The magic of Poutine

Looks appetizing, no?

Poutine, not to be confused with Putin, is another recently discovered favorite of Kristi's. Poutine is a French-Canadian dish consisting of French fries, gravy and soft cheese curds. (See Wikipedia's entry.)

The Burger King in Montreal had a poutine option on their menu. We had to wade through a bit of French to get the order to the cashier. Our poutine was packaged in the same type of styrofoam carton as what is pictured. Actually this photo is a very accurate representation of what we received from BK. The white on top is the soft cheese curd. The texture is something like a deep fried cheese curd but not as rubbery. The gravy is a simple brown gravy - fairly nondescript. The only thing that has any nutritional value is the fry (if the potato skin is left on).

Don't be too surprised if you some Poutine at a dinner party sometime this year. 

Donut Conclusion

After two weeks of Tim Horton's, Dunkin Donuts and Robin's Donuts we (Kristi and I) have definitive opinions about the whole donut thing.

1. Canadians and East Coaster have a serious problem with the donut business. Either they don't know or don't care about the health implications of a steady diet of these babies. Maybe Supersize Me hasn't been translated into Canadian.

2. Donunts have zero fiber content. Eat wallpaper paste and you intestines will like you better than eating a diet of donuts. Two steady days of Dulcolax wasn't enough med to break through the problem. A third day using Exlax was enough to punch through.

3. Who tastes better? As far as donuts go, everyone must be buying their donuts from the same supplier. None really tasted different. They were sort of interchangeable. Sad to say but true. A winner can't be named. Coffee, supposedly the big point of difference between the chains was an even bigger disappointment. Everyone had a muddy, somewhat burned light roast.  Coffee shops have nothing to fear from a donut chain invasion. Without a doubt Second Moon has unbeatable coffee.

I'm going to go back over our route and see if I can track each and every place that Kristi had a maple donut. If I'm ever in trouble (as most husbands are prone to at one point or another) a six pack of maple donuts is going to get me back in good graces much faster than flowers. I really hope that Tim Horton has an online delivery option.

Tough morning for the girl

There is a little "he said, she said" to this story. The last night in PEI was Tuesday. We wanted to get a good start to Boston on Wednesday morning so we wanted a good night of sleep. All of the suitcases were packed prior to going to bed. We were all set for a fast start in the morning.

About 4 a.m. all of the sudden I heard Kristi yell out...

Photos of the big day

Thanks Spencer for the great photography. Just a small sample of what he shot. Lots more on the way. There are more at his blog...

Morning in Boston

Driving in Boston isn't all that bad. It's the parking that's brutal. We took I-93 into Boston and managed to park in the Massachusetts Ear and Eye Infirmary. Somehow we managed to find the Freedom Trail and see most of the Boston historical sites. Once we got to the Old North Church we bailed out and headed to the car. $20 of parking was a cheap price for what we got to see.

Great Italian section in Boston near the Old North Church. If we had more time we would have sampled the food. All we have to show for our day in Boston is to packages of gnocchi. It will be a tasty reminder.

Boston roads did get a little tricky as we tried to find our way to Harvard. After stumbling across MIT we eventually found the campus and walked around for a little bit. Much smaller campus than I expected.

By 3:30 we were on the Mass Turnpike headed west to Albany. Holiday Inn is our destination. ...only the best for my gal.

Lobster dinner

OK the Glasgow lobster dinner doesn't have any church significance. It
is a fundraiser for the local fire department. Regardless, this dinner
pushed Kristi to the edge. I ate the plate of steamed muscles by
myself. She tried the lobster but decided to stick with her roast beef.

Two days earlier she tried clam strips and liked them. She has done
really well with the various seafood. I'm proud of her.

Kristi will be telling about the spousal abuse she experienced. Look
for the video blog soon.

On I-95...somewhere in Maine.

Kurt

Green Gables - Mecca for pre-teen girls

At the heart of Avonlea lies Green Gables. Our hajj takes us from Minneapolis to the farthest shores of Canada's Prince Edward Island. The parallels are strong - Avonlea is Mecca. Green Gables is the Grand Mosque. All around us are little 11, 12 and 13 year old pilgrims donning locks of red braided hair. "Anne" is spoken in hushed tones with great excitement. The mere sight of Green Gables is enough to bring some to tears.

I warned Kristi that she may have a "Huh..." moment. (We have all experienced these moments. It is that moment where years of built up expectation and anticipation meet reality. In your mind you contend with incongruent thoughts. What should be, is not. What is, should be not.)

Kristi's anticipation of Green Gables meets reality... Need I say more?

 

Donut Conspiracy

Sudbury, Ontario - The morning of the second day we left our swanky Comfort Inn and ventured across the street to what is reputed to be Canada's morning destination - Tim Horton's. Each off-ramp, intersection and gas station boast a Tim Horton's. Clearly this is part of the official food pyramid published by the Canadian government.

Expectations are high (thanks in large part to rave reviews by Gordon Crouch). 

Kristi is really diggin' the donut thing.

Rumor has it that Tim Horton's has better coffee than Dunkin' Donuts. That debate will be settled on Tuesday when we get into Maine. So far the verdict on T.H. coffee is mixed. No cafelatte to be found. As one Canadian put it, "We don't sell that fancy coffee here." We have travelled 1400 k.m. and haven't found a place that made a latte until we got to Charlottetown, PE.

A new entrant in the donut competition has emerged: Robin's Donuts. The first assessment - better donuts and far better coffee. More research needed...

Trans-Can Highway

Route 17 is our highway to Sudbury. From all appearances, this is one of the big highways in the country. Most of the road is two lanes and 80-90 kph. (About 55-60). An hour into Canada and we have several observations:

1. Is this really the main artery from east to west? It is only two lanes!
2. Nobody must want to drive across Canada. There are not many cars. It is fairly easy to pass people.
3. The posted speed is more of a suggestion than a limit. A posting of 90 kph basically means that people drive about 120. Starting to wonder if kilometer per hour is an actual measurement of speed or just made up.
4. There is no crime in Canada because we have seen no cops. Anywhere... At all... This may partially explain #3 above.
5. Red squares. Yellow diamonds. Green circles. Stop lights use shapes and colors. Smart...very smart.

On the Road to Canada- Day 1

Lots of driving today. Made it from Stillwater to Sudbury Ontario. On the road from 7:10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Bio breaks kept to a minimum.

Cut across Wisconsin just north of Wausau taking the state highways and avoiding I-94. All of the little towns are a blur. I do remember driving through one town in WI that has a Jenne-0 turkey plant. The names of these places are just dots on the map.

The cooler is packed with bing cherries, grapes, summer sausage, string cheese and a couple bottles of water. (There is a bottle of wine...but don't tell the Canadians at the boarder crossing. I'm not sure if we packed a bottle opener so we may be returning with a full bottle.)

Sault St Marie is the entry point into Canada. The first near fight is about exchanging money. Kristi wants to stop immediately at the money changer just at the border. I think that we are going to get nailed by fees and want to wait to exchange at a hotel further inland. Practicing the skills learned in premarital counseling I respond, "Yes dear" and pull over. (We got nailed by a 5% fee. (I didn't say "I told you so.") The cash is going to come in handy...

Stop food dinner at "Charly's" in St Saint Marie.

On to Sudbury for the first night. 2.5 more hours of driving...