April 30, 2013: Bubba on the mend! Entertaining cousin Evelina!

Following the horrible injury he suffered the other day (gruesome details here: April 27, 2013: Bubba’s Bad Day!), my pug Bubba has been keeping off his left front paw.  Doctor’s orders -

But that hasn’t stopped him from enjoying outdoors.  After a day of getting used to the special bandage, he was back to his old, upbeat self.  Akemi outfitted him with a makeshift (poopy bag) cover to keep his bandage clean -

And off he went!

Monday morning, we brought him back to the vet’s for a follow-up.  As it turns out, the wound is healing nicely and a (worst-case-scenario) partial amputation won’t be necessary after all.  Bubba had his wound cleaned, his painkiller prescription refilled, and even got himself a stylish new bandage:

Before

After

He’s in much better spirits and, of course, asked me to thank everyone for the well-wishes.

Jelly and Lulu empathize

Yesterday, I hosted my cousin Evelina who is in town for the week visiting friends.  It’s been fifteen years since she moved away from Vancouver so I did my best to reacquaint her with her old neighborhood.  Specifically, the eats…

First stop was Fable Restaurant (http://fablekitchen.ca/) which serves up some fantastic lunch sandwiches, among them -

Eggplant Parmesan sandwich with walnut pesto, pea shoots, pickled onions, and raita sauce. 

As usual, I had it with a side of the quinoa salad.  Unusually, I also did it with a side of the sandwich special of day – pulled pork with onion jam – that I shared with my table mates.

From there, it was over to Chocolate Arts (http://www.chocolatearts.com/) for a post-lunch dessert.  One of my favorite menu items there are the chocolate shots, a thicker, richer version of the regular hot chocolate (also available).  As an added bonus, you can sample from a variety of about a dozen different chocolates, ranging from milk to a 76% dark Equateur on the day we visited, before selecting which chocolate you’d like in your shot.  I, of course, had a double -

The chocolate shot

With a chocolate chip cookie chaster -

With just a touch of salt to balance the sweetness. Perfection.

We visited Granville Island and then it was back to the house where Evelina met – and fell in love with – the dogs.  We toured the neighborhood, relaxed, and gathered our strength for…

Dinner at Lupo Restaurant (http://www.luporestaurant.ca/).  We split three appetizers, a pizzetta, five pasta dishes, a couple of sides, and some desserts.  All excellent.  Among the highights -

The prosciutto with caramelized onions, taleggio cheese, and rucola pizzetta.

The octopus carpaccio

Chitarine Amatriciana – hot pepper tomato, pecorino, topped with crispy guanciale.

Pumpkin Tortelloni with amaretti and sage butter.

Lemon panna cotta.  A surprise favorite (once I’d removed the fruit on top). 

The verdict on Lupo?  Akemi said it best: “I lovelovelove!”.

So that’s it.  Yep, that should give you a sense of what you all can look forward to the next time you all come to town.