Tag: edmonton

CanCon

Hudson’s Downtown
December 2016

Fun Time Douglas frequents gatherings called “Drink ‘n’ Draws” and the only draw back is: she is unable to draw. With friendly instruction she attends these gatherings regardless of her lack of skill and thoroughly enjoys the company of her talented friends. 

The chain restaurant Hudson’s is generally good at accommodating a large group, ideal for the Drink ‘n’ Draw, and this visit it featured a seasonal menu that included the still growing in popularity: Chicken and Waffles! So, once again the sweet savoury southern combo was ordered only this version had a “Canadian Twist” (Hudson’s does vigorously market itself as “Canada’s Pub” after all). 

So, here’s what happened:

The chicken and waffles were served hot out of the kitchen with a variety of toppings:

– Cinnamon sugar
– Whipped cream
– Maple chilli syrup (the “Canadian Twist”)

The waffle was too sweet. The maple chilli syrup was very, very tasty and had a great sweet heat to it. The cinnamon sugar seemed like overkill given the waffles already too sweet status. The whipped cream also seemed too sugary especially considering it’s sugar laden companions on the plate. Could’ve been more crisp and golden, in Fun Time Douglas’s opinion. The chicken was A-OK but nothing really stand-out. Pretty well exactly what you’d expect from a chain pub: serviceable. 

A crisp, savoury, golden waffle topped with maple chilli syrup and some very mildly sweetened whipped cream would have been on the mark for a great waffle.

Also, why is maple chilli considered Canadian? Chilli peppers originally hail from Mexico. Delicious syrup nonetheless. The following score hinges entirely on the syrup.

Rating:
Funtime Douglas: 2/5

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.

Exposing Critical Bill To A New Concept

The Common
November 15th, 2016

Fun Time Douglas, Critical Bill, and Magnum PI set out on a cool November night for dinner and ended up at the hip downtown joint: The Common. Chicken and waffles was on the menu and Bill revealed that he’s never had the classic, and suddenly trendy, combination of fried chicken and waffles. So, here we go…

This post is going be done in Critical Bill’s own style: brief, no bullshit, and full of expletives.

Critical Bill: Waffle ok. Best when hot, the quality disintegrated with time. Whatever the fuck that berry shit was it was good. Chicken ok. Juicy. Butter was top flight. Combo of all the components was pretty tasty. Maybe not sold on the concept and my cocktail went all wrong! Company kept was superb. Wouldn’t have my waffles any other way than with good fucking company.

Fun Time Douglas: it was too dark to take a picture of the waffles. Just imagine a round waffle cut into it’s quadrants, stacked on their side, served with two pieces of fried chicken, a pad of butter placed on top, and that “berry shit*” on the side (*a blackberry compote, I think, and it was in fact quite good).

Fun Time Douglas agrees that the combination of flavours was pretty tasty with the juicy chicken raising the profile of this waffle.

Our guest, Magnum PI, commented: it was just a pleasure to behold the ISCoW founding members at work.

3.6/5 – Fun Time Douglas
3.3.3/5 Critical Bill also shown as 3.299999

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 

Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes*

Canteen
November 5th, 2016

124th Street in Edmonton is peppered with a variety of trendy, new, local, casual, and quaint eateries. One such place is Canteen and Sly had, despite living nearby, never visited the restaurant. So, when smoonie and Suz made the brunch call Sly dropped what she was doing to meet them for a most welcome Saturday date.

Sly ordered the Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Waffle with toppings that change from week to week. We’ll get to that.

The waffle had a good sweet/savory balance of flavour and the interior was light, fluffy, even cloud-like in texture. This made for a agreeable brunch, not too heavy, so one could carry on with busy Saturday activities. The exterior, however, lacked that golden crisp that Sly loves from a waffle. Please note, that crispy and crunchy are entirely different qualifiers. A crunchy waffle would be a burnt disaster, Sly imagines. Much preferred is that oh-so thin and delicate golden crisp.

Let’s talk toppings.

Wow! Coconut carrot yogurt drizzled on top with almonds were so flavourful and mouth-wateringly good. The juicy chicken combined with the sauce and waffle was quite the treat. Chicken and waffles seem to be appearing on dozens of menus but Sly can say with confidence that Canteen has a unique take on the dish elevating the flavours beyond the sum of their parts.

smoonie ordered the Huevos Rancheros and revelled in the tasty meal. Suz got the flapjacks. Sly silently judged the pancakes but Suz said they were delicious. 

Ratings:
3.5/5

*I was unable to enter an establishment called Canteen without humming this…

I’ll Get The Special, Please

Place: Albert’s Family Diner
October 5th, 2016

This entry is brought to you by the brevity of Critical Bill:

Kudos to the $5 egg special. Very crisp bacon. Competent and professional waitressing complete with jokes.

The waffle needed more crisp. I’m a big fan of the whipped butter. Waffle inner consistency was fluffy, though a touch under-done. 

Unanimous 3.5/5 from brief Bill and Silent Sly. 

Final remarks: It just didn’t kick no ass.

Yours in waffles.

It’s A Cake Date

Place: Gama Cafe, Edmonton 
Date: April 28th, 2015

Picture a charming fantasy cafe, one that a child’s doll house might look like, plush velvet couches, pristine white furniture, and adorable treats on the menu.

Included on the menu are waffles. These waffles were very unique in their almost too-perfect gleam looking almost porcelain and fitting with the overall theme of this establishment, Veronica noted. She took a few slow and measured bites assessing this waffle because of it’s unusual appearance. This waffle was what Veronica would describe as “cakey”.

“Cakey” is not a quality that Veronica looks for in a waffle. Light, airy, crisp, and so forth are generally the qualities she seeks. It’s important to note that this dense waffle tasted quite good, sweet but not too sweet, and was served beautifully with plenty of butter, syrup, and a helping of whipped cream.

This waffle gets a nod for creativity and distinct style in a world of waffle homogeneity. Despite it’s one-of-a-kind qualities the rating that appears below is due to it’s consistency being less than desirable and lack of warm crispy outer waffle according to Veronica’s rubric. 

Rating:

2.5/5

Bringing Down the House of Pancakes

 

Place: IHOP, The International House of Pancakes, on Gateway Blvd/Calgary Trail
Summer 2015

The Council recognizes the guest Waffler: Pete the Patient Pirate. Bill and Veronica were joined by Pete to attend the International House of Pancakes after Google reconnaissance revealed that there was indeed a Belgian waffle on this pancake house menu.

Three coffees, three waffles, and the traditional side of bacon were ordered and the council began their noble task. On every table the International House of Pancakes provides a stainless steel carafe of coffee and four types of syrup; included are an old fashioned syrup, blueberry syrup, raspberry syrup, and a butter pecan syrup. Veronica utilized the four quadrants of the round waffle to sample each type of syrup with butter. Both Veronica and Bill noted that IHOP was stingy on the butter portions though Pete countered stating that it was a satisfactory helping of butter. Veronica was particularly critical of these waffles, more critical than Bill even. She reported that the blueberry and raspberry syrups were no good and too sickly sweet and the old-fashioned and butter pecan were O.K. She noted that the biggest failure of this waffle was that is was unevenly cooked. Critical Bill noted that the bacon was excellent value but the carafe supplied coffee was wildly over priced considering its stale drip coffee taste.

Ratings:

Critical Bill and Pete the Patient Pirate: 3.5/5
Veronica: 2/5

And now a message from Mitch Hedberg about pancakes:

The Admission of Reliability

Simplicity sticks.

Place: Albert’s on 99th Street (again)
When: Summer 2015

The International Supreme Council of Waffles (ISCoW) believes in the quest for the best waffle but as we are only human we acknowledge, for the love of waffles, that sometimes when the craving strikes it is best to satisfy the craving with a reliable source.

Sly and Bill returned to Albert’s on 99th in hope of recreating the simple golden crisp yet fluffy waffle they enjoyed before (with generous serving of bacon). However, Bill and Sly were left somewhat disappointed. The Council recognizes these collective comments, “the inside was soft, too moist.” An important lesson was gleaned; consistency is an essential attribute in the quest for the best waffle.

And Critical Bill made the closing remarks,

“why is the middle of my waffle so soft when the rest of my life is so hard.”

Rating:
Bill & Sly agreed: 3/5

An Endorsement & A Review from Guru Lou

A review to follow featuring DJ Guru Lou’s first appearance, but first, current affairs:

Dougie ended up at a show in a location that can best be described as a room resembling a basement from the 1970s. It was there that she ran into guest Waffler DJ Guru Lou.

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“The Waffle Log Blog has inspired me to up my waffle game at home. I’ve just been using batter from a box.” said Guru Lou late on Saturday night. “It’s all about the butter and syrup.” Guru Lou added.

“The waffle is the vehicle.” Dougie nodded, sagely.

“Exactly,” Guru Lou said confidently and astutely added, “And, like, a Sunfire is a vehicle and a Ferrari is a vehicle. One is obviously better.”

DJ Guru Lou was one of the International Supreme Coucil of Waffle’s earliest adopter of the ISCoW’s standards and acute appreciation of the waffle’s delivery service. We are humbled that the Waffle Log Blog is inspiring higher standards and appreciation of the vehicle food.

The council thanks DJ Guru Lou (also read as: Bong Sample) for his musical contribution (read: granting Dougie permission to hijack the tracks) to the Waffle Log Blog Video (read: the video too long to actually watch) on the home page.

Place: Barb and Ernie’s, Edmonton AB
Wafflers: Fun Time Douglas, Critical Bill, Pete the Patient Pirate, and DJ Guru Lou
When: Summer of 2015

A long loved and lasting establishment in Edmonton, Barb and Ernie’s Old Country Inn was the destination and waffles the prize. The hospitality was supreme and service delightful, however, with only one in-house waffle iron the council put some strain on the kitchen. Without too much delay the council was feasting on beautifully topped waffles and accompanying sides.

Pete the Patient Pirate: Satisfied. The toppings of strawberries and whipped cream were delectable and the waffle had prime syrup soaking abilities. It was soft and squishy, and not too heavy.

DJ Guru Lou: It’s too big but nice and round. Easy 4/5 sans honeydew on the plate. Honeydew is bullshit.

Critical Bill: Soft in the middle. Could’ve been crispier.

Fun Time Douglas: Too soft, needed that extra crisp on the outside for a better syrup barrier. A bit unevenly cooked. Overall excellent balance of sweet and savoury flavour. Note: the atmosphere of this establishment is like the comfort of a Grandparent’s home, cozy as heck.

Unanimous four cheers for the bacon, A+ all around in that department.

Closing remarks from Guru Lou, “There are two Bus Drivers here. If it’s good enough for the Bus Drivers, it’s good enough for me.”

Ratings:

Pete the Patient Pirate: 4.7/5
DJ Guru Lou: 3.5/5
Critical Bill: 4.2/5
Fun Time Douglas: 3/5

Coming soon: the origin story of Pete the Patient Pirate!