Can Can Brasserie has been one of my favorite Richmond restaurants since it opened about 7-8 years ago. It has been almost a sacred place for me. I've been there for many a birthday celebration, including several of my own. I've been there with local friends and brought lots of out-of-town friends. I've treated myself by going there alone to write; I've literally got the tote bag and given it as gifts. I've been there for brunch, lunch, and dinner and even met friends there for coffee and a pastry. If I'm passing by, I at least pop in a get a baguette. It was the first place where Daddy Mac and I went out by ourselves after having Sam. When Sam was three, we went there for brunch so many times he started to call it Candy Can. You got it, right? We loved the place! Daddy Mac and I have both lived in France for a bit and are big Francophiles. Heck, I was even a French major. It was no wonder that my sister in Boston gave us a gift certificate there for Christmas.
So, on with the story. Yesterday we went to the Mummy Exhibit at the VMFA which was neat. Then we headed to Can Can for lunch. Still thinking of the fresh new year, Daddy Mac and I both decided to order something on the healthy side. He got the salmon salad, and I got one of the "plats to de la semaine" (plates of the week). It was lobster with leeks, bok choy, and a side salad. My salad arrived which consisted of only lettuce. That's OK -- I knew that when ordering. I absolutely love their traditional greens and house dressing! Well, the problem was there was hardly any lettuce in my lettuce-only salad. That was a bit odd. Underneath that lettuce lay a small piece of toast, which was even more odd. Was that supposed to be an enormous crouton? Was it there to make it seem as if there was more lettuce than there actually was? I have no idea.
The entrees came, and I quickly realized the three or four tiny pieces of lobster could not have weighed more than an ounce. There wasn't a whole lot of the bok choy/leek combo either. Daddy Mac took one look at it and said that I could have some of his greens. I figured that it would probably be more filling than it looked. Well, his entree looked just about as paltry. Once again his salad had barely any lettuce and a tiny piece of salmon. Is there a lettuce shortage in the kitchen? For the first time since I've known Daddy Mac, he ate everything on his plate, including all the greens. Well, that's because there really wasn't much on his plate at the start. Our waiter was very good and very busy, so we left him a nice tip. It wasn't his fault after all.
After leaving, the whole situation just didn't sit right with me. Besides the fact that we were still pretty hungry was one thing, but there was the distinct feeling of having been ripped off. After a $50 lunch, you should not be just as hungry as when you walked in, if not more so. We literally went to the McDonald's drive-thru, and I devoured my hamburger in no time flat. It was yummy.
When we got home, I wanted to say or do something. I found Can Can's Facebook page and left a post on their wall. It said, "We just had lunch there. I know French portions are small; I lived there for a year. This was ridiculous! We literally went to the McDonald's drive-thru afterwards. Boy, did that hamburger taste good!" I figured I would get some sort of response like, "We are sorry you feel that way. We certainly don't want our customers to be so dissatisfied. Blah, blah, blah."
Well, I checked back two hours later to see if there was any response from the restaurant. Not only was there no response whatsoever, but my post was GONE! POOF! There was rien, nada, nothing, no sign of it. It had been deleted. I couldn't believe it - I even tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they would send a follow-up email back to me personally. Nope.
C'est vrai? That's how they treat customers with a complaint? They just delete them? Besides the fact that I'm on the hunt for a new favorite restaurant in Richmond, I'm very disappointed and sad. It's like losing a good friend. Ah, quel dommage, Can Can. What a pity.
LibbY
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Boys Will Be Boys
Before having Sam, I never really bought into gender stereotypes about girls and boys. Now I get it. Oh, do I ever! Ah, the communication -- or the lack thereof. He tells me NOTHING about school. Really -- absolutely nothing. I ask, "How was your day?"
He responds, "The usual."
"Well, what's the usual?" I ask.
"Just the usual," he maintains. Nope, I'm not getting a dang thing out of him, at most an offbeat mention of a kid who holding up the class line or interfering with his LEGO building during center time. (The nerve!)
A friend's son is one of Sam's buddies in class. While we were chatting one day, she mentioned something in passing about her son having thrown up at school the week before -- in the middle of lunch no less.
"WHAT?! I never heard that?" I exclaimed. Heck, Sam and her son eat at the same table across from each other! How could anyone miss that one? So when Sam came home from school that day, I asked him, "Did your friend throw up at lunch?"
"Yeah," he answered, all nonchalant. Then a few beats later, he continued, "I WATCHED him throw up at lunch." And off he sauntered to construct his twelfth LEGO creation of the day. (It's a game.)
