Not eating boots, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

You might all recall Lydia. We certainly do. She, like the other 58 cats who are currently at the OHS, are still looking for homes.

Is it time for a new kitty? Only you can decide, but while you’re deciding, they’re just sitting there, like Lydia, not eating your boots. Move quick!

Ooh! I want her!

(Subtext: What does the world have against black cats? She’s cute, she eats lemon yogurt, is not afraid of water, sleeps in the sink, and seriously, purrs ALL.THE.TIME. If we were the cat-owning type we would totally live with her by now).

oh yes. you read that right., originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

I am extremely late in writing about this, but I suppose that’s what happens when you go way overboard at a “small plates” food event, and then immediately go on a holiday. It takes a while for things to digest.

This year’s Bon Appetit Ottawa event took place on May 6th at Ottawa’s Aberdeen Pavilion, otherwise known to the locals as the cattle castle at Lansdowne park. A $75 ticket gave visitors access to over 90 food, wine, beer and spirits vendors, including some of Ottawa’s top eateries, like Social, the Urban Pear, Soupcon, Whalesbone, Kinki and more.

Having never attended a Bon Appetit event before, and being the sort to obsessively research things to death on the internet, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to expect – what kind of food could we expect? Was it veg-friendly? Were the crowds totally insane?

After reading about “horrendous lineups”, “people stuffing truffles and smoked salmon into ziploc bags to take home with them” and “more waiting than eating” from previous years comments, I was almost ready to throw in the towel. I’m all for good food, but the ziploc hoarding crowd? Not my thing (see also: how rude!). And I’m not about to wait twenty minutes in line for a tiny nibble, even of the tastiest dish. But we were hearing positive things about how this event was different and way more sensible than those in years past. And it was!

mill street booth, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

The event itself ran from 5 – 9, and slowpokes that we are, we arrived around 6:30. The crowd was still hopping, and the pavilion FULL of vendors was great to see. The food covered all sorts of ground – Sam Jakes Inn was serving Frites with Duck Confit, while Thyme and Again catering served Elk Meatloaf. Leaning more towards the veggie side of things, I stuck to empanadas from Mambo, and Ginger Buttermilk Panna Cotta in chocolate cups from Thyme & Again. Epicuria (one of our favourite little gourmet shops in New Edinburgh) was serving *the* cutest mini burgers, and I couldn’t resist trying out Bacon Chip Cookies with Lobster Ice Cream from The Courtyard Restaurant. Not my favourite cookie ever, but the process – wow!

lobster ice cream, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

We tried all manner of beer wine and spirits, too, including cassis diluted with sparkling wine, tasty stout, red and white wines.

All in all it was a great evening – though there were so many food and drink vendors it almost felt overwhelming at times. And those small plates add up – we were ready to roll ourselves home shortly after 8 pm, and I’m sure I didn’t think about food again for days.

From what I understand, this event will be back next year – and it’s also nice to note that the $75 admission also comes with a $45 charitable donation receipt, since a portion of the proceeds goes to these charities. If you’re looking to see what sorts of eclectic food and drink Ottawa establishments have to offer, this is a way to do it with a wallet-friendly price tag.

(cross-posted to cheap eats ottawa, too)

sky, originally uploaded by mintyfresh.

Today we hop on a plane and head back home to Ontario from the beautiful, mostly sunny shores of British Columbia.

We’ve spent the last five days here taking stock, relaxing, and trying to get a feel for the city, and the results have been good! We’ve spent our time with the cute little Moda Hotel as our home base, and barring some crazy loud bus traffic, it’s super cute (and super-affordable, too!).

Our first night here we hooked up with friends Andrea, Mel, and Kevin for dinner at Plan B, and had a great time (and some delish eats). Friday we spent loads of time over at Granville Island, home of Emily Carr University, and I gushed over the beautiful stuff at Maiwa Supply, the delicious food at Granville Market, and the adorable and convenient aquabus that ferried us from Yaletown to Granville and back. We also checked out the west end of the city – sort of a Centretown meets Rue St. Catherine a la Robson/Denman/Davie St..

Saturday we were out and about – we hopped into our snazzy red mini from Zipcar, and drove on up into the mountains – Grouse Mountain, Capilano Forest, and up to Squamish on the sea-to-sky highway. I had no idea how pretty the mountains would be, or how easily I’d fall back in love with being by the water all the time. Vancouver is just so … pretty. All the time! Even when it’s raining and grey and makes your teeth chatter.

We’ve walked through South Granville, SoMa, driven halfway into Kitsilano until our zipcar got a flat, we’ve sat on Sunset Beach to watch the sunset, hung out on English Bay after dark, tried BC Spot Prawns (yum!), eaten the best Caribbean food (jerk tofu!) at The Reef, and ran out of fingers to count the local coffeeshops on. We’ve seen cruiseships in port, watched captive grizzly bears chase each other around pens, stood in summer shoes and sleeveless shirts in ten feet of snow, and generally had a fantastic time.

My favourite souvenier is a hand-carved printing block from Maiwa that I’m bringing home. Handcarved by printmakers in India, this block is going to have a prized spot amid my screens and paint and bolts of fabric. I can’t wait to try it out!

There has, of course, been a ton of other stuff, but this covers the basics. In a lot of ways, Vancouver reminds me of home – salty air, boats, bridges – but in lots of others it’s totally foreign. I can’t wait to get back and explore again!