So I have this friend. He likes to go out to dinner, he likes to pay, and he does not really care what it costs.
Every now and then I get invited along for dinner, sometimes I think it is just because I know the wines, but we do have fun. And I don't really argue. Every now and then I am able to provide some reciprocal value.
Bear, the eponymous new place owned, ostensibly (more on that later) by Ray Bear, he of the Prince George and then Gio fame, was about to open before Christmas, and I managed to find out the first night they would be offering the full menu to paying patrons. So we booked a table and went - 6 people.
We ordered everything on the menu, pretty well, as a sampling of what the place was all about. The food started coming, and we asked the Sommelier to just bring what he thought was appropriate, after all, he did spend a couple of months thinking about it.
Although there were a number of things I could not eat, what with the old shellfish thing I have, I can state that the food was excellent across the board. The decor was criticized by some of my table mates, but I liked it. You come into the middle of the place, on Barrington just next to Talay Thai, and to your right is the holding bar, very nice, with lots of comfy chairs. Dining is to the left, and there are a number of high stools that allow you to sit, eat, and look right into the kitchen. That looked like fun, but we were over in the corner booth. Big round booths are my friend's natural habitat.
Staff at Bear have come from some of the best places in Nova Scotia, inspired to work there by the chance to serve Ray Bear's food, and to work for Wade Dhooge, who took Saege Bistro from startup to one of the best places to eat in town, especially if you enjoy fine wine, in Halifax. Wade is not an uptight guy, and apparently very easy to work with. He also has a knack for creating wine lists that make the restaurant money, offer lots of variety, and are unique to his restaurant, something that is not easy in our wine variety limited city. The reason is he works hard at it. More than anyone in town.
The wine list that opening night was, in my opinion, the best in the city, for value, quality, variety and how it matched the dishes on offer. Yes there are good lists elsewhere - Seven has the largest, and in that measure, the best; Cafe Chianti has a very cool list; Five Fishermen's list is great; but Wade manages to make lists for people who love wine and are "wine-curious" without upsetting the people who only know about Yellow Tail.
So we had an amazing evening of food and wine. Our bill was somewhere around $900. My friend tipped $500, so I heard later.
I recommend the duck. Bear does duck best.
If you want more food coverage of the place, someone else was there the same night, blogging away. She seemed to have fun too. Check this out - she had a camera.
with bite
And now for the postscript. I wrote the above back in early December and did not publish it here. Ray's partner, the money guy, is someone from the states who apparently must not have approved of Wade and his laissez-faire style. So now Wade is gone (as well as another manager since, I hear), and the wine list mark up is noticeably higher - enough that I will probably give the place a pass, or end up drinking wine well below the quality of the food. Plus, the wine list is rife with misspellings, a pet peeve of mine (but not one I care about on this shabby blog, of course, so don't bother to look, I don't care).
My point - this city is already full of good places to eat with patrons drinking wine in them that is better suited to match with burgers at Wendy's. If Ray Bear, or any good chef, wants people to enjoy their dinner to the fullest, then why rip them off by charging $150 for a $60 bottle of wine? It takes no more time, effort or storage for that $60 bottle to reach your table than it does for a $20 bottle. Pick a markup rate and use it. Maybe it's $40. Fine. Charge $60 for the $20 bottle, and $90 for the $50 bottle. They all cost the same to get to the restaurant, store, schlep to the table and serve. And you make $40 (OK a bit less) every time anyone buys a bottle of wine!
Now some places (Seven, Cut) have wines that they have sourced on their own, and wines that they have aged in their cellars for some time. Those wines are expected to be marked up. I'm talking about wines I can go out and buy tomorrow myself.
We had a bottle of Felton Road Pinot Noir that night (I have some in my cellar). It costs about $60 at Vin•Art, a private wine shop in Clayton Park. It is one of the best Pinot Noirs in New Zealand (some say the best) and it was great with all the duck parts I was eating. I think we paid $110 for it when we ate there. Now it costs $150. So IF they sell another bottle, they will make $40 more, but in the meantime, they might have sold three more bottles of this fine wine, and showcased the food that much better. Instead they have sold wine, but lesser wine, lessening the overall dining experience. Without affecting profit, they could have provided their patrons with a better dining experience; and isn't that what people in this business tell us they want to do?
People who pay percentage markups on fine wine in restaurants are either ignorant of the actual cost of the wine they are buying; or don't care how much things cost (like my friend). How many people in those two groups will be going out to dinner in the next year in Halifax? Any bottle of wine sold for more than $50 over what it cost to buy is a rip off, unless it has been aged for a long time by the restaurant, or is a special order, only available there. The sad part is that charging more money to open and serve an expensive bottle than a cheaper one actually hurts a restaurant that wants to be the best.
Combine this ancient practice with the restaurant industry's "head in the sand" approach to the BYO rules which I discussed earlier, and one simply knows that many of the local places won't survive this year. Do you think that people will still be looking to eat out, but will want to do so more frugally? I do. We do need to eat.
Come let us eat. And drink. And pay fairly when we do.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Wine of the Month, January 2009
It is the season of bubbly. Try this one: Valdevisio Method Champagnoise, NV from Chile.
It comes in a cloudy bottle. Pretty convincing stuff for $15.
Chairs!
It comes in a cloudy bottle. Pretty convincing stuff for $15.
Chairs!
Whither to blow money on White Burgundy....?
White Burgundy Tasting, January 14
This was the first of what I hope will be a long series of tastings, with the theme of splitting the cost of some new arrivals in town, to try to identify what might be worth acquiring, and possibly limiting future disappointment.
All wines tasted blind, notes made, then uncovered and discussed over a couple more hours. All the white wines were opened in advance, poured in full size Burgundy stems, cool, but not cold.
The intro wine served while waiting for everyone to arrive (there were only 5 of us). It was an Henriot NV Champagne Blanc de Blanc, probably from 2004. It showed good Chardonnay character with a very bready, yeasty, and drying nose. It was tasty stuff, with again, more Chardonnay character when tasted. Nice aged fruit, leesy, dry finish. All were quite happy with it. Hand carried from New Brunswick, I did not get the price.
The first wine was a 2005 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassange-Montrachet, 1ere Cru La Romanée. It smelled of piney wood, nettles, mineral, with obvious alcohol. It had good acidity, but with an odd finish, burning the upper back corners of my throat. Spicey, peppery. I was not crazy about this one. $103/btl (Canadian dollars)
Next was a 2005 Daniel Rion Nuits-St. George, Les Terres Hautes. This was the wine I’d been wondering about when I heard there was a non-Chardonnay white in the flight. 100% Pinot Blanc, according to their product sheet. It has an interesting, even beguiling nose, perfumey oak and vanilla, with some red berry fruit. As time passed, the wine opened up even more to berry fruit reminiscent of Bakeapples, or white raspberries. It was clean, balanced with very subdued oak. Initially I called the fruit a white peach, and with time it changed to more of the aforementioned white raspberry or Bakeapple berry fruit. It was long. Obviously, I liked this a lot. We had been asked to pick out the Pinot Blanc, and I did. About $85 here.
The third wine was brought by one of the participants, a 2003 William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir. One hears all the traffic on this vintage, and it really is true. This did not remind me of any Chablis I’ve ever had. It was closed at first, but opened up to minerally fruit (good) and then went on to smell like pineapple juice for most of the evening, morphing to other tropical fruit smells as it warmed. It tasted of pineapple juice, and was waxy, honeyed, showed oak, vanilla and a tropical fruit I called breadfruit. Oddly, I liked the wine, but was a bit surprised at where it was from. About $80 here.
Number four was a 2004 Bouchard Pere et Fils Meursault Geneveres. This smelled piney, oakey, woody, with a sharp nose of malolactic at the start. It showed a major mineral character on the palate, grape tannin, OK acidity, and a full body with restrained fruit. Some vanilla. It settled down with time, and although identifiable as Burgundy, was the least balanced of the lot. About $85 here.
The final white Burg was a 2005 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Batard-Montrachet, Grand Cru. It smelled like a middle of the road white Burgundy at the start. Then, as it opened there was some burlap, wood/oak, red fruit, cinnamon, and vanilla. The palate was balanced, young, and the mouthfeel almost watery at the start. With time it filled in, with increasing intensity. Still disjointed, I think we were all guilty of some crime, somewhere, for opening this so early in its life. It is $208/btl here. We had been asked to pick out this wine and I did not come close.
After the whites were mostly gone (some of us still had some of the Pinot Blanc and Batard left in those glasses) the host opened a red for us to have a guess at. It was bricked at the rim, and into the glass at least a centimetre, showed a med red core and was slightly cloudy. It smelled of mushrooms, nettles, pine, and barnyard. It still had good tannins despite the age showing. With dry cherry, earth, and all that good Pinot stuff. It was drinking very well, and I was enjoying it when I had one of those “aha” moments. The first ever OK red Burgundy I had was the 1999 Bouchard Pere et Files Beaune de Chateau, which I paid $34 for back in 2002. Could this be that same wine, now 10 years old?
It was.
This was the first of what I hope will be a long series of tastings, with the theme of splitting the cost of some new arrivals in town, to try to identify what might be worth acquiring, and possibly limiting future disappointment.
All wines tasted blind, notes made, then uncovered and discussed over a couple more hours. All the white wines were opened in advance, poured in full size Burgundy stems, cool, but not cold.
The intro wine served while waiting for everyone to arrive (there were only 5 of us). It was an Henriot NV Champagne Blanc de Blanc, probably from 2004. It showed good Chardonnay character with a very bready, yeasty, and drying nose. It was tasty stuff, with again, more Chardonnay character when tasted. Nice aged fruit, leesy, dry finish. All were quite happy with it. Hand carried from New Brunswick, I did not get the price.
The first wine was a 2005 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassange-Montrachet, 1ere Cru La Romanée. It smelled of piney wood, nettles, mineral, with obvious alcohol. It had good acidity, but with an odd finish, burning the upper back corners of my throat. Spicey, peppery. I was not crazy about this one. $103/btl (Canadian dollars)
Next was a 2005 Daniel Rion Nuits-St. George, Les Terres Hautes. This was the wine I’d been wondering about when I heard there was a non-Chardonnay white in the flight. 100% Pinot Blanc, according to their product sheet. It has an interesting, even beguiling nose, perfumey oak and vanilla, with some red berry fruit. As time passed, the wine opened up even more to berry fruit reminiscent of Bakeapples, or white raspberries. It was clean, balanced with very subdued oak. Initially I called the fruit a white peach, and with time it changed to more of the aforementioned white raspberry or Bakeapple berry fruit. It was long. Obviously, I liked this a lot. We had been asked to pick out the Pinot Blanc, and I did. About $85 here.
The third wine was brought by one of the participants, a 2003 William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir. One hears all the traffic on this vintage, and it really is true. This did not remind me of any Chablis I’ve ever had. It was closed at first, but opened up to minerally fruit (good) and then went on to smell like pineapple juice for most of the evening, morphing to other tropical fruit smells as it warmed. It tasted of pineapple juice, and was waxy, honeyed, showed oak, vanilla and a tropical fruit I called breadfruit. Oddly, I liked the wine, but was a bit surprised at where it was from. About $80 here.
Number four was a 2004 Bouchard Pere et Fils Meursault Geneveres. This smelled piney, oakey, woody, with a sharp nose of malolactic at the start. It showed a major mineral character on the palate, grape tannin, OK acidity, and a full body with restrained fruit. Some vanilla. It settled down with time, and although identifiable as Burgundy, was the least balanced of the lot. About $85 here.
The final white Burg was a 2005 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Batard-Montrachet, Grand Cru. It smelled like a middle of the road white Burgundy at the start. Then, as it opened there was some burlap, wood/oak, red fruit, cinnamon, and vanilla. The palate was balanced, young, and the mouthfeel almost watery at the start. With time it filled in, with increasing intensity. Still disjointed, I think we were all guilty of some crime, somewhere, for opening this so early in its life. It is $208/btl here. We had been asked to pick out this wine and I did not come close.
After the whites were mostly gone (some of us still had some of the Pinot Blanc and Batard left in those glasses) the host opened a red for us to have a guess at. It was bricked at the rim, and into the glass at least a centimetre, showed a med red core and was slightly cloudy. It smelled of mushrooms, nettles, pine, and barnyard. It still had good tannins despite the age showing. With dry cherry, earth, and all that good Pinot stuff. It was drinking very well, and I was enjoying it when I had one of those “aha” moments. The first ever OK red Burgundy I had was the 1999 Bouchard Pere et Files Beaune de Chateau, which I paid $34 for back in 2002. Could this be that same wine, now 10 years old?
It was.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Wine of the Month, September 2008
I regret not having spread the word about this wine earlier. I guess I was being selfish. Sorry. I drank more of this wine this summer than anything else. It is yummy. I was always afraid it would be gone when I went to buy more.
And it is a bit of a surprise, I suppose.
Blomidon Estates Rosé. Wow! Clean crisp strawberry fruit and good acidity in this drink made the bad weather almost tolerable all the wet long summer.
I am hoping that September is nicer, and rewards us all with sunshine.
Celebrate that sun on your deck, porch, roof, or out your sunroof at 120 km/hr with this wine.
At $12.99 you can't go wrong.
This it the two thumbs up with a cherry on top wine of the summer.
And it is a bit of a surprise, I suppose.
Blomidon Estates Rosé. Wow! Clean crisp strawberry fruit and good acidity in this drink made the bad weather almost tolerable all the wet long summer.
I am hoping that September is nicer, and rewards us all with sunshine.
Celebrate that sun on your deck, porch, roof, or out your sunroof at 120 km/hr with this wine.
At $12.99 you can't go wrong.
This it the two thumbs up with a cherry on top wine of the summer.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Our New Nova Scotia Wine Culture
It had to happen - sooner or later something good was going to come out of this global warming thing. It seems as if there has been enough of a barely perceptible increase in the degree days that the Annapolis Valley gets to start having people look seriously at growing vinifera grapes (the ones most countries use to make wine from) such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and even a wee bit of Sangiovese.
Last week I was treated to a vineyard visit after having spent the previous day judging wines and beer for the National Amateur Winemakers Association. This was not just any vineyard, though, but that of Dr. Allan McIntyre. Located just east of Blomidon Estates winery in Habitant, Kings County this is one of the most highly regarded suppliers of good fruit to Nova Scotia's wineries. Right now, Gaspereau Vineyards and Jost Winery seem to be buying the bulk of the grapes grown here. The picture above and to the right shows Gina Haverstock, winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards, walking the land with Flavio, Allan McIntyre's son-in-law, in the middle of the Cabernet Franc, with newly planted Pinot Noir in the background.
I was able to visit on a day when Allan was in the vineyard, toiling away. And my co-visitors were none other than Allan's daughter, Star Chick Sommelier* Alanna McIntyre, her mano Flavio, and Sommelier turned winemaker Gina Haverstock. Allan took the time from his labours to show us how he works some of his magic - the secret? Hard work.
The most interesting thing was the amount of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc that exists in this vineyard. I had been fortunate enough to taste both the 05 and 06 Cab Francs made with these grapes while at Jost Winery in July. At the time, I was very impressed with the 06 (a very good vintage in Nova Scotia) as it exhibited very little unripe flavour characteristics and was reminiscent of a very good Niagara Cab Franc. I also got to try the 06 Pinot Noir as well, and was happy to find it tasting like Pinot Noir!
The vines in the photo below are mostly Cab Franc, Pinot Noir and some Leon Millot. You can tell the more vigorous Leon Millot, on the right, by the amount of growth on the top of the vines.
This news is not new to those within the industry. They know what is coming. With Benjamin Bridge about to release their second wine, after the successful launch of Nova 7, a semi sparkling (perlant) aromatic wine with a dry finish, they are about to release a dessert wine.
But what really lurks over the horizon there is the upcoming (in maybe as long as two year's time) release of their signature sparkling wines, made in the Methode Champagnoise style, with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and even some Pinot Meunier all grown organically in the Gaspereau Valley. I have not been lucky enough to taste any yet, but those who have, have been effusive in their praise. Of course, it is not like we'll all be swilling it down like Keiths, as it is rumoured to be planned to be released in the $60 to $80 a bottle range.
So, why the "new" in my title? Well, up until these latest sightings, most of the good wine in Nova Scotia has been made from hybrids, or crosses of grapes that are chosen because of how well they survive our winters, and how they produce in our short growing season. But these latest wines defy that logic.
Two nights before this vineyard tour, I was again in the company of Gina, and we were joined by the new winemaker at Benjamin Bridge, Jean-Benoit Deslauriers at a house party prior to the wine judging the next day. The host, John Starr, opened a bottle of 1986 Cuvée d'Amur from Grand Pré, made by Roger Dial 22 years ago. This wine, made from Michurunetz grapes (a vitis vinifera cross on vitis amurensis rootstalk) was still very much alive, showing an amazingly complex, Burgundian nose, and still packing a solid lump of acidity with fruit remnants. An amazing drink, made moreso by being able to share it with Gina and Jean-Benoit. They are the ones (along with with Jurg Stutz, Hans Christian Jost, and David Beardsall I should add), who are picking up the torch that Roger lit a long time ago. They are working with better grapes every year.
And it is still warming up, so they say....
* sorry Mr. Coad, every place should have one, not just NYC
Last week I was treated to a vineyard visit after having spent the previous day judging wines and beer for the National Amateur Winemakers Association. This was not just any vineyard, though, but that of Dr. Allan McIntyre. Located just east of Blomidon Estates winery in Habitant, Kings County this is one of the most highly regarded suppliers of good fruit to Nova Scotia's wineries. Right now, Gaspereau Vineyards and Jost Winery seem to be buying the bulk of the grapes grown here. The picture above and to the right shows Gina Haverstock, winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards, walking the land with Flavio, Allan McIntyre's son-in-law, in the middle of the Cabernet Franc, with newly planted Pinot Noir in the background.
