Before we get to the food shots of the year, Happy Powerup Day and congrats to me for powering up 400HP!
#GreatestHits2020 ain't done yet as my year-end rally to share a little activity and progress during a pandemic.
Then lockdown was initially announced, one of the biggest blows to the local business landscape was the immediate closure of all restaurant dining rooms. In a town with a renowned chef school, and way too many restaurants because of tourism-based seasonal economy, this was huge in many ways. Being in the business I am in, and working with many of those restaurants, the worldwide war on awesome restaurant food didn't seem to impact me personally so much.
A New Era
This may not be my best food photo of the year but it might mean the most to me.
The week restaurants were shuttered and a month of lockdown was announced, I got a call from my good friend who runs https://revival.house which is among the fanciest establishments in town. They have a dining room which seats hundreds when full, is host to many events & concerts, and is built upon the dine-in experience which is now cancelled. This will give you an idea as it is from New Years Eve last year.
When I got the call to come help drink some of the draft beer which could no longer be sold and brainstorm how to transform the operation into a take out business, I was in!
We stayed 6 feet from eachother, sampled some fantastic yet simple Asian fusion dishes and planned the risky launch of take-out menu and process. Being included in this was awesome enough but getting the inside track on sampling the dishes was a gift no other year but 2020 could give me. So good!
Man....this post could be dedicated to Revival House as this is the Royale with Cheese I got to destroy after a shift of delivering meals.
Patios Return
Not many restaurants boatsed out-door dining space as it was almost an afterthought before Covid. The city reacted quite quickly in relaxing the patio rules, allowing restaurants to constrict out-door dining spaces in order to safely serve more patrons. Contact tracing was put in place and it felt a little strange but it was a welcome sight to see the restaurants back in business at a slightly higher level.
This beautiful burger is courtesy of Mercer Beer Hall https://www.mercerhall.ca/ It was a nice sunny day which was ideal for a strategy session over beer and lunch. You can see my typical sweet potato fries side but what is atypical for me is that this is a vegetarian burger made of a portabella mushroom. Definitely not my normal but I was up for anything new and have recently slid a little closer to the vegetarian side because of my little one and the encouragement of 
Home is Where the Wheel is
For years, home-made pizza has been a favourite in these parts because of the family involvement, control over ingredients and damn fine taste. 2020 was no different.
Grocery stores maintained a solid inventory and safety process with most of the staples regularly priced and available. We actually even had one for New Year's Eve at home celebrating by ourselves. Damn good thing too because that is too good to share!
Golf Fuel
If you check out my last #GreatestHits2020 post @zekepickleman/greatesthits2020-the-great-outdoors I spend a bit of time lauding the return of Golf as perhaps the outdoor activity of the year. Out door dining was actually a nice trend this year and we combine these two at St. Mary's Golf & Country Club https://stmarysgolf.com/
Lunch makes golf even better and this extremely spicy burger put some zing this day. The onion rings were solid as well though not as healthy as my regular sweet potato fries.
Kickass Creole BBQ
This shot is not my own but was sent to me by Hugh the owner of Keepin' it Creole https://www.keepinitcreole.ca/ to use as a social media promotional post. BBQ wings must be awesome, cornbread is classic and I couldn't imagine enjoying brussels sprouts without the bacon...cooked by Chef Blake.
I enjoy this shot especially since it represents helping successfully launch a restaurant in an era where 1 of 3 existing ones have closed in this province. Rarely, you win as you learn instead of one or the other and that just as delicious as this take-out, in environmentally-friendly containers. Low and Slow.
This one is mine and I call it "Mac & Cheese Landscape"
Sublime Sub
I have heard it said, "If it is in a bun, it ain't fine dining."
A few restaurants have stayed open this year because of consolidation maneuvers and sharing space with other restaurants. Brilliant if you consider walking away from the cost of a retail location and retain the branding and stay in business. Even better when perhaps the best sandwich shop in town https://www.yorkstreetkitchen.com/ merges with one of the most exclusive bistros https://www.theprune.com/
This was another strategy lunch which is best as a win/win/win when you get a good lunch, write it off as an expense, and get to support a local restaurant. Here we have a delectable meatball sub, trademarked sweet potato fries, and savoury aioli sauce.
This one gets my coveted stamp as it doesn't get closer to fine dining than this.
Gourmet for Good
This is perhaps my favourite food shot of the year as it is composed of 40 meals delivered to Long Term Care workers because of the efforts of 10 local businesses. My car smelled like culinary heaven as we delivered it and I had to fight the urge to drive right on by and bring this load home.
Food is such a basic common denominator and skillfully crafted meals can make such an impact on someone's day. Thank you 2020 for making it the best food year ever!
Part of me feels a little bad for celebrating the year that was so destructive to so many across the globe. I am thankful, inspired and empowered knowing that a challenging year overall has yielded such amazing rewards and prospects. As the sun has gone down on such a fantastic year, let us be ready for an even better one today.
This movement is gaining momentum and now is being curated by 
I invite you to pen your own #thoughtfuldailypost any day of the week and spill your wisdom on the world via the blockchain.
I am honoured to curate for:
