My So-Called Work Life

On Friday, I got groceries at Ogilvie and Montreal Rd. Metro was just another corporation in the Canadian grocery oligopoly but at least it wasn't Sobeys or Loblaws. Also, this plaza was near my first home so I could visit the old neighbourhood. All the stores have changed: the Fat Albert pizzeria, the local video rental, and the arcade tucked inside a convenience store. Even McDonald's has given way to a Popeye's.

After I made my purchases, I checked out one of the businesses. Creole Sensations was a small, clean restaurant offering Caribbean (primarily Haitian) food. It was more spacious and brighter than Boukannen. As it wasn't lunchtime yet, I was the only customer. But a few teenagers from the nearby high school dropped in as my order was being made.

The lunch special ($10) was rice and peas, fried plaintain, your choice of beef, chicken, or stewed vegetables, and a can of pop. I was at first disappointed with the portion size but it turned out to be a filling meal. The stew had good flavour but the both the rice and the plaintain were just a tad dry. This was my second taste of Haitian-style plaintain but I prefer the Jamaican version without the batter. The best part of the meal turned out to be pikliz. What I first took to be coleslaw was actually a Haitian pickled condiments of cabbage, carrots, seasoning, and a nice kick from Scotch bonnets.

On Saturday, I received a call from an ex-coworker. The good news was they had started exercising again after stopping during the pandemic. The bad news was their continuing obsession with "missing out" on the real estate market. With sky-high rent in Toronto, I can sympathize with lost opportunities and feeling "stuck" in a less-than-ideal apartment because the alternative is to see your monthly rent shoot up if you move.

They had recently attended a gathering of mutual colleagues to celebrate a milestone: someone had spent 25 years at the same company. This wasn't the first get-together that I wasn't invited to. We all went on to other jobs but it being a small world, I have also worked with the same folks (in various configuration) at other companies too. In fact, before the pandemic layoffs, several of them were with me at my current job. So it wasn't as if we had lost touch.

On the other hand, I never shared the same level of camaraderie with these coworkers. When we worked in Mississauga, I didn't hang out after work at the local pub. And as for the most recent job, there were often lunch outings. But it was always for mediocre pub food, sushi, and so on. So I usually ended up going alone for more interesting fare like northern Chinese noodles, fancier sushi, Korean stew, or Sri Lankan food. Yet every choice has consequences as I missed opportunities to deepen friendships or even just establish better ties for networking.

Eats Ville

Despite being a native Ottawan, I haven't paid much attention to Vanier. For most people, it's a slightly seedy part of town with the more well-off francophones moving to Orleans decades ago. But recently I saw a bit more of the area.

Last week I headed there to try some poutine. The Great Canadian Poutinerie is a long-time family business (under various monikers) serving hot dogs, burgers, and fries before switching exclusively to poutine. I saw their location on a side street during one of the bus detours along Montreal Rd. So on a Thursday morning, I decided to drop by. Walking down Emond St., the variety of smaller homes reminded me of the working-class neighbourhoods in Toronto. The Great Poutine was in a small building on Deschamps next to a well-maintained parkette. They offered a long list of specialty options including Philly Steaks and Butter Chicken. I stuck with a traditional poutine in a medium size ($9.75) or a "great" order per the menu.

I regularly ate poutine from a food truck in university but only just the one time in Toronto. This offering looked good: piled high with curds and soaking in gravy. The fries were thick, well-fried but nicely softened by the gravy. I enjoyed this lunch sitting on a bench in Emond Park. I would return but not too often for the sake of my arteries.

This past Thursday, I was back in the same area. I wanted to visit the new site of Green Fresh Supermarket. It had moved into a bowling venue on McArthur after the old location was sold for condo development. From Montreal Rd, I headed up Cyr Ave. There was again a mix of older houses but I noticed that some lots had new construction.

Stepping inside, I was pleasantly surprised by the size especially for an independent grocer. The cashiers were on the main level with most of the aisles on the lower floor. This was a left-over from when the alleys were set below the reception and dining area. I went to MacArthur Lanes only a handful of times. The most significant being that this venue was the final time I saw my crush. Parting ways after university, we met up again the summer after our first year in graduate studies. I then found out that after 3 years of undergrad singledom (and so fueling my unrequited love), they had met the love of their life in medical school.

Green Fresh no longer had a buffet and the nearby businesses (e.g., St. Louis Pizza) didn't appeal. So I headed to Quelque Chose for a quick lunch. The Caprese sandwich ($6.50) on a croissant (+$0.50) was a light meal of tomato slices, spinach, mozzarella, and pesto sauce. I considered my surroundings: a humble Chinese-Canadian take-out, a modest greasy diner, a pizza and wings joint. It reminded me of my (previously) lightly-gentrified neighbourhood of Bloorcourt in Toronto. In a better timeline, Vanier remained Eastview and kept 20th century car culture at bay. So it had great access to the Rideau river, contained small shops and businesses, and retained its modest but cozy homes. In the 2010s, gentrification would finally arrive but not too much.