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Portuguese Tapas and Scandalous Affairs

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I am subscribed to the Place des Arts newsletter.  Which is great because I know what’s coming, what’s on pre-sale, what’s on special…  I say great but not sure if this is a good or bad thing! Ka-Ching!  On September 20th they had a 45% price reduction on Les Grands Ballets Canadiens’ “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”.  Hmmm….  I checked to see what sorts of seats were available then contacted my ever-willing- partner-in-all-things-cultural, Julie, to see if she was interested.  If she wasn’t, I was going to go it alone.  However, it is always way more fun to share these things.  Lucky for me, she said yes and I purchased the tickets in a loge.  Number 13.  Maybe that should have been a warning.

We agreed to meet just outside of the interior parking lot (both of us felt lazy) around five-ish giving us a good almost three hours to eat and catch up.  But where to go?  Many options in that hood, lemme tell you!

There are two restaurants, one in back of the other, built right on the sidewalk of Jeanne Mance Street.  They are like glassed-in “pop-up” style restaurants. Only permanent.  At least, I think they are!  Coolest thing ever.  Both of them are the “offsprings” of high-end restaurants in the city.  We stopped first at Brasserie T (baby of Toqué!), checked out the menu… looked interesting.  We decided to check out the second one.  There was no menu posted outside so we had to go in and ask to look at it.  This one is Taverne F (baby of Café Ferreira).  We chose this one.

Entrance of the Restaurant
Looking towards the back
Looking towards the front – that is a window!
The two chicas

The hostess asked us if we had a reservation.  You see, on nights where there are events going on at PdA, they are booked solid.  However, if we were willing, there was a place at the bar.  Ever the uncomplicated peeps we are, Jules and I accepted.  What a great thing that turned out to be!

Our barman/waiter, Simon-Pierre, was excellent, plus he had a little of the Chris Pratt look to him 😉  It was suggested we order 2-3 items per person.  So we ordered 6 in all.  He then suggested a bottle of red (Boina) to go with.  I have no knowledge of Portuguese wines so his suggestion, based on our tastes, was essential.  No.  I did not take any pictures of our food (d’oh!) however should you wish to, just click on the link above and you can see all sorts of beautiful pictures.

We started off with Pastéis de Bacalhau (the quintessential cod fritters with a red pepper piri-piri sauce), Sardinhas (roasted sardines with pickled veg) and Camarão e Amêijoas (shrimp and clams).  Perfect trio to start us off and we had lots of time to enjoy, so we did!

Simon-Pierre asked if we wanted a little break before the next three and we agreed….  We then had Polvo (grilled octopus with potatoes, confit tomato, chouriço and sherry vinaigrette), Feijoada (lima bean cassoulet with chouriço sausage and fried pork) and finally, Arroz de Marisco (seafood rice, sofrito, calamari, shrimps and mussels).  With a little (maybe more than a little) bread to sop up the various sauces – for both trios – we were feeling just perfect.  Not too much, not too little.  We leisurely finished off our wine and chatted away.

It was then suggested we have a little dessert.  Looking at the time, we still had over half an hour to kill.  What the hell! Pastéis de Nata is a classic Portuguese pastry (custard tartlet, cinnamon, caramel sauce) and then that handsome feller went and gave us each a glass of Moscato!

Simon-Pierre in action

Now we were properly stuffed!  We made our way back to PdA and settled into our seats.  They were not as great as I had hoped.  If we had been on the other side of the theatre, we would have seen everything.  We did have a great view of the orchestra pit.  Snark, snark. The stage was built on an angle, to represent hills, so any action happening on the left-hand side was out of our view.  Thankfully, not too much happened in that corner, but still.  Quite annoying.  During the second half, the two sitting ahead of us and to the right (where the water bottle is and which had a better view) did not show up and we considered taking their seats but by the time we realised they were not returning, we, didn’t want to disturb…

View from our seat

I was a good girl and did not take any pictures of the ballet.  It was a pretty ballet but it was so slow in the beginning, us two chicas, satiated on food and wine, both struggled to stay awake (I was relieved at intermission when Julie admitted to me she was struggling as much as I was!)  A bottle of sparkling water each and we were ready for the second half!

