Boys and Girls

Yesterday we did things a little differently around here.  I shared my home-office workspace (ie: dining room) with Michael.  He was looking for a quiet place minus distractions to work on a project and believe it or not I can be quiet when someone really needs it.  :)

It is rare I get to serve him his morning coffee or pour him a bowl of cereal.  You may have noticed he regularly provides me with sustenance.  My turn!

Funny thing is…I am so hyper-focused on shopping for only myself during the week I actually thought I might have trouble building a lunch for two!  But I lucked out with exactly four pieces of bread and enough deli ham to make two sammiches.  Phew.

Sadly the lettuce I bought on Monday was all yucky in the middle so we had to settle for carrots sticks as our lunch time veggie.

After both of us got through a productive work day, he headed off to take care of his own errands and rescue Burl from doggie-abandonment (his folks looked after the big lug overnight) and I got cleaned up to meet Charmaine for buck-a-shuck.

Champagne cocktails were on special so we sipped on French 75s and ordered up 8 Fanny Bay oysters on the half shell each.  Nom.

We considered those to be our appetizer then decided we wanted something a little more filling so made our way across the street to Milestones for another bevvie and an artichoke dip to share.

We had a lovely visit and a good girl-talk catch up.  Don’t worry boys…we only spend like half of our time talking about you.  ;)

Two Dolla Tacos

Awwww….my memory mug.  Makes me miss my girls more than I already do every day!  Remember when Angie and I travelled to Toronto from Halifax to meet Jen, Amy, and Cat for the first time?!!  Seems a lifetime ago.

Breakfast was really more like lunch…I wasn’t hungry at all until well after noon.  My hunger cues are buggered.  Strawberry Banana Smoothie full of green goodness did the trick.

More Impromptoup for lunch.  English muffin with light Laughing Cow and tomatoes on the side.

Delicious strawberries for afternoon snackypoo.

For dinner tonight my friend Ray offered to treat me to a meal out (because I’m so totally awesome I have completely deflated my entertainment budget until payday!!).  We hummed and hawed for a while before deciding to finally give The Oyster a try.

As we walked up at 6:15 we were excited to see we made it in time for Buck-a-Shuck!

We scooted inside and sat down right away so we could get in our order for a dozen lovely little oysters on the half shell.  Tonight’s featured oysters were Little Wings.

They bring a variety of sauces…Thai (which was surprisingly good!), a verde, cocktail sauce (with fresh horseradish) and a red wine vinaigrette.

We opted for beers to go along with our fishes.  VI Brewery Sea Dog was on special.  Sounds good to us!

I figure since we seem to go for food a lot that it was high time Ray got his face on the blog.  Clearly he’s thrilled.

After perusing the menu we decided the best way to go would be to share a few of the small plates.  The crab enchiladas called out to both of us…

Quite yummy, but when our second dish arrived I almost completely forgot about those enchiladas.  Today was Taco Tuesday…meaning all fish tacos were on for only $2 each.  We ordered four to start.

Today’s featured fish was Red Snapper…served in browned tortillas and topped with fresh salsa made with pineapple!  I was in LOVE. 

We actually ended up ordering two more.  I suspect I’ll be dragging everyone I know there for Taco Tuesdays in the future.  Deeeelish.

After dinner I suggested that we take a quick trip over to Beacon Drive In for ice cream cones.  Spring is here and even though it was pretty cold today I think it’s pretty much soft serve season, no?

The whole point of getting together tonight was because we’ve decided to watch The Walking Dead.  Every time I recommend a show to someone lately, they turn around and ask me if I’ve seen The Walking Dead. 

We tried sharing this beer I’ve had in my fridge for ages, but neither of us liked it. Highly possible it’s been waiting far too long to be opened.

We got through the premier and second episode of the show and both enjoyed it.  Kind of reminds me of Stephen King’s The Stand…which I think I watched at least a half dozen times back in the day.  Sadly I now have to wait over a week to watch any more episodes because Ray has to go away for his brother’s wedding.  Damn timing.

Good thing he bought me dinner cuz otherwise I might not be all nice and wait for him. :)  Mwahahaha.

No Eat Til Brooklyn

Wow.  I’m obviously tired and mildly delirious…coming up with a title like that. It was a fun but exhausting weekend in Seattle.  After my 6am wake-up call, my 8am ferry, and my random uncomfortable sleep on the ferry I now have 9,876 posts to catch up on!

Rewinding back to Friday night…  With the bazillion restaurants to chose from in Seattle we sort of haggled back and forth before deciding to honour our friend Michelle’s suggestion that we "HAD” to try out The Brooklyn – Seafood, Steak, and Oyster House.

After the last time the three of us were together for a delicious dinner which included fresh oysters, she wanted us to try some more. So we did!

We took a quick peek at the oysters on ice when we arrived at the restaurant…then after reading descriptions and speaking with our server we chose three varieties. Kushi (BC), Kummamoto (California), and Sisters Point (Washington).

Just like last time…I have learned that actually prefer the larger varieties.  I always thought I really only liked the little Japanese ones due to texture, but I’m wrong. The Sisters were AMAZING…sure they were the largest but the texture was firm and the taste was sooo smooth and deeeelish.  I was pretty in love with the freshly grated horseradish they offered too. 

The Brooklyn’s wine list was fairly extensive, mostly Pacific Northwest based, and incredibly reasonably priced.  Something called a Claret caught my eye because it was a 2004…seemingly the oldest option on their red list. 

Our waiter read us the bottle description…”Bordeaux style..Cab Sauv…Cab Franc…”  SOLD!  It was very good.

We did share a glass of Washington state white while we enjoyed our oysters.  Smart suggestion by our waiter. :)

One day we will enjoy a meal together where we don’t stuff ourselves over the top.  This is what happens when you let food lovers get together for meals!  John opted for the NY Peppercorn and I ordered the Filet Mignon.  Both dishes came with horseradish sour cream whipped potatoes and delicious truffled onion rings…and since I didn’t get asparagus with mine, I stole half of John’s. :)

You know that every last bite of those potatoes were cleared from my plate.  My perfectly cooked steak however didn’t fare as well and we had it packed up to take back to the hotel.  (Sadly I never did get to finish it…we had too many food destinations planned for this short trip!)

Since I have a very strict rule about ordering Crème Brule any time I find it on a menu we did make room for dessert.  I was immediately happy and knew it would be good when it arrived served in a wider flatter dish…giving an excellent ratio of the top crust!  That is key!

It was one of the best I’ve had.  Ever.  I think (I did drink a lot of wine!). :)

So…Michelle…you were right!  We owe you one.  Next time you have to come with us!!