Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 69

December 25, 2023: Merry Christmas!

Last night, we did Christmas Eve dinner at my sister’s place.  As is the Mallozzi tradition, the meal skewed heavily seafood: oven-roasted shrimp, baked rainbow trout with sautéed onions, pan-fried octopus and some vegetables.

Sis prepping the octopus

Mom and Sharky on standby

Mom in her garlic-peeling outfit

Akemi in her penguin sweater

Kona making sure her paws are clean and she is generally presentable

Ralphie grabbing a seat at the table

Mallozzi Christmas

This morning, we made the trek to Starbucks because Akemi was hankering for a coffee (specifically soy cappuccino).  I got the chestnut latter.  No puppuccino for this guy as the last time he had one made him a little – uh – overly-regular.

For Christmas lunch, we decided to do something a little different this year and ordered a platter from Al Quds Grillade.   A delicious assortment of grilled meats (lamb, filet mignon, shish taouk, kafta kabab) and veggies along with roasted potatoes and rice.

I ate way too much and ended up having some kefir and nuts for dinner.

Starting to put together my New Year’s resolutions.  More reading.  More watching.  More writing.  What’ve you got?

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December 24, 2023: Sharky Sunday!

And we’re back on schedule with our first Sharky Sunday post in weeks!

Joining mom for her morning stretches.

He really loves his box.

He prefers it to his bed!

In his taxi and ready to fly.

Sharky’s first winter boots…

This California dog is winter-ready!

Merry Christmas Eve!

 

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December 23, 2023: Montreal Day #1!

Evidently I still haven’t quite shaken off my jet lag.  We went to bed at 9:00 p.m. last night.  I woke up early, believing it was around 6:00 a.m.  It was actually 2:50 a.m.  Went back to sleep and woke up again closer to 8:00 a.m.  We packed up Sharky and headed to Victor Rose, a dog-friendly coffee shop in Pointe-Claire Village.

Sharky sniffing out Akemi’s London Fog latte.

Despite feeling under the weather, mom made taralli.

We tried out a new dumpling place for lunch today…

Over half the menu wasn’t available including the fried dumplings and the desserts, so we went with the peanut butter dumplings, siu long bao, and lamb with coriander.  We ordered soups – that were served cold.  My sister sent hers back and asked for it hot and it was returned, moments later, still cold.  The couple beside us did the same thing with the woman advising the waitress to: “Put it in the microwave for a minute.”  Her soup was also returned – cold.  Guess we’ll be scratching this place off our list.

Afterwards, we went shopping and I picked up this interesting looking jar of honey with nuts.  Akemi and I had it with some kefir and a little almond butter.  Delicious!

My mother has prepared for the coming apocalypse.

So how are you all celebrating the holidays?

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December 22, 2023: Montreal-bound!

I never sleep well the night before I fly and last night was no exception.  It was a night of tossing and turning and weird dreams.  One particularly disturbing one I remember involves me walking onto the set of a new Dark Matter episode.  But because the production didn’t have any money, it was being done on the cheap.  The Raza set was half-finished, just a lot of exposed, unpainted wood.  And the script was only 26 minutes long.  Furthermore, I hadn’t written it!  I remember panicking, grabbing a copy of the script and presuming I could do a pass on whatever had been written only to read it and realize it was beyond saving.  What a nightmare.

So I woke up at 6:30 a.m. this morning, not feeling particularly rested, took Sharky for a walk (He finally pooped almost 48 hours since his last one and only an hour before leaving for the airport!).  The flight was quite smooth all things considered.  Bit of a late departure and arrival, I forgot (and had to retrieve) some presents I left behind, but Sharky slept peacefully through the flight at our feet in his little sherpa carrier.

Sharky rushing to catch his flight.

Ready to go!

Mom cleaning rapini.  Just like old times!

Mom’s space tree.

Well, I am positively exhausted.  Going to sleep early tonight.  Can’t wait to find out how that Dark Matter episode turned out.

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December 22, 2023: Back on the Crime Binge!

Braquo (2019 – 2016) Season 1  

A dark realistic cop series follows a squad of Paris cops who exist in the blurred boundaries at the very edge of the law, often using violence and intimidation to get the job done.

My thoughts: France’s answer to The Shield.  Gritty and fast-paced.  Terrific.

4.5/5

The Stranger (2020)

Follows the lives of suburban families whose secrets and lies are made public by the appearance of a stranger.

My thoughts: Setting up a mystery is the easy.  Paying it off is the hard part – as this series demonstrates in its nonsensical denouement.

2.5/5

Deadloch (2023)

A feminist noir comedy set against a bucolic backdrop with a rising body count.

My thoughts: Went in with muted expectations but ended up pleasantly surprised.  Although the social commentary attains levels of absurdity late in the season, it’s a lot of fun.

4/5

Spiral/Engrenages (2005 – 2020) Season 1

Follows criminal investigations in Paris from all the different points of view of those involved.

My thoughts: Gripping, at times surprisingly dark, character-forward crime show.

4/5

Blanca (2021 – ) Season 2

Blanca, a blind profiler, comes back to Genova, her hometown. A difficult case forces her to remain and to face with her mysterious past. Based on books by Patrizia Rinaldi.

My thoughts: At times, it’s all sorts of silly, yet Maria Chiara Giannetta’s performance is so damn charming it makes you willing to forgive some of the shortcomings in the writing.

4/5

Catching a flight tomorrow morning.  See you in Montreal!

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December 20, 2023: Back in Toronto!

We flew out of Tokyo over an hour late.  Twenty minutes in, I felt a sharp and sustained pain in my ear.  I figured it had something to do with my blocked sinuses and feared I’d have to sit through the entire 12 hour flight in pain.  But fortunately, the pain subsided after another fifteen minutes – although I lost hearing in my left ear until this morning.

Despite getting out of Tokyo an hour late, we actually landed early in Toronto.  Akemi, who is not a great flyer, was feeling incredibly nauseous on landing.  Then, even more nauseous on our uber driver home thanks to our stop-and-go drive.  Then nauseous once again on our uber drive to pick up Sharky.  And back.

Sharky was absolutely thrilled to see us.  Which was a relief because he looked like he was having a GREAT time from all of the photos and videos Jill, his home-stay mom, sent our way.  Finding her (and her family) was such a relief, knowing Sharky was in such good hands while we were away.  It means that we’ll be able to visit Portland (to hopefully pick up his adoptive brother or sister) in January with our worry.  If you’re in the Toronto area and need someone to watch your dog, I highly recommend Jill if you’re in the Toronto area!

I ended up getting about 5-6 hours of sleep on the plane, then another 8 hours last night.  Still feeling the jet-lag, but have to push through as I finish up errands in advance of our next flight, Friday morning, when we head to Montreal – this time Sharky in tow.

Came across this pic of my old gals.  Miss these two.

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December 19, 2023: Tokyo Day #12!

I fell out of bed early this morning trying to catch an errant pass.  In my dream.  To be fair, she claimed she’d played quarterback so I was expecting a much further throw and ended up having to compensate and make a play on the ball.

Anyway, that was about par for my sleeping experience in Tokyo.  Absolutely love the location of the hotel, but positively hate the bed.  But that’s a problem for next trip.

We got up to the news that our flight had been delayed by 90 minutes (later 60).  Not the news we wanted to hear as we were hoping to get in reasonably early and pick up Sharky from his home-stay family.  Guess we’ll see how it goes.  What do you consider a reasonable time to stop by and pick up your dog?  We were thinking 8:00 p.m. but it’s looking like closer to 9:00 p.m.  10:00 p.m. is definitely pushing it.

Having decided NOT to buy an extra suitcase, we shoved everything into my single giant 20-year-old suitcase, then headed out for lunch.  Today, it was Chikuyotei for unagi.  This place holds a special place in Akemi’s heart given that her grandfather used to always take her to the Osaka branch when she was a kid.

