And how did it go? Well, my plans were minimal—see family, see friends, do some outdoor dining while the dining is good… But even so, results were mixed.
Seeing family
Thanks to Jean arranging it (also with a number of his friends), I did get together with one of my sisters and brother-in-law for a canoe trip down the Grand River. The trip started just upstream of a small waterfall. We then had to stop ourselves before going down said waterfall, and maneuver the boats (and people) down it from the side, while walking on rocks and sloshing in water.
This was a rather stressful start to the trip, particularly for my sister and brother-in-law, who, at that point, were still working on just getting the canoe to go in the direction they wanted. But we did all get through it.
And after that, it was a lovely trip down the river on a nice sunny day! (Or what Jean called “the boring part”.)
The long weekend of August, we travelled to Timmins—and so did both of my sisters! We stayed with Dad, and my brother hosted all of us for dinner one night, along with a few other local relatives. The occasion, we declared, was Dad’s pending 90th birthday.
That dinner, and the other dinners and gatherings we had that weekend, were great despite the wildfire smoke in the air. One of my sisters traveled with us, and we broke up the return trip by we stopping over in Orillia. The highlight there was a patio dinner at Picnic, a tapas and wine bar. It was a nice day, with better air quality, and really good food!
So, I’d say that was pretty successful, especially if you also consider the Quebec City family gathering we had earlier in the season, and that another sisters gathering is pending, in September.
Seeing friends
We did see some friends in Timmins, and we managed the Blackshop outing in July, and Jean sees his friends all the time. But due to certainly valid reasons such as trying to sell a house, or getting sick, or traveling, I haven’t been able to arrange too much else.
So in August, I stopped trying to wait on doing certain things until friends were available, and Jean and I just headedout à deux.
Outdoor dining and such like
So here’s the run-down of, I just realized, all new (to us) places we tried this month.
Bodega Rose
It’s been open for about three years, but it was our first time there.
Getting there: It’s in uptown Waterloo, so we biked there. They didn’t have a bike rack, but we found a spot to park the bikes in front of the (at the time) closed ice cream shop window.
Reserving: Uses Open Table, and allows you to select outdoor seating, which is nice.
Service: Not wonderfully outstanding, but not bad, either.
Ambiance: They do what they can to block off the street from the patio, but it is a street-side patio.
Drinks: Some of the best iced lattes we’ve ever had. And a pretty decent wine menu.
Food: We went for brunch, so it was that kind of thing. My French toast was nice, and Jean’s braised beef skillet was very good.
The Boathouse
A historic building recently reopened at Victoria Park, now with patio. Our first time trying it since that happened.
Getting there: It is in downtown Kitchener, and we biked there. There was a nearby bike rack.
Reserving: Was not going to bother, as it was a weekday, but at the last minute I did request a reservation. They use Touch Bistro as the reservation service.
Service: Strange. Upon arrival, we asked to sit outside, but they said there was no room—though it looked as though there was? We said we’d wait a bit to see if room opened up, and went outside to spy on the patio tables. After maybe 10 minutes, we did see two people leave, so went back in to ask for their table. Which they agreed to seat us at. While waiting for that to be cleared, a few more people arrived, and they asked to sit outside, and were immediately told that wasn’t a problem. (?) I remain perplexed.
Ambiance: Beautiful patio, because Victoria Park is beautiful, and you get a great view of it from here.
Drinks: We both ordered off the very interesting mocktail list, and were both pleased with what we got.
Food: Very good fries / poutine. Jean said his burger was fine. I had the burrata grilled cheese, which was just way too much bread for the amount of cheese, the taste of which was further overwhelmed by the zucchini relish. When they saw I only ate half of the sandwich, they did discount its cost by 50%.
The French
Believe this is a relatively new restaurant, with a partner one in Hamilton. This was our first visit.
Getting there: It’s in the Gaslight district of Cambridge, so we drove. Was a bit of a challenge finding parking.
Reserving: Recommended, so we did make them, on Touch Bistro. We were aiming for their seafood raw bar on the patio, and mentioned that in the reservation comments. We knew that option would get canceled in case of rain.
Service: The day was cloudy with risk of rain, so we weren’t sure what the restaurant would have decided to do about their seafood raw bar. On arrival, they told us that, despite what the Gaslight District tourist site said, they weren’t actually offering that menu at that time! Only brunch. However, they said they would still accommodate us and let us sit outside and order off raw seafood menu (and/or off the brunch).
I thought all that was excellent. Table service throughout the meal remained so.
Ambiance: Quite a nice patio, actually, because it’s in a quiet historic square in Cambridge. Restaurant indoors looked nice as well.
Drinks: They had a rose flight feature, whereupon you could pick three 2 oz servings among a choice of seven roses, one of which had apparently been dubbed the world’s best rosé. We were both intrigued by that, so we selected it and five others: two Ontario (one sparkling, one Pinot Noir), three French (“the best” and its cheaper cousin, along with another), and a Spanish. It was interesting comparing and contrasting those. “The best” was definitely the most complex, but the Spanish and the Ontario Pinot Noir were probably our favourites.
Food: From the raw bar menu, we had oysters (shared), tuna crudo (me), and crab (Jean). Everything was delicious, though the crab was messy to eat. From the brunch menu, I added smoked trout salad (no, I wasn’t sick of seafood) and Jean had a foie gras danish—which might not be the best way to serve foie gras, but was still a quality dish.
Cox Creek Winery
This is a winery near Guelph that serves wood-fired oven pizzas and charcuterie. It was our first visit.
Getting there: We drove. They have a parking lot.
Reserving: Suggested but not required, but we did make them, using Tock.
Service: We went on a Wednesday, a quiet day overall, but with mainly one person to handle visitors. A couple was finishing up their tasting when we arrived, meaning we had to wait a bit for our turn to select wine tastings and get our charcuterie delivered. That was all fine. The server was very knowledgeable.
Ambiance: The winery is on a bit of country road, on a property with walking trails, so it was nice to sit outside there—except that there were quite a few wasps this time of year!
Drinks: Jean expressed some dubiousness about a Guelph winery, but they actually make some pretty nice wines—including a non-alcoholic sparkling. They also do some ciders and fruit wines. And they let us try the reserve Meritage, even though it wasn’t on the tasting list.
Food: No pizza on Wednesdays (we knew that), but the charcuterie board was excellent. They made their own relishes and honeys and stuff and Jean wanted to buy them all, but at this point, they aren’t for sale other than as part of the charcuterie board.
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