Off to visit Vathi. But first that ballet of a breakfast at Doryssa Bay downstairs. There are many German, Nordic and Dutch tourists on Samos. North Americans are somewhat of the exception. Breakfast here by experience is hectic but sit outside in the summer air overlooking the ocean is a great pleasure. Why on earth would I want to eat inside! The buffet is complete and perhaps the most impressive one in Greece. I ate light with bread, eggs and some water being rather guarded with an upset tummy last night. I noted that the buffet has trimmed down from our last visit. And there are less staff as there was a wait for coffee cups and certain buffet items. Cost cutting due to COVID caused drop in revenue? Ran into a thuggish, burly and heavily tattooed Trumpist with a MAGA hat and an obese wife rather slovenly looking. I have seen this couple around. Tourists indeed! After the conclusion of our visit returned home for a swim, beer and a bag of oregano potato chips. As it is September the water has cooled down a bit and with a light wind it is almost chilly. There are so many tattooed people here. One Greek man with a young family had a massive tattoo of an eagle on his back. There was a huge German lady with each butt cheek the size of three watermelons sunning her back and butt as blazing sunburnt as they were. I headed off to Herion to find some souvlaki and was directed to the best souvlaki place in town but it was closed. I had trouble parking the car as stray cats had taken over the parking spot. Someone had to shoo them away. I returned home empty handed being informed by Fotini a staff member with a guest had entered the room while she was waiting for me. I phoned the front desk and received profuse apologies for this transgression. So off the Pythagoras to a local greasy spoon “Robinsons” for two souvlaki, fries and Greek Salad and some local rosé wine made with Folkiano grapes. Upon arriving back in the room greeted by an employee with a bottle of wine in an ice bucket and a bowl of fresh fruit with an apology note. Not expected but an attempt to placate irate guests.
“Travels to a Different Time ” : 4September2022: Pythagoras, Samos, Greece
Up at 06:45 for our flight from Athens to Samos. Taxi came to pick us up at 08:00 and off to the airport. Had a sandwich and a water at the airport. Saw a German family around asking where they could get a “real breakfast”. Saw them after eating eggs and ham! Sehr Gut! In the old way took a bus to the airplane on the tarmac. A small 30-seater prop and it was a 45-minute flight to Samos with a hearty breakfast of a cookie and some water. The lady from Trans Union car rental was in the lobby of the tiny airport with a” Robert Stephen” sign. Their office was a short walk from the arrivals lounge. A small red Suzuki with only 5/8 in the tank and two warning lights on. She swiped the credit card some 4 times with no luck. Almost had to grab the card from her as who wants a compromised card frozen. Upgraded to a suite overlooking the ocean. Trying the road and car took a short trip to beach town of Herion. After 5 years a swim in the ocean! We do like the Doryssa Bay Resort but it is right over the flight path to the airport so thank goodness there are not that many flights into Samos as the planes are about 600 feet overhead. The drive to the town of Pythagoras is a few minutes away and you can park in a big dusty lot outside of town. The place is crammed with tourists almost all European. Went to Knife and Fork overlooking the harbour recommended to Fotini by a friend. I had oven roasted pork shank and Fotini a blue cheese burger. Not bad for mostly vegetarians. When you don’t eat much meat and eat it this may cause tummy and digestive issues as it did to me. The Greek salad was good but Samian tomatoes are no tastier than our tomatoes in Toronto. Years ago they were much sweeter. Complimentary ice cream and watermelon for dessert but given the gurgling stomach I passed. Dinner with a beer and Greek salad was 36 Euros. Oh glorious sleep! Crashed blissfully at 23:30!
RKS Film: “Bad Axe”: A Very Dangerous Man Inflames Right Wing Rage in the United States
Bad Axe is a small town in Michigan. It is home to the Siev family. Father Chun is a refugee from Khmer Rouge Cambodia. Chun escaped with his mother and six children to Thailand and then moved to the United States. His father “disappeared” in Cambodia. Chun was tortured and beaten witnessing executions and atrocities.
In the shadow of “Donut King” Ted Ngoy the Siev family opened a donut shop in Bad Axe later opening a family restaurant “Rachels”. With great sacrifices and hard work they managed to run a successful establishment. Rachel is Chun’s wife and is of Mexican American descent.
By March 2020 COVID slammed Michigan with in restaurant dining prohibited and take out permitted. The Siev family faced racist slurs no doubt buoyed by the Dangerous Man rebranding COVID as Kung Flu and the China Virus. Rachels was struggling to stay afloat. Chun admits he was more fearful of COVID than the Killing Fields of Cambodia. What he endured appears to have given him a survivalist mentality and some post traumatic stress disorder he suffers from daily. Then George Floyd being murdered and civil unrest spreading throughout United States makes life a bit more complicated.