Then again this week I found out this same friend of his had been out sick all week long with pneumonia. "Did you know that your friend has been sick all week?" I asked.
"Yeah. Sometimes he comes in during the mornings."
End of questioning.
It's a good thing he's a boy because he'd never make it as a girl.
LibbY
He responds, "The usual."
"Well, what's the usual?" I ask.
"Just the usual," he maintains. Nope, I'm not getting a dang thing out of him, at most an offbeat mention of a kid who holding up the class line or interfering with his LEGO building during center time. (The nerve!)
A friend's son is one of Sam's buddies in class. While we were chatting one day, she mentioned something in passing about her son having thrown up at school the week before -- in the middle of lunch no less.
"WHAT?! I never heard that?" I exclaimed. Heck, Sam and her son eat at the same table across from each other! How could anyone miss that one? So when Sam came home from school that day, I asked him, "Did your friend throw up at lunch?"
"Yeah," he answered, all nonchalant. Then a few beats later, he continued, "I WATCHED him throw up at lunch." And off he sauntered to construct his twelfth LEGO creation of the day. (It's a game.)
Then again this week I found out this same friend of his had been out sick all week long with pneumonia. "Did you know that your friend has been sick all week?" I asked.
"Yeah. Sometimes he comes in during the mornings."
End of questioning.
It's a good thing he's a boy because he'd never make it as a girl.
LibbY
Thursday, January 12, 2012
A Quick Trip to Korea
Today my lunch buddy Denise and I took a quick trip to Korea -- via a local restaurant, the Korean Garden. Yes, just a quick spin down Midlothian Turnpike (with lots of stoplights) did the trick. Man, it sure does beat being on a plane for 15+ hours, the jet lag, and the pollution. Miraculously this restaurant looks, feels, smells, and tastes just like being in Korea. (Well, thankfully they didn't have some of the smells on hand. Some need to stay in Korea.) The menu's in Korean, and the Korean waitresses even wear the traditional dress called the "hanbok." This place would be perfect for Busch Gardens if they ever decide to add a "Korea" section.
Being there makes me sentimental because I lived in Seoul "back in the day" from 1994-95 when I was in the Army JAG Corps. Oh my! Just did the math --it's hard to believe that was 17 years ago, give or take a year, of course!! Wow - that makes me dizzy, even without any OB mekju (beer) or soju (like vodka, but sweeter.) It's amazing how a few details, like kimchi served in some little white bowls, can really take you back somewhere in time and somewhere in space with friends you haven't seen or talked to in years. And, no, Facebook doesn't count.
There is also an adjoining Korean grocery store which is the real deal, although thankfully not as cramped as in Korea. It's so wild to see the familiar packaging in Hangul, the Korean alphabet. It's all there -- seaweed, dumplings, rice and noodles galore, dried fish, lots of kimchi-flavored noodles, and countless UFOs (unidentified food objects.) It's not just groceries; it's an intercultural adventure!
Much to my delight, they had my all-time favorite on hand -- Korean popsicles that taste exactly like honeydew melon. As I picked one out of the freezer, I thought better of it and reached in for a second. That way I could give one to Sam -- and not have to share my own! (The truth hurts!) Plus now I can tell Sam that he is an adventurous eater -- trying Korean food! OK, it's just ice cream, but it's a start for the boy who eats spaghetti with absolutely nothing on it every night of the week.
Now I've got a little piece of Korea at home -- leftovers! Of course the mere smell of it will repulse Daddy Mac, which means I won't have to share. The big bag of dumplings is fair game, though. After all it's just a quick trip to Korea to restock!
LibbY
P.S. Thanks for your birthday lunch, Denise! Note: That story is a another blog in itself.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Drifty's Snowball Soup
And to think we'd never had snowball soup until today. It sure is good, especially when cooked up by Drifty the Snowman himself. Continuing one of our favorite Christmas traditions again this year, we went to see the latest Paul Deiss play at Swift Creek Mill Theatre with our friends "Miss" Dawn and Nathan. This was our fourth year, hard to believe.
Gosh, I hope Sam doesn't outgrow them for a long time because I don't think I ever will. At least now he can continue to be my cover. You see, I can make it seem as if I'm only going for his benefit, the whole dedicated mother schtick, but I absolutely love these plays just as much as he does, possibly more.
