Easter-Birthday-Spring Break-Moonshot Visit Week!

Despite there being no shortage of things I could potentially blog about  - the global worry that WWIII could have kicked off yesterday instead of being TACO Tuesday, the Artemis II mission, my enduring love and appreciation for Project Hail Mary (seriously, go see it in a theater) - somehow I missed my self-imposed deadline of having something new to read at the beginning of each work week. My apologies!

There was plenty of time to have written somethng too, since I had taken all of last week off from work to coincide with Audrey's spring break from school. 

Tara and Jerry made it up from Texas on Wednesday; I cooked ribs on the Traeger and we watched the Artemis II launch together, as he is an even bigger NASA fan than I am. He shared an absolutely exquisite Bourbon County stout with me, as is his tradition (may his name continue to be blessed!), but we couldn't get too reckless since he was flying home the next day to relieve their dogsitter.

Tara, though, stayed until early Easter Monday, which I thought was terribly sporting of Jerry. We did a fair bit of nothin' together a couple of afternoons (which was delightful) but also: 

• Glory and her bestie Brooklyn took Tara out for supper at Tiki Tiki, as a thank you for the hospitality she and Jerry gave the two of them in TX last year 
• we all watched Jesus Christ Superstar together (an Easter tradition here, but Tara's first full viewing in decades)
• Tara took us all out to dinner at Argos, and we finally got to take her to Gracie Jane's (a bedazzled boutique gallery/bar)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• we had a Tiki party for Glory's birthday
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• we all went to Good Friday and Easter Sunday service
• on Good Friday we also got to hear Fenya sing a ten-minute excerpt (!) from Handel's Messiah and it was astonishing
  
  
  
  
  
• Sunday I started cooking the turkey I had brined the day before but needged my back and needed the rest of the family to step up and finish dinner - which they did, marvellously! And there were plenty of leftovers for sandwiches and soup 
  
  

  

  (turkey, stuffing, smoked bourbon cranberry sauce, bacon, brie and mayo)

  
  
• Easter eggs also made an appearance!
  
  
  
  
  
• early Monday, three of us got up at 4:30 a.m. to get Tara to the airport (Fenya had to work) and even the long ride out to EIA was enjoyable, despite saying goodbye to my sister for likely another year...
• and I even had time to meet up with my friends for D&D&D at Polyrhythm on Thursday!

Family, friends, food and drink and a little downtime - staycations can actually rock pretty hard in the proper conditions.

A Third of a Century

Audrey and I went out for our anniversary on Friday, taking two seats at the bar at a little French spot called Partake, just off High Street. Cozy spot, small, rustic plates ("how do you say 'tapas' in French?"I asked the bartender, who did not know) as well as a robust and imaginative cocktail menu.

The staff were all delightful, and watching everything that went into making some of these drinks was like dinner and a show - slicing, scorching, smoking and shaking. After watching her mix drinks with a bottle in each hand, Audrey asked at one point if she played the piano. "No," she replied wistfully, spreading her hands on the bar. "Look at these fingers - it's like when I got to age ten, my hands said, 'y'know what? I'm good here' and just stopped growing."

In turn, she asked how long we had been married, and when we told her 33 years, she mused, "hmm, you know, I have only been alive one year more than that - well done!"

I mentioned how impressed I was with one of the cocktails (no. 70), telling her that I certainly did not have "smoky Mexican After Eight drink" on my bingo card ever, but really enjoyed it.

The food was great as well, particularly their coq-au-vin drumsticks (that sauce!) and the prosciutto-wrapped dates, but the dutch bitterballen made with short rib were a delight as well.

Glory graciously agreed to drive us and pick us up which meant we could go pretty deep into the cocktails for a change, and they comped us a swet vermouth as a desertif when we asked for the bill, which was sweet of them.

But as most anniversary dinners go, the best part of it was the person I got to spend it with; the card really does say it all.

Vernal Geekquinox 2025: The Good Old Fashioned Days

With the theme being presented ahead of time as "Old Fashioned," I expected things to be a bit more, y'know, liquor-forward at Pete and Ellen's semi-annual dinner party - which would be weird, given that nearly half the guests drink little to nothing at all while the other half tries valiantly to take up the slack.