I have to admit to not having read D.H. Lawrence’s book – yet – so I did not know the storyline, except for the obvious part.  I also like to NOT read the synopsis of the ballet because I like to see if I can figure out what is going on.  And I did, mostly, so that says a lot for the choreographer, Cathy Marston.  It was easy enough to figure out who was who except for two characters:  Lady Chatterley’s sister – though I was fairly certain that’s who she was.  (A little aside on this character… At intermission, I turned to Julie and asked:  “Have you ever seen such a busty ballerina?” To which she responded: “I know, right?  I couldn’t help but notice, too!”  One of those stupid things you can’t help but comment on because it truly is outside the “norm”.)  There was another dancer that we thought was maybe a lady of the evening but, it turns out, was the lover’s (Mellors) former wife.  Oops. My bad.

Taking a bow

All in all, we did enjoy it – way more than the last one we saw which was Stabat Mater – a whole lotta hype that disappointed us.

What we both were wondering is why in the hell do they put this image on the cover of the programme and all other advertisements?  We kept waiting to see this superbe costume!  Nope.

They do the same with their videos… not anywhere near what we saw, costume-wise…

78 thoughts on “Portuguese Tapas and Scandalous Affairs”

  2. What an excellent barman – and delicious descriptions of your great food and wine. I only had one of those custard tarts once and found it incredibly sweet even for me, but maybe that is just the version where I was (in Liverpool). I too would have been disappointed not to see that “Lady GaGa-Chatterley” costume on stage.

    Lady C is allegedly based on a real person (who I have studied and written about because I find her fascinating) so I had to force myself to read Lawrence’s book. I recall it’s mostly a rant about class, and mining in Nottingham – interspersed with some really rude words that I suppose he knew would guarantee would make people sit up and take notice. It annoys me when “my” lady (Lady O) comes up on the internet when you type in The Real Lady Chatterley, because she is so much more interesting than Lawrence’s creation and also he was downright horrible to Lady O in another of his books – Women in Love – via a ridiculous character call Hermione Roddice who clouts her unfaithful lover over the head with a paper weight.. Still, all writers need their inspiration points and at least Lady O forgave him – by doing a mental workaround and blaming his wife for the wicked caricature. OMG. This response is nearly as long as your blog! Sorry 🙂 You sent me off on one…

    Liked by 2 people

    • He was most excellent and charming 🙂 The tart was sweet but not overly, the wine was too…. oy!
      And I know, right? Why tease us with that image?
      Hmmm… now I’m on the fence on whether or not I should read it or not 😉
      And I love that you went off on this one… it has been a most enjoyable and informative read!!

      Liked by 2 people

  3. What, all that food? Gosh. But it does sound like you and your friend had a great night out.
    As a schoolgirl I was quite taken with our Mr D.H. particularly his poetry. But I also read many of his books (I had to keep them hidden away from my mother cos one risky book means they’re all risky books). I do remember reading Chatterley, but confess I can’t remember much of it. But a ballet based on it? I can imagine that being quite … sensual.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Oh my! I want to go eat at that place with you! 🙂
    I was thinking of you yesterday. We went on a pedal tour bar crawl thing with our younger daughter and son-in-law. One of the bars had a Cubano sandwich on the menu. Haha.
    I read Lady Chatterly’s Lover and a bunch of other Lawrence books when I was in high school. I did a paper on him–but don’t remember much about him or the book. Sorry the ballet wasn’t better, but it sounds like a fun night out anyway!

    Liked by 1 person

    • And there is plenty YOU can eat too 😉
      How cool is that? I mean that you thought of me!
      So… so far, everyone who has read D.H. Lawrence barely remembers Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Funny how that works. The ballet was lovely and sensual; it just didn’t WOW, it wowed…;-)
      It was a great time. Julie and I both love food and cultural events and get along like we’ve known each other for almost 50 years, off and on… oh hell… coz we have!

      Like

  5. Dear Dale,

    Sounds like a good time in any event. A buxom ballerina? Perhaps it’s time to bust that body image anyway. If she has the talent, why not? Just sounding off. 😉 As always, I enjoy sharing your adventures.

