Burrard
Just a sliver of a glimpse from the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver...from a long time ago...
24 · 02
Good Eats
Do you have a favorite restaurant? Of course you do. Perhaps its the atmosphere, or the food, or the wine, or the snug little t-shirts the waitresses almost wear, but there is something about that place that makes it your favorite. Here in "industrialized" countries (do you feel industrialized?), people eat out a lot, whether it's pub grub from just down the road or a sublime omakase journey at Masa in New York, and all stops in between. Favorite restaurants often tend to be about comfort food, and my top two restaurants are no different: for me, it is about burgers. I have two favorites and, although they both serve excellent burgers, the atmosphere in each is unique, making them a distinctly pleasant experience in their own ways.
The first (and top of the list, really) is The Red Onion in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Red Onion has been around for ages. I don't think the prices have changed much and for my money, they serve the best burger, fries and beer around. As a bonus, there is a small and ancient television suspended in the corner above the grill allowing patrons to watch the Canucks in action. The second is Harry's Roadhouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Harry's does more than just burgers, but the burgers are excellent and every dish comes with a side of that inexplicable Santa Fe quirkiness. Their lemon meringue pie is worth waiting for as well.
Unfortunately, both of my favorites are thousands of miles from where I live. I am not saying that The Red Onion and Harry's Roadhouse are the best restaurants in the world, but they are my favorites and they are the first stop whenever I am in town. I recommend them completely. Tell me, what's your "favorite restaurant" story?
3 · 02
What Could Have Been Done With All That Vancouver Olympic Money?
Source material: Pete Mcmartin, Vancouver Sun. Healthcare: The cost of the Olympics could have funded the construction of 6 state of the art hospitals to replace St. Paul’s. Seismic Upgrades For Schools At Risk: The cost of the Olympics could have funded the entire budget of the seismic-upgrading program four times over for schools in British Columbia. As it stands now, only 32 out of hundreds of elementary and secondary schools have been upgraded as of last year. Education: The cost of the Olympics could cover the four-year tuition fees of 345,383 UBC arts students – or 314,004 UBC science students – or 287,853 UBC engineering students – or 100,963 UBC medical students. The cost of the Olympics could pay the salaries of UBC’s 587 full professors for 73 years. The cost of the Olympics could cover the cost of educating every elementary and secondary student in the Province for roughly a year and a half. Government: The cost of the Olympics could fund the Premier’s office for 500 years. The cost of the Olympics could have paid the entire public service payroll of British Columbia for 2 years. The cost of the Olympics could have allowed the Provincial government to waive property tax for 6 years and sales tax for over a year. The cost of the Olympics could have funded all of the social welfare programs on the Lower Eastside – including food banks and social housing – that receive Federal, Provincial, and Municipal funding for more than 16 years. The cost of the Olympics could have built roughly 20,000 units of social housing. The cost of the Olympics could have afforded the city the ability to hire 3,000 new police officers and pay them, with full benefits, for 20 years. Security: On average, every family in British Columbia will be paying $300 towards security costs during the games. Spread out over the country’s entire population of 34 million, every Canadian would be paying $26 dollars. During the games, the military presence in Vancouver will be the largest since the Second World War. The total cost of security is more than VANOC’s initial assessment of what the Olympics as a whole would cost. $79 million dollars of the security budget is being used to house military and police personnel on three cruise ships. Security costs include $29 million dollars for new computers and $6 million dollars for new radios. BC Ferries will receive $15 million dollars for security upgrades even though no events are taking place on any of the coast islands to which they sail. The Canada Border Services Agency is receiving $15 million dollars in supplemental funding. The original security budget for the games was $175 million. It is currently hovering around the billion dollar mark.
@baffled
These are my collected ramblings; an online compendium of utter nonsense, comprising art, culture, poetry, photography, technology and the newsworthy, arcane and inane. Any original work is © "@baffled".
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