I am so blessed to not live in the suburbs.  Not only do we have the river bank,  lots of green space, bike and walking trails, but we have our pick of some of the best restaurants in the city, all within walking distance.  On this day I was meeting a work associate, who had already started her summer vacation, but was including me in her day for us to iron out some last minute details.  The destination had to be one that made her feel as if she were truly on vacation (and perhaps no longer in the city).  The patio at Pizzeria Gusto delivers that wonderful feeling.

It was hot but breezy and we choose to sit without an umbrella.  This became a wise decision when the winds pick up and people were getting the surprize of a huge canvas umbrella crashing across their table. Gusto took on additional meaning at this lunch.

Both my lunch date and I are adventurous eaters and he have both dined at Pizzeria Gusto before, so we were looking for something completely different and our wishes were satisfied by the bistro’s eclectic offerings.

We asked to share both a salad and a pizza. Our salad choice was the Altezza, so named for the tail lights of a European sports car.  Beets are roasted and then married with arugula, goat cheese, toasted walnuts, a balsamic reduction and sea salt.  Orange segments were a lovely surprize addition to the menu description.  This proved to be a beautiful melding of sweet and salty tastes that is my palate’s favourite combination.

Also shared was La Coppa pizza. Now “coppa” of course is Italian for “cup” but can also depict a roughly made sausage.  In this case I think it aptly describes our rough looking pizza toppings of carmelized onions, pancetta, more goat cheese, the novel topping of thinly shaved raw brussel sprouts and a soft cooked egg!  The sharpness of the sprouts, offset the rich creaminess of the egg and cheese and the salty pancetta made for a full spectrum of tastes in each bite.  In truth, I could just eat the hearth fired pizza dough bare naked (the crust, not me).  The textured is firm and chewy and the sweetness of the grains, brought out by the flame is just my coppa tea.

There was no room (or time, unfortunately) for dessert.  Besides, the wind was picking up and we had enough excitement from the flying umbrellas for one day.

Kath’s quote: “A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do.”-P. J. O’Rourke

Love-that is all.

I took my seat on Segovia’s comfortable patio and then declared to D & Daughter #1, that whatever were their choices, I was happy to go along with them, because I had never tasted anything at Segovias that I was not delighted with.  But by the time we had a chance to settle in and sip on our refreshing Sangria, I was remembering all the tastes that I had experienced before.  When the server came around to take our order, I found that I was blurting out all of my “must haves” before anyone else had a chance to get a word in edge wise.  Thank heavens, I have a family who is as patient as they are, with my passion for food.

Patatas Bravas were a must.  I can not decide if it is the perfectly cooked potato slices themselves or the succulent aioli and bravas sauces. I think I may actually have to travel to Spain to get my fill of these.  I understand that there are a few subtle variations in how the dish is prepared according to the regions of Spain.

I also remembered Segovia’s aioli and really wanted more of it.  The Spanish Tortilla is topped with aioli in abundance!  The first time I tasted this dish I was surprized because ( in my ignorance), I thought that I was going to be served something in a Mexican tortilla.  But because “tortilla” actually means “little cake” in Spanish, tortillas can be made from a variety of concoctions.  The version from Spain is a little cake of eggs like an omelet or fritata.  The richness of the eggs and the aioli is countered with the grassy, freshness of the soft herbs.

D chose the sea scallops that are huge as any I’ve seen.  They sit perched upon scallop ceviche with a twist of a sweet potato crisp as the crown.  D enjoys when the scallops are just barely seared and these were perfectly cooked.

Daughter #1 added the Malfatti.  I cannot say with certainty that these are a Spanish dish, as the word actually is Italian meaning “badly made”, that is as if they were “a sloppily made gnocchi” or “ravioli without a pasta encasement”.  I do know that there is nothing “badly made” about this amazing dish. I suppose they become Spanish when made by Segovia’s recipe with Manchego cheese which is named for the La Mancha region of Spain (think: Man of La Mancha).  The pale yellow of the cheese is typical as are the small, unevenly distributed air-pockets.  The buttery cheese taste was offset by the spicy tomato sauce.

“A Friend of a Friend” came to visit at the conclusion of dinner, that being the title of a refreshing cocktail made with fresh lime juice, coconut juice and jalapeno lemon grass syrup.  The sips that Daughter #2 shared with us were such a surprize-the pepper tastes melded perfectly with sweet citrus.

