light yet dense, not overly sweet raspberry reduction, and some signature raspberry gelatine near the crust just stole the show … simply, wow.”
QUALITY EXPERIENCE: NIGHT AND DAY
For me, when I was single and writing my SHOTGUN column or other articles for The Ottawa XPress, if I wanted to get more acquainted with artists and musicians, it was often with mates in a late-night setting and always almost done over shooters, cigarettes and loud bars where you couldn’t hear yourself talk and after-parties where it was impossible to concentrate and listen.
When I wanted to visit with artist friends over a meal, The Manx Pub is always a favourite for everyone but because of its popularity, less intimate–to me. Without beer gardens in the city for mid-day meet-ups, night town was where I would typically congregate.
If getting older and wiser involves choosing an option of getting together at a hip-but-inviting bistro where pretensions are stripped away instead of my pants, I’m all for it. Hey, being in a couple means nice dinners out, and when you go back to being single, it’s missed.
So, for me, “closing the bar” took on a whole new meaning last month at Vineyards, and I strongly suggest you grab a friend and a glass, fill your belly, and enjoy some jazz, forgetting all about the time until it’s past midnight, and you feel nothing but the magic of a night gone absolutely right … in Ottawa.
THANK YOU’s
So great to see Supervisor, André, pop in to say hello! We thank Jaden for his personable and professional service. Adam for the laughs and recommendations. And Happy Birthday Week, Cheryl – it was kind of you to take the time out to chat with us! 🙂
Please join me here again in December for Stop #3: Coasters Seafood Grill! On Thursday, December 6, why not drop in? Look for me and introduce yourself. I’d love that!!
***
Thanks to the Group of Six: my fellow diners, Danniel Oickle, Olexandra Pruchnicky, Ken Ketchum, Emmanuel J. Simon, and (photog) Pierre Gallant.
Thanks for being there in spirit and throughout the night on Twitter: Californian synth-pop artist Jenna F, former Ottawan artist/musician CC Trubiak now transplanted to Flin-Flon, and Kayt Sukel Texas author of “Dirty Minds,” and frequent Ottawa visitor! We would have so liked to have you there.
As the winner of the Ottawa Fish Market Project Food Blog 2012 contest, I’m excited to share with you my first Blog entry of its three restaurants! I’ll be visiting the trio, including Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro, and Coasters Gourmet Grill. We start with The Fish Market!
BUT FIRST! Scroll down for a visual tour of the evening!
***
When you equate a crabcake to “une caresse au palais” –a caress to the palate– it can only mean one thing. Two things: you’re French. AND, you’re not sat at a bloody pub eating frisby-discs of flattened crushed-can crabmeat overpriced to compensate for the labour it takes to pack down and shape those things. (I know, because I’ve tried to make my own crabcakes at home and it takes longer than you’ll do to eat them).
It means you’re at a proper restaurant that knows seafood and takes care in preparing their food, starting with their appetizers. Like at The Fish Market in Ottawa…
I LIKE TO FEEL GOOD
I like to eat well. You probably do too. So why piss away your money at some place where you’re not comfortable? I like to feel good about my surroundings when I’m dining. That’s why it’s unfortunate that there is so much hoopla about what I call “tourist trap” restaurants—those glossy, chic places in the ByWard Market.
Tell me, would you be impressed with waiting too long to be acknowledged by a stylish waiter on a night they were none too busy? I wasn’t. Would you enjoy the lackluster face on the stacked waitress when you’re looking to enjoy a fun evening out with friends? I didn’t.
One of the reasons I entered the Fish Market, Coasters Gourmet Grill and Vineyards Wine Bar Bistro contest to become their Project Food Blogger 2012, aside from being a foodie, was because this long-running trio of restaurants excels where a couple of other popular ByWard Market restaurants failed me, in my opinion.
It’s obvious how Fish Market owner, Barbara Mireault, is deserving of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2011. Let’s put it this way: her dedication to service excellence shows among her attractive crew of managers and supervisor(s). And they serve superior seafood.
Here, it’s style and substance.
FLASHBACK: CRABS
I’m sentimental about the Fish Market Restaurant. When my father used to come to town from Toronto to visit my sister and I, he’d take us here for seafood! At only eight years old, I knew my bream from my cod and my mollusks from my crustaceans. This was in part because of our frequent treks to the famous Lobster Trap in Toronto where people would line up around the street, waiting for a table.
I always chose crab. In my lifetime, it was second only to Crabby Bill’s at a roadside sit-down in Tampa Bay where my dad took us girls en route to Disneyworld. For $4.95, you sat with others at a picnic table across from the ocean and ate King Crab legs like Queens.
