Be Back Soon, Ol' Saskatoon!

Saskatoon: The Sunniest City in Canada; Saskatchewan's biggest city but not its capital; Only mentioned (as far as I could find) in 1 Stompin' Tom song, although with a name like that you'd think it'd be a title track; A town I had never really considered before moving Up North; The city that changed my dogs forever.

That's right. This week we went down our long, winding road, turned onto a less winding but even longer road, and eventually made it to the Big City. Saskatoon. Upon arrival we stopped by the vet clinic and handed our puppies over to the veterinarian assistant. We were a little sad when they happily trotted away on their leashes, not even looking back at us. The experience was akin to the feeling that some parents get when they take their kid to school for the first time and find that they are not so sad to leave mommy and daddy's side and prefer to play with the other children. It was a bittersweet moment; we were happy that they were not so fearful of the big, wide world, but also a bit forlorn that they were not more concerned about leaving us behind. I like to think that the moment they did turn around and find us gone, there was a bit of panic. Either way, we had two puppy-free nights in Saskatoon!

I don't know about you, but the first thing I do before visiting a new city is to go online and check out restaurants. I like eating, and I love eating out, but I am kinda picky about what I'm actually going to pay for when I go out. I hate paying for a meal that isn't very good (obviously) or that is only mediocre or even just pretty good. When I go out to eat, I want my food to be great! fabulous! delicious! If you feel the same way, then the next time you find yourself in Saskatoon you have to go to Weczeria Food and Wine. The best thing about the place is that it focuses on fresh, local food; in fact, their menu is on a chalkboard because it changes that often. It was the first time that I was seated at a restaurant and didn't get a menu to hold. The dish above is the oxtail ravioli, which was great 'til the last drop, literally: we ordered a bit more bread so that we could soak up all of the amazing jus. Real comfort food.

Our other appetizer was the roasted carrot salad, which was lovely as well. It came with an apple compote and hazelnuts, as well as a fabulous vinaigrette that seemed to have a hint of ginger in it. The best thing about this dish was the fun contrast of the softened, earthy carrots with the crunchy, woody hazelnuts. Also, it's quite colourful and I like the stacked presentation.

My partner's dinner was chicken supreme with mustard buttermilk mashed potatoes and a slaw. He ate every bite, despite complaining about the cilantro in the slaw, a.k.a. "that green stuff that overpowers everything else".  I tried it and I also wasn't sure that so much cilantro was right for the dish, but everything else was lovely. I'm trying to remember exactly what that brown sauce is but at the moment it escapes me. Not the most colourful dish, but delicious nonetheless.

My entree was the pork tenderloin with caramelized onions and polenta.The pork was nicely cooked; they source all of their meat locally, and cook it all as rare as they can get away with. I found the best way to go with this dish was to put everything together in each bite. On their own, the polenta and pork were a little bland, but with the onions it all became a big party in my mouth! 

On a side note, Weczeria almost made me forget that I was in Mid-Western Canada, except for the fact that our server kept over-explaining everything, or in some cases defending the food before we even ordered. She explained each culinary word (which for a loyal Food Network watcher like me isn't necessary, although I had forgotten what a ragout is), and very early in the evening she added the disclaimer that the portions are smaller than other restaurants, although for my own stomach they were perfect (I could only eat one of the tenderloin slices; there are two on the plate above). I don't say this as a criticism, because she was an awesome server, but just an observation.

Dessert was a decadent but not overpoweringly rich flourless chocolate cake. It was kind of like a dense fudge brownie slice, even close to a chocolate pate. Floating near the bottom of the cake were a few raspberries and on top was a homemade vanilla bean whipped cream. Like I said, it was a delectable and satisfying dessert without being overly heavy. I enjoyed it with a second glass of Cabernet Sauvignon (they only have Canadian wines, to warn anyone who hasn't the palate for our finest) and the chocolate paired extremely well with the cherry and red currant tones in the drink.

Dinner was fantastic, and after tax and tip came out to about $150, which I think is pretty great for two people. We had 5 drinks between us, 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 1 dessert and 1 tea. Not for everyday, but certainly a nice treat when on the road Down South. The only negative thing that I will say is that, while all delicious, no dish (with the exception of the oxtail ravioli) had that "wow" factor that made it jump off the menu (in this case, chalkboard) for me. You know how sometimes you go out and there's a dish that seems to have everything that you love in it, as though it was specifically designed for you? I didn't have that here, but the nice thing about the menu changing with the seasons is that the next time we go, there will be a whole new list of creative and exquisite meals to choose from. Can't wait to visit in the summertime!

Back to reality. The morning after our culinary adventure we went to pick up the pooches. Remember when I said that they didn't seem to mind leaving us? Well, they sure were fed up with that little back room at the clinic by the time we arrived. They were beyond excited to see us. Phew, they do love us after all! They fit in the back of the truck alright, and aside from the couple times that Reina stepped on Nanuq's recently departed balls, we got home without mishap.

The girls at the clinic had warned us that Nanuq would not keep his cone on, but for us it has not been an issue so far. He hates it, clearly, and what dog wouldn't, but he doesn't pull on it like he was in Saskatoon. Somehow it makes him look even cuter.

Reina merely suffers the indignity of it all with one big, continuous miserable look. You can see her incision here, along with the two places on her right legs where they shaved her for the IV lines. Poor, poor dear. Not quite the crown that my little Queen had anticipated, I bet.

The only mishap since coming home was the afternoon when I went to work and left the little ones in their cages. I'm concerned that they will figure out that they can lick each others' wounds, so we're keeping them apart as much as possible over the next week or so. I was gone for 4 hours and the whole time I was anxious that Nanuq may have gotten his cone off and spent the afternoon licking or tearing at his stitches. I returned home to the above scene. He must have been so indignant about the cone that he decided to rip up his beloved cushion. I can only imagine how much stuffing he ate. On the bright side, I was relieved to see that he was still in the cone and his stitches were intact.

Sadly the joke is on Nanuq, since he doesn't get to sleep on a comfy pillow anymore. His cone is looking worse for the wear as well, although it is not his fault. The dogs have not been able to understand the parameters of the cones, and they knock them on everything in the house, including the backs of our legs constantly (which hurts!). Last night he went out to pee in -25 degree weather, and when he ran back to the house he knocked the cone against the metal railing and it shattered. Reina's done something similar this morning, so now the cones are nicely decorated with lines of duct tape. Oh, the shame!

All in all it was a fine trip to Saskatoon and back. I didn't take any pictures of the city because we didn't really have time to sight-see. When we go South there is always lots of shopping to do and we really only had 1 day in which to do it. Next time I'll make more of an effort, I promise. Until then, you'll have to get by on the immortal lyrics of Stompin' Tom:

A scout from the flames came down from Saskatoon
Said, "There's always room on our team for a goon
Son, we've always got room for a goon"