I was able to visit on a day when Allan was in the vineyard, toiling away. And my co-visitors were none other than Allan's daughter, Star Chick Sommelier* Alanna McIntyre, her mano Flavio, and Sommelier turned winemaker Gina Haverstock. Allan took the time from his labours to show us how he works some of his magic - the secret? Hard work.
The most interesting thing was the amount of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc that exists in this vineyard. I had been fortunate enough to taste both the 05 and 06 Cab Francs made with these grapes while at Jost Winery in July. At the time, I was very impressed with the 06 (a very good vintage in Nova Scotia) as it exhibited very little unripe flavour characteristics and was reminiscent of a very good Niagara Cab Franc. I also got to try the 06 Pinot Noir as well, and was happy to find it tasting like Pinot Noir!
The vines in the photo below are mostly Cab Franc, Pinot Noir and some Leon Millot. You can tell the more vigorous Leon Millot, on the right, by the amount of growth on the top of the vines.
This news is not new to those within the industry. They know what is coming. With Benjamin Bridge about to release their second wine, after the successful launch of Nova 7, a semi sparkling (perlant) aromatic wine with a dry finish, they are about to release a dessert wine.But what really lurks over the horizon there is the upcoming (in maybe as long as two year's time) release of their signature sparkling wines, made in the Methode Champagnoise style, with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and even some Pinot Meunier all grown organically in the Gaspereau Valley. I have not been lucky enough to taste any yet, but those who have, have been effusive in their praise. Of course, it is not like we'll all be swilling it down like Keiths, as it is rumoured to be planned to be released in the $60 to $80 a bottle range.
So, why the "new" in my title? Well, up until these latest sightings, most of the good wine in Nova Scotia has been made from hybrids, or crosses of grapes that are chosen because of how well they survive our winters, and how they produce in our short growing season. But these latest wines defy that logic.
Two nights before this vineyard tour, I was again in the company of Gina, and we were joined by the new winemaker at Benjamin Bridge, Jean-Benoit Deslauriers at a house party prior to the wine judging the next day. The host, John Starr, opened a bottle of 1986 Cuvée d'Amur from Grand Pré, made by Roger Dial 22 years ago. This wine, made from Michurunetz grapes (a vitis vinifera cross on vitis amurensis rootstalk) was still very much alive, showing an amazingly complex, Burgundian nose, and still packing a solid lump of acidity with fruit remnants. An amazing drink, made moreso by being able to share it with Gina and Jean-Benoit. They are the ones (along with with Jurg Stutz, Hans Christian Jost, and David Beardsall I should add), who are picking up the torch that Roger lit a long time ago. They are working with better grapes every year.
And it is still warming up, so they say....
* sorry Mr. Coad, every place should have one, not just NYC
Friday, August 29, 2008
The Harbour Gets Loaded
Halifax Harbour cannot be made clean by Primary Sewage Treatment Plants and combined sewers.
It can be made cleaner, but not clean.
In the vain hope that Peter Kelly would go swimming for the cameras the day after a severe thunderstorm, I kept a bit quiet for a while on this issue. Now that it looks like he won't get some cool tropical disease, I might as well spill the news. The truth is, we spent millions of dollars on work to change where we put our poop into the environment, and to take some of the easy to remove things out, and that's all we did. The work on the Halifax Harbour Cleanup shut off many of the existing outfalls along our now well used and appreciated waterfront, and consolidated all those little problems into three big ones. It is doing what the engineers intended it to do.
From the rudimentary treatment plants we built, we put special, long outfall pipes out into our harbour so that the pollution is injected into the harbour at a place where it can be more easily flushed out to sea by the tides and currents in the harbour. That makes it all seem better because it is "all gone away".
What no one bothered to explain to the media (which didn't seem to try to understand the project anyway) was just how tough it is to clean up sewage flow when the sewers are combined sewers - they carry both flushed things from homes and businesses, as well as any rain that falls on our streets and roofs. So if it rains in Halifax (I have it on good advice that it does so on occasion) then an immediate, and very high volume (compared to the sewage) flow of runoff whooshes down the pipe, diluting the sewage, sometimes making it over 100 times the flow, and also making it colder than it was.
A huge, cold, dilute organic waste is very very difficult to treat. And to remove a high percentage of the pollutants, especially the organic ones (poop) is almost impossible. Organic waste is treated by biological processes that need some time, which at a high flow means massive tank storage to give the bugs time to eat the poop. Those bugs operate at a speed that is pretty much regulated by temperature - the colder they are, the slower they work, like me. When it rains, the system we now have really does not remove very much of the organic pollution because it would simply be too expensive to build such a massive treatment plant where the sewage has been collected.
But, there are two things that the media has yet to identify and understand, and that therefore mostly remain a mystery to the residents of HRM. First, when it rains, not only can we not treat the huge flow of dilute sewage, our pipes are not big enough to even take it to the new, better discharge sites we put a lot of the investment into creating. At some point, the pipe backs up (hello again, finless brown!) and is dumped directly into the harbour, usually via the old outfall pipe we thought was no longer in service.
The second thing is the real kicker, though. What do our environmental regulators do about this problem? When it rains, the harbour cleanup project allows most of the pollution to run out to the ocean the same as it always did. The total amount of material that causes environmental problems is not really reduced by any normal sewage treatment removal percentage. If, say 100,000 kilograms of poop went to the harbour before we spent all out money on the project, on a rainy day, maybe 75,000 (a wild guess just for demonstration purposes) kilograms of the poop goes to the harbour.
How is this possible given that they had to have a permit from Nova Scotia Environment, with the tacit approval, and funding from Environment Canada (plus DFO has to OK it) to continue to discharge this deleterious substance? Well, have you not heard the old axiom, "The solution to pollution is dilution." ?? That's how. The permit would authorize HRM to discharge as much sewage as they want up to a certain concentration of poop (I heard it was 50-60 ppm when every other Municipality in NS has to meet maximum 30 ppm for an ocean discharge). As long as there is enough rainwater diluting the poop, the regulators can look the other way, and the politicians can pretend they did something.
The sewage coming from a house before dilution has about 250 to 300 ppm of BOD. Stormwater dilution of sewage in a combined sewer is often up to ten times. Discharging more than 50 ppm when diluted 10 times would then be impossible, because it would be at 30 ppm, on average, with no treatment at all! You'd have to add poop (staff toilets in the treatment plants are not that big) to not meet the Approval. So the overflows meet permit with no treatment, because the permit is a bit, well, soft.
Sweet, eh?
Of course, the ecosystem in the harbour does not see it quite the same way. Most of that part of the equation is simply looking for food (poop to us), to live from, and they then strip oxygen from the water to support themselves, to the detriment of other things we might prefer to have live in the harbour.
Most countries regulate discharge of sewage in terms of the amount, or load in kilograms, of BOD per day that a receiving water body is subjected to, no matter how high, or low, the concentration of the discharge. We have ignored the logic of this, and regulate in mg/L or parts per million of BOD (by the way, for the purposes of this discussion, BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) can be considered a laboratory based scientific way of saying "poop".) A two year old having a pee pee off a wharf might not meet the permit because the ammonia discharge in the effluent stream would be too high, but all of peninsular Halifax's sewage running untreated after a storm is just peachy.
This concentration versus loading concept can be explained in terms most Haligonians would understand. If we were out drinking, and I had ten shots of scotch, and you had ten beers, you'd have consumed a lot more liquid than me, but we'd both still be loaded. We all know that it is the alcohol loading that causes us to be loaded, not the water in the drink.
Yes, the harbour is still getting loaded every time it rains.
Cheers!
It can be made cleaner, but not clean.
In the vain hope that Peter Kelly would go swimming for the cameras the day after a severe thunderstorm, I kept a bit quiet for a while on this issue. Now that it looks like he won't get some cool tropical disease, I might as well spill the news. The truth is, we spent millions of dollars on work to change where we put our poop into the environment, and to take some of the easy to remove things out, and that's all we did. The work on the Halifax Harbour Cleanup shut off many of the existing outfalls along our now well used and appreciated waterfront, and consolidated all those little problems into three big ones. It is doing what the engineers intended it to do.
From the rudimentary treatment plants we built, we put special, long outfall pipes out into our harbour so that the pollution is injected into the harbour at a place where it can be more easily flushed out to sea by the tides and currents in the harbour. That makes it all seem better because it is "all gone away".
What no one bothered to explain to the media (which didn't seem to try to understand the project anyway) was just how tough it is to clean up sewage flow when the sewers are combined sewers - they carry both flushed things from homes and businesses, as well as any rain that falls on our streets and roofs. So if it rains in Halifax (I have it on good advice that it does so on occasion) then an immediate, and very high volume (compared to the sewage) flow of runoff whooshes down the pipe, diluting the sewage, sometimes making it over 100 times the flow, and also making it colder than it was.
A huge, cold, dilute organic waste is very very difficult to treat. And to remove a high percentage of the pollutants, especially the organic ones (poop) is almost impossible. Organic waste is treated by biological processes that need some time, which at a high flow means massive tank storage to give the bugs time to eat the poop. Those bugs operate at a speed that is pretty much regulated by temperature - the colder they are, the slower they work, like me. When it rains, the system we now have really does not remove very much of the organic pollution because it would simply be too expensive to build such a massive treatment plant where the sewage has been collected.
