Oct 22 2022 - Deep Pocket Restaurants

 

Deep Pockets is an American slang term. "It is typically used in reference to big companies or organizations (eg: the American tobacco companies have "deep pockets"), although it can be used in reference to wealthy individuals." I thought it just meant having wealth, but that's not the case. This from Wikipedia:  " Deep pocket is a concept often used in the law and economics of tort law. It refers to the idea that the risk of an activity should be borne by a person who is in a relatively good position to handle it. This can be achieved by either spreading the risk over a large number of risk-bearers (usually by means of insurance), or by imposing it on a person who is relatively risk-neutral. The latter is often assumed to be the case for wealthy individuals or large corporations, who are referred to as having "deep pockets", since their wealth will not be affected very strongly if the risk materializes. For example, a deep-pocket argument might, among other arguments, be used to justify product liability, as producers with "deep pockets" will normally be better able to accommodate the risk of damages than individual consumers not endowed with "deep pockets" My mind is with Deep-Pocket restaurants and dining.  There are lots of such "fine dining" places.  Here in Niagara it is Pearl Morisette. Brian and I look forward to lunch there tomorrow.  A curated eating experience! Here's the picture story sans pictures of food.

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Feb 18 2022 - In History Today

 

It is time for the good news website and they story that attracted attention is this one about a family of cats that lives in a model railroad in a restaurant.   When you look at the picture below, you would not be a pleased model railroader to see this story.  "At one Osaka restaurant nearly done in by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a band of non-marauding “Catzillas” that stepped in to save the day. Naoki Teraoka’s miniature-railway-themed restaurant was doing well until the pandemic struck. Like many others in the industry, as patronage dwindled, there wasn’t much he could do. Things got so bad the restauranteur was actually thinking of closing his doors—until an unlikely hero in the form of a stray kitten turned things around. Even in the midst of financial turmoil, Teraoka didn’t have the heart to turn away the sickly kitten he’d noticed hanging around the restaurant. He and his family decided to adopt the baby cat they named Simba—only to realize Simba was part of a package deal. This was followed by her mother and siblings.   The cats began making themselves at home amidst the restaurant’s perfectly scaled model train dioramas. Though diminutive in real life, the kitties towered over the miniature landscapes looking very much like something out of a movie." The story takes a turn - while the model trains remained an attraction, Teraoka transformed the place into a cat sanctuary where patrons could interact with stray cats as they dined - and even adopt them.  The restaurant grew in popularity and expanded operations.  Happy conclusion to the pandemic tragedy. The full story is HERE.   Would the cat be eating the grass, swatting the horses, and prowling down the tracks?  You get to decide Good News Cat Story or Bad Mews for the Model Railroad Story!

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Continuing Flower Week with an Uber Ride

The Canada Blooms Show in Toronto is promoted as the largest garden and flower show in Canada - Philadelphia's is the largest in North America.  The trend, however, is that it continues to shrink each year. We toured it in less than an hour.  There were still a few 'Wows!' at the entrance.  The positive news is that the floral design section expands each year.  We saw some familiar faces in the judges' groups and got to say hello.   I wondered what others thought of the show - there are no reviews, just promotional articles explaining what to see.  Theresa Forte's article in the St. Catharines Standard on March 8th listed the workshops and speakers and avoided commenting on how small the show is.  There doesn't seem to be a major sponsor this year, and there were no garden centres represented in the marketplace.  I guess the show has decided to focus on workshops for the family as its main feature, rather than a showcase of garden design.  These are expensive ventures - pools and patios all created in a week and then taken apart after the two week show. We went searching for the Butchart Garden booth to say hello, but it was not present.   I wondered if they might bring news of the Victoria Flower Count.  It completed yesterday, but the total hasn't been announced yet. Our own excitement of the Canada Blooms show this  year was getting to and from the show.  We took Uber rather than driving.  We had three trips - a mix of people and vehicles - we were driven home in a huge Ford truck.  I had to 'fall out' to reach the ground. And the highlight was the amazing tiny restaurant at Spadina and Queen - Aloette - sitting at the bar, watching the chef organize each dish - often with tweezers.

Diana Sweets

Diana Sweets was a restaurant on St. Paul Street, the main street of St. Catharines. Our grandmother took us there for sundaes on a Saturday.  The interior is Art Deco from the 1920's.  It was a favourite spot for many decades, but eventually closed in the late 1990's. Benny Cooperman the detective in the Howard Engel novels would eat there.   The interior was stored in a Buffalo warehouse for a number of years.  And by good fortune, the Harley-Davidson store owner bought it in 2008 and installed it in the store.   I went in yesterday to see this piece of St. Catharines history. I was not amongst my cohorts in the store - I immediately noticed the  women with 'big hair' under backwards baseball caps. But I made my way to the important corner where coffee and espresso are available. It was enjoyable to see the booths and counter, along with the stained glass sign and the waitress uniforms.   The St. Catharines Standard article on the wall is here and a youtube video is here.  The video that followed was St. Catharines 1954.  The Hotel Dieu Hospital is in that video - I had captured the demolition earlier in the year.  It is now a flat space, awaiting the start of a retirement complex.  The big news yesterday, though, was spotting a Bald Eagle in the trees on the Lake beside the restaurant, the Lakehouse.

Canoeing in Toronto

Lunch at Canoe.  This is a highlight of being so close to Toronto.  We'd been to a few restaurants in the last few weeks - celebrating Canada Blooms at Merlot in our west-end neighbourhood, then to The Good Earth last week, and finally Canoe yesterday. Canoe has never disappointed and always amazed us beyond our imagination.  Yesterday's meal was a wonder of culinary creativity and complexity.  T We particularly like to sit at the 'chef's table' - the counter that overlooks the kitchen.  We watch as appetizers are composed and we guess which ones they are.  Our lunch chef came over and talked with us.  We are interested in their sources of the ingredients - the special crab and salmon from sources in New Brunswick, the purple potatoes from an Ontario farm.  And then there are the processes - the purple potatoes were slightly smoked then cooked, and the salmon was maple-syrup smoked/cured. During our lunch, we found out the benefits of Canoe being located on the top floor of the TD Bank Tower.  They had TD Bank name badges on and were wearing old-fashioned waiter uniforms.  They gave the TD executives' orders to the chefs, then came over and had a chat with us.

When Canoeing is Really about Eating

Wake Up on the Bright Side   Lunch at Canoe.  This is a highlight of being so close to Toronto.  We'd been to a few restaurants in the last few weeks - celebrating Canada Blooms at Merlot in our west-end neighbourhood, then to The Good Earth last week, and finally Canoe yesterday. Canoe has never disappointed and always amazed us beyond our imagination.  Yesterday's meal was a wonder of culinary creativity and complexity.  T We particularly like to sit at the 'chef's table' - the counter that overlooks the kitchen.  We watch as appetizers are composed and we guess which ones they are.  Our lunch chef came over and talked with us.  We are interested in their sources of the ingredients - the special crab and salmon from sources in New Brunswick, the purple potatoes from an Ontario farm.  And then there are the processes - the purple potatoes were slightly smoked then cooked, and the salmon was maple-syrup smoked/cured. During our lunch, we found out the benefits of Canoe being located on the top floor of the TD Bank Tower.  They had TD Bank name badges on and were wearing old-fashioned waiter uniforms.  They gave the TD executives' orders to the chefs, then came over and had a chat with us.