Restaurant Review: DT Bistro

The hubby and I had another date night a few weeks ago and we decided to try DT Bistro on Harbord Street. What a treat. It was modern and sophisticated yet still maintained a laid back atmosphere. We sat in a quaint area too narrow for strollers or high chairs. The prix fixe is a great deal at $25 for three courses including coffee or tea but if you order a la carte, you will still find good value. Our crab cake salad starter was a beautiful stacked affair, and though tasty, the crab itself left something to be desired. We also had a mushroom tart which was a surprisingly delicious array of saucy, sauteed mushrooms in a pastry shell topped off with greens. Our mains were heavy for the season, lamb shank and braised beef, but perfect for those with larger appetites. Rich and toothsome, both meats were tender and full of flavour from the reduced vegetables which disappeared as a result of the braising. The real treat however, are the desserts. Upon arrival, you are greeted with the sight of a refrigerated case full of their signature desserts. Like a jewelery display, each dessert was a delicate sight to behold. We chose a passion fruit parfait held in an edible white chocolate sphere. Tart and sweet.

I recommend this place for date nights, coffee dates, or just desserts.

The Day the Music Died...

I turned on the radio and for once, I didn't turn it to my usual retro or old rock stations. The first song I listened to had this refrain:




Girl you know I-I-I
Girl you know I-I-I
I've been feenin'
Wake up in the late night...dreamin' about your lovin'
Girl you know I-I-I
Girl you know I-I-I
Don't need candles or cake
just need your body to make good

Birthday sex
Birthday sex

It's the best day of the year, girl

Birthday sex
Birthday sex

It feels like, feels like... lemme hit that...g-spot g-spot

I allowed the song to finish as I listened on in horror. The next song's refrain was:

Don’t trust a hoe
Never trust a hoe
Won’t trust a hoe, won’t trust me!

Shush girl
Shut your lips
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips

At which point, I put in my CD of "Sunset Boulevard" and enjoyed some real music.

Hot Men: Zeltron Males

If you like your humanoids flexible, svelte, enthusiastic, and in multiple shades of red, then the most beautiful people in the galaxy are on Zeltros. Who needs Twi'leks?"

―Ruudi Buundaz^[src]

They forgot to mention, totally GAY looking.

In Star Wars issue 95, they not only helped Leia fight, but also did her hair, tailored her dress, and massaged her before her diplomatic banquet. I want one.

Restaurant Review: Olivia @53

Recently, the hubby and I had a date night consisting of movie and dinner. My only criteria nowadays for a dinner spot without the kids is a place that is preferably narrow, with stairs, and does not have monkeys, clowns, jungles, change tables, or chicken fingers. We found this perfectly adult spot on Clinton just a couple steps north of the College street chaos. It was wonderful. A beautiful, old victorian styled home that was converted into a fine dining establishment. Many of the old original fixtures are intact and they even have a private dining room in the basement. They also have a beautiful back patio which is accessible only by walking right through the kitchen!

The items on the menu are not incredibly exciting. However, what we did order was very well executed:

Squid ink infused linguine with sauteed tiger shrimps, wild leeks and asparagus in a Chardonnay sauce

Pan roasted arctic char served on cream leeks with sauteed seasonal vegetables, saffron basmati and wild rice.

The dessert we ordered was disappointing: flour-less chocolate cake with chili. It was hard when it should be dense. Also, the chili was unevenly distributed in the cake, fluctuating from no spice in one bite, to full of gritty seeds in another.

All in all, still a good place to go again for a romantic evening out without the kids.

Weaning Time...

My 9 month old son has been teething in agony for the last week. He's got his bottom two, then his upper canines (looked like a vampire!) and now his front-top teeth are coming in. This time around however, seems so much more difficult. He's been drooling, feverish, cranky, and now he has rosacea. During this ordeal, I've had barely any sleep and worst yet, trying to breast feed him is now a practice in fear and anxiety...for me. He will be sucking away contently and out of the blue, SNAP! Down come all the teeth! Imagine putting the most sensitive part of your body into, let's say, a stapler. Or perhaps under a rocking chair. Or a car door. The problem is, most of the time it's just fine. When it does happen, he not only bites but he hangs on and pulls his head back.

Time to start the bottle.

My little girl is growing up too fast

My daughter and I were getting dressed, ready to go out. As I finished dressing, the final thing I did was put my breast pads into my bra (I'm lactating, not trying to look bigger, btw). Wide eyed, she yells, "I want boobies! I want boobies!" and proceeds to open the cabinet, take 2 breast pads and one panty-liner and runs away. "You don't need those!" I yell after her to which she continues yelling, "I want boobies!!" She stuffs the pads into her shirt and peels the panty-liner and sticks it across her leg. "Ouchy" she says, pointing to the panty-liner. "You don't know the half of it, honey."

Nightmares come true

I've returned from a trip to Cuba with my parents and both my kids...a first in many respects. I went into this trip anticipating some stress and hard work so having a number of my thematic nightmares come true really shouldn't be a surprise.

Wrong footwear: In some dreams, I go somewhere important with the wrong shoes or no shoes at all. This is in the same vein as giving a speech wearing no clothes (which did not happen). We were so busy packing trip bags and the kids for our early morning excursion into Holguin that I neglected to change my shoes. So I'm in the third largest city in Cuba wearing my slippers.

Being late: In my dreams, I am late for class, test, lecture, or work. I really wanted my daughter to get to the Mini-Disco on time because she would love it and was a shoo-in to win title of Dancing Queen. An agonizing combination of slow eating, slow walking, and lack of efficiency from the group caused us to miss the whole thing.

Not touching the ocean: Ever since I began traveling to sunny destinations, I've had dreams where I'm on holiday and I realize that I must return home without having had the chance to even touch the water. In reality I TOUCHED the water on the second day briefly. And once again for an hour to snorkle once I arranged my parents to babysit. This was excruciating.

Not eating: A less common dream theme but it came true. Between two babies and lots of washroom trips, I ate too little, too quickly at times. The worst was when we were already late for breakfast and by the time I fed and diapered the kids, the buffet was closed.

Spiders: Saw two big ones in the room. The hubby took care of them fortunately.

Inequality: No one's fault but my own and I have a tendency to be a martyr. My parents helped a lot, don't get me wrong. Especially my mother. My hubby helped too. I just felt that my mom and I did a whole lot more in respects to child care vs. play and relaxing. Would also have liked to have been acknowledged on Mother's Day. Too bad.


Still...it was a good trip as everyone really enjoyed themselves especially my parents. It was a lovely resort and the food was good. At least my funhouse nightmares didn't come true!