My 58th Birthday at the Monk's Kettle

Today Teena and I went to the Old Mill Spa to celebrate my birthday. Afterwards we were hungry so headed west along Bloor street and discovered the Monk's Kettle. On the sign, it lists itself as a craft beer emporium so we couldn't walk by.

They have over 60 beers on the menu from around the world and maybe 10 local craft beers on tap. I like the set-up of the place. It was nice, cosy spot.

After ordering a couple of drinks, we reviewed the menu, which was not big but offered some interesting choices. Teena got wings in a Bourbon Chipotle sauce and a side order of fries. I also got wings but dry spiced instead of sauced. I also ordered Tempura shrimp.

The wings were huge and all drumettes. About a dozen were on a plate. Teena enjoyed hers and I enjoyed mine. We switched a wing and I love how her wings were nicely sauced and still crunchy. I would order hers next time. My shrimp were also huge. No skimping in this place! The batter was light, although some shrimp sauce on the side would have been nice.

Michael was our server and bartender, and seemed quite harried and rushed. We didn't get the best service. When I stopped him to order a second beer, he said sure and headed off without asking Teena if she too wanted a drink. After all, her glass was empty. It was kind of like that the whole time.

I would go back again, though. The beer selection is excellent and so is the food. Avoid order a side of fries. Six bucks and not worth it. The wings are a must, though.

Beer of the Week - Guoden Carolus Hopsinjoor

Teena and I were at the Monk's Kettle today which advertises itself as a craft beer emporium. Hey, they do keep up those standards!

On the menu was a beer called Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor from Belgium. I had to give it a try.

Although this beer has only been around since 2008, the brewery Brouwerij Het Anker (The Anchor Brewery) is much much older. In 1471, Charles the Bold (I love that name!) granted the beguine sisters of Mechelen permission to brew beer but only for their private use. It seems that this went on for 400 years until Louis Van Breedam bought the brewery and modernized it in 1872.

It sounds like the brewery brewed nothing but lagers until after the second world war and in 1945 decided to start brewing ales. In the 1960s, the ale line was renamed "Golden Carolus" and became so successful the brewery decided to drop the lager line.

So, what about the beer?

It pours a cloudy straw colour due to yeast added into the bottle before capping to allow the beer to continue to ferment (called bottle conditioning). The head is very white and reminds me of a meringue you might find on a pie. The head is tall and takes a long while to dissipate. The beer is very lively in the glass and there is a sourness to the aroma.

Sediment lies in the bottom of the glass. The weird thing is some of the sediment is reddish in colour. I have no idea where this might have come from.

The beer starts sour in my mouth and the sourness intensifies throughout the finish. This is a beer I could only have one of, not because of the 8% APV but due to the sourness. One would be refreshing but more would be too much.

I was used to the sourness by the time I finished but am unsure if I would ever try another one of these. I definitely would try another beer from this brewery but think I would pass on this one, only because I am not a fan of sour beers. Someone who enjoys a sour beer I think would love this.

***

Notice the red specs floating near the bottom of the glass

On pouring near the end of the bottle one also found it's self in the head.

Beer of the Week Stats

Beers Profiled 155
Countries 31
Breweries 133
Provinces 8

My 58th Birthday at the Old Mill Spa!

Today is my birthday and to celebrate, Teena took me to the Old Mill Spa for a couple's massage and a chocolate peppermint pedicure.

If you are a guy and say "what the hell?", don't knock it 'til you try it. You sure don't know what you're missing.

The Old Mill is on the site of two original mills. One was a lumber mill and the other a grist mill. In 1914, Robert Home Smith opened The Old Mill Tea Garden which became very popular with music and dancing and the Old Mill just expanded from there. It is a beautiful spot overlooking the Humber River. It felt very serene to me as we walked around the grounds.

First up was the couple's massage. Teena had Belinda, who she loved and wanted to take home. I had Sarah, who also was great and, along with a great massage, showed me a couple of new stretches. It was a great hour that was over much too fast.

Next up was the pedicure. If there is one regret we both had was that neither of us took a picture of my feet covered with the chocolate peppermint mask. It smelled great and was so cooling. Teena and I had side-by-side massage chairs. When I sat down, Ivette asked me if I would like a tea or coffee. I joked and asked for some bubbly. Turns out they are licensed so 2 glasses of bubbly came our way.

Having someone working on you feet while enjoying a glass of bubbly is enjoyable, decadent and a fabulous way to spend a birthday. So relaxing too. Great idea Teena!

It was a great time and we plan to go back again.

