Year: 2009

General Oct 14, 2009 The Waffle 5 Comments I just came back from the Subway on Sparks Street where I grabbed lunch. As usual when I go to Subway, I picked one of their classics for $5.00. This time, I went for a Cold Cut Combo, and I made it a Meal Deal for an extra $2.60. I usually go for a bag of chips, as opposed to the cookie, and I grab a bottle of pop. But as I was in the process of doing so, I was informed that it was now $0.20 extra to grab a bottle instead of the glass. A 13% cash grab!  Shame! How could they?  Aren’t they aware there is an economic crisis? They have 31845 restaurants in 91 Countries, 2459 of them in Canada!  They are doing well. I refused to pay the extra money and went with a fountain Coca-Cola. But my problems did…

Read more!

Politics Sep 22, 2009 The Waffle 1 Comment The lobster industry has been in trouble for some time. From a s(h)ellfish consumer point of view, prices have been great.  At the docks, though, it’s another story.  Now, I should point out that I like my lobster hot.  Grilled, its delicious. Jacques Parizeau does like his homards dans l’eau bouillante, as we all remember. But as far as hot lobsters go, I never expected this kind of hot lobster from the Conservative government. Sexy Lobster       .

Read more!

Golf Sep 19, 2009 The Waffle 4 Comments Remember my pledge not to eat red meat for the month of September? I was a last-minute addition at the Canadian Press annual golf tournament, a call-up if you will, to replace someone who was a late-scratch due to illness.  I won’t talk to much about the performance of my team or the number of balls we lost on this beautiful day at the Mont Cascades golf course.  It was for a good cause, as the Tournament was a fundraiser for the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award in memory of the late CP photographer.  You can give here. The chef at the Mont Cascades golf course grilling the meat However, unbeknownst to me, the meal during the award ceremony after the tournament was going to be grilled steak.  I realized this was going to be the case when they started to grill some thick…

Read more!

Food experiment, Restaurant Sep 3, 2009 The Waffle 2 Comments Our trip to Malta included a lay-over in Frankfurt.  The same was true on the way back, so I picked our flight in order to spend some time in Germany, almost 24 hours in fact. We had picked the City Hotel Frankfurt, on Allerheiligenstrasse in the Cultural Quarter, on the Main’s northern bank.  After checking in, we soon found ourselves wandering down Zeil, a pedestrian street from two major plazas – Hauptwache to Konstablerwache.  Since the end of the last century, it has been the city’s major shopping street.  The “Golden mile”, it is lined with well-known department stores.  It used to be known for its grand buildings but most of them were destroyed during World War II and were not rebuilt.   In fact, most of the city was destroyed, it seems. Konstablerwache was the plaza closest to our hotel, and it is where we…

Read more!

Food experiment Sep 2, 2009 The Waffle 2 Comments So our Honeymoon was set for Malta. Why Malta, you may ask? Well, we wanted something different, with nice weather and historic things to visit.  Located in the middle of the Meditaranean Sea, Malta seemed perfect. And it was relatively easy to get to, Ottawa-Frankfurt-Malta and hop! Food in Malta is not renowned as gourmet cuisine, but it is reasonably priced and there are plenty of locations to choose from. Foreign influences still play a major role in the local cuisine. The islands’ proximity to Sicily leads inevitably to many pasta dishes and pizzerias; the Brits also left their mark – fish and chips, obviously.  The Mediterranean stamp is there, with olive oil being omnipresent, and fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes and green peppers, are commonly used. Fresh fish is easily found and proudly offered.  Abundant, it comes poached, steamed, braised or…

Read more!