Oysters & Gumbo? Ya! Ya!

 fig. a:  the oyster-stand

You heard right:  Oysters & gumbo.  

At the Foodlab.  This Friday, October 3rd, from 7:00 p.m. on.

And it's all for a great cause.

 fig. b:  smoked cajun sausage

You see, Michelle & Seth will be shucking oysters all night and I'll be serving smoked turkey & sausage gumbo (while quantities last!), and all the proceeds will go towards the Ange-Aimée Woods Memorial Bursary at Concordia University.  

We've said it before, but we'll say it again:  Ange-Aimée was a fantastic journalist and a devoted friend.  She loved great food, and good parties.  She was also a big fan of the Foodlab.  We can't think of a better way to honour Ange-Aimée's memory and to benefit a bursary that will continue to share her incredible warmth & generosity with others for years to come.

Eat, drink, & be merry!  Give Generously!  And laissez bon temps rouler!

Oyster & Gumbo Feast
Friday, October 3, 2014
7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Foodlab / Labo Culinaire
1201 St-Laurent Blvd. (3rd floor)

aj

Ail, Ail, Ma'am!

 fig. a:  petit aïoli monstre

Tomorrow, Thursday, August 14, 2014, le grand aïoli is back, and this time it's even grander than before.  In fact, it's going to be so huge, so extraordinary, that this time around they're billing it as un aïoli monstre (!).

Once again, this grand aïoli pools together the prodigious talents of the Foodlab, Oenopole, and the Birri Bros.

And once again, this aïoli monstre is inspired by and dedicated to our patron saints of Provençal cuisine:  Lulu Peyraud and Richard Olney.

If you're not exactly clear on the concept, the good folks at Oenopole have summarized it this way:  mange tes légumes et bois du rosé ("eat your vegetables and drink some rosé!").  In other words, all of Birri's most beautiful August vegetables, lovingly prepared by Michelle and Seth and served with generous amounts of Lulu's legendary aïoli, plus all of Oenopole's most delicious rosés.  But I have it on good authority that there will also be Provençal-style shrimp and Atlantic lobster on offer to sweeten the deal even further.

Aïoli Monstre
SAT Foodlab / Labo Culinaire
1201 boulevard St-Laurent
Montreal, QC
Thursday, August 14, 2014
5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
rain or shine! (but it's always sunny when a grand aïoli is being served)

Michelle's so excited about this grand aïoli that I heard her say, "You'd be a fool to miss it."  I'm not sure if she meant me personally, or whether she meant "you" more generally.  Either way, I'm not taking any chances.  I know where I'm going to be tomorrow night.

aj

Return of the Raspberry Social!

Yes, the Raspberry Social is coming back!

 fig. a:  raspberries!

Bigger and badder than ever before, and with a new sense of purpose.

As was the case with last year's blockbuster St-Jean Strawberry Social at Espace Pop, this will be a combination Fruit Social & BBQ Social, featuring the following line-up:

AJ's famous smoky Carolina-style chopped pork sandwich (with all the fixings)

Savouré's wonderful raspberry soda 

AND

Michelle's irresistible trio of raspberries, spongecake, & whipped cream*

 fig. b:  BBQ !

This time, our Fruit Social & BBQ will be taking place at the Marché des Possibles, beginning at noon on Saturday, July 26, until supplies last.

And this time around all proceeds will go to a cause that's particularly close to our hearts:  the Ange-Aimée Woods Memorial Bursary.

Earlier this month, Montreal lost a phenomenal journalist, an ultra-enthusiastic supporter of the arts (and of Montreal's culture more generally), a true gastronome, and as dynamic personality as you are ever likely to encounter.  Many of us lost a great friend, too.

Both Michelle and I had known Ange-Aimée for years,** and she had always been a fan of "...an endless banquet" and a beloved regular of the Foodlab.  Plus, Ange-Aimée was a devoted member of our Montreal Fruit Socialists community--in fact, just last summer, she brought her CBC mobile equipment to our St-Jean Strawberry & BBQ Social and interviewed Michelle right in front of our location at Espace Pop.  Wouldn't you know it?  Within about 15 minutes, we started getting CBC listeners dropping in to partake in the festivities.  Yet another example of the Power of Radio, and a perfect example of the Ange-Aimée Effect.