We shared the shirayaki (white eel), Akemi’s favorite.  While good, the Tokyo steamed version pales in comparison the Kansai-style crispy take.

While Akemi went with the snapper as her main course, I stuck with tradition – the lacquer unagi.  Very good, but a little bony.  The elderly man seated beside me (On what Akemi assumed was a date.  How cute!) seemed to agree.

Afterwards, we swung by the Mitsuioshi department store whose basement floor is packed with all sorts of goodies, both sweet and savory: cutlets and yakitori and tempuras and cakes and pies and chocolates and on and on and on.  I picked up a Maisen pork cutlet, a lotus root salad, two mini kouign ammans, and a tiny canule for the trip.  In addition to whatever I would find at the airport.

The gals

Happy Christmas from the demons!

Our last stop was Cafe de L’Ambre, a place for serious coffee lovers in Ginza.  Saddle up to the bar and let them know your flavor profile.  They’ll recommend a bean and preparation: hot, cold, straight, blended, with liquor, as pudding or jelly, or maybe with an egg yolk.  Choose from 30 different single origin varieties.  Ahem and Dr. Blackjack had the coffee jelly.  I went with a simple cafe au lait.

Then, it was back to the hotel for check-out after which we lugged our heavy suitcases across the street and two blocks over to the Higashi-Ginza station where we caught the Asakusa line straight to the airpot.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t that busy and we breezed through check-in, security, and in no time at all were cooling our heels, waiting to board.  In three hours.

I ate my katsu sando.  Had the lotus root salad that really should have been called a purple onion salad.  The canule was delicious.  And I instantly regretted not having ordered three more.

So, the flight leaves Haneda at 7:20 p.m. local time.  I figure I’ll try to sleep for much of the 12 hours so I can be fully rested when we touch down in Toronto at a little before 7:00 p.m.  That will hopefully give us time to go home, drop off our luggage, grab and uber, pick up Sharky, get back to the apartment, unpack, and be in bed by midnight (approximately 2 p.m. Tokyo time) where we’ll no doubt lie awake through most of the night.  We’ll have two days to readjust before we get back on a plane and head to Montreal for the Christmas holidays!

See you in Toronto!

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December 18, 2023: Tokyo Day #11!

Major Motoko Kusanagi is on the case.

Good morning, Ginza!

Akemi and I headed to Tokyo Station today to do some Christmas shopping (snacks for sis).

Guys, we got Butter Butler!

After which we hit Sanshuya, a shokudo that offered a host of rustic dishes like fried oysters and yellowtail teriyaki –

I’ve always hated teriyaki and always assumed it to be a Western creation (sort of like General Tso Chicken), so imagine my surprise when I saw it on the menu.  Intrigued, I ordered it to see if the versions I’d tried in North America were culinary bastardizations of the original.  As it turned out, nope.  Both versions pretty equally awful.  The oysters were pretty good though.

A big walking day saw us leaving Ginza shortly after lunch for a full afternoon in Shibuya – where we would eventually have dinner.

But first, we hit the Shibuya location of I’m Donut?  that offered more of everything this place is known for: More delicious donuts!  More people waiting in line ahead of us!

Spoiler alert: I did the pistachio cream.  Again.

Then, we walked around the corner to Nanaya Aoyama for their famed matcha gelato that comes in seven different choices ranging from mildly to mucho…

Dr. Blackjack and I both had the delightfully bitter-sweet #7.  Akemi just had a tea.

This one packs a wallop.

A couple of buildings I never noticed the last time I visited.  Are they new?

A river runs through it.

Nightfall in Shibuya

This looks like a fun place to end the night

For dinner, we went to Sakai Shokai, an izakaya, where we sat at the counter, chatted with the chef, and ate…a lot…

Shirako tempura, grilled beltfish, stewed ankimo, grilled mentaiko, rice with bonito and cured egg yolk – and much more.  Definitely putting this one on our return list.

