Whisper’s Burgers

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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2008 Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner

Politics Dec 2, 2008 The Waffle No Comments The Press Gallery Dinner used to be a big deal.  The Governor-General would perform, followed by all party Leaders, each of them pretending to be a stand-up comedian of some sorts, with more or less success.  It used to be off-the-record, but that has changed since, some blaming it on the arrival of the National Post.  Whatever happened, it got to the point were some networks, notably CTV Newsnet and CPAC, were broadcasting the Dinner live. Transforming yourself into a stand-up comedian is not an easy task, and you had to salute the courage of these politicians.  But some grew tired of the challenge.  First to capitulate was Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe, who vowed never to attend again after a bun-throwing incident provoked by a speech that wasn’t well received.  Ever since, BQ MPs and staffers’s appearance are scarce at the event. In…

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Indian Fusion on Bank – and I’m not talking nuclear

Restaurant Nov 22, 2008 The Waffle No Comments Humphrey’s on Bank is located in the old New Delhi Restaurant in the Glebe.  At the corner of Glebe and Bank street, in fact.  I first went a few weeks after they opened, and I was pleasantly surprised by their menu, which we could qualify as Indian fusion, especially what I thought ought to be their signature item: Tandoori Chicken Wings.  Ya, they kept the tandoori oven and were selling these delicately flavoured and nicely cooked wings.  I loved them and I did enjoy them a few times. Lots of their dishes are actually cooked over charcoal in the traditional tandoori oven. We were enlisted with The New Strongs  for the World Trivia Night at the Aberdeen Pavillion at Landsdowne Park, and we decided that Humprey’s would be a good spot to stop for a light dinner beforehand.  The place was fairly quiet – a nuclear family to…

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A pizza in a Cage

Just back from my sports road trip, I thought I needed a little more sports. And I really didn’t feel like cooking after such a long drive.  So we settled for La Cage aux Sports in Hull. La Cage aux Sports was founded in 1984. Regrouping 48 restaurants throughout Québec, La Cage is now well established in the Quebec Sports/Food scene.  Although the newer Cage seem to all be built on the same model, each Cage has a unique interior and all of them have an atmosphere focused on sports. I don’t mind the Cage in Hull.  The bar in the middle is quite big, with lots of TV screens all around. There are plenty of booths available in the restaurant area, lots of TVs too but sometimes they are hard to see.  It can get very packed in there for big games, especially when the Habs or the Sens are playing.  It is a little more…

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The Road to Ralph Wilson Stadium

General Nov 18, 2008 The Waffle No Comments After a pretty successful two-day stop in Pittsburgh, we had to leave the city of steel for Buffalo, an All America City. Considering the lack of breakfasts around the hotel, we decided to hit the road and get out of town before getting breakfast.  We also knew that the weather would get nasty near the lake, so giving ourselves some extra time wasn’t a bad idea at all. A bit less then 60 minutes out of Pittsburgh, we decided it was time to stop.  Portersville was the next exit on the I-79 North, and we followed the sign for Brown’s Country Kitchen.  It was a couple of miles off the highway, but it was certainly worth it. Portersville is a very little borough of less then 300 souls.  There was nothing much there that I could see.  But Brown’s Country Kitchen was open for…

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