And sure enough, the eponymous cocktail was on the menu, and the three of us who availed ourselves of it enjoyed it quite a it but I am getting ahead of myself.

Audrey and I always try to dress thematically where we can, with effort and success varying wildly from theme to theme. On this night she nailed it, pairing very well with Ellen, while my own meager efforts (a short sleeved shirt and cold war/Soviet looking tie (celebrating the Beatles "Back in the USSR") paled to Pete's sock garters and shorts ensemble.

The atomic age graphics on the menu make it clear that they were looking for a '50s-era hospitality thang, from delicious vintage cocktails and desserts right through to the main course of succulent roast beef.

Somehow the least exotic menu provided one of the tastiest Geekquinox dinners ever (not that anyone is crazy enough to rank them) and also the best-paced! Even the stuffed celery appetizers had a nostalgic charm. Followed quickly by a hot, sweet, Tom & Jerry - my new favourite warm cocktail - the day looked to be off to a splendid start.

I have never been one to fawn over a devilled egg - until now. The sharp, mustardy richness of the yolks even managed to overshadow the charm of the special plate they were served on, each egg secure in its own concave depression. We all wondered though - was something else meant to go in space in the center? People didn't used to...dip devilled eggs, did they?

While we waited for the main course to finish, Pete asked if I could mix up some Old Fashioneds for those who were interested, which turned out to be Totty, Audrey and I. It is one of those classic cocktails that is so simple and spirit-forward you might wonder why you would bother at all, but the addition of a sugar cube and orange bitters to whiskey (in this case, the Taber corn "Berbon" purchased as a Canadian alternative), adds both sweetness and complexity to the drink. The homemade (!) brandied cherry and orange peel garnish don't hurt either, and it also looks classy as hell when served in Waterford crystal.

One of the many improvements our hosts have introduced is moving the start time to noon, rather than 5 pm. This gives Chef Pete a lot more flexibility and time to chat, but just as critically, prevents the main course being served close to midnight. Those 2:00 am closeouts is hard on these 50-year-olds, but this meant the main course of a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings was coming to the table around half past three - which was perfect.

Pete had put his roast on at a low temperature around seven in the morning (Lord, bless and keep this man!), before searing it outdoors on the grill once the majority of it was medium-rare. A simple rub of salt and pepper gave it a brilliant crust and a main with no teeth at all could have comfortably eaten a generous slice. I actually cut a bite off with the edge of my fork instead of using a knife.

Our host was a bit disappointed with the Yorkshire puddings, which had not raised as he'd hoped, but the lack of fluffiness made them no less tasty. And the mashed potatoes (apparently also known as "Irish guacamole"?) and turnips were also delicious, particularly with the savoury gravy he had prepared. But the cheese-covered broccoli was a real standout, prompting numerous compliments from the guests. This cheese was meant to complement, not conceal!

The shrimp cocktail was left behind as the guests slowly digested their cow, but jsut around the time people were feeling the possibility of the capacity for eating again, Pete presented a plate of rumaki ; bacon-wrapped water chestnuts with seasoned chicken liver, a common treat at Trader Vic's back in the '50s. Very tasty!

Scott had helped slice quite a few onions earlier in the afternoon for soup and by ten pm it was ready to go in the oven and same some cheese and bread baked on to it. I adore French onion soup and have fond memories of ordering it when dining out as a child with my family, in the same style of handled earthenware bowls. Again, the nostalgia competed with the rich savoury broth and tender onions for what had the biggest effect on my happiness, and I ended up calling it a tie.

The final food offering of the night was a classic pineapple upside down cake. This might have been my first time having one and I hope it is not the last. Baking this sweet yellow cake upside down creates an amazing caramelized firmness to the top, while the cake remains moist throughout. Normally I am looking for ice cream, whipped cream or icing by my third bite of any cake but this dessert was a winner.

The Singapore Sling, another tiki classic, this time from Raffles Hotel in Singapore, made its appearance in the form of a nightcap, around 11 pm. Tart, sweet and strong, this mix of gin, cherry brandy and fruit juice was apparently created as a means of letting women imbibe alcohol, which was improper at the turn of the century. Despite having more of these than I should have (did I mention they are tremendously tasty?) the increased acidity did me no long lasting ill effects.

