My Weekend at the Lake(ish) and Fringe Festival

Hi friends!

I'm really terrible at this "posting regularly" thing, so sometimes I need a swift kick in the butt to get me to write about stuff.  Anywho, this post is about two weekends ago now (see, really bad at posting regularly) when I actually took a weekend off (say whaaaaaaat?!) to go do things with my friends and be happy.  And stuff.

Anyways, we decided to check out the carnival/festival that was happening in Winnipeg Beach and then head up to Gimli because I hadn't been there since I was a kid.  I wish I had taken more pictures of the Winnipeg Beach carnival! It was incredible to see that the main waterfront street had all been blocked off and rides and concessions were all set up along it.  On some of the side streets were independent vendors from the area selling everything from art and jewellery to henna (I have to ask, does Winnipeg really like their henna? There were like fifty henna kiosks.)  I was happy to have gone with someone who enjoys carnivals and rides as much as I do - I've always loved the atmosphere of these things.  In Kelowna, I used to go to Westside Daze or the Rutland carnival every year.  We went on pretty much every ride aside from the really small kid rides (however, I must admit we were the oldest people on the bumper cars) and the one ride that you sit upside down for far too long for my liking (I don't like going upside down at the best of times).  The carnival had some of my faves (the high swings, pirate ship, tilt-a-whirl) as well as some newer ones which I hadn't tried yet (like the spin-out, absolutely terrifying). This carnival does it right in Manitoba - you can check them out here.  I should probably mention that I am still the reigning Whack-A-Mole champion - in October, my pal Stevie and I went to La Ronde and it started to rain, I started to get angry and so we decided to take our anger out on Whack-a-Mole and I actually won a prize that wasn't the sad little consolation prize. I've got good hand-eye coordination apparently!

After spending the day at Winnipeg Beach, we decided to go up to Gimli for dinner.  We decided to just park in town and take a walk around to see what we felt like to eat. We ended up at Seagull's restaurant which is located in one of the major hotels.  The fish flies were pretty bad that day, so we were lucky enough to get a spot on the patio since the dining room was completely full. Seagull's has a large menu with enough variety to appease even the pickiest of eaters.  I was all about eating pickerel that day (I think it makes sense - fresh pickerel at the lake is one of the best things in the world).  I had the pickerel fish tacos and my partner had a pickerel sandwich.  The fish tacos had a chipotle-mayo sauce that I didn't care for, but didn't mind either.  The flavours in the taco were fairly benign, which, for a normal fish taco would not be okay.  However, given that this is pickerel, I was excited that I could actually taste the buttery deliciousness of the fish without a whole lot of conflicting flavours.  I just wish there was more fish.

Our service was slow and the waitress was constantly apologizing.  On more than one occasion she forgot about us even though we weren't sitting anywhere secluded. The ambiance was same-old hotel style restaurant. When we were leaving, I couldn't help but notice that there was a wedding going on right beside the restaurant in the banquet hall. I can't seem to find this restaurant on UrbanSpoon, so I'll just give it a solid 5/10 right now.

Half Moon Drive In

The next day, we decided to take a drive out to Lockport to go to the Half Moon Drive In - a Manitoba classic.  I even remember my mom mentioning this place and then gasping with horror when I said I'd never been (however, I do remember going to Skinner's as a kid).  This place is kind of one of those "musts" for drives out to the lake.  I don't really think there is a BC equivalent (at least in the Okanagan).

Given the importance placed on some of these places by long-time Winnipeggers (I'm sure Half-Moon belongs in the same mythos as Kelekis') I was happy to go, even if it was a disappointment or just plain bad (which I kinda always felt about Kelekis).  Anyways, we had burgers, split some fries and had a couple of sodas and the whole she-bang came out to a little over $20.  I actually thought the bacon cheeseburger was quite good - you could taste the beef and the bacon was smoky.  The bun was not too big nor too small.  The fries (which are allegedly renowned) were just "OK" for me.  I found them to be too greasy and fairly limp (I prefer my fries really crispy and on the thin side).

Overall it's a cool little spot in Lockport.  Definitely something to check out at least once.

6.5/10

     

Fringe Festival 

In my efforts to become a better Winnipegger, I've really been trying to get out to all sorts of different events just to get a feel for the city and the culture.  One such event that I went to this summer was Fringe Festival.  A lot of cities have them, but I had yet to go to one.  I spent a couple days in the beer garden watching the street performers (which I think is really cool) and it was a very entertaining way to spend an evening.  I didn't go to as many shows as I would have liked, but I was glad to have seen Grim and Fischer, a mime performance done with large expressive masks.  Last year they put on a show about a man who fell in love with the moon which was apparently brilliant.  Grim and Fischer was (I'm sure) equally brilliant and exquisitely performed and was an absolute wonder.  Wonderheads often play Fringe, so if you're in another city, make sure to see if they're on the roster and DO EEET. It will be worth your while! 

Smoke's Poutinerie 

Whilst sitting at the beer garden on one of the last days of Fringe, I decided to try out Smoke's Poutinerie which is right in the Market Square where all the performers were.  I feel it's strange that I haven't yet tried it given that I lived in Montreal for years and therefore I should know my poutine very well (to be honest, my favourite poutine is still a toss up between New York Fries and Sturgeon Hall in Kelowna).  I love the concept of Smoke's - poutine with all sorts of different toppings - but the execution could use a bit of work.  Unlike other reviewers on UrbanSpoon, I found my service to be really quick and I only waited maybe 3 minutes for my poutine.  I ordered the bacon poutine which was essentially the classic poutine with bacon on top.  In hindsight, I probably should have ordered the classic poutine or the poutine with pulled pork because I felt that the bacon didn't work.  It was too shredded, and too "packaged bacon-bits" for my liking.  I think a crispy bacon would compliment the smokiness of the gravy far better.

Despite the bacon, the gravy was delish.  It had a pepperyness to it that was quite memorable.  It's a cute little spot, but I can't see this being somewhere I frequent, especially when New York Fries is still just so damn good...

6.5/10