And THAT is pretty much a wrap on this Japan trip (minus whatever we can squeeze in before our 6:50 p.m. flight!).  Thanks for joining.  See you all in Toronto!

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December 17, 2023: Tokyo Day #10!

Whether it’s because about eleven days into this trip, or because I’m feeling under the weather, or because I only got about four hours sleep last night, I feel like I’m running out of steam.  So it was the perfect day to take time for myself while Akemi was off to meet up with her old high school friend, Hikari.

The plan was to hit Akihabara, check out all the anime-related merch, enjoy a tasty lunch, take the subway to Shibuya and make a return visit to the farmer’s market, then over to Tokyo station to pick up an extra suitcase for all the Japanese goods Akemi is bringing back to Canada (everything from dog treats and teas to curry spices to pickles), then to Ginza’s Pierre Marcolini for a hot chocolate with Dr. Blackjack before retreating to the hotel for some R&R before tonight’s sushi dinner.

That was the plan.

My first stop in Akihabara was Yodobashi Camera.  Six floors of – well – everything.  Including lots of awesome toys.  Some bigger than others.  Much bigger.

I can guarantee you this is NOT a Japanese outpost of a beloved North American brand.

In the five years since the last time I came to Japan, I have lost all sense of direction.  As a result, I could not, for the life of me, find the awesome anime-themed shops I frequented on my last trip.  Fed up, and hungry, I decided to check out this place for lunch.

I placed my order, took a seat in the deserted dining area and then my food arrived.  Alarmingly quickly.  Approximately two minutes between the placing of my order and the burger hitting my table.  It was…not my favorite meal in Japan.  The chicken was good if not that warm or particularly well-seasoned.  The thickly cut onion was cold.  The less said about the bun the better.

I elected to cut my losses and abandon Akihabara in favor of Shibuya.  The plan was to retrace my (and Akemi’s) footsteps from yesterday’s outing and land back at the farmer’s market for another round of those dehydrated orange slices.

I think I may have gotten out at the wrong station.  I got turned out, slightly lost, double-backed, entered the wrong subway station,  double doubled back, found the right station, then took the subway one stop over to Ometesando – and more familiar territory.

Shibuya weekend madness.

Back at the farmer’s market.

The local rescue puts in another appearance, this time with some special guests.

The ladies at the orange stand recognized me from yesterday’s visit and, following my purchase of three more bags of desiccated orange slices, they gifted me a bunch of oranges and a fashionable apron (that I will model for you some day).

On the way back, I stopped off at this coffee ship and picked up a kouign amman and a mocha (that was really a hot chocolate).  I sat out on the patio, beside a woman who had a poodle on her lap.  “Nan-sai, desi ka?”, “How old?”I asked.  She was initially confused, wondering if I was making about her or the dog’s age, but when I made it clear I was referring to the dog, she warmed up.  People love it when you compliment their dogs.

The elusive Tokyo public trash can – a rare sighting.

Didn’t have time to hit Tokyo Station for that suitcase so went straight to Ginza where I met up with Akemi and Dr. Blackjack for hot chocolate at the Pierre Marcolini Cafe.  I took mine cold.

This was the little boutique coffee shop were I first met Akemi (and the half dozen other waitresses  I took out for lunches and dinners back in 2009 – but Akemi was special).  She reminisced about the hot chocolate (She claims her home version if slightly better), the chocolates (They’ve apparently gotten smaller), and the treacherous stairs (She once fell down a flight carrying a tray loaded with parfaits).  Ah, memories.

It’s been 14 years.  Can you believe it?

Dinner tonight was Sushi Ryo.  It was a block over from our hotel in an area of Ginza I’ve never visited that looked like an abandoned city set.  The streets were deserted and there were absolutely no lights on in any of the buildings.  We were told it was a business area and, it being Sunday, not all that busy on this night.

