The rest of the week

Bruce and I decided to sample Spoon's Summerlicious lunch menu, since a browse of the participating restaurants in our work neighbourhood resulted in the decision that Spoon would be especially satisfying. I had the mixed organic green salad to start (first time I've ever enjoyed raw tomato -- usually, they're too acidic for me), and Bruce tried the shrimp bisque. Next up was the corn-fed chicken breast with more of the salad in a different (spicier!) dressing and avocado. I can't remember ever having chicken that juicy, it was really good. Bruce had the penne bolognese and said the mushrooms were especially memorable. For dessert, I had the (dairy-free) raspberry sorbet and Bruce had the mango. Surprisingly, the raspberry sorbet had more of an acidic bite to it, with a strangely mango-like finish, whereas the mango -- that Bruce kindly allowed me to sample -- was very mellow, obviously made with properly-ripe mango. Overall, the food was excellent. I suspect a trip here will be the wedding-anniversary gift for mom and dad this year.

On a slight tangent, Bruce noticed that the business cards which were handed out at the end of the meal were on an unusual paper, so for those who pay attention to these sorts of things: it was a two-colour job (black and a Pantone brown), on heavy vellum, off-size (trimmed to be narrower). For the laymen, this is a relatively inexpensive way to make your business cards stand out, using few ink colours (more colours means higher cost) on a specialty paper and having them trimmed down from the usual business card size. If more people made business cards this way, there wouldn't be as many gaudy (and ridiculously expensive) business cards out there. Don't get me wrong, I hate the Spoon logo. :)

After work, Bruce and I went to Gorilla Monsoon for drinks: beer for him, shots for me. After a week like I had, some times the best solution is to get mildly blitzed with a good friend. This here is my second-last or last shot (I can't remember which, because they were both the same), a little concoction I've developed which is made with 1/2 Goldschlagger (cinnamon) and 1/2 Peach Schnapps. The cinnamon hits first and as that dissipates, the peach follows and finishes really cleanly and complimentarily. I adore Gorrila Monsoon for the fact that they'll let you mix up to three of their liquers into a single shot. Also, the paintings on the wall are for sale! I spent a good part of the evening admiring one on the west wall of the bar.