Anyway, we miss Ange-Aimée dearly and we're big believers in Ange-Aimée Woods Memorial Bursary.  If the bursary reaches $15,000 in donations, it will continue to exist in perpetuity, and it seems fitting that the Ange-Aimée Effect should be allowed to touch the lives of Concordia students (Ange-Aimée's alma mater) for many years to come.

For more information on the Ange-Aimée Woods Memorial Bursary click on this link.

who:  "...an endless banquet" + Mile End/St-Louis BBQ #1
what:  an afternoon of tasty treats and positive action at a market where anything is possible
where:  Marché des Possibles, 5635 rue St-Dominique (corner of Bernard)
when:  Saturday, July 26, 2014, 12:00 noon till supplies last
why:  because you love barbecue and/or raspberries, and this here's a great cause
how:  just drop on by (with an appetite)

aj

* Last year, someone set a new Fruit Social record by eating four servings in quick succession (all for a great cause!).  Will you be the new Fruit Social Champion?

** In my case, I met Ange-Aimée when she took a crazy course of mine on apocalyptic visions in cinema that I taught at the University of British Columbia in the late '90s, on the eve of Y2K.

Triple Threat

 fig. a:  meat + wine + grill:  any questions?

Oenopole

      +

Foodlab

     +

Boucherie Lawrence

     =

one helluva wine-soaked barbecue

In fact, they're billing this Thursday's event as:

 fig. b:  gros bbq

In addition to a white from Sébastien Brunet and a red from Le Coste, you can expect grilled pork chops, grilled sausages, and some baller steaks (grilled, of course), along with a whole slew of beautiful vegetable sides, like Michelle's famous minty sweet peas.

Having a hard time picturing it?  It will look kind of like this,

 fig. c:  très gros bbq

except that there will be greater variation in the meat offerings, a wider selection of vegetables, tastier wines, and a better view.

It all goes down:

Thursday, July 17
Foodlab/Labo Culinaire
1201 boulevard St-Laurent
Montréal, QC
5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
rain or shine (but, as of this moment, it looks like SHINE!)

aj

Sowing Seeds

 fig. a:  Kamouraska style

You might remember a couple of posts having to do with Kamouraska, that fabled region of the Bas-Saint-Laurent, that we posted back in 2012.  One having to do with a late-summer weekend getaway?  The other having to do with eel hunting in early autumn?  Not ringing any bells?  Suffering from a case of memory loss?  Well, you can get reacquainted with our adventures here and here.

In any case, both trips were long-awaited pilgrimages of a sort--pilgrimages to la Société des plantes to visit our friend and permaculture hero, Patrice Fortier, who's been a recurring character in the pages of "...an endless banquet" since 2004 (!).

For years, we talked about going out to visit Fortier in the height of season to see the gardens of la Société des plantes in full bloom.  For years, we never made it out there, and had to rely on Patrice's occasional visits to Montreal to sell his phenomenal produce (first, in a series of guerrilla-style street sales; then in a number of different venues, from bike stores to wine importation houses; and, finally, directly to restaurants like Toqué and the Foodlab) and to pay social calls to sustain and nourish our relationship.  But now that we've gotten un p'tit goût de Kamou, we're hooked.

The physical splendour of Kamouraska is already something to behold.  And the same goes for the poetry, the abundance, and the passion of la Société des plantes.  But it's the spirit of the region that really makes it magical, and la Société des plantes--as a place, as a developing project, and as a labour of love--truly is a perfect embodiment of that spirit.


 figs. b & c:  permaculture

It's hard to fully capture the splendour of Kamouraska in words and photos.  And it can be equally challenging to fully express the beauty of la Société des plantes.  But, lucky for you, now there's a film about Patrice and la Société des plantes that does a fantastic job of doing both.  It's called Le Semeur (a.k.a., The Sower), it was directed by Julie Perron, it's received acclaimed at les Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM), the Berlin Film Festival, and, most recently, the DOXA festival in Vancouver and Hot Docs in Toronto, and it's playing at Cinéma eXcentris here in Montreal this week.*

 fig. d:  Le Semeur

And we're maybe a little biased (after all, not only are we good friends with Patrice, but we just happened to chance upon the shooting of one of the film's principal scenes on our first visit, so we have a bit of a history with Le Semeur), but it truly is a beautiful film, one that wisely kept the focus primarily on Kamouraska, one that really provided a lot of space for Patrice's irrepressible personality to shine, and one that fully grasped the artisanal, artistic, and folkloric aspects of the project, as well as the dedication that's made it all possible.

 fig. e:  the art of food

Want to get a sense of what Le Semeur looks, sounds, and feels like?  You can check out the trailer here.