A Gord's Eye View of Toronto - Sam the Record Man

This may look like an empty lot just waiting for something to be be built on it, but at one time it was much more. It was a Toronto landmark, a place that anyone in Toronto could guide you to. It was Sam the Record Man!

Many out there now likely have never bought, owned or played a record, but before iPod's, and downloading, this is how people got their music. CD's were a marvel when they first came out and technology is moving fast, but when Sam Sniderman opened this store in 1937, the only way to bring music home with you was on a vinyl record.

(Here is the store circa 2000)

I remember going downtown to hit a few bars and always, always, we would end up here at Sam's. The place was always buzzing with people and when you went down to the basement, there were all the discontinued albums, a single hole punched through the corner of the album cover. People, myself included, would spend hours rifling through rows and rows of these in hopes of finding something unique, a piece of musical gold.

(Here is a shot of the store in 1973. These were my Sam years!)

Sam's went into bankruptcy in 2001. Sam's 2 sons, Jason and Bobby re-opened this Yonge St store the next year but closed it for good in 2007. It really was a sad day for many in Toronto. The whirling record lights were turned off for good.
Well not for good. They came on the next year for Nuit Blanche. More importantly, Ryerson University purchased the site to expand the University. As the top photo shows, they are on there way to build a new learning centre. My hope was that the sign, which has been saved, would hang from the building and once again take there rightful place overlooking Yonge Street. I hear though that this is not true, although they are working to have the sign spin it's light s again somewhere.

I sure hope so. Finally, one last shot of the same site before Sam the Record Man took it over.

Gordon Ramsay Pork Fillet Stroganoff

Teena and I have a lot of cookbooks and thought it was time to start using them.

Last month Teena made Banana Stuffed Rumrunner Chicken, which was great.

This month is my turn.

We have a couple of recipe books by Gordon Ramsay so I went through them and found a recipe for Pork Fillet Stroganoff in his book Cooking for Friends.

The recipe calls for:

1 pound (500 g) pork tenderloin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon plus a pinch (5 mL) smoked paprika ( I was more liberal with it's use)
4 tablespoons (60 mL) olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves finely sliced
8 ounces (250 g) fresh mushrooms, cafe color preferred, sliced
(Teena hates mushrooms so I omitted them)
1 tablespoon (15 mL) brandy (optional)
2/3 cup (150 mL) sour cream
Lemon juice
Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Rice or Egg Noodles (I used Ziggy's Linguine Fresh Pasta)
I was taught in cooking school to set up everything needed in advance, called "Mise en place" (everything in its place) so here I am ready to go.

Trim any fat from the meat and slice it thinly. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.

Heat 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat until oil is hot. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and mushrooms, increase heat slightly, and saute for another 3 to 4 minutes until the mushrooms release their liquid. Tip contents of pan onto a plate and set aside.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons (30 mL) oil to the pan and when it is hot, sear pork on both sides for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden brown. Return onions, garlic and mushrooms to pan. Add brandy and let it boil or flambe until almost reduced. Lower heat to medium, stir in cream and heat to a gentle simmer. Season to taste with a little more salt and pepper, and a dash of lemon juice. Add parsley and serve.
I must say that it was delicious. Being a very white dish, the parsley is definitely needed for colour. After all, you do "taste with your eyes".

Teena enjoyed it too and there were no leftovers. She said to save the recipe as she would like to have it again. Her review on the recipe is here.

This dish is a winner!

A Night at P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub

Tonight Teena and I went to P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub for supper. We have stopped in for drinks before but never for supper. We also had never sat in the east side room of the restaurant and never knew it existed.

When we entered, we saw drums were set up and were told a band was going to be playing at 9:30. The front tables were all reserved. No wonder. When we heard the band was Fiddlestix, we decided to eat at the bar, close to the band. We had seen them before at the Kitchener Ribfest and they were awesome. What luck to see them again!

Connor was a great bartender and looked after us well all night. Teena was torn between the spaghetti which was the special and the Chicken Curry. After discussing the choices with Connor, she ordered the curry. There were huge chucks of chicken in the curry which she loved and Connor was on her good side for the rest of the night.

I ordered the Corned Beef sandwich which came with salad and fries (usually you have to choose between the two so this was a bonus). Everything on my plate was delicious. It has been a long time since I had a good salad and found this one tasty and refreshing. The fries were excellent and I loved the sandwich. There was a lot on my plate and I could not eat it all.

I'm glad that we got there early as the place filled up just before the band came on. Fiddlestix did not disappoint.

