Wednesday, February 22 - an early morning at the airport

It's 6:10 am and I'm sitting at Timothy's waiting for the coffee to brew (they don't actually open till 6:30 but they let us early people in anyway). The temperature is -5' and we are headed for a high of  +2' and maybe a bit of rain and/or snow later this afternoon.

Well, Lloyd is on his way back to Toronto this morning. I suppose the up side is that he got put in first class for the first leg of the trip, to Montreal, so at least he'll get breakfast before he gets back and has to go to work. Neither of us slept well last night, I suspect because subconsciously we were both afraid we'd sleep in and he'd miss his flight. So it might be a long day.

Last night we went to Lot 30 and had an absolutely fabulous meal. We both had the five course tasting menu and the wine pairings to go with it. I was commenting to the waiter that we had seen Gordon on a TV show where he judged a friends wedding cake creation. The waiter came back a little later and said that the chef wanted to meet us after dinner. It was pretty quiet in the restaurant and sure enough, after we were done our dessert, he came and got us and took us into the kitchen. We spent probably 15 minutes chatting. What a great time for me!

So our meal went something like this (I did take notes) - I used my phone for the photos so the quality isn't great but you'll get the idea:


First Course:

Pan seared scallops on a bed of  Thai black rice topped with cubes of gingered dragon fruit. The scallops were perfectly cooked, the rice was absolutely delicious and the cold cubes of fruit made a wonderful contrast to the warm components. The wine pairing with this dish was a white California Viognier.






Second Course: 

Pan seared salmon on a bed of tomato orzo confit topped with Bernaise sauce and chopped toasted almonds. Salmon isn't my favorite fish but this was delicious. The top had a golden crust on it and the confit underneath was a delicious combination of flavours. The crunchy almonds on top really added a nice element. This dish was served with a Kim Crawford Pinot Noir from New Zealand.




Third course: 

This course started with a layer of creme fraiche on the bottom, topped with sauteed spinach, two pierogies topped with a roasted piece of pork belly, all drizzled with the jus from the roasted meat. The filling inside the freshly made pierogies was light and creamy and the pork was very meaty. All together another fabulous dish. This was served with a Red Zinfandel from California.



Fourth Course:

A deliciously rare piece of well aged steak, surrounded by small pieces of perfectly cooked shrimp, and thin narrow ribbons of parsnip, all sitting in a pool of carrot butter. The steak was tender and very flavourful, perfectly seasoned. The shrimp pieces were tiny bite sized and delicious and the thin ribbons of parsnip melted in your mouth. This dish was served with a richer, full bodies Malbeck from Argentina.(this picture isn't quite as pretty because I almost forgot to take it and had already started eating it)



Fifth Course:

A delightful combination of mini desserts (what a great idea!)
1) Blueberry clafouti with crunchy meringue chunks and cookie  crumbs
2) Homemade vanilla bean ice cream
3) Ginger lime cheesecake with fresh berries
Dessert was served with a small glass of 12 year old Taylor Fladgate port.

It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful evening with my sweetie. I suggested that I'd like to go there for my 60th birthday dinner and he was only too happy to agree!