Want to order some of Patrice's heirloom seeds?  You can find them online here.

Bon cinéma et bonne dégustation!

aj

* French only.  There is a subtitled, English-language version, however.  If that version gets released here in Montreal, we'll let you know.

Kitchn Tour: Foodlab

TheKitchn's in-depth profile of Michelle continues with a tour of the Foodlab.

 fig. a:  Foodlab Kitchn

The thing is, TheKitchn doesn't typically cover restaurants.  They're very much focused on home kitchens and home cooking.  But they were interested in how the Foodlab works with homestyle cuisine, and they were especially interested in how Michelle's philosophy and her practice extends from home to the workplace, and from the workplace back into the home.

The photographs are lovely, and they were taken last fall, so you can see Seth & Michelle and rest of the gang working busily on their Provence menu.  All I could think of was warmth, and al fresco dining, and rosé, and it felt pretty good.

Thank you, TheKitchn!

aj

Greens Revolution

Labo Culinaire (a.k.a. Foodlab) made it into the pages of Bon Appétit last month!

They appeared in the RSVP section of the magazine, where readers write in asking Bon Appétit to lobby on their behalf and get a restaurant's heretofore secret recipe, because Elizabeth Munsell, of Boston, MA, did just that--she was curious about a dish she'd had at Foodlab last summer.

She wrote:

Dear Bon Appétit, 

The sautéed greens at Labo Culinaire in Montreal were the highlight of our vacation.

E.M. 

These were the greens she had in mind,

 fig. a:  sautéed greens with labneh

they appeared as part of Foodlab's Jerusalem menu last summer, and I fully understand Ms. Munsell's interest.  They were seriously delicious--a key part of Foodlab's Greens Revolution Summer--and a total crowd-pleaser, and I, too, have been curious about the recipe ever since.  So, thank you, Elizabeth Munsell, and thank you, Bon Appétit!  You made Seth and Michelle very happy, and you made me happy, too.  You'd be surprised how difficult it can be to get a recipe from a chef, even when you live with one.

If you're having a hard time figuring out what's going on in the photograph above.  The greens are wilted with garlic.  There's a dollop of labneh on top, which has been drizzled with olive oil.  And the ensemble has been topped with toasted pine nuts, fried shallots, and lemon zest.  Sounds good, right?

The brilliant thing about this dish is that it's great year-round:  it's just as good with winter greens as it is with summer greens.  It would be great right now as a Lenten dish; but it would also be delicious with an Easter lamb.  Serve it alongside grilled meats and seafood all summer long, or as part of a meze-style meal.  You get the idea...

And it's not difficult to make.  It's really all about the balance of flavours, and, for me, it's the fried shallots that really make it (although the pine nuts and the lemon zest are killer touches, too).

Sautéed Greens with Labneh and Pine Nuts 

2 tbsp pine nuts
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced into rings and separated
1/2 cup vegetable oil
kosher salt
3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lb hardy greens, ribs and stems removed if necessary, leaves torn
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup labneh 

Preheat the oven to 350º F.  Toast nuts on a baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 6-8 minutes.  Let cool. 

Combine shallots and vegetable oil in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are golden, 8-10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shallots to a paper towel-line plate and season with salt. 

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add greens in batches, tossing to wilt slightly before adding more, about 2 minutes.  Add lemon juice and toss; season assertively with salt and pepper. 

Serve greens with a dollop of labneh; top with lemon zest, shallots, nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Serves 4.

Bring on the Greens Revolution!

aj

Divinyles

 fig. a:  VVV

Will "Vin Vignerons Vinyles" be the blowout of the year (possibly even the decade), as some are predicting?

What happens when you bottle a talent pool that includes Catherine Breton, The Four Horseman of the Oenocalypse, Foodlab, Joe Beef, Joshua Applestone, Café Myriade, and Walshy Fire & Jillionaire in the confines of the Sociéte des Arts Technologiques and agitate vigorously?

Will the bottle explode?

There's only one way to find out.

Tonight!
Monday, November 4
SAT
1201, boul. St-Laurent
from 7pm until...
$45 ("admission et bouffe")

Brought to you by the good, good people at Vinnovation.

aj

Omnivores among us

 fig. a:  aaah! they're back!!

