A week ago I attended the Funeral Mass for a great man on the Winnipeg restaurant scene.  He had silver hair and was dashingly handsome with a witty sense of humour and an unforgettable laugh.  He drove a truck and no, he was not a delivery person for a food-service company.  He was one of those astonishing men who kept the home fires burning while his wife was a successful restaurant owner and hands on manager.  His wife Joan was one of the first restaurant owner/operators on the Winnipeg scene and in the Keg Restaurant system.  I started at the Garry St. Keg just a short time before her.  I watched her rise through the ranks with her amazing attention to detail, hard work and perseverance.  She could not have done this without a special man at home.

Back in the old Keg days it was like we were family and many of us were-five families in particular: the Chapdelaines, the Furlans, the Reschs, the Grisims and my own.  Many of us worked side by side with our siblings and even our Moms (or in my case my future mother-in-law).  We didn’t all end up in the restaurant business but we learned many fundamentals for business success like loving the hard work, enjoying the celebrations and time to play, all the while keeping an eye on the bottom line.

Last Friday there were three generations of Grisims to mourn alongside three generations of Chapdelaines.  D and I have ignited the hospitality fire in our kids and now J1 is a stellar dining room server at The Keg working for one of Joan and Laurent’s children.  You see two of their five children are the General Managers of the Winnipeg Kegs.  Did I forget to mention this? While Joan was spending all those hours in the hospitality business, she and Laurent raised five children!  At one time or another, all the kids and even one of their grandchildren, all worked in the restaurants.

I am quite sure that you love food and restaurants, otherwise why would you be reading these musings?  So next time you are toasting a restaurant or Chef’s success, remember that behind every Joan there is a Laurent.  Perhaps not so big a person as this man was, with such a booming laugh and such a keen wit but someone to keep it all together at home, none the less.

Kath’s quote: “A married couple who enjoy the pleasures of the table have, at least once a day, a pleasant opportunity to be together.”-Jean-Antheleme Brillat-Savarin

Love-that is all.

Perhaps the best part of a vacation at the cottage is going out for dinner.  This treat actually makes the entire day seem longer.  You can stay on the beach later in the afternoon and there is no worry if you forgot to plan on getting something out of the freezer.  Mind you, it may mean that you have to get out of your bathing suit but this is only a preference.  I think that the casual atmosphere of the Sand Bar would accommodate you in any attire.  I love a summer when you change from pjs to bathing suit and back to pjs.  The summer of 2012 was a summer like this.

When D and I visited The Sand Bar last summer, we were disappointed by the quality of the pickerel special and not surprized when we saw racks of it already fried and ready to plunge back into the fryer to warm it up.  But this summer, batch cooking had been rejected and as soon as we ordered (all of us choosing the same thing) our server rushed to the kitchen window to ensure that there were five fresh orders left.  The bar around us was almost empty, but supposedly the dining room was jammed with pickerel lovers.

We started off with an order of fire-dusted calamari.  There was plenty to share and one member of our party declared that it was perhaps the best calamari that he had tasted in a very on time.  This was high praise, as The Australian resides near the ocean in Melbourne.  Perhaps it was the Long-Island Ice Teas and Bloody Caesars that elevated our appreciation.

The “old school” crunchy batter is not a necessary enhancement because pickerel retains a delicate flavour (when freshly caught and never frozen it actually sparkles in your mouth), but this recipe is fun every once in a while.  Unless of course you are trying to get back into shape to play professional rugby after an injury and surgery, which happens to be the case for the Australian.  He left a mound of the batter on his plate but still seemed to enjoy the treat.

The sun was just setting as we departed.  Another perfect ending to a perfect day.

Kath’s quote: “Grilling is like sunbathing. Everyone knows it is bad for you but no one ever stops doing it.”-Laurie Colwin

Love-that is all.

When I was a little girl (this was before central AC was common place), my Dad had a solution to our hot, sleepless, summer nights.  We would pile into the family station wagon (still wearing our pajamas) and we would drive with all the windows open up Henderson Hwy. or the River Road on the west shore of the Red River to Lockport.  Upon arrival at the Half Moon or Skinners, Mom and Dad might have a crunchy skinned hot dog and we would get a cool treat.  Then we would have a walk on the grassy river bank before heading home.  Typically, my siblings and I would fall asleep en route and we would be carried in by my Dad’s big strong arms.  Problem solved.