Paul Deiss has been writing these Christmas plays every year for the past 19 years. Each play has the same lovably crazy characters involved and places them in a different madcap adventures. The backdrop is always at the Claus' house up at the North Pole in the hubbub right before Christmas. Just seeing the sweet set when we walk in every year makes me smile. And unlike a Disney movie, nobody's mother dies. How refreshing!
There's Cowboy Jim, Pepita the Elf, Drifty the Snowman, Mrs. Claus, and usually some sort of late appearance by Santa Claus, sometimes even by chimney! (He's busy after all this time of year!) Somehow the sweetly air-headed Drifty manages to steal the show with his silly antics, so silly that even the kids are laughing uproariously at how silly he is. Drfity has some problems getting the drift, so to speak. And there is plenty of adult-laced humor woven into the story to keep the parents cackling just as loudly.
We've absolutely loved every year, but today's may have been our all-time favorite. Then again we do say that every year. There was a hilarious guest star, the ever-perky Darla Bean from the "Cooking With Darla Bean, Starring Darla Bean Show," a hilarious spoof on Paula Deen's Southern cooking persona. Mrs. Claus had won a spot on her show to make her famous gingerbread cookies, and Darla came up North to film it. Lo and behold Mrs. Claus got sick, and Drifty drafted herself to fill the void by whipping up her personal favorite, snowball soup.
It was only at the end that there was the big reveal -- Drfity's snowball soup consists of melted snow and nothing else. In true Drifty fashion, no one really cared because of her nutty antics. She has a gift for cracking herself up! Sorry to spoil the ending, but alas it was the last day today. We've got to wait a whole year for another adventure.
In the meantime we'll be listening to our "Christmas With Drifty" CD. Hopefully we'll get some snow this year so we can try out Drifty's recipe, strictly following the directions of course.
LibbY
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sugar Cookie Heaven
Don't know about you, but I've never been a big fan of sugar cookies in general. Sure, they're pretty to look at Christmas-time with all of their various shapes and decorations. Other than that, though, they're pretty blah, usually stale, and seem like a big ole waste of calories in general. Why not hold tight until something with chocolate comes along? They were pretty low on the hierarchy of sweets until the Great Awakening took place. A packaged mix was just fine with me. They were just sugar cookies after all, more for decoration that anything else.
Well, it all changed right before Thanksgiving when my friend Denise found this magical recipe online. It dates back to Sweden in 1877, an oldie but goodie. She got her ingredients in a row and started a bake-a-thon. After one bite, just be polite of course, I was hooked -- as in the whole hook, line, and sinker! In the spirit of Julia Child, I agree there can never be too much butter. (No wonder why everyone thought she was such a great cook!) But now I have learned a corollary to the Butter Doctrine -- you absolutely can't go wrong when butter AND shortening are involved, especially in large quantities.
So I'm off to soften not one but two sticks of butter to make another batch. Soon I may need pants that are a size bigger, but what a way to go down, right?
Bon appetit!
LibbY
PS If you make these delectable cookies, take heed of Denise's brilliant idea. Before flattening the dropped cookie dough, dip the glass in flour so the dough doesn't stick to the glass! It's the simple things that matter in life, and this is one of them!
PPS They also freeze very well!
Sugar Cookies Recipe
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Sugar-Cookies
Well, it all changed right before Thanksgiving when my friend Denise found this magical recipe online. It dates back to Sweden in 1877, an oldie but goodie. She got her ingredients in a row and started a bake-a-thon. After one bite, just be polite of course, I was hooked -- as in the whole hook, line, and sinker! In the spirit of Julia Child, I agree there can never be too much butter. (No wonder why everyone thought she was such a great cook!) But now I have learned a corollary to the Butter Doctrine -- you absolutely can't go wrong when butter AND shortening are involved, especially in large quantities.
So I'm off to soften not one but two sticks of butter to make another batch. Soon I may need pants that are a size bigger, but what a way to go down, right?
Bon appetit!
LibbY
PS If you make these delectable cookies, take heed of Denise's brilliant idea. Before flattening the dropped cookie dough, dip the glass in flour so the dough doesn't stick to the glass! It's the simple things that matter in life, and this is one of them!
PPS They also freeze very well!
Sugar Cookies Recipe
Sugar Cookies Recipe87% would make again
Read reviews (4)
This is truly an "oldie", dating back to a Swedish woman born in 1877! Her daughter, Esther Davis, shared the recipe with me and she came up with all the exact measurements, since the original cookies were mixed by "feel" and taste. These are my favorite cookies and I hope they'll become yours as well.