They're back!  That wacky band of Parisian bon vivants has returned to our fair city to put on another food festival, Omnivore Montreal 2013, and, once again, they've not only tapped many of Montreal's best chefs, they've brought along a whole bunch of talented friends as well.

 fig. b:  maudit barbu!

Participants in their tag-team-style Maudits Soupers include such vedettes culinaires as Jeremiah Langhorne of Charleston's legendary McCrady's (tonight! with Derek Dammann!! at Maison Publique!!!).

And, once again, the Société des arts technologiques' Foodlab is right at the centre of the action.  The SAT is where all of Omnivore's cooking demos will be taking place (in the tripped-out confines of the SATosphere, their multimedia dome).  The SAT is where Saturday night's Omnivorious bash will be held.  And the Foodlab will be the site of the festival's closing night Maudit Souper on Monday:  a collaboration between Michelle & Seth, and Nicolas Darnauguilhelm of Brussels' highly acclaimed Neptune.

 fig. c:  buchty, mmm...., buchty!

Both Michelle and Seth will be giving demos this weekend, with Michelle's covering the use of cheese in desserts (including her remarkable farmer's cheese- and fruit-filled buchty,* which you can see pictured above, fresh out of the oven).  You can catch Michelle's demo on Saturday, at 3:40 p.m.,** while Seth's will take place on Sunday at 12:20.  Demos run from 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Omnivores of Montreal, unite!

aj

* If you haven't had the pleasure, buchty are traditional Czech yeasted buns that are stuffed with fruit or cheese, and sometimes (as in this case) both.

** BTW, she's making enough buchty for everyone who attends!

Return to Smokey Mt.

 fig. a:  the invite

It was that time of year again.  Time to head down the 87 to the Catskills.  Time to fire up the smoker. Time to feed a whole mess of nice people from the City, from the Catskills, and beyond, on a gloriously beautiful midsummer's eve with some true Southern hospitality.

 fig. b:  the bill

Thing is, up until the last minute, for the first time in five years, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it--which is why we didn't make the bill.

But by Friday afternoon, by the grace of God (and with a little help from an extra-special friend--TY!) we'd arrived at the Stone House, checked in, and gone for a dip in a nearby swimming hole.  And by evening that Smokey Mountain smoker was all fired up, sending sweet hickory smoke wafting in the air, and slowly, magically turning almost 40 pounds of Fleisher's pork shoulders into hog heaven.

 fig. c:  getting up to temp

By noon the next day those shoulders had been pulled, chopped, and dressed into a towering heap of luscious North Carolina-style smoky chopped pork, and we were busily putting together our sides.

By 3:00 p.m. the guests had started to arrive in full force.  And by 6:00 p.m. dinner was served.

The spread:

3x 12-lb Fleisher's pork shoulders, hickory smoked and chopped 

Martin's potato rolls 

Tidewater coleslaw 

AJ's Down East baked beans 

Smokehouse potato salad 

AJ's Holy Grub BBQ sauce 

AEB Totally Jacked-Up BBQ sauce 

Blackcurrant lemonade 

Michelle's rhubarb & white chocolate petit fours

By about 7:15 the pork had been entirely cleaned out.  People made themselves four or five heaping sandwiches.  It was like a well-mannered, totally relaxed feeding frenzy.

By 9:00 p.m., as Color War took the outdoor stage, hickory smoke wasn't the only smoke in the air.

 fig. d:  up in smoke

And by 10:00, after Color War's set had ended in ecstatic dancing and thunderous applause, there was a whole mess of other smoke shooting into a clear, star- and firefly-filled Catskills night.

 fig. e:  c'mon, baby, light my pyre

I'm not sure if it was all that smoke, or what, but I started to have all kinds of strange and interesting visions.  Like this guy.

 fig. f:  double fantasy

Saw him in a vision not long after the Theme from Twin Peaks played announcing the arrival of Color War onstage.  Had the even stranger experience of seeing him mounted to the wall of a log cabin the very next day.

Didn't get an invite?  Like to try some of my "luscious North Carolina-style smoky chopped pork"?  Well, if the Good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise, you'll get your chance tomorrow.  I'll be selling chopped pork sandwiches at Place de la Paix, right next to the Société des Arts Technologiques and the Foodlab, tomorrow, July 17, from 7:00 p.m. till 9:00 p.m.  What's the occasion?  It's a Pop Montreal/Film Pop presentation of Computer Chess on the outdoor screen.  It's also part of a Film, DJ's, and Chefs series that's going on all summer again this year.

