This column was supposed to be a profile of Dave Hanley, the driving force behind the Hamilton Dishcrawl. It’s not. He’ll understand.
It is about the James St. North Dishcrawl held May 28th. It’s Hamilton in 200 meters.
4:45 a.m. May 29th
It’s about the thoughts that come at dawn, and a very different piece thrashing itself awake. I’m thinking of the food we ate. And then the beggar in Jacques Prévert’s poem “La grasse matinée”. (Read a decent full translation here.)
Juxtaposition, dissonance.
“It's terrible
the tiny sound of a hard-boiled egg cracked on a tin counter
it's terrible this tiny sound
when it stirs in the memory of the hungry man”
7:00 – 11:00 p.m. May 28th
Storm and lightning, ceding to a foggy damp.
Every seat occupied: not a single person has bailed.
Vinho verde.
As we change venues, a lithe black man in a hat dances on the sidewalk with a pretty blonde, a Lexus convertible their boom box. Artists. She was the driver.
One very large chef, one tiny, near-perfect bite. The horseradish just overshadowing the sous-vide local striploin in a brilliant, fresh Cake and Loaf bread half-sandwich.
Juxtaposition, dissonance.
Locals on the street reacting to the fire-eater, at our next change up. Watching the crowd, yelling they’ll run down the street naked for fifty bucks. They go away when it’s suggested we’ll pay them not to.
Three sliders, one vegetarian. Kettle chips. Beer: Green vegan smoothies. Kale chips. More smoothies.
Prévert ‘s beggar, his front teeth missing, dropping to his knees and screaming at us, an impossibly affluent crowd. The few coins he’s guilted us to throw in his hat, are not enough. His incoherent plea a reprise of an earlier remonstration 50 yards up the road.
Pastries, jazz, and something funkier.
James St. North.
Hamilton.
Juxtaposition, dissonance.
Dishcrawl approved.
Note: My wife and I were guests of Dishcrawl Hamilton, but paid for all our own beverages. We ate (well/healthily) at Wild Orchid, McCartney and Son Salad Emporium and Eatery, Jack&Lois, and The Green Smoothie Bar. The evening ended with dessert (from Ola Bakery) and Spanish Coffee at the ArtWord ArtBar while the talented Emily Kemp and her band jazzed it up. Sweet.
To see more pictures, click here.
Alex (Alex can be reached at fft@thehamiltonian.info ) or on twitter @AlexBielak
Food for Thought logo, designed and kindly donated by Ninka Bielak. Ninka can be reached at ninka.bielak@gmail.com.
Food for Thought logo, designed and kindly donated by Ninka Bielak. Ninka can be reached at ninka.bielak@gmail.com.
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