But true to form, the last of us stayed up until nearly one in the morning chatting and catching up - truly the best 'dish' of any Geekquinox. Thanks again Pete and Ellen!

Runyon's Holiday Spirit: The Hot Tom & Jerry

NOW one time it comes on Christmas, and in fact it is the evening before Christmas, and I am in Good Time Charley Bernstein's little speakeasy in West Forty-seventh Street, wishing Charley a Merry Christmas and having a few hot Tom and Jerrys with him.

This hot Tom and Jerry is an old time drink that is once used by one and all in this country to celebrate Christmas with, and in fact it is once so popular that many people think Christmas is invented only to furnish an excuse for hot Tom and Jerry, although of course this is by no means true.

But anybody will tell you that there is nothing that brings out the true holiday spirit like hot Tom and Jerry, and I hear that since Tom and Jerry goes out of style in the United States, the holiday spirit is never quite the same.

The reason hot Tom and Jerry goes out of style is because it is necessary to use rum and one thing and another in making Tom and Jerry, and naturally when rum becomes illegal in this country Tom and Jerry is also against the law, because rum is something that is very hard to get around town these days.

For a while some people try making Tom and Jerry without putting rum in it, but somehow it never has the same old holiday spirit, so nearly everybody finally gives up in disgust, and this is not suprising, as making Tom and Jerry is by no means child's play. In fact, it takes quite an expert to make good Tom and Jerry, and in the days when it is not illegal a good hot Tom and Jerry maker commands good wages and many friends.

from "Dancing Dan's Christmas," by Damon Runyon

I cannot say for certain where I first came across the once-common warm holiday cocktail called the Tom & Jerry, but it may well have been in the writing of Damon Runyon; I came across "Butch Minds the Baby" in either a short story colelction of Dad's or some anthology or another in junior high.

Runyon's potent mixture of high vocabulary lowlifes and antiquated dialogue spiced with Prohibition-era slang sank its hooks deep into my brain at first exposure so that when I stumbled across a used copy of Runyon - On Broadway in the Leduc Bookshop, I snapped it up.

Runyon taught me what a Roscoe was without spelling it out:

Good Time Charley says he does not blame him, at that, as Miss Muriel O'Neill is so beautiful that he will be dancing with her himself no matter what, if he is five years younger and can get a Roscoe out as fast as in the days when he runs with Paddy the Link and other fast guys.

...how even bodily assault can be made humorous and potentially justifiable:

It finally becomes necessary for Charles to tap him on the pimple with a beer mallet, and afterward the constables come around, saying what is going on here, and what do you mean by tapping people with beer mallets, and the only way Charles can wiggle out of it is by stating that the character with the beard claims that Mae West has no sex appeal. So the constables go away saying Charles does quite right and one of them has half a mind to tap the character himself with something.

... and conveys the difficulty of minding one's own business while interacting with fast guys who have handles like Kitty Quick:

'Listen,' he says, 'do you know anybody in Europe?'

Well, this is a most unexpected question, and naturally I am not going to reply to unexpected questions by guys from Philly without thinking them over very carefully, so to gain time while I think, I say to Kitty Quick:

'Which Europe do you mean?'

I owe the majority of my love of language and turns-of-phrase to my father, but Mr. Runyon definitely has a hand in there as well.

As a result, when I came across a container of Tom & Jerry mix at a store the night before last, and remembering the important role it plays in Dancing Dan's Christmas (readable here and highly recommended), I really had no choice but to pick it up.

Bear in mind that the Tom & Jerry was an old-timey drink when Runyon wrote about it in the 1920s, going back a century or so at that time, and was possibly created as a promotional aid to a play by Pierce Egan called Tom & Jerry or Life in London, the first production to run for 100 consecutive performances in London, but whether this is due to the quality of the play or the assistance of the spirit imbued in the beverage is unknown.

The proper drink is like a warm milk punch or egg nog and normally comes from a batter made by mixing separated egg whites and yolks, sugar and butter and one thing and another before adding it to hot milk (or water, cocoa, or coffee) along with brandy and dark or spiced rum.

