I took Natasha out for her birthday dinner last night to a place she’d been hearing about, Ottawa’s “New Restaurant of the Year”. Zen Kitchen on Somerset was pretty amazing. It was hands down the best vegan food I’ve ever had (which is not to say they had a lot of competition, but it was delicious) and the staff were super accommodating about our allergies, which was tricky for them because vegans put lemon and nuts in everything. Everything.

We had the Sesame-crusted Le Coprin exotic mushrooms with seasonal vegetables, tamarind-star anise reduction and sweet chile sauce which was deliciously crusty and super filling for a starter. I ate the Exotic mushroom risotto with great northern and cranberry beans and balsamic-glazed grilled vegetables which I thought was excellent, and Natasha had the Panko-crusted seitan medallions with apple butter-miso dengaku sauce, ancient grain pilaf, and Asian slaw which Chef Coraline tweaked a bit so it would be safe. We both had the Mexican Chocolate Cake afterwards – suuuuper delicious!

I’m no stranger to mushroom risotto! People call me a fun-guy. Haha… fungi? Haaaa…..

Right, so then we followed it up with some excellent music at the Gladstone (an incredible venue!). Jonathan Coulton (of videogame soundtrack & internet fame) was in town, with “Paul and Storm” as an amazing opening act. It was mostly comedy music, Paul and Storm had brilliant songs about Chicken McNuggets and Werewolves that were hilarious. Jon was the headliner though, and brought his full repertoire to impress us all. Super great concert. We were three rows from the front in the center, literally at eye level with Jon the entire night. I think we shared a few special moments, because he spent most of the concert looking me directly in the eye. That’s right Jon, I noticed you noticing me.