    Shalom and hugs, my friend.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Rochelle,

      It was. And yes, a buxom ballerina (dammit, why didn’t I think of that?) does stand out. She was our favourite dancer, truth be told.
      Glad you enjoyed my ramble…

      Lotsa love,

      Dale

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Oh, I hate it when they do that–they sell you something that’s not really a part of what they’re selling. But, sounds like a lovely time anyway. And, I LOVE your haircut! Is that new? Oh so flattering on you . . .

    Liked by 1 person

    • They did the same for that Stabat Mater… we were expecting waaay more. Pffft. Not cool.
      Yes, it was a most lovely time because that’s how we roll 😉
      And thank you! I cut it last year, then this last time said go even shorter! I love the wash ‘n wear of it… (Lazy, is what I am)

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Q,

    I love your saucy dishes. And when you and J-Dynamite get together, it’s Thelma and Louis 2K in all of its many splendored sexy.
    But seriously, the way you play tour guide through your evening is the Dale I’ve come to know and love. Because it’s heart and soul, and kicking off those heels and painting things in ways that make us laugh and think and hunger.
    Be it a tapas taster or charming a hunky young fella into a dessert wine, you bring you . . unfiltered, unfettered, real. Hot. Buttah.

    Here’s to that girl I know and love,

    B (Marco)

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Dale, I enjoy your writing so much
    and so many things churning in my head – but only time to share a couple –
    first – the bar option has rescued us many times – and now I sometimes just go there because it is often more casual with the same menu and same everything – well not the table and waiter – but service can be better and still cloth napkins – ha
    –
    and felt like I was there with you at the show – even without pictures of the performance and you were a very good girl to not take any – the others you did take gave us setting (and more – like with the water bottle)
    🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you. I am so wery glad you do! I admit to really liking the bar option and will even go it alone on occasion, because you don’t feel alone, even if the bartender is busy… and yes, service can often be better!

      And love that you felt you were there.. and I somehow don’t feel the need to take pictures at the ballet because, how can you really capture the feeling anyway?

      Liked by 1 person

  9. PS
    I noticed your name nice and clear on the images you shared here – right on – and it reminded me of your last name – and so in my humble view – the name on a picture is not about ownership or hyper protecting work – because I think you even said folks can easily remove a name…
    but to me – the name is for awareness and just keeps us in tune with who we are connecting with – ya know?

    Like

  10. PSS
    or PS #2

    the threading of your comments is still possibly not the best option for a blog that has so many replies – so I think there is a setting you can use to change it – if you want to that is… but here is what it looks like when there are too many subthreads in this setting:

    Liked by 1 person

    • Bah… I know it gets ridonkulous – between Sorryless and me. And I know what it looks like on the page. I honestly doubt many peeps actually read them! Dunno what that setting is. I might look into it. Or not. 😁😎😉

      Liked by 1 person

      • or not is fine… lol
        and it is not at all ridonkulous
        esp because (in my view) you all welcome chiming in –
        and not everyone wants to or has to read them – I just mentioned it for scrolling down purposes – when the comment thread gets such a vertical strip it is not good use of space – wonder why that option gets like that

        Liked by 1 person

        • That is true. It does look stupid. I changed it to 10 deep because another reader complained that her comment was not directly under mine at a certain point (it was set at 5 deep) sigh…. not sure what I should do, to be honest. It is annoying for anyone who wants to comment and has to still for miles…

          Liked by 1 person

  11. Interesting and delicious night out. I read Lady C.’s Lover years ago when I was in my 20’s and again a year ago. It seemed tamer the second time around. Or is it that culture has undergone beaucoup changes?

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  13. It sounds like a really fun and delicious night out, Dale. Sometimes the bar is the best place to sit.

    I read Lady Chatterly’s Lover a couple of years ago, and didn’t find it nearly as scandalous as advertised, but many things seem tamer now in this day and age.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Hi, I’ll be there October 28th to November 7th. Between my parents house in Brossard, my sons’ apartment in Ville Saint Laurent, and
    Charles LeMoyne Hospital. I’ll do my best to see you.

    Liked by 1 person

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