Rule of Three

Made some reservations today for a few dinners while we’re in Paris. French food, dim sum and Mexican among the mix. My taste buds can hardly wait. In the meantime, here is today’s Paris post - three beautiful pics and only three more sleeps!

p.s. On a total sidenote, my friend Heather suggested that I “friend” Andrew Lees, the cutie from last week’s STA videos, so I did. His Facebook wall is hysterical, basically post after post from cute girls the world round saying something to the effect of, “Hi Andrew. I love your video! Next time you should visit Argentina/Brazil/North Africa/Turkey/Japan!” LOL, guess I wasn’t the only one smitten with the Aussie cutie ;)

Today marks a historic occasion. It’s not the advent of a new technology or the creation of new geographic bounds, but for a fashion-lover and lifelong J.Crew fan, it’s still a huge event. Today J.Crew opens its first-ever international store right here in our very own T.O. at the mothership of shopping centres, Yorkdale.

I’m embarrassed to admit the store has been open for almost six hours and I have yet to visit (if I claim to be a diehard J.Crew follower perhaps I should have slept in the mall overnight, or scammed my way into the press opening last night). The thing is, I’m having a small internal debate on when (and if) to go. On the one hand, I’m excited that the prepster haven for classic neutrals and technicolour accessories is now available sans currency exchange, but as Karen von Hahn recently noted in her Toronto Star article, does the arrival of J.Crew on our side of the border lessen its sparkle just a teensy bit?

Regardless, it seems a certainty that I will eventually cross the whitewash flooring threshold at the new store, so now the question becomes when. Similar to when Victoria’s Secret, Anthropologie and Crate & Barrel entered Canada, the first few weeks (if not months) at this U.S. import are going to be mayhem. There will be lineups for changerooms, lineups at the cash. Displays will be a mess as curious shoppers upheave every neatly-folded display in a frenzy to grab a size in the Minnie cigarette pant and classic cashmere cardigan. And that’s not really the J.Crew experience I want to remember, so my gut says to wait a few months until the novelty has worn off, and then hit up the store. But who am I kidding. With all the buzz in the Twitterverse, as well as the nostalgic twinge for back-to-school shopping trips tugging at my heart (and purse) strings, I’m sure I’ll be speeding over to Yorkdale faster than you can say “city-fit chino capri”. I guess it’s better to just give in and go with the flow, than to try and fight my natural prepster tendencies and unconditional love for J.Crew.

Here are three pics of the new shop, as tweeted by J.Crew. Colour-blocking, mixed mediums and an abundance of white space – looks like every designer’s dream. p.s. check out the lineup! Repeat after me, “patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue.”

Last night’s episode of Bachelor Pad taught me three important lessons:

1. Girls are crazy and men are a-holes.
2. People will sell their soul/body/dignity for a little money and a chance at fame.
3. Little people are the biggest romantics.

Let me start by saying that watching the episode made me ashamed to be a human being. “But you still watched it!,” you might throw back. And yes, you would be correct, but only because it was a proverbial train wreck that horrified and captivated me, to the point where I was frozen and unable to tear my eyes away from the screen, and yet at the same time, wanted to scratch out those very same eyeballs with the nearest blunt object, just to be set free from the sleaze.

I’m fairly new to the entire Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad franchise, having only watched the last two seasons with Brad and then Ashley, but I’m shocked to discover that BP delivers a whole new level of trash. The rampant lying, two-facing and manipulativeness would be laughable if they weren’t also such a very sad commentary on the state of television today. It’s like the producers have found a group of seemingly adult men and women, transplanted their brains with those of high schoolers, and corralled them in a secluded mansion somewhere in Lala Land.  What was up with last night’s paint-filled egg throwing contest, literally targeting people as the least popular or least attractive in the house with questions like, “who do you think is the dumbest guy in the house?” or “who are you least attracted to?” It was like Mean Girls on steroids.  Shame on you ratings-whore producers, SHAME. ON. YOU.

The stereotypes that were reinforced last night were outrageous. First off, no wonder guys think all girls are crazy when headcases like Melissa and Vienna are parading around. Seriously, Melissa, WAKE UP AND SMELL THE DOUCHEBAG, Blake is playing you like a fiddle! And speaking of Blake, he took the lead in the a-hole championship race, when he made out with Melissa only to secure a rose, but then made her think she was nuts when she confronted him for getting his flirt on with Holly. I mean, she clearly is nuts, but he’s just adding fuel to the fire, and probably sealing his own fate on the show in the process. And as a side note, how awkward was it when Blake and Holly were lying in bed together and Melissa came and joined them??????  What was up with that? Melissa, go rent He’s Just Not That Into You, watch it eight times, burn it into your brain and then let’s try this again.

Blake wasn’t the only one whoring himself out last night. Turns out most people will sell their soul (Kasey and Vienna), body (Blake) and dignity (Graham) for a little money and a chance to make it into the spotlight. Gia seemed to be the only sensible one last night, fleeing the show with dramatic flair, claiming, “I wasn’t made for this.” after Graham betrayed her confidence and their friendship. I was kind of impressed with her until a friend pointed out that this isn’t Gia’s first time on Bachelor Pad. Apparently she was also on the first season of BP, and should have known exactly what she was in for. Turns out she’s just a fame whore like all the others.

The episode would have been totally absent of any basic human decency were it not for last night’s heart-warming moment from Ames and Jackie. When Jackie was voted off at the end of the evening, our Little People Big World romantic walked her to the limo and kissed her goodbye. Then, as he turned to walk back to the group, he made a split second decision, waved goodbye and ran back to the limo, jumping in with his look of mouth-agape lost-puppy face that we’ve come to know and love. What do you know? Turns out little people are the biggest romantics after all. And thank goodness for that, because with a cast that makes mental-case Michelle Money look like a nice girl, we need all the romance we can get.

