Top 5 Coolest Things About Toronto

The Top 5 coolest things about T.O. in my opinion, in no particular order:

1.  The TTC - at least it used to be.  Last time I rode the rocket it was still the best way around the city.

2.  Vespas EVERYWHERE.

3.  Avenue Road - truly the coolest and most fun route downtown, as long as you know which lane to be in, when.  Bayview extension and Mount Pleasant are good, but not until after St. Clair.  There is no good way out of the downtown core, unfortunately.

4.  Zipcar - truly cool.  My Volvo by-the-hour today was a bright blue S40 named "Sundin".  $9 an hour +/- all in.

 

5.  The Mighty Q - Q107 especially Kim Mitchell's show, especially Psychedelic Snack daily at lunch hour, especially Psychedelic Sundays.

The most uncool thing?  They truly don't know that they're NOT the centre of the universe. Completely oblivious.  It's like a scene out of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Big Daddy's Crabshack and Oyster Bar

King Street, Toronto, one cool September evening...

When I started writing about dining experiences in my blog, I made a promise to myself never to write about a restaurant in my own home town and never to write about a place I've worked before and never to write about a place that's owned by someone I know.  So, I'm gonna break rule #3 - I know the people who run the Big Daddy's chain of restaurants although I haven't seen them in years and they, not unlike most of my friends don't admit to knowing me.  But, when a place is good, I think its OK to say so.

I've eaten in a couple of different Big Daddy's locations and since my travel takes me mostly to T.O. and to Ottawa, I'm likely to eat there more often. 

Good:  the food is tasty and hot.  The price is reasonable.  The presentation seems creative enough, although not on the fresh fish entree I ordered.   The guy beside me had the Crab Shack Boil.  It was served in dutch-oven type pan with lid on, and eating the meal was obviously meant to be an adventure.  The bartender helped him to figure out how to eat the crawfish.  It looked like a fun entree.

Great:  The staff at the King Street location was friendly and personable, knowledgeable and efficient, and helpful.  The bartender described the fresh Tuna as being served rare and grilled "just long enough to make it legal."  She was entertaining and outgoing.  I told her I wanted to eat healthy and she tailored her suggestions accordingly.  The staff made the experience all about the needs of the diner.  The young lady who made me a Cappuccino did it with great pride and the other bartenders were talking her up as the best former barista in the place.  You know a place is well managed when the staff feel comfortable enough to be themselves without making it all about them, when they can chat with you and not with each other, and when they genuinely enjoy their jobs.  When you dine alone in restaurants as often as I do it sure makes a difference. 

Growth:  I only wish they wasn't so obviously influenced by that much larger seafood chain Big Daddy's draws its roots from.  My Caesar salad was pretty standard issue - Renee's dressing no doubt, Brownberry restaurant cut croutons, grated Parmesan and a lemon wedge - nothing to write home about.  Fresh fish presentation and cooking could have come right out of the kitchens of Red Lobster - just a standard Cajun broiled Catfish.  Very good, but nothing particularly original or creative about it. I had hoped that a restaurant that is going for that Louisiana authenticity would really blacken the catfish, not just sprinkle Cajun seasoning on it and broil it.  Don't get me wrong - it was good, but nothing special.  Also - maybe a signature roll or bread would be nice.

Aah, but would I come back?  Yes.  Every so often I get a craving for Red Lobster, about every two years or so, and Big Daddy's is more fun and a lot cooler.  And, as I said, the food was good and the service was excellent and the price (my bill was $39 for a Martini, Caesar Salad, Catfish dinner, Cappuccino and a Perrier) is right!

  

Weber's Highway 11, Orillia on a cool evening in August

On my quest for the World’s Greatest Burger, I would be remiss if I didn’t include Weber's on Hwy 11 north of Orillia, Ontario. I have almost never passed by without stopping for a burger, fries and a beverage.

I have always thought there were only two reasons the Weber’s burgers tasted so good:

You’re on your way to great times so everything tastes better!
They grill them over live charcoal.

