What I Thought of It

McDonald’s, Glenmore Landing
1600 90 Ave SW (see map)
Calgary AB  T2V 5A8
Phone: 403 258 3311

At lunch time I found myself in a part of the city I’d never been to before. When I spotted the twin golden arches they looked foreign but familiar at the same time, so I settled on McDonald’s for lunch.

The McDonald’s at Glenmore Landing is either new or recently made-over. It had fresh decor and lots of seating, with the more modern and increasingly more common leather seats. It’s too bad that they only had a few four-person tables. These larger tables have more room for reading the paper while doing lunch.

My server was extremely friendly and eager to get everything done as quickly as possible.

The food was prepared well up to McDonald’s standards.

Last thoughts: I don’t know when I’ll be on this side of town again, but if it happens to be around lunch time then this McDonald’s in SW Calgary is a great option. The people are nice, the food is good, and the ambiance is quite pleasant.

Food ++++
Service ++++
Ambiance ++++
Washrooms ++++

Find McDonald’s, Glenmore Landing on the map.

After the movie Are We There Yet?, Nick Peterson (Ice Cube) marries Suzanne (Nia Long), and they decide to live in Nick’s little bachelor apartment. Of course, it’s not big enough for two grown-ups, two kids, and a dog, so they go house-hunting.

They find a great-looking house in the country, and after negotiating with real estate agent Chuck (John C. McGinley) they get the house.

The problems begin after they move in. The house is not in the great condition they were led to believe, so they start looking for a contractor. Surprise, surprise - Chuck is also a contractor, as well as many other things.

From this point on, Are We Done Yet? evolves into a crazy funny movie involving lots of pain and suffering for poor Nick.

Last thoughts: Are We Done Yet? is definitely a better movie than the prequel Are We There Yet?. If you’re up for a good laugh (or many good laughs) and don’t want to think too much, then get yourself a copy of Are We Done Yet? and enjoy the wild and wacky moments it has to offer.

Genre: Comedy
Length: 92 min
Rating: PG
Story +++
Cast ++++
Humor ++++

Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe
717 Main St (see map)
Canmore AB  T1W 2B2
Phone: 403 678 9311

Walking along Main Street in Canmore is a refreshing experience. You’ll discover more and better shopping choices than, for instance, the better-known Banff. The little mountain town of Canmore can really impress you if you give it a chance. One of the little shops you should stop in is the Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe.

As hinted in the name, the Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe is no ordinary candy shop. Here you’ll find special candies beyond anything a grocery store would ever carry. I spotted old-fashioned candies, candy imported from foreign countries, and mountain favorites like Bear Paws (chocolate treats with cashew “claws”).

As the name promises, the Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe has an old-time ambiance. It’s a tiny space with old wooden floors and shelves chock-full of merchandise. There is everything from long rows of bulk candy bins to a fun selection of PEZ dispensers. The store is so small that even the ceiling is packed with posters.

On a busy shopping day like Saturday, expect this candy shop to be swarming with people, and don’t be surprised to see kids peeking in through the window (as captured in the photo).

The Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe is not the only one of its kind in the Rockies. Lake Louise and Radium each has a sister store, so visit any one of the three to feed your candy cravings.

Last thoughts: The Old Tyme Candy Shoppe is one of my favorite haunts in Canmore. You must pay a visit to this little candy store. You’ll find the newest sweet concoctions as well as your favorite treats from childhood.

Product Range +++++
Service +++
Ambiance ++++
Tidiness ++++

Find Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe on the map.

Bonneville is a movie about the newly widowed Arvilla Holden (Jesssica Lange), who clashes head-on with her stepdaughter about where to place the (ashy) remains of her husband. When she faces losing her house if she does not bring the ashes back to Santa Barbara - where her husband lived before they married - she decides to “kidnap” her two best friends (Kathy Bates, Joan Allen) for a road trip in a vintage ‘66 Bonneville convertible, all the way from Idaho to Santa Barbara.

The trip brings a string of exciting on-the-road adventures for this trio. The stunning landscapes will lure you to go on a road trip yourself.

Last thoughts: Bonneville is not a typical movie - it will appeal to an older crowd because of the lead actresses - but it’s great to enjoy on a cold winter night. Sink into the couch with some comfort food and join these spunky women on their adventure of a lifetime.

Genre: Comedy, Drama
Length: 93 min
Rating: PG
Story ++++
Cast ++++
Humor ++++

The Grizzly Paw Pub Restaurant
622 Main St
Canmore AB  T1W 2B5
Phone: 403 678 9983
www.thegrizzlypaw.com

Most people stopping in Canmore don’t bother to go farther than the strip next to the highway, which means that if you’re hungry you’ll be stuck with one of the fast-food options.

