A Pioneer on How Not to Serve Tim Hortons

On my way eastward I stopped in for a mid morning snack to the Tim Hortons at the Pioneer Gas Station (631 Industrial Avenue, Ottawa). 

This Tim Hortons location is conveniently located near the Ottawa Train Yards shopping complex for those driving and need gas and perhaps a snack or caffeine fix. 

I arrived to the gas station and found the counter in the main building. On the way in I noted about three Tim Hortons employees working the counter and drive thru. 

I stood at one of the cashes waiting for service next to the display filled with the usual Tim Hortons bagels and donuts.  Nobody came over.  One employee was working the drive thru and another the bakery.  Nothing.  I backed up to see what was going on and realized the other cash was open and an employee was there. Somehow I missed the other cash being open when I walked in but the employee was not standing there either.  Not sure where she came from. Anyway, she was ready to take my order. 

The Order: 1 Medium Black Coffee and 1 Boston Cream Donut.

She poured my coffee, I paid, gave me the donut and I left. 

On the way out, I tried opening the donut.  The chocolate top on the Boston Cream was now melded to a napkin on the inside of the bag.  In ended up losing half the chocolate to the napkin.  It was interesting trying to separate the now stuck napkin without leaving paper fibres behind.

The coffee though was Tim Hortons perfection.  Just as you would expect at any other Tim Hortons in Ontario. 

Overall, the staff need to learn how to serve a basic donut.  Use the wax paper instead of the napkin.  The coffee though was pretty good especially for a gas station.  I may return in the future, but so far am not impressed.

Almost Awesome A&W

Friday for lunch, after enjoying some Suzy Q donuts, I took OC Transpo's Route 2 downtown to visit the Rideau Centre Food Court.

Upon entering the Food Court at 11:15 A.M., I noticed it was just starting to get busy for the Friday lunch rush.

I ventured over to the A & W (50 Rideau Street, Ottawa) and immediately placed my order.

The Order: 1 Teen Burger Combo (Teen Burger, Medium Fries and a A&W Root Beer).

Service was great with two employees taking order and one filling them as they came out of the kitchen.  They worked like clockwork serving up the food meaning I was ordering to picking up my food in two minutes flat.  Pretty impressive for a fast food burger joint where sometimes the teenage employees in robes stand their dumbfounded as to what you want.  Not here though, they ask what you wish and give it to you.

The only quarrel I have, like the last A&W I visited, is the price.  $9.50 including taxes seems a little much for a Teen Burger Combo.  McDonald's can make a  Big Mac Meal for seven and change while A&W can't remove one burger paddy and add bacon for the same price?  Really?

I found an empty table, dropped off my tray, undid my jacket and prepared for the meal.

The Teen Burger was interestingly perfect!  The old school Teen Burger with just the right amount of tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise  bacon and of course the usual burger paddy.  The right consistency and good temperature.

The fries were hot and were a little more flavorful.  Perhaps they added a little more salt?  Not sure but they definitely didn't taste like cardboard like the cardboard served at A&W at St. Laurent Mall.  

The A&W Root Beer though was still smaller than a McDonald's medium sized soft drink. As well the A&W Root Beer, as usual didn't have any ice.  The A&W Root Beer is supposedly put through chilled tubing.  But this tubing quite frankly doesn't adequately substitute for the coldness of ice.  

Overall, this A&W is a step up from the St. Laurent location.  Service was prompt and efficient while the food was better prepared.  It actually seemed like the employees wanted to be there to serve you with a smile.  The only issue, presumably emanating from head office, is the rationing of the ketchup packets to only two per set of fries and two napkins.  Seems like customers are being treated as inmates at a prison and can't be trusted with the condiments and napkins.  Too bad really, A&W finally nailed the Teen Burger and Fries but stumbled on pricing and stinginess on the condiments.

More Adventures at Winterlude 2013

Bear with Fish Ice Sculpture at Ottawa City Hall

This is the second of three weekends of Winterlude 2013 in Ottawa.  Despite the heavy snowfall on Friday, people were out in droves trudging through the snow or enjoying the Rideau Canal Skateway.

My wife and I revisited the Crystal Garden at Confederation Park to see how the results from ice sculpting competition from last weekend turned out.  Overall there were about twelve ice sculptures of which I was able to take the photos below.  Others were hard to get to because of the number of people.  Interestingly these ice sculptures are lit up at night to provide a different ambiance.

Across the street, at Ottawa City Hall, there was figure skating on the Rink of Dreams.  Where young figure skaters wowed the crowd with their choreographed jumps and other movements.