Matters come to a head in the Siev family when several of the children and their partners join a BLM march in Bad Axe. Armed paramilitary members menacingly watch the march unmolested by the local police. Chun supports the young folks participating in the BLM march but states that the family has struggled so fiercely in America often being silent on social issues for fear of retaliation. One can see this type of reasoning in the 1987 documentary “Who Killed Vincent Chin” with that murder by baseball bat committed in Detroit Michigan. Local supporters of the Dangerous Man harass the Siev family in confrontations in their restaurant and by harassing calls and tailing their young daughter in pick up trucks adorned with Trump and Confederate flags. In fact one white supremacist is arrested in Bad Axe for terrorizing a family.
The Siev family anxiously and with great trepidation watches Biden defeat Trump in the United States presidential election and there is relief in the air.
An interesting view of right-wing hatred in the United States and the resilience of those facing it. And I think we know who loves whipping it up even in post insurrectionist America.
There will be a theatre and on demand release on November 18th. The documentary has won over 15 awards to date including winner of the Audience Award and Special Jury Mention at SXSW. A David Siev film.
The trailer for this 2022 American film can be seen here https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/z834d0q9dw5ntm05inqzo/h?dl=0&preview=BADAXE_Trlr_Family_v6Rev_Texted+URL_H264.mov&rlkey=9vboyfrz9xrwd87iovaq14sn3
RKS Hotels: The Woodbourne Inn at St. Davids (Niagara-on-the-Lake): Just Like Home!
Why St. Davids?
If you appreciate laid back luxury in a quiet setting The Woodbourne Inn in St. Davids, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario will be for you. Not that the “old town” of Niagara-on-the-Lake, a mere 15-minute drive, is a bustling urban metropolis but it can be busy with day trippers crowding the streets eating ice cream cones wandering amongst kitschy shops and where parking can be difficult during the weekends. The old town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is best enjoyed off season or when the day trippers have left because it is then that it shows its charm. St. Davids on the other hand is blissfully peaceful with no town to speak of yet mere minutes away from the many Niagara locations such as Niagara Falls, the Butterfly Conservatory, the Botanical Gardens and the old town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Some twenty wineries are within a short drive. In fact Ravine Vineyards with its Michelin starred chef is but an 8 minute walk from The Woodbourne.
The History of The Woodbourne Inn
The Woodbourne Inn is an 1839 historically designated treasure. While at a bloggers weekend at Marynissen Estate Winery in 2014 I was lodged in a bed and breakfast nearby. The owner of the B&B asked me to drop by at The Woodbourne as he was just about finished with his renovations and knowing I reviewed hotels wanted to speak with me. Speak I did and had a tour of the almost fully renovated property. It quite blew me away with its top end finishes. So three visits later to The Woodbourne I end up reviewing it in November 2022. My previous visit was October 2020 in the height of COVID which was spooky and surreal. Imagine 40 people at Niagara Falls and free parking!
The Woodbourne Layout
The Woodbourne is located on a quiet section of Four Mile Creek Road. There is a grand vestibule as you enter. To the left a living room with 4 sofas and two tables with chairs which are used as you wish including a relaxing place to have your second breakfast. To the right a sumptuous library with seating and games if you wish. You may have your breakfast in the library. There is also a dining room off the professional grade kitchen with one table sitting five and two tables sitting two. Off the dining room is the guest pantry. There are rooms on the main floor and up the stairs with 8 rooms in total. There is also outdoor seating in the garden with two rare Osage trees and a Pa Pa tree.
The Rooms
You might wish to describe the 8 rooms as “Georgian”. There are 5 rooms with king size beds, two with queens and one with twin beds. Big soaker tubs, plush towels, top quality linens and towels make you feel you are living the life of a prosperous country squire! There are no televisions. Fall and winter rates range from $250-$350 with a discount available for multiple nights.
Feeling at Home
You get the feeling at most hotels you are a “guest” in a rented room and that is what you get…a room. Some like that sense of anonymity. At The Woodbourne I had the feeling I was at home. One night I was reading and forgot I was in an inn but rather at home. Perhaps a delightful hallucination.
The Double Breakfast
With a double breakfast at The Woodbourne Inn quite frankly who needs lunch. Upon check in you will be asked what time you want for the first and second breakfast. The first breakfast is delivered outside your door and consists of your choice of coffee, organic juice and 8 organic looseleaf teas from master tea blender Genuine Tea. There is also a home baked pastry. For me the pastry day one was a sausage roll and day two an almond paste scone. The tea was in a brew pot and I loved the Sakura Rose tea. After two huge cups I was just about flying down to the second breakfast. By the way Jenn the pink haired chef at The Woodbourne has a background as a pastry chef and it certainly shows. The day one second breakfast was almond roasted French Toast topped with lavender preserved tangerines with papa cream from very rare Pa Pa trees growing on the property. Day two second breakfast was Eggs Benedict with locally made prosciutto served over fresh baked potato rolls and yet more of that delicious Sakura Rose tea. It is so good I am ordering some from Genuine Tea. You have your choice of where you want to have your second breakfast. You can have in the dining room, the living room or in the library. There is one table in the library, two in the dining room and off the kitchen a table for five and two tables of two. Should the huge amount of tea and juice kick in there is a powder room off the living room.
The Guest Pantry
Off the kitchen there is the guest pantry. There is a supply of ice buckets, Riedel stemless wine glasses, cutlery, toaster, plates, cutlery, coffee maker, microwave and everything you need should you decide to make it a wine and cheese type of night. Yes I did that with some friends on my last visit when COVID paranoia made restaurant dining a dance with death! And since you have purchased some wine at the many wineries in the hood there is a refrigerator which is also full of chilled bottles of filtered water. Yes The Woodbourne advocates sustainability so you will not encounter any single use containers here. Oh and the pantry has custom packets of Sweetwater trail mix or meringue drops if you are in the mood for sweets.
Where to Eat?
Dining options are a plenty particularly in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake such as at Treadwell, The Oban or Kitchen 76 just to name a few.
Dining options are limited in St. Davids. My top choice is a brewery-restaurant The Grist with its signature pizzas and 11 beers on tap. Ravine Vineyards restaurant is known for its Michelin quality food but was closed when I was in St. Davids. The Old Firehall strikes me as a Tony Soprano New Jersey Roadhouse with an eclectic mix of Greek and jazz music although the cuisine is fine it really may not be worth your patronage. The Garage Pizzeria I hear has good take-out pizza. All these eateries are within walking distance so drinking and driving can be out of the equation.
Easy Peasy What to Do
In the library you’ll find cards with hints of what to do in the hood. The cards are “Feeling Artsy?”, “Feeling Thirsty?”, “Feeling Hungry?”, “Feeling Energetic?” and “Feeling Spendy?”.
Wineries
Further north of the Woodbourne I recommend Big Head Winery with its clay amphoras and concrete tanks on the leading edge of Niagara wineries. Also of course Ravine Vineyards a short walk. Chateau de Charmes is a very commercial “chateau” that attracts tour buses….enough said! But wineries are all over the place!
RKS Hotel Rating 93/100.
(The Woodbourne Inn, 214 Four Mile Creek Road, St. Davids, Ontario, Telephone 289.296.9631
RKS Film: A Very Cheesy Christmas: “Baking All the Way”
Is there an unwritten rule that Christmas movies of late must suffer from cheesy plots and rather obnoxious music? Let’s face it “It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of the biggest cheese Christmas films ever made yet once every two years it still is worth a view. “Baking All the Way” is stuffed with cheese to the extent it is a Kraft Dinner Genre film. Now that is not to say the cheese has gone moldy in “Baking All the Way”.
Here is the plot. Julia (Corey Lee) is a restaurant owner and a pastry chef who is finishing her cookbook but as her mommy and her used to make gingerbread cookies at Christmas time she is searching for the perfect recipe as mommy’s recipe has been smudged with too much lard and is unreadable. Julia has a contest and asks readers to send gingerbread cookies they have baked so she can duplicate her mommy’s gingerbread cookies. Well Julia is sent a dandy gingerbread cookie from a small-town bakery in Wisconsin called Homestead Baked Goods. Off she drives from Chicago to a cheesy small town in Wisconsin and strides into the bakery announcing to the owner, Chris Thompson (Yannick Bisson) a rather beef cakey guy, he is the winner but such a powerful author, with perhaps an excessive amount of makeup, seems surprised when Chris expresses no interest in handing over the recipe. Oh this love interest is going to cuddles and kisses soon! Chris has no idea who sent the cookies to Julia but we know don’t we!
The cheese is melting and oozing all over the place! I should probably stop here as one knows 5 minutes into the film where the plot ends.
