- Charcuterie
- Crispy pig feet!
- Agnolotti with potatoes, mascarpone, and chives.
- Pizza Bianca
- Nutella tart
The night before Marty G. left town for L.A., most of us gathered for a farewell dinner at Campagnolo Restaurant (http://campagnolorestaurant.ca/). In attendance that evening: Exec. Producer Robert Cooper, Special Features Producer Ivon Bartok, Script Coordinator Lawren Bancroft-Wilson, Serial Eater Yours Truly, and guest of honor Martin Gero. Exec. Producer Brad Wright and my writing partner Paul Mullie were not in attendance because they live so ridiculously far out of town that the entire trip there and home would have probably taken them into next Tuesday. Exec. Producer Carl Binder claimed he had other plans (Ouch! Diss!). While Executive Producer’s Assistant Ashleigh had some lame excuse which really amounted to her not wanting to spend her off-hours with a bunch of old guys.
Nevertheless, a respectable turnout for the Golden Boy’s last Vancouver meal ‘til who-knows-when (August?). And quite a meal it was. An antipasto platter of home cured meats, crispy chickpeas, deep-fried pig’s feet, lamb heart salad, four selections from the pasta menu (risotto, quadri [with fennel sausage, walnuts, and dandelion greens], pillow light agnolotti [with potato, mascarpone, and chives], and my favorite the tagliarini [with pork ragu, basil, and pecorino]}, three pizzas (the Salsiccia [with sausage, rucola, chilis, and parmigiano reggiano], the Fungi [with crimini mushrooms, pancetta, and sage], and my favorite the Bianca [with grana padano, garlic, and olive oil]. We rounded things out with two mains: the Polderside Chicken Brasato with sunchokes, chicory, and garlic, and the Pork Belly. We capped dinner off with desserts – some fruit dessert for some, the Nutella tart for others. Unlike the last time Martin and I visited Campagnolo, we did NOT order the entire menu. Still, the food was great, the prices reasonable, and, when all was said and done, I ended up eating waaaay too much.
- Cake? Birthday gal Kate does the honors. And the dishes.
- Ashleigh – No time for old people, but plenty of time for cake.
- Birthday Boy Nathan digs into his boozy birthday cake. Hours later, he will overturn several desks and kick in a flatscreen until he is escorted off the lot, still screaming at the top of his lungs.
So much so that I vowed to “get on the program” and start eating sensibly: hardboiled eggs for breakfast, a sensible salad for lunch, and steamed fish for dinner. Unfortunately, the plan was scuttled by birthday celebrations the following day that necessitated my eating two different pieces of birthday cake. It would have been a huge slap in the face to Kate and/or Nathan if I had passed on either her ice cream cake or his cake with the cream and the booze, so I had generous portions of both. Fast forward to tonight’s dinner: steamed halibut, broccoli, and roasted red peppers. I liken meals like these to near-death experiences in that they leave on with an appreciation of life’s precious gifts.
Like pork belly and Nutella tarts.
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