Grace Restaurant in Toronto and the Cab driver
| May 27, 2009 | Posted by caroline under Uncategorized |
I planned a little rendez-vouz avec mon chum ce soir au Restaurant Grace a coin de Palmerston et College. I don’t know where along the way I started speaking French mais..I mean, but..I guess other languages come more naturally to me when I have two drinks. So Grace is highly ranked by Toronto’s restaurant critics, and I’ve been meaning to try it. Additionally, I wanted to for once treat my boyfriend to dinner! This did not work out as planned!
My cab driver was a lovely old chap who I mistook for Haitian upon exchanging the first few words, but I quickly found out he was Nigerian. He told me about his kids..I always come across cab drivers who are either struggling with bringing up their kids in a completely new culture with habits that clash with their traditions, or I meet cab drivers with kids that are really successful or study super hard and are entering the most renowned colleges and universities. In this case, the guy kinda looked like a jazz musician to be honest, with his black fedora and a litle black tulle flower sewn on. And I was tempted to ask him if he was, but he had the stab at the first question so I didn’t get to. He asked me if I was celebrating something tonight. Oh, by the way, he might’ve overheard my conversation with the boy, where I lamented over the fact that I didn’t realize we’re going to a stuffy restaurant where my last minute outfit pulled out of boxes (we’re moving in 2 days) would not fly. I swear I bought my shirt for $10 earlier this month. Oh well.
Anyway, so he asked me if I was celebrating something, and I told him we’re celebrating life. He laughed a hearty, bubbly laugh, like we were sitting on a patio kickin’ it over beer (and I don’t drink beer, so imagine!). He said ‘that’s nice’, several times before his next question… And he asked how long I’ve been with my boyfriend–I couldn’t go into much detail, it would take years:) Then I asked him if he was involved…His response? “I have five kids”..I didn’t venture to ask if he has a wife, or is in love, or has a mistress…He went on to tell me of the different schools his kids are entering in the near future: pre- pharmacy studies at Ottawa U and applied sciences at University of Michigan. Of course, I had to tell him how much I enjoyed the University of Michigan’s convocation services which I was privy to attending earlier this month, with guest speakers including Larry Page. It seems like a really good school with lots of student spirit!
So I eventually ended up in the restaurant, about ten minutes late. I don’t really have an issue walking into a restaurant under-dressed. I’ve only ever dressed up well on purpose for one restaurant, and that was a horrendous experience–it was at Truffles, for my birthday, a couple of years back. I wore the only dress I had at hand at the time– a dusty black dress from the late 80s discovered in the recesses of my mother’s closet. Not the ‘cool, hip’ kinda 80s gear but the sorta stuff my mother purposely packed away. While sitting in the lobby at the hotel (Truffles is in the Four Seasons), a girl around my age walked by with an older woman and they both glanced at me and looked at each other before bursting out into laughter. WHATEVER! Recently, I saw some pics of the girl and her brother and realize they have their own fashion house here in Toronto. Once again, let me add a WHATEVER! to my sentence.
Therefore, I’m not that great at dressing up. I wonder, 2 drinks later, whether this is turning into a ditzy rant. I shall find out in the morning upon re-read. The only reason I was concerned about the stuffiness of Grace is because I read user generated reviews (I love UGC oomwah) before leaving my house and the only criticism was concerning the stuck up atmosphere of the restaurant. To be honest, I didn’t find the place at all intimidating. It was very cozy. They tried seating us in the main room first but I suggested the closed patio, which was really pleasant. I think there’s something about wooden interiors that just immediately makes me feel comfortable. There were also only two other tables in this area–one larger group that looked like actors celebrating a screening (maybe I let my imagination run too wild…) and one couple that it turns out was celebrating something. They had milk and cookies for dessert, how cute!!
The server had this super cute Australian accent. She was so chill and at the same time professional. Had a delicious cherry-spiked prosecco while Al had a Belgian beer cocktail of some sort. I didn’t try it. We ordered the soft shell crab for starters, it was good but nothing grand. The sauce had a tartar sauce texture with the sort flavours I’d expect with sweet potato fries. So that was fine, but obviously a little overpowering for a sauce paired with seafood, which in itself contains enough flavour that the sauce should not try and compete. I really liked my drink though. Oh and I want to say this before I reach the end of my entry—I have never had cucumber in my water and think this is a wonderful substitute for the often abrasive lemon or lime twist..I hate lemon in my water and I can tolerate lime. Cucumber is really light and spritzy.
We both ordered different fish. Al was not pleased with the menu, sadly. I guess it’s little bit more specialized than some would like, with some peculiar meat pairings. So Al ordered fish, which he never orders. He didn’t care much for it, but I liked my own main. I would suggest this place for drinks but not so much for eats. Atmosphere and drinks are enough to start the night off or catch up with a friend.
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