A Pinochle Of Nerds Set Loose In Toronto

166939_275488895849047_100001638169548_746354_1982263114_n — This photo is full of so much sexy nerdery, I can barely stand it.

The first annual Jasper-Liz-Dan adventure happened yesterday.

What exactly is a Jasper-Liz-Dan adventure (or JLD adventure for those who like their TLAs – three-letter acronyms)?

Well, it just so happens to be one of the 6 possible arrangements of our names (the others being DJL, DLJ, JDL, LDJ, and LJD). Yay math!

Did I also mention that we are all stats nerds? So it’s also one of the 6 possible ways to arrange 3 stats nerds’ names.

Given that we’re all stats nerds, this also represents a pinochle of nerds of size $n=3$ ; where a pinochle is how one describes a group of nerds (see murder of crows, pride of lions, or gaggle of geese for other such examples).

But most importantly, the first annual JLD adventure represents an excuse for the three of us to get together and wander the streets of Toronto – stuffing our faces with food and drink, shopping, and pretty much carrying on like the pinochle of nerds that we are. And since we have six ways of arranging our names, we’ve decided to create 6 annual events – one for each of the arrangements.

Yesterday’s event was a pretty epic start to this sextet of annual events. We began our day by jumping on the street car and heading to Kensington Market. Of course, this meant we had to sample some of the fares that were offered. This may or may not have included pastries, lattes, crepes, chocolate, and worms. Following this we ventured down to Queen street where I demonstrated my incredible ability to almost fall on my ass on numerous occasions.

Post Queen street found us in the Eaton Centre – mainly so that we could get warmed up a bit and people watch. Okay, really it was for the sitting. Apparently walking around Toronto all day makes one slightly tired.

We didn’t spend much time in the Eaton Centre though as we still had two major goals for the day. The first – eat at Guu. The second – see Jim Gaffigan at Massey Hall.

Guu – located at the corner of Gerard and Church – is a rather fantastic Japanese restaurant. This means I had to get a sake flight – three shots of different sakes. The first – a ginger infused sake – was very sweet, but balanced with the spicy heat of the ginger. Verdict – delicious. Of the other two – I’d already tried one. Both were fantastic, not terribly sweet, but very clean, and refreshing.

And then the food came. Sashimi salad. Deep fried calamari. Spicy tuna. Bacon wrapped scallops and mushrooms (ZOMG – you have to order these if you go to Guu – I’m salivating just thinking about them). BBQ eel. Frog Legs. So. Much. Food. By the end of our gorging we were full and very happy. The fish was fantastically fresh; the Tuna melted in our mouths, and it had just the right amount of spice. The flavour combinations – did I mention the bacon wrapped scallops and mushrooms? – were fantastic. And when all was said and done, the bill wasn’t nearly as expensive as any of us had thought it was going to be. Including the food, my sake flight, 4 beers and a half litre of wine, the bill including tip was only $120. I will definitely be returning to Guu.

After dinner we headed to Massey Hall for the main event: Jim Gaffigan. If you’re unfamiliar with his brand of humour, I’ve linked a few videos below (including a video entry recap from Jasper). He didn’t disappoint. The night was hilarious, and I found myself with sore cheeks afterwards as I was laughing so much.

Anyway, thanks Jasper and Liz for a most awesome and successful adventure. I’m looking forward to the next one.