We were seated beside what I believe was the Cambodian delegation to the U.N., several of who really knew their sushi.

One of the menu items Akemi and I tried for the first time was sea cucumber.  It’s something…I don’t think we would ever order again.  According to one of our fellow diners, however, it possesses powerful anti-cancer properties.  Still, I don’t know…

On one of the previous nights, we went to a restauarant (Karin) where the waiter and Akemi ended up talking sushi.  Apparently, he was going to be visiting Sushi Ryo the night before us and promised to leave Akemi a little something – namely, a sample of his company rice (that supplies many of the restaurants in the area).  Akemi was thrilled to pick up her package.  Big thanks to Munekuro!

A Sunday stroll back to the hotel to drop off our rice.

And we ended our night at Bar Goya where master Yamazaki-san stirred and shaken up some unbelievable cocktails, all featuring fruit from his hometown.  Akemi’s favorite, the tomato cocktail that apparently makes use of almost ten tomatoes, and my favorite, the mikan, that makes use of two and a half oranges per glass.  Both absolutely wonderful.

And, as we said our goodbyes, Yamazaki-san presented me with my very own Bar Goya pin.

I am officially a member of the club!

And now the pre-packing begins!

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December 16, 2023: Tokyo Day #9!

Every morning we wake up to photo and video updates from Sharky’s home-stay family.  I asked how he’s doing when left alone and they informed me that he is NEVER let alone.  They even take him grocery shopping…

The boy is so spoiled.  And yet, he seems to appreciate the simpler things in life as can be evidenced by the top pic of Sharky proudly showing off his box.  Yes, we can splurge on expensive dog beds but he is at his comfiest inside this shipping box which he has evidently claimed as his own.

Meanwhile, back on the Away front, it was a beautiful Saturday in Tokyo.  Maybe a little too beautiful as, by mid-afternoon, it was downright hot and I regretted having to sling my coat around with me.

This morning, we visited Shibuya and Omotesando.

Our first stop, the weekend farmer’s market.

Lots of fruits, fresh veggies, and a myriad of other foodstuffs for sale.

A local rescue was there, along with some needy dogs.

Akemi grabs some roasted Japanese sweet potata-to-go.

For some reason, I discovered a new appreciation for oranges on this trip.  Specifically Japanese oranges.

Picked up some oranges, then picked up a package of these assorted orange slices, tried them, then picked up a second pack along with a bottle of orange juice.

And a sample size of the raw pepper.

This city is home to some absolutely gorgeous building.

My pizza date

Even though I’d already had pizza on this trip, Akemi was feeling nostalgic for Napule, a pizza place she used to visit with her girlfriends back in the day.  And so, we went to Napule, lining up half an hour before opening so we could get an early seating.

Akemi is a big fan of the more “relaxed” style of pizza.  It was good.  But I still prefer Serinkan.

What’s this?  The Omotesando branch of I’m Donut?  Akemi was curious, as I’d proclaimed their pistachio cream the best donut I’ve ever head, but still dubious.

Akemi’s favorite was the plain powdered original that she likened to a giant beignet.

The raw French crueler was mighty tasty too.

But my favorite remains the pistachio cream.

I’m Donut? lived up to the hype.  Akemi is a convert!

Couldn’t resist snapping a pic of this, uh, interesting Jo Malone print ad.

Akemi: “Maybe we’re not smart enough to understand the message they’re trying to tell us.”

It got really hot, so we had to stop at The Matcha Tokyo so I could grab a cold matcha latte and cool down/soothe my fiery throat.

Only to spill some green tea on my white dress shirt, causing me to lose face and retreat back to my hotel.

Hoko-ten (Ginza, Tokyo)

More awesome Ginza building at night…

For dinner, we were back at Sushi Taichi for sake and…what else?

We got back to the hotel a little after 8:00 p.m. and had the apple and chestnut pies we picked up from Sembikya (Akemi had a hankering).

Hard to believe this trip is almost done!

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