Friday Night Supper

Families usually fall into two distinct groups: Friday night supper families and Sunday night supper families.


The Steinberg and Mitzvah families were Friday night people. Each week the extended families would gather together for a traditional family repast. Traditional in this sense meant two Filipinas serving brisket and all the fixings—with some items supplemented from Sonny Langer’s catering crew—and the whole happy clan under one roof. The venue changed from week to week to share the burden of entertaining. Lots of food and laughter mixed with guests and too many desserts ensured that the week ended on a cheery note.


The Grade and Beebe families were Sunday night people. The Beebe-Grade crew gathered at Ted and Beebe’s home in Rosedale for a routine of roasts of beef, racks of lamb, and cured hams as the usual fodder. Desserts were on the skimpy side since Beebe watched her diet and didn’t have much of a sweet tooth. Ardie never ate dessert and if Ted wanted for a piece of cake he said nothing. Cookies and ice cream, jell-o or a grocery store cake sufficed. There were rarely outside guests and cocktails always preceded supper. Ardie would sometimes drop by in the late afternoon to have a drink or three with Beebe before sitting down to supper. The Grades employed a couple that looked after the house in and grounds and they were responsible for producing the family repast each week.

Contracting out the making of family suppers to paid domestic help was one tradition the Beebe, Grade, Mitzvah and Steinberg families shared.

Sunday night suppers were suspended during the summer when Beebe moved to the cottage and shut her house up for the months of June, July and August. Friday night suppers took place no matter what and were never cancelled unless there was a death, major holiday or other family event of terrific magnitude.


Ardie’s supper party for the combined Steinberg-Mitzvah clan was, therefore, something of an anomaly. Irving Mitzvah didn’t want to go but he knew better than to argue with Candis; she had accepted the invitation and they would be arriving together with the Steinbergs. The group were met by the efficient door staff at The Campanile who—forewarned by Ardie who was now a tenant-cum-owner and therefore deserving of special treatment—swarmed the car opening doors, offering hands and escorting Mrs Steinberg and Mrs Mitzvah to the front lobby. The soft tintinnabulation of the house phone announced, “Mr Beebe’s guests were on their way up.”


Beebe and Ted had “tickets” for a variety of cultural events that included most of the theatres, operas, dance troupes and live shows that took place in the city. Numerous business and social responsibilities consumed so much of their social calendar that it was unusual to find the Grades free on short notice due to the commitments that made up their lives.

Beebe and Ted frequently attended the ballet or the symphony—music was a passion for Ted—but they were also generous and frequently gave their tickets away to deserving recipients in the form of friendly largesse. They were, therefore, available this particular Friday night and Beebe had accepted Ardie’s invitation to come for supper. She had been to The Campanile many times before, of course, having known people who lived there over the years. George and Harriet Lunney—dear old friends of her parents—had been long-time residents but she admitted to Ted that she was interested to see Ardie’s apartment in its “before” state. She was also curious to see how much money he would spend transforming a no-doubt already “perfectly fine apartment!” into the showplace his career and fastidious tastes demanded.


The stage, therefore, was set for something to happen.


What ultimately did happen is that Beebe and Ted arrived in the lobby at the same time as the Steinberg-Mitzvah party and everyone rode up together in the elevator. It was a cozy but quiet trip with polite introductions and nothing more. Harry Steinberg clammed up as soon as saw Beebe hove into view while Irving Mitzvah—something of a backslapper—pressed the flesh “like he was running for dog catcher” said Beebe, later, to Ted.


The party was destined to grow in numbers, too, as Beebe had invited Jack Grade and Ardie had insisted that Esther and Candis attend with their children; it was, after all, a “family supper party.” Jordan, Tamar and Adam Steinberg accompanied their parents Harry and Esther while Irv and Candis Mitzvah introduced Leesa and Jeffrey. Margery Temple presented with Kat and Suky who were busily exploring the apartment when we arrived and ooh-ing and ah-ing their approval.


I was included because I was alone and lived in the building and Ardie was the friendly sort.


