The Names Have Changed....So Has The Menu

I grew up in the most white bred of white bread suburban neighbourhoods: Skyline Acres in Fredericton, N.B.. Everyone was middle class. Everyone had kids. Everyone knew someone called Dave, they had a neighbour called Dave, or they themselves were named Dave. It was boring as hell, and I'm thankful for the experience.

I hung out with people called Robbie, Peter, Andy, Pam and Doug. Oh, yes, there was also Dave. We ate Campbell's Soup (and we thought it was good). We ate Kraft Dinner (and added hot dog slices to make it gourmet). We had cookies for dessert (they were chocolate chip cookies....the only type guaranteed to not rock anybody's world). No one used white chocolate or macadamia nuts. That would have created a riot.

Fast forward to Toronto 2015. I was at a dinner party for 24 last evening. It was unlike anything I experienced as a child. The names of the guests were 'different' as you can see in the comparative chart I produced for this morning's blog.

The menu for last night's dinner was outstanding; standing out from what I ate as a child. The salads of my youth might have had iceberg lettuce and tomato slices. Maybe celery, but only for special occasions. Last night's salad was expertly mandolined fennel with orange slices and black olives. There were two pasta dishes offered. The pumpkin ravioli with sage butter was out of this world. In contrast, we only saw pumpkin one day a year in Skyline Acres (and that's if Frankie Crouse didn't steal it off your front doorstep).

Of course there was cheese at the party. No sign of Velveeta or Kraft slices. There was a block of Shropshire blue that probably cost the same as my car (remember The Dumbo?), and was only slightly smaller than The Dumbo. There was one white cheese with hay on the top. A double cream Brie. A truffle goat cheese. An ash-coated goat cheese. A goat cheese with flowers on top. Get the picture?

You aren't in Kansas anymore, little Dorothy. There's no one called Dave here. This is Toronto....get used to it. Now, someone pour me a glass of Akvavit.