Chain reaction

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/02/2018 (2784 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Once upon a time, Gord Howard applied for a bartending position at a bustling, British-style pub and eatery on Pembina Highway.

When he still hadn’t heard a peep about the job a few weeks later, a friend suggested the then-21-year-old drop his resumé off at a newish restaurant called The Keg, instead.

Howard’s response: “What’s a Keg?”

Well, get a load of this: aside from a six-month stint in 1979 when he moved to Minneapolis to manage a casual dining establishment, Howard has been with the Keg organization, which began in 1971 in Vancouver as the Keg ‘n Cleaver. It’s been 42 years since he was hired as a waiter at the chain’s Garry Street restaurant, a setting he calls “the mother ship.”

“I think I’ve done every job possible, from server to assistant manager to general manager to area supervisor to regional operations manager,” says Howard, who assumed ownership of Winnipeg’s three Keg Steakhouse + Bar outlets, 115 Garry St., 2553 Portage Ave., and 2034 McGillivray Blvd. in 1997.

In November, the Free Press put together a piece called Bygone Bites, which touched on yester-year restaurants Winnipeggers continue to hold dear. One of the things we noticed while going through readers’ suggestions was how it wasn’t only independent mom-and-pop-style joints that tugged at diners’ tastebuds, but dearly departed franchises such as Bonanza, Ponderosa and Chi-Chi’s, as well.

Curious, we did a bit of digging to see which chain restaurants are most popular with Winnipeggers in 2018, according to online review sites. Howard was pleased to hear The Keg, which boasts 106 North American locations, tops that list.

“While I can’t tell you whether or not The Keg is more beloved in Winnipeg than in other cities, what I can say with great certainty is there are definitely people in Winnipeg who have their favourite Keg,” Howard says, seated in the dining room of the chain’s tony McGillivray Boulevard location.

Some people go so far as to inform Howard they prefer the way their meal is prepared at one Keg versus another, which he finds intriguing, considering the recipes and raw materials are the same, so there shouldn’t be any discernible difference.

“But for sure, individual feelings often come into play, particularly in regards to Garry Street, which obviously has tons of character, thanks to the brick walls and age of the building,” he says, mentioning a good chunk of his staff are second-generation “Keggers,” young men and women whose parents once toiled at The Keg, and find themselves dishing out Mushrooms Neptune, prime rib and Billy Miner Pie, too.

At the tail-end of our conversation, Howard asked which other places made Winnipeggers’ list of 10 favourite franchises. In answer to his question…

 

2. Chop Steakhouse & Bar

1750 Sargent Ave. 

Where and when: The first Chop opened in Edmonton in November 2006. Winnipeg’s Sargent Avenue location opened a couple years later, in September 2008.

Yes, it’s a chain restaurant, with 13 locations spread across Canada, but Chop regional manager Mark Ludwick says the Winnipeg Chop definitely has a bit of that where-everybody-knows-your-name-vibe.

“It’s not unusual to walk into our lounge any day of the week and witness animated conversations happening between team members and guests, many of whom we think of as old friends,” Ludwick says, mentioning the city’s second Chop Steakhouse is scheduled to open in late 2019, as part of the downtown True North Square development.

When asked what sets Winnipeggers apart from Chop customers in other cities, Ludwick smiles, saying that’s an easy one.

“Winnipeggers really seem to like their steak sauce. Our fresh-never-frozen steaks certainly don’t require anything more than a little salt and pepper, but yeah, I’d say we go through a bit more A1 here.”

Best bets: Chop salad with chicken, blue cheese filet

 

3. Joey

635 St. James St. and 1550 Kenaston Blvd. 

Where and when: The first Joey opened in Calgary in 1992. Winnipeg’s first Joey opened at its current Polo Park location, in May 2006.

Delaney Wood, general manager at Joey Polo Park, laughs when a scribe tells her his 21-year-old son’s circle of friends commonly refer to her place of work as Jo-Po, and its Kenaston Boulevard cousin as Jo-Ken.