Ardie had been busy “sprinkling some fairy dust” so that 12B would be a suitable venue for his first, unofficial party in his new home. He had not moved in yet, indeed the elevator vestibule still contained the previous tenants furniture, and most of the rooms were empty. The large south-facing living room had been transformed into a dramatic dining room for one special evening with a set-designer's sense of drama. Raiding his own showroom, antique shop and existing home provided Ardie with a treasure trove of goodies that he could use as props to create a stage set for his supper party.


A long table was crafted from sawhorses and plain wood—artfully covered with linens from E. Braun—and was set banquet style in front of a wall of windows. The entire glittering city rolled out below with millions of lights sparkling and twinkling in the darkness. Leather dining room chairs had been delivered that afternoon from the showroom along with enough sterling silver trays, serving pieces, candelabrum, ice buckets, epergnes, bowls, tureens and tea services to cause even the most blasé visitor to experience a momentary thrill. Ardie’s connections with florists (he was a decorator, after all) ensured that the table was in bloom with several displays of cut flowers—all in spectacular autumnal hues—and the menu was a typical Canadian Thanksgiving number, provided by a chic purveyor of fine catered fare. Ardie’s autumnal menu was based on a foundation of a traditional roast turkey meal and included fun additions such as a martini course and snappy appetizers served on trays covered with fallen leaves in brilliant reds and layers of orange and yellow.


12B was a grand showplace of an apartment in its existing state and everyone listened while Ardie revealed some of his plans for a remarkable rehabilitation of the apartment. Bathrooms were to be gutted and—due to their large size—recreated as modern day retreats with marble shower stalls and deep soaker tubs. The flooring—declared “a perfect example of a long-gone artisan” by Ardie—would be restored to a lustrous shine while the paneling in the den would be replaced with exotic Macassar wood, which was something of a trademark for Ardie. The large master bedroom was getting a complete overhaul to increase both its size and layout. A wall would be removed to create a dressing room and the ensuite bathroom would be expanded. The girls on the tour listened in silence as Ardie gestured to demonstrate where a wall would be moved or, on another occasion, to acknowledge a detail of the crown moldings. He revealed a source for handmade silk lampshades, and admitted that the elevator vestibule was too small to be truly welcoming and that he would have to compensate by making “a grand statement” with the foyer.

Ardie had hired two servers from his caterer who silently and efficiently fed the guests while Ardie poured wine, passed condiments, presided over his end of the conversation and watched his party unfold with a practiced eye. He noted, for example, that Candis Mitzvah was laughing with Margery Temple—Margo was charming, after all—while Beebe was debating with Harry Steinberg how far the prime minister should go in joining the war on terror. Beebe—her political beliefs were archconservative—made her points in a staccato bark that was brittle and sharp. Harry listened politely while silently noting that Beebe enjoyed both a martini and red wine with equal relish.

I was sitting across from Esther Steinberg and with Leesa Mitzvah to my immediate right and looking forward to both a fun party—Ardie kept the pace quick—and a wonderful meal; I couldn’t remember when I last had a great big turkey supper and my appetite was stimulated. My seat gave me a unique vantage point down the table and across the city to the inky blackness of Lake Ontario. I was looking out across the neighbourhood below when I turned to see Leesa Mitzvah bursting into laughter in response to a witty remark delivered by Jack Grade.

She opened her mouth to laugh and placed a hand across her throat as if to suppress her voice while Jack leaned forward across the table to whisper a few words to her. I sipped my wine and watched as Jack Grade’s face opened into a grin as he looked into the hazel eyes of Leesa Mitzvah and noted how they seemed to be unaware of the rest of us. Jack had arrived late and had, therefore, missed the start of the guided tour Uncle Ardie conducted “for the girls” and had instead joined his father, Harry Steinberg and Irving Mitzvah for a drink before supper. Since there was no living room available for use—Ardie hadn’t moved in yet, remember—the men stood in the dining room and snacked one canapés and took long draughts from their deep drinks.

Leesa Mitzvah was petite and trim and pretty and delicate and Jack Grade thought she was beautiful. I remember now how he walked up and introduced himself as Beebe and Ardie walked into the room. Ardie saw me and smiled but I didn’t smile back; I was looking at Beebe whose face had registered a fleeting moment of unease as she saw her son leaning close to Leesa Mitzvah to share a confidence. It was over in an instant and Beebe announced that she “couldn’t wait for supper!” and with her fixed smile marched over and sat down at the table, inviting imitators.