The Waffle

We had to go shopping, and to make sure I would be enthusiastic, Melissa pulled out some printable coupons for New York Fries.  She got them from the Bargain Moose and the offer is valid until the 24th of February.

So, as you can imagine, I reluctantly agreed to stop at the Galeries de Hull location, one of over 200 around the world. Well, by around the world, I mean mostly in Canada.  But there are also NYF spots in South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and the most recent expansion - Hong Kong.

Thankfully, despite it being noon-ish, there was no line-up at the counter. I say thankfully, because the teenage girl who was staffing the counter would have been overwhelmed fast - everything seemed very complicated.

She completed the order of the previous customer and then slowly turned her attention to us.

I promptly presented my coupon - a free regular fries (value 3.49$) with any drink purchase. It seemed to confuse her - perhaps she has not seen enough of them. I ordered a Pepsi, and to complement my order, I added two hot dogs.

Melissa was craving poutine, and that completed our order.

Almost immediately, an older girl showed up to help out, putting the fries in the hot sunflower oil, while the other seemed confused by the bun steamer.  She finally figured it out, but in the process forgot I had ordered two.

Meanwhile, Melissa was struggling with the ketchup dispenser - it was basically empty.  Since another consumer had arrived, it took me a while to gain the attention of either of the two staffers to point out the problem and to be supplied with mobile ketchup dispensers, known as “packets”.  They’ll come in handy later.  I had to wait a little bit more for my second hot dog, but it gave me the time to garnish the first one and fill up on the NYF spices. Once everything was in order, I found Mel who went ahead to save some places.

I choose the following from among the different toppings offered to garnish my dogs:

1. Relish, Mustard, Onions, Pickles, Tabasco.
2. Relish, Mustard, Tomatoes, Hot Peppers.

NYF’s hot dogs are fairly big, and are made of chicken and beef. They are slowly cooked on a slanted roller grill, one of those designed to be at the front of the counter in order to increase visibility and therefore increase impulse sales. Thankfully, my purchase was most certainly planned. I’ve already talked about the steamer, which does an ok job steaming the thick fresh bun, preventing any “too much bread” issues, which could happen if the bun was not fresh and not steamed properly.

But people do not go to NYF because of the hot dogs - they go because of the fries.  In fact,  the Gould brothers of Brantford “discovered” the New York Fries after reading a review in the New York Times and going to a small stand at the South Street Seaport. They liked the fries so much, they decided to buy the place and make money by spreading the spuds.

NYF has a 3 steps process, which is honestly pretty close to what you should do at home when you make french fries. First, they handcut russet Burbank potatoes, with the skin on (they claim it is for flavour and nutrition - I believe it is just faster and cheaper).  Second, they store in cold water to remove some of the starch. Third, they deep fry to order. That’s it.

Now, to be honest with you, although I do agree that the fries are fresh, crispy, golden and pretty tasty, I always grow tire of them as I eat them. Nothing to do with this location - the quality, taste and texture is very consistent throughout the chain. No, I do not know what it is - perhaps its keeping the skin on? Perhaps they stay in water too long? It can’t be too much salt, can it?  Or maybe they are cooked a tad too long?  I do not know, I cannot put my finger on it.  But there is something that makes them feel really, really dry, especially when you have them on their own.

Which is probably why Mel opted for the poutine.

The gravy definitely helps to moisturize the fries. A classic brown gravy, it is dark and thick, not too salty.  Beef flavour is very present. It was quite warm, warm enough to slightly melt the cheese.  Talking of cheese, they are generous with the curds, though it shall be said that there was no “squeek-squeek”, which can only mean that the cheese is not extra fresh.

Although this is not the best poutine around, it is very respectable, quantity, quality and size-wise.  Too bad my coupon was for a free regular fries!

Three years ago, Casey’s opened another outlet at Pearson’s International Departures Wing in Terminal 1. (Post Security, Hammerhead F.)

Feeling the need to distinguish it from the other one, they called it Casey’s Via Della Bici, which of course makes no sense since we are in an airport, not a bikeport.

They should have called it Via Di Aereo.

But somehow, they didn’t consult with The Waffle first.

“Casey’s has been popular with Pearson travelers since we opened our first location there in 2004 so it was a natural decision to open a second location in the new Terminal 1 to extend Casey’s Pearson tradition – enabling international and domestic travelers alike to discover the new Casey’s,” said then Grant Cobb, Casey’s Vice President.  Sure thing, Grant.

The stated goal was to create a stylish establishment with a contemporary design in dramatic colours with a touch of exotism.  Apparently, Casey’s developed the concept in Milton, a town known to be a trend-setter.

I felt like having a burger, but also felt a little adventurous.  I ordered the Three-Cheese Bison Burger, which is not exclusive to Via Della Bici - it is available in most, if not all, Casey’s.

1/2 pound of bison meat, grilled, smothered with melted Cheddar, Swiss and Jack cheeses. To finish it off, the burger is topped with lettuce, red onion, tomato and dill pickle.  I had the option of completing my burger with a side house or Caesar salad, but I decided to go all in with a healthy helping of fries. According to Livestrong, this meal Is 1520 calories.

Here is a close-up of the burger:

The meat was a little dry.  It had nice charred marks, but was likely overcooked - bison is not as fat as beef to start with, so you have to be careful.  The cheese slices were nicely melted, flavourful.  Pickles and tomatoes were fine, but the lettuce was too wet - it obviously was washed but not dried properly.

The french fries were actually not bad, if a little salty.  Nice golden colour, firm yet fully cooked.  Enjoyable. 

On the very negative side, however, were the 10$ pints.  10$ for a pint of Keith’s!!!
Where the hell do they think they are, an airport? It’s Via Della Bici, not Via Di Aereo…

After spending the night competing at the World Trivia Night - where our team, the Riverside Pub, had a respectable finish but was mostly proud of having raised the most money for the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa - and spent the remainder of the night celebrating our success (and I am not talking about our ranking).

As the hectic flow of bar-goers was pouring out on Elgin street, I decided to walk away from it all in order to collect my thoughts, and, as always, I had many of them.

I passed the Golden Arches located on Elgin, I hesitated, then I walked away.
But the damage was done.

I kept walking, but a thought started creeping in my head - I was going to lose my free small fries!  The deadline to claim my winnings was November 23rd.  I could not wait any longer.  And, the wife was not around to stop me!

I kept walking.  I had to redeem my prize.  And I ended up at the Bank and Sparks location, which was not as busy as the one on Elgin.  Good, I thought.  I probably should go in.

Even better - the hockey cards are back!

I had no choice now.

A free small fries.
Hockey cards.

I entered.
I redeemed my fries.
I got 5 packs of cards.
And, for good measure, I added a Quarter Pouder with Cheese.

At 3 am, it sounded like a great idea.
A classic.

Hey, don’t blame me.
I did it for the children.

PS:  I am looking for a GM willing to trade.  On the table: Marc Savard, Shea Weber and Daniel Alfredsson .
I am not happy about them showing up twice in my packs.  Serious offers only.

As per the tradition, we had to stop Chez Ashton for our usual fix of cheesy-gravy-goodness on our Quebec City trip.

This time, we stopped on the way in, at the St-Nicolas location, just before the bridges.

It was surprisingly busy, even though it was past lunch time. The staff was struggling to keep up, and the poutine was lining up on the counter, along with Expo burgers, Rostbif platters and other delicacies offered by Ashton.

Mel went for her favorite - a bébé poutine, sauce piquante.

I decided I would go with something different this time, another classic but not as well know outside Quebec borders, and, in fact, outside of Eastern Quebec.

La Galvaude!

Ashton’s Galvaude is the classic recipe, which was invented in Gaspesie, according to Charles-Alexandre Théorêt.
Here, the french fries and the gravy are the same as in a classic poutine. But the cheese curds are replaced by chicken pieces and green peas. Some do add cheese curds, but really, it is not supposed to come with cheese.  And do not make the mistake of calling this a poutine galvaude.  It’s a galvaude, period.

Think of a hot chicken sandwhich without bread.

Ashton’s regular galvaude goes for $8.00.  Since they do not serve any other chicken dishes,  it won’t surprise you if I say the chicken is not fresh of f the bone.  Nevertheless, it was good enough, although a bit pricey.

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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 encountered a buzy public market, around 4 pm, as we were starting our exploration.

