I headed to Toronto for Groundhog Day. For more than a decade, I've made it a point to visit a nice restaurant to celebrate this day. But during the last few pandemic years it was a half-hearted effort. But for 2023, I promised myself it will be back as before. I did see the eponymous movie on the big screen during its initial release. But this recurrence wasn't an homage to the now cult classic film about a man stuck in a time-loop. In fact, confession time: this day was also my birthday. And doesn't every birthday feel in some way the same and yet not?
I left for the old neighbourhood of Bloorcourt from Victoria's Mansion. The northbound Yonge subway was jam-packed with rush-hour commuters but few wore masks. Nobody had a problem with mine except for an "anti-vax" lady who started muttering alternative facts about infection rates and other mumbo jumbo. On our exit at Bloor Station, I finally told her to shut up. But she had disappeared into the crowd and a different lady was shocked, thinking I was directing my angry epithet at her. So an important lesson for a milestone birthday: putting out negativity into the world will just make things worse.
My destination was a fine-dining Korean restaurant called Orote. It was still being renovated when I left. Appropriately enough, since this was the Year of the Cat, a large yellow tiger was painted on the wall. I ordered 3 appetizers and two mains. The 4 pieces of Yellowtail ($18) were exquisitely sweet and fresh, enlivened with slightly bitter perilla. The salad ($10) was quite tasty too: layers of green, alternated with slices of beet and Asian pear as palate cleanser, mixed with roasted nuts and barley grain. The final app: fried tofu in a lightly spiced kimchi and chorizo ragu ($12) was also a great blend of flavour. Too bad I didn't take any photos because my Blackberry phone decided to turn itself off.
I wasn't as blown away by the Ribeye Ssam ($38). Slices of steak was accompanied by small pieces of red-leaf lettuce (acting as wraps) and gochujang sauce. There was nothing wrong with this main but it wasn't as inventive as the other dishes. Perhaps it was also too much meat for 1 person because I struggled to finish it. The Miso Yolk Rice ($12) with flaky dried egg yolk mixed in with soft, wet rice was also a miss. After I settled my bill and was about to leave, the chef gave me a complimentary dessert of vanilla ice cream with pink grapefruit. It was a nice, light way to end the meal.
If I was still living at Bloorcourt, Orote would be a regular haunt. But I wouldn't eat a full-meal like tonight. I would drop by every week for a single appetizer and then finish off with a slice of pizza at 241 Pizza just across the street.
I returned to Victoria Mansion musing that even in time-loops there are changes. Some are good: I was in the same room as last time. But management had replaced the carpet with laminated wood. Even better, there was now a new baseboard heater that kept it (maybe too) toasty. Some are bad: I looked at the full-length mirror and saw what 18 months of sedentary life in Ottawa has done. I was no chiseled Adonis before but now it was grim. A birthday resolution: regular yoga wasn't enough, I needed to be more active even if it was just a walk outside.
But in time-loops, things also don't change: like a hotel phone-book from more than 15 years ago. So in what year are we actually living?
04/02/2023: I ate the rice with some chicken last night. After drying out in the fridge, it was delicious: the miso lent it a nice fragrance. Not the first time a dish was better as leftover.
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