Hope to see you there!

In smoke we trust.

aj

p.s. Many thanks to Patricia for making all of this possible, and to Flannery for invaluable assistance in the kitchen.

On the Horizon 1: The Return of Kaffeeklatsch!

 figs. a & b:  flower power + flour power

Yes, that's correct.

Kaffeeklatsch is back!  Now with Flower Power!

Years and years ago, the Monterey Pop Festival dedicated itself to "Music, Love, and Flowers."  This event might not feature the musical heroics of Janis, Jimi, and Ravi, but it will feature better food & drinks than Monterey Pop.  It will be more like Music, Love, Flowers, Pastries, and Coffee.  It'll be a Kaffee und Blumen Klatsch.

What's the occasion?  Well, Michelle is teaming up with her friend Caroline Boyce at Floralia, a Hemmingford-based, totally sustainable, flower farm, who regularly beautifies our city with her lovely arrangements.  Together they're producing an afternoon of flowers and friandises, including plenty of gorgeous blooms from Floralia, a flower-arranging workshop for all those who'd like a tutorial from Caroline herself, and a selection of Michelle's favourite springtime pastries, including rhubarb petits fours and a strawberry cream torte.  There will also be an assortment of artisanal sodas from Savouré and some savoury tarts, for those who'd like a light lunch before dessert and coffee.

Having trouble imagining it?  Well, it'll look something like this,

 fig. c:  blumen und kuchen

only better (if you can believe it), with more flowers, more coffee, and more of the treats you see in the photograph up top.

who:  Foodlab + Floralia
what:  Kaffee und Blumen Klatsch
where:  SAT, 1201 St-Laurent Blvd., Montreal
when:  Saturday, June 15, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

If you'd like more information about Caroline's flower arranging workshop, send her an email at info@floralia.ca.

aj

Get Thee to the Greek

 fig. a:  Greek spring!

Team Foodlab & Team Oenopole are teaming up again to bring you another Greek extravaganza, featuring not one, not two, not three, but FOUR honest-to-goodness Greek wine producers

Thymiopoulos
Argyros
Tselepos
&
Papagiannakos

Opa!

 fig. b:  Opa!

and a wide range of Greek delicacies, including

grilled lambchops
stuffed eggplant
octopus salad
grilled Izmir-style kebab
fresh grilled flatbreads
&
honey-walnut cake

 fig. c:  Foodlab + Oenopole

And, get this:  you don't have to wait, because the festivities take place TONIGHT!

Wednesday, May 15
5pm till close
Foodlab
1201 boul. St-Laurent
3rd floor
Montreal, QC

It's official--Greek Spring has arrived!

aj

¡Ándele! ¡Ándele! ¡Jaiba! ¡Jaiba!

Spring used to come in like a lion 'round these parts, but mostly it just arrives in fits and starts these days, feinting and dodging, teasing and mocking.  Sure, you'll get some warm, toasty days every now and then, but there's sure to be a few bitterly cold days (and nights), too.  And like our friend at the dépanneur down the street says, "You can't be sure of anything until May 15."  And even then...

 fig. a:  printemps québécois

Anyway, signs of spring usually begin sometime in March in Montreal (like most places in the Northern Hemisphere), but, foodwise, it takes a while to see a whole lot of rebirth going on.  With the exception of maple syrup, most of our spring flavours tend to show up in May and June.

Which is why snow crab is of such importance to people like us.  Not only are we enormous fans of crabmeat, but snow crabs are one of the earliest spring arrivals, and snow crab season is really the only time of the year we can get fresh, live, and regional crab here in Montreal.  Officially, the season is said to last from April to November, but our experience has been that in actual fact it's a very short season, lasting no more than about 6-8 weeks.  But, oh, is it ever sweet.  Or, at least, it can be.  And it's going on now.

Just how excited about snow crab are we?

Well, Michelle and Seth have been preparing a lovely snow crab pasta dish as part of their Quebec Spring/Printemps québécois menu at the Foodlab.  It features handmade/housemade tagliatelle cooked to perfection and tossed with a medley of spring vegetables (string beans, peas, shallots, and the first of the cherry tomatoes from our friends at Birri Brothers), herbs (chives and parsley), a generous helping of snow crab meat, and a beautiful crab cream.

