My Second Mid-Life Crisis?! Impossible... I'm not Finished with My First

I was born thirteen years too late! I figure that had I been born in 1948 I would have visited Paris many more times than I have - in fact, I'd like to think I would have settled there.... or in London - although, save for a last minute job offer when I was 25, I probably would have. Instead of Carnaby Street and the 1968 Paris Riots I was dealing with the Nuclear Clock moving to "Two Minutes to Midnight" and the Starland Vocal Band singing Afternoon Delight. And this has nothing to do with food, you say! Well, that's where you're wrong.

This was a big food weekend; it started on Friday with Steak Frites, with a wild mushroom compote and aioli; and on Saturday, we had a very simple linguini with a sauce of fresh oregano, tomatoes, capers and anchovies. And my niece was over, watching an entertainingly mindless flick about a pair of magic jeans and 4 high school kids who spend summer vacation apart - one of whom went to Greece. I also whipped in to the French Baker on Saturday morning to pick up some croissants and Pain au Chocolat - the said niece is pregnant and had a craving... and she deserves to get pampered.

In between all of this I went to the Ottawa Wine and Food Show and... are you ready for this?.... I went Vespa shopping....

It's all becoming clear to you now, isn't it? The second Midlife Crisis comment, the Carnaby Street/Paris in '68 comment, the summer in Greece, and the menu laced with continental flair. In my defence, I have always wanted a Vespa - ten years ago I was talking about getting a Vespa. But now, every time I watch or listen to anything that has to do with Alfie and then mention the V-word within the next fortnight, I'm under suspicion of trying to recapture my youth.... which, for the record, was not that long ago, thank you very much.

... and, while someone in the latest issue of The Gourmet Traveller observed, "only in Italy does a scooter look sexy and chic", I beg to differ! I'm pretty convinced, in my forty-something, heavily-influenced-niece-sorta-way, that I would look pretty sexy and chic tooling down to the Byward market to pick up some croissants and a Baquette Ancienne in my pearly white Vespa. Which, I guess, brings me back to Kim's over-the-shoulder taunt of a second mid-life crisis.

Well, you know what? There's nothing like a wild mushroom risotto, with shaved Pecorino al Tortufo, smoked Mariposa Duck and Mesclun Salad to get to a girl's heart. At the end of the evening she said Yes!