Week At A Glance

Well, February is now upon us and with it has come the true signs of Winter. Cold days and windy nights makes for a great excuse to seek out some comfort in those special things that can warm my core, and I'm craving Thai. As such, I have a few slated stops through my week, on which you can most certainly expect an entry through The Locale.

In addition to my longing for a tasty Thai meal this week, however, I thought it rather weighty to make the announcement well in advance, as a reminder that February 6th is the much anticipated and locally celebrated Hillside Inside festival. A branch of inspiration taken from the long-running Hillside festival, the 3rd annual Hillside Inside run will include Final Fantasy, Woodhands, Ani DiFranco, Hawksley Workman and of course many more. Tickets can be purchased through various outlets in the city, or through the Hillside website, linked below.

Needless to say, as a fan of all things music, this week's end is an exciting one, and I look forward to reviewing my first experiences with this festival. That being said, I've still got a six day wait ahead of me and this craving for comfort needs to be filled immediately.

Stay warm everyone, I'm off to Thai one on.
Phil

http://www.hillsidefestival.ca/

St. Jacob's Market

One of the greatest things about Guelph is its proximity to so many points of interest. It nestles itself quaintly off the highway, far enough from the 401 artery that it seems a destination rather than a rest stop; and if one so desired to explore a little off the familiar streets of the city, they are only an hour in any direction from exotic adventure. As a culinary enthusiast and fresh food addict, it is a sad fact that, given how close I am to the village, I don't travel out to St. Jacob's with any frequency. At a mere 26 minutes away, it is my aim to make this trip a new part of my lifestyle, allow me to tell you why.

As my adventuring companion pointed out, "Once you've tasted the market, you can never go back" and how true that is. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, likely it's just been so gradual over the years that we as a public have not noticed the change, but if I think back to food when I was young, it tasted different, drastically so. Carrots, for example, used to taste fresh and sweet and rich, they used to taste like carrots. Tomatoes, the same thing; in fact, every piece of produce I pick up in the grocer these days not only has a different flavour, it also looks different; it looks as though it was taken from a mould, appears shiny and picture-perfect. Now, I'm not sure if any of you have pulled a home-grown vegetable out of the ground, but it doesn't look anything like what comes off those shelves and bins at the big guys down the street. It is in this this unfortunate sacrifice to our palettes that destinations like St. Jacob's come to the rescue.

As a year-round market, open Thursdays and Saturdays, there appears to be no reason not to make the short journey to explore what there is to offer. Granted, during the winter months the outdoor vendors are fewer than in the summer, but for those that still set up their stands, they are bustling with a happy crowd of shoppers and a healthy array of fresh everything. From apples to onions, everything looks, smells and tastes fresh; but most importantly, it all tastes real. Further to the food itself, I feel the need to comment on the physical experience of shopping outside. Especially during these dreary winter days, I find myself defeated by the cold and gray skies, not wanting to do much more with a day off than rush from the car to wherever I can find some warmth; but if I force myself outside and bundle up with my scarf, there seems to be an inexplicable satisfaction in enjoying the fresh air and the feeling of getting outdoors to do something with my day; in fact, I would say it makes the food taste just that much better.

After exploring the rows of fresh produce outside, if you venture indoors the story is much the same: year-round vendors selling and sampling some of the freshest and most delicious fare going. The meat counters are filled with product you can trust and visibly see the difference in quality. Cheese is everywhere, produce at every turn and fresh baked breads, donuts, pastries, muffins, oh the aromas of it all! The variety makes it decadently impossible to choose what to take home, but therein lies the beauty because it only forces you to return with a new recipe or craving. Oh, and if you're going to head in during those morning hours, might I suggest you do so on an empty stomach; with so many vendors set up to serve hot food, it would be a tease for you to have to walk by and not indulge in a sausage on a bun, fresh pierogies, or any number of wraps or sandwiches from the interior.

