I love red wines. The extra dry, preferably at 2g/L, not so fruity but oak-y. Can't say I've had a large variety of them, but I can say I know which ones I tend to like, so here I will share some of them and share some specifically from Gerard Bertrand (GB)!

I have a tendency to prefer southern Rhone blends on the dry side - perhaps that is how I have taken a liking to these GBs!

I bought from The Market (the grocery store is simply named that) from across the street while in SF, and tasted GB's Languedoc for the first time. So good that when I came back I needed to see if LCBO stocks it. At 2g/L and being considered an extra dry, immediately that's +20 points for me.

Yes, found plenty of GB in LCBO and this is where the GB adventures began... Smooth, extra dry and a very pleasant go-to red (the Languedoc). Good on its own, with cheese/meats, and a full out meal. The 2013 one seems to be well stocked in LCBOs here. And is one of the reds that I enjoy frequently. Does not disappoint. Is there any difference between the 2011 and 2013? Perhaps. But really hard to test that difference out because the 2011 is no where to be found around me.

Tastes oakier and deeper than the Languedoc; requires shorter aerating time to taste delicious. Makes Languedoc almost fruiter in comparison. But again, like the Languedoc, it is smooth on the tongue. Also a 2g/L one, and extra dry.

Also had this a few times. My drinking girl friend and I believe that it is better than our staple Languedoc. Is it the addition of Mourvedre? Only had the 2013 La Clapes and would love to try other ones. I believe both La Clape and Languedoc would age well kept a few more years.

To be very honest. I do not remember drinking this wine at all. Heck that thumb doesn't even look like mine (my nails are never cut that way) - who was it?! Must have been a couple bottles into the night when this was opened. Purchased in SF and have not found in LCBO yet. No comment. The blend seems quite promising - I love Grenache-Syrahs. Not sure how the Mourvedre would come into play, but seeing how it blended well in La Clape, I'd really like to try this one a bit more sober.

Was never a fan of Cab Sauvs, not too sure why? It definitely feels more acidic, but this is also a much younger wine. We had bought it because it was a twist off (good for when you're a few bottles in and cannot operate the corkscrew). We did not have this a few bottles in, to see how it tasted. Seems like we did not like it at first, so let it decant for some time. Still not a fan.

Pretty gooood! I wonder if this is what the Corbieres could have tasted like. Quite fruity, floral, and in plain words, tastes more like a juice. May not be buying this one again - but it was fun to try. Great to drink with some peanuts and other dry snacks. Comes in at 6g/L

Very fruity notes on this one. We found this during our hour long LCBO trip, and had not seen this one before. Not bad, but not our preferred taste. Still very full bodied, smooth, but fruity.

Besides the twist of Cab Sauv, this is another one we did not like so much from GB. It had a sticker on the bottle saying some 91 points stuff, and we thought, yes must buy and try. It's very acidic and sweet, perhaps needs more air time, and some different food to pair alongside. Never ended up buying another bottle to try again because we've lean towards ones we know we like or new ones we have not yet tried.

Low stock! Seems like other people also like this one. We bought both remaining on the shelf

That time we spent an hour in LCBO. They asked if we were doing Christmas shopping. We said yes! [Christmas shopping for ourselves]

My drinking friend used to say, ok we just buy one bottle (or two), and grab the little basket. But then each time we resort back to the cart because it's always > 4 bottles by the end of the trip.

Grocery shopping is sometimes a chore, or a task to cross off your list, but quite the exciting trip for me. You know that feeling that little kids get when they walk into a toy store?

Equivalent of myself in a grocery store. I tend to have shoukugeki no souma reactions when grocery shopping. My cousin is never impressed and is never ready to deal with this hyper-excited child.

But how to contain oneself when you see this one (AND it's on sale): 

Bubbly sake

IT'S PINK = VICKI MUST PURCHASE. Who cares about the taste. (although it tastes pretty good)

Chik-Fil-A is always on promotional stuff on Postmates LA. Cousin stocks up on sauce. I don't think we ever made use of them though. CORRECTION: Cousin brought them all back home with him. Did not offer me any at all.

We made it to the corner of 6th and Kenmore. Hungry, thirsty, and ready for some korean bbq. Quarters seemed to be hyped up quite a bit recently, and a couple friends had gone and said it wasn't bad.

It was a tough decision. Do I return to my beloved HangHoDong BaekJong or try out a new place for once? The line was empty for both (it was around 1400 and we were far far away from the 2 hour queue that would ensue come dinner time). My parents said, you've already been to this KangHoDong one how many times, why not try a different place?

Ah yes. Make this very difficult decision for me.

Upon walking in, I'll say that the smell is less strong than it's neighbouring kbbq place (pretty important, because after kbbq you usually smell of smoke and meat and oil. . But is it better tasting?

After they sat us down mom attempts to get her share of eye candy and wave down the servers who were all potential kpop stars (in her eyes). Dad and I flip to the drinks list and telepathically agree on the pitcher of Sapporo.

We only ordered a few cuts of meat because I expected a tremendous amount of side dishes, some dwenjang jjigae, and also the steamed egg because they give you all that (and more) at the neighbouring kbbq. We got neither. This here is a potato salad. Beside it is kimchi jeon.

This place is full service, so you don't need to do any flipping or cutting yourself (seems to be the case for many kbbqs in LA ktown though). The brisket comes first as it cooks the fastest (is that really the reason why? It just seems like brisket is always the first cut that gets served). Was just like any other beef brisket slice. Okay. Actually now that I look, I remember we ordered beef brisket and beef belly. The belly was no more amazing tasting than the brisket. At this point I wish I had gone to KangHoDong. But people are going to hate on me and say some sort of the following: "Oh what do you know, you've only gone to Quarters once", "But you only had two cuts of meat, how can you say another place is better already" Unfortunately, I must shrug and disregard those comments.

Short ribs, not marinated. One of my favs. I can't say this is the best one I've had but it wasn't bad. Okay. They gave us two kinds of greens. The leafy one here appears to have been taken with an exceptional amount of blur. My apologies. Pretty standard salad. We killed this plate of broccoli. I sometimes still have trouble spelling this cruciferous vegetable. Still trying to figure out why this place is so hyped.... *the thinking emoji face* Also the spacing and font is so messed up for this post. Why :(

This is supposed to be some fusion-y (pretty much most restaurants in sf are fusion-y in some way) Thai cuisine place, specifically an italian-thai fusion. We, however, did not happen to order any of the seemingly fusion dishes (a thai flavour infused risotto amongst them)

Would I go back? Not for the food at least. Maybe to take some pretty pictures of myself.

Why has brusell sprouts got such a bad rap amongst children? Is it because TV shows says they are the enemy to the palette of those under the age of 12? What a tragedy - because these are delicious. A sweet, very umami soy glaze coats each ball, flecked with chilli (I see they enjoy flecking with chilli at this place). Generous squeeze of lemon (meaning, squeeze every drop of juice you can get from that lemon) is needed. It is quite oily and heavy from the sauce and oil in which its been roasted.

Beef tongue. The least amazing. Was not bad, but wasn't great. They used sichimi togarashi (the Japanese seven spices powder) all over (again). The red sauce on the bottom was so unmemorable that I have no recollection of what flavours it brought upon my tongue.

Sliced hamachi (I presume this was near the belly. The fat was so graciously marbled), avocado. This was one of the specials (the other one was a roll if I am remembering correctly), and it really just alternating slices of avocado, hamachi, topped with tobiko and the yuzu sauce. Hamachi was very fresh. But still was not worth however much we paid. Not sure how the avocado helps the hamachi (or the other way around). Both are so fatty and moreish. At least place the tobiko on more neatly - maybe in small blobs and not just sprinkled all over. Looks messy. The microgreens also make an appearance here. They were not eaten.

Service was amazing though. The owner took care of us well and is a friendly guy with some long time friends of >10 years that still come to visit him here. Okay that is all I have to say.