Fiddlestix features the world's most innovative electric violinist: Steve Bowen. His intense arsenal of styles (celtic, bluegrass, rock, classical, pop, blues and even jazz) is shocking to his new audiences and continues to awe long-time fans.

As the description above says, the tunes are from all variety of music. Hearing them play "In the Mood" was awesome. There is a lot of energy if their show and Steve Bowen is sensational with the electric violin. There wasn't a tune that I didn't thoroughly enjoy!

There was a surprise in the evening when John McDermott, a Toronto-based Scottish singer came in. He sang a couple of songs with the band and did some solo tunes during the bands break. What a great voice!

For the band's second set, even more people flowed in. Even though we had great seats at the bar close to the stage, we still had a hard time seeing. The tunes were great, though, and we left after the set was over.

I love the set-up of P.J. O'Brien. The east room was jumping with a younger crowd and the band, while in the west section, it was jammed with people who just wanted a drink and conversation.

One final note is that there is a decent beer offering on tap. Being an Irish pub, they offer Guinness, Harp,and Smithwicks but I decided to have instead a couple of Spearhead Hawaiian Pale Ales and a couple of Samuel Adams Boston Lagers.

P.J. O'Briens has joined my list of great pubs in the city.

***

Fiddlestix in action

John McDermott singing with the band, then solo during the break.

Beer of the Week - Saison Dupont

I was reading an article (which I have since lost) about the Beer Bistro. At the end of the article, it talked about food pairing and the name Saison Dupont came up. I am a huge fan of Black Oak Brewery's Summer Saison and have wanted to try other saison.

Here was my chance so Teena and I headed to the Beer Bistro to give it a try. Teena's review of the Beer Bistro is here.

So, what is a saison?

The style originated in Wallonia, which is a French speaking area of Belgium close to the border of France. The region was all farmland and centuries ago, the farmhouses would brew beer in the winter for the workers, also known as "saisonniers" who tended their fields in the summer. Originally it was not a great quality beer and each farmhouse had their own ways of making it using barley, wheat, rye, spelt and spices.

Brasserie Dupont still brews saison from a classic farmhoouse brewery. Beers, especially the one I am trying today, have been brewed from this site since 1844. Alfred Dupont purchased the brewery in 1920 to help persuade his son, Louis, to stay home rather than moving over here to Canada to start his own farm. It was then purchased again in 1950 by the Rossier family who have run the brewery ever since.

It is said that Saison Dupont, also known as Saison Vielle Provision, is the "quintessential version of the saison style" It has gained high praise from famous English beer writer Micheal Jackson (1942 – 2007) and other critics which help to raise it's fame across the world.

Wow! This should be good.

We arrived at the Beer Bistro and there was no need to look at the extensive beer menu, except to ensure that it was there. Greg, our server and really knows his beers well, is also a fan of this style and beer and this particular one.

The beer arrived and Greg poured it with a full fluffy white head. The beer is yellowish, maybe the colour of straw and cloudy due to extra yeast being added during the bottling process for allow the beer to further condition in the bottle. Spice, and I cannot name which one or ones, come through in the aroma.

The beer starts surprisingly a little sweet. I notice on the bottle that there is sugar along with malt in this but that sweetness quickly evolves in a slightly spiced taste with citrus notes. The saison finishes with a long slight sourness. Despite the spice notes, the beer is light, fresh tasting and very refreshing.

Having this confirms my love for the saison style of beer. My disappointment is that this is not available at Ontario liquor or beer stores. I know where I can get it though. Hot Friday nights may find me on the Beer Bistro patio reading and having a Saison Dupont.

Beer of the Week Stats

Beers Profiled 154
Countries 31
Breweries 132
Provinces 8

Movie Review - 21 Jump Street

This afternoon Teena and I saw 21 Jump Street. I never watched the show when it was on TV. We both went in with low expectations.

Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are more than ready to leave their adolescent problems behind. Joining the police force and the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover in a local high school. As they trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, Schmidt and Jenko risk their lives to investigate a violent and dangerous drug ring. But they find that high school is nothing like they left it just a few years earlier - and neither expects that they will have to confront the terror and anxiety of being a teenager again and all the issues they thought they had left behind.

I thought the movie was very funny but uneven. I enjoyed seeing how Schmidt and Jenko changed roles from when they first went through high school. Schmidt was the the unpopular geek and Jenko lived among the cool kids. When they go undercover, their roles become reversed, with Schmidt finding himself part of the cool gang and Jenko finding himself now very uncool in school and hanging and making friends with the lab geeks, people he used to put down.

