General Dec 13, 2008 The Waffle 1 Comment In the Fall of 2007, in the old Au Coq building on St-Joseph in Hull , opened Georges, a trendy-looking lounge and grill by the owner of La Station, a Gatineau deli I wrote about here. Georges’ menu is self-described as eclectic, but their specialty clearly is beef.  Prime Rib and steaks are at the heart of their offerings, but you can also find a few pasta dishes, poultry and seafood.  They even have a gourmet poutine section in their menu.

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Restaurant Dec 11, 2008 The Waffle 3 Comments A lot of my Italian friends would scream bloody murder at the mere mention of this chain of Italian-style bistros. Especially Laura.  But I am quite fond of Pacini. And for some reason, I have a history of girlfriends who also liked Pacini very much, which makes for cheap romantic dates. That’s right. For sure, it is not top-of-the-line Italian cuisine, but it is not fast food either.  The cuisine is simple, the prices are very reasonable, and the atmosphere very friendly.  Their wine selection is not great, but I’ve seen worse. Pacini launched a new menu last fall, inspired by the work being done at the Pacini culinary academy (located at Bassano Del Grappa, near Venice), with a marketing strategy driven by italo-quebecker singer Mario Calliari.  You can even buy his CDs there, apparently, although he must be very popular because last time…

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Politics Dec 10, 2008 The Waffle 3 Comments What would the Holiday Season be without a series of Holiday Partys on and around Parliament Hill.  Each political party has its own, lobby groups and communication shops do too. The New Democratic Party was of course hosting its own fest, with food and booze and attempts at humour.  This year we were at 200 West Block, a very spacious room where this party has been held before.  The other location has been the Hall of Honour in Centre Block, but not this year. For those who have been around the Hill a long time, they know what to expect:  a buffet of salads – caesar, coleslaw, mushrooms, squash, garden, and carrots and raisins.  There are lots of different opinions about the selection – I personnally think it is not bad, everything being pretty fresh if not overly tasty.  The squash salad is…

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Recipes Dec 9, 2008 The Waffle 1 Comment For some strange reason, Melissa wanted to try this recipe she found in Chatelaine.  So we did, but we adapted it by changing the veggies. Beef ramen with veggetables 2 85-g pkgs beef-flavoured ramen-noodle soup mix 2 tbsp of vegetable oil 1 small onion, thinly sliced 3/4 lb top sirloin beef 1/2 cup water 2 tbsp of soy sauce 2 tsp hot chili-garlic sauce 1 tsp dark sesame oil 2 cups of chopped green and red peppers 1 cup of sliced celeri 1. Bring 4 cups (1 L) of water to a boil. Remove seasoning mix from packages and set aside. Place noodles in a large bowl. Pour boiling water overtop. Soak until tender, about 3 min. Drain and set aside. 2. Meanwhile, slice beef into small strips. Coat a large frying pan with oil and set over medium-high heat. Add onion and beef. Stir-fry until onion starts to…

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Restaurant Dec 6, 2008 The Waffle 2 Comments Whisper’s Pub and Eatery is a regular hangout of mine, especially in the summer.  Because that is where the Gargoyles of the OCSL usually go after a game, to chill out and usually recap what went wrong. From time to time, I do enjoy going there without a Gargs’ uniform, for a late week-end lunch.  And that is exactly what we did this Saturday.  We hadn’t actually planned to go there, but we just drove around and ended up in the friendliest pub in Westboro village. I went for their Swiss burger – swiss cheese, caramelized onions and mushrooms.  With fries. The fries are far from being the greatest.  They are pallatable, but I certainly was jealous of the salad Mel was having with her burger, and that is sad.  The burger was pretty decent, nicely cooked patty on a good quality bun.  The cheese is processed,…

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