The Collins mix is more like a syrup or paste, similar to a jar of hot buttered rum mix, and I added two tablespoons to a cup of milk heated in the microwave, then dutifully added an ounce each of Captain Morgan and VSOP and stirred them together.

Now, I am pre-disposed to liking hot boozy drinks when the weather starts turning cold and I am also a fan of egg nog (until I am not) so this creamy, aromatic and gently spiced cup was right up my proverbial alley. Give me a hot Thermos of Tom & Jerry and I could be convinced to try out for the Iditarod, and I might even forego the dogs.

Furthermore, Audrey's version, made with hot water due to her fear of phlegminess, was also quite tasty, just not quite as creamy - a difference more of texture than taste, really.

While sipping, I looked up the Damon Runyon passages where I had first encountered this elixir, and ended up reading her the entirety of Dancing Dan's Christmas while she showered - Runyon's prose is a joy to read aloud, as I hope the excerpts above make evident. We also discovered that Tom & Jerrys were once served in their own bowl and mug sets, many of which can be found on eBay and Etsy and the like:

Man, I do not like to think of myself as a materially driven fellow on the general, but if I had the kind of domicile that would facilitate storing a bepoke bowl and mugs for a seasonal hot cocktail, I would find that most copacetic.

Regardless of serving vessel, however, I hope I have the opportunity to make hot Tom & Jerrys a more routine part of my holiday hospitality - after all, it is no longer illegal, and while it might not increase my wages, we can all use the friends it can bring, as Mr. Runyon asserts in the passage above.

UPDATE: Here is the recipe for those interested; consider adding the egg yolks to the butter before mixing to make things easier. Very tasty as a cocktail but also makes a very tasty cup of coffee!

From The Badger #46, by Mike Baron and Ron Lim

Road Cider Attraction - Journey North Cider Co.

This year's camping trip saw us turn away from the mountains and head east to Whitney Lakes Provincial Park. northwest of Lloydminster. The park itself has secluded campsites and multiple lakes with clean beaches, which was enough of a draw for us. But the area also includes a number of historically significant sites which made for some great day trips. On the way back from one such trip we made another great discovery - Alberta's northernmost cidery and taproom.

Friday was a hot day of 30, too hot even for a dip in the lake, so Audrey, Glory and I took a tour of the area and visited the Frog Lake National Historic Site. My misreading of Google Maps then saw us take an extended sightseeing trip north to Bonnyville, but on our way back to the campsite, I saw the familiar blue roadside attraction sign for Journey North Cider Co..

I became very excited, having only first encountered Alberta's newest cidery about a month beforehand. I had noted Bonnyville on the label but then put it out of my mind, so this felt like a very fortunate opportunity indeed. I love taprooms and the tasting of flights, and talking with the people who produce them, but as the only beer drinker in the household, it is not exactly a family outing. But we all like cider, so I excitedly directed Glory to pull into their spacious parking lot.

The air-conditioned taproom was its own reward in many ways - clean, spacious, and overlooking the farm and orchards backing onto the building, with an upper level reservable for parties and events. 

We took three seats at the bar where Angela, the taproom manager, welcomed us and told us that flights were currently on for $10. I ordered a selection of four (crisp. cranberry, hopped grapefruit and blueberry rosé) while Audrey and Glory split another, swapping out the grapefruit for a cherry instead. There were also a number of local-ish beers on tap and their own version of snakebite (cider and lager) they call "Lakebite".

The ciders were uniformly amazing and covered a broad spectrum of flavour profiles. Blueberry rosé had the most wine-like characteristics and would not feel out of place alongside a chardonnay on a hot day, while the hopped grapefruit was even more refreshing and a great gateway cider for beer fans, but at 6.3% abv was not exactly session friendly.

The flagship crisp was delightfully dry, as Angela explained that they were trying hard to differentiate themselves from the sweeter ciders already on the marketplace, such as Okanagan and Growers. Cranberry was undoubtedly my favourite though, bringing just a bit of pucker to the party.

While we drank them, Angela related the trying prospects of launching a business during a global pandemic (October of 2020!), and how helpful it was to win the local Chamber of Commerce's Perseverance award the following year. It came with advertising funds at a time when their ad budget was zero, and let them start spreading the word a little more effectively. 

