04 | January | 2013 | DJ GLAD RAPPA

TORO

On Wednesday evening I set up camp on the deck with a perfect view of the chooks playing in the front yard while I read a book about raising backyard hens — but more on that later.

Soon Dee and Laura were home from their trip to GOMA.

SIZZLER

And then we were off to Sizzler for dinner. I am not sure if I need to describe the cultural phenomenon that is “Sizzler” — but I will attempt to describe what it means to me. It was the very first restaurant I ever went to. But in saying that I am not sure if Pizza Hut came first.

Anyway — Sizzler had the gimmick of the “salad bar” buffet — which to a kid is just orgasmic. Having the omnipotence to choose what you felt like eating and your portions was just pure gold. The first Sizzler I went to was in Ipswich courtesy of my “rich” grandparents and we had to line up to get a table. It was all worth it.

So going to Sizzler with Laura is a tradition that has only been running one year — but I suspect no one cares. YOLO.

Potato Skins!

But I am getting ahead of things because on the way we stumbled upon a brand new bar with one of those “sub-60-people” licences. It was called Toro and it was on Milton Road just down from The Deer Duck Bistro. (In fact we discovered it is an adjunct to the Deer/Duck restaurant proper).

TORO

So we were the only ones there seeing as it was so early. But the decor and the vibe were still amazing. We ended up coming back to Toro after our trip to Sizzler!

Mirrors on the ceiling!

This bad-boy

We got amazing cocktails and a couple of complimentary bad-boys.

So then it was off to Sizzler and we were telling our awesome bartender ‘Carmelo’ (not sure if that is how you spell his name) our tale about how awesome “cheesy-toast” is.

So we had to SHOW him. And we did just that. Laura sacrificed a section of her cheesy-toast to bring back wrapped up in a bunch of napkins. Carmelo seemed to like the cheesy-toast or did a very good job of pretending. In my heart-of-hearts I would reckon it was the latter. Anyway – this came next:

Then Carmelo made us his own version of a “Flaming Moe/Homer”. Just look at Dee and Laura’s faces!

And then the spices were thrown in!

AND SO HERE ARE MY PETTY INITIAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE CHOOKS

Wow! Just “WOW!”

The chooks are a revelation. They are now my “ladies”. I think about them all the time and indeed I dreamt about them two night’s ago.

They are so fascinating to watch. They are always doing something, unlike the cat, so its almost clinically theraputic just watching them scratch and poke around and be interested in the minutia of the world. You start to doze off into this relaxing zen just casually observing their movements. All your troubles fade away as you just sink into their simple universe like you were slumping into a big lounge chair.

They also make the cutest sounds. There’s two distinct registers. One is the traditional hen cluck and squark — but there’s also a very cute squeaky tone about two pitches above but crucially far, far quieter.

The louder register I am getting to understand. There’s only a few tones but I am beginning to suspect what they mean.

You can kinda observe their personalities too. Freddy is possible the dominant one, even though she is smaller. But because they are inseparable, it’s hard to determine which one is dictating the direction the two move in.

It’s not that hard to pick them up, though sometimes they get a bit flustered. I find if you grab them together and hold them close to your body — that seems to work.