“I’ve never heard that, that’s so funny,” she says. “Tell him I would definitely pick up on that, for sure.”

Wood says despite being a chain — there are close to 30 Joeys in Canada and the U.S. — individual restaurants strive to offer diners a unique experience.

“Here for example, Joey Polo Park looks a fair bit different than Joey Kenaston. Kenaston has that great outdoor patio, while we have our four-season sunroom, which people request for special events, all the time.”

Best bets: Ahi tuna club sandwich, rotisserie chicken, supersonic gin-and-tonic

 

4. Hy’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar

1 Lombard Pl. 

Where and when: Hy Aisenstat established the first Hy’s Steakhouse in Calgary in 1955. The original Winnipeg site opened on Kennedy Street in 1958, and moved to its current digs in 2005.

Jason Sohor, general manager at Hy’s Winnipeg, guesses 50 per cent of his customers don’t even realize Hy’s is part of a “larger Canadian picture,” with additional locations in Whistler, B.C., Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. (There’s still a Hy’s Steakhouse in Hawaii, he says, but it’s been years since it was affiliated with its Canadian counterparts.)

“It’s probably because Hy’s has been here so long — this year marks our 60th anniversary in Winnipeg — that people naturally assume it’s a Winnipeg-only entity.”

Rather than tell us in his own words how Winnipeg’s Hy’s stacks up against its equivalents in other cities, Sohor cites a conversation he once had at the Toronto location, with a Juno Award-winning rock star from the North End.

“Burton Cummings was in for dinner, and since we’re both from Winnipeg, I decided to go up to him and ask how his meal was. He didn’t have too much to say aside from letting me know the cheese toast wasn’t as good as it is ‘back home,’ and that we didn’t stock Labatt Lite.”

Best bets: Jumbo prawn cocktail, Caesar salad, Beef Wellington

 

5. Earls

191 Main St., 1455 Portage Ave. and 1215 St. Mary’s Rd. 

Where and when: Leroy Earl Fuller and Stanley Earl Fuller — hence Earls, not Earl’s — opened the first Earls in Edmonton in 1982. Winnipeg’s first location opened Sept. 1, 1986 on St. James Street.

Ann Topp, regional director of operations for Earls, says working for the company affords her and her staff a front-row seat into people’s everyday lives.

“At Earls, we have seen single people become couples, go on to have babies and now many of those children work for us,” she says, mentioning at one time, the Main Street Earls was the third busiest of the chain’s close-to 70 locales. “We’ve also witnessed young entrepreneurs create empires for themselves, all while coming to one of our locations.”

Topp is quick to credit local Earls-goers, when asked about another of the chain’s calling cards.

“We have one of the busiest happy hours in the company, thanks to our Winnipeg stores.”

Best bets: Hunan Kung Pao, Avocado Super Toast

 

6. Elephant & Castle Pub and Restaurant

350 St. Mary Ave. 

Where and when: The first Elephant and Castle, commonly called E&C, opened in Vancouver in 1977. The Winnipeg location, situated on the ground floor of the Delta Hotel, opened in 1994.

Roy Benedik, managing partner at Elephant & Castle, says he and his staff can almost time their day by their regulars. There is one elderly gentleman living in a nearby block who pops in so habitually, he says, the bartender usually has the fellow’s pint poured and ready, before he has a chance to take off his jacket.

“Sometimes he throws us off, and orders something else, in which case we say, ‘no problem, that one’s on us.’”

Benedik says the menu in Winnipeg is consistent with other E&Cs in Canada and the U.S., but notes there is one item that’s more popular here versus elsewhere.

“A well-known favourite is the Slumdog. It’s a panko-encrusted Nathan Detroit’s hotdog, wrapped in garlic naan bread and finished with butter chicken sauce, caramelized onions, spicy yogurt and cilantro.”

