a sleepy update...

where: the hyatt regency + palais du congrès, montréal
who: with my smg peeps
what: sigchi 2006
why: i'll be presenting my accepted CHInotes, bébé!
how: with all the energy i can muster

the wifi in the hotel is a bit spotty, and uploading to flickr is downright impossible. here are some pictures to appease.

yesterday i really worked the cupcakes. and it showed!


adapted from banana cake from better homes + gardens cookbook. using organic bananas from boston organics. completion process involved a cupcake casuality and massive chocolate consumption.

frostings: chocolatechocolate, and sweetmascarpone.

look at roomie, in cupcake bliss! ah.

so tonight, after landing and checking into the hotel and registering, we ambled out into the evening to find a good place to eat. we got off at a random métro stop and walked around til something caught our eye.



AREA restaurant, on the edge of the gay village. so posh and crisp and urban. there are so many dishes to list, but this is a place where the menus are hinged thin aluminum, the napkins are paperweighted by smooth sea stones, the glasses are filled via a mini steel watering pot, and the waiters are all male and casually clad in black. i started with a classique gin martini, followed by a complimentary amuse-bouche from the kitchen (razorclam froth, garlicky mayonnaise with mini alfalfa and thin toasts), and then an adventurous shared appetizer (oysters on the half-shell with slivers of green apple and yuzu, beef tartare (!) and a creamy pea potage), my entrée (half female duckling breast with ton of other side ingredients including a to-die-for mushroom ragout and a coriander salad with tiny pepper tempura), and a sweet finish (3-way sharing of a dark chocolate tart + hazelnut icecream).

it was very, very good. food in tiny increments over a course of two hours. however, the dreamy experience was a bit anti-climactic because it took absolutely forever to get the check. there was a party of 20 in the restaurant, which probably occupied most of the energy of the staff, but still. getting the check should be easy (especially when it's directly requested), and an easy way to insure a good tip!

now, trying not to think about getting up early tomorrow to catch the 8:30 keynote opening. *yawn* nightnight!

p.s. everything's all in french here! c'est trés plaisant!