Main Street Pub, Montague, PEI

I had lunch today at the Main Street Pub in Montague.

It's in the basement of the Pizza Delight.

Book ~ "Criminal Enterprise" (2013) Owen Laukkanen

From Goodreads ~ From the outside, Carter Tomlin’s life looked perfect: a big house, pretty wife, two kids - a St. Paul success story. But Tomlin has a secret. He’s lost his job, the bills are mounting and that perfect life is hanging by a thread. Desperate, he robs a bank. Then he robs another.

As the red flags start to go up, FBI Special Agent Carla Windermere hones in on Tomlin from one direction, while Minnesota state investigator Kirk Stevens picks up the trail from another. The two cops haven’t talked since their first case together but that’s all going to change very quickly.

Because Carter Tomlin’s decided he likes robbing banks. And it’s not because of the money, not anymore. Tomlin has guns and a new taste for violence. And he’s not quitting anytime soon.

Carter Tomlin's life falls apart when he is laid off from his job.  He has a family and a nice life in St. Paul that he has to support but no one is hiring.  In desperation, he spontaneously robs a bank one day.  That got him a couple thousand dollars, not enough to even pay his mortgage, but it gave him an alternative to declaring bankruptcy.  As he robs more and more banks to support his life and family, he sets up a small accounting firm to hide what he is really doing for a living.  The robberies start getting bigger and bolder as he takes on a couple partners.

FBI agent Carla Windermere is assigned this case along with her senior partner but they don't get along as they both have their own theories about who is doing the robberies.  Carla's former partner, Kirk Stevens, is back to trying to solve old cases.  He'd love to be back in the action with her but he promised his wife he wouldn't put himself in danger by being a hero.

This is the second in the Stevens and Windermere series.  Though there are references to the first book, it works as a stand alone.  I had read the first one when it came out in 2012 and enjoyed it.  I said at the time I could see them teaming up for a series and then forgot about it.  I came across the fifth one in the series and read it in April so now I'm going back to catch up on the series.

I liked the writing style and found the story interesting.  It's written in third person perspective with a focus on the various characters.  It was interesting to watch Tomlin go from a desperate man just trying to find money to support his family to enjoying the power of doing the robberies.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

The Old Triangle Irish AleHouse, Charlottetown, PEI

I had a late supper this evening at the Old Triangle Irish Alehouse (on Great George Street).  I've been to their location in Halifax a few times and have enjoyed my times there.

Hunter's Ale House, Charlottetown, PEI

I had supper this evening at Hunter's Ale House (on Kent Street).

I sat on the patio.  I spent last week in Charlottetown and it was cold and rainy ... so nice that it was warm and sunny this evening.

Though there were a couple interesting beer on tap (like Barking Squirrel and Sam Adams), I was surprised they didn't have more draughts available than Canadian, Coors Light, Rickard's, Heineken, etc. since they have "ale" in the name of the restaurant.

The menu has a lot of variety and it was hard to decide.  I ordered wings with Thai sauce.  They were just frozen battered wings (I'm not a fan of battered wings) ... nothing special.  Their description set my expectations pretty high.  I wish I'd ordered something else.

Beaches Bar and Café, Enfield, NS

I was heading to Charlottetown this afternoon and my Toronto to Halifax flight got delayed ... which meant that I missed my Halifax to Charlottetown flight.  I was put on the next flight and had a 2.5 hour wait in the Halifax airport.

While I was waiting, I had a late lunch at Beaches Bar and Café in the airport.

There's not a lot of choice on the menu and I ordered a Diet Coke and wings with BBQ sauce.  The wings were okay ... just deep fried with some BBQ sauce for dipping.

What was interesting was watching what was going on at the bar.  There was a fella who was catching a flight to Toronto.  It was obvious he had had a few drinks as he was loud and talkative.  He asked the bartender (who was also my server) for four shots of straight rum and I thought he was going to share them with the others at the bar who he'd been talking with.  No!  He pretended to shoot them (on the advice of the bartender in case there were cameras) but actually poured them in a small Booster Juice cup.  Then he paid his bill and left with his "to-go" cup of rum.  He came back a few minutes later because his flight was delayed.  The server put his cup in the fridge to keep it cold and gave him a beer.  I was surprised the bartender would do this because it could/should cost her her job.

Book ~ "Rum Luck" (2016) Ryan Aldred

From Goodreads ~ Ben Cooper was supposed to be on his Pacific honeymoon. Not waking up in a Costa Rican prison cell with no memory of the night before.

Then again, Ben never thought he would catch his fiancée with some clown - literally. Or that his friend Miguel would drag him to the surf paradise of Tamarindo before Aunt Mildred could ask why they cancelled the open bar reception.

But surely his friend and lawyer Victoria didn’t need to fly down from Toronto overnight. After all, the police would let him go once he sobered up and paid his fine. Right?

Except for the little matter of a murder. And Ben’s buying a beachside bar from the victim, hours before the man’s death.

With foreclosure looming and death threats piling up on the rum-soaked bar, they must turn to the wild idea that got them into this mess - building a business around those who’ve always wanted to run their own bar on a beach somewhere, even for just a week.

But to survive, they’ll need every skill at their disposal - including those they’d rather forget they have.

