Hey, check it out!
Akemi received shipment of that box of packing peanuts she ordered last month. The company also threw in a tiny bottle of some cosmetic product. But who cares. Look at the size and quality of those packing peanuts!
Last night, I got together with friends to check out Hawksworth which recently received the distinction of being named one of Vancouver’s top restaurants by “an esteemed roster of chefs, food industry professionals, connoisseurs, and travel and food writers” (http://vacay.ca/top-50-restaurants/). Connoisseurs? I hope they were licensed. We have far too many rogue connoisseurs running around this city, passing judgement on everything from waffles to foie gras parfaits.
Anyway, there were six of us and we all elected to try the tasting menu. Some of the highlights included…
The amuse-bouche was beef tartar, black truffle, and yuzu stuffed inside a puffed beef tendon. A tremendous start to the meal – made doubly so by the fact that Akemi gave me hers because she isn’t a fan of truffles. I’ve got to make these the next time the guys come over for football.
We followed with a kanpachi ceviche with with satsuma, hearts of palm, and mojo de rojo. While Akemi enjoyed it, one of our fellow diners felt the fish was bland. I thought it fine, but took issue with the hearts of palm. I didn’t think I’d ever find anything I’d hate more than kiwis, but hearts of palm, with their tinny tartness, are it!
Next up was the charred pacific octopus with radish and ox heart vinaigrette. The best preparation of octopus I have ever enjoyed and, by far, the best dish of the night.
This was followed by a steamed sablefish with corn, pumpkin seed and sorrel that didn’t go over all that was a unanimous miss.
Our final savory course was a tasty, modest portion of 24hour pork belly served with some forgettable accompaniments.
Several us switched out the scheduled goat milk panna cotta in favor of alternate desserts. All very fussy and pretty to look at but ultimately unsatisfying.
We all agreed: the octopus was fantastic! Otherwise: meh.
Today, we headed down to Yaletown for lunch with former Stargate prop builder Mark Nicholson (https://josephmallozzi.com/2013/02/01/february-1-2013-stargate-prop-builder-mark-nicholson-answers-your-questions/) and his lovely wife.
We talked scifi, fantasy, anime, books, and, of course, Stargate.
And I continued work on the script for episode #2. I’m 11 pages in but still trying to find that rhythm. In the meantime, we received some terrific concept designs for the space stations. Tomorrow, we’ll be getting on the phone to discuss.
Okay, back to that script!
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