Dining together when apart

Times are indeed tough these days for the restaurant industry – but the West End BIZ has figured out a wonderful way for diners to get together even when they’re not.

The West End BIZ is hosting what it calls Distant