So, perhaps this adventure had me outside city limits, but, as I mentioned earlier, that's the beauty of Guelph, we're so close to so much that it still feels part of our community. A short drive to far better taste and selection seems a no-brainer to me, I've no idea why it has taken me so long to figure this out. The prices are comparable, if not less in some circumstances than the big name stores, and the adventure it offers is enough to make a day worth smiling over. For those who have never been, I strongly urge you to do so, and for those who frequent year-round, I will hopefully see you more often.

Phil

Battle Sushi - The Saga Continues

At the culmination of Battle Sushi a winner was crowned. Sushi Choice took out all other contenders to stand the victor on what was a battle field riddled with wasabi, pickeled ginger, and fish as far as the eyes can see; I had assumed that to be the final stand, that the battle was over. But I was foolish in my assumptions; a new contender has entered onto the field and I have been forced to choose whether to go forth and test this new competitor against my previous adventures, or simply submit to my past experiences. Though the outcome is always a risk, the decision to continue along this path never is.

Episode 4 - W.

Fergie, don't play that.

When I first heard that a new establishment opened up on Edinburgh S (in the plaza by the Woodshed and Beer Store) I knew right away that a feast would soon follow. I began my research into W Sushi by first stopping in during a known downtime for restaurants and I picked up a menu. My first impressions were good, decor seemed modern, clean and well-kept, and there were no off-putting odours as in some of my previous culinary ventures. Though it was aesthetically gaining points in my ranking system, I was admittedly a little disappointed that Guelph has yet another all you can eat sushi place to its name. It's an interesting trend to me, this insistence on binge-eating and opting to forgo the ordering from a la carte menus, it almost has me worried as to the direction our dining experiences are headed. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy gorging now and then, but I don't fully understand why it's becoming so popular amongst specific cuisines; I think more research into this trend in Canadian dining is in order, but that's for another entry.

Now then, upon researching their menu I felt it high time I return to feast upon their offerings, and so on that note let me speak first of the one thing that turned me off of W: the television. See, I'm all for T.V.s in a bar setting; watching the game, having a few drinks and carrying on in conversation with a group. Televisions in a restaurant dining room, however, are not, by any means, conducive to conversation with your dining partner, and serve as nothing more than an unnecessary and, in my opinion, rude distraction. And what threw me a little more than the TV itself perhaps, was the video of Fergie which was playing at the time. I ask you to explain to me how Fergie sells sushi?

Anyway, putting first judgements on the motif aside, I move on to the star of the show, the food. As I mentioned earlier, it is an all you can eat establishment, but I wasn't quite in the mood for over-indulging, nor was I wearing the proper pants for such an undertaking, and so I pulled my options from the take out menu and anxiously sought out a seat by the prep station...which wasn't there. In fact, as I stood and waited for my food to be ready I realized quickly that I was in the way of just about every service person on staff, there simply wasn't room for anyone who wasn't prepared for the dining room. Now, I don't mean to make this out to be a bigger deal than it is, but it certainly solidified the fact that W is a dine-in experience only, marketing itself solely on their all you can eat option, so keep that in mind if you're thinking of stopping by for any other reason; but I digress, back to the food itself.

I ordered an array of items from the list in front of me, shrimp, crab, tuna, cucumber rolls, a pretty fair spread of food on which to place my assessments. So how did it rank? Well, honestly speaking, where W failed with menu choice and atmosphere, it was able to make up with quality of product. Flavours were well balanced and fresh, presented cleanly and in proper portion sizes. From where I awkwardly stood I was able to observe the sushi masters prepared their fare for a crowd, and from what I saw their skills were impressive, sanitary, organized and meticulous, and, to put it simply, yes, I would eat there again.

But was the food preparation and flavour enough to take down the crown from Sushi Choice? To be honest, I would say it was the closest contender in terms of flavour, but it still wasn't enough to tip the scales; and the TV still has me perturbed for numerous reasons (Fergie? really?) If I am in the market again for a feast of never-ending sushi offerings, I can guarantee my return to W, it's certainly a fun place to go with friends or in a social group, in fact for that it ranks extremely high, and it isn't exactly rough on the pocket book either; but for me, on this journey that I only now realize can never truly end, Sushi Choice has defended its title with prowess, until the next contender enters the ring that is...

