Wanna Writer?
I guess this is turning into a little showcase of my mad writing skillz. I thought to start posting my favourite pieces so that I could resurrect them, perhaps expose them to a new audience, or just remember how much fun they were to write. Maybe they will also serve as a portfolio? I haven't updated my website since I was at the Citadel, so this could be a good online business card for employers.
Hey - are you looking for a hired pen? Check me out.
I was busy last night, spittin' out the Aries-Leo astrological blurb while doing laundry. The bride was out (until 3:30 am!) so I handled the chitlins without much difficulty. We're off to Cowtown today after work, and I shall return to the homestead come Sunday afternoon.
As the Milk guy, I get some inside info from the industry that just begs to be shared... Did you know that Nestle might be possibly considering the option to think about maybe changing some of their labelling to read "iced dessert" instead of "ice cream"? It's a European technique that allows the company to use vegetable oils instead of cream in their products. Um... yum? On dairy products, check the label for cream, milk, partly skimmed milk or skim milk powder. "Milk ingredients" can be OK. However, you might reconsider "modified milk ingredients" if you are looking for actual dairy in your graocery cart.
I know - it's my day job to lobby for Alberta's milk producers, so my interests are suspect, but I thought I'd share.
Adios.
Today's selection is from yet another venue. The owner of EdmontonDining.com read a piece I wrote about the Lemongrass Cafe and wrote me an email... he was looking for freelance restaurant reviewers to populate his site. Was I interested? Damn straight! Here is one of my favourites from the site:
Da*De*O Restaurant
By Christopher Thrall
Da*De*O's retro '50s décor was here long before it was officially cool again: the chrome-trimmed Formica tables and red vinyl chairs trigger fantasies of soda jerks and poodle skirts. Feel free to drop a quarter into one of the mini juke boxes mounted at each booth. The lighting in this busy, narrow restaurant is dim and intentionally low key. Only minor decorative touches, soft jazz and outstanding Cajun cuisine forge its link with New Orleans.
I met my coworker and her husband, a pair of graphic designers that haunted Da*De*O regularly, after work on a Tuesday evening. This adults-only diner & bar felt like the type of place that the coolest person you knew in University worked. (Oddly enough, one of the coolest people I knew in University was working there.) The mix of clientele included University girls in de-objectifying clothing, nervous first dates, couples who have been coming for years and small business groups.
I snagged a table by the window to watch Whyte Avenue's gorgeous strollers, each of whom glanced in to meet my eye. While waiting for my guests, I glanced through the menu and savoured the lyrical Louisiana syllables. Fritters, crab cakes and catfish fingers topped out at $10, while the gumbos, jambalayas and more conventional cuisine like pastas and pizzas came in below $15. Under advisement, however, I skipped to the page of Po' Boy sandwiches for $10 a pop.
My guides to Da*De*O arrived and signaled for their beloved cherry Cokes ($2.50), while I requested an Iced Tea ($2). My coworker decided against her regular blackened chicken Po' Boy in favour of fried Tiger prawns and I bounced from fried oysters to crab cakes on mine. Her husband chose the Bayou Burger and we ordered a set of crab & parmesan fritters ($7) to start. On his way back to the kitchen, our waiter left us each a scone and jalapeno jelly.
The scone was tasty, if a little small, and the jelly's sweet bite was tantalizing. I considered requesting more as we chatted, but the fritters arrived quickly. They were a little overdone, but the warm, fragrant interiors were divine under the zesty mayo dipping sauce.
Although I was hungry walking into Da*De*O's, I don't think I will ever be hungry again: each dinner covered a large oval plate with its hefty French loaf and pair of side orders. My coworker's hubby chose potato hash with his cornslaw and he praised the two warm scoops that landed somewhere this side of "dirty mashed potatoes." My coworker and I had decided on the famous sweet potato fries for an extra 75 cents.
My cornslaw was fresh and tasty, while those crunchy sticks of battered sweet potato were pure sinful indulgence when dipped in herb mayo. Even so, the Po' Boys themselves were the real stars. The loaves were fresh and yielding, and my crab cakes were a stunning combination of crisp exterior and hot, spiced crab salad within. Hers boasted an excellent jumbo-shrimp-to-fresh-tomato ratio and his was a substantial Cajun beef feast with tequila salsa and melted cheddar cheese.