But, there are two things that the media has yet to identify and understand, and that therefore mostly remain a mystery to the residents of HRM. First, when it rains, not only can we not treat the huge flow of dilute sewage, our pipes are not big enough to even take it to the new, better discharge sites we put a lot of the investment into creating. At some point, the pipe backs up (hello again, finless brown!) and is dumped directly into the harbour, usually via the old outfall pipe we thought was no longer in service.
The second thing is the real kicker, though. What do our environmental regulators do about this problem? When it rains, the harbour cleanup project allows most of the pollution to run out to the ocean the same as it always did. The total amount of material that causes environmental problems is not really reduced by any normal sewage treatment removal percentage. If, say 100,000 kilograms of poop went to the harbour before we spent all out money on the project, on a rainy day, maybe 75,000 (a wild guess just for demonstration purposes) kilograms of the poop goes to the harbour.
How is this possible given that they had to have a permit from Nova Scotia Environment, with the tacit approval, and funding from Environment Canada (plus DFO has to OK it) to continue to discharge this deleterious substance? Well, have you not heard the old axiom, "The solution to pollution is dilution." ?? That's how. The permit would authorize HRM to discharge as much sewage as they want up to a certain concentration of poop (I heard it was 50-60 ppm when every other Municipality in NS has to meet maximum 30 ppm for an ocean discharge). As long as there is enough rainwater diluting the poop, the regulators can look the other way, and the politicians can pretend they did something.
The sewage coming from a house before dilution has about 250 to 300 ppm of BOD. Stormwater dilution of sewage in a combined sewer is often up to ten times. Discharging more than 50 ppm when diluted 10 times would then be impossible, because it would be at 30 ppm, on average, with no treatment at all! You'd have to add poop (staff toilets in the treatment plants are not that big) to not meet the Approval. So the overflows meet permit with no treatment, because the permit is a bit, well, soft.
Sweet, eh?
Of course, the ecosystem in the harbour does not see it quite the same way. Most of that part of the equation is simply looking for food (poop to us), to live from, and they then strip oxygen from the water to support themselves, to the detriment of other things we might prefer to have live in the harbour.
Most countries regulate discharge of sewage in terms of the amount, or load in kilograms, of BOD per day that a receiving water body is subjected to, no matter how high, or low, the concentration of the discharge. We have ignored the logic of this, and regulate in mg/L or parts per million of BOD (by the way, for the purposes of this discussion, BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) can be considered a laboratory based scientific way of saying "poop".) A two year old having a pee pee off a wharf might not meet the permit because the ammonia discharge in the effluent stream would be too high, but all of peninsular Halifax's sewage running untreated after a storm is just peachy.
This concentration versus loading concept can be explained in terms most Haligonians would understand. If we were out drinking, and I had ten shots of scotch, and you had ten beers, you'd have consumed a lot more liquid than me, but we'd both still be loaded. We all know that it is the alcohol loading that causes us to be loaded, not the water in the drink.
Yes, the harbour is still getting loaded every time it rains.
Cheers!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Another religious experience
After last fall's Mary Gauthier and Ron Hynes concert in a church, I thought that was about as much as you could do with getting former drug addicts to gather in a place of worship to play music. But Tuesday night's Steve Earle concert at St. Matthews managed to match and exceed that show. Let's face it. Mr. Earle has known his share of self inflicted trouble. He has spent a fair amount of time behind bars for drug infractions, ranging from being a Heroin addict caught with his stash, to being so stupid as to go back to Texas with a bag of weed in his possession.
Of course it seems that this time, he has cleaned up his act, and is on the path to maybe making it past the age of 60. A good part of that success may be due to the infusion of beauty (and talent) into his life via the beautiful Allison Moorer, seen below.
Alison came on first, after an extremely orderly and well organized seating for the sell out crowd (at over $50 a seat). She played about 8 songs, most from her recent release of covers, appropriately called Mockingbird. A highlight was her version of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now. Any Joni song is difficult to manage and she does so in an effortless manner. She did not sing Gillian Welch's Revelator, which is on the album.... I may need to find the disk now.
Steve came out shortly after her set, (long enough for people to take a short stretch) and played solid for about two and a half hours. It was truly a marathon, with the heat in the building. I was exhausted after the show, and Steve seemed pretty well OK with it. Maybe he really has cleaned up.
Here is a picture of what he looks like now. Quite the beard.
This was a great show, with some very cool turntable and electro-percussive work from a crew member that allowed some of the more urban sounds on his last couple of albums to be conveyed.
It was a show that will be difficult to match this year, one I don't think old Elton will come close to. Here we have a master of his form at the top of his game. To see him in a small acoustically great venue was wonderful. I can't see tired old Elton in the trashy Metro Centre coming close as a musical experience. Maybe as a spectacle, and we do know he has lots of those, right?
This musical couple continues their traveling road show in Ontario before heading south to their home and native land in the American Northeast. Of note, I'd recommend the 4 night stand at the Judson Memorial Church in New York from September 22 to 26.
Steve Earle in church? You betcha.
Of course it seems that this time, he has cleaned up his act, and is on the path to maybe making it past the age of 60. A good part of that success may be due to the infusion of beauty (and talent) into his life via the beautiful Allison Moorer, seen below.
Alison came on first, after an extremely orderly and well organized seating for the sell out crowd (at over $50 a seat). She played about 8 songs, most from her recent release of covers, appropriately called Mockingbird. A highlight was her version of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now. Any Joni song is difficult to manage and she does so in an effortless manner. She did not sing Gillian Welch's Revelator, which is on the album.... I may need to find the disk now.Steve came out shortly after her set, (long enough for people to take a short stretch) and played solid for about two and a half hours. It was truly a marathon, with the heat in the building. I was exhausted after the show, and Steve seemed pretty well OK with it. Maybe he really has cleaned up.
Here is a picture of what he looks like now. Quite the beard.
This was a great show, with some very cool turntable and electro-percussive work from a crew member that allowed some of the more urban sounds on his last couple of albums to be conveyed.It was a show that will be difficult to match this year, one I don't think old Elton will come close to. Here we have a master of his form at the top of his game. To see him in a small acoustically great venue was wonderful. I can't see tired old Elton in the trashy Metro Centre coming close as a musical experience. Maybe as a spectacle, and we do know he has lots of those, right?
This musical couple continues their traveling road show in Ontario before heading south to their home and native land in the American Northeast. Of note, I'd recommend the 4 night stand at the Judson Memorial Church in New York from September 22 to 26.
Steve Earle in church? You betcha.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Commercial Free TV!
I broke down this past month and joined the big screen TV generation. I even did the painful work of getting it all set up so the sound could run through my stereo. So now I have a miniature movie theatre in the house.
We have not bothered with television for some time. No cable in 12 years, and that will stay. But the DVD rentals have usually been mostly L's doing, feeding her interest in the movie genre.
Meanwhile I have managed to remain almost gleefully ignorant of anything related to reality TV (nope, never seen more than a glimpse of Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, American or Canadian or Turkish Idol.)
But I have occasionally heard about television series that are a cut above the average. With real writers, and not the WWF level of entertainment offered by the "reality" series.
The first one that came into my sphere of awareness was Six Feet Under. OK, I liked that. Odd premise, but once you got invested in the characters, it worked as entertainment, and as a reason to sit down and get lost in for an hour or so an evening.
But now, with my newly pimped up AV delivery system, I can be even more rewarded when I indulge in this genre.
So, on a whim (after having had a few drinks) I bought the first season of Dexter. The show about the serial killer who has a code instilled in him by his adopted father (the Batman theme regurgitated, I know, but it still works). I watched Dexter knock off other killers who apparently deserved it more than he did for a week, and the season was over.
Now it is Veronica Mars, traded to me for Dexter. (I wonder how long I can continue trading series like this?) Again, not bad, if a bit cute, and sometimes (but not always) predictable. This show gives its rewards via the age old tenet of revenge. We all like it when bad people get what they deserve, even if it is at the hands of a smart ass little blonde who, in the real world, would have been put into hospital about 12 times by now, and I'm only half way through the season. (late edit - I was happy to see that finally someone did kick her biddy lil smart ass a bit).
Music concert videos are cool when it is loud, sounds good, and looks great! Not the same as being there, but there is no dope smoke, no puke on the stairs, and the beers only cost $2, plus they are real beers, not Lite anything, and the seats are comfy.
But the best part - no commercials. The only commercials I see any more are when the Cannes Awards clips come through town. And then there are so many, I forget 3/4 of them anyway.
Well, it is about time for another episode of Veronica. I am secretly hoping she is knocked off in the show - they do say these new series do things like that. But somehow, I doubt it will happen - her contract probably went past this season.
Now, if I could only buy a TV show as a pay per view every now and then (like The Masters) I'd be all set!
We have not bothered with television for some time. No cable in 12 years, and that will stay. But the DVD rentals have usually been mostly L's doing, feeding her interest in the movie genre.
Meanwhile I have managed to remain almost gleefully ignorant of anything related to reality TV (nope, never seen more than a glimpse of Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, American or Canadian or Turkish Idol.)
But I have occasionally heard about television series that are a cut above the average. With real writers, and not the WWF level of entertainment offered by the "reality" series.
The first one that came into my sphere of awareness was Six Feet Under. OK, I liked that. Odd premise, but once you got invested in the characters, it worked as entertainment, and as a reason to sit down and get lost in for an hour or so an evening.
But now, with my newly pimped up AV delivery system, I can be even more rewarded when I indulge in this genre.
So, on a whim (after having had a few drinks) I bought the first season of Dexter. The show about the serial killer who has a code instilled in him by his adopted father (the Batman theme regurgitated, I know, but it still works). I watched Dexter knock off other killers who apparently deserved it more than he did for a week, and the season was over.
Now it is Veronica Mars, traded to me for Dexter. (I wonder how long I can continue trading series like this?) Again, not bad, if a bit cute, and sometimes (but not always) predictable. This show gives its rewards via the age old tenet of revenge. We all like it when bad people get what they deserve, even if it is at the hands of a smart ass little blonde who, in the real world, would have been put into hospital about 12 times by now, and I'm only half way through the season. (late edit - I was happy to see that finally someone did kick her biddy lil smart ass a bit).
Music concert videos are cool when it is loud, sounds good, and looks great! Not the same as being there, but there is no dope smoke, no puke on the stairs, and the beers only cost $2, plus they are real beers, not Lite anything, and the seats are comfy.
But the best part - no commercials. The only commercials I see any more are when the Cannes Awards clips come through town. And then there are so many, I forget 3/4 of them anyway.
Well, it is about time for another episode of Veronica. I am secretly hoping she is knocked off in the show - they do say these new series do things like that. But somehow, I doubt it will happen - her contract probably went past this season.
Now, if I could only buy a TV show as a pay per view every now and then (like The Masters) I'd be all set!
Wine of the Month - August, Jacob's Creek NV Chardonnay-Pinot Noir Brut Sparkling
This wine is hard to believe - it is so good for the money. The first time I had it, I was drinking a sparking wine and someone came up to me with a bottle of it and offered me some. I said, no, I'd stick with the stuff in my glass. Only to be told that that was what was IN my glass. Ooops. One geek stumped!
This is not really for the wine geek super snob, but you may make a fool of some of them if you serve it blind. And anyone who won't drink a cold glass of this on a hot day has issues.
$15.96 gets you some bready yeasty character, and some "real near-champagne-like" taste.
This is the one to have in the fridge for some zip to start a party, add to drinks for champagne martinis, add to fresh fruit, make Mimosas from, or to try to play stump the geek.
This year's version (it is a non-vintage (NV) offering, I believe) is very nice, but remember, next year may be a different thing.
So have your fun now.
This is not really for the wine geek super snob, but you may make a fool of some of them if you serve it blind. And anyone who won't drink a cold glass of this on a hot day has issues.
$15.96 gets you some bready yeasty character, and some "real near-champagne-like" taste.
This is the one to have in the fridge for some zip to start a party, add to drinks for champagne martinis, add to fresh fruit, make Mimosas from, or to try to play stump the geek.
This year's version (it is a non-vintage (NV) offering, I believe) is very nice, but remember, next year may be a different thing.
So have your fun now.
Think Globally, Drink Locally
I have a tee shirt that says this on the back. I got it at the Bow and Arrow pub in Toronto. The beauty of it, of course, is that the message works pretty well everywhere you go.
Here in Halifax we have two very good micro-breweries and a couple of good brew pubs. There are now many different types of beer available fresh, in keg in our city. Any bar that has pretensions of sophistication must have a tap from one of these places. Period. There is no argument to parry this statement that holds water... or, er, beer.
Witness the Argyle Street scene. In comes the Carleton, with a lot of investment in fit-up, but they appear to have sold their "tap soul" to a major brewery. Not one decent beer on tap. Yet, at the same time, a more unexpected place to find a good beer on tap, perhaps, Seven Wine Bar, offers Propeller Bitter. Fizz, a new drinks place between the Subway and the Bitter End has not one decent beer available. And by decent I mean non-factory made beer. Yet next door at the Bitter End there is Garrison, at least one type, on tap.
The large factory brewers have one motivation - make a product that can be sold to as many people as possible and sell as much (in volume) as possible by whatever means. They regularly manage to provide bar owners with "incentives" to keep their beers on tap, and others' off the bar. This is Halifax's dirty little secret in the bar scene, a practice that is never regulated by the Province.
But when owners care about the quality of their wares, they choose differently. The best pub in town, Tom's Little Havana, has a suite of Garrison products. The Economy Shoe Shop and all its various affiliated licenses offer both Propeller and Garrison. Most places worth eating in the city have at least one of the local micros to drink.
There is no reason for a responsible Haligonian who wants to have a night out, need go to any place that does not support the local (as in true local, owned by Nova Scotians) beer business.
This analogy extends to wines. Again, many places are ignorant, so much so that if they have a Nova Scotian wine available, it is actually not made in Nova Scotia, or at least the grapes are not grown here. We now have so many decent quaffable wines at prices that can translate to affordable by the glass offerings in bars and restaurants, that there is no excuse for any place not to offer good Nova Scotia wine. Again, The Carleton falls flat on it face. But Fizz looks great, with the yummy strawberry accented Blomidon Rosé available by the glass. A perfect wine to sip while watching the street go by from their patio.
Most places with a trained Sommelier (not just someone who calls themself that) offer a number of different Nova Scotia wines. In fact, that may very well be the best way to identify a wine list that is professionally prepared in Nova Scotia. The losers have all the standard Australian best sellers at the NSLC with the big marketing budgets. Any place that you see, for example, Gaspereau Seyval Blanc on the list probably has a real Sommelier choosing the wines. Demonstrating an understanding of the local wines is one way for a restaurant to illustrate that it has an understanding of local food. Wine is food.
So, if you want to reinforce real local business with your spending, drink locally. When you are in Toronto, drink their beers and Niagara or Prince Edward County wines. In Montreal, drink their beers, and try Quebec wine (it can be good). And use the beer taps on the counter as a gauge of what to expect elsewhere in the place.
I vote with my palate. No reason you can't too.
Here in Halifax we have two very good micro-breweries and a couple of good brew pubs. There are now many different types of beer available fresh, in keg in our city. Any bar that has pretensions of sophistication must have a tap from one of these places. Period. There is no argument to parry this statement that holds water... or, er, beer.
Witness the Argyle Street scene. In comes the Carleton, with a lot of investment in fit-up, but they appear to have sold their "tap soul" to a major brewery. Not one decent beer on tap. Yet, at the same time, a more unexpected place to find a good beer on tap, perhaps, Seven Wine Bar, offers Propeller Bitter. Fizz, a new drinks place between the Subway and the Bitter End has not one decent beer available. And by decent I mean non-factory made beer. Yet next door at the Bitter End there is Garrison, at least one type, on tap.
The large factory brewers have one motivation - make a product that can be sold to as many people as possible and sell as much (in volume) as possible by whatever means. They regularly manage to provide bar owners with "incentives" to keep their beers on tap, and others' off the bar. This is Halifax's dirty little secret in the bar scene, a practice that is never regulated by the Province.
But when owners care about the quality of their wares, they choose differently. The best pub in town, Tom's Little Havana, has a suite of Garrison products. The Economy Shoe Shop and all its various affiliated licenses offer both Propeller and Garrison. Most places worth eating in the city have at least one of the local micros to drink.
There is no reason for a responsible Haligonian who wants to have a night out, need go to any place that does not support the local (as in true local, owned by Nova Scotians) beer business.
This analogy extends to wines. Again, many places are ignorant, so much so that if they have a Nova Scotian wine available, it is actually not made in Nova Scotia, or at least the grapes are not grown here. We now have so many decent quaffable wines at prices that can translate to affordable by the glass offerings in bars and restaurants, that there is no excuse for any place not to offer good Nova Scotia wine. Again, The Carleton falls flat on it face. But Fizz looks great, with the yummy strawberry accented Blomidon Rosé available by the glass. A perfect wine to sip while watching the street go by from their patio.
Most places with a trained Sommelier (not just someone who calls themself that) offer a number of different Nova Scotia wines. In fact, that may very well be the best way to identify a wine list that is professionally prepared in Nova Scotia. The losers have all the standard Australian best sellers at the NSLC with the big marketing budgets. Any place that you see, for example, Gaspereau Seyval Blanc on the list probably has a real Sommelier choosing the wines. Demonstrating an understanding of the local wines is one way for a restaurant to illustrate that it has an understanding of local food. Wine is food.
So, if you want to reinforce real local business with your spending, drink locally. When you are in Toronto, drink their beers and Niagara or Prince Edward County wines. In Montreal, drink their beers, and try Quebec wine (it can be good). And use the beer taps on the counter as a gauge of what to expect elsewhere in the place.
I vote with my palate. No reason you can't too.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Wine of the Month - June
Well, I already recommended the Gapereau Rosé, so let's pick something else you may never have tried before.
Try the Trapiche Broquel Bonarda, from Argentina - now in the POW and some POW sections at the NSLC.
