Cocktails in a Stable

Wednesday night we had a group of friends over to dinner. Before our meal, we took them to a bar called Patent 5 near our home in the Exchange District. We wanted to treat them to a celebratory cocktail to mark the fact that we will celebrate our wedding anniversary this weekend.  Patent 5 is located in a former stable. 

The Dominion Express Company, whose name you see over the front door of Patent 5 was a parcel delivery business. It was founded in 1873 in Winnipeg and built its headquarters at 108 Alexander Avenue in 1904.  The stable area for the company’s horses and wagons has been converted into the Patent 5 Distillery and Bar.

Patent 5 offers a menu of interesting and unique cocktails using vodka, whiskey and gin they make on-site.  The name is a reference to the kind of still they use to produce their alcohol.  It is based on an 1869 design by James Wilson who was issued Patent #5 for his invention. 

The interior of Patent 5 is steeped in history as well.  All the oak paneling, doors, window frames, chandeliers, and stained glass were taken from the fabled Oak Room at the St. Regis Hotel built in 1911. The hotel closed in 2017 but the beautiful interior of the Oak Room has been preserved in the design of Patent 5. The chairs in Patent 5 come from an old Presbyterian church in Melita, Manitoba and your cocktails are served in vintage crystal glasses.  
A former Eaton’s Warehouse built in 1926 is across the street.  You can see the signature letter E above the door. We had a great time at Patent 5. It was very fitting to drink a toast to the history of our marriage in such a historic place. 

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Lunch in an Old Train Station

A Fascinating Conversation in a Tiny Wine Bar in Lisbon

Snake Wine

 

Lunch in an Old Train Station

This photograph caught my eye while I was waiting for my sister to arrive for our lunch date at Resto Gare in St. Boniface. When I asked the staff about it I was told it showed Winnipeg residents waiting at the St. Boniface train station to be evacuated from the city during the 1950 flood. The St. Boniface train station in the photo is now the Resto Gare eating establishment, still, in the very same location, it was during the flood. The original building is over a hundred years old.

The St. Boniface train station in 1930

It was built in 1913. In 1983 the building became a restaurant called La Vieille Gare and in 2008 the name was changed to Resto Gare Bistro. They have a bell in their dining room from a locomotive that used to pull into the St. Boniface Station. My sister and I sat in an old observation train car built in 1914 that has been attached to the station house. The restaurant serves meals with a definite French flavor and in the background as you eat you will hear the latest Montreal francophone music. I tried in vain to find some photos of the train station in the late 1950s because during the 1958-1959 school year I was attending classes at Marion School right across the street from the station. I must have seen the old train station every day when I arrived at school.

My grade one class at Marion School with our teacher Ms. Bourreau.

My family lived in Winnipeg’s French Quarter the year I was in grade one because my father was an intern at St. Boniface Hospital. Marion School was built in 1950 and is still in use today.  

Having lunch at Resto Gare with my sister was a chance for a lovely visit but also a way to learn some history and take me on a bit of trip down memory lane. 

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Between Dog and Wolf

The Clapper

The Nun’s Christmas

A Night at De Luca’s- You Have to Talk About the Food

Thursday night I attended a cooking class at De Luca’s restaurant with my sister and two of her friends. Our affable host Tony welcomed us to his well-known family establishment which opened in 1968and introduced us to Chef Mike who would show us how each dish was prepared.  First up was a tomato soup served along with three kinds of fresh bread. Tony was on hand to answer any questions we might have about ingredients or cooking methods. Television screens at key spots in the room allowed us to see the chef’s hands in action. He prepared a mouth- watering mushroom gnocchi next.  There was time in between each course for us to talk about travel adventures, work, our families and of course the delicious food. A chicken breast arrived next complete with pine nuts, a sweet potato sauce and kale. Just when we thought we couldn’t eat another bite the tiramisu was delivered to our table , too decadent and delicious to refuse.

It was interesting to hear the chef talk about the food, our host talk about the food, and to talk about the food with each other.  Kurt Vonnegut was right when he said………..

“You can’t just eat good food. You’ve got to talk about it too.”   

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A Chocolate Evening with Beatriz

Cooking Up A Storm in the Yucatan

Home Grown in Newfoundland

Fish For Lunch

“The place doesn’t look like much.”  “A real hole in the wall.” “Plain and friendly.”  “Quick service and great meals.”  “The seafood is delicious and cheap.”

That’s what we had read about the Marlin Azul cantina in Merida. After my sister said she and her husband had enjoyed delicious shrimp fajitas there Dave and I decided to try it on our trip into Merida yesterday.  Once we were out of our Uber we got a little direction turned but there are these English-speaking tourist guides hired by the city at many key intersections and this man named Roberto was happy to point us in the right direction. When we got a little turned around again direction wise this gentleman kindly stopped and offered to take us to the restaurant.He led us right to the Marlin Azul and the outward appearance lived up to the descriptions we had read.So did the descriptions of the friendly service. This affable waiter helped Dave pick out the perfect beer to go with our meal.And the food certainly lived up to its hype.  The shrimp fajitas we shared were wonderful.We were about to set off on an eight kilometer walk around the city to explore some of its art galleries.  Our meal at the Marlin Azul fortified us and got our afternoon off to a perfect start!