After my visit last week, I realized there are a few more reasons to include Weber’s (the original, not the full service restaurant in Barrie) on your burger list. Yes, those first two are true. But here are some other reasons to stop at Weber’s:

They’re organized. Outside order takers prowl the line, and those lines get pretty long, so you don’t have to wait to get to the front to order. It keeps things moving.
The staff is having a great time. They’re a bunch of fresh-faced young people (with a few older folks in the mix for maturity) who come back year after year to work at Weber’s. The music is loud, and they’re having fun! You can’t help but want to be part of the enthusiasm.
They’re so damned service oriented! On my visit I was the last customer of the night; they locked the doors behind me. As I sat out front eating my burger a family came to the door and tried to get in, then realizing they had come to late they went to the side to ask if they could just use the restrooms. Not 5 minutes later the family came out with a meal, thanks to the Weber’s team going the extra mile to satisfy – no small feat at the end of a long and busy day.
You can’t have a great burger unless the fries are great. Weber’s cuts them matchstick style (like McDonald’s and In N Out).

Great? The service and atmosphere
Good? The burger
Room to Grow? Please don’t – just stay on Highway 11 and keep on doing what you do!
The Ultimate Comment Card Question: based on this visit, would I come back? Count on it.

Our Reserves

I spent the whole day from before sunup to after sundown with Gord Henderson a couple of weeks ago. If you’re not from Windsor or don’t read the Windsor Star, you don’t know that Gord is Windsor’s one and only political columnist.

If you do know Gord’s writing, you know that on occasion it is very good. When Gord writes about something he has researched or knows well, he is second to none. Some of the time it’s pure gold.

We spent the day with the Reserves of the Canadian Armed Forces in Petawawa. Gord wrote a beautiful column about it. You should read it. I'd love to write about my experiences that day, but Gord wrote it better than I ever could.

Gord's column:


http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=5b557b20-c905-47c8-9dac-e3f202d151a7

In n Out Burgers

This was my fourth visit to In n Out Burgers, the second on this trip to Las Vegas alone. I am on the quest for the world's best burger, and In n Out has been in the running since my first visit. My buddy, a career McDonald's manager had recommended it, and I had wondered what a McDonald's manager could possibly know about good hamburgers. Great Egg McMuffins, maybe, but hamburgers? Boy, was I wrong. Sorry I ever doubted you, Victor.

In n Out has been around since 1948. I imagine that Harry and Esther Snyder started out across the street from brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in California, although that's just the way it plays out in my mind. McDonald's started out in California in the late forties as well. The McDonalds sold out to Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman, who sold the heart and soul of the great American hamburger in a frenzy of rapid growth, while In n Out stayed true to their passion - burgers, fries and a beverage. That's the whole menu. No freezers, no microwaves, no heat lamps. Great burgers, great service, good old American fast food. Burger, fry and soda pop for under $5 in only three states - Nevada, California, and Arizona. No franchises. The Snyder family still owns every store (200 of them +/-).

Great - the burger. Grilled on a flat top. A zillion variations, but only if you're in the know. Apparently there is a "secret" menu, but for the rest of us there is nothing on the menu except three combos using the same great burger with or without cheese, single or double. Fresh lettuce, onions and tomatoes garnish a toasted bun. Some sort of thousand island type dressing. The fries are matchstick cut, fresh - the kid was slamming potatoes through the slicer into the water filled sink while I watched!

Good - dining room cleanliness can get a little bit behind, but they were slammed and they were running out there trying to keep up, but the people just kept coming in right until closing time at 1:00 a.m.! The staff was exhausted but pumped and on their game right to the end. I haven't seen it that busy in a Canadian fast food restaurant in more than 20 years, but that's how it used to be at McDonald's in my little town.

Room to Grow? Forty-seven states and ten provinces, but let's hope not. They'd have to sell out to do that; they'd have to compromise. I hate the way Tim Hortons in Canada has sacrificed quality for growth and now sells warmed up frozen doughnuts and crappy coffee in more locations than Tim himself every dreamed possible. No, I'll stick to finding an In n Out on my occasional visits to the west.

The Only Comment Card Question that Really Matters: would I come back? Heck, I bought the t-shirt! I can't wait to get back.

The Annual Skunking of Molly

Every year, sure as the sun sets in the west, my dog Molly gets skunked. The first year it happened was the worst. She took it full-on in the face. Apparently the skunk didn’t realize or care that Molly only wanted to play. So, there I was at 2 a.m. drenching my year-old puppy in tomato juice. The timing was horrible as I was scheduled to get up at five and be on the road by six to drive across the province.

The next year I was in Montreal when it happened. My wife had to deal with it. When Gloria Steinem famously said that “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” she obviously had never had to bathe her hound in tomato juice. Two things I have learned after many years on the road – first, don’t leave your wife at home staring at walls that need painting. Either take her with you or paint the walls before you leave. Secondly, when you’re on the road for extended periods of time, it is almost guaranteed your wife will need to deal with a crisis that should have been yours to handle.

This year the skunking wasn’t so bad as Molly is starting to catch on and she high tailed it away so that the skunk only caught the back end of her. High tailed it right into the house, up the stairs and under the bed. We just got our carpets cleaned less than three days ago.

At least I was home to crack open a case of Leamington’s finest.

Good things in Windsor - The Optimist Youth Band

If you read enough Windsor blogs you would think that there’s nothing to do in this town but complain and find fault. I blame that on the fact that... no, just kidding.

And so bloggers are the only source of dissenting opinion, it seems.

That said there are a lot of very good things happening in our fair city. Although it is my profession to sell this city as a destination, even I forget the small wonders that make it more than just a great place to visit; this is a great place to live for most.

Last night I took in a concert at the Peace Fountain on Riverside Drive. The Windsor Optimist Youth Concert Band performed. The setting was beautiful, and the exuberance of the talented youth in the band was contagious. We don’t hear enough about them. They are an award-winning marching band that represents our city very well indeed.

While most of the audience was obviously parents and grandparents and family, my wife and I were there because we enjoy a good show in a peaceful setting in the company of good friends. Congratulations to the Windsor Optimist Youth Concert Band for being such fine ambassadors for and good neighbours in our city!

Employee on Sick Leave has his reputation tarnished by an elected official in the press

The CEO of the Windsor Public Library is on sick leave. This is public knowledge. The Chair of the Library board has an issue with what the CEO is doing on his sick leave. Fair enough. Why not approach the employee on sick leave and talk to him about it? Because the attention grabbing Chair of the Board is a city councilor who has never passed up an attention grabbing antic that would put him on the front page of the local rag. So instead he runs to the press. Shame on you, Mr. Councilor. Shame.

"Free" tank of gas with a new car?

My son got a new car. It’s a very sweet car. He deserves it; his mother and I agree that any kid that puts himself through University and comes out debt free has earned the right to drive a nice car, after he’s got himself a nice job of course. Just minutes after he left the lot the warning chime sounded that the hatch wasn’t fully closed, and upon inspection he discovered that it couldn’t be closed properly. He didn’t have time to get back to the dealership as he was on his way to work. So the annoying chime continued all the way to work and his car sat with an unlocked hatch (with 60/40 folding back seats allowing access to the cabin of the car) overnight.

I suppose it’s possible that the Dealer drove 400 kilometers to bring in this dealer trade from Pickering and didn’t hear the chime. I suppose it’s possible that the latch malfunctioned right after my son left the dealer’s lot.

I also suppose that the reason they give you a full tank of gas with a new car is that you may need every drop of it going back and forth to the dealership for warranty issues. Let’s hope not.

IN Support of Chauvin

Our town is in an uproar because Mr. Frank Chauvin is considering returning his Order of Canada after learning that Morgentaler will be similarly honoured.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=cae01509-d70b-4616-8065-ac4e5b2b28ab

Frank is a man of good faith who has dedicated the latter part of his life to helping the poor in Haiti. It's ironic that our Governor General, originally from Haiti, would forget the sanctity of life and recognize a man like Morgentaler, who with all best human intentions, has done great evil in our world with the taking of so many innocent lives.

I have never met Frank Chauvin, but I believe that whether or not one agrees with him on the Morgentaler issue, the man has seen the beauty of human life even in the most terrible of conditions in the slums of Haiti. He may not have carried a child in his womb, no man has, but this man has carried God's children in his arms and was moved to fight for the lives of the most unwanted of humankind, by our shameful societal standards.