Now the taproom has a number of local regulars who drop in, but also gets holiday wanderers like ourselves. "Putting up that blue highway sign is the best thing we've ever done!" Angela laughed. Their ciders have won a number of awards, and Journey North has also been recognized for their educational efforts. Certainly Angela was able to talk very comprehensively about almost all aspects of the ciders we tried.

On our way out, we made sure to grab some of their ciders from the cooler (including Mythic, a gamer-inspired cider made with butterfly pea flowers and no longer available on tap), and Glory grabbed a pair of sweatpants with their logo as well.

On our way back to Edmonton on Sunday we stopped in for Sunday brunch with Fenya, and enjoyed breakfast poutines, stuffed brioche French toast and huevos rancheros (tragically, they had already sold out of their amazing-looking breakfast charcuterie). It was all delicious, and now I hope we have a chance to return sometime to try the other food offerings - and any creative new ciders they may have come up with in the meantime!

Should you ever have cause to be around Bonnyville, all four of us can highly recommend stopping in at the Journey North taproom.

A Nice Night Out (At Last)

A few weeks ago I came to a chilling realization: Glory's birthday was fast approaching and would be her second consecutive observance spent under pandemic measures - no outings with friends and no visitors for a party at home either.

This was a tough pill to swallow for me, so I went up to talk to her about it.

I told her how sad I was that she has not had a single opportunity to go out with her friends since she has turned 18 almost a year ago. She was not happy about the situation, obviously, but to her credit, has remained philosophical about it. 

"Well, I am not happy about it either," I confessed, "so here is what I am thinking - I feel, that before you turn 19, we need to go out, as a family, to a nice place, with a decent cocktail menu, have someone else bring us food and drinks and then take a taxi home. What do you think?"

She was completely onboard with the notion, and to my delight, she opted with the first place I suggested: Louisiana Purchase. It met all our criteria - great food, good service, not too far away, and with a robust cocktail menu.

So on Friday night, once she and I were off work, we spruced up a little bit, took the Flex over to St. Albert Trail, parked it close and were seated in the Chandelier Lounge. Our server, Maddie, was bright and friendly, and when we explained our motivations for being there, she carried off our order for a round of hurricanes and returned with them before we had even fully decided on our dinners.

There was plenty of spacing in the restaurant and diners are expected to wear their masks whenever they are away from their table, which everyone seemed to be doing.

Louisiana Purchase is a wonderful place and an Edmonton original (and c'mon, that alligator with a face made of cutlery is some A-1 design work too), so if you have an inkling towards cajun cuisine I can recommend it without hesitation. All the food was spectacular, from my blackened catfish to Glory's Pasta La Rocca. 

And the drinks! We were there long enough to follow up our hurricanes with Delta Ladies, Buffalo Sours, a Lynchburg Lemonade and a Louisiana Leprechaun and a fancy martini called a Scarlet O'Hara.

We had actually intended to skip appetizers so we could justify getting four different desserts and then trading bites but realized that not only do we not eat out very often any more (first time out as a family in well over a year) but Fenya pointed out that we almost never eat at places that serve alligator, so we made sure to order a couple of swampsticks at the start of our meal.

We still ordered four desserts of course - after all, there was a whole year to make up for! - and traded cheesecake, bread pudding and two different versions of bananas foster.

After all was said and done, there was a little trouble with getting our taxi home, as the automated systems send a car by default, and they can only carry three people under the protocols. But eventually a van was found and we made our way home, satiated and a little tipsy. 

Throughout the meal and long into the night, the sentiment that kept recurring was this one, from every person in attendance: "I am so glad we did this."

Thinking back, it was a milestone evening in a lot of ways - this was our first evening out together in over a year, thanks mostly to pandemic measures and our own caution, but it was also the first time the four of us sat down to a meal out where everyone at the table was of the age of majority, and able to drink if they wanted to. (Sorry, something in my eye - I think they are playing "Sunrise, Sunset" in the next room...)

It was, by any measure, a lovely evening with lovely people, and my only regret is that I can't say when we will be able to do it again.

Rock & Why

 I had to make a supplementary trip to Sobey's before supper and came home with a bottle of pop I hadn't encountered before. When I put it on the table, Audrey looked at it quizzically and asked, "what's that?"

