Food & Beverage report, part 2

Saturday, oh, what a difficult day...  The innkeeper, Ryan, actually started teasing us, because we staked out our chairs on the front porch around noon, and didn't manage to vacate them until dinner time.  Chris brought us coffee, Claudio brought us water, then Ryan brought us beer (Muskoka Cream Ale), then Chris brought us more beer...  Life is rough!

We each got a lot of reading done.  I also managed to leave the chair a few times to go for a swim in the lake, and again to park myself under the shoulder-massage fountains in the water spa.  That counts as exercise, right?

Here's our porch site, after the first beer was served:

Lazy Saturday!

 And here's Alyssa's view from the porch:

The view from here

And here's a picture of Don's view from the porch:

The view from there

And here's a picture of Henry, who also spent the entire afternoon hanging out on the porch with us:

Henry

And here are some pics from Don's phone, of me looking studious, oblivious, and then laughing:

So... food and beverage report!

The menu was a little blurry, sorry -- probably because we'd already had the beer.  :)  The wine we ordered was Francis Coppola Merlot, Blue Label 2011, and it was delicious!

Saturday menu

Bread with hummus and balsamic to start.  For appetizers, Don selected the Ragout of Bison and Lamb, over a ricotta and basil gnocchi.  He said it was really good.

Ragout of Bison and Lamb

Whereas I had the Almond-Crusted Woolwich Goat Cheese with Sambuca Macerated Strawberries.  Holy mother of God.  If I were only allowed one dish for the rest of my life, this would be it!

Heaven on a Plate

The camera started using flash at this point, so I didn't take photos of the rest of the meal, because even super-geeks like me don't wish to totally annoy their fellow diners.

Main course for Don was a Piccata-style Breast of Free Range Chicken, with Basil Pesto and Balsamic / Lemon Butter.  He says it was really good.  When I roll my eyes, he waxes a bit more poetic, but mostly it was really good and he ate every last scrap of it.  I went off-menu for the vegetarian alternative, Ricotta-Basil Gnocchi with asparagus in a cream sauce, and topped with Parmesan -- low-fat, obviously!  I did my best, because it was really good, but also super-rich, so I have some in our fridge for a snack later today!

Don went wild and crazy and did NOT have strawberries and whipped cream for dessert -- instead, he went for the Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch that our waiter, Deb, said she'd help finish if he couldn't.  :)  I also played the martyr and helped him out with a bite or two.  I had tiramisu with strawberries and caramel drizzle -- which I had all to myself, because Don doesn't like tiramisu.  So sad, too bad...  We were good and just washed it down with a decaf.

We went up to our room, planning to just use the washroom and wash up before heading down to the patio for live music and perhaps a late-night beverage.  But we started back into our books, and someone of the female persuasion might have started snoring after the first page...  So much for being late-night rowdies!  Hey, can you blame me, it was a really long and difficult day!!!  ;)

Breakfast this morning was "the usual" for Don (scrambled eggs, peameal, toast and home fries), and I had Eggs Not-So-Benedict: with smoked salmon instead of peameal.  Delicious!

I had to do a conference call after breakfast for the Katie Project, but now my work is done, and I'm not even going to transcribe the minutes until I get home!  (Sorry, valuable planning committee who I love, but... suck it up.)

The rest of the day promises to be more of the same horrors of yesterday, with the added trauma of a couples massage this afternoon.  It will be good to see Cindy and Sheryl again -- our shoulders and necks are looking forward to them as well!

And, lest you hate us completely, there is a cloud in the sky.  It's a light and fluffy cloud, but we can pretend it's fierce and menacing if it makes you feel better.  :)

Spoiled Rotten, we are!