We have pretty well seen everything now for Winterlude 2013 and still have a weekend to go.  Next weekend will be the busiest as it is the long Family Day Weekend in Ottawa.  Hopefully the ice sculptures and snow slides will make it through the rise in temperature to 5 degrees Celsius on Monday with sunshine so everyone else can enjoy!

One Suzy Q of a Donut

Today as a treat, and a challenge in the snowstorm, I headed over to SuzyQ Donuts (991 Wellington Street West, Ottawa) to check out one of Ottawa's most recommended baked goods stores.  Even my cousin has recommended this Ottawa Donut Shop to me.

Donut Shop?  Yes, it is a donut shop but not your typical Tim Hortons, it is a gourmet donut shop with interesting flavoured donuts that are downright delicious.

I visited at 10:00 A.M. to find the parking lot full of cars.  I entered the small store, past the "Top Urbanspoon.com Restaurant of 2012" sticker, to find a family of three ordering two of almost every donut in the place.  But thank goodness there were more fresh donuts arriving as I waited.   I was next, and once the family left with at least a dozen donuts I was good to go.

The Order: 1 Dirty Chocolate Donut & 1  Cinnamon Toast Donut

Each donut is $2.00 plus tax each and were neatly individually bagged.  I paid and left.  I had no choice but to leave as there is no seating in the place.  In fact the store is so small there is hardly room for more than four or five customers in the store.

The Dirty Chocolate tasted like delicious dark belgian chocolate with a hint of donut taste.  My wife, who doesn't like donuts,  would love this one.  Too bad I went with our her today, she will be jealous. 

The Cinnamon Toast Donut tasted like a deliciously freshly baked Cinnamon Roll with a couple of cornflake like pieces of cereal on top.  

Overall Suzy Q could do with a move to a more Tim Hortons style location to allow customers to purchase coffee and a few donuts to eat.  The donuts though do stand on their own.  Sure they cost way more than a Tim Hortons donut but these are gourmet donuts that are carefully made by hand freshly on site.  It is worth the cost and the trip to this recommended local Ottawa institution.

Don't Give the Southern Keys to this McDonald's

On Wednesday for lunch I found myself at South Keys Shopping Centre.  I was obviously hungry eying a couple of restaurants while standing in the parking lot.  Would it be a return to Denny's for lunch? No, last time's breakfast was only mediocre.   Kelsey's?  Nope, a little expensive for a quick bite.  Where to go in a Wal-Mart anchored plaza.  McDonald's (2210 Bank Street, Ottawa) of course for a Big Mac Meal!

I visited the McDonald's in the Wal-Mart to get in a medium length line.  Watched as two McDonald's managers impressively tag teamed the line using two cashes but also fetching food for each other's trays.  I was up to the counter to place my order in about two minutes. 

I placed my simple classic McDonald's order...

The Order: 1 Big Mac Meal (Big Mac, Medium Fries and a Medium Coke)

There was a short wait for the fries to finish (of course, why is it always the fries?) but the manager let them finish, scooped them up and dropped off 3 sets of fries on the two trays and I was off. 

The fries were subpar.  Not sure if they were cooked long enough as they were soft and slightly paler than the golden brown McDonald's normally provides. 

The Big Mac also was not up to standard. The top portion was fine with the usual secret sauce and top paddy.  The bottom though was dryer than a Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H Martini:

""I'd like a dry martini, Mr. Kwak. A very dry martini. A very dry, arrid, barren, desiccated, veritable dustbowel of a martini. I want a martini than can be declared a disaster area. Mix me just such a martini."

Yes the burger paddie was dry, it was like it had been cooked and, driven to an Arizona desert and shipped back.  Not sure how this happenned but it was raunch and I'm surprised Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson didn't show up at the opening of the Big Mac container to declare a City of Ottawa Emergency.

I finished up and moved on with my life.  Not sure how the Big Mac's and fries at McDonald's could be so bad, added to the fact, the entire meal was $7.90 including taxes.  What a travesty!

Adventures at Winterlude 2013

On Friday evening and Saturday my wife and I set out to explore the events of the 2013 edition of Ottawa's Winterlude Festival.

We started out on Friday after dinner at Ottawa's City Hall to see set up for the opening ceremonies.

 

 Across the street in Confederation Park the Crystal Garden filled with ice sculptures beckoned.  The sculptures around the fountain were complete with lighting being adjusted.  The other larger pieces were being unwrapped after a warm Wednesday and Thursday and lights also adjusted.  As well, professional carvers from around the world were starting work on large ice sculptures.  All ice sculptures have to be complete by noon on Sunday ready for judging.

 

I will return during the week to see the finished larger sculptures because, as expected, the large ice sculptures were croweded with people.  