Ben was supposed to be on his honeymoon in Costa Rican but when he found out his fiancée was cheating on him, he broke up with her and took Miguel, his best friend, on the trip instead.  Then he wakes up in a Costa Rican jail with a massive hangover.  Miguel had called Ben's friend, Victoria, who is a lawyer, to fly down to help him out.  It seems that Ben had gotten drunk and had bought the bar he was drinking at (with the funds he and his fiancée were going to use as a down payment on a house) ... and then the owner was found murdered and Ben is the suspect.  While the murder is sorted out, Ben, Miguel and Victoria have no option but to run the bar.

This is the debut novel by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style and found it humorous.  I liked the characters and thought they worked well together.  Ben is getting over a broken heart.  Miguel is a bartender back in Toronto with a secret past.  Victoria is a lawyer who surprisingly has other skills.  I look forward to future books in what could be a fun series.

I thought it was a bit ironic that Ben "lives" just outside of Toronto and the author lives in PEI ... I started reading the book in Toronto (where I live) and finished it just before my flight to PEI today!

Prenup Pub, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper this evening at the Prenup Pub on College Street (west of University Avenue).

My Drunk Uncle's Pub, Toronto, ON

After Gord and I left the Taste of Little Italy, we were hot and in need of hydration.  We came across My Drunk Uncle's Pub (great name!) on College Street (just west of Spadina Avenue) and stopped in.

It's a cute spot.  It just opened in April.

Taste of Little Italy, Toronto, ON

Gord and I walked to the Taste of Little Italy this afternoon.

Come to The Taste of Little Italy. It’s our biggest festival of the year, celebrating the rich Italian Heritage of College Street. The entire eclectic community comes out for the street festival to enjoy the live music of over 20 international performers, crafts & artisans, larger expanded patio areas and much more. And of course there’s the food of “The Taste”: over 50 amazing restaurants and kiosks, tastings, cheese, charcuterie, wine and more. So plan on joining us. Come eat slowly & sip slowly & go slowly for the day or the entire weekend. 

College Street is closed from Bathurst Street to Shaw Street.  We arrived at the Shaw Street entrance.

There is something for everyone!

Shopping ...

The Annex Cat Rescue was there ... we got Crumpet from them five years ago

Great Heart Festival, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, ON

After Gord and I left KC's tree, we came across the Great Heart Festival in Trinity Bellwoods Park.

Great Heart Festival is a free, three-day daytime music series in the heart of Trinity-Bellwoods Park at the north end of the dog bowl. It features emerging talent from Toronto and otherwise playing chill afternoon tunes in the middle of the city's most beautiful downtown park.

We got comfy and enjoyed a couple groups ... they were good!

KC's tree, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, ON

Gord and I walked to Trinity Bellwoods Park this afternoon and checked on KC's tree.  I hadn't been there since November.

There were lots of people enjoying the park.

And there's KC's tree in the middle (with the dog).  It looks great!

Book ~ "My Girl" (2016) Jack Jordan

From Goodreads ~ Paige Dawson: the mother of a murdered child and wife to a dead man.

She has nothing left to live for … until she finds her husband’s handgun hidden in their house.

Why did Ryan need a gun? What did he know about their daughter’s death?

Desperate for the truth, Paige begins to unearth her husband’s secrets.

But she has no idea who she is up against, or that her life isn’t hers to gamble - she belongs to me.

Chloe, Paige's teenage daughter, disappeared ten years ago and one of her body parts was found in the river.  Two months ago, Ryan, Paige's husband, committed suicide.  This pushed Paige over the edge and she became even more self-destructive ... she was always drunk, she was taking too many pills, she was pushing away the few people that loved still her, she was getting arrested, etc.  Strange things started happening at her house and she swore it wasn't her doing them but no one believed her.  She found a gun hidden in her late husband's desk and wondered why it was there.

It got a bit tiresome with Paige always drunk and stoned, yelling at her mother-in-law, lying to her brother and father, etc.  She wasn't likable but she was in pain and dealing with it by self-medicating.  I kept hoping she would snap out of it and get help.  But until that point, I still was fairly engaged in the story.

Then it took a really weird and strange twist.  That's when it lost me and I found the story too dumb and unbelievable.  I'm not into the kind of story or subject matter where it went and I was sorry to see Paige's quest to find out why Ryan did what he did fall by the wayside ... she didn't, in fact, "unearth her husband's secrets" as the book description said.  To me, there were still too many questions left unanswered by the end.

Not my kind of a story ... had I known what it was really about (no spoilers!), I wouldn't have read it.

Trius wine club - June 2016

I picked up our June Trius wine club box today at the post office.

Gord and I have been members of the Trius Wine Club for over ten years.

Every month, 2 bottles of our best wine will be delivered to your door along with Winemaker Craig McDonald’s tasting notes and Executive Chef Frank Dodd’s recipes.

The cost is $46 a month and it's only available in Ontario.

Here is the newsletter ...

There is a voucher for four complimentary govino wine glasses that we can pick up at the Wine Shop.

Here's what we received ...

• Trius Cabernet (2014) - $14.95 - the recipe included it's paired with is Cauliflower Couscous and Spiced Merguez Sausage
• Trius Rosé (2014) - $15.95 - the recipe included it's paired with is Coconut and Summer Herb Roasted Chicken