Diners dig annual Polar Bear Lunch

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/01/2015 (4102 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpvideo:3987588781001:wfpvideo

KEEPING the food warm can be an issue when you’re also trying to prevent the wine from freezing.

No worries. After all, you don’t attend something called the Polar Bear Lunch — held outdoors in Winnipeg in early January — and then tell the waiter there’s a fly in your soup.

In fact, if there’s one endearing aspect of Arnaldo Carreira’s 31st annual gathering of hardy foodies, it’s that the surroundings are mosquito-free.

“It’s not even cold,” said Liana DeNardi, one of about 20 diners enjoying the lunch outside of Gus & Tony’s restaurant on Portage Avenue.

Actually, with winds gusting to 30 km/h and a temperature of -15 C, conditions weren’t ideal. But Jon Hanec was spooning lobster bisque and gobbling down a plate of lobster and shrimp paella nonetheless.

“It’s a great event,” Hanec said. “It showcases for Winnipeg, what’s the word, durability. You can’t be cold when you have hearts this warm.”

Realizing what he’s just said, Hanec paused for a moment. “Boy, the guys at the office are going to be all over me when they read that.”

DeNardi interjected: “Our brains are frozen.”

Some history. Carreira held his first Polar Bear Lunch in January 1984, prompted largely by an unusual warm spell where temperatures had risen to near zero. That inaugural lunch was held at his old restaurant, Picasso’s, on Corydon Avenue, which later became Orlando’s Seafood and Grill. Through all those years, Carreira welcomed customers to an outdoor lunch in January, free of charge.

The lunch is still free, only in recent years Carreira has adopted charities to benefit from those who attend. This year’s charity is the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, and the lunch was expected to raise around $2,000.

“That amount of money is huge,” noted Joanne Watts, development manager for MTYP. “So this is fantastic. It means an awful lot. And the people here are unbelievably generous.”

Jean-Louis Danguay wasn’t even wearing a jacket, but on purpose. The Paris-born Danguay was wanting to expose his “Je suis Charlie” sweater to show solidarity with the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in France. “It keeps me warm,” he said.

Danguay has been attending the Polar Bear lunches from the beginning. There are a handful of originals still returning, including 83-year-old Dan Milne.

“They actually don’t like it when it’s too warm,” Milne said of his dining companions. “They want to be bragging about -40. We come out for the camaraderie. Freezing your butt off and enjoying every minute of it.”

Added Mike Veroukis: “We’re Winnipeggers, and we always do this for a good cause. It’s tradition at its finest.”

Fair enough. But after about a half-hour outdoors in the brisk wind, it began to show, most notably ice in the wine glasses.

“Wine slushies,” said Raquel Sinerio, who volunteered as a server. “Can you believe this?”

Most of the attendees braved the cold as much for their host as anything, however. “This is a special occasion, with a very special host,” said Paul Riese. “ He’s a kind individual, almost to a fault. He’s an icon in this city.”

As usual, Carreira was dressed in shorts — “Always. A tradition,” he explained — and rushed around catering to his guests.

“This year is one of the best,” he reported. “Everything went smoothly, actually. But I’m surprised people stayed out there so long.”

After lunch, the diners retired inside the restaurant to thaw. More wine was poured and a live band played Spanish tunes. Not unlike the 30 previous Polar Bear lunches that have come and gone.

“It’s pretty much the same every year,” Carreira said. “We just keep getting older.”

 

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca