Bryden's, Toronto, ON

Gord comes from a fairly big family of great uncles, great aunts, second cousins, etc. but he doesn't know them.

I had signed up to Ancestry.ca in the spring and then found some of his cousins on Facebook.

We met his first cousin, once removed, Bob, and Bob's partner, Frances, for drinks and supper this evening. Though Bob is Gord's father's first cousin, he is only three years older than Gord. They didn't even know about each other until a couple months ago.

We met them at Bryden's in Bloorwest Village.

There was a dog on the patio whose owner was inside having a drink.

It was fairly quiet when we got there but was packed as time went on.

Gord likes Bryden's because they have a good selection of craft beer.

We had a great time chatting with Bob and Frances, who we've never met before. Bob is a fountain of knowledge about their family. He talked about their cousins, who their cousins' parents were, etc. back in Newfoundland. He was amazing!

Here are Frances and Bob.

Here are Bob and Gord ... cousins!

And here we are ... Gord, me, Frances and Bob.

Gord had Nigel Benn's Auntie's Jerk Chicken Wrap (jerk seasoned chicken breast with a mango salsa in a whole-wheat wrap) and potato salad. He really liked the wrap but said the potato salad was bland.

I had hickory medium wings and spicy fries with cajun mayo, which were good.

Our servers took good care of us.

It was great to meet Bob and Frances. They are really nice and it was fun to hang with them.