Les Nomades and Impending Doom

That ol' time of the year has rolled through again - the illustrious wedding anniversary. Mrs. Architecturefoodballandfood and I have been ceremoniously tied via two small metallic loops around the fourth digit on our respective left hands for four whole years now. That's 1,461 days (don't forget that leap day). That's a long time. So I was more than happy to drop a nice dime for something that we both truly enjoy - going out to a fine dining establishment for an evening meal.

Up until this point, we had gone for a different cuisine every year, but this year I said "Screw it." Year 1: Sushi. Year2: Steak. Year 3: French. Year 4: Screw it: French again. But this year we went classical french, to a LOVELY little place a block east of Michigan on Ontario called Les Nomades.

I'm not sure how it got the name, but doesn't quite seem to fit because when you walk into the intimate and very personal ground level dining room, it feels like it's been there for longer than I've been around. The owner greated us at the door when we got there and immediately I felt like I was wanted and expected, and they were truly happy to see us. When I said our name and reservation time, she looked at me as if to say "of course I know it's you, silly. We've got your usual table set up right over here."

They led us to a corner table, and did the usual act of pulling out the table for both of us so we can easily slip in. The cool thing about the seating was that all the benches were apholstered on the seats, but the backs were open slat wood. But loose pillows were scattered about so you could lean up against it. Again - like you were back at your really cool, rich, French grandma's house. The weird thing about the seating was that we, coincidentally, were seated next to a rather peculiar group of three - two women and a man - all ages combined must have been over 200 years, and all net worth combined must have been well over $200 million. I only heard the man, a rather portly old fellow, who looked like he had been wearing that same suit and tie for the past 30 years to perfection while whipping the little people into place, say about three words the entire meal. One woman was also very quiet and easily interrupted by the other woman, who looked like she could have been the sister of the first woman. But this one clearly got the vocal gene in the family, as she could NOT be stopped from blathering at the mouth over everything. I now know her family history, how the father of her children was, in fact, a good father, when he was around, her acceptance of our country's dependence on foreign oil, her love of soft, strong cheese, and surprise at the recent return to strength of the stock market after a recent drop in the price of oil. I'm honestly not one to pry (more than any of you) - anyone in the restaurant will now know just as much as I do about this woman. She's just a loud talker. Very, very loud.

Anyway - the food. It's a prix-fixe place, so you can either choose 4 or 5 courses. We went with the 4 and were happy because we were VERY close to being full full full at the end. You get to choose from a list for each course, and the courses were: Plats Premiers, Deuxieme, Les Poissons or Les Viandes et Les Volailles, and Les Fromages et Les Desserts.

For my Plat Premier, I chose the roasted sweetbreads with Spanish chorizo, smoked paprika and potato(pictured). This was the heaviest of all the choices. I chose this because I had read some internet reviews about this dish, and having never actually tasted sweetbreads before, all I knew of them was that they are glands - these being of beef - situated near the throat or heart. They're also used in pate - these were deep fried and I'll tell you - they were increable. (That's pronounced in-cray-AH-blay)(HA!) very crunchy and golden on the outside, and chewy and warm on the inside - similar to eating deep fried fat, but with a bit more substance.

For my Deuxieme I had the warm asparagus salad, crispy poached egg, frisee, mache, parmesan cheese and truffle. Again, the heaviest possible choise. Again, a home run. The crispy poached egg was like nothing I'd ever tried before- almost like a panko-ish exterior, and the poaching was perfect. As soon as I broke into the yolk, it dribbled all over the dressing and made a new concoction which was somewhere in between an angeoplasty and lighter than air. But I don't quite know where, exactly. It was bold and delicate simultaneously.

For my "les viandes" meaning "meat," I had the Roasted Venison loin, kabocha squash, brussels sprouts, juniper and sherry brown butter sauce. Guess what? It was the heaviest of the choices. It was mainly a very medium-done venison loin surrounded by little bits of veg and dressings. The venison tasted like a very, very lean cut of beef, but the flavor just jumped out as soon as it hit my tongue. It was my first time with venison, and I intend on having it again.

For my desert, I took my staple, the flourless chocolate cake with liquid ganache center and vanilla ice cream, with, of course, a regular coffee. (I've been on this regular coffee kick - I haven't ordered espresso in ages.) And maybe it's because I've had so many of this exact same desert throughout the country that I can now call myself an expert on it - but this was my least favorite part of the meal. I really loved the homemade vanilla ice cream, but the cake was very crumbly, dry, and there was little textural variation within the cake - it was just dry......then liquid. No seeping, no conversation between the two. Mrs. Architecturefootballandfood went with the restaurant's famous souffle - with Grand Marnier. This was my suggestion to her, and as usual, when I get a poor plate, she always manages to get the best. She loved it - it looked spectacular, and very few dishes can beat a great souffle. So kudos to her. (Jealously)

So obviously I loved this place - obviously the food is unparalleled to any french place I've been to in this city. The only french food that I've had that's beaten this was Jean George in NYC - known as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world. So no hard feelings there at all. But where this place really stood out was the atmosphere - no frills, not trying to be new or different - just GREAT. And that's a quality that's missing in more and more establishments these days - not just dining establishments, either. Les Nomades exudes quality - rather than surprise or obvious wit - in every detail.

Now my fingers are tired, but I already wrote the title to this post, so I certainly can't go back now. Onward with the impending doom part. Of course, I'm referring to my Newcastle United. We're now just 10 days away from the first match of the season, against Manchester United, and about three weeks away from the end of the transfer window. While every day that goes by my excitement for the start of the new Premier League season grows and grows, I can't help but thinking that we're going into this season like a fourth-grader who decided to stay out two extra hours playing tag in the schoolyard rather than studying for the spelling test. Sure - I MIGHT get a perfect score - there's only 26 letters in the alphabet right? There's a chance. But will it happen? Even the kid knows - of course not. I feel frighteningly unprepared for this new season - even though we've made a few key, and I believe genious, personnel appointments.

First was Jonas Gutierrez from Argentina. He's a quick winger, and in his couple preseason matches, has shown he's a devil with the ball at his feat. The other thing is that this guy just WONT STOP RUNNING. He's got heart and soul - something that too many Newcastle players lack, and I think the fans will absolutely adore him and he'll help our team immensely. The next aquisition was young Danny Guthrie, who's come on and already scored two goals and set up a couple more. He was supposed to be a squad player for us, but is showing just how woeful our current midfield is by easily earning a spot in the starting XI. Will he get it? Doubtful. But he certainly deserves it over the jailbird, Joey Barton, and maybe even over the ageless Nicky Butt. The third signing isn't even completed yet, so knowing my club's history with this business, I hesitate to even bring him up. But Fabrizio Coloccini will make a FANTASTIC aquisition to the squad - assuming he adjusts to the speed of the game. He's a big, terribly strong central defender, someone with intelligence and experience, something we've DESPERATELY needed for the longest time. But Newcastle has a way of making great talent look laughable on the back line - so we'll just have to see how this guy copes. I hope to God it works out. And from where I sit, that's all I really can do.

A couple more signings before the end of the window would be nice - there have been many, many rumours. I stand firm on my belief Sebastian Larsson would be a perfect player for us, and while I seriously doubt he'd break his brand new contract extension, Bafetimbi Gomis would be my personal choice for a big, strong striker to take the place of Viduka once he reveals he's having season-ending ankle surgery in the second week of the season, probably.