It's a fun, funny movie with some flat spots. I give it a 6/10. A movie worth going out and seeing.

Dinner with Jeff at the Twisted Kilt

Jeff was my manager for three years before moving on to another opportunity and I enjoyed working for him.

It has been a few months since he left and it was time to catch up so we agreed to meet at the Twisted Kilt for supper. I have always enjoyed this pub. It has a great feel, great service, great food and an excellent selection of beer.

When I went in tonight, I saw that they had 3 cask handles assigned to 3 different Ontario brewers but was disappointed to find that they were not yet hooked up.

The food was excellent. Jeff ordered Butter Chicken, which was one of their specials and thought it was great. I ordered a flat bread pesto chicken pizza. It was topped with cheddar cheese which surprised me as I expected mozzarella but still it was excellent. Jeff and I returned the plates back empty.

As I said, their draught selection is excellent. Jeff stayed with lagers and pilsners while I started with a Samuel Adams Boston Lager, followed by a Czechvar, a Black Oak Pale Ale and finished with the well balanced hoppy Mad Tom.

It was a fun night, hearing what he is doing now, talking beer and having some pints. I am looking forwarded to doing this again in the future. It is too easy to lose track of people.

Henry's School of Imaging Photo 101 Course

Last summer Teena bought a Nikon D5100 camera with interchangeable lenses. I really liked the zoom and some of the other features so thought it was time for me to upgrade too.

At the end of November, I picked myself up a a Canon PowerShot SX30 IS. Mine does not have the interchangeable lenses but is just a half a step down as my lens has many of the same capabilities as a DSL camera.

"The PowerShot SX30 IS has got you prepared for your next extreme photo opportunity. This point-and-shoot digital camera comes with a massive 35x Wide-Angle (24-840mm) Optical Zoom lens - a first for any PowerShot! It also comes with a 2.7-inch Vari-angle LCD, 14.1 Megapixels, High Dynamic Range, Zoom Framing Assist and much more."

Neither of us have not really used our cameras to their best capabilities and we shoot mostly on "auto". I have tried a few features and shot some great pictures in Bermuda, particularly on one walk.

We realized we should do something to enjoy our new cameras more so enrolled in the Henry's School of Imaging six-week Photo 101 Course.

Our Photo 101 course is an immersive and fulfilling program for the aspiring photographer. In this workshop we explore many of the fundamental skills required to advance your photographic knowledge. Students will learn both the technical and artistic sides of photography in a group environment.

Each week, students will be lead through a combination of lecture style and hands on exercises. Students are expected to complete weekly assignments and post them to the course Flickr! group for in class discussion.

Tonight was our first class titled "Getting Started" In it, we covered:

• Camera Orientation
• Camera Handling and Setup
• Program Mode
• Exposure Compensation

It was a very interesting 2 hours. One feature I liked when I bought my camera was the viewfinder as my eyes are not the greatest for shooting using the LCD screen. Our instructor, Ingrid, (she was an excellent teacher) told us this was a feature we should always be using. It is easier to frame an image and keep the camera stable.

Now we also are no longer allowed to use the "auto" setting. Instead she has graduated us to the "Program" setting where we can make adjustments. I like that what we are learning is good for any camera I use. I do need to learn more about my particular camera, though.

Homework this week is to take a shot of our living room or kitchen, adjust the exposure compensation for darker, take the same shot, and then brighter and again take the same shot. We then post them to Flickr! for discussion next week.

Thursday nights are going to be interesting.

Time to drag out the manual and read up more about my camera.

Beer of the Week - Smithwicks

So St Patrick's Day has come and gone so I thought I would take a look at which Irish beers I have written about.

Wow! Was I surprised to discover that I had yet to feature one from Ireland. Knowing this, I headed out to right a wrong. It was time to do an Irish beer.

When one thinks of Ireland and beer, Guinness Stout comes to mind and I have had many of them in my day! In 1778, Arthur Guinness started brewing and selling his new stout now known as Guinness. His was not the first beer brewed and still being brewed in Ireland. Although bought out by Guinness in 1964, Swithwick's (pronounced as 'Smithicks' or 'Smitticks') is considered the oldest Irish operating brewery and beer recipe.

John Smithwick and Richard Cole opened the brewery in 1710 in Kilkenny in St. Francis Abbey. In those days, it seemed that laws disallowed putting personal names on companies. I am unsure what happened to Richard Cole but John Smithwick was known as quite the businessman so it is likely that he just bought out Richard's interest in the brewery.