Bachelor Pad airs Monday nights at 8pm ET on ABC and CityTV.

I hit up another film at the Open Roof Festival last night, this time Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop – the documentary about the one-time late night host and his post-firing tour.  Before the show we grabbed dinner at WVRST, the lastest addition to the King & Portland strip of good eats. BEST. IDEA. EVER.

 The place is a sausage-fest, both literally and figuratively. Big long (get your mind out of the gutter) wood communal dining tables run the length of the space, giving it a kind of “mess hall” type feel.  Glowing light bulbs hang from the ceiling, naked, save for a black electrical cord from which they’re hung. One entire feature wall is tiled in red, with WVRST spelled out in black. And a countdown to Oktoberfest is proudly displayed in the entrance, each enthusiastic red slash bringing WVRST one day closer to the event it seems primed to welcome.

The menu at WVRST is pretty simple to navigate – sausage, sausage and more sausage. There are over 18 different kinds, including safe bets like Spicy Italian, Chicken and Kielbasa, as well as more unusual options like Kangaroo and Wild Boar. For first-timers, finding your way to sausage euphoria is as simple as 1, 2, 3.

Pick your sausage vehicle. Either on a fresh roll (the classic choice) or in a currywurst, where the sausage is sliced and served in a tomato curry sauce (word is it’s worth a try at least once). Next, pick your sausage. Play it safe or branch out – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed either way. Finally, pick your toppings (if you’ve gone for the classic fresh roll option) from caramelized onions, sweet peppers,  sauerkraut, or sauteed jalapenos (they leave them pretty crunchy for a great fresh flavour with some serious bite).

If you’re in for the whole experience then your meal isn’t complete without an order of the duck fat fries, just as decadent and delicious as they sound. WVRST is also fully licensed, so sit back, order a cold beer and toast to a world where sausages rule and the mess hall is always open.

Image from Epic Burgers and Waffles

I read today that the CNE has announced their artery-clogging lineup for this year’s event, and it is a doozy! As much as I hate to write about the Ex (much less read about it), since it signals the end of summer, I do love sharing the list of disgustingly intriguing concotions they have planned. I can already feel my arteries constricting and my pants slowly cut off circulation around my muffin top.

Leading the charge for my CNE eating challenge are the following three categories of food on a stick: deep fried, meat/cheese, sweet treat. Read on dear friends, but be warned, the mental images alone may send you racing out to the closest convenience store to try and replicate these delicacies at home, counting down the days until the Ex opens in a food-induced coma with meat sweats and sugar crumbs rolling down your chin. Bon appetit.

Deep-Fried Treats on a Stick

• Deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (yummo!)
• Deep-fried tortilla mash dog with chili and cheese sauce
• Deep-fried macaroni and cheese (bonus points if it’s made with Kraft Dinner)
• Deep-fried Mars bars
• Deep-fried Twix
• Deep-fried Pop Tart
• Deep-fried caramel
• Deep-fried brownies
• Deep-fried Oreo
• Deep-fried Twinkies

Meat / Cheese Treats on a Stick

• Fire hot sausage
• Regular sausage
• Fish balls (this sounds disgusting - I may be willing to eat deep fried Mars bars, but a girl’s gotta have some standards)
• Meatballs
• Pork souvlaki
• Pizza (as much as I love food on a stick, I won’t go near pizza unless it’s Terroni, Libretto or QMP)
• Pogo (I developed an aversion to Pogo sticks after a particularly grueling 3rd year exam period, where I ate nothing but Pogo sticks and chocolate milk)
• Shrimp
• Turkish delight (I don’t know what this is, but the only Turkish delight I know are those gelatin squares, coated in icing sugar. Those do NOT belong in the meat and cheese category so these must be something different.)
• Vietnamese pork
• Chicken
• Chicken tenders
• Corn dogs (is this not the same thing as a Pogo stick?)

Sweet treats

• Candy apples
• Caramel apples
• Candy floss
• Fudge
• Ice cream sandwich dipped in chocolate rolled in peanuts
• Saint Cinnamon Poppers 
• (I feel like they kinda lost steam on the Sweet Treat list. These look yummy, but none of them blow my socks off. Where’s the cookie dough? cakepops? cheesecake icecream pops? CNE, if you need someone in-house to brainstorm better sweets-on-a-stick ideas, my door is always open.)

As if that wasn’t enough, the main attraction, the cherry on top, the icing on the cake (I can’t get enough of these food expressions :) is the very same dish that appeared at the Calgary Stampede earlier this summer, the donut cheeseburger. Oh yes, dear friends, you too can indulge in a juicy burger, topped with cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce, bacon and egg in between two Krispy Kreme donuts. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. I guess if it’s good enough for the Duchess of Awesomeness, it should be good enough for me, but something tells me the svelte likes of Kate Middleton didn’t deign to go anywhere near the donut cheeseburger. Party pooper :P

The CNE runs August 19th to September 5th.
To read the full blogTO article click here.

Earlier today I was looking up restaurant menus for a new project (note to self: do not peruse site after site of culinary delights before lunch time, it may induce premature drooling, peckish-ness and hunger pains) and I came across the blog for Bobo in NYC.

The third entry (found here) revealed shot after shot of the holy grail of food porn – creamy crumbly desserts! For those of you in the NYC area this weekend, might I suggest a trip to Bobo to taste test the product and report back with whether these treats are as sweet as they appear? If you want to spare my feelings, you’ll tell me they look pretty, but taste like a cross between stale arrowroots and moldy cardboard, and allow me to move on, but I know you’ll just be sugar coating it.

To learn more about Bobo, visit their website. 
All images from Bobo.