Ice at pop-up bar isn’t only in the drinks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/01/2016 (3879 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MON AMI LOUIS ICE BAR

Don’t picture yourself freezing your bottom off at the new Mon Ami Louis pop-up bar and café at The Great Ice Show at The Forks.

Sure it’s cold out, “but there’s a tent to grab your food and another dining tent,’ says Mon Ami Louis executive chef Luc Jean, who has created specialty crepes, including one with brie, chicken, walnuts and maple syrup, for the event, which opens today and remains open until early March.

Visitors to the ice bar can also warm themselves with hot drinks, such as a mint hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, bay leaves and whipped cream.

The bar is open every night until 9 p.m., and until midnight or later on weekends.

“It’s beautiful, all lit up with LED lights right inside the ice,’ says Jean, who won the gold medal at the 2014 Gold Medal Plates cooking competition.

The Mon Ami Louis restaurant on Esplanade Riel reopens for Festival du Voyageur, Feb. 12-21, says Jean, who is creating special menus for it as we speak.

Dinners are scheduled from 6 to 10 p.m. with a “hunters and trappers menu’ that includes bison meatballs with cornbread stuffing, pike quenelle, duck pot pie, wildberry waffles and pets de soeur with maple dip.

ROCK CHICK COURSE

Historian John Einarson is giving the rock ’n’ roll mavens from the 1950s through the ’70’s their due with a four-week course at the Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts. The class will cover artists such as Petula Clark, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Pat Benatar and Aretha Franklin — the whole female rocker gang.

Einarson, a roomful of Winnipeg babes and a few smart guys — they are allowed to attend, too — will gather for The Girls Can’t Help It over four Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. at the University of Winnipeg’s Bryce Hall starting Feb. 25.

Einarson promises lots of facts and juicy tidbits, such as who was making music with whom offstage. Contact 204-988-7650 to register, or get more info at mcma.ca. Cost is $75.

CANDLELIGHT & CHOPSTICKS

Chef and entrepreneur Scott Bagshaw of Enoteca and Deseo fame has just opened his new Asian restaurant Màqué at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Stafford Street.

The sight from the sidewalk is twinkling candles behind a wall of dark glass, with funky white candelabras. Tables have simple white dish settings with chopsticks on side plates. Chairs and tables have a wood and leather look, and the restaurant seats about 30 with a tiny bar with four stools, and three more cosy seats that look out on to Dorchester.

CLOSE CO.

At 256 Stafford St., across the back lane from Bagshaw’s new restaurant, stands Close Co., which is scheduled to open its doors Feb. 6. It’s a New York-style bar with gourmet wines, beer, cocktails and hot homemade sandwiches, including a big breakfast specialty. It’s open from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and then reopens at 5 p.m.

Until when? “Well, late!’ says co-owner Tammie Rocke. “We hope it’s going to be a lot of fun for the neighbourhood. That’s why we built it.’

Close Co. refers to the eatery’s size and intimacy. Its dark banquettes, chairs and tables have room for about 12 to 15 people to sit, eat and hang out.

Rocke is an interior designer, and her husband Cam Chabot (also deeply into the project) is a daytime sales rep for a dental company. Rocke’s father, Errol, a retired contractor, orchestrated the renovations at the funky new spot.

The three of them wanted to create “something fun in the neighbourhood,’ says Tammie.

“We’ve lived here in this neighbourhood for 20 years. One day my husband went to Steve’s Hairstyling for a haircut. He’d been there about 60 years. Cam heard all about the place. And about three weeks later, a for rent sign went up.’ They grabbed it.

Close Co. adds another option in the quickly expanding Grosvenor Village neighbourhood, which already includes Italian restaurant Tre Visi; The Grove, a British-style pub and restaurant; Chris Atkinson’s Lilac Bakery; and now Màqué.

So how does Stafford Street restaurant kingpin, The Grove — which has lineups out its door some nights — feel about two new competitors in a month? “Fantastic!’ says general manager Carew Duffy. “That now makes this corner a destination. People may have come for one restaurant, but while they are here, they see the others. It’s just good for everybody.’

SHEday VIPs

A who’s who of female business stars turned out to SHEday on Jan 15. Organizers sold more than 800 seats at $49 each for the gala at the RBC Convention Centre.

They came to soak up six hours of inspirational and practical advice from female speakers from the business world that also included a panel, a fireside chat, a lunch and some shmooze time.

Spotted: Adriana De Luca, CEO, Tiber River Naturals; Cheryl Baldwin, president and CEO, BCP Business Services; Claudette Leclerc, CEO, the Manitoba Museum; Josee Lemoine, president, Pivot Advisory Services; Lynn Rempel, president, Rempel Insurance; Nadine Cartman, CEO and co-owner, Chicken Delight of Canada; Shawna Balas, owner, BelaBALAS boutique; Trish Wainikka, executive director, QNET; Kathryn McBurney, vice-president, Dooley Communications; Debbie Ammeter, vice-president, Investors Group; Christine Ens, vice-president, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce; Myrna Driedger, MLA for Charleswood; Barbara Bowes, president, Legacy Bowes Group; Michelle Aitkenhead, regional vice-president, RBC Royal Bank; and Debbie LeBlanc, vice-president, MTS.

Much praise for the day went to hosts Marina James, president and CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg, and Sandra Altner, CEO of Women’s Centre of Winnipeg. Many thanks were expressed to SHEday co-founders Brenda LaRose, executive search partner, Leaders & Co., and Mary Jane Loustel, IBM Canada’s national aboriginal program executive.

Got fun, exciting things happening in your world. Unusual events? Call Maureen’s tip line at 204-474-1116.