I would not go so far as to say this is a stinking Limburger cheese film. While the music is overly sweet and annoying the acting is definitely as smooth as Cambazola. I like the huge political statement made about this sweet little bakery being threatened by the evil corporate franchise bakery across the street. OMG a progressive anti-monopolistic Christmas film! Sort of like the seamy underside of “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
The movie does have a bit of personal impact. Don’t we all have some recipe from our youth our mommy made for us or perhaps a family friend that we can’t reproduce. In my case years ago it was Mrs. Tasman’s legendary apple crisp after 50 years I can’t match. A Christmas movie that touches my heartstrings.
Two last comments. With global inclusion and diversity becoming mandatory concerns in society why are these small-town people almost all white. As a Canadian I note the outdoor winter scenes have no frosty breaths about. We all know the shoot location in Hamilton, Ontario gets mighty cold at Christmas and its inhabitants have frosty outdoor breath.
“Baking All the Way” starts with a limited Canadian theatrical release on December 5th and as of December 5th will be available on Super Channel.
How do you like your Kraft Dinner cheesy or milky? You’ll get both here. Suitable for the Harlequin Romance set and young children.
No doubt your family physician has warned you about cheese and cholesterol but a bit of cheese makes life more pleasant.
By the way gingerbread cookies give me indigestion.
RKS Film Rating 63/100.
RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Thoughts of an 1856 Druggist in Toronto
“As my father has often said, the sick are never in short supply, but then there is only so much physick they can take before their health is recovered, and the privations and the growth of the city were both grossly overestimated. It does ill to have hopes for others’ misfortunes, but druggists must stand by in solemn citizenhood and hope for the public to be struck low as often as possible. One hopes without lasting damage (for we need them to get sick again!), and with a recovery that makes them happy we exist.”
Michael Redhill “Consolation”: Doubleday Canada 2006.
RKS Wine: Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery’s “House of Nations”
Located in St Davids Ontario just a wee bit up from the corner of Four Mile Creek Road and York Road lies Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery. The tasting room is located in an historic building known locally as the House of Nations and officially as Woodruff House. It was originally built by David Secord in 1802. It was burned by the Americans as they fled St. Davids after the War of 1812. The Woodruff family rebuilt it in 1817 adding an addition to the front of the house. It became known as the House of Nations as immigrants to the area lived in apartments in it.
In rather a sorry state it was sold in 1969 to a man that dissembled it and shipped to Caledon, Ontario where he had plans to reassemble it but died before he could start the project. The Harber family, the current owners of Ravine eventually tracked it down in Port Hope Ontario and purchased it so it could be returned to where it “belonged”. It is now home to the tasting room and retail sales.
After this historical exercise we should close with a tasting of their unoaked Chardonnay I tasted on the outdoor patio of the restaurant with a spectacular fall view of some of its vineyards all aglow in a vibrant autumn gold in record heat rather amazing (or disconcerting) for early November.
On the nose concentrated Honey Crisp apple and Flemish pear, guava and Croatian vanilla wafer cookies. On the palate the wine takes more of a tropical twist with notes of mango, pineapple, tangerine and a hint of custard. The acids are restrained. For an unoaked Chardonnay this is a rich and well-formed wine with a long finish. It virtually shouts for a chicken dish with cream sauce.
You can pick up at the winery or order online.
(Ravine Vineyard 2021 Unoaked Chardonnay, VQA St. Davids Bench, Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery, St. Davids, Ontario, $30.80, RKS Wine Rating 92/100).
“Travels to a Different Time” : 3September2022: Vravrona, Greece
After 10 awful hours on an Air Canada flying basement Athens was a chance to break out of our little prison but seems COVID has played around with Greece as there were no gates available so stuck on the airplane for 30 minutes. Ordinarily we would have made a connecting flight to Samos but with two of our internal flights in Greece already rescheduled we thought it safer to stay the night at Dolce Wyndham Attica some 17 kilometres from the Athens airport right on the beach but I was simply too beat to have a swim. And we must leave the hotel by 08:00 for our flight to Samos. Just prior to leaving Toronto we learnt there had been an earthquake and two aftershocks in Samos 17 kilometres off the coast from the town we were staying in Pythagoras. No casualties or significant property damage. We were picked up by our prearranged car for the trip to the hotel in Vravrona. It is a massive complex more American than Greek. I mean there was even an Australian medical conference being held there! Pools, tennis courts, volleyball courts and a basketball court. Bars and restaurants all over. Had a twenty-minute walk after a brief nap to Koralli Psarotaverna where a delicious meal consisting of a half litre of house white, Greek Salad, octopus, eggplant dip, zucchini fritters and a complimentary dessert (traditional Greek custom) for 41 Euros. Upon arriving back at the hotel listened to some Moroccan hip hop at the pool. Crashed out exhausted at 22:00.
