the constant hunger

Bangers and Beer

It was another food-heavy weekend for me and I am feeling a little slow this Monday morning. It all started off Friday night with dinner at Kellari Parea, a Greek bistro. The occaison? Restaurant Week and the $35 dinner menu. I'm usually not a fan of Restaurant Week and the bad choices diners have, but this particular restaurant and some good ones for the price and I couldn't resist. My husband had a grilled fish and I had a baked orzo pasta with juicy shrimps. I would definitely go back to try out the regular menu. 

Saturday was a special day. I got to interview one of Chicago's most sensational chefs and later attended his special dinner, all this at the prestigious James Beard House. I won't say more than that since I have yet to publish that article but the whole experience was amazing and I will definitely include a link to that piece later this week.

Now on to the bangers and beer...

I had made two Restaurant Week reservations. My second one was lunch at DBGB. I have been wanting to go there since it opened up (or any Daniel Boulud's restaurants, for that matter). The focus on this restaurant is sausages and beer, and my husband and I headed down to DBGB's for lunch. The interior design of the restaurant is great. I am thinking of using the charcoal grey and ash brown color palette as inspiration for re-decorating our apartment. We were seated in a cozy booth in the middle of the restaurant which, by the way, was rockin'. Families with kids, friends meeting up for a Sunday meal and me with my crappy little camera taking pictures like a tourist (I didn't feel like lugging around my Nikon). 

DBGB's was not serving their Restaurant Week menu on the weekend which made ordering lunch very difficult, for some reason. We ordered the Vermont sausage to share and a croque-monsieur and croque-madame for after. My husband ordered a beer and since I am not a beer drinker, I asked for a white cosmo. I don't remember the last time I ordered that, but I think I would go for a glass of wine next time since the cosmo was nothing special.

The Vermont is a pork sausage stuffed with cheddar cheese. It was juicy and oozed out melted cheddar. I can safely say it was one of the best sausages I have ever had. It came with some hash brown topped with crème fraîche, which had a refreshing hint of lemon. I almost suggested ordering another, but refrained since we had more food coming. The croque sandwiches were perfectly portioned and after eating the Vermont, I was kinda relieved. The gruyere was pretty mild and the ham had a slight smokiness to it. It was quite delicious for a simple ham and cheese sandwich.

My husband and I shared a dessert, a sticky toffee pudding served with caramelized pineapple. I have a sweet tooth so, of course, I enjoyed it, altough I would've served it with tart berries to balance the sweetness of the toffee. The pineapple was delicious but too sweet to pair with the pudding.

I can't wait to go back again, this time with a large group of friends. It's the perfect spot for big groups. The atmosphere is rowdy and the food is excellent.

Happy dining! 

Sunday Brunch at Gemma

Image from http://coutureetcuisine.com

Sometimes things don't always go according to plan. Who am I kidding? Experience has shown me that anytime I make a plan, it falls apart, and this weekend as no exception. My husband and I love going out to dinner, although it's more like I read about a place and announce that we'll be eating there on Friday, Saturday or some other night and he just comes along for the ride.

In the couple of years that we've been living in New York we've never really gone out for brunch, which I hear is the thing to do on Sundays. I had read about a restaurant, Peels, that wasn't too far from us and that served a good brunch. I read their menu online and their Build-A-Biscuit caught my eye. I could load up a buttermilk biscuit with eggs, sausage, cheese and avocado. I was sold.

Image from http://www.flickr.com

It had been pretty cold all weekend (-13 C which may not be cold for Montreal, but very unusual here). When I woke up Sunday morning, I didn't feel like going anywhere. I looked out the window, opened it a little and felt the chill fill the room. I felt like staying home on the couch all day. But I had a couple of errands to run, so I figured since I had to leave the house anyways, might as well do something fun like stuff my face.

We made it down to Peels. It seemed like everyone else in the city had also 'cause the placed was packed. That's what I hate about the city. The minute a new place opens up, it's sooo full that it becomes an altogether unpleasant dining experience. The reservationist told us it would be a 45-minute wait. A 45-minute wait for eggs? Not happening. We left Peels and walked up the street. Luckily there was another great brunch spot next door. Gemma is a cozy, rustic Italian restaurant located in the Bowery Hotel. My husband and I had eaten there before and the food was good. Plus, there was no wait to be seated. Score!

Image from http://nymag.com, we sat in the far right booth

We got a great corner booth and immediately ordered coffee and juice. It was 11:30 and I was starving. Everything looked good on the menu. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go the egg route or the sweet pancake-French toast way. The blueberry pancakes with vanilla butter sounded delicious, but so did the polenta and eggs. In the end I ordered the brioche French toast with berries and mascarpone cheese, my husband, the lox platter, and we ordered a pizza topped with egg, Fontina cheese, mushroom and truffle oil to share, my idea, of course. Did I mention I was starving?

The food was delicious and the atmosphere was a little calmer than the craziness of Peels. So glad we didn't end up there.

Happy dining!

 

P.S. Thank you to all of you who came by the constant hunger after reading my guest post on More Than A Mount Full. 

The Importance of Dining

I have a love for all things retro. Frank Sinatra, Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald are the only people I listen to (though all in digital form, no more CDs or tapes for me). I'll only watch movies that were made between 1940 and 1969, '40s film noir being my most favorite of favorite genres. I love writing letters and mailing them...through the actual postal service. Am I the only person who still uses pens and pencils? When was the last time you used a pencil to write?

My husband likes to tease me and calls me old-fashioned. He works in the tech industry so it's his job to know about all the new gadgets that come out. He gets mad at me because I am a horrible co-pilot and I can't get the hang of using the stupid GPS function on his smart phone (the GPS voice...we've named her Pamela). I like to be fast and efficient, but sometimes, I just want to take my time and enjoy the moment instead of trying to figure out the fastest way to get there.

That's why I want to make it a point to take the time to dine properly in 2011. I want to sit at my dining table and have dinner (or lunch or breakfast) with no distractions. Here are some things I'm thinking:

• Setting a lovely table, even if I'm eating just leftovers or eating by myself
• Turning off the TV, turning on Sinatra
• Never answering the phone or texting
• Candlelight is the only light 
• Not clearing the dishes right away, just sitting back in my chair and taking it easy
• Sitting on my couch and eating while I watch TV is not actually eating (more like shoveling food into my mouth)

The idea is to enjoy the food in front of me and savor each bite. Dinnertime is also a chance to connect with my husband and talk about the mundane and fascinating things on our minds, talk about stuff that happened to us during the day, make plans (especially silly plans). Good things always happen around the dinner table. Just give it a shot for a month and see what develops. 

Do you have any dining rituals with your friends or family? Are you looking to change some bad habits? Please feel free to share your stories with me.

Happy cooking (and dining)!