post party brunching delights

brunch with heather is exactly what i needed. we decided on the place like this:

me: do we have  a place picked out?

h: not yet!

h: any ideas?

i do a quick google search scanning for creative delights, nonegg options, and no long line-ups/reservations available, and send a link listing top vancouver brunch spots.

me: number 1 or 5?

h: oooooo! they both look delicous!

me: right?

me: do you want to peruse their menus and make a decision?

(h likes to scour, pour over, ingest menus. i like to scan them to see that they do have wonderous options and leave the decision for the day)we each have our processes.) a quick phone convo followed. when we realized that one of the choices required a credit card to make a reservation we decided firmly on catch 122 on west hastings. h made the reservation.

this morning i left at 9am. our reso. was at 10 but i knew finding parking might be iffy. before i did one full circle around the area i found a spot on abbott just before cordova. just a 3 minute walk from catch 122. score. weirdly there was a car parked the opposite direction right in front of me.  weird, i thought. but i didn't let it stop me from parking there. a spot is a spot. i was early and it was raining so i waited 12 or so minutes before walking to the place. while i was waiting a guy got out of the wrong way car. he was wearing a security sweater. weirder, i thought. it seems security would be the type to stop people from parking wrongly.  i thought he was sketch. he was hovering in doorways, looking a bit antsy. does he think he's above the parking rules, i wondered idly. then he took off his security sweater revealing a copper puffy coat underneath. is he faking security status, i wondered? or is he just finished his shift? i shrugged because security sketch puffy jacket guy is none of my business.  he was just an entertainment of sorts while i waited. 

soon i ventured out of sahib and started walking to the resto. the rain had lessened. the sidewalk tilted up to the right. i hate that because my surgical leg/foot feels longer on the right, but i endured it until i met a more level sidewalk. when i got to the resto i could see h in her red knit hat and green umbrella heading towards me in the near distance. she raised her umbrella to me in a greeting wave.

good timing we both agreed.  

catch 122 was a long narrow affair with one side an exposed brick wall. we were seated, to my pleasure, in front of the open kitchen. i like watching kitchens at work. in this one you could see basically everything. when the waitress came and asked us about a drink i asked her if she had any special non-alcohlic drinks. we do like a special brunch drink, h and i. she said something about apple cider and then these magical words spilled out of her mouth "guava ginger lemonade". "yes." i interrupted. "that one." heather nodded "the same for me." we know a winner when we hear it ok. when it came i appreciated it deeply but heather was sublimely moved. that drink met her at the exact right moment of desire and need. don't pretend it hasn't happened to you before.

we poured over the menus i was  torn between sweet and savory. there was an exquisite description of babka french toast. babka french toast.  BABKA. the idea blew my mind. but i also wanted the chorizo breakfast sandwich with smoked cheddar, apple slaw, hashbrown, hot sauce and smoked mayo. had a fried egg too, but i'd get it without. sounded so good too. heather had her own deliberations in which the chorizo sandwich featured, as well as bulgogi steak and eggs and smoked pulled pork benny. for her the benny won out thanks to the testimony of our server. i went with the BABKA french toast. because how could i not. BABKA.  i'll say it as often as it takes to get it into your mind. BABKA. here is the description: cornflakes crusted hazelnut babka french toast: cornflakes crust, deep fried chocolate & nutella babka bread, espresso cremeux, caramelized bourbon banana, crushed candied almonds, graham crumb, fresh berries, mixed berry gel, rosemary maple. down to the rosemary maple it was pure delight and perfection. i got a sausage on the side. this was the kind of bite that you close your eyes and savour with upturned lip.

h also enjoyed her benny. her potatoes were perfect. i had one. she had a bite of mine. we mutually appreciated and all in all had blissful eating attitudes. we talked. we discussed. we shared. it was exactly the thing i needed today. thanks to h for being my bosom friend kindred spirit of brunches and much more.

last night for the party i pulled out an eyelid primer that i've had for over 9 years. barely used because i just don't usually take the time to do extras like that. but for the party i thought i'd try it. plus it was one of the things that i found in the under sink excavation last week. i was surprised it still seemed ok. good shelf life i guess. anyways the point is i was still sporting last night's eye make up.  "this is from last night." i jabbed my hand eye-ward, ready for heather to be amazed. she was indeed full of wonder. "how did you not rub it all off??" she wondered incredulously. i went in to the whole eye lid primer story. even i was amazed at how well it was preserved.

we talked a while after, waiting for the bill. we both agreed that this was a place we could return to. in the new year they are moving to lonsdale area, which really had heather beaming. as it was, it was a easy commute for her and not too bad for me either. thanks to the earliness parking was not a hassle. "we will be returning!" heather told our server.

we hugged outside and went each to our way. h was headed to a bakery looking for the elusive coconut bread of the past and although a bakery is  serious draw for me, it was in the opposite direction to my car and the extra walk on party weary foot was enough for me to skip the bakery delights today. 

on the drive home i listened to a cbc podcast. they were talking mostly about tv shows but at the end there was a segment where each person shared something they thought was of note. the last guy, kevin talked about ...i'm not sure if it was a podcast, book, show, but the touching part was how he broke down and started crying when he was describing what a sacred gift it is to fall in love and what a privilege it is to care for your beloved as they are fighting cancer. he started to cry. he is a cancer survivor too. the other hosts started to cry too and i also was moved to tears. thanks kevin.

now i'm at home, with the twinkling christmas lights and listening to the forgotten christmas carols while writing this blog. what a good day, and it's only 2pm.