Author Archives: Val

Bagel Wars

Fairmount Bagel and St-Viateur Bagel Shop Montréal QC, Canada Through the ages, mankind has been faced with difficult choices: paper or plastic; Mary Anne or Ginger; Almond Joy or Mounds. One of these disputes that has yet to be settled … Continue reading

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Chili Today, Hot Tamale

Chili John’s Burbank, California From the hand-painted, neon-accented sign on the top of the curved corner building to the Dorothy Gale red gingham checked curtains in the window, Burbank’s Chili John’s looks like a slice of Americana frozen in time. … Continue reading

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Machine Head

Musée Mécanique San Francisco, California Those old enough to remember the plethora of amusement parks and piers along the east and west coasts will undoubtedly recall the arcades and fun houses that were well-stocked with manual pinball machines, Skee Balls, … Continue reading

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A Fine Mess You’ve Gotten Us Into

Poutine Canada The United States purports to be a strategic partner and ally to our neighbor to the north, but if we hope to improve relations between the two countries, we’d better start producing a better homage to the de … Continue reading

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Orange You Glad You Stopped

Gibeau Orange Julep Montréal, Québec, Canada Florida and California are synonymous with citrus fruit, and in particular, oranges; it would be a fair (yet incorrect) assumption that the sweet and juicy orb originated there (it is thought to originally have … Continue reading

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