I can't make this stuff up...

Tonight while grocery shopping at our wonderful local Co op store, I stumbled across a completely flabbergasted woman at the cheese section of the deli department. She looked at me in utter bewilderment while holding a hunk of cheese in her hand. As I was passing by, she waved for me to come over.

Wheeling my cart over, she stuck out the hand holding said hunk of cheese and asked me if she was really seeing what she thought she was. Taking the piece of cheese from her I was not surprised to see dime sized turquoise and white furry mold spots dotting the surface. Smiling knowingly, I turned the hunk over to reveal what I had suspected, this was a store packaged, heat sealed product. Please see this post for more information on this occurrence.

Before I could say anything she pointed to the cooler where more moldy packages of cheese were laying.

Showing her an example of prepackaged cheese versus store packaged cheese I explained to her what the Deli Manager had previously explained to Hubby regarding why their cheese is prone to mold. This woman looked at me absolutely incredulously and I affirmed that yes, I am being serious. She thanked me and we continued on our way.

Now, to me this is absolutely unacceptable. I LOVE the Co op here in town. It is a beautiful, well maintained and clean store. Their employees are well trained in the art of all things grocery related, and for that I am appreciative. Lately I have noticed an influx of specialty, organic items on the shelves and for that I am doubly appreciative.

However, this bizarre cheese situation still mystifies me. To me it seems a simple solution would be to vacuum seal these products as opposed to heat sealing them in plastic wrap which inevitably is causing mold growth on their hunks of cheese.

What are your thoughts on this situation?

Christmas in July!

So... I just bought this box of cereal last week at the Co op as my EF store boycot is on once again.

Imagine my surprise to see the festive Christmas/Holiday decor on the packaging when I unpacked my groceries.

The good news is that it is not yet expired, so really there is no harm done at all. However, there is something about eating Christmas Crispex in July is slightly jarring to me.

And no, this cereal was not discounted in any way.

Silly dog

Oh Malcolm!

Return to Bullock's!

This evening, I had the pleasure of dining with my fellow YK blogger, Jason, his godmother, mom and my Hubby at Bullock's Bistro. Bullock's is located in the Old Town section of Yellowknife, directly across from Weaver and Devore. Some of you may remember this post which originated this evening's dining experience.

Be forewarned, this summer Bullock's is not taking dinner reservations. This is commonplace in chain restaurants in larger centres, however I was surprised that Bullock's has gone this route. Dinner service starts at 5pm so arrive early to snag a table, as per Jason's advice. Jason and co arrived a few minutes before 5pm and Hubby and I arrived a few minutes after five, which would have been too late. Jason had thankfully saved the table.

Within minutes of our arrival, the restaurant was filled to maximum capacity. Once the restaurant was filled to the brim, the server/owner went to the cooler and called out for people to let her know what alcoholic beverage they would like. If you wanted a non alcoholic drink, you could serve yourself. In the past all beverages were self serve from the cooler, however due to various laws the staff is now required to serve alcoholic beverages.




The server/owner brought us buns and took our orders. There are no side plates for the buns, so just grab one and dig in, eat it right off the bare table top. The choices on the menu were very fresh looking caribou, cod, pickerel, arctic char or the seafood platter. For the fish, you have the choice of grilled, pan fried or deep fried. There is also the seafood platter, where the three fish selection is skewered and cooked to your preference. The server does not give out menus unless specifically requested as the menu varies daily depending on what fresh ingredients they have. The downfall is that you do not know the prices of what you are ordering, however you can expect each entree to be around the $30ish dollar mark, give or take a little.

I was tempted to go with the caribou, as I have never ate caribou before and the muskox we had previously tried at Bullock's was absolutely heavenly. However, I decided to go with Jason's selection, the seafood platter.

From the time we ordered to the time we were served, it was approximately one hour. This is perfectly acceptable as you can see the cook working full blast cooking by herself behind the counter. The server/owner helps the cook to prep the plates. The cook started by frying the french fries, then moved on the the various fishes and finally cooked the caribou. As the meals were ready, they were served. A tip if you are in a rush, is to sit at the bar as their meals were served first. Another tip is do not go to Bullock's if you are in a rush!

Our meal was served with Hubby being told they would bring more fish for him in a moment. When it was ready, an additional piece was brought to the table and plunked on his plate. More fish for the seafood platter that three of us had ordered was also brought to the table on a small dish for us to share in addition to our kebab.


The pan fried fish kebab (AKA seafood platter) was dredged in the most flavourful, tasty, yummy batter I have ever tasted in my life. There is also a dark sauce added to it, which adds a whole new yummy dimension to the dish. There were homemade french fries (crispy and hot) and a romaine salad served with each meal. If you prefer only fries or only salad, let the server know. With the salad you have the option of a feta dressing or herb dressing, I tried the feta which tasted very strongly of feta and garlic, but was quite delicious.

The ambiance in the restaurant is slightly frantic, loud, overcrowded yet everyone is happy, enjoying their delicious food and the unique atmosphere. The music was quite loud at first causing us to have to holler/scream talk, but the request to lower the music was obliged and once it was turned down made for easier dinner conversation.

We had a wonderful meal and the company added to the great experience. If you heading to Bullock's for a meal, leave all your previous dining expectations at home. You are not heading to Earl's or Moxie's, nor the Five Fishermen. Bullock's is kind of like eating at a huge family reunion being hosted at your aunt's house. It will be crowded, loud, someone may yell at you to move your chair or ask if someone can sit at your table, but the food will be great and that is why people keep coming back.

Here is Jason with the leftovers, self wrapped in butcher's paper and placed into a cardboard box to prevent leakage. No environmentally unfriendly styrofoam "to go" containers here!

Smile!

Let's face it, in larger city centres, you don't go around smiling at everyone you see on the street. There are many reasons for this, but the bottom line is that it is a matter of personal safety. You never know what creeps are out there lying in wait. I am above average in the paranoia department due to my cop's kid upbringing, however, most females are pretty careful these days. Or maybe that is just me.

When I left my friendly, warm land of Nova Scotia the unfriendliness of the general public of British Columbia really floored me. In Halifax the standard stranger eye contact in public places etiquette seems to be:
a) Acknowledge other individual with a brief glance and quick closed lip half smile. Eyebrows remain level.
b) Keep face neutral, avert eyes. Continue briskly on your way.
c)If the person seems really sane a full fledged eye squint combined with a full closed lip smile may be appropriate.

Now, in BC the standard procedure is ALWAYS B. Never A or C. It just doesn't happen. When you are used to A and C, it is alarming at first. However you get used to it pretty quickly.

Yellowknife seems to have a scale all on its own in the stranger eye contact department. It is commonplace to have complete strangers execute a FULL teeth exposed, eyes squinted, warm faced smile. Imagine my complete surprise after the coolness of BC!

To this day, the friendliness and warmth of complete strangers still takes me off guard. I must say, it is another asset of this wonderful little place North of 60.