Eating Your Mistakes and Really Enjoying It

Hadn't been back to the Cheese Boutique in a few weeks and since we were in the area as part of phase 2 in a 3-step couch shopping regimen, dropped in for some weekend treats.

Picked up some fancy jam and the now-staple Bouq Emissaire. Tried two or three other Quebec cheeses until we settled on the Riopelle de l'Isle. Fabulous, rich and buttery. Most perfect with the Ace baguette also in the hand basket. I think we've worked our way through about 2/3 of the Quebec cabinet and I am close to planning a cheese-tour vacation this summer maybe as part of some car-racing nonsense.

Couldn't find my favourite little fruit & nut crackers but didn't ask. If they are not there next time I shall freak out. Knew I still had one more package of the Ryvita Pumpkin Seed & Oat crackers I bought last time I was in Winnipeg. Haven't seen them in Toronto yet. Very tasty in a nutty kind of way. If anyone has seen them please let me know where.

Thought we were done, then realized, what the hell are we going to have for dinner. So went back to the meat counter. Some gorgeous but pricey cuts. Saw some small NY strip loins pre-marinated in teriyaki garlic. Knew they'd be more expensive than grocery store steaks, but they looked smaller than the plain strip loins in the other counter. The clerk packaged them up (because they were wet, she had to put them in this heat sealed container and I felt bad because it took her 3 tries to get the seal to stick).

And then I looked at the price for the 2 steaks. $32. Yep. $32.

A wave of WTF went over me. I didn't really pay attention to the small print. The price was not in the unit of weight I expected, obviously. I ran over to El Chaperone and whispered what I just saw. WTF? He asked if I wanted to return them. I said, no.. no big deal. My fault for not reading the price correctly, and the girl put a lot of work into sealing them up properly. And well come on. I'd never blink twice about spending that for a couple of steaks in a restaurant, so we'd just deal with it.

And then I looked over at him and said: You better not fuck these up when you cook them.

So put them under the broiler - about 7 minutes each side (they were thicker than I realized), checked them, and then another minute or two. Perfectly medium. And they were so good I almost cried. Perfectly tender, melt in the mouth, lovely flavour from the marinade. A little side salad and the baguette with cheese and we could relax and smile.

In fact, I would consider getting them again. For a special occasion, perhaps, but sometimes you do get what you pay for.