Full bodied, juicy and interesting. This wine will match a lot of BBQ.
And you'll be drinking something cool and different - your guests will marvel at your sophistication, and courage at not just getting another bottle of a grape you know.
Bonarda is what the Argentinians drink. Lots of it.
Try the Trapiche Broquel Bonarda, from Argentina - now in the POW and some POW sections at the NSLC.
Full bodied, juicy and interesting. This wine will match a lot of BBQ.
And you'll be drinking something cool and different - your guests will marvel at your sophistication, and courage at not just getting another bottle of a grape you know.
Bonarda is what the Argentinians drink. Lots of it.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
I would walk 500 miles....
Ever been at a show where you find yourself singing along at the top of your lungs and you're not even drunk?
That was me at The Proclaimers show last Friday, along with pretty well everyone else in there, including some of the staff.
Sure the lads are not the skinny rosy cheeked neo-folk/punk/blue eyed soul/pub rockers that used to nearly die of exhaustion on stage anymore, but they have their act down pat, with a very tight band, and true to the recordings arrangements. They mixed up the new and the old, singing favourites like Letter from America, 500 Miles, Cap In Hand and the like, but also throwing in some fine contemporary work.
Of course it was the audience that struck me when I finally got in the door. The security on the outside was like frickin' Heathrow, which was made so laughable once you got in and saw who was there. I wonder how many people had their knitting needles confiscated at the door? I don't think The Who were talking about this generation, not anymore, anyhow.
Yep, I was pretty well totally immersed in my own demographic.
The sound was very reminiscent of The Committments - white boy, blue eyed soul. The newer material definitely leans that way. But the social conscience that was most obvious in Cap in Hand ("and I don't understand why we let someone else rule our, land, cap in hand...") is still there in songs like New Religion, with a lyric like this:
"Evidence of a new religion
Meeting a human need
fertiliser for the brain
Feeding the weakest seeds."
Attacking the crap we get from the modern media and entertainment business. This was a pretty cool song.
They take a wicked shot at the rockers who are now lining up for knighthood in the UK, I mean, how can't Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney respond to this:
In Recognition of your 100 million album sales
In Recognition of your popularity
You take your gaudy prize from people you said you despise
You wear your self-respect upon your bended knees.
In spite of all your claims
It looks like you’re just the same
As every other clown, who likes put the crown
Before or after their names.
Even the title song from their new album, called "Life with You", has an edge to it that keeps it from being sappy. The words are, but the song isn't.
Mojo magazine described the brothers' stage presence as having the "tenacity of two Jack Russels on rabbit duty". I can see that.
I'll finish with the best snippet of lyric from their new album, from the song "The Long Haul"
"I miss the days
When the threat to our position
Didn't come from some religion
But from godless Communism"
Hard to argue with that one.
That was me at The Proclaimers show last Friday, along with pretty well everyone else in there, including some of the staff.
Sure the lads are not the skinny rosy cheeked neo-folk/punk/blue eyed soul/pub rockers that used to nearly die of exhaustion on stage anymore, but they have their act down pat, with a very tight band, and true to the recordings arrangements. They mixed up the new and the old, singing favourites like Letter from America, 500 Miles, Cap In Hand and the like, but also throwing in some fine contemporary work.
Of course it was the audience that struck me when I finally got in the door. The security on the outside was like frickin' Heathrow, which was made so laughable once you got in and saw who was there. I wonder how many people had their knitting needles confiscated at the door? I don't think The Who were talking about this generation, not anymore, anyhow.
Yep, I was pretty well totally immersed in my own demographic.
The sound was very reminiscent of The Committments - white boy, blue eyed soul. The newer material definitely leans that way. But the social conscience that was most obvious in Cap in Hand ("and I don't understand why we let someone else rule our, land, cap in hand...") is still there in songs like New Religion, with a lyric like this:
"Evidence of a new religion
Meeting a human need
fertiliser for the brain
Feeding the weakest seeds."
Attacking the crap we get from the modern media and entertainment business. This was a pretty cool song.
They take a wicked shot at the rockers who are now lining up for knighthood in the UK, I mean, how can't Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney respond to this:
In Recognition of your 100 million album sales
In Recognition of your popularity
You take your gaudy prize from people you said you despise
You wear your self-respect upon your bended knees.
In spite of all your claims
It looks like you’re just the same
As every other clown, who likes put the crown
Before or after their names.
Even the title song from their new album, called "Life with You", has an edge to it that keeps it from being sappy. The words are, but the song isn't.
Mojo magazine described the brothers' stage presence as having the "tenacity of two Jack Russels on rabbit duty". I can see that.
I'll finish with the best snippet of lyric from their new album, from the song "The Long Haul"
"I miss the days
When the threat to our position
Didn't come from some religion
But from godless Communism"
Hard to argue with that one.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Wine of the Month - Gaspereau Vineyards Rosé
It is time to start thinking of spring. Yes, it was 14 degrees in my yard today.
And spring demands Rosé.
In Nova Scotia we make great rosé. And my favourite for a day in day out quaffer is Gaspereau's 2006 version.
Try it. The price varies depending on where you get it.
Drink it outside on a deck in the sun, to watch the light gleam through it.
And spring demands Rosé.
In Nova Scotia we make great rosé. And my favourite for a day in day out quaffer is Gaspereau's 2006 version.
Try it. The price varies depending on where you get it.
Drink it outside on a deck in the sun, to watch the light gleam through it.
jane's great next door adventure
I just finished eating my first dinner carried home and cooked by me, from jane's next door. Jane Wright (jane's on the common) has taken advantage of the storefront in the space she rents next door to the restaurant. This is a place for people who don't feel like really cooking, but are not into eating out either.
My tortiere is currently digesting happily in my tummy.
The sandwiches looked awesome, real roast beef, and the Propeller Sodas are a great local accompaniment.
There are jane's famous soups to heat up at home, chicken pot pie, a curry, and yes, you can by an entire hazelnut torte...
And for a lot of us, it is right on the way home!
UPDATE, June 1: I am now an addict. Just had the Cassoulet for the second time, and it is great. The lamb shepherd's pie rocks, and the soups are to die for.
My tortiere is currently digesting happily in my tummy.
The sandwiches looked awesome, real roast beef, and the Propeller Sodas are a great local accompaniment.
There are jane's famous soups to heat up at home, chicken pot pie, a curry, and yes, you can by an entire hazelnut torte...
And for a lot of us, it is right on the way home!
UPDATE, June 1: I am now an addict. Just had the Cassoulet for the second time, and it is great. The lamb shepherd's pie rocks, and the soups are to die for.
Takin' the "Eh" Train
I'd planned on taking a trip back to Halifax from Montreal sometime this year, and the half price sale Via put on was the edge I needed.
One of the best things you can do in Canada is take this train trip. There is a choreography to the journey that lends itself to major relaxation, and achieving a kind of rhythm that really allows you to rest.
If you like to sleep in a moving bed, that is. I do.
You board the train in time for the 6:30 departure from Montreal, and book a seat for dinner at 6:45. You then have the best seat for dinner in the eastern part of Canada (if there is a similar experience in the Rockies, I'll bow to that). The sun is setting behind Mount Royal as you glide (in fits and starts) down the Saint Lawrence River Valley, the villages and towns and their cathedrals passing by as the light fades.
The meal is okay, in winter. I hear it gets better in summer, when ridership increases. I had a roast pork, cranberry sauce, mashed potato and green bean dinner ($18)that would have been much better if it had been served with some jus, but, with a glass of Jost Trilogy was not bad. All the wines were Nova Scotian, and they were obviously selected by someone who knew wine.
Sleep came later, somewhere around Riviere du Loups, and I awoke outside Bathurst, with metres of snow outside the window. We were slowed by a young teenager moose on the track, trotting along in front of the train, hemmed in by the 3m snow banks on each side. Eventually the moose took a left at a crossing, and headed into town, and we hit the tracks for Moncton.
Home in Halifax, I arrive rested, and ready to start work after a fun short vacation.
One of the best things you can do in Canada is take this train trip. There is a choreography to the journey that lends itself to major relaxation, and achieving a kind of rhythm that really allows you to rest.
If you like to sleep in a moving bed, that is. I do.
You board the train in time for the 6:30 departure from Montreal, and book a seat for dinner at 6:45. You then have the best seat for dinner in the eastern part of Canada (if there is a similar experience in the Rockies, I'll bow to that). The sun is setting behind Mount Royal as you glide (in fits and starts) down the Saint Lawrence River Valley, the villages and towns and their cathedrals passing by as the light fades.
The meal is okay, in winter. I hear it gets better in summer, when ridership increases. I had a roast pork, cranberry sauce, mashed potato and green bean dinner ($18)that would have been much better if it had been served with some jus, but, with a glass of Jost Trilogy was not bad. All the wines were Nova Scotian, and they were obviously selected by someone who knew wine.
Sleep came later, somewhere around Riviere du Loups, and I awoke outside Bathurst, with metres of snow outside the window. We were slowed by a young teenager moose on the track, trotting along in front of the train, hemmed in by the 3m snow banks on each side. Eventually the moose took a left at a crossing, and headed into town, and we hit the tracks for Moncton.
