Another memorable weekend

This Civic holiday weekend Mike joined me in Toronto and I planned all sorts of touristy things that even I've never done to simulate our fun times in Montreal. Friday night we had dinner on the Danforth (Greektown) where I had my first pork souvlaki and taramosalata since I got back from Africa (mmm, yummy!) and the night ended in Little Italy. The next day I had grand plans of hitting Cherry Beach, checking out the Distillery District and watching Will Ferrell's new stupid movie at the Docks drive-in, which I thought would be fun to have a bottle of wine over while having the best view of the Toronto skyline. However, my Dad spoiled our Saturday plans by inviting Mike and I over for a BBQ. Wow. I never thought that would happen, let alone coming from my Dad. So Saturday afternoon we had a wonderful traditional Vietnamese BBQ at my sister's, who just bought a fancy coal BBQ contraption and finished her beautiful backyard patio. It was sooooo nice, a great casual, unexpected and yummy way to integrate yet another non-Chinese significant other into the family. Five years ago, I would never have imagined even in my wildest dreams that one day my parents, my sister, her brown husband AND my non-Chinese boyfriend and I would all be sitting down together for a meal. I have to give Mike some props though, he's very adept with chopsticks, ate everything in sight (even weird Asian mint leaves) and didn't arrive with just bananas (an Asian parent joke where prospective suitors make the mistake of bringing nothing... i.e. empty hands resembling a bunch of bananas).
In my planning I also made a whole list of favourite restaurants I wanted to hit up which we would never be able to cover in two days, and a cheap Vietnamese sub place was one of them. However, we were able to scratch that off the list because my Mom went out on Sunday to get Mike three subs so that he could try them for the first time and it ended up being his dinner on his 5-hour drive home. I guess he's totally in with the parents now!

So in the end we didn't get to go to Milestone's for steak or up to Main Street in Unionville for great Italian or grease it up in Chinatown, or even Woodbridge for a vast array of different yummy things, but we did get to munch again at Pickle Barrel and have brunch at the award-winning Hot House Cafe. We both weren't able to eat much at all because we're such lightweights, but the pecan-covered French toast was amazingly delcious. Also on Saturday Mike actually agreed to take a BodyFlow class with me at Goodlife, which incorporates Tai Chi, yoga and pilates. We had a lot of fun and I finally got to fulfill my dreams to go to the gym with Mike (*sigh* the reality of a long distance relationship). We didn't get to make it up to Yorkdale either because the weekend is just too short. I was really sad to see Mike go but hopefully I'll get to see him in two weeks. Meanwhile, my new book I'm reading as recommended by my adept friend Paul "Heat: An amateur's adventures as kitchen slave, line cook, pasta-maker, and apprentice to a Dante-quoting butcher in Tuscany" has been helping me pass time away on the subway. It's a great read, and makes me realize why steaks cost upwards of $25 and eating out in general is expensive, because people are slaving away in hot and greasy kitchens, purely for the joy of cooking, throwing normal waking hours away and social lives just to serve others. It's such a great insight into the culinary world and the only drawback is every time I read the book I get so very very hungry!! No to mention the book was on sale at the bookstore right across from Sick Kids, 40% off a hardcover! I barely ever buy hardcovers because of their cost but this was a nice purchase.

So now I get to relax for the day since it's a bank holiday. I watched a bootlegged copy of The Break-Up with my little sister (shh, don't tell the cops) and it was bad and confusing, because I wasn't sure what the message was. Was it that you can't change people? No duh. I wasn't terribly impressed and now I will always and forever remain an Angelina Jolie fan, especially now that my co-worker Jennifer says I'm just like her (oh my gosh, what a compliment!!) but I'll keep in mind that this was stated over a margarita made with "special" Tequila the other night that gave us all vivid, violent and straight-up scary bad dreams.

Well I feel so very lucky to have yet another memorable weekend in what has been in amazing summer, largely in part due to my sister who is a wonderful hostess!