We discovered that Po' Boys are on special for $7.75 every Monday and Tuesday, so we were stuffed full for less than $20 each, including tax and tip. We waddled out, exquisitely fed and ready for anything that Edmonton's trendiest area had to offer.
Hey - are you looking for a hired pen? Check me out.
I was busy last night, spittin' out the Aries-Leo astrological blurb while doing laundry. The bride was out (until 3:30 am!) so I handled the chitlins without much difficulty. We're off to Cowtown today after work, and I shall return to the homestead come Sunday afternoon.
As the Milk guy, I get some inside info from the industry that just begs to be shared... Did you know that Nestle might be possibly considering the option to think about maybe changing some of their labelling to read "iced dessert" instead of "ice cream"? It's a European technique that allows the company to use vegetable oils instead of cream in their products. Um... yum? On dairy products, check the label for cream, milk, partly skimmed milk or skim milk powder. "Milk ingredients" can be OK. However, you might reconsider "modified milk ingredients" if you are looking for actual dairy in your graocery cart.
I know - it's my day job to lobby for Alberta's milk producers, so my interests are suspect, but I thought I'd share.
Adios.
Today's selection is from yet another venue. The owner of EdmontonDining.com read a piece I wrote about the Lemongrass Cafe and wrote me an email... he was looking for freelance restaurant reviewers to populate his site. Was I interested? Damn straight! Here is one of my favourites from the site:
Da*De*O Restaurant
By Christopher Thrall
Da*De*O's retro '50s décor was here long before it was officially cool again: the chrome-trimmed Formica tables and red vinyl chairs trigger fantasies of soda jerks and poodle skirts. Feel free to drop a quarter into one of the mini juke boxes mounted at each booth. The lighting in this busy, narrow restaurant is dim and intentionally low key. Only minor decorative touches, soft jazz and outstanding Cajun cuisine forge its link with New Orleans.I met my coworker and her husband, a pair of graphic designers that haunted Da*De*O regularly, after work on a Tuesday evening. This adults-only diner & bar felt like the type of place that the coolest person you knew in University worked. (Oddly enough, one of the coolest people I knew in University was working there.) The mix of clientele included University girls in de-objectifying clothing, nervous first dates, couples who have been coming for years and small business groups.
I snagged a table by the window to watch Whyte Avenue's gorgeous strollers, each of whom glanced in to meet my eye. While waiting for my guests, I glanced through the menu and savoured the lyrical Louisiana syllables. Fritters, crab cakes and catfish fingers topped out at $10, while the gumbos, jambalayas and more conventional cuisine like pastas and pizzas came in below $15. Under advisement, however, I skipped to the page of Po' Boy sandwiches for $10 a pop.
My guides to Da*De*O arrived and signaled for their beloved cherry Cokes ($2.50), while I requested an Iced Tea ($2). My coworker decided against her regular blackened chicken Po' Boy in favour of fried Tiger prawns and I bounced from fried oysters to crab cakes on mine. Her husband chose the Bayou Burger and we ordered a set of crab & parmesan fritters ($7) to start. On his way back to the kitchen, our waiter left us each a scone and jalapeno jelly.
The scone was tasty, if a little small, and the jelly's sweet bite was tantalizing. I considered requesting more as we chatted, but the fritters arrived quickly. They were a little overdone, but the warm, fragrant interiors were divine under the zesty mayo dipping sauce.
Although I was hungry walking into Da*De*O's, I don't think I will ever be hungry again: each dinner covered a large oval plate with its hefty French loaf and pair of side orders. My coworker's hubby chose potato hash with his cornslaw and he praised the two warm scoops that landed somewhere this side of "dirty mashed potatoes." My coworker and I had decided on the famous sweet potato fries for an extra 75 cents.
My cornslaw was fresh and tasty, while those crunchy sticks of battered sweet potato were pure sinful indulgence when dipped in herb mayo. Even so, the Po' Boys themselves were the real stars. The loaves were fresh and yielding, and my crab cakes were a stunning combination of crisp exterior and hot, spiced crab salad within. Hers boasted an excellent jumbo-shrimp-to-fresh-tomato ratio and his was a substantial Cajun beef feast with tequila salsa and melted cheddar cheese.
We discovered that Po' Boys are on special for $7.75 every Monday and Tuesday, so we were stuffed full for less than $20 each, including tax and tip. We waddled out, exquisitely fed and ready for anything that Edmonton's trendiest area had to offer.
posted by enthrall at 10:35 AM
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