Pub Victoria, Montreal, QC

I am in Montreal for a couple days for meetings (the company I work for is based here) ... I flew in this afternoon.

I didn't feel like going too far for supper and came across Pub Victoria on Rue Notre Dame Ouest. I like pubs and it looked interesting from the outside.

It wasn't too busy when I got there about 5:30pm but a few people wandered in as I was there. I thought it was comfortable.

I started with cheese sticks ... nothing outstanding about them. They arrived very quickly after I ordered them (too quickly) so I'm assuming they'd been made ahead of time.

There wasn't a lot of choice on the menu so I ordered a burger and fries.

Not great. The fries were overdone and it seemed like the burger was warmed up rather than cooked freshed for me.

My server was efficient but a tad cold.

I won't be back.

Pork Fillet Stroganoff

Gord made Pork Fillet Stroganoff for supper tonight.

He found this recipe in our Cooking for Friends cookbook by Gordon Ramsay.

1 pound (500 g) pork tenderloin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon (5 mL) paprika (sweet smoked paprika is recommended)
4 tablespoons (60 mL) olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
8 ounces (250 g) fresh mushrooms, cafe color preferred, sliced
1 tablespoon (15 mL) brandy (optional)
2/3 cup (150 mL) sour cream
Lemon juice
Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1. Trim any fat from the meat and slice it thinly.
   
   
2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.
   
3. Heat 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat until oil is hot. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
   
4. Add garlic and mushrooms, increase heat slightly, and saute for another 3 to 4 minutes until the mushrooms release their liquid.
   
   
5. Tip contents of pan onto a plate and set aside.
   
6. Add remaining 2 tablespoons (30 mL) oil to the pan and when it is hot, sear pork on both sides for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden brown.
   
   
7. Return onions, garlic and mushrooms to pan. Add brandy and let it boil or flambe until almost reduced.
   
   
8. Lower heat to medium, stir in cream and heat to a gentle simmer.
   
   
9. Season to taste with a little more salt and pepper, and a dash of lemon juice. Add parsley and serve, sprinkle with a little more paprika.
   
   
   

Number of Servings: 4. This dish is great served over egg noodles or rice.

Gord served it over fresh linguini.

It was delicious! Because I don't like mushrooms, Gord didn't use any (thanks, Gord!).

I hope he makes this again!

Book ~ "I've Got Your Number" (2012) - Sophie Kinsella

From Goodreads ~ I've lost it. The only thing in the world I wasn't supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It's been in Magnus's family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I've lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate Poppy. Stay positive!!

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry the ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her 'happy ever after' begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring but in the panic that followed, she has now lost her phone. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton doesn't agree. He wants his phone back and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life.

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other's lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents ... she soon realises that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

It's been a couple years since I've read a Sophie Kinsella book.

They basically follow the same format ... they are light and not very deep. It took me a couple chapters to get into it, probably because it's fluffier than what I've been reading lately.

I'm glad I stuck with it because I enjoyed it. I like the characters, especially Poppy and Sam, and the story itself.

One thing that annoyed me, though, is the use of footnotes ... there are 112 in total. As much as I enjoy Jen Lancaster's books, she uses this technique too. I find I lose the flow of the book if I have to keep looking down to see what's in the footnote and then look back up to find my place again. Either include them in the paragraph or get rid of them.

A lot of the book is made up of texts and emails ... how did we ever communicate with others before?!

If you are looking for something light and fun, you should check it out. As a warning, the language might offend some.

Photo 101 course - class 1 homework

I just did my homework for our Photo 101 course

... take at least three pictures of our kitchen and living room (as if we were selling our home ... so a complimentary shot). We have to take it in "P" (program) mode with no flash. Then we have to take two or more pictures of the same shot ... with a positive exposure compensation and with a negative exposure compensation so we can see the difference.

Our place isn't that big so it would have been hard to get both the living room and kitchen in one shot.

I used a tripod to keep the camera steady and ensure I took the same shot every time.

No flash, 0 exposure compensation

No flash, +1 exposure compensation

No flash, +2 exposure compensation

No flash, -1 exposure compensation

No flash, -2 exposure compensation

We have a class Flickr group that we have to upload them to so we can look at everyone's pictures in class on Thursday.

P.J. O'Brien Irish Pub, Toronto, ON

Gord and I were hungry so headed to P.J. O'Brien's for supper. We hadn't been there in a while and never eaten there.

It was fairly packed so we sat at the bar. Connor, the bartender, took good care of us.

Gord ordered the corned beef sandwich special. He said it was good.

I ordered Chicken Curry.

