Kelley Bromley

In our lab we have water baths to warm stuff up or incubate tubes in. We also have one in our indirect heat climate-controlled incubator. Anyway, every now and then the water is replaced and we squirt this anti-microbial goop in so it doesn’t go all funky on us. Well, Shin, our trusty undergrad, cleaned out both water baths in the cell culture room and every time I open the cover or incubator door I just love the smell! I dunno if we got a different chemical to put in it or if he just put way too much in, but that stuff is like aromatherapy! I can’t even describe it… it’s sweet and kind of fruity, maybe like cherries, but not fresh cherries, more like cherries would smell if they were cooked in mom’s cherry cake and someone poured raspberry sauce all over the top of it while it was still warm so the cake would heat the raspberry sauce and make it smell stronger, and then that smell mixed with the smell of the hot cherry cake. It smells so good I just had to write about it, lol. I can see the perfume on the market now - “Eau de bain d’eau” LOL.

When Lionel and I went home for Christmas we tried some of the wines dad made. I’m not a big fan of red wine, but Lionel really wants to get into it and has developed a bit more tolerance than me, heh. Anyway, the only one I liked was “Bergamais.” After getting back to BC we went to several liquor stores and asked if they carried Bergamais, and every time we were referred to the “wine guy/gal” who subsequently looked at us as if we had two heads and have never heard of it. Well. So we continued to buy Merlots, and Pinot Noirs, in the hope that maybe we could find it in Newfoundland when we move back there someday….

The other day when we were buying wine I noticed a French wine called “Beaujolais” and thought to myself, “Self, this wine also starts with a B and has the same number of syllables… could it be?” and we bought it. Got home, opened it up - fantastic. Even good after a few days in the fridge, while other reds usually taste worse each day following. Lo and behold, an internet search after the fact by Lionel revealed that Beaujolais is indeed Bergamais! Now I am armed with the knowledge that wine made with Gamay grapes is awesome… and now, I just did a search and found out that Gamay grapes are grown in the Burgundy region of France… and way back when we first started buying wine we picked up a cheap bottle of “California Burgundy” that we also liked! A wine labelled Burgundy is most likely Pinot Noir; however, regulations allow them to contain up to two thirds Gamay grapes! Freaky! I never thought the day would come that I could identify my favorite wine by grape but it seems to have arrived… if only by a series of cool coincidences ;)

Dine out Vancouver is this annual event held in Vancouver where hundreds of restaurants put out fixed menus ($15, $25, or $35) which include a choice of 2 or 3 appetizers, entrées, and desserts. Basically it’s a chance to go t a place where you’d normally pay $100 for such a meal! So Lionel and I went to the CRU last night, and it was awesome. Our menus were as follows:

The food was very delicious! The onion torte was tough and the knives were edgeless butter knives and the torte flew onto my lap when the knife slipped, but other than that I was good company I loved the balsamic reduction, it was syrupy and sweet, but the smoked tuna and beets were better. The lamb was rare and the sauce was good, there just wasn’t enough of it. There were about 6 green beans on the plate, lol. I tried a truffle for the first time and while they are unique (like a really potent mushroom) and have a fantastic earthy flavour, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. The crème brûlée was definitely the better dessert because the torte was very very rich; however, I have never had such an experience as the torte! It was a cake texture, but as soon as it hit your tongue it melted into a liquidy blast of dark chocolate. If you had each piece with a bit of the cream and the citrus coulis it was much better because the tartness of the citrus balanced the richness of the torte.

The restaurant itself was like a long hall - quite small, but interesting and warm decor. The plating was beautiful! It was a bit too fancy for either of our tastes though . . . we asked for bottled water and they gave us the choice of sparkling or non-sparkling, so we chose non-sparkling and it turned out to be this imported French spring water (apparently distilled or reverse osmosis is too lowly for this kinda place, lol) and they put the 1L bottle on our table like they would a bottle of wine. Beautiful bottle, but still! It was $7! We could get 43L of distilled water for that, LOL. Also, the tea they served us ($6) was regular Stash Tea that we have at home! It’s $4 for a whole box! Anyway, the atmosphere was nice, and the presentation was cool, but we won’t be going to a fancy place here again I don’t think, heh. We have another reservation with a $15 place which is supposed to serve larger portions meant for filling you up and not just for display :P