Home in Halifax, I arrive rested, and ready to start work after a fun short vacation.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Another Chapter in my Life
I found a great beer bar. About 70 taps, all the ones I tried were fresh, the most you pay is $4.50 for a 16 oz pint in a sleeve. The bartenders know the beers. They can recommend a beer from all the taps they have at hand with an uncanny expertise (or is that experience?) based on what a newbie asks them for.
There is a pool table. Free popcorn. A slate of regulars who look like they were just taken from some movie set - a B movie.
There is one TV - it sits above the bar, and the 'tenders let the regulars who sit there have the remote.
The bartender will help you order-in take-out from every place in town, including one pizza place that is awesome. One of those thick pizzas where you think you can eat more than one piece, but you really can't.
People talk to you.
And, they have 10 IPA's on tap! Real IPA's, not pretend "kiss your cousin" beers like Keith's. Lagunitas, Stone, Magic Hat, Middle Ages, Victory Hop Devil, Smutty Nose, Ithaca Brewing Company Hop Flower and Double IPA, Southern Tier IPA, and IBC Cascazilla Red, which is a super hoppy red ale, that really is an IPA.
There is one small problem, though.
The pub is in Ithaca NY. Home of Cornell University.
This bar was 8 minutes walk from, and 20 minutes walk to (after) where we crashed on our recent Finger Lakes winery tour. And the 20 minutes does not include a stop at the Hot Truck. I had the Shaggy - Hot and Heavy: This delight is a quarter loaf of french bread with meatball, sausage, cheese, onion, garlic, red hot pepper and grease and garden. I know I ate it all because there was nothing left the next day.
I had a pretty good vacation. I think.
Oh, and we toured some wineries, too.....
There is a pool table. Free popcorn. A slate of regulars who look like they were just taken from some movie set - a B movie.
There is one TV - it sits above the bar, and the 'tenders let the regulars who sit there have the remote.
The bartender will help you order-in take-out from every place in town, including one pizza place that is awesome. One of those thick pizzas where you think you can eat more than one piece, but you really can't.
People talk to you.
And, they have 10 IPA's on tap! Real IPA's, not pretend "kiss your cousin" beers like Keith's. Lagunitas, Stone, Magic Hat, Middle Ages, Victory Hop Devil, Smutty Nose, Ithaca Brewing Company Hop Flower and Double IPA, Southern Tier IPA, and IBC Cascazilla Red, which is a super hoppy red ale, that really is an IPA.
There is one small problem, though.
The pub is in Ithaca NY. Home of Cornell University.
This bar was 8 minutes walk from, and 20 minutes walk to (after) where we crashed on our recent Finger Lakes winery tour. And the 20 minutes does not include a stop at the Hot Truck. I had the Shaggy - Hot and Heavy: This delight is a quarter loaf of french bread with meatball, sausage, cheese, onion, garlic, red hot pepper and grease and garden. I know I ate it all because there was nothing left the next day.
I had a pretty good vacation. I think.
Oh, and we toured some wineries, too.....
Schwartz's Revisited - Smokin' Meat
Some time ago, I had some fun with Montreal smoked meat sandwiches and Tiger Woods. This during the President's Cup last year.
Well, this week, I got stranded in Montreal with the Riesling Princess on our way back from drinking far too much all over northern NY and southern ON.
So I did what I had to do. I took her out to Schwartz's. She has never been there.
Okay. So I was wrong. The Main is good, but Schwartz's is better. Are you happy now? Our server was even polite, sort of. I mean he didn't swear at us, he turned to face us when he farted. All positive things.
We were there in the middle of a snowstorm that was trapping us in Montreal (there are few better places to be trapped) and the place was still about 80% full at 10 pm on a Tuesday night.
And the meat was fine. Very fine.
And Benelux (corner of Sherbrooke and Jeanne Mance) after was at least as good. Great hefeweizen, and very good West Coast Style Pale/IPA.
Well, this week, I got stranded in Montreal with the Riesling Princess on our way back from drinking far too much all over northern NY and southern ON.
So I did what I had to do. I took her out to Schwartz's. She has never been there.
Okay. So I was wrong. The Main is good, but Schwartz's is better. Are you happy now? Our server was even polite, sort of. I mean he didn't swear at us, he turned to face us when he farted. All positive things.
We were there in the middle of a snowstorm that was trapping us in Montreal (there are few better places to be trapped) and the place was still about 80% full at 10 pm on a Tuesday night.
And the meat was fine. Very fine.
And Benelux (corner of Sherbrooke and Jeanne Mance) after was at least as good. Great hefeweizen, and very good West Coast Style Pale/IPA.
Thai One On
The regular Friday pub.
The regular Friday beers.
But something different is happening this week. No-one orders food from the pub menu.
Six semi-sober adults are still hungry at 7 pm.
Chabaa Thai has been sitting right up the street from the pub for a while now (since September, for chrissakes!!) and I have yet to eat there. Let's not forget that I met owner, and chef Wen Prathumma at a stag party... a very Canadian stag party that he seemed to be somewhat unsure of his correct mode of behaviour at, back in early August. Let's not forget that I helped Wade D. with the wine and beer list for the place. No, let's just say I've been an idiot and taken this long to show up and eat.
So, we walk the 50 metres up Queen Street and sit down to eat.
Well, the joke is on me. The food was amazing. And I warn you. There is one thing on the menu that will completely confound you, send you running home to fire up the BBQ and then waste a large amount of pork ribs to try to re-create this dish. The BBQ Pork Ribs were not of this world. I don't know how he does it (but I am going to try to find out) but these things are puffy. Like airy, like soft, melt in the mouth, spicy, sweet, cherry goodness. We had a certain "celebrity chef" with us at dinner (oh, how he hates top be called that...! {correction -it seems he does not mind at all!}) and he was unsure just how this delicacy was created. And trust me, that says a lot, because he really knows ribs.
That is not to say the rest of the food was not excellent, but these ribs were something else altogether. Next time, I am getting three orders and sucking them all back by myself. And next time may be as soon as I can get there.
The Massaman Curry Pork, Ginger Beef with Mushrooms, Spicy Chicken Noodles, Fresh Spring Rolls (with mint leaves), and everything else I tried, were all really good.
The wine we chose, a Fetzer (California) Gewurztraminer worked very well with almost everything, only losing itself a bit on one red curry dish. Some of the party had Hoegaarden Witbier (which has coriander in it), which is usually amazing with Thai food, and others slurped back Pilsner Urquell without complaining.
Wen apparently was the original chef at start-up for both Baan Thai and Talay Thai. The first as an almost indentured servant at Baan Thai, to where he came after finishing third in some big national cooking competition in Thailand, and then starting up Talay Thai with a brother (at least that's the rumour I heard). Now he is on his own, but not really, as his fiancé, Kim Dao, rumoured to be the daughter of a local restaurateur, is a partner not only in life, but in business.
I have eaten at every place in town that does Thai food now, I believe. None compares to this.
The regular Friday beers.
But something different is happening this week. No-one orders food from the pub menu.
Six semi-sober adults are still hungry at 7 pm.
Chabaa Thai has been sitting right up the street from the pub for a while now (since September, for chrissakes!!) and I have yet to eat there. Let's not forget that I met owner, and chef Wen Prathumma at a stag party... a very Canadian stag party that he seemed to be somewhat unsure of his correct mode of behaviour at, back in early August. Let's not forget that I helped Wade D. with the wine and beer list for the place. No, let's just say I've been an idiot and taken this long to show up and eat.
So, we walk the 50 metres up Queen Street and sit down to eat.
Well, the joke is on me. The food was amazing. And I warn you. There is one thing on the menu that will completely confound you, send you running home to fire up the BBQ and then waste a large amount of pork ribs to try to re-create this dish. The BBQ Pork Ribs were not of this world. I don't know how he does it (but I am going to try to find out) but these things are puffy. Like airy, like soft, melt in the mouth, spicy, sweet, cherry goodness. We had a certain "celebrity chef" with us at dinner (oh, how he hates top be called that...! {correction -it seems he does not mind at all!}) and he was unsure just how this delicacy was created. And trust me, that says a lot, because he really knows ribs.
That is not to say the rest of the food was not excellent, but these ribs were something else altogether. Next time, I am getting three orders and sucking them all back by myself. And next time may be as soon as I can get there.
The Massaman Curry Pork, Ginger Beef with Mushrooms, Spicy Chicken Noodles, Fresh Spring Rolls (with mint leaves), and everything else I tried, were all really good.
The wine we chose, a Fetzer (California) Gewurztraminer worked very well with almost everything, only losing itself a bit on one red curry dish. Some of the party had Hoegaarden Witbier (which has coriander in it), which is usually amazing with Thai food, and others slurped back Pilsner Urquell without complaining.
Wen apparently was the original chef at start-up for both Baan Thai and Talay Thai. The first as an almost indentured servant at Baan Thai, to where he came after finishing third in some big national cooking competition in Thailand, and then starting up Talay Thai with a brother (at least that's the rumour I heard). Now he is on his own, but not really, as his fiancé, Kim Dao, rumoured to be the daughter of a local restaurateur, is a partner not only in life, but in business.
