Haggis!

I have a great love for sausage (real sausage, stay out of the gutter).  It has not been overly documented on this blog, though I have talked about blood sausage.  Once of my favorite hardcore sausages.  It frightens people, but really its a good sausage that is some times spicy and always delightful.  This particular kind of sausage is often referred to as blood pudding (the Brits have weird ideas about pudding . . . be careful what you order).  Haggis is like blood pudding even scarier cousin.  Not to me personally, but to many many people.  Why is this?  Many people don't know whats in it but that scary Scot word sounds worse than blood. 

Doesn't that look great!

What is is is a sausage made of sheep's heart, liver and lungs, minced onion, oatmeal, suet, and spices.  Usually it is cased in sheep's stomach.  She not so scary right.  Heart and liver are both pretty good on their own.  I generally avoid the lungs ans I stay away from mostly gray tissues, but it is all ground up so its fine.  I did enjoy the haggis with my breakfast when I was in Scotland.  By why post about it today?  The Haggis adventure of course.

Its a pretty classy hut . . .

So, in honor of my friend making it back to Edmonton we are going to the The Bothy Wine and Whiskey Bar. I don't drink, but I do like Haggis! The haggis was great.  In fact, the food was all fantastic I would definitely recommend the place.  Absolutely fantastic.

Tim Hortons As Canadian as Tim Hortons

If your not from Canada, you've most likely never heard of Tim Hortons.  If your a non-Canadian in Canada a Canadian will eventual ask you how often you go when your in the States.  When you reply we don't have Tim Hortons, they will recoil from you in horror. Egad, what do you do for donuts and coffee? There are a multitude of responses to this all of which will earn you a despondent head shake and a your country must be very barren. 

No Tim Hortons as far as the eye can see . . .

Now, I bring this up for a specific reason.  I went in to the City Centre Mall today to get my hair done at 9:30 am . . . today is Saturday and the mall shops don't open until 10:00am.  Starbucks has 5 or so people as did all the assorted cafes on my way up to the 2nd floor.  I was a bit early as my appointment was at 10 so I decided to search for chairs (all had been removed . . . no resting in the city Centre mall).  Then I got to the Tim Hortons, with its line of 25 people.  Yes, 25.  I wasted 20 minutes and walked back past Time Hortons . . . still 25 people in line.

They all look like this, more or less . . .

Tim Hortons always has a line.  Its worse than the Starbucks epidemic in the US. Why is it so popular you ask.  Good Question.   Time Hortons was founded by Tim Horton.  I know he was very original in the naming department.  Tim is a professional hockey player. I know you kind of get why they love it already right.  He is a very good hockey player who new that eventual he'd need a different income and I guess he liked donuts.  The legend goes, and this is why the Canadians feel the Tim Hortons is a necessity, that he started his donut and coffee business so that all the Moms (and Dads too presumably) who had to get up at crazy in the morning to bring their children in for open rink time to hone their hockey skills would be as perky and alert as possible.  Its a good story right. Its sweet like Canadians.

The Canadian Maple = best donuts in the world

*(For Tim Hortons in the US you can go to Kentucky, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.  Note - Tim Hortons only in a few actual cities.)

Nakashima of Japan

I went home for my cousin's wedding this weekend.  It was a really nice wedding.  My parents also brought me out for a celebrator (for my comps) dinner at Nakashima of Japan in Green Bay.  Its a nice Japanese style steak house.  I always enjoy going to places like that its like dinner prepared by a busker.  Who wouldn't like that?  The meal was good, but there was two highlights - the bathroom and the decor.

So, in the bathroom they had fancy techy japanese heated toilets!

Don't touch the buttons!

So, the buttons on the right there control the heat but also have a bidet features etc.  I warned my mother not to touch the buttons on the side . . . needless to say there was a scream and then a sigh of "Oh." 

Another highlight was that the whole place was decorated with ninjas! They were popping out of everywhere!  it was great!

Haha!

This guy is perched above the door to the woman's restroom . . . not creepy at all.

* the photos are bad as I took them with my phone, forgive me.