It was very tasty and there was a lot of chicken. What would have made it even better is if there was naan bread or pappadoms served with it rather than French bread.

We discovered that Fiddlestix was playing so decided to stay on after we ate. We first heard them at the Downtown Kitchener Ribfest & Craft Beer Show in July 2010. They are really good and play everything from Celtic, bluegrass, rock, classical, pop, blues and jazz. Steve Bowen is very talented on the electric fiddle.




John McDermott is a Scottish Canadian singer from Toronto and showed up with the owner of the bar. Here he is being introduced to the band.

He sang a song with them.

During the band's second break, McDermott took to the stage and sang some songs, including "Oh Canada" and "Danny Boy" on his own.

It was a fun time with good food and tunes ... we'll have to go back again some time soon.

Beerbistro, Toronto, ON

After Gord and I saw 21 Jump Street, we walked to the Beer Bistro (King E/Yonge) ... there were a couple beer that Gord wanted to try there.

This is a great spot to go if you love beer and want to try some different ones from around the world.

It was fairly crowded when we got there ... and kept getting busier as time went on.

We sat by the window ... a great spot for people watching.

I had a Christoffel Blond. It was okay.

Gord had a Saison Dupont and really enjoyed it.

He also had a Junction Conductor's Craft Ale and like this one too.

Every time Gord came back from the bathroom, he would talk about the vintage beer ads that were playing above the urinals. Alas, no videos in the women's washroom ... just old-time ads promoting beer above the toilets.

21 Jump Street

Gord and I saw 21 Jump Street this afternoon. We both went in with low expectations.

Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are more than ready to leave their adolescent problems behind. Joining the police force and the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover in a local high school. As they trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, Schmidt and Jenko risk their lives to investigate a violent and dangerous drug ring. But they find that high school is nothing like they left it just a few years earlier - and neither expects that they will have to confront the terror and anxiety of being a teenager again and all the issues they thought they had left behind.

I'd watched the series in its day and was curious to see how the movie version would be. From the trailers, I know it was going to be loosely based on it.

I like Jonah Hill and hadn't seen Channing Tatum in anything before. I thought they did a good job. Schmidt was an unpopular geek in high school (he was in the juggling society and looked like Slim Shady) and Jenko was the dumb popular jock. They hook up at police academy and become friends.

When they join the Jump Street unit, they soon learn that things have changed since they were in high school.

The movie is silly and funny. If you are looking for a mindless time waster, you should check it out.

Photo 101 course - class 1

Gord and I enrolled in a six week course at Henry's School of Imaging called Photo 101. It runs for six weeks (two hours every Thursday night) and tonight was the first class.

Our Photo 101 course is an immersive and fulfilling program for the aspiring photographer. In this workshop we explore many of the fundamental skills required to advance your photographic knowledge. Students will learn both the technical and artistic sides of photography in a group environment.

Each week, students will be lead through a combination of lecture style and hands on exercises. Students are expected to complete weekly assignments and post them to the course Flickr group for in class discussion.

Course Outline:

• Getting acquainted with the essential controls and menus of your DSLR
• Understanding the camera's automatic settings, when and why to use them
• How to set up your camera for shooting
• Understanding how to take full control of exposure
• The creative effect of shutter speed and aperture
• Controlling Depth of Field
• How to effectively control ISO for proper exposure
• Understanding equivalent exposures
• Appropriate use of Bracketing and Exposure Compensation
• Overview of Semi-automatic modes; Program mode, Shutter and Aperture Priority Modes
• How focus works
• Advanced focusing techniques
• Achieving correct exposure through the use of Metering Modes and Exposure Lock
• How to get the best color in your photographs
• The benefits of shooting in the RAW format versus the JPG format
• Introduction to flash and use of ambient light
• Understanding lenses, focal length and perspective

There are 14 in our class and nearly everyone has a different brand/model of camera. I took my Nikon D5100 and Gord took his Canon PowerShot.

I've had my Nikon since August. Even though I'd done two three-hour workshops at Henry's that focused on my Nikon, I've been lazy and never gotten out of the "auto" mode. Considering the cost of my camera and the two lenses I've bought and all it can do, I want learn how to use it properly.

Our instructor is Ingrid Forster. Here she is in action.

Here's Gord looking for the exposure compensation button on his camera (we didn't even know what one was before tonight!).

Our homework for next week's class is to take three or more pictures of our kitchen and living room (as if we were selling our home ... so a complimentary shot). We have to take it in "P" (program) mode with no flash. Then we have to take more pictures of the same shot... with a positive exposure compensation and with a negative exposure compensation so we can see the difference.