And here at home we've been going to town on our very favourite tacos in the entire world:  tacos stuffed with salpicón de jaiba.



 fig. b & c:  crab tacos!

We've featured this recipe before, but it's an absolutely essential one, and a great way to stretch your crabmeat a little further, because, god knows, those snow crabs are tasty, but they can also be quite costly.  Here it is again, revised and updated:

Salpicón de Jaiba 

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup cooked, shredded crabmeat
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1/8-1/4 tsp crushed chili pepper blend (some combination of ancho, pasilla, arbol, chipotle, and/or New Mexico grande chiles)
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onion gently until translucent.  

Add the celery and sauté for about one minute.  Add the fresh chiles and sauté for 30-60 seconds.   

Add the crabmeat and fry until it is warmed through and begins to brown ever so slightly.  The mixture should be rather dry--remember, you're going to be placing it in a taco. 

Lastly, take the mixture off the heat, add the cilantro, salt, and chili blend, and toss, allowing the flavours to mingle for a minute or two before serving.

Serve with hot tortillas and plenty of fixings, like pico de gallo, sour cream or crema, hot sauce, and limes.

Makes enough to fill at least 8-10 corn tortillas. 

[based on a recipe from Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico]

Might seem a little strange to make Mexican tacos with Quebec crab, but, trust me, a little cultural exchange can be a good thing.

 fig. d:  Juan Carlos, the Mexican crab

 fig. e:  Jean-Charles, the Quebec snow crab

Go, Crabs, go!

aj

Czech 'er out!

 fig. a:  torte?  Czech!

Michelle's new Czech Easter menu premieres tonight at the Foodlab.

It features this gorgeous new torte (walnut-plum) that Michelle invented.

They're also serving Czech-style bar snacks, and a tantalizing selection of Michelle's favourite Czech delicacies, including her Prague Spring salad, Poached Trout with caraway seeds, leeks, and butter-lemon sauce, and Beef Tenderloin with svickova sauce, dumplings, and lingonberry jam.

 fig. b:  Czech beer & sausages

Michelle will be making some Czech Easter treats in a couple of weeks, too, closer to the Big Day.

 fig. c:  Czech pastries

And they've got a selection of Czech beers on offer.

Just saying.

aj

La Grande Bouffe!, rev. ed.

Have you heard the news?

Foodlab and our friends at Cult MTL are teaming up to present a very special night of aural and oral pleasures (so to speak).

 fig. a:  bouffe/bal

The occasion:  the release of Cult MTL's eagerly anticipated March issue.

The location:  the SAT's Foodlab.  Saturday, March 9.  7:00 p.m.

The attractions:  Foodlab, Nouveau Palais, Soupson, and Dispatch Coffee will be combining their considerable talents to produce a $25 4-course meal & The Suuns (the March issue's cover boys) will follow with a $5 DJ set to celebrate the release of their most recent record, Images du Futur.  (Want to get yourself primed?  Check out the entire album here.)  But, get this:  if you buy a ticket for that tasty 4-course meal, you'll be admitted into the dance party gratis.

 fig. b:  suuns/cult

Sounds awesome, right?

Oh, it will be.  Just look at the menu.

 fig. c:  le menu

As Michelle is so fond of saying:  bouffe!

 fig. d:  santé!

Interested?  You can purchase tix here.

aj

Come Cook With Me

(photos by Aran Goyoaga)

The SAT Foodlab is thrilled to present Cannelle et Vanille's Aran Goyoaga for an intimate night of cooking, eating and drinking.

Sunday, January 20th, 20 lucky participants will spend the afternoon preparing a beautiful 5-course feast with Aran, and then join her at the table for an evening of great wine, conversation and eating.

Aran will be joined by sommelière Etheliya Hananova (from Lawrence), who will take care of the wine selections and discuss the ins and outs of pairings.

The meal will be entirely gluten-free, and each participant will receive a signed copy of Aran's book Small Plates and Sweet Treats. Two glasses of wine are also included in the price.

Sunday, January 20th, 2013, from 3:00 pm
At the SAT Foodlab, 1201 St. Laurent 3rd floor (between Rene Levesque and Ste. Catherine)
Cost: $115 (including taxes, $135.72) Tickets can be reserved by emailing foodlab@sat.qc.ca or by following this link for direct purchase.

