tongue & cheek » Food

The Casual Dinner Party

vanessa — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 19:57:09 +0000

I want you to have a dinner party. Part of making a big life change is this sense that while you’re constantly questioning and revising life as you go along, you’re also sure. Sure about where you’re going, what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it. That you took the risk for a reason. I [...]

Soup for the Seoul

vanessa — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:00:48 +0000

The fringes of my scarf whip around my head as I pull my collar up around my ears. A cold gust of air presses the edge of my coat against my legs. The bright sky hints at the oncoming season but the chill still seeps into my skin. It’s the kind of day that calls [...]

Side Step

vanessa — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:00:27 +0000

Soft hills, tall pines, a glassy lake and locals outfitted in faux fur rimmed coats, it’s another world at the top of Vietnam. The winding roads are silent for stretches of time, my presence is hardly acknowledged by people going about their days, and even the few moto-men puttering around barely make an effort to [...]

A Toronto Bistro

vanessa — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:05:07 +0000

The chill had just begun to settle into my skin as I pushed open the white windowed doors of The Gabardine. Soft light pours over me while I weave through a second set and make a sharp turn to sidle past the striking marble topped bar and into the main space outfitted with panelled walls [...]

Yummy Dumplings

vanessa — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:11:30 +0000

Stepping down into the familiar doorway, the soft pale red walls of the quiet room still surprise me. Booths now line either side of the room and leave a wide gap in the middle of the restaurant. A faint archery and paper scroll motif on the walls are paired with a flat screen television playing [...]