Happy eating Guelph.

Phil

W Sushi

235 Edinburgh Rd S

Guelph, On

Update

Hello happy readers, I just thought I should pop in and make a few announcements for the upcoming week. I realize it's been longer than usual since my last post and for that I do apologize, it has been a week of sad news and rough times in the life of this writer. However, looking forward into the next, short stretch of time, there is some excitement brewing within the city of Guelph.

First, Friday, January 22nd at the Dublin Street Church, The Sadies are playing what I am going to guarantee as an amazing set. Their folk/bluegrass/country/rock n' roll sound has been an anticipation for me since first hearing of this show over a month ago, and the venue only seems to lend itself to a wonderful sound; to check out their music and who these masters of folk really are, visit

http://www.thesadies.net/

Secondly, I've caught wind and picked up a menu for a new restaurant in town which has caused me to reopen the books and ignite old rivalries within The Locale. W Sushi on Edinburgh Rd S is another of the all you can eat establishments in this city, and folks, this writer is once again hungry for more sushi; can W take the crown? Stay tuned, we'll know soon enough.

Amongst these two exciting outings, there are some other events lined up that I will be pleased to share and review as January continues and February rolls in. I appreciate the patience in the delay between posts and can only promise you at this point that more is yet to come.

Until then, happy eating, happy travels.

Phil

Bocce

!!!

It would seem that three simple exclamation points is all that's necessary to describe the experience of seeing Bocce play live to a pumped up crowd. However, feeling as though the band deserves a more descriptive summation of the effects from their performance, I will do my best to share with you what happens when you are a part of the room during their show.

Try to imagine standing in a bar full of randomly scattered people, casually carrying about conversation, just as friends and strangers tend to do. The people are all content with their surroundings, there is music playing through the house speakers, Dr. Dre if I remember correctly, and while everyone is having fun with whatever it is they are wrapped up in for the moment, there is something else building in the air. While we wait around for what I've been told is a high energy show, I begin to wonder just what that could mean in this environment; no one at the moment seems too amped up or energetic, likely I'm going to lay witness to just another rock show, albeit a good one.

Suddenly and without warning that thin-spread gathering of people goes from scattered to crammed, heavy bass takes over where Dre once stood, your heart and chest are beating through your throat, there is a sudden aroma of a collective body odour meets cologne, perfume and beer, you're reflexes have you dancing, and there's a smile across your face that wont go away. That's how Bocce happened for me.

They are certainly not entirely what I expected. Despite having listened to their albums and myspace offerings, I had no idea it would have been presented in such a dramatically engaging way. Their sound is, well, it's energy infused with digital dance, heavy percussion, entertaining lyrics and catchy riffs. In one word, it's fun.

So, judging by the overcrowded room, their sound is obviously enough to grab a dedicated following, as well as attract new fans solely based on word of mouth; but who are these guys and where did they come from? Well, they hail from Waterloo, Ontario; Nik Must, Mike Bond, Ben Ong and Tony Salomone. Their setup consists of a whack of keyboards, physical and digital, a drum kit and vocals. Beyond that, however, there exists between them an infectious energy that gets people moving and hyped up, leaving us wanting more in the end.

With a few recorded releases under their belts, they have marketed themselves well amongst locals and, as mentioned earlier, have subsequently built for themselves a loyal fan base, including this reviewer and lover of well processed music.

I'd obviously recommend that you scope out their website and myspace pages for a taste of what I'm talking about, but, truth be told, you really need to experience Bocce in the flesh in order to appreciate who and what they are. Solid high rankings from this humble listener.

Keep an eye open for their upcoming and constant tour schedule and happy listening until the next time.

Cheers
-Phil

Bocce's myspace jams:

http://www.myspace.com/thebocce

Website:

http://www.kwbocceclub.com/