John's grandson, John Smithwick II, took over the brewery in the late 1700s and, as soon as the laws changed in Ireland, renamed the brewery Smithwick's Brewery. He also bought the land the brewery sat on. Since its opening, 9 generations of Smithwicks have been in control of the company over its 302 year history.

These days most of the Smithwicks beer is brewed in Dundalk but a small amount is still being brewed in Kilkenny for the local market.

The Smithwicks website has a much more detailed version of its company's history.

I saw that Smithwicks is now sold buy the can at the LCBO. Before and I'm really not sure about this, it was only available on draught. So I thought why not do a comparison while I'm at it? A great place to try the draught was on the patio of the Foggy Dew in my hood. So off I went!

I found a spot in the sun and ordered up a Smithwicks. It was a perfect pour which came to the table, a full glass with just the right amount of head. It was a brownish, coppery colour with a slightly off white head. Sheets of lacings lined the glass. The head and beer are quite creamy in texture, something I did not expect. It starts off a little sweet and finishes with a mild bitterness. It is an excellent sessionable pub ale.

To ensure I had my notes right, I had another before walking back home with the taste still lingering on my tongue. Once home, I cracked open a can of Smithwicks, rinsed my mouth and sat down for a taste. The beer poured the same and I managed to get the same perfect head that the one at the Dew had.

The canned Smithwicks had the same taste, starting slightly sweet and finishing with a slight bitterness, but lacked that creamy texture for the mouth feel. I found that I missed it. The glass still had thick lacings along it so there couldn't be a difference in the malt. My guess is that the system used to dispense the draught version must use the same combination of nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas that is used to pour Guinness Stout.

So my verdict is that Smithwicks is a very nice draught to have at a pub but I'll pass on bringing any home in the can.

Happy (belated) St Patricks Day!

Beer of the Week Stats

Beers Profiled 153
Countries 31
Breweries 131
Provinces 8

Flying Monkeys Brewery Tour

Today I did something I have wanted to do for a couple of years ... visit and tour Flying Monkeys Brewery in downtown Barrie.

Teena has clients in Barrie and Orillia and will stop in when she is here on business just to pick me up some fresh beer. Now I get to do that myself and get a tour to boot!

I have always found that craft brewers usually set up in industrial neighborhoods or on the outskirts of a town. Not Flying Monkeys Brewery. In 2004, they took an old building, circa 1880s, restored it, added on an extension out the back and set up shop on Barrie's main strip. In 2005, they opened for business as the Robert Simpson Brewing Company, named after Barrie's first mayor. A couple of years later, they decided to change their image and brew more creative beers and in the process changed their name to Flying Monkeys Brewery.

For light beer drinkers, they make a tasty Anti-Gravity Light Ale which I have written about before. They also make some excellent non-mainstream beer such as Netherworld Cascadian dark ale, Smashbomb Atomic IPA (I'm wearing that tee-shirt right now) and Hoptical Illusion, which is a great session ale that visits my fridge often.

You can tell I'm a fan of this brewery.

The tour is an excellent deal. There is no cost for the tour and if you buy a glass, they will fill it up for free. After that, it is $4 to refill it. Great deal! I was surprised by the number of people on the tour as it is a Friday afternoon in the off season. There were seven of us.

Kaitlyn was our guide and she did a great job explaining the process. She also warned us when we went in that not only is it brew day but also the brewery has just added tanks to double capacity so it will be busy and crowded.

It was a fun tour and best told with pictures

***

My favorite picture of the day!

Kaitlyn leads us into the brew house.

Our first stop was the area used for experimental brews. This is where they try and perfect new brews before going into full production. Andrew, one of the brewers (in the rolled up pants), listens in.

The mash turn and kettle area. I love this spot. Here you can see and smell the beer brewing.

The beer is cooled, then goes to the fermenters. Here the brew, now called wort, fills the fermenters to the door. Yeast is added here and then the door is clamped shut and the rest of the fermenter is filled. The tanks on the left are the old ones, the new shiny ones were installed in February.

The maturing tanks. Again you can see the difference between the old and the new.

The spent grains are collected below where farmers use them for feed. The grains were still hot a smelly.

The bottler and kegs on the pallet ready to ship!

A couple of final shots showing the original brewery name. The worn out tiles were on the floor in front of the main brewing area.

The pictures I took downstairs of their awards and medals turned out quite bad. They have won many. Not only the tour was great but everyone on the tour were great to talk to. If you are in Barrie, this is something you should do!