In our opinion the food (and just about everything else) at Segovia Tappas Bar & Restaurant is nothing short of perfection.

Kath’s quote: “Aïoli (garlic mayonnaise) epitomizes the heat, the power, and the joy of the Provençal sun, but it has another virtue – it drives away flies.”-Frédéric Mistral

Love-that is all.

This morning on Twitter someone posted these questions:  “Are restaurant critics, still anonymous?  Does anyone know what they look like? ” I have a fairly strong opinion about this for a number of reasons: 1) I personally am not a restaurant critic nor would I ever want to be, because just the title depicts a nit-picking personality.  I do not live life this way-I try to see the good in everybody and in everything (I am otherwise known as Polyanna).  2) I believe that the time of validity for a restaurant reviewer is passe.  In today’s cyber-world where we recognize strangers from their avatars, anonymity is a thing of the past and 3) I believe that liking or disliking something comes from a different place, in all of us.

An example of the latter point is this:  I make all decisions about preference on a purely emotional basis.  I like a novel when I am happy and surrounded by my favourite things, while I am reading it.  I like certain artistic works because they evoke a positive emotion or memory for me.  I like movies that have happy endings because I like to be happy myself!  And so too with food.  I like a restaurant because of the entire package, perhaps because of little things that others might never notice.

This preamble is to explain why I love Segovia to such an extent (even though I have only dined there a small handful of times).  These are my emotional reasons: 1) it uses natural elements in its decor like bleached driftwood that reminds me of my favourite place to walk at the beach 2) I used to work in the building next door to it and so I was interested in the assembly of it, even before I knew what it was going to be. 3) I especially enjoy a tapas style of menu because this is typically the manner in which my husband and I dine in the first place, with little tastes off of each others’ plates.  Segovia (imho) brought tapas dining back into vogue in Winnipeg. 4) I know many customers when I dine at Segovia and it feels good to be surrounded by a warm community. 5) The servers at Segovia are particularly inclined towards my eldest daughter.

Daughter #1 is a person with a disability, as is her best friend.  They manage their lives very independently with the use of motorized wheelchairs.  Accommodating a single one of these machines in an intimate dining setting is not easy and because they often dine together, even more complicated.  But the staff at Segovia embrace them in the most welcoming and gracious way.  When we recently dined there with Daughter #1, they anticipated which beverage she would order and remembered what small plates she had chosen the time previous.   Our server even went so far as to consult the other staff members for the best tattoo artist in Montreal, when they learned that she was interested in getting inked on her vacation.

“It takes a village to raise a child” is an understatement when you have reared a child with a disability.  There is so must pleasure and satisfaction, when you see how the community at large respects and admires your special child.  I believe that the servers at Segovia see past the big chairs of Daughter #1 and her friend and appreciate their intelligence, wit, savvy and beauty.  This brings me much joy.

So, do you see?  The food happens to be amazing, but Segovia means much more to me than this.  But because this is a food blog, after all, I’ll report on our perfect visit in tommorrow’s post.

Kath’s quote: “With money anyone can offer succulent dishes and famous wines, but courtesy and kindness cannot be bought.”-Lucien Tendret

Love-that is all.

We have had our first crop share delivery from Blue Lagoon Organics which we are splitting with another family and J1 and J2.  The first night I made a salad with the purple leaf lettuce and kale and added some pickled beets and chopped purple leeks.

This weekend I put together “Ogorki” (what my Polish Grandma used to call her cucumber and dill salad) and butter and carrots roasted in honey and dill.  Do you see a theme here?  Even though I have only 1/3 of the delivery, I have more dill than I have ever had at one time.

I concocted this low cal/low fat dish the night of our pick up and it was a hit.  The creaminess from the no fat sour cream was enough to moisten the fusili which I simply tossed with olive oil and coarsely ground sea salt.  Can’t wait for this Thursday’s surprizes…..

Love-that is all.

Last weekend at the cottage, Sister #2 was responsible for supper and pulled out this favourite recipe of Sister #3’s.  She served the tenderloin with a wild rice pilaf, green beans tossed in pesto and an artichoke and zucchini salad for a nutritious and delicious dinner.

Kath’s quote:  “It is, of course, entirely possible to cook without using wine.   It is also possible to wear suits and dresses made out of gunny sacks, but who wants to?”-Morrison Wood

Love-that is all.