4http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Sugar-Cookies
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A Christmas Miracle
Yes, we've had one here, a Christmas miracle. It's December 4, and we've already ordered our Christmas cards. I know some of you already have yours out in the mail already, and an elite one percent of you even got yours out in November. (You know who you are, Loretta!) For us, though, this is downright miraculous. Usually I'm trying in vain to get a good picture of Sam until at least December 26 or so. There are lots of scenes reenacted over and over again, fake smiles, and eyes not looking anywhere near the camera.
The next step is me scurrying in and out of Sam's Club from December 28-30, trying to get the dang card finished. Oy vey. One year they got printed wrong three times. It was so insane that they eventually gave them to me for free. As much as I do love a bargain, it just wasn't worth it. And the final and perhaps most excruciating step is procrastinating for a good week or so in addressing them all and actually getting them out the door and mailed. We've got until Epiphany, right?
Not this year, though! We expedited matters and took our huge allotment of really bad pictures over the Thanksgiving Weekend when we were up in Bedford Springs, PA. The place was already decked out for Christmas before Thanksgiving, which is still kinda cheating in my book. Moral objections aside, we joined into the fray of the Leapfrogging-Over-Thanksgiving phenomenon. Hey, if Black Friday can start on Thursday, then Christmas card pictures are fair game as well, right?
So here's a token not-looking-at-the-camera shot. Got it -- check.
Then here is a left-hand-too-far-to-the-left shot.
And here is a leaning-too-far-to-the-left shot.
Here is another location, pretty cute.
And yet another. Meh.
OK, three time's a charm, right? No, definitely not.
As it turns out pretty much every year, we decided to use the very first shot. However, we made some changes. We decided to order them online AND have them shipped to us rather than schlepping to pick them up somewhere. Supposedly they've already shipped.
We're on the verge! It could happen -- it really could -- we could actually get them out BEFORE the first day of Christmas! Oops - forgot all about the stamps! How did I forget that crucial step? It's time for a detour to the post office. I think I can, I think I can.
Hey, I just had an epiphany of sorts! Doesn't posting it here count as it being officially "out there?" So here it is, December 4, baby. Woo hooooo! I mean, HO, HO, HO! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Monday, November 21, 2011
A Deployment to Kindergarten
Today I went to Sam's school to help with lunch. Man, there I was thinking I had it all down, even mastering that pesky Capri Sun. Just try to give me one I can't stab! Plus there is that marvelous Lunch Lady who has it all down to a science, minute by minute, of what the schedule is for eating, clean up, clapping hands, lining up, etc. There I was thinking I was in good hands, but nooooo...
Unbeknownst to me, it was the first grade's annual Grandparents Day when the grandparents come to school. (Hence the name -- Grandparents Day.) So they needed to use the cafeteria, and the six kindergarten classes were going to eat lunch back in their individual classrooms. That just means that they needed adults to cover the rooms instead of the cafeteria, right? No problem. Well, that was long before realizing that I would be left ALONE with 22 kindergarteners for THIRTY MINUTES. And you guessed it, the all powerful Lunch Lady was nowhere in sight.
As Sam's sweet teacher left to go eat her own lunch in peace, she handed me a couple of books, mentioning, "If you have extra time, you could read them these." Oh my, I was barely in charge and already gunning for extra credit. Gulp. I really started to sweat, that I'm-taking-the-bar-exam-and-my-life is-on-the-line kind of sweat.
Looking back on my many life experiences, I decided to draw from the Army. This was kind of like being out in the field, right? Yes, I was just deployed to a kindergarten class instead of a war zone, and I was on the front lines to boot. Plus I was both outnumbered and surrounded by Lilliputians. Most importantly, there were no reinforcements and no walkie-talkies.
Thankfully one of my favorite observations from my Army days (daze?) came to mind. Here it is: If you don't what the heck you're doing, act like you do. Then everyone will think you do know what the heck you're doing. Perception is everything. Well, that ploy worked just fine for a while until one little girl (who shall not be named) ratted me out, bellowing, "You were supposed to clap by now, and we were supposed put our heads down! I WANT TO PUT MY HEAD DOWN!" Man, you would have thought I had stolen her fruit snacks.
Of course I was tempted to say, "So go put your head down. No one is stopping you!" Instead I went another route. "Hey kids, as a special treat just for today, you don't have to put your heads down!" They looked at me, stunned. They couldn't decide whether to cheer or be overcome with sadness at the missed opportunity to put their heads down. I'm sure their mothers would be happy to let them put their heads down at home anytime they want, no questions asked.
