Food and TV again....

I love food and TV, and really adore great food TV. I've found three great Canadian examples so far, more to come I'm sure.

Chuck and Danny's Road Trip is a buddy show that features two Montreal chefs, Chuck Hughes and Danny Smiles, as they travel across Canada by RV and discover local (sometimes unusual) ingredients and the interesting (sometimes unusual) folks who gather, prepare, hunt and create them. Kelp Gin cocktail, anyone? 

After two days of exploring the local food scene, they invite all the people they've met back to their campsite for a feast. The show is heavy on adventure and personality, light on traditional "stand and stir" cooking-show shots, and more info about the ingredients and many of the recipes can be found on their website.


Next, imagine a show with many of the features you like about "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" - small restaurants with lots of personality, local charm, great backstories and friendly cooks - and substitute a charmingly nerdy, regular Canadian guy in place of, y'know..... "Guy."  The B-roll entrance shots typically show the flannel-clad host strolling up the sidewalk and walking into the restaurant rather than roaring up in a red convertible with his bleached tips wagging in the breeze.

John Catucci hosts "You Gotta Eat Here!" and the title is basically the theme of the show. Actor/comedian Catucci visits family-friendly eateries and local diners with great dishes and nice people and makes you want to visit each and every one. Fortunately, on the website, you can search by location for the restaurants that have been featured on the show. 

Bonus feature:  Catucci often has to adjust his glasses in the kitchen sequences, so I can relate.



A small startup network called Makeful is the new Canadian home of "Three Chefs, One City." This is a slower-paced, more thoughtful show. Each episode offers an exploration of a major city through the stories of three top rock-star chefs in that area. It's not 'try this at home'- more like a way of touring an exotic destination (episodes feature Rio, Paris, Hong Kong, etc) through its high-end culinary scene. Think Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" but sans Bourdain's penchant for late-night streetmeat. Definitely not as proletariat as YGEH! but thoughtful and accessible in its own way and exquisitely photographed.

How do you know when a move is really real?

When you have a new library card!

😁

OK, The weather and the CRACK

So, a little background…

Some of you know that I drive a 2003 Ford Explorer that I absolutely LOVE. 

My stately 14-year old truck has only 134,000 miles on her, and I have babied her inside and out and under the hood, fully intending to get to at least 250,000.

One small point of pride - the 2001-2005 Explorers have a defect in the material used for the rear lift gate - a hardshell plastic panel just below the glass - that is notorious for developing a crack down the middle with age and rapid temperature changes. My Miss Dora, however, has been crack-free -- until the Canadian winter started in on her.
We had a few days of single-digit (Fahrenheit) nights, followed by a relatively balmy day where the temp got above freezing - so I hit the car wash - and heard an audible pop from the rear of the vehicle as the warm wash started. DAMMIT! I immediately knew what it was….

Found a supplier for a replacement panel, and a video for DIY, and it looks pretty straightforward - but this will have to wait until Spring.

What's most different?

The biggest adjustment has so far hasn't been US-vs-Canada, so much as City-vs-Country. I was born in Washington DC, and have lived in or near a city all my life - either DC or Baltimore. I'm definitely a city mouse.

Since the move, most of the area around me looks like this:

For a photographer, it's a candy store. 

For a self-employed person trying to run a 

creative-services business, it's a….  challenge.