Being back at the Fish Market returned me to that home-like feel, which hasn’t changed a bit. It’s the wood. The nautical and marine theme, evidently. The candles. It’s that Barbara the Owner has been a part of the Fish Market when they had a location in Windsor! At 17, she started out as a waitress. Consistency, top-notch service and class in a relaxed setting, this Fish Market. It’s a perfect place for a long family dinner, a romantic meal, or flying solo as we saw one man seated next to us with a Corona, his meal and a Kindle. (I’m definitely going back to fly solo with some Cajun salmon, a Corona and a real book!)
For my purposes on a Tuesday night, it was a very welcome, cozy place to kick back with my manager, and my Ottawa and Montreal work colleagues. We work in communications (technology) for the federal government. We needed a place to regroup, relax and eat after relentless learning and networking at what was starting off as a week-long conference just down the road at the Convention Centre.
SO, HOW WAS THE FOOD?
I wouldn’t be telling you about the service, ambience and how the positive memories endear me to the Fish Market if the food was rubbish. It was fresh. It was wonderful.
We started with bread baked especially for the restaurant with a humus spread and special oil dipping, seasoned with fennel and other herbs, which is Ms Barbara the Owner’s secret recipe. It works. With a glass of Pinot Grigio from California, recommended to us by André, the Supervisor, the night was off to a great start.
I was looking for something Californian because I had memories of San Francisco seafood on the brain, also. When I was there in September, I had ordered a wonderful fish dish for lunch at Boulette’s Larder at the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero and shared a full plate of crab on Pier 39 with some Ottawa friends. (Sorry Kate & Bob! It was delicious at the time, but you must try the Fish Market, on parallel with Toronto & Florida. You’ll have to come and see for yourselves!). So, how would the Fish Market in Ottawa compare?
Well, along with the wine and bread, we moved to a generous heap of Prince Edward Island mussels in a light-leek sauce and, of course—the famous crabcakes. The mussels were meaty, almost earthy tasting. As a mate suggested: “Might you have heard the crash of waves as you ate one, Sylvie?” Why yes: That fresh. I enjoyed a half-dozen PEI oysters, all by myself, and very much to my satisfaction. If you’re looking to enjoy fresh oysters in a more-relaxed setting than cramped, loud oyster bars, this is your place.
For the main, our team’s manager, Ms Kathryn, had one-dozen butterflied shrimp with fresh crabmeat stuffing full of fresh herbs and garlic bread crumbs. Ms Nancy took the shrimp and scallop entrée with red peppers, fine herbs and garlic butter. And, Ms Karen chose the Cajun salmon salad entrée for her main that was decorated in pear slices, dried cranberries and candied walnuts tossed in a house vinaigrette. I tried Nancy’s scallops, which were cooked beautifully, not a second too long in the pan. I found the coating on the breaded shrimp a bit fluffy, but then again, I take my shrimp cold or as nigiri. The ladies enjoyed their meals immensely, commenting on the freshness and the ideal size of portions. We felt our Atlantic-region colleague, a real Maritimer who was unable to make it down, would approve!
My main—surprise, surprise—was one and a half pounds of large Queen Crab Legs, steamed. The entrée came with garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables glazed in a sweet sauce. My meal had much to live up to, given my expectations. When I cracked apart that crustacean, BEHOLD!—long, sweet, tender tubes of delicious, fresh crabmeat sprouted from broken legs ready to be pulled, and devoured, but only after a faint brush of drawn-butter dip. Mmmm! I was a half hour behind the rest of the ladies, cracking away, but I’m also known for taking forever at restaurants. No matter, more wine, and it all helped the girls make room for dessert!
HEAVEN OR SAN FRANCISCO?
By dessert time, we made room for the Dolce Vita Chocolate Cake, absolutely full of fudgy layers of dark chocolate and expresso mousse in a dark chocolate glaze. We also shared the wild raspberry cheesekcake where, true to the menu, pockets of blended raspberries really did peek—and seep—out of a creamy cheesecake, sitting on a two-tone crust. What I appreciated was the richness without the candy-bar sweetness you find in cheap desserts. Here, the chocolate icing reminded me very much of the artisan cakes I enjoyed at the roof-top café at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. (If I’m not mistaken, there is a 2-for-1 offer for desserts on the Fish Market website. Indeed worth taking advantage of!)
YEP, DEFINITELY HEAVEN AT THE FISH MARKET
Something funny happened the next night, after our meal. A treat for your mouth is how my Montreal colleague described the crabcakes. To her waiter at a hotel restaurant! Oh! Too tired to leave the hotel, but jonesing for Fish Market crabcakes, she decided to order some at the hotel restaurant. But this is kinda like going for a guy who kinda looks like your ex, thinking it’d kinda work, but it kinda doesn’t.
“How are your crabcakes, miss?” the waiter asked her. And so began my colleague’s polite, but wonderfully French-Canadian honest explanation and inevitable boasting of the delectable puffiness and lightly breaded bits of heaven we were treated to at the Fish Market. In short: “Don’t tell the chef!” she said.