I can't wait for this lovely event. Space is very limited. Reserve soon.

m

so long, 2012!

Song



Roy Harper, Stormcock

Sixto Rodriguez, Coming From Reality

Cat Power, Sun

More (original soundtrack), "music played and composed by Pink Floyd"

Zabriskie Point (original soundtrack), v/a



Fotheringay, s/t

Grimes, Visions

Beach House, Bloom

Lynyrd Skynyrd, Street Survivors

Destroyer, "Leave Me Alone"

Futurisk, "Lonely Streets"

Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits

Neil Young, Psychedelic Pill + Yuma



Bill Fay, Life is People + The Time of the Last Persecution

The Faces, BBC TV special, 1972

The Dirty Three, Toward the Low Sun

Tim Hecker, Live at the Red Roof, Pop Montreal

Sharon Van Etten, Tramp

Fairport Convention, Bouton Rouge session, 1968

Print







Manny's Delicatessen Restaurant brochure, ca. 1970


David Grann, "The Yankee Comandante:  A Story of Love, Revolution, and Betrayal," The New Yorker, May 28, 2012






Ian Frazier, Travels in Siberia

Errol Morris, Believing is Seeing (Observations on the Mysteries of Photography)

Ariel Levy, "The Space in Between:  Naomi Wolf's Vagina:  A New Biography," The New Yorker, September 10, 2012

Henry James, Portrait of a Lady

Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild



Magnus Nilsson, Fäviken

Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Eleanor Clark, The Oysters of Locmariaquer

John McPhee, The Crofter and the Laird

Jill Lepore, "The Lie Factory:  How Politics Became a Business," The New Yorker, September 24, 2012



Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire

Jon Halliday, Sirk on Sirk

Mark Kurlansky, The Basque History of the World:  The Story of a Nation



David Jury, Graphic Design Before Graphic Designers:  The Printer as Designer and Craftsman, 1700-1914

Jessica Mitford, Hons and Rebels

Hugh Garvey (w/ Chef Andy Ricker), "Simply Thai:  A BA Cooking Primer," Bon Appétit, January 2012

Moving Images



Muhammad Ali:  The Greatest, dir. Klein

Treme, season 2

I Know Where I'm Going, dir. Powell

Searching for Sugar Man, dir. Bendjelloul

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, dir. Alfredson

Oslo, August 31, dir. Trier

Moonrise Kingdom, dir. Anderson



Stop Making Sense, dir. Demme

Blank City:  New Cinema, No Wave, New York, dir. Danhier

Museum Hours, dir. Cohen

A Separation, dir. Farhadi

Meek's Cutoff, dir. Reichardt

Monsieur Lazahr, dir. Falardeau

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, dir. Fincher



The Limits of Control, dir. Jarmusch

Ratcatcher, dir. Ramsay

Detropia, dir. Ewing & Grady

The Wire, seasons 1-5 (all over again)

Food & Drink



Green Chile Summer

Grilled Corn Summer

Hôtel Herman, Montreal, QC



Foodlab, Montreal, QC

Bao Bei, Vancouver

Toro, Boston



Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

Revolver, Vancouver



Montreal bazaars

Santouka, Vancouver

crunchy granola



Neptune, Boston

Toshi, Vancouver



Cream-Nut peanut butter

Hudson's Hamburgers, Coeur d'Alene, ID

Boulangerie Niemand, Kamouraska, QC



summer peaches

The Farm House "Lady Jane" cheese + Les Amis du Fromage, Vancouver

Le Grand Aïoli, Alexandraplatz, Montreal, QC



Montreal food enterprise of the year:  Coq Asian

Furco, Montreal, QC



bo ssäm & ssäm bburritos

Miscellaneous



escapes to Vancouver

The Cornwallville Summer Social 2012, Cornwallville, NY

This American Life, "What Happened at Dos Erres"



Mystery Train, Gloucester, MA



summer swimming + cottage outings



Kamouraska, QC



bags by Erin Templeton

Le Creuset cookware (in black)



Cornwallville Soaps

Birdkage waxed canvas aprons

ping pong!


All the best to you in 2013 (?!!), from your friends at "...an endless banquet."  Thanks for reading!

aj

p.s. And if you're wondering what our most popular post was this year, it was our "Boston Notebook (go figure!)."