I Speak Canadian

When my husband and I moved into our first place together (read: less than a month ago), the far wall of our living room was a blank slate. The room had odd dimensions, and we haven’t really enough money to do whatever we want. I wanted a fireplace, and we already had a fireplace-like space heater. I thought it would be cheeky to build the room around it, so we did.

“Honey, let’s buy a mantle.” “A mantle? How do you BUY a mantle?” “Well, you just buy a mantle.” So, we looked on Kijiji, and voila, there was an old, slightly worn, not very nice mantle. And it was big. So G ventures over and buys this mantle for $10.

It needed to be a bit narrower, as well as shorter to not make the little heater look comical.  So G and his dad took the top off.

Cut it in half and took out about a foot.

Pushed the sides together, and flipped the removed piece around and used it to stabilize the top of the mantle.

Glued the sides back together and clamped it. Then took the same amount off of the top piece (not pictured)

Took 6 inches off each leg. The legs of the mantle. Not of each other.

Sanded the entire thing and applied 3 coats of white spray-paint.

Flanked it with bookcases, put the fireplace in the opening and our TV on top.

And finally, I will cover the back (which also covers the cords from the TV and the fireplace) with outdoor patio fabric.

Mantle: $10
Paint: $10
Fabric: $10

Many of the invitees to our wedding asked us to make our wedding invitation public after the wedding. So we did! Here it is – how to make a wonderful wedding invitation with 2 hours, a couple of markers and poster board, 5 lemons and some lipgloss.

So there’s an entertainment expo coming to Calgary called Calgary Expo (crazy, I know), dedicated to showcasing sci-fi, comics, fantasy, gaming, etc in the entertainment industry. In summary – a little down my alley, a little not, but mostly not. One of the entertainers visiting our fine city for the expo is the elusive William Shatner, who apparently has an affinity for steak sandwiches. I say elusive here because I wrote him a letter and it came back return to sender. I’m serious.

Someone, I don’t know who, was informed of this (in his rider, I assume), and wondered where to get the steak sandwich, with so many restaurants in Calgary to choose from. And thus, a competition to expose the best steak sandwich maker (or ssm) was born, titled YYC Steak Off. Hosted (and participated in) by Melrose Cafe and Bar (apparently where I spend nearly half my time these days), the other three “best ssm” contenders were Alloy, Avocado and Firewater, who hosted Calgary’s Twestival.

I don’t really like food that much, I eat my steak well done, and I’ve never even seen a steak sandwich in my life. I’m also about 10 lbs soaking wet and couldn’t eat a whole SS if I had to. I was the perfect candidate to be a judge. Or the worst one. Coincidentally, Melrose thought “Hey, Sarah does everything, and she’s here all the time anyway, maybe we should ask her to judge the steak sandwiches,” and so I got a tweet from them first asking if I was a vegetarian, and second asking if I wouldn’t mind chowing down on some steak and rating it. The event was also a fundraiser for Make a Wish, and whenever I hear ‘fundraiser’, I’m immediately on board.

The sammies were served to the 5 judges, we each cut a piece and passed it down the line. They were also paired with a certain Molson beer that had to be incorporated into their meal somehow. Melrose served up a delicious concoction topped with a delicious mushroom gravy. It was delicious. Mister YYC referenced it in a sentence ending with “I’ve had tougher ice cream.”

Avocado served up a towering, shaved steak sandwich topped with crispy onions and was forced to pair with Molson Canadian, which apparently “doesn’t pair well with anything. Well, maybe with day-old chips…” It was delicious.

Alloy served up a round (in shape) steak sam, cooked in a mouth watering sauce with peppery hints. It was delicious.  Firewater, who forgot part of their meal at the restaurant, was moved from third to last. Wait, I meant to say they forgot THEIR STEAK at their restaurant. Oops. “Ok, keys, check, wallet, check, phone, check, I’m sure someone else has the steak.”

Where's my steak?!

They  served up their onion featuring steak, aside a halved coconut holding a great fruit medley, and paired with Rickards White in a steak spice-rimmed sampler cup. Instead of a plate, they served it on a wooden Star Trek triangle insignia. It was delicious, and it was also very clear that they wanted to win this competition. Top marks for creativity for sure.

The sams were rated out of 5 on creativity, taste, presentation and pairing, and then we turned our votes in to be tabulated. The attendees of the event were also able to vote for their favorites, as they had small samples of each included with the price of their ticket.

In the end, it was Avocado who won both the judges’ vote and the audience’s vote. I guess that leaves no room for challenging the results, despite the fact that the meat on Avocado’s wasn’t a whole steak, which was a challenge I did hear. All in all, a great way to bring people together, raise some funds, and promote different restaurants in the city. I was honoured to be a part of it.