September 3, 2011: That dinner with Marty G.!

The other day I received an afternoon text from Golden Boy Martin Gero: "Are you and Carl free for dinner tonight?".

"Will check with Carl,"I responded.  And then, before I fully committed: "Where to?"

"416 Snackbar?"

"Great."

I'd heard good things about the place, a restaurant that specialized in comfort finger food.  Apparently, it was a cutlery-free establishment, so I looked forward to seeing how, exactly, we were going to sample the wide variety of offerings.  Turns out the answer was pretty simple: take a bite and pass it along.

Carl gets comfy.

Heeeey! It's Marty G.

Special guest diner: Mike Banacek, P.I.!

 We had just taken our seats when I heard someone outside shout: "Goddamn it!".  I turned and noticed a heavy-set fellow with a shaved head staggering about.  I assumed he was an angry drunk and redirected my focus back to the menu when one of the girls at the next table waved down our waitress.  The guy was hurt.  I turned back.  Indeed.  He was sitting on the floor, bleeding from a nasty-looking cut to his forehead.  Turns out he wasn't a stumbling drunk but a stumbling guy who'd been unloading packages from a truck when the back door had swung back and conked him in the head.  Hard.

Marty G. and Mike were on their feet and out the door, calling 911, then comforting the guy while they waited for help to arrive.  I contributed by informing the guy that "Chicks dig scars." which really seemed to hearten him.

Anyway, the paramedics arrived, he was treated, and we all returned to the table for a meal of numerous small bites.

No love for the heirloom tart but the steak tartare was a winner, even among the non raw meat-eaters.

The Scotch Egg Benny was a huge hit.

Akemi and Martin seemed to really enjoy the "rabbit food", mystery ingredients + corn (?) wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

Damn. I was really looking forward to these stuffed zucchini flowers. Not at all how mom used to make 'em.

We did the steamed buns three ways: meat, fish, and veggie.  All quite good but the crispy fried fish bun was perhaps the best thing I had that night.  Another highlight was the Mini Mac – not macaroni and cheese but a miniature Big Mac.

For dessert: S'more. Akemi's first - but certainly not her last. "I love!"she said before polishing off all three orders.

All in all, a resounding "meh".

On the other hand, a terrific time last night at a place called Trevor Kitchen where I enjoyed a terrific salt cured foie gras club with salt pickle chips and some truffled goat cheese poutine with seared foie gras.  Tonight, I head over to Alexander and Sarah's for a barbecue.  While Akemi cooked up some caramelized onions, I picked up sliders…

The selection includes buffalo, wild board, kangaroo, and camel. Wonder which one Alex will prefer...