It is befitting that our communion at table today was at the Pelican Seafood Market & Grill on Bank Street in Ottawa.  Over ten years ago we and our hosts Alana and Jay (and their erstwhile French bulldog Max) first met on the North Atlantic shores of Hilton Head Island, SC. At the time of our fortuitous introduction we hadn’t any idea that we all hailed from Canada, much less Ontario and even less from Ottawa. You see, the evocation as I rode upon my bicycle and they ambled upon the beach near Coligny Beach Park was their French bulldog Max who instantly put me in mind of our former French bulldog Munro. I stopped to ask if I might pat their little dog.

A lot has transpired since we first met Alana and Jay. We serendipitously repeated a chance encounter with them in Sea Pines a year later. Max has since died (though I hasten to add at a ripe age for the breed) and he has been succeeded by an equally lovable Louie.

Though I hesitate to imply we have since our first encounter descended to extraordinary depths of intimacy, I cannot but remark that, in the context of a young couple such as they, we have witnessed a dynamic expression of personal and commercial evolution. Alana has changed employment and is now Chair of an academic centre of Algonquin College; her husband Jay, though not a lawyer, nonetheless warrants a similar trademark as a servant to the rich (many of his contractual clients inhabit Ottawa’s former police village, the elite Village of Rockcliffe Park).  We have in addition during that time frequented three properties they have owned, the latest being a magnificent country estate in the rural outskirts of Ottawa. I confess the acknowledgement of the industry of this couple is hindered by their habit to dissemble their fortune.

It would border upon the remarkable to itemize today’s luncheon menu. Avoiding the vulgarity of identifying before whom of each of us was served the specific plate, the following is a hint of the entirety: oysters (a varied collection from Prince Edward Island and elsewhere), lobster bisque, crab legs, whole lobster and crème brûlée. Here I feel compelled to note that this is not the first time we four have foregathered at Pelican Restaurant; and, I as speedily account that we have never been disappointed.  However today’s gastronomy was in my opinion the nec plus ultra! As I very comfortably announced on our way home this evening, I am utterly sated!