During our time in Malta, Euronews broadcasted a report about the opening of the Currywurst Museum in Berlin.  I had never heard of this dish before, but I was quite excited about going to Germany so soon after the opening of a museum celebrating a post-war delicacy:

Wurst. Grilled. Sliced.
Ketchup.
Curry powder. Lots of it.

After flying over the Mediterannean Sea, and over half Europe, I was quite hungry. And quite happy to find, in the public market, many Germans enjoying some sausage and beer after a hard day’s work.

I’ve got to admit that it was surprisingly delicious.  The wurst was dense, juicy, warm throughout.  The ketchup was kept warm and poured over the wurst.  They were not shy on the curry powder, which partly diluted in the warm tomato sauce.  The snack came with a roll, which was fine, but was oh so overshadowed by this Berlin-born mixture.  I must try to do this at home.

After our snacks (well, mine ), we had to fill Mel’s appetite for shopping along the Zeil.  Truth is, Frankfurt is no Malta, and if I was happy with the 15° C, Mel was in a dire need of a sweater.  After finally finding something at one of the two H and Ms on the Zeil we wandered around for a while, walking through Franfurt, crossing the Main, watching the barges slowly making their way up the river.

All this walking made us hungry, it was getting late, so we set out to look for a place to have dinner. The heart of Frankfurt is the Römerberg, with it’s 13th-century cathedral of St Bartholomäus and the gables of the Römerplatz. And it is on the Römerberg that we looked for dinner, hoping that, despite the tourist trap feel of the place, we would be okay.  And so we picked the Zum Standesämtchen, at the “Römer” straight across the city hall.

The restaurant, open since 1983, is located in an historical building which was rebuilt after the war. An original pillar from 1543 is still standing, and the whole interior gives a very warm and restful vibe.  It was a quiet night, but you could almost hear the clashing of the Steins, the singing and the laughter of the F rankfurters into the night.

We ordered a couple of German beers with a name I couldn`t pronouce sober, and  I didn’t improve throughout the evening.

We peered at the menu for appetizers - we were quite hungry. I spotted the Weinkäse mit Musik right away, and I encouraged Melissa to order it, despite the protest of the owner. Local soft cheese, onions, vinegar. What is not too like? For my part, I ordered a hearty Kartoffelsuppe, a potato soup.

Mel felt that she should have listened to the German food expert as opposed to the French-Canadian poutine expert.  The cheese was quite soft, milky, light.  It was covered with marinated raw onions and herbs, and generously drenched in vinegar.  The onions were, in my opinion, tasty, if you like marinated vinegary onions.  But there was a lot - a hell of a lot - of it.

The soup was very flavourful.  With chicken stock and bacon as a base, there was lots of potatoes, obviously, but also carrots, onions, herbs (a bit heavy on fresh parsley). The final product was very rich, but thankfully the potatoes were not too starchy, and the texture was great.  Mel was eyeing it, and since she was blaming me for her poor choice of appetizer, I did share my soup with her, much to her content.

That behind us, we were able to focus on our main target in Germany, something she had been focussed on ever since we had landed in Frankfurt:  Schnitzel.

Schnitzel means a cutlet without bones. It is a traditional dish and is a popular part of German cuisine. Usually, it is thin slices of veal coated in breadcrumbs and fried, though other types of meat are now sometimes used.

Mel picked the classic Wiener Schnitzel but I picked the Jägerschnitzel - in her honour.

Now, I have already pointed out that this place had the feel of a tourist trap, and some had bad experiences here. But the place was empty, and therefore the cook could take his time - these schnitzels were the best we’ve ever had.

Mel’s veal was lightly breaded and nicely golden, tender and juicy.  The traditional piece of lemon was there in lieu of any sauce, giving the meat an appetizing zest.  Her dish also included small fried potatoes and a side of green beans sauteed with lardons.

My Hunter schnitzel was served with ordinary french fries and a small garden salad.  Nothing to talk about.  Served with a dark mushroom gravy and lots of mushrooms, it was dense, rich.  Very woody, touches of rosemary and parsley, I was left begging for more - and finish the sauce with bits of Mel’s schnitzel.  I do enjoy the variety in the sides, completing each dish differently.

After our meal, we were too full to move.  So we had to order more beers, and drank them while exchanging pleasantries with the owner, who was happy to be able to take some time to actually talk to some international consumers, instead of only taking their money.  Talking of money, the bill amounted to 70 Euros, 8 beers and tax included.

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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 grilled.

The national  dish of Malta is fried rabbit. But you can also find rabbit in stews and in pasta. Interestingly enough, we failed to see any rabbits around the islands. Another regional meat dish is bragioli. It is made with thin slices of beef wrapped round a minced meat, egg and bacon stuffing.

Other local delicacies include Gbejna, a sheep’s milk cheese, served either fresh or half-dried. It comes from Gozo, it looks like boccocinni, but it is much more firm. Also, the Maltese bread, called Hobz, is very crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, and is heavily consumed on the islands. Ftira is another bread, higher end, denser.

After visiting Malta’s National War Museum and walking around the city, it was time for lunch.  We picked Cocopazzo, a small place, located on Triq Nofs in-Nhar, which was recommended in our guidebooks. We were not disappointed.  We were hungry early, so the place was not really busy.  Colourful, cozy, unpretentious, with great service and great food.

From left to right:  Cocopazzo’s cozy atmosphere; complimentary bread pieces, oven-toasted with herbs and olive oil; we shared some delicious rabbit stuffed ravioli to start; I went for the mixed fish grill (red snapper filet, tuna filet, swordfish, shrimp - quite dense) served with fresh vegetables, 20€ ; Melissa went for the fried calamari on a bed of greens, fresh and tender, 13€; and it all came with a side of steamed vegetables, more food than we could consume.  The total bill was 56€, before tip.

Our second meal out, the next day, was after a 10 km walk, from Sliema’s waterfront back to Valletta, through Gzira, Ta’ Xbiex, Msida, Pieta’, Hamrun and Floriana.  It was a long walk under the baking sun of Malta, and we were ready for something civilized. We just happened to end up in front of Valetta’s 5 star hotel, the Phoenicia, so we went in to enjoy lunch on The Phoenix’s terrace, which had a nice view of  some of Valletta’s fortification system.

I went for the classic Maltese Ftira, left, another local bread. Totally mediterranean,  with tuna, onions, capers, tomatoes and black olives.  Plenty of olive oil to bring everything together.  It came with a little basket of potato chips and a mini-salad, for 7€.  Melissa picked the Chicken Baguette, garnished with bacon and smoked cheddar.  It was served with a mediterranean salad for 8.50€.  Despite the 5 stars, and sharing the terrace with Ladies and Gentleman directly out of Falcon Crest, this was a nice lunch and not too pricey.

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Malta being very close to Sicily, we had to take the opporunity to visit the Italian island.  It was easy enough to do, since Virtu Ferries Ltd. is offering a regular route from Valletta to Pozzallo or Catania.  We decided to take a package which included transport from Pozzallo to Taormina to Mount Etna before coming back to Pozzallo for our return to Valletta, for a little over 100€.

The Maria Dolores departed from Valletta around 7 am. It takes about 90 minutes to sail on the Mediterranean Sea all the way to Sicily. The sea was calm, the Catamaran was fast. Impressive. Not so impressive was the movie they played en route…

Our first stop was in Pozzallo, a major port in Sicily with magnificient beaches.  As it was still early, the whole group went for breakfast at La Perla, a Pasticceria on Via Dell’ Arno.

What a pleasure for the eyes first, then for the nose, as soon as we walked in. Sweet delicacies, fresh pastries, all kinds of specialties were on offering.   Melissa picked something that looked like a “pain au chocolat”, which she described as being closer to a brioche filled with a Nutella like filling,    With it, the obligatory coffee, a cappucino that almost looked appetizing to me.   As for me, I settled on a pastry stuffed with rice, cheese and a spicy tomato sauce. Deliciozo!

After breakfast, we set of in the direction of Taormina, going through the Sicilian landscape and admiring the agriculture, the rich architecture and the amazing incapacity for Italians to drive properly.  Taormina is a very popular touristic destination, with over a 100 hotels for about 10 000 citizens.  Built vertically, going up a very steep hill, it offers spectacular views of the beaches on the Ionian Sea, beaches that you can access via a funicular.

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