Notes XMMCLIVª (and latent retinopathy)

Went to our final installment of the Happening Gourmand thing last night at Galiano's in Old Montreal.

Even $17 for a three-course meal adds up; add a bottle of (admittedly delectable) $30 Soana Orvieto and it's still around $70-$80 per couple.

The restaurant itself was dim. So dim that one swears that they're trying to save money on electricity. The lamps at the tables were little better than the night lights you stick in a hallway plug. The candles put out about 2.5 footlamberts per square foot.

This meant that with tired eyes, we could barely see that there was even writing on the menus, and decided that they were angling for some press on the recently trendy "blind dining" experience.

And jokers, all. When I went to inquire of the restrooms, Robin Guillaumes told me there weren't any. "Old Montreal, old way of doing things!" Hilarious. He cracked himself up.

But the real joke was on the food. Tired, insipid tomato-bocconcini salad. Dry, crusty "Chicken cordon bleu." Fit for high-school cafeterias America-wide.

Rubbery steak with an odd ratatouille-like sauce.

Needless to say, Restaurant Makeover should be called in for a prompt cardioversion.

Other than that, a trip to Tzanet rendered the usual delights. Frosted Zombie glasses. A tiny melonballer scraper to remove the seeds and ribs from chilies. An espresso maker for $10. Plus those guys are so friendly, you think you're in a Bizarro universe. They'll scour the whole place for you on a dime -- and it's huge.

And they gave us a 10% discount just because we said we were from montrealfood.com.

Awww.

Add to that a visit to Canon Montreal, just off the TransCanada, who took one look at the battery compartment door on my Digital Rebel that had fallen apart, who went wordlessly in the back, brought out a new one, attached it and said "Have a good day."

Now THAT's what I call service.

The yins and yangs of another day . . .