But if you drive a couple more minutes into town and get onto Main Street, you’ll notice that Canmore has more to offer than the usual fast-food franchises.

Today I dropped in at The Grizzly Paw around 3 pm for lunch/dinner. The Grizzly Paw is a 3-in-1 - pub, restaurant, and brewery - and also has a retail storefront selling Grizzly Paw merchandise, such as beer steins and Grizzly Paw soda.

This establishment has a downstairs pub-restaurant and an upstairs restaurant. I did not go upstairs so I can’t tell you how it differs from downstairs.

Downstairs, The Grizzly Paw was decorated in light-colored wood and bustling with a friendly, neighborhood-watering-hole vibe. I was seated at a small table next to the front-facing windows with a view of the outdoor patio, which had a working fireplace but was closed on this winter day.

The Grizzly Paw menu boasts a decent variety of choices, including the usual pub fare. To start, I had the Beer and Cheese Chowder, which came with bread. The chowder was very cheesy with a nice hint of flavor from the beer, though the bread was not so fresh. I ended up dipping most of the bread in chowder and enjoyed that very much.

Those hungering for a burger will get to choose from four different patties (beef, bison, chicken, vegetarian). The patty of choice must then be paired with one of five different burger styles. I chose bison on a regular Canadian burger with cheese and bacon. Each burger style comes with fries or salad or both, where “both” means a smaller portion of each for the same price. I went for both and was impressed to get generous amounts of fries and salad.

The salad was a choice between Caesar and Granny Bee’s Mountain Roughage (the house specialty). I chose the latter and would highly recommend it. It had hard-boiled eggs, red beets, cucumbers, carrots, and lettuce. The ingredients were fresh and perfectly enhanced with the right amount of sweet dressing.

The bison burger looked great, with the bacon snuggled next to the bison patty and a delicious-looking piece of cheese melted on top, complemented by fresh lettuce, tomato, and onions. I prefer some kind of sauce on the bottom, but this burger did not have it, so I made do with some ketchup.

Taste-wise, all I can say is that you really have to try this burger, because you will rarely get one this good in any restaurant.

The service was adequate but not great. My server went through the motions but could have shown a little more interest in my dining experience. It could be blamed on the workload, since the place was packed even in that mid-afternoon time slot, but it’s something that needs work.

My bill came with a coupon for 10% off any purchase from the retail store (just steps away, across the alleyway), which must be used within 24 hours.

Last thoughts: Visiting The Grizzly Paw for lunch was a decision that left me happy and satisfied. The food was impressive for a restaurant in this price range. I would not hesitate to go back the next time I’m in Canmore.

Food +++++
Service +++
Ambiance ++++
Washrooms ++++

The Lake House is about Dr. Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock), who leaves her rented home on the lake to move to Chicago. Before moving out, she leaves a letter for the new tenant, architect Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves), asking him to forward her mail.

But then strange things happen, and Kate’s dog ends up going back and forth between Alex and Kate. They exchange many letters and, as a result, a romance develops.

I won’t say much more, because that would reveal major plot points and ruin your enjoyment of this unusual story.

Last thought: The Lake House is a great movie with a highly original premise, one that doesn’t appear to be based on a true story or a tired Hollywood formula. If you appreciate good drama and a bit of romance, then you MUST experience The Lake House and come back to let us know what you thought of it.

Genre: Romance, Drama, Fantasy
Length: 98 min
Rating: PG
Story +++++
Cast ++++

McDonald’s, Deerfoot Meadows
1400 - 33 Heritage Meadows Way SE
Calgary AB  T2H 3B8
Phone: 403 663 4395

The Deerfoot Meadows McDonald’s has a great location: easy access from Deerfoot Trail, close to IKEA, and close to many other retail outlets. This McDonald’s restaurant is not very big but has a fresh and pleasant atmosphere.

I visited this McDonald’s for a late lunch around 3 pm on a Wednesday. There were a few people in the dining area but nobody in line. When I approached the counter the person behind it was sweeping the floor, but he set aside his broom to take my order and get my food. I wonder if he should have washed his hands before touching the food, but I thought no more about it.

My lunch was a fish burger combo. After finding a clean table (most of them were dirty), I got a little surprise in my Filet-O-Fish box. As you might know, the Filet-O-Fish burger comes with half a piece of cheese. Mine did, but it was ON TOP of the bun, not in between the two pieces of bread. Because I’m not the biggest cheese-lover, I got it off the bun and ate the burger without the cheese. Nonetheless, putting the cheese outside the sandwich? The restaurant was dead and yet they were too distracted to make the sandwich properly?

