Pants

It’s summer!

At least, it’s supposed to be.

For the last quarter of my life, summer meant working at a water park. Summer meant suffocating heat and eyebrow-raising tan lines. It meant throwing on a red tank top and watching kids splash around a pool.

It meant beer.

And good food.

This summer – if you choose to call it that – has been different.

This summer, I’m spending 40 hours a week in an office.

An office.

This summer, I’m not rolling out of bed, into my car, and over to my work station in one disoriented motion.

This summer, I’m wearing pants.

My new job is hella fun, but I miss those splashing kids.

I’m grown-up now. Or, at least, I spend all day pretending to be. I put on my pants and a shirt that’s too hot and I somersault from meeting to meeting.

I really am thankful for the chance to do some communications work for such an enormous company, but every time I sit in my grey cubicle and stare at my Microsoft Outlook inbox, I realize those splashing kids are gone.

Well, they’re not gone.

I am.

I’m not going to be a lifeguard again. I’m not going to teach another swimming class. I’m not going to play Duck Duck Goose or London Bridge while crouching in two feet of water. I’m not going to blow bubbles and pretend to talk to sharks.

I’m going to be a real live actual totally-not-made-up adult. With, like, a beard and everything.

What.

9 months of school. Then I’m done. Then it’s just beards and meetings and Microsoft Outlook.

It’s weird, but it’s also exciting.

I may not get to suffocate in the heat or raise any eyebrows with my tan lines this summer, but I can do so much more.

Exempli gratia: I made a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich.

It was very adult.

My mom helped.

Here’s the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich that I made:

Impressions: The cheese sauce was too thin. The bun was soft, but boring, and only dulled the spiciness of the steak. In the end, I think I made a decent sammy. My mom did alright.

What made it: The onions. The caramelized mix of spanish and white onions was sweet, crunchy, and gentle all at once. The onion drippings flowed through the sandwich, covering the steak and peppers in sweet, earthy love.

 

Liondogs

My first experience at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity was not what I expected.  Yes.  It was a film reel of award-winning advertisements, but:

I saw advertisements from years ago (apparently Winnipeg is behind the times).

I saw advertisements for Lady Gaga.

I bought a ticket in advance, but met no one who asked to see or rip or scan or look at it.

It was not what I expected.

Still, it was awesome.  The most talked about ad that night was Toshiba and Intel’s The Beauty Inside film.  Shown in approximately 4 000 episodes, the 10 000 minute film told the story of Alex, who wakes up in a new body every morning.

While the audience (including me) groaned before each new episode, I wondered how I’d feel if I saw this film somewhere else.  I wonder how I’d feel if I saw it at a movie theatre, or on YouTube.

I wonder how I’d feel if no one told me it was an ad.

Watch it, if you’ve got a free couple days, and let me know what you think of it.  Is it advertising?  Is it content?  Is it both?

Before the screening, I visited the Yellow Dog Tavern on Donald Street.  You should go.  Before anything.  After anything.  Whenever.

Here’s what I had at the Yellow Dog Tavern:

Philly Cheese Steak Panini:  steak strips grilled to perfection topped with sauteed onions, peppers, cheese & white wine peppercorn sauce on an Italian panini.  $11.00

Impressions:  Loaded with impressive chunks of steak.  I’ve found steak sandwiches to have either one long plank of meat resembling cardboard (Fox and Fiddle) OR a thin layer of shaved ‘steak.’  The Yellow Dog Tavern is leaps and bounds ahead of others I’ve had in the city. The sauteed onions and peppers were few but gave the sandwich a sweet crunch.  The sandwich comes with a choice of salad or homemade kettle-cooked potato chips.  Get the chips.  You also get a small cup of french onion dip, complete with sweet shreds of onion.

What made it? White wine peppercorn sauce.  This savoury and sweet sauce was the perfect creamy contrast to the crunchy bread.  Thicker than other peppercorn sauces, this brings the rest of the sandwich together perfectly.

Manypeople

If you haven’t been to ManyFest yet, go.

Why? Food Truck Wars. You can read about the whole event here, but I went only to visit some of Winnipeg’s best food trucks – all on one street.

So, if you haven’t been to ManyFest yet, go.

(Tonight is the last night)

Tickets could be purchased, for 2$, to try the sample item at each of the food trucks and then vote for the street food you liked best. I got to Broadway ready to eat. The plan was to try every sandwich-ish option available and write a comprehensive guide to eating at ManyFest.

So, I found the shortest line and began waiting in front of On A Roll Sandwich Truck.

Two hours and twenty-one minutes later I had a sandwich in my hand. An hour before that I had decided that visiting one food truck was enough. There were too many people at ManyFest.

There were only 12 trucks attempting to feed the thousands that visited the festival. Bartley Kives wrote a great piece for the Winnipeg Free Press about the laws limiting food trucks in Winnipeg that might explain the shortage of creative street food in the city.

Here’s what I got from On A Roll Sandwich Truck:

Caribbean Jerk Chicken: Marinated Jerk Chicken, bell peppers, sweet onion, mixed greens, avocado, tomato, & pineapple cream cheese on a toasted baguette. $9.00

Impressions: I’m not sure if it was because I ordered near the end of the night, but my sandwich had no avocados. But, supply shortage or forgetful chef, this sandwich rocked. The bread was toasted, but soft enough to keep the fillings inside and my hands clean. On A Roll wasn’t shy about their chicken, each bite was full of the chunky pieces.

What Made it? Pineapple cream cheese. This sweet and creamy spread balances the spiciness of the chicken. I’d probably enjoy a slice of old bread with that cream cheese.

Yes, I had two sandwiches.

Thai Shrimp Po Boy: Thai breaded shrimp served with tomato, coleslaw, sriracha mayo, & cilantro on a toasted baguette. $9.00

Impressions: Big Shrimp. Each half of the baguette housed four jumbo shrimp covered in a crispy deep-fried crust. The sriracha mayo was slightly disappointing – undetectable in the sandwich and heatless on its own. The cool coleslaw and sizzling shrimp made for some exciting bites. A Po Boy is a traditional Louisiana submarine sandwich.

What made it? Thai breading. Whatever Thai breading is, it’s good. The crunch gave a texture to the sandwich the Jerk Chicken couldn’t compare with.

Luckily, On A Roll managed to stay open past 7:30 pm. Some other trucks did not…

And my favourite: