Fancy Feasting at 59

I begin the final year of my fifties on Monday, so this weekend we went out for dinner. It doubles as our Mother's Day outing, just like it did when I was a boy, and Glory picked up the tab in exchange for the title to Mum's Jeep that I inherited in 2019 and which she has driven almost exclusively the past few years.

She was initially resistant to the idea of the trade dinner taking place on my birthday, thinking that I was cheating myself out of an extra meal out, but when I explained that her mother and I share a bank account, she understood and became quite agreable. She remained so when I asked if we could go to Atlas steak + fish, the restaurant attached to the casino in West Edmonton Mall, so that's where we went.

I put on a tie because, honestly, why not? I don't have a ton of cause to wear one anymore, and it is nice to give some intentionality to the event and just change things up.

Despite being a fancy place with a live piano player, most people were dressed pretty casually, but we all had some denim on so it's not like we stuck out or anything. Our server, Shea, seated us in a booth and before too long we were tucking into some fresh baked bread with blue cheese butter and a delicious order of beef carpaccio. 

Three of us ordered small to moderate steaks (none of us daring to look at the double orders like the porterhouse or 155 oz tomahawk) while Audrey got seared Ahi tuna, because, hey, it's not like we have that at home. 

We over-ordered the sides though, not understanding they were shareables, some of which came in delightful little cast iron pots. The girls were ecstatic with the whipped brie mashed potatoes, while I thought the Brussels sprouts with pistachio and mortadella crisp were aboslutely amazing. And of course, the enormous pepper mill never fails to delight.

Glory added a lodster tail while Fenya got seared scallops to accompany their steaks. We also had a peppercorn sauce prepared  at our tableside, which involved an impressive amount of flame and was also delectably savoury. More than enough sauce for six steaks too, if it came to that.

[VIDEO]

The steak were done to a turn and very well seasoned, but I mentioned how they made me feel better about my own steak game. "That's why I got the tuna," Audrey said. (I'm grilling steaks tomorrow just to use up the leftover sauce!)

Oh, and before the steaks even came over, they presented us with a selection of knives to choose from, and Shea outlined suggestions based on weight, grip and style, relative to the dish ordered. Maybe y'all see this all the time, but it was a first for me and made me feel a little provincial (despite recognizing the Laguiole knives from the bees mounted above the grip), but not in a bad way.

Not my pic, nicked it off the web, but just like this

It was all quite delicious and even a bit elegant - dining with three lovely ladies will have that impact though - and for my birthday, they even threw in a complimentary dessert. Having never tried baked Alaska, that seemed the obvious choice. The girls hadn't even heard of this perhaps fanciest of treats, and were delighted by the presentation as well.

[VIDEO]

The combination of spongy cake, cool, fruity sorbet and toasted meringue was absolutely amazing, and no, like the peppercorn sauce, I shall not be attempting to make this at home!

We finished our meal with a bottle of icewine, a drink that always takes Audrey and I back to our time in Ontario. They served it in snifters, and Glory, surprisingly, found the taste superior to the smell, while I find such beverages a feast for the olfactory as well.

It was a wonderful experience from pillar to post, with wodnerful treatment from the staff. Out budget means it will take another special occasion before we return, but I honestly hope it isn't too long!

Funny story about this picture: both girls commented on how much they liked it, which I found tremendously gratifying, as I am more than a little self-conscious, especially living in a household full of gorgeous people. 

Then Glory offhandedly said, "Yeah, I think if you were to pass away suddenly, this is almost certainly the picture we would use for your little, you know, funeral card."

Fenya gasped. "That is exactly what I was thinking too!"

Ah, the joys of family. (Honestly.)

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.

The Loveliest of Bones - Vernal Geekquinox 2026

In the end, it was neither the duck, nor the beef nor the lamb that did me in - it was the bull.

Pete & Ellen hosted their biannual dinner party last night, and as always it was a sumptuous feast and a delightful get-together.

Having been told the theme beforehand, I wore my jean jacket, hat and sweatshirt adorned with the original "Bone Daddy" (Jack Skellington) while Audrey (not pictured) donned pyjama pants and explained she was "bone tired." Ellen's Dio de Los Muertos shirt and bone barrettes were an excellent thematic touch as well.

With Pete busy in the kitchen, I was only too happy to help out by preparing the bone-themed cocktails that he had printed out, but the first course arrived before we had gotten very far: lamb lollipops (chops with long, frenched bones to facilitate eating with one's hands).

Succulent and flavourful, these were particularly enjoyable as there is not much appetite for lamb in our house, but I am always happy to have it. Brilliantly seasoned and done to a turn on Pete's Big Green Egg, I believe.

The starting cocktail (for me, anyways) was a Rusty Nail variation using corn whiskey instead of scotch and replacing the Drambuie with amaro (an Italian digestif) and Benedictine. This made the drink a little less sweet than I am used to but more complex and a real delight - plus every drink tastes better in Waterford crystal, in my opinion!

The main course, served mid-afternoon, was braised lamb shanks. These had been cooked wetly for hours with vegetables that were removed and blended to create a tasty gravy, that was poured over the bony lamb cuts as they lay on rice.

Tough to say what I enjoyed more, as the tender lamb shanks themselves were delicious and fell off the bone with even the slightest of jostling, but the rich, savoury blended vegetables made the entire dish next level. The rice was completely necessary as a means of capturing all the sauce, but I would love to try it with mashed potatoes instead.

I didn't photograph every libation, but here is Margaret enjoying the most surprising of them: the Bone Cocktail.

We are kind of an old crew now, and normally approach drinks like Red Bull with same level of wariness one would apply to removing an antagonistic lynx from one's linen closet. But I was curious and Audrey agreed to split one with me, and it was surprisingly delightful!

The sweetness of the Malibu seemed to dull the bitter and medicinal edges of both the Jagermeister and the Red Bull, leaving a tart and refreshing drink that enabled us to stay up until midnight! (And maybe a bit beyond, as Jeff had two of them...)

Even in a meat- and bone-centric menu such as this, the tomahawk steak (my first!) was a visual standout.

Once cooked to medium-rare (mmmmaybe a little rarer than that in places), Pete deployed fried onions onto toasted baguette slices with arugula, added thin slices of the steak and then topped it off with homemade chimichurri sauce - delectable and delightfully presented to boot!

And fortunately Scott was on hand to help coax the rarer bits into line with Pete's kitchen torch...

I neglected to get a picture of the most interesting drink of the night: the Bone Crusher. A 2-person cocktail built around a generous pour of Mezcal, Margaret described it as "delicious but confusing", and I agreed wholeheartedly.

Combining sweet, tart, smoky and spicy elements, this one was a real hit for both taste and complexity. If I was to do it again, I would probably sub in chipotle for the salted and spicy rim.

And the Bone Chiller was a delightful (if strong!) quencher, as shown here by Totty.

Before the final course, Pete asked if anyone wanted to finish off the homemade Advocaat he'd made over the holidays (a Dutch liqueur made with eggs, brandy and vanilla), and Audrey and I were only too happy to assist.

The final meat course was duck confit, a drumstick slow cooked in fat wth salt and seasonings (originally a preservation method, I learned). Served with a delicious arugula salad garnished with a tart vinaigrette, perfectly complementing the mouthwatering, salty duck. I neglected to snap a pic of the plating, but never has a greasy fry pan looked so alluring to me! 

Finally, for dessert, we had a dino dig cake. Unfortunately, using warm water to extract white candy from the silicon molds meant losing much of the definition that made them look like fossilized dinosaur skeletons, but a) we are all imaginative people and b) the chocolate frosting was one of the most cocoa-forward things I have ever tasted.

The entire affair took a little less than 12 hours (!), with Pete cooking and Ellen hosting and cleaning almost the entire time. It is a tremendous outlay of effort, especially when you factor in the prep times.  Not every guest is able to stay for the whole event, but everyone leaves immensely impressed with the quality and variety of food and libations, the unequalled hospitality, and the sheer wonder and joy of being able to come together as a group again, as we have for so many years. 

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.

It's All Greek and Delicious to Me - Autumnal Geekquinox 2025

Having travelled to Greece as part of their comprehensive European honeymoon earlier this year, Pete & Ellen theming the most recent Geekquinox as "My Big Fat Greek Honeymoon" makes a lot of sense. The hit 2002 movie of the same name is fondly remembered as a lot of fun, and obviously that region boasts some spectacular cuisine. (Although their overlooking of 'Greekquinox' as a name until I mentioned it was a bit surprising...)

Audrey was a bit saddened that we didn't have anything particularly Grecian to wear, until I chanced to ask Totty if he still had the toga sheets from G&G XVIII around. Turns out he was planning the same thing himself, but luckily enough he had exactly three of them on hand!

Things opened up with a cocktail featuring ouzo, lemonade and mint leaves that was an absolute delight for both Audrey and I, with the anise flavoured liquor cutting some of the acidity that normally makes lemonade a risky proposition for her.

The first dish was a amazing homemade spanakopita, with loads of homemade tzatziki to go with it. A tandem effort that saw Ellen looking after much of the folding and re-folding of the filo pastry (which would have driven me utterly mad) while pete worked on other dishes, these crispy, creamy hors d'ouevres were absolutely fantastic. Good enough that I reached for a third when two would have been plenty!

Not nearly long enough after that, the grilled souvlaki chicken and Greek rice arrived at the table for lunch proper; Geekquinox begins at noon now to facilitate our aging difficulty in remaining up long past midnight. The grilled chicken was juicy and flavourful, and not tremendously salty (a challenge I often face with grilled chicken), but the rice almost stole the show. Cooked with lemon juice and zest as well as chicken stock and a bit of parsley, this was one of the best rice dishes I have ever tasted, with just the right amount of stickiness.

After a slightly longer break (and some more delicious lemonade cocktails), the main course arrived at the table: a delicious slow roasted lamb leg, Greek potatoes and a Greek salad.  Seasoned and roasted potatoes are one of my favourite sides, but I am generally too lazy or time-pressed to make them myself, and these ones hit the sweet spot right between crispy and fluffy. The salad, with tomatoes, olives, onions, celery and feta in a mild vinaigrette was light and fresh, an ideal accompaniment to the succulent, boneless lamb. How succulent? The first piece that I forked off the platter to hand to another guest, broke apart under its own weight - and it was not an enormous piece. And with au jus for the roast and tzatziki for the potatoes, there was no worry about dryness to be found anywhere.

There was ample time for drinking and chatting before the dessert course was served: a custard dish in an impossibly flay filo pastry shell called galaktobourekos. I would sing the praises of this dessert based on its crust alone, knowing how finicky filo is to work with, but the rich custardy heart of the dish was neither too flaky nor too runny, challenges I have encountered with custard in the past. A delightful finish to the evening, even if it did push me almost to the bursting point!

But there we were, sufficiently fed and watered with full stomachs and fuller hearts even before 9:00 rolled around. And the two dishes that ended up not making it to the table were not even missed, and frankly, might have pushed some of us beyond our limits.

As always though, the wonderful fellowship among dear friends who have done this for well over a decade now, put even the glory of the dishes to shame. Thanks again Pete and Ellen - opa!