Then the kids really wanted me to do the Magic Clap Thing that the Lunch Lady does to tame the masses. I couldn't pretend that I knew what I was doing on this one since I didn't, so the kids taught me the Magic Clap Thing. After some coaching and a couple of practice runs, I was up to speed. Order prevailed. The kids were happy to have at least one part of their routine restored.
Then it was time to clean-up, put lunch boxes away, and nudge the dawdler who had barely begun to eat his Keebler Fudge Stripes. And there was still time left for the stories. How was that possible? It seemed like I'd been at the helm for hours. It was time to evacuate, fly a white flag, call for a cease fire -- something! Prolonging it no longer, though, I asked, "Where do I sit?" The kids replied in union, "IN THE ROCKING CHAIR!" Oh, that rocking chair.
Halfway through the book, a vision of loveliness appeared in the doorway. My dream had come true. The teacher had returned. My heart flooded with gratitude.
As I floated down the hallway, my endorphins were still pumping. I gazed at the long line of smiling grandparents running all the way to the lobby. They looked so relaxed, so happy. They didn't have to pretend to know what they're doing because they don't have to do anything. Man, I can't wait be a grandparent.
LibbY
Unbeknownst to me, it was the first grade's annual Grandparents Day when the grandparents come to school. (Hence the name -- Grandparents Day.) So they needed to use the cafeteria, and the six kindergarten classes were going to eat lunch back in their individual classrooms. That just means that they needed adults to cover the rooms instead of the cafeteria, right? No problem. Well, that was long before realizing that I would be left ALONE with 22 kindergarteners for THIRTY MINUTES. And you guessed it, the all powerful Lunch Lady was nowhere in sight.
As Sam's sweet teacher left to go eat her own lunch in peace, she handed me a couple of books, mentioning, "If you have extra time, you could read them these." Oh my, I was barely in charge and already gunning for extra credit. Gulp. I really started to sweat, that I'm-taking-the-bar-exam-and-my-life is-on-the-line kind of sweat.
Looking back on my many life experiences, I decided to draw from the Army. This was kind of like being out in the field, right? Yes, I was just deployed to a kindergarten class instead of a war zone, and I was on the front lines to boot. Plus I was both outnumbered and surrounded by Lilliputians. Most importantly, there were no reinforcements and no walkie-talkies.
Thankfully one of my favorite observations from my Army days (daze?) came to mind. Here it is: If you don't what the heck you're doing, act like you do. Then everyone will think you do know what the heck you're doing. Perception is everything. Well, that ploy worked just fine for a while until one little girl (who shall not be named) ratted me out, bellowing, "You were supposed to clap by now, and we were supposed put our heads down! I WANT TO PUT MY HEAD DOWN!" Man, you would have thought I had stolen her fruit snacks.
Of course I was tempted to say, "So go put your head down. No one is stopping you!" Instead I went another route. "Hey kids, as a special treat just for today, you don't have to put your heads down!" They looked at me, stunned. They couldn't decide whether to cheer or be overcome with sadness at the missed opportunity to put their heads down. I'm sure their mothers would be happy to let them put their heads down at home anytime they want, no questions asked.
Then the kids really wanted me to do the Magic Clap Thing that the Lunch Lady does to tame the masses. I couldn't pretend that I knew what I was doing on this one since I didn't, so the kids taught me the Magic Clap Thing. After some coaching and a couple of practice runs, I was up to speed. Order prevailed. The kids were happy to have at least one part of their routine restored.
Then it was time to clean-up, put lunch boxes away, and nudge the dawdler who had barely begun to eat his Keebler Fudge Stripes. And there was still time left for the stories. How was that possible? It seemed like I'd been at the helm for hours. It was time to evacuate, fly a white flag, call for a cease fire -- something! Prolonging it no longer, though, I asked, "Where do I sit?" The kids replied in union, "IN THE ROCKING CHAIR!" Oh, that rocking chair.
Halfway through the book, a vision of loveliness appeared in the doorway. My dream had come true. The teacher had returned. My heart flooded with gratitude.
As I floated down the hallway, my endorphins were still pumping. I gazed at the long line of smiling grandparents running all the way to the lobby. They looked so relaxed, so happy. They didn't have to pretend to know what they're doing because they don't have to do anything. Man, I can't wait be a grandparent.
LibbY
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