March 21st

I am supposed to be blogging about Sunday's meals now but this is several days after and honestly it is all quite a blur to me. The first two days were the maddest and busiest, and it was quite a struggle to stay on top of everything without screaming. Thankfully, I had a break on lunch because the crew were filming at Grimsby's Restaurant Best Little Menu. Owner Jacqui was a huge sport to go along with the theme here of everyone doing 2 jobs at once, so she not only acted in a scene as herself, but also provided the crew with a delicious pasta penne lunch, including a gluten-free version for the people who can't eat regular pasta. I had popped in briefly to drop off some snacks, it was quite the scene to see the whole film crew and equipment crammed into such a tiny space. I jetted back quickly to the monastery to get started on dinner. I made a simple coleslaw to go with cornbread and chili, both meat and vegetarian versions. I used both regular and red cabbage for colour. After you cut the cabbage into thin shreds with a very sharp knife, you salt it very generously and let it sit, turning it over periodically. This draws some juices out of the cabbage and lets it soften a little. I find that helps it take the dressing better, and is still very crunchy but easier to eat. After several hours, add some oil and cider vinegar to the mix as well as mustard and celery seeds. It's simple and fresh, and you can adjust the seasonings to your taste. The other nice thing about this coleslaw is, unlike a green salad, the leftovers hold up the next day. Everyone has been champions about helping me wash up dishes afterwards- sometimes it's two straight hours of it.

Deirdre

Another note about the Best Little Menu from the Director. This place, true to its name, is the best little lunch place in town. I wrote the restaurant into the script and Jacqui thankfully acquiesced to partake in the production. Not only did she let us cram 15 people into her tiny place and move all her things around, but she also acted in the film, made us lunch and totally beat us to the punch and told us she'd make the prop lunch too. She's a natural at acting natural. The scene in the film has the two main characters going for lunch. Andy, an old family friend of Odessa's takes her to the diner and there is a conversation where she tries to decide on what to eat and thinks she might only get a salad. She's surprised by the quality the place has to offer. This is what happened to me the first time I went there. I thought "Oh I guess I'll get a salad" and coming from a small town I mostly expected iceberg lettuce and french dressing but i got a very nice, very green, very classy salad with oil and vinegar dressing. And the portions are hearty. Jacqui prepared the prop lunch the same as she has served when I've ordered it, but we had to put it in smaller bowls for the film because we could barely fit the food on the table. Every time I've come to Grimsby with crew or on location scouts or to work with actors before we actually started shooting, we generally got lunch at the Best Little Menu. We went somewhere else once and regretted it.
Thank you again Jacqui.

Iris