"It's a Faygo Rock & Rye soda," I said. 

She looked at me for a moment, then said, "None of what you said actually means anything to me. Like, at all."

It occurred to me that even though I picked up this innocuous soft drink from a major grocery store that a lot of people might be in the same boat. Hell, I barely knew what a rock & rye was, and so down the rabbit hole I went.

For openers, Faygo is a (mostly regional) pop-maker based in Detroit. Tragically, their claim to fame from a popular culture point of view is repeated references in the song lyrics of Insane Clown Posse and their infamous fanbase, the Juggalos. I have nothing against ICP and find their sentimentally profane anthem "Miracles" to be a pretty solid expression of wonderment, but come on, man -  that is pretty short shrift for a company that has been around since 1907 (just two years younger than Royal Crown, makers of RC Cola!) and whose root beer was ranked as best in America by Bon Appetit magazine in 2009.

Anyhoo, apparently Faygo has been available in Ontario for years but has only started appearing in Western Canada since 2015 or so. Their flavour spectrum is considerable (their number one seller is a strawberry soda called Redpop) and updated periodically, so I can see the appeal for retailers, and had noted them at the nearby Sobey's for a while. Most of the flavours I saw were either conventional or had no appeal, but today I noted rock and rye, and immediately had to try it.

Up to this point, I think my sole exposure to rock and rye as a beverage was seeing one ordered by Boone at the Dexter Lake Club in Animal House: "Double rock and rye and seven Carlings." I think I assumed the "rock" was some kind of local mix reference, or maybe a beer like Rolling Rock, but it turns out this is not the case.

Rock and rye, I am reliably informed by Wikipedia, is a liqueur or cocktail made by combining rye whiskey with rock candy, a.k.a. crystallized sugar. Not too far removed from an Old Fashioned, I suppose, which is bourbon, sugar, orange peel and Angostura bitters. Or even a sazerac, which combines a sugar cube with bourbon, cognac, bitters and an absinthe rinse. 

Rock & rye is a drink whose popularity dates back to the 1920s (and Prohibition!), and is mentioned by one of my favourite writers of the period, Damon Runyon (Guys & Dolls) in his short story "The Three Wise Guys":

"...I step into Good Time Charley's on the afternoon in question, I am feeling as if maybe I have a touch of grippe coming on, and Good Time Charley tells me that there is nothing in this world as good for a touch of grippe as rock candy and rye whisky, as it assassinates the germs at once.

It seems that Good Time Charley always keeps a stock of rock candy and rye whisky on hand for touches of the grippe, and he gives me a few doses immediately, and in fact Charley takes a few doses with me, as he says there is no telling but what I am scattering germs of my touch of the grippe all around the joint, and he must safeguard his health.”

Truly, Runyon was a man after me own liver and kidneys, as the Old Man would have said, and yes - rock & rye was reputed to have health benefits, but I have my doubts as to any actual curative properties or verified instances of germ assassination.

At any rate, I am now very curious about trying a legitimate rock & rye. Bottled varieties are commonplace in the U.S. but less so in Canada, so I will have to console myself with the soda pop variety for the nonce.

So how is a non-alcoholic rock & rye soda? Well, pretty sweet as it turns out, reminding me a little bit of Dr. Pepper and other 'mixed tonics' and striking Fenya and Audrey as being closer to cream soda. Certainly tasty but not much of a quencher, and like many sweet drinks, I thought it might be better if it were enhanced with a touch of spirits.

There was rye in the basement, but brandy in the kitchen for the mushrooms we were cooking, so in a fit of expediency I poured a liberal amount down the neck of the plastic bottle and swished it around. The results? A still sweet but now warming highball that Fenya could not even detect the liquor in - make of that what you will.

Faygo Rock & Rye might be a good soft drink to have on hand for guests that want to try something new (you know, when we are no longer under pandemic restrictions and can actually have guests - sigh) or if you just want to change up your highball game. 

Most of their other flavours don't have a lot of appeal for me, but due to the accolades I do want to test out their root beer now (a product that used to be repped in commercials by cartoon cowboy The Faygo Kid), and given my love of the space program, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to try something called Moon Mist either, even if it is probably a Mountain Dew knock-off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv0OUmdOZu0