My life revolves around and is driven by 3 passions: my wife, photography and travel. Number 4 would be eating, but I'll never admit it!
Dubrovnik, Croatia - July 2005:
Before our successful relocation to Canada 3 years ago, me and Ioana use to live in Romania, an enchanting (maybe a little too enchanting for us) country in Eastern Europe.
Istanbul, Turkey - November 2006:
But this is not about Romania and the many years spent taking pictures over there:
Romanian Heritage. This is about travelling outside of Romania, to the 4 corners of Europe and beyond. More specifically, its about the spectacular lands and cultures around the Mediterranean Sea.
Lido Di Latina, Italy - May 2006:
It's hard to describe the feelings I had - but let's go with extreme excitement - when I received a proposal for a show and sell photo exhibition in a brand new restaurant on Whyte Avenue:
Ousia - A Mediterranean Fare. Matthew Lakis - the proud owner - wanted some art on the walls, photographs that would resonate with the colorful flavors found on the menu.
Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia - April 2006:
Long story short, that's how this:
Genoa, Italy - April 2006:
Became this:
Each picture comes as a 12x18 inches metallic print and a total by 24x30 inches with the black mat and the metallic frame. All of them are in a limited edition of 20 and come with a certificate of authenticity. You can take any of these beauties home for only $ 475:
The excitement continues for us, as we were invited to the first day of business of the restaurant! It all went down last night. Fair warning: don't scroll down on an empty stomach! It's gonna hurt!
We had the unique chance to be the first official customers to check out the menu, place an order and salivate for a little while:
The first official drink order - that would be Ioana, of course - was a Tamarind Margarita complete with chili powder rim:
And the first official dinner service:
Ioana had the Moroccan Spiced Chicken Kebab with apricot and date chickpea curry and mint tomato jam. Believe me it tastes even better than it looks and sounds:
I had the Wild Mushroom and Mascarpone Risotto drizzled with truffle oil. But I also had like half of Ioana's - against her will - because it was too good:
Another historical first for us: ordering the desert from the digital menu. Well, until the printer is getting fixed:
Matthew himself is preparing a Bellini and Red Wine Poached Pear for Ioana:
I tried the Mascarpone Cheesecake with Cherry Compote and good thing I tried it, because now I know how a cheesecake is supposed to melt in your mouth. I think it ruined all the other cheesecakes for me:
Wish I could say that sweet baby Arassay was the first official customer that put food on her clothes, but actually it was Ioana. It happened so fast, I didn't even have the chance to take a picture, so here's the second place:
But I'll give Arassay something: she's the first one to eat with her hand and being really cute while doing it:
Congratulations, Matthew, on starting this incredible yummy new adventure! And thank you so much for the photo exhibition opportunity! The best of luck,
Ousia!
travel.eat.love.more.cosmin
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