I have eaten at every place in town that does Thai food now, I believe. None compares to this.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Now that the smoke has cleared - Tom's a year later
Back a year ago, I wrote about the last day of smoking in bars in Nova Scotia.
Smoked Out at Tom's
Now we are a year later, and my concerns about the future of one of my favourite watering holes have been diminished somewhat. The same people are back, though they smoke outside now. The staff are still the best. And the beer and the food are even better. The tap of Garrison IPA is one of the freshest in the city, with a large volume of sales of this, my new favourite beer. And the kitchen has been revamped, and now the food is even better.
In fact, Tom's might be the best place to eat in town that you have not eaten at yet.
I recommend the Havana Roll, or the Green Curry Chicken, or the pizza of the day.
Just don't take my seat. Cause the place is probably standing room only. And smoke free at that!
Smoked Out at Tom's
Now we are a year later, and my concerns about the future of one of my favourite watering holes have been diminished somewhat. The same people are back, though they smoke outside now. The staff are still the best. And the beer and the food are even better. The tap of Garrison IPA is one of the freshest in the city, with a large volume of sales of this, my new favourite beer. And the kitchen has been revamped, and now the food is even better.
In fact, Tom's might be the best place to eat in town that you have not eaten at yet.
I recommend the Havana Roll, or the Green Curry Chicken, or the pizza of the day.
Just don't take my seat. Cause the place is probably standing room only. And smoke free at that!
Oh Gee! Gio!
After having been to this "Not a Hotel Restaurant" I think four times, none with L, I finally got off my butt and took her out to dinner there this past week.
Gio is the restaurant in the Prince George Hotel in downtown Halifax. The Prince George has a chef whose name is getting too big for the hotel - Ray Bear, and this place was the management's strategy to get him to stay. Or that's how I heard it, anyway. The place was created under the very careful, and detailed eye of Craig Norton, Manager, and Sommelier. Craig has a great sense of design, and detail, and it shows in the place, from the choice of tea bags, to the towels in the washroom. I had emailed him to let him know I'd be at dinner, in case he was around. But he had apparently been dragged off to something in Toronto that day.
I arrived after L, and she was waiting with her tea, reading the menu. The tea was in a little pyramid mesh container with a string coming from the top with a "leaf" on the end. A beautiful product. Detail. The cutlery and china are pretty unique, although familiar from our times at Saege, where the chef is friends with Ray Bear, and shares the same supplier.
I order a glass of 30 Bench Riesling, and we set to the menu in earnest, as the breads arrive (three types, with the butter soft enough to spread - detail). And an amuse bouche consisitng of one tiny quail's leg. (peep peep)
Our appetizers arrive in good time, my ravioli stuffed with kobe beef short rib with oyster mushroom and red wine jus is an ample portion (one past criticism of Gio had been small portions) and L's pork belly with smoked pomegranate molasses, parsnip, potato chip and apple confit set the stage for what will be quite the evening of eating. Both dishes are excellent.
I had discussed my appetizer choice with the server, as I had been torn between the raviloi and the carpaccio. On clearing our plates, two small versions of the carpaccio arrive, out of the blue. Perhaps Craig is around. This was so thinly sliced, I had to almost cut it off the plate. In my mouth with the brioche and a bit of the Lohr Valdiguié red wine I now had in front of me, some magic happened. That wine was a curiosity I wanted to fulfill, but my server wisely suggested that if I was going to order the venison, it would not do the trick. He was right. A glass of Mazzei Poggio alla Badiolo was soon sitting there for that, but he brought me some Valdiguié anyway. It was very Gamay-like, with carbonic maceration evident. With the fluffy brioche and carpaccio it was light and almost serious. On its own, similar to an ordinary Beaujolais Villages.
After a more substantial wait, and regular attention to L's and my water glasses (hers with some infused water - detail) the main courses arrived. As usual, at Gio, the presentation is of high quality, and almost too beautiful to distrub in order to eat. But eat we do.
My venison is simply amazing. I am not a game eater, normally, but this was like great filet mignon with complexity. The server said that it came from a ranch in Alberta. The veggies seemed scarce, but that may have been due to the size of the plate. Green beans slit down the seam with the sectioned seeds inside created a simple but beautiful effect. L's rack of lamb was huge, with a lot of perfectly done meat, and so flavourful I almost, but not quite, swapped plates by force.
Let me be clear. I loved this venison. It was rare. I was having visions of hunting with spears in the deep dark woods.
We took our time, more tea for L, and ordered desserts, L having a "wanna.gotta.havea", a flourless orange almond cake with orange curd, pistachio ice cream, blood orange sauce and frozen nougat. I ordered the assorted cheese plate, and this was a revalation. Five type of cheese, each with a little fruit choice to match, and some of that crispy thin fruit and nut bread/cracker. One cheese, called Rolling Thunder, a hard parmesan like cheese form Thunder Bay (of all places) was amazing with a fig chutney and hazlenuts. Borgonzola bathing in blackberry sauce with one large blackberry to eat with it, some braised brie sat on top of a bit of melon.... you get the idea. I ate every little crumb of everything.
We had had a MEAL. One of the best ever in Halifax. A truly enjoyable evening, with one of the best servers I have experienced in years. All in, including tip (two glasses of wine, though they comped me one) was about $190. But who cares when the food is durn near perfect?
Gio is the restaurant in the Prince George Hotel in downtown Halifax. The Prince George has a chef whose name is getting too big for the hotel - Ray Bear, and this place was the management's strategy to get him to stay. Or that's how I heard it, anyway. The place was created under the very careful, and detailed eye of Craig Norton, Manager, and Sommelier. Craig has a great sense of design, and detail, and it shows in the place, from the choice of tea bags, to the towels in the washroom. I had emailed him to let him know I'd be at dinner, in case he was around. But he had apparently been dragged off to something in Toronto that day.
I arrived after L, and she was waiting with her tea, reading the menu. The tea was in a little pyramid mesh container with a string coming from the top with a "leaf" on the end. A beautiful product. Detail. The cutlery and china are pretty unique, although familiar from our times at Saege, where the chef is friends with Ray Bear, and shares the same supplier.
I order a glass of 30 Bench Riesling, and we set to the menu in earnest, as the breads arrive (three types, with the butter soft enough to spread - detail). And an amuse bouche consisitng of one tiny quail's leg. (peep peep)
Our appetizers arrive in good time, my ravioli stuffed with kobe beef short rib with oyster mushroom and red wine jus is an ample portion (one past criticism of Gio had been small portions) and L's pork belly with smoked pomegranate molasses, parsnip, potato chip and apple confit set the stage for what will be quite the evening of eating. Both dishes are excellent.
I had discussed my appetizer choice with the server, as I had been torn between the raviloi and the carpaccio. On clearing our plates, two small versions of the carpaccio arrive, out of the blue. Perhaps Craig is around. This was so thinly sliced, I had to almost cut it off the plate. In my mouth with the brioche and a bit of the Lohr Valdiguié red wine I now had in front of me, some magic happened. That wine was a curiosity I wanted to fulfill, but my server wisely suggested that if I was going to order the venison, it would not do the trick. He was right. A glass of Mazzei Poggio alla Badiolo was soon sitting there for that, but he brought me some Valdiguié anyway. It was very Gamay-like, with carbonic maceration evident. With the fluffy brioche and carpaccio it was light and almost serious. On its own, similar to an ordinary Beaujolais Villages.
After a more substantial wait, and regular attention to L's and my water glasses (hers with some infused water - detail) the main courses arrived. As usual, at Gio, the presentation is of high quality, and almost too beautiful to distrub in order to eat. But eat we do.
My venison is simply amazing. I am not a game eater, normally, but this was like great filet mignon with complexity. The server said that it came from a ranch in Alberta. The veggies seemed scarce, but that may have been due to the size of the plate. Green beans slit down the seam with the sectioned seeds inside created a simple but beautiful effect. L's rack of lamb was huge, with a lot of perfectly done meat, and so flavourful I almost, but not quite, swapped plates by force.
Let me be clear. I loved this venison. It was rare. I was having visions of hunting with spears in the deep dark woods.
We took our time, more tea for L, and ordered desserts, L having a "wanna.gotta.havea", a flourless orange almond cake with orange curd, pistachio ice cream, blood orange sauce and frozen nougat. I ordered the assorted cheese plate, and this was a revalation. Five type of cheese, each with a little fruit choice to match, and some of that crispy thin fruit and nut bread/cracker. One cheese, called Rolling Thunder, a hard parmesan like cheese form Thunder Bay (of all places) was amazing with a fig chutney and hazlenuts. Borgonzola bathing in blackberry sauce with one large blackberry to eat with it, some braised brie sat on top of a bit of melon.... you get the idea. I ate every little crumb of everything.
We had had a MEAL. One of the best ever in Halifax. A truly enjoyable evening, with one of the best servers I have experienced in years. All in, including tip (two glasses of wine, though they comped me one) was about $190. But who cares when the food is durn near perfect?
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