SPECIAL NIGHT OUT
Thank you to Barbara for making the time to stop by our table, and for André’s personable and professional service. I was also lucky to meet the very beautiful managers, Jaden and Ashley. Something tells me that you don’t need to be a contest winner to be treated like a prize here. Well worth the money for quality, and a very special night out.
Please join me here again at the end of November for Stop #2: Vineyards Wine Bar! On Friday, November 23rd, lead singer of punk rock band Fourstroke, will be my special dinner guest. We’ll be joined by local author, artist and musician Danniel Oickle and a few others! If you’re in the ByWard Market, why not drop in? Look for me and introduce yourself. I’d love that … along with a glass of Chilean red!
Fun Fact: when Platinum Blonde was in town recently, they chose to eat at the Fish Market then cozy on down to Vineyards for drinks. The restaurants are not unknown, I’m told, to celebrities!
AND HERE WE STILL ALL ARE
…which is unbelievably great; learning everyday how to stay sane
Well, here I am! And here we were for The Table Story Part I with the Carpenter and Part II. And here you are … probably waiting for the much-promised update on “The Table Story”. Many months have passed, so what did the table teach me?
In short, every time I thought I would be “ready” to give you the lesson I learned, I found myself still learning.
Since the last post, I have so much to tell you, reader. Will you come back? I have a story I want to share with you about … a dance across the world, under the sea when I dreamed a thousand dreams, the night he danced with me. It was a dance – an El Hula – and a table. A table dance? Yeh, sort of. You’ll be surprised!
But for now, my biggest gift about Big, Big Love and Life comes to me not from my own table, but from the writing of someone else. No, not a guy. But from a girl.
What did I say girls should go for in dudes? No sissies! Sure, fine, but no girl says it better than blogger Dana Stasyk from Vancouver in her column, “Sissies Need Not Apply” when she speaks for not settling for anything but the best.
And that means not settling for a lesser you, ladies and gents and everyone in between.
She quotes Eckhart Tolle, and Rocky to prove her point that “I need to work on me, improve ME, and become the woman I really want to be – and then I’ll be the caliber of what I want to attract.” And that goes for both people in a relationship.
Tomorrow, October 31, it will be one full year that I’ve last heard my ex-partner’s voice. November 1st, the morning that I said goodbye to him forever in voice. I’ve never talked to him in person since. I’ve never seen him; only his truck — once. Perhaps twice, for which a caring male friend consoled me acknowledging my panic, saying: “It’s an unexpected horror, sure.”
Indeed, facing “the dead” always is! But like the tree that gets reclaimed and transformed into a beautiful table, clichéd, I suppose, but truth – death gives way to new things.
No, I haven’t had sex on my table if that’s what you’re wondering! Because … well, because I choose not to until I find me this “Right Guy.” By then, I’ll be ready for this …
Protection.
The guy in the back says nothing
Until it’s time to pour the whiskey
The girl pipes up and she starts talking
Asks about the band, where they’re from and he says something.
Don’t make them speak
Just pour the drinks.
The only sign of friendship here is a “yes.”
And she asks for a cigarette
And he offers protection.
It’s been a long week in this town
Playing festival stages so many new faces around
And the midnight parties have got him down
He thinks she’s stupid and she thinks he might be dumb.
Don’t make them speak
Just pour the drinks.
The only sign of friendship here is a “yes.”
And she puts out her cigarette
And he puts on protection.
They stay closed as they get close
without their clothes on.
No one opens hearts here: just protection.
Get it on.
Get it on.
© Sylvie Hill
THAT WAS THEN…
Part I: The Last Suppers
The last time a Carpenter came through my door, he broke my heart and cleared out his furniture, including his most beautiful, real-wood, heavy, dining room table.
Nearly black like the colour of my true {ex-} love’s hair, the dining room table was a very rich, espresso-coloured structure with the glossiest table top, and fit for Kings with four chairs and a big wooden bench. Walnut? Oak? Something more durable than our relationship, anyroads.
There, we had shared our breakfasts half awake, taco dinners in fits of laughter, and one Christmas celebration in warmth. We’d watch Pat Sajak on Wheel of Fortune from “our” table, and even caught that episode where that New York City editor got lucky and decoded the most complex(t) of puzzles in but a few letters, shouting the answer: “I’ve Got A Very Good Feeling About This!!”
While that lucky lady made it to the bonus round with her great feeling about that, I was having a very “bad feeling” about this: my own round in the game called LoveLife, thanks. I landed on BANKRUPT, man — emotionally, intimately, and challenged in the furniture department, you bet it: “table-y” bereft.
