Toronto 2

Our next restaurant should be this Ecuadorian fish place, El Bodegan, Bishop had assured me and after an eventful day, it was our destination. We'd spent the day watching and filming high quality poetry and then baseball. After being a Jays fan since they hatched from their egg, finally seeing them play in their stadium was a long delayed dream made manifest as suprisingly good baseball kept the Red Sox and Jays see-sawing back and forth and finaly most suspensefully, as our great reliever seemed about to deliver the absence of relief, finally victory, and the Jays finish in 2nd, above the Sox for the first time since their World Series win in 93.
Anyway, the Ecuadorian fish. I went with the white fish and coriander.


As an appetiser, I went with the chile relanos, red pepper stuffed with seasoned beef, potatoes and corn wrapped with tomatoes and sauce. Mussels and a fish stew were also summoned. Mixed seafood stew, served with rice and yucca. Its a hot evening and the prospect of spicy food does not entice me, until I discover sangria on the menu. It eventually makes its way to our table as well.
Although spicy, the whitefish is smothered in cilantro, a bit of tomato and onion as well. The cilantro acts as if you were in a really hot room and then you turned the air conditioner on.
The asparagus is a pleasently accompanying vegetable, a Sancho Panza to pick me up after the joust between my cilantro saviour and the demonic fish heat. The potatoes sit next to it like a Persian ruin that has just recently been uncovered. We don't quite know who the emperor was we're supposed to be celebrating here but he kinda looks unhappy to be buried in this imagery, on top of my white fish. He'd rather be conquering Greeks.

Deb's mussels are"very small but very tasty little tidbits. and the sauce is delicious." The sauce is of "garlic, tomatos and beer. And a lot of cilantro."

Bishop describes his fish stew as, "its not too heavy. The flavours are all just nice, natural sea food flavours. Nothing's overdone or overspiced, it's just very very." Bishop runs out of words, returns for more food.

"Is there any alcohol in your soup?" I inquire.

"No, just a broth of some kind," reassures the prince of Church street.