My Mom still loves that drive and so we find an excuse to take her whenever we can.  We will have a fresh reason now because Lockport has a new eating establishment.  Ricky’s All Day Grill is on the corner of Hwys. 9 & 44 (5753 Main St.) and can’t be missed.  It is owned and operated by the Singh family.  We had a chuckle when we were introduced to Dan Singh (pronounced dancing) last evening at their official ribbon cutting ceremony.

I am not sure what their dance moves are like but their diner-style cooking is very good.

Throughout the evening we were treated to a bruschetta made with fresh, ripe tomatoes that are at their peak right now.  Perogies, chicken fingers, bacon cheese toast and zucchini sticks were sampled too.

My favourites were the Garlic Tequila Shrimp

and Kolbi Meatballs in a ginger sauce.

But I surprized even myself by the item that I enjoyed the most.  Dill Pickle Wings were piping hot and meaty.  The savoury dill was offset by the tangy cucumber and they were absolutely delicious.

I understand that Ricky’s is already a family hit in Western Canada and Manitoba’s first location officially opens today.  We will definitely be back for breakfast or brunch to try their Shrimp, Tomato & Goat Cheese or Portobello & Three Cheese Omelets.

Kath’s quote: “Dine, v: to eat a good dinner in good company, and eat it slow. In dining, as distinguished from mere feeding, the palate and stomach never ask the hand, ‘What are you giving us?'”-Ambrose Bierce

Love that is all.

I will deliver the bad news first: Le Gouter is now closed until the May Long Weekend in 2013. The good news is that every season that they start anew, they expand their offerings to include more and more delectable light meals and snacks.

As you may deduce by the restaurant name-Le Gouter (pronounced goo-tay) is a French establishment at Albert Beach.  In fact, most beaches that line the east and west shores of Lake Winnipeg have similar associations.  The community where we have our little place is German, as is easily deduced by the family names that identify the cottages.

We have been vacationing for a couple of weeks and enjoy cooking and assembling many family members for a post-tennis brunch or barbeque supper on the deck.  Then again, there is a relaxed pleasure when the two of us can make a date on our own for lunch as well as some shopping (freshly picked corn and some end of season flip flops).

I often select Reuben sandwiches for lunch, not just because I enjoy the taste but because I rarely make them in my home (I never remember to keep stocked up on sauerkraut) and because I believe that a well made Reuben is a very telling manner to assess the abilities of the kitchen. This one had the authentic Russian dressing, whereas many kitchens utilize thousand island and plenty of both corned beef and sauerkraut.  My preference is when the sandwich has been watched on the grill for enough time for the cheese to melt through the other ingredients and fuse them all together.  On this day, the Swiss cheese was not quite melted enough for my tastes.

But no matter, for the small order of poutine that we shared was loaded with melted cheese curds.  When we ordered, we were asked if we had a preference for mozzarella or authentic curds.  We simultaneously requested the latter.  After all, authentic poutine was invented by French Canadians and squeaky curds are what make them such a treat.  In this case the hand-cut, never frozen fries and the brown gravy were equally top notch.

The star of the show was the Cheese Burger that D ordered.  The hand formed burgers are crowned with tomato, pickle, lettuce, red onion, mustard and ketchup as well of plenty of melted cheddar cheese.  The old school taste is succulent and perfect, in our minds.

This summer has been glorious, as has been the visits, to our favourite beach establishments.

Kath’s quote: “Sauerkraut is tolerant, for it seems to be a well of contradictions. Not that it would preach a gastronomic neutrality that would endure all heresies. It rejects dogmatism and approves of individual tastes. It forms a marvelous combination with numerous spices, odors, or spirits: juniper berries, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cranberries, Reinette apples, stock, and wine; it even welcomes flakes of yeast or leftover Gruyère since it accepts being prepared au gratin. Its flavor sustains various potato dishes: boiled in their skins, crisps (potato chips), braised, sautéed, grilled, or simply cooked in water. It adopts many sorts of fat, including lard, butter, goose fat, or roast dripping. The variety of meats to which it consents is infinite: sausages of all kinds, such as knackwurst, white sausage, Lorraine, Montbeliard, chipolata, black pudding, hams, smoked or salted bacon, quenelles, pickled and smoked pork, goose, pheasant, etc. It makes excuses for red wine, although it has a weakness for beer and lets itself be spoilt by white wine. Each stomach may find its own happiness in it.”-Julien Freund

Love-that is all.