Best bets: Bangers & Mash, Fish & Chips, Stuffed Yorkshire Pudding

 

7. Olive Garden

51 Reenders Dr. and 1544 Portage Ave. 

Where and when: The first Olive Garden opened in Orlando, Fla. in December 1982. The first Winnipeg location opened in 1989, directly opposite Polo Park shopping centre.

Winnipeggers have a deep affection for their two Olive Garden locations, as do staff members, says Tammy Ens, Olive Garden Canada’s director of operations.

“We have team members who have worked for us for over 25 years, and have guests that been coming for that same amount of time,” she says, noting there are close to 850 “OGs” operating in North America.

Ens replies “that’s one of the questions we get most,” when a reporter wonders aloud whether people ever inquire if they can get a dozen of the chain’s hard-to-resist, garlicky breadsticks for take-out.

“Guests often come in just to buy breadsticks. We also sell them uncooked, with our melted butter and garlic salt on the side, with instructions how to prepare them yourself.”

Best bets: Pasta, unlimited soup and salad, breadsticks

 

8. Red Lobster

1540 Portage Ave. 

Where and when: Bill Darden, also the brains behind Olive Garden, founded the first Red Lobster in Lakeland, Fla. a half-century ago, in March 1968. The first Winnipeg location opened May 31, 1989, on Portage Avenue next to the Olive Garden.

Meaghan Mills, communications manager for Red Lobster, says ever since Red Lobster arrived in Winnipeg, the seafood restaurant has been a “celebration destination.”

That statement was borne out when we typed “Winnipeg, Red Lobster” into our search engine, and up popped a two-month-old Facebook post.

The blurb, titled “three years of chemo finished, celebrating at Red Lobster Canada,” was accompanied by a snapshot of a smiley-faced, bib-wearing lad who, to mark his medical milestone, was about to dive into a Maritime stuffed-lobster, with all the fixings.

Best bets: Ultimate Feast, Cheese Biscuits

 

9. Tony Roma’s

656 St. James St., 1500 Pembina Hwy., and 1212 Nairn Ave. 

Where and when: The first Tony Roma’s opened in North Miami, Fla. in 1972. The first Winnipeg location opened on Kennedy Street, one block south of Portage Avenue, in October 1983.

Two weeks ago, a woman approached the staff at Tony Roma’s Nairn Avenue outlet with a special, confidential request.

She and her husband were planning to dine there that evening — the steak and rib joint is one of their favourite spots to go for a bite, she explained — and she was hoping somebody in the kitchen could write “It’s a boy!” in icing, on top of her husband’s dessert.

“It was fun to watch him react to the news,” says Ramona Wall, Tony Roma’s director of operations. “We have a lot of Winnipeg guests that come in to celebrate special occasions with us, and we are honoured to be part of their memories.”

Best bets: Onion Loaf, barbecue ribs

 

10. The Pint Public House

274 Garry St. 

Where and when: The first Pint opened in Edmonton in 2009. Winnipeg’s Pint opened in December 2014, in the former home of Aqua Books.

Carmen Winkler, the Pint’s director of operations, thought she knew pretty much everything there is to know about condiments until the Pint, a self-styled sports bar, opened in downtown Winnipeg, four years ago.

“I’m from Edmonton and no, I didn’t have a clue what honey dill sauce was until I saw it served here with chicken fingers, for the first time,” Winkler says with a laugh.

There are seven Pints from coast-to-coast. Perhaps the best way to tell each one apart is by scanning the hundreds of professionally-framed photographs that dot almost every inch of wallspace, at each venue.

“We work with a local historian who digs through archives, to find photos directly associated with whatever city we’re in, which is why the Garry Street location is mostly Bombers and Jets,” Winkler says.

“Recently, a couple of young guys were seated near the bar,” pipes in assistant manager Melissa Ross. “After spotting an old picture of Blue Bombers cheerleaders on the wall behind them, one of them said, loud enough for everybody to hear, ‘Hey, that’s my mom in that photo.’”

Best bets: Taco Tuesdays, Wing Wednesdays, Fireball Fridays

 

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca