My 7-links project

I was so happy to receive Jessica’s email asking me if I’d like to participate in this great My 7 links project. Jessica’s and Jonathan’s Bite Sized blog is one of my favourites and to be nominated by them is a great honour! I said yes right away not really knowing what I was getting into. Then I started looking at the details of writing this blog post and I had so much fun sifting through my year and a half worth of posts and trying to decide which one fitted the 7 different categories. It was a pleasure to comb through some of my old posts with what seemed to be fresh eyes. It hasn’t been that long but I’ve learned so much since I first started blogging. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this post as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

1. My most beautiful post: Lunch at Eleven Madison Park

I have quite a few “beautiful” post in the sense that I’ve been to quite a few meals that have featured beautiful plates. However, I think that my most beautiful post was my second lunch at Eleven Madison Park in New York City. Actually, any of the two posts I wrote about Eleven Madison Park could be contenders in this category. It’s one of my most favourite restaurants in the world and I’ve have a few quite superb meals there. The plates are absolutely gorgeous,so colourful and absolutely delicious!

2. My most popular post: Montreal’s Icehouse restaurant

Icehouse restaurant Montreal © Carrie MacPherson

Photo © Carrie MacPherson

If by popular, you mean the one with the highest views, then it is my review of Icehouse restaurant in Montreal. I had a great meal at this recently opened tex-mex barbecue place in Montreal’s plateau area. Icehouse has great pulled pork tacos, amazing fried chicken and ribs served directly on the table, no plates or utensils needed and a deliciously devilish spiked lemonade. Oh and the chicken-fried peach pie is an absolute must!

3. My most controversial post: Offal good

I don’t know if this post was controversial per say, I don’t even think I have a controversial post, but this post got a lot of talk, especially from the people who attended this evening with me. It was a special event at DNA restaurant in Montreal where Chris Cosentino was a guest chef and where the menu had offal in all 5 courses, including dessert. I knew this would be a tough dinner to get through but I never thought I would use the word “testicle” so much on my blog!

4. My most helpful post: Dessert party

My 3rd annual dessert party, or how to bake 11 desserts in 2 days… That was the title of my post and it caught people’s eyes. Yes, I did bake 13 desserts – some easy, some more intricate, some new ones and some old favourites- in 2 days for my 3rd annual dessert party which I usually throw in early December. Needless to say that I’ve gained a certain experience in the field and I share that experience in this post.

5. A post whose success surprised me: Jallab

On one hot day this past summer, I was reminiscing about my childhood summer days in Lebanon where I grew up and I thought of this drink that I always had on really hot days at the beach. I went out and bought the syrup, made myself a drink and wrote a quick post about it. I was surprised by how popular it was. I got a lot of questions about it via email and quite a few people were very interested in it. To this day, it is still one of my most read posts.

6. A post I feel didn’t get the attention it deserved: Geist restaurant in Copenhagen

My dinner at Geist restaurant in Copenhagen was delicious and beautiful and I really believed more people would be as enthusiastic about my review of it as I was. I’m not sure if this “unpopularity” has anything to do with the fact that I wasn’t in town when I posted the review and couldn’t advertise it as mush as I normally would on Twitter and Facebook since I was still on vacation.

7. The post that I am most proud of: My interview with Albert Adriá

I was so ecstatic – and so very nervous! – when I managed to get an interview with chef Albert Adriá this past summer while I was visiting Barcelona. For weeks I thought it through, prepared my questions and tried to remain calm. The interview went very well and chef Adriá was so nice and accommodating. After the interview, I went on to have an unforgettable meal with my mom at his new Barcelona tapas restaurant Tickets.

These are the bloggers that I’ve picked to continue this great “food chain”. They are some of my favourites out there and I relate to each one of them in a different way. Some of them are close friends, others are “virtual” friends that I hope to meet some day. I can’t wait to read their posts on their 7 links!