Category: Dougie

Coconut Whipped Cream

Tiramisu Bistro, Edmonton
March 7th, 2017

Colour: not quite golden
Flavour: savory 
Outside: needed more crisp
Inside: fluffy and tasty 
Toppings: coconut whipped cream

Dougie wants to thank special traveling guest, Denton, for joining her for this waffle. Denton has experience food blogging when he set out to document as many plates of nachos as he could in Halifax for: Eat This Town. Denton is also very well known for his impeccable fashion featuring loud prints! He is envied across the land and Edmonton misses him very much.

This waffle was a golden delight and the fresh fruit was a succulent bonus. Bananas and coconut are always a real winning pair. However, because the waffle lacked a crispy exterior there was too much syrup absorption causing the waffle to soften too quickly.

The bacon was excellent and came in a very generous portion!

Presentation was a treat for the eyes. See for yourself:

Coconut whipped cream with maple syrup was a surprising combination to consider in future breakfasts! Such synergy! 

3 Limes in the coconut and shake it all up! (this means it was good) – Denton

3.9/5 – Dougie

Border Dispute

Cross Roads Diner, Abbostford
March 2017
Cross Roads Restaurant

The gaggle of nerds that road tripped to Seattle in the spring of 2017 were sufficiently depleted of energy after several days of convention hustling, partying, and Seattle exploring. Once the Canadians crossed the border we indulged in diner delights at the Cross Roads Restaurant. Charmingly dingy in it’s outdated decor and staffed by a sullen woman it was just the place to refuel before hitting the B.C. Mountain highways.

Buttermilk waffle, good Flavour, whipped butter, could be crispier, bacon was A+, overall a tasty mom and pop shop diner waffle. 4/5 – Dougie 

“Im really clinging on to this life thing” – Danny.

I quite liked it, deep pockets held syrup. There’s kind of a floor of how “bad” a waffle can be. And this one was pretty good. 30/37 – Heffe.

Nice grid pattern, cracked in the middle but that’s ok. It was warm. Middle not warm enough. 8/10 – Danderson. 

Outside too soft but edge was crispy. Light fluffy texture inside, the sausage was the right side and shape to dip into the syrup 6.5/Buttons – Marie

[Picture missing, do any of you have picures?]

Emerald City Waffle Con

Sweet Iron Waffle Bar
March 2017

T’was the 2017 nerd herd expedition to Seattle for Emerald City Comic Con and Moonie was a thorough waffle researcher and discovered a MAX CAPACITY: 12 person waffle joint. Danderson, Moonie, and Dougie took up 3 out of 12 seats in the closet-sized restaurant.

The menu was quite decadent with some of the most unique and gourmet waffles the group had ever laid eyes on.

Roasted butternut squash, blue cheese, honey walnuts was chosen by Dougie. The waffle was a yeasted brioche style batter with pearl sugar inside of it. The combination of sweet and savoury toppings was a culinary delight and flavour explosion. The waffles were a bit too heavy to be a crisp as Dougie prefers but the flavours were exceptional.

Rating:
4/5

Game Changer

Gamer’s Lodge
February 19th, 2017

Welcome to The Gamer’s Lodge one of Edmonton’s board game cafes. Follow the rainbow flag into the cozy cafe and enjoy their selection of games and special community events not to mention their game inspired waffle menu! Moon Unit Alpha and Doug Unit Cypher, just a couple of extra regular hoomans seeking a sweet treat, settled into a corner of the cafe, browsed the games, and then got to the monkey business that brought them to the establishment: WAFFLES.

Doug Unit Cypher ordered the The Donkey Kong at Gamer’s Lodge and Moon Unit Alpha observed. The first thing Cypher noticed was the abundance of toppings:

  • Banana rum puree 
  • Whipped cream
  • Candied Pecans
  • Chocolate Sauce
  • AND sweet-spicy bacon

Each of the toppings was quite sweet as well. Ideally the savoury bacon would’ve balanced the flavour but the surplus of toppings were overpoweringly sweet. The waffle was fluffy but not crisp which means it had a weak topping barrier leading to a soggy waffle if one does not consume it quickly. It was the tasty treat the the Units were looking for but very nearly overkill for the visitors.

Rating:
2.5/5

PB&B Waffle

Clever Rabbit Vegetarian Cafe
January 29th, 2017

Clever Rabbit is one of 124th Street coziest cafes aided by their friendly neighbour Whitecourt Homeless Animal Rescue Foundation (WHARF). Clever Rabbit features a vegetarian, gluten free, and vegan menu of cafe classics including breakfast, burgers, baked goods and more. 

Dougie ordered the Peanut Butter and Banana Waffle and it was sweet, salty, and filling with the complimentary flavours of peanut butter and banana. The texture of the waffle was thicker and more like a banana bread than a light airy waffle. The highlight was the coconut cream sauce on top: holy bananas was it delicious! It was a quite a treat and Dougie suggests working up an appetite for the heavy, stick to your ribs, vegan meal.

After your comfort meal head over to WHARF and support the local animal rescue foundation. Also, you can cuddle some cats. It’s amazingly therapeutic. 

Rating:
A very filling 3.3/5

Schrödinger’s Waffle

The Sugarbowl Cafe
December 8th, 2016

June of 2016 marks an important time in ISCoW (International Supreme Council of Waffles) history: the Calgary Waffle Club was formed. Expansion of waffle enthusiasm is a much celebrated event! Time and again, Dougie meets with the Calgary delegates, usually at Buttermilk Fine Waffles, but in December of 2016 a Calgary Waffle Club Delegate ventured up north and a meeting was held.