I needed a god-damn table. When he left, there would be a big void in my apartment, and a hole in my heart, and I’d need to fill it. Fast. Panic set in, and I did what any Carpenter-less female might do: I ordered from Sears. Oh, fake-wood table from Sears. Mr. Carpenter was too distracted to help me shop for the right thing, but he did pick up the order for me in his truck and delivered it. Oh, and what a load. But then guess what happened…
***
THIS IS NOW…
In the first meeting to discuss my new threshing-floor dining room table, I meet Matthew Wallace of naCoille Studio, Ottawa (Ontario – Canada) on Easter Monday.
He is a family man, a photographer, a graphic designer, an artist and entrepreneur — and a wood guy. From my first conversation over the phone with Matthew, I know I’m in for a treat. Professionalism, knowledge and ideas is what this guy is all about.
He comes over today to measure the space I have in the dining room for the table. We measure it up for a table of about 5 feet long, and 40 inches wide! He brings with him samples of the wood he’ll use for the legs and for the table top. We’ll go with a more traditional apron-leg fit and he’ll stain them a bit darker than the top. That’s because the natural colours in the wood end up shining through after treatment, and often you’ll find a nice mix of rich, dark colours!
Here’s the wood he brought! He salvages very old wood from decrepit Ottawa-region barns. It’s in rough shape now, but you’ll see how he’ll transform something abandoned and discarded into something…beautiful.
What a great first consult. In one hour, I know where we’re heading, and it’s going to be great!
Check back here soon for more updates about the Sears catastrophe and Step 2 of the Table-Build!
OUT, DAMN SPOT!!
Part II: This isn’t going to work
In Part I, I introduced you to the Carpenter who broke my heart, and left my apartment with his real-wood dining-room table. But he didn’t want to break up. So how was that going to work? All I knew is that I needed a new table. But a new relationship …?
I ordered a new dining-room table from Sears (which oddly carried the name of a previous boyfriend/failed relationship). Carpenter went to pick up the dining-room table for me. Delivered it on an autumn night where I hid, retreating into the woods.
There was a problem with the table. He called me at my hiding place: “Sylvie, the table is missing its base so I can’t put it together, and anyways—the table-top is dented. Sorry.”
I felt desperate. How can I return to the city now and go into the apartment with him gone?!! A too-big void all around!! A large space left behind with no table, and no one to eat my Vector cereal with, man!
My futile attempts at love with a man who said from the start that he wasn’t “established,” and my futile attempts at replacing something all-too conveniently, converged on the phone, and I uttered final words in frustration and resignation:
“You know what? This isn’t going to work. Not the table. Not us.”
Then those words that stain your life, and someone else’s:
“We’re done. It’s over.”
Sometimes making love work has a lot to do with timing. Where you are in your life. Where you think you need to be. Where you want to go. Where he was, he didn’t like. Where we wanted to get to, far off. Was I in the picture? Sure.
People come with knicks and flaws. But sometimes we’re just too damned damaged and dysfunctional to be upright, and to stand sturdy for others to lean on us.
Go back to where I’m from
In the end, Sears came to collect their stupid table. My ex was a short guy, which I loved, and one of the strongest men I’ve ever met – physically. Yet, it took two big, fat, large men from Sears to cart out the table, and all the chairs. It made me cry thinking he had done all that himself, for me, only to finish the night with my phone call that I was not going to wait for him in this life.
My ex is like the very unique oak board that miraculously turned up in the piles of hemlock that NaCoille Studio used for my table. Popped into my life outta nowhere. Physically strong, and stands out for the beauty of all its knots, knicks and blemishes. In life, like love, we walk all kinds of planks…
Breaking up with someone by whom you already feel dumped leaves a huge big black mark. Out damn spot! But with NaCoille Studio needing to talk stains for my new table, I realized that some stains bring out the natural markings in wood, our own selves. And with care, the right stain can ‘set’ our scars so they don’t grow deeper.
Protecting us from the elements. Beautifying us both for years to come for when someone else runs their gorgeous hands upon us, marveling at our markings, our grooves and ridges and the story of where we came from and how we became so wonderful, and too bloody right — sturdy.
***
So where are we at now? What did the Table teach me about this loss, and love and life? Read on…
You can read about my first meeting with NaCoille Studio’s Matthew Wallace here.
If you take a look above at the “underside” image, do you see how the colouring is way off? Matthew explains to me that when you plane a plank, he has no idea what colours will emerge.
With some wood he once got from Queen’s Quay in Toronto, he was awed by brilliant hues of purples and greens emerging from the wood as he planed. Bit of an adventure, really. Unique, indeed. One-of-a-kind to be sure.
For our second meeting to discuss my new threshing-floor dining room table, it’s a cold, rainy day and perfect for being indoors talking about finishes. Matthew tells me about how he’s fixed up the kinks by planing off the bad shit to reveal the beauty underneath. Time, soon, to seal it up, finish it off…