Looking Back

As the years go by, it's harder to reconnect with old friends from out of town. On Wednesday, I went to NeXT in Stittsville for dinner with only 2. The rest were away for the holidays, busy with family, or incommunicado. This venue used to be an event centre for weddings and so on. The new owner still does these catering events but have also create a space for a sit-down restaurant. There are no places in downtown Toronto that could be this large or have so many parking spots.

NeXT does casual dining with a more refined palate. Tonight we tried Yukon fries ($8), Grinch's gobbler ($19), Crispy chicken ($25), Berkshire pork belly ($28), lamb shank ($33), and BC ling cod ($37). It was all tasty but rather heavy in the aggregate.

It's interesting that the chef Mark Blackie is cited in articles as being a hot young chef in culinary competitions circa 2006. Because I ate like this a decade ago: truffle mayo for the fries, Asian-inspired sambal sauce on the chicken, and so on. Maybe there are still restaurants that still do this in Toronto. I can't think of any and I certainly don't eat at them. Which is to say NeXT feels like someone staying in their comfort zone.

I can understand that. I'm all about routines and regularity in my daily life. But as 2017 winds down, I think 2018 should be different. Life-changing 180 degree turns aren't me. But developing new patterns, updating some familiar ones, and discarding out-dated cruft, gradual change is probably more beneficial than staying the same.