Regina, Saskatchewan Coffee - the short report · Thursday August 17, 2006 by colin newell
I had been warned about Regina, Saskatchewan – about their coffee scene at least.
And there are two ways of looking at this folks.
It may be the least evolved urban coffee centre in Canada.
It also provides a golden opportunity for anyone with a lick of business sense to open a cafe concept that will kick ass.
What I saw in Regina could be summed up thusly:
The people running the cafes here…
no wait. Let me start again.
I do not believe I actually experienced Specialty Coffee in Regina, Saskatchewan.
I experienced lunch places, that just so happened to have an espresso machine.
Or Coffee places that thought they were espresso places but were lacking the skill or identity to pull it off.
You see, espresso places should not necessarily sell; art… or stick candy… or jams and jellies… or country art.
This is called an identity crisis.
Regina cafes do not know what they want to be.
Solution: The owners or potential owners should jump on a plane and come to Vancouver, Seattle or Victoria… or Calgary even.
There is a stunningly brilliant opportunity for coffee-house success in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Finally, think about this:
If you were served a bad glass of beer in a pub or a cold meal or raw steak in a restaurant, what would you do?
You would raise a fuss.
How is it then, that a insipid, bitter, battery-acid tasting shot of coffee can be served in a nice little town like Regina without the Barista even flinching or asking the simple: How is your espresso, Sir?
Exactly!
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Bonus Blog - To the Moon Alice! · Thursday August 10, 2006 by colin newell
Andrea and I did dinner at Rosie`s Diner in the Cook Street Village tonight.
Seems it has some interesting regulars that eat there.
At some point an elderly old gent sitting next to us started talking and offered,
- He was a veteran of WW II
- He was one of Canada`s 1st Snow-bird pilots
- He met his wife in London during the Blitz
- He has owned a Rolls-Royce, arguably the World’s best car
- He is 88 and very young looking
- He has been on the mother ship on the dark side of the moon
- And he had been on the moon as well with the Apollo crews
Afterward, Andrea asked me if she heard him correctly.
I said, “Nope, he definitely met his wife in London.
Mister Bigley, Jack Russell · Wednesday August 9, 2006 by colin newell
An interesting lesson I learned a few weekends ago…
Andrea and I have been doing 4 day weeks every week during
the summer…
different things on the weekends… a cabin here, a resort there..
2 weekends ago we did a cabin on Salt Spring Island
on a 14 acre waterfront place – North Island.
It was wonderful.
While there we had a companion, named Mister Bigley…
a short hair Jack Russell Terrier who pretty
much hung out with us the whole time…
apparently his job on the property.
Both my sisters have (and have had) dogs of every stripe.
I have not had a pet to call my own since 1976.
My really got attached to Mister Bigley by Day three.
Mister Bigley is, like, 13 years old… which in doggie
years is like 80.
An eighty year old man. Deaf at that.
He mooched a bit but I was extremely careful not to feed him anything.
By day 3 we were totally hooked.
And it was SO sad to leave…
Thankfully, Mister Bigley was asleep on the sofa as we
packed to leave.
Truth be told, I think Bigley is an old hand at meeting, greeting
and saying goodbye to new friends.
Not me. I am a sap.
You never forget the kindness and loyalty of a dog.
Putting the knife to Gaggia · Wednesday August 2, 2006 by dave
After long and faithful use, I was finally sufficiently fed-up with the shower plate in my Gaggia Espresso to do the unthinkable. I hauled it out and within moments had filed down the exaggerated ridge that surrounds the shower screen.
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