After my meal I wanted a free refill, so I went to the order counter and waited. At first nobody seemed to notice, then a lady came forward. She got busy making herself the biggest iced coffee I have ever seen. When she was done serving herself, she was kind enough to call out to someone else that there were customers waiting.

Last thoughts: This McDonald’s in Deerfoot Meadows will be low on my list of places to re-visit. The food was not bad, but for a slow time of day this place was a complete mess. I think I’ll go somewhere else next time, maybe to FatBurger across the parking lot.

Food ++
Service ++
Ambiance ++++
Washrooms +++
Tidiness ++

The Honeymooners is a movie about David (Jonathan Byrne), who gets dumped at the altar. So the wedding is off and of course he’s bummed about that. He ends up trying to go on his honeymoon all by himself, but he causes so much trouble at the airport that they won’t let him get on the plane.

Add some more alcohol, and it keeps getting worse, until he can’t drive his car anymore, but he wants to go to a holiday home that was given to him as a wedding present. By luck, David stumbles across Claire (Alex Reid), who is also trying to escape Dublin (on her birthday). She’s running from her married boyfriend, and she just lost her job. David offers her a large sum of money to drive him to the holiday home.

From there, the movie takes all kinds of strange twists, from broken-down cars to men in drag. The Honeymooners movie really puts both men and women in a different and hilarious light.

Last thoughts: The Honeymooners is definitely funny. You may not laugh out loud every time, but many of the situations are simply ridiculous. If you’re in the mood for a slightly off-kilter movie, then get yourself a copy of The Honeymooners and enjoy 86 minutes of how not to fall in love.

Genre: Romantic comedy
Length: 86 min
Story ++++
Cast +++
Humor +++

The Frontier Restaurant
122 N Highway 23
Revelstoke BC  V0E 2S0
Phone: 250 837 5119
www.revelstokecc.bc.ca/frontier

The Frontier Restaurant is part of The Ol’ Frontier, which includes a motel, restaurant, gas station, and 24-hour store. It’s easy to find all of this because it’s right on the corner of Highway 1 and Highway 23.

On entering The Frontier Restaurant you are halted in your tracks by a stoplight, which makes you wait until someone notices you and shows you to a table. When we were there, it was fairly long before someone noticed and gave us a table. The Frontier is decorated in the Old West style, with lots of wood and special booths for big groups. It was quite dark inside, even during the day. Maybe it’s the lack of big windows and the dark furnishings, but it deprived the place of a warm, homey feel.

Our server was strange and seemed to have trouble understanding us. She was also not friendly, and we felt she would rather see us leave than eat there. But we were hungry, so we looked over the menus, which looked like old newspapers (a fun concept).

Our server said the appetizers would be big, so we went with a burger and an appetizer. This type of order seemed extremely unusual to her. Then our drinks came with ice even though we asked for no ice.

The food came and the portions were okay. I think a frozen patty from the grocery store would have tasted better than my burger.

Drink refills never happened, even after we asked for them. As for the bill, we wanted to pay by credit card, which meant another wait to get the server’s attention. She certainly did not deserve her tip.

Last thoughts: The Frontier Restaurant in Revelstoke is officially on my never-go-back list. Any place in Revelstoke would do a better job than this place. Sure, they’re open from 5 am to 10 pm and they’re next to the highway, but take a pass. There are lots of other options close to the highway in Revelstoke.

Food ++
Service +
Ambiance +++
Washrooms +++

Are We There Yet? is all about Nick (Ice Cube), a guy with lots of bling. The movie starts with Nick picking up his brand-new car, which he of course needs to impress the ladies. Nick owns a sports memorabilia store, while the lovely Suzanne (Nia Long) works just across the street from his shop.

Suzanne and Nick become friends, but Suzanne - a single mom with two kids - does not know that kids are the last thing Nick thinks about. But their friendship develops, and then Suzanne needs a favor.

Suzanne needs to get her kids to Vancouver for New Year’s Day, so Nick agrees to take them there.

As you might guess, Nick does not like kids, and the kids do not like strange men (they just want their daddy back). From this point, the trip becomes rather interesting, with all kinds of things happening that I would not conceive in my wildest imagination.

Last thoughts: Are We There Yet? is not a great movie with a great story, but it is fun. If you feel like just chilling out, then maybe rent, borrow, or buy Are We There Yet? and see for yourself. This movie gave me a few laughs, and that’s all it aims to do. At the very least, it made me want to see the sequel, Are We Done Yet?.

Genre: Comedy
Length: 95 min
Rating: PG
Story ++
Cast ++++
Humor +++