The Director and Dougie met at one of the University of Alberta’s popular watering hole/eateries: The Sugarbowl. Always a cozy experience (read: small restaurant with constant clientele) the duo of wafflers shared a table with a pair of strangers and their meals were ordered: The Chicken and Waffles.

The Director would like the preface the following review with: what came first? The Chicken or the waffle? Obviously the living breathing chickens of the universe came first but I this question intrigues culinary minds to track the history of fried chicken, of waffles, and of their eventual partnership in the now seemingly trendy dish of Chicken and Waffles. If you must know you should read about Southern United States cooking.

Now, we dish:

The waffle was soft, perhaps too soft, on it’s own. The chicken was: engaging. The watermelon salsa that it was served with was insane on the taste buds really levelling up the chicken, with the waffle, with the salsa. Commendations for the combo.

The chicken and the waffle were perfectly integrated, The Director stated, it was as if the chicken could not exist without the waffle and the waffle could not exist without the chicken to accomplish the flavour that was experienced. This chicken and this waffle existed in the same quantum superposition… Or something.

Overall, the waffle was mediocre but excellent chicken and surprising salsa topping made this dish soar.

Ratings rang out ditto and likewise:

Dougie & The Director: 4.5/5 as the complete dish. 3.3/5 for the waffle alone.

美味しい – oishii

Kazoku
November 2016

Dougie has a confession to make.

Though this is blog dedicated to waffles she has to admit her deep love of noodles. Rice noodles, pasta noodles, buckwheat noodles, zucchini noodles, sweet potato noodles, cold noodles, instant noodles, hot noodles, deep fried noodles, udon noodles, spicy noodles, all of the noodles.

Anyways, Dougie and smoonie went out for noodles. Ramen noodles. Ramen joints have also exploded in popularity and Dougie says, “noodle on”.

Okay, Dougie got to make her confession… But, so what? Why do YOU, oh faithful Waffle Log Blog readers, care? Well, much to the surprise of Dougie and her noodle-companion, smoonie, there was a waffle on the dessert menu! What an unexpected treat! Noodles and waffles together at last!

Dougie and smoonie had spent an intensive day dealing with mouse-abatement in a hundred year old basement so they worked up a significant appetite. So, after devouring a bowl of the best ramen in town, they were still eagerly anticipating dessert waffles.

The “Waffle Yaki” came out: two golden waffles stuffed with sweet red bean paste, drizzled with chocolate, and topped with ice cream The waffles were a touch too soft but excellent flavor: that ideal balance of sweet and savory batter. The red bean added a nice semi sweet flavour and luscious texture to the dessert. This waffle is at it’s prime when when hot n’ fresh. Also, Dougie and smoonie would like to note that it was an excellent compact waffle, an appropriate portion, and had a strong presentation game; it was a feast for the eyes too.

The owner was very proud of their homemade and made to order status. It wasn’t lost on the Sylvias.

Rating:
4/5 Dougie
3.5/5 smoonie 

A Solo Yolk

Place: Yolks, Vancouver
November 1st, 2016

Dougie ventured out on her own for a second waffle adventure in Vancouver. She felt like a bit of a dolt ordering the sweet Belgian Waffles at an establishment called Yolks, prided on their perfectly poached eggs. But, alas, Dougie takes her role as a Waffle-officer seriously, it’s part of her waffle-osophy. So, with the promise of perfect yolks foregone she ordered that sweet Belgian Waffle with definitive resolve.

Let’s get down to business. Dougie was entertained by the lively foot and road traffic on Broadway as she perched on the cozy barstool in the window. ‘Oh my goodness,” Dougie exclaimed when the waffle arrived at her window seat. The presentation and dusting of icing sugar made for a whimsical display almost too delightful to eat (in fact the real estate on the rectangle plate was difficult to navigate with the tower of waffles. Dougie deftly dissected the display).

Overall flavour and crispy exterior were excellent but the interior was a little dry. The slice of triangular butter added to the layered display but wasn’t practical for spreading. There was a fantastic helping of bacon and the fruit bowl drizzled with honey, lemon, and mint was superb. The attention to fruit bowl elevation made a usually cheap breakfast addition really standout. Refreshing! 

Dougie also thoroughly enjoyed the service, her server was charming, kind, and gave her very helpful directions to navigate the transit system.

Rating:
3.7/5

MEAT for Breakfast

Place: MEAT, Edmonton
August 22nd, 2016

In 2016 The Brunch Crew was going strong with bunches of Sunday brunches that would often spiral into Sunday Fundays. However, this isn’t a Sunday Funday blog. Those adventures shall remain responsibly undocumented except for the fond memories.

The dollop of fluffy whipped butter took centre stage on this waffle while the waffle itself was a reliable, raw sugar infused, vehicle for the toppings. Crisp, golden, and quite the sweet treat. The sugar in the batter was an excellent companion to the rich and juicy fried chicken. The chicken was, as you might expect from a restaurant called MEAT, well crafted and incredibly delicious.

The only less than amazing comment Dougie to be made about these waffles is that they were, perhaps, too heavy on the inside lacking that light fluffy interior that the ISCoW adores.

The savoury seasoning on the chicken with the nearly candied waffle and rosemary maple syrup made a handsome and delicious pair.

Additionally, the beverages were of note: a black coffee, a tall glass of water, and a bourbon caesar. Quite the combination for a Sunday Funday.

Rating: 4.7/5