RKS Wine: Is Gamay on the Comeback Trail in Ontario?
Gamay was hot a decade ago in Ontario full of promise and hope but as “fads” go they can fade. Gamay seemed to fade but in the past few years it would appear to be gaining steam.
Cave Spring Vineyards is well known internationally for its Rieslings that receive generous ratings in the Wine Spectator seemingly ensconcing itself as an Ontario winery “worthy” of Wine Spectator recognition. Good step in the Wayne’s World, “We Are Not Worthy” chant!
Cave Spring has a well appointed and “wine tourist” tasting room in Jordan Village. Legions of pourers, lush décor and lots of subsidiary wine merchandise. But their new tasting room in Beamsville is spartan and glass enclosed with spectacular views of vineyards. It has an attraction to more serious wine drinkers interested in evaluating and tasting the wine instead of a living a touristic experience. After having visited so many tasting rooms in Europe and North America touristic experiences become somewhat mundane so the new Beamsville tasting room is more my speed. A recent visit to Napa rather soured me on the overdone and lush tasting room. Was it J Winery at Russian River Valley that was so over the top that it was theatrical? I have so much money I can babble away and all should listen to my pontification!
I had really wanted simply to drop in and say hello but as the manager seemed somewhat taken aback I would not do a tasting as driving and tasting do not mix I was persuaded to taste a couple of higher end wines that really towered above what I can say that were more “generally affordable” wines.
One of these wines was a 2020 Gamay Estate VQA Beamsville Bench. This was a Gamay with depth and many steps above a fruity and friendly moderately priced Gamay. On the nose raspberry coulis, Washington black cherry and milk chocolate predominate with a miniscule dusting of clove and allspice. It is rich! On the palate a piercing and penetrating laser beam of raspberry, black cherry cola and a long lingering finish. There is enough acidity to be a great match for rich tomato-based pasta such as Tuscan wild boar pasta or a mushroom ragout over polenta and yes enough power and heft to match a beef bourguignon. Although a possible sipper I would vote for this being a foodie wine unlike so many fruity and immediately accessible Gamays.
This is a young wine still trying to identify itself. It will continue to mature into wine puberty and be in its prime from 2025-2028. Many Ontario Gamays are in the $20-25 range. This one is a bit pricey and worth the increased expenditure.
(Cave Spring 2020 Gamay Estate VQA Beamsville Bench, Cave Spring Vineyard, Jordan, Ontario, $34.95, 750 mL, 13.5%, RKS Wine Rating 93/100).
RKS Wine: Urban Blight Hits Niagara!
You drive around the Niagara region enjoying the sights and perhaps the wineries. In early November gold blazes creating quite a spectacular sight. What is not so spectacular are the housing developments popping up in the last few years like out-of-control Baco Noir grapes.
Yes there is lots of open air with orchards, vineyards and farms but in certain spots you are in a subdivision frenzy. I was driving south on Four Mile Creek Road in St. Davids enjoying the sunshine and beautiful foliage when I caught out of the corner of my eye an enormous subdivision. Here and there you will see them clashing with quaint Georgian architecture. The modern is crowding out the traditional and historic. Niagara-on-the Lake (NOTL) can be a nice little enclave for the wealthy or those from large urban centres seeking to downsize. You’ll see Mercedes, Audi’s and BMW’s and a senior set looking like they are not suffering financially happily consuming $36 Truffle Pizza’s at Kitchen 76.
For the time being wineries are not directly threatened but one day who knows. As urban development sprawls land prices increase tempting some wineries to sell out. But it also threatens tourism. While in St Davids there is a huge suburban development as you head west on York Road. At the corner of York Road and Four Mile Creek Road a new condominium development Vineyard Square clashes with small town architecture.
NOTL municipal council had enacted an interim control by-law in an attempt to control development of the old town but Hummel Property had that quashed in an Ontario Court of Appeal decision in 2022. A voter in the recent NOTL municipal election was quoted in The Lake Report newspaper saying , “It’s always the Old Town or the tourism, nothing about the agriculture.”
As a lesson that might await Niagara wine country look at the tiny Condrieu wine appellation in the Northern Rhône in France. At one point recently a condominium development threated to destroy the vineyards. Public outrage quashed that development. Is this what is in store for NOTL? One also must open their eyes to burgeoning housing developments in Prince Edward County also a wine producing area east of Toronto.
People must live somewhere but to control unfettered expansion is a must to ensure the uniqueness of NOTL. The failure to do so may threaten not only agriculture and wineries but the lifeblood of tourism. When you visit NOTL would you still come if it started looking like Richmond Hill a suburb of Toronto?
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 