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First Supper in Lisbon- My Husband Has Great Instincts

A Gourmet Sail in Costa Rica

Home Grown in Newfoundland

A Dutch Touch on A Fine Fall Afternoon

On Friday my friend Esther and I paid a visit to the Amsterdam Tea Room just beside Old Market Square at the heart of the Exchange District. I had been there before for tea but never for a meal.  As the name of the restaurant indicates there is a distinctly Dutch flavor to the menu items.   I had a vegetable sandwich with beet soupand Esther had the endive, pear, grape salad with the pea, celery and leek soup.   They have dozens and dozens of kinds of tea on offer at the Amersterdam Tea Room.  I opted for the Pina Colada tea and Esther chose a chai blend.  We had a lovely meal at a sunny window table and caught up on what had happened in each of our lives since we last got together.  We had planned to sketch in one of the many art galleries in the Exchange but it was such a gorgeous day we sat at a picnic table in Old Market Square to work on some new pages in our sketch books.  Winnipeg, we decided, is a beautiful place indeed on a fine fall afternoon!

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Autumn’s Beauty on the Black Sand Beaches of Iceland

Autumn is the Perfect Time for Writing

Autumn Dreams Are in the Air

Goose Necked Barnacles and How to Catch An Octopus

Beach at Salema

Yesterday we did a little road trip I had read about in a travel article. We headed west from our house in Praia da Luz to the village of Salema. The cobblestone decor made it obvious we were in a place that is dependent on the sea for its livelihood.  We went for a walk along the beach. Although in summer the beach is said to be extremely popular and crowded with tourists we shared it with only a flock of gulls and a group of fishermen who were repairing their nets. Our friend Rudy got into quite a conversation with one of the fishermen and Dave and I listened as he explained in his limited English that  their main catch was octopus. He showed us the terra-cotta and steel pots they use to catch the octopus. This fisherman owns literally thousands of them. The pots are all roped together on lines that can stretch for 20 kilometers or more.  The octopus like being inside the pots because it is safe and secure, kind of like a cave for them, so once the fishermen have reeled the pots in they put a spot of bleach into the pot which chases the octopus out. They sell the octopus to restaurants. 

I had read one needed to stop in Vila de Bispo to taste the goose necked barnacles, so we found a tiny restaurant there for lunch.  Our helpful waiter David brought out a plate with a goose necked barnacle for us to look at. It made Dave and I decide to eat something else so we ordered sandwiches. Our friend Rudy was more adventuresome and asked the waiter for suggestions. He ended up ordering the fried moray eel. Rudy said it was good but there wasn’t much of it so Dave and I shared our sandwiches with him. While we were eating a couple came over to talk to us and asked if we were from Manitoba. They had noticed Dave’s Winnipeg Jets hat. Turns out they were from Manigotagan and ran a campground there. They were traveling through Portugal and checking out the Portuguese campgrounds.  Rudy who has been an avid biker in the past, also stopped to chat with a group of bikers from Great Britain.

The cook kept coming out from the kitchen during our meal to check on us. She couldn’t speak English but her cheery voice and smiling face made it clear she hoped we were enjoying our food.  We didn’t order dessert but she brought out a small slice of some lemony kind of pie for us to share anyway.

After our meal we got back into our rented car and headed off for more adventures.  We’d learned how to catch an octopus and what a goose necked barnacle was… two things we didn’t know before our road trip began. 

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Coming All the Way to Portugal to Get To Know People From Our Church

First Supper in Lisbon

What is Fado?

 

First Supper in Lisbon- My Husband Has Great Instincts

Dave checks out one of the many restaurants he considered for dinner.

It took Dave a long time to decide where he wanted to eat supper our first night in Lisbon. He checked out a whole bunch of places but finally decided on a small restaurant near our house run by an elderly couple. They couldn’t really speak English but we managed to communicate quite well with hand gestures and pointing to menu items and the owner helped us pick out what to have after supplying us with a plate of olives and a tray of bread. 
The owner left to buy the tuna and sea bass we had ordered from a nearby fish merchant. We watched his wife prepare our pitcher of Sangria step by step. She chopped oranges, splashed in wine, added other fruits she had already diced, threw in ice cubes, and then tasted the Sangria herself to be sure she’d got things right. Just then the owner  returned with our fish and his wife took it and bustled into the kitchen to cook while the man chatted with all kinds of people from the neighbourhood who stopped in to visit. 

The meal was AMAZING!  The fish was flavorful and the homemade potato fries done to perfection.  

My tuna steak was so spicy and tender

There was a plate of salad for each of us included as well. We ordered a carafe of white wine for our meal. The portions were so hearty we simply COULD NOT find room for dessert although our host really wanted us to. 

Before we left I asked our host if he would take a photo with me.  I wish I had taken one with his wife too. She came out of the kitchen just before we left and we told her how great the meal had been and she smiled and said some stuff in Portuguese that sounded happy and pleased. 

We did stop on the way home to get a bag of oranges.  There are orange trees everywhere in Lisbon. The man who sold us the oranges told us they’d be sweet and was he ever right!  He also taught us to say obrigado which is thank you in Portuguese. 

Later I looked up the restaurant which was called O Tasco Do Vigario on Trip Advisor and everyone just raved about it saying what a fabulous full course meal they’d had with cocktails and wine for two people for only around 20 Euros. Everyone gave it four or five stars! Our experience exactly!

Kudos to Dave for choosing the perfect place by instinct!

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Plumb Tuckered Out in Lisbon

Home Grown in Newfoundland

Meet You At the Folio

Celebrating Our Marriage History in a Historical Building