 

On Saturday my wife and I returned for a short walk through of Confederation Park and to take the "Bus-O-Neige" to Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau Quebec. 

 

We looked at two unwrapped ice sculptures ready to go of a Polar Bear and heard of Muskox

 

 



Jacques Cartier Park's Winterlude Snowflake Kingdom was filled with people, snow sculptures and snow slides! 

Upon entering Jacques Cartier Park we were greated by a huge snow sculpture.

We wandered around the Snowflake Kingdom and watched the lengthy lines at various snow slides.  The park was a bustling place filled with snow based activities!

We decided to try out a snowslide and waited in line for a group one.  Less than five minutes later we were up the top of the snow slide awaiting our turn.  Snow slides at Jacques Cartier Park are mounds of snow built up, carved out and flooded with water to make them icey slippery. 

We tried one group slide where you link arms with someome else.  A quarter of the way down I was going to fast and had to let go.  I ended up ensuring the crowd watching at the bottom was well enough back as I shot across the bottom of the slide past where the ice stopped.

We ventured further around the park to happen upon another snow sculpture near another set of snow slides.

We reviewed the military display and the Algonquin First Nations displays then happenned upon a snow sculpture in progress of being carved.

One of my favourite views of the National Capital Region is from Jacques Cartier Park overlooking the Ottawa River. 

After visiting Jacques Cartier Park we boarded the "Bus-O-Neige" and returned to Ottawa's City Hall. 

Upon our return a busker had taken to entertain the crowds on his obnoxiously large musical bicycle.

 

 Together we had a couple of good days exploring the 2013 edition of Winterlude.  There will of course be more adventures as Winterlude continues for the next two weekends as well the 7.8 Kilometre Rideau Canal Skateway continues to be open for as much skating as anyone can handle. 

 

Winterlude is one of the many reasons I've come to love living in Ottawa.

Mediocre Pizza Boyz

For lunch today I visited Pizza Boyz (1577 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa).  I checked out their lacklustre website with only their latest flyer uploaded, took a gander and visited the Alta Vista Plaza to place the order in person. 

When I visited at 11:45 A.M. there was one person in the store making the pizzas.  He welcomed me and inquired what my order was.  I placed my order as he worked away.

The Order: 1 Medium Pepperoni Pizza (12" pizza). 

He said it would be 15 minutes.  I replied, so about noon it will be ready?  He looked at me quizzically.  I explained it was about 11:45 A.M. so 15 minutes would be about noon.  He nodded his head. 

When ordering pizza and receiving a time the pizza will be ready (i.e. will be ready in 15 minutes) I like to reiterate the time that meal can be expected.  This ensures that the employee doesn't lose track of time and forget the order.  They also know that they have agreed that my order should be ready for around noon. 

I visited the nearby Tim Hortons to grab a coffee and then return to get the pizza. 

Upon my return, it was 11:55 A.M. so I grabbed a newspaper from the window sill and started reading.  At 12:05 P.M. I got up as a couple of guys came in to look over the menu for lunch.  Another Pizza Boyz employee had arrived to help out with what looked to be the start of the lunch rush. 

The original employee brought out my pizza in a plain white non descript box.  I waited as he rang another customer through and then I paid $15.80 (including taxes) and headed home. 



Pizza Boyz Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza

After arriving home I opened the box to find a smallish medium sized pizza. Admittedly it looked about 12" though true to Pizza Boyz's advertising. But I was left wondering how a 12" plain pepperoni pizza could cost $15.80 when the chains can do the same thing for $9.00 to $10.99 before taxes?

Added to this pricing issue, I could barely spot the pepperoni slices on the pizza.  The pepperoni appeared to buried in the cheese.  Most regular Pepperoni pizzas form other pizza parlours have the pepperoni slices on top of the cheese.  Was Pizza Boyz trying to hid the pepperoni for some reason?  Only one way to find out, taste it.



Pizza Boyz Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza

The pizza tasted like any other pepperoni pizza you would eat from the chains.  Nothing fresh or special about the crust or toppings.  In fact I was hard pressed to find the pepperoni slices on the pizza.  As far as I could tell the pepperoni slices were only placed around the outside edge of the pizza just before the crust and were not present closer to the middle of the pizza.  The cheese itself was also just average run-of-the-mill pizza cheese.

With the above in mind, why was the Pizza $15.80 including taxes?  I'm not sure. 

Overall, Pizza Boyz is an overpriced average pizza parlour.  For the price paid, I expected a pizza that a little closer to the gourmet stylings of Abruzzo Pizza in Richmond Hill.  Instead, I got an small sized average tasting pizza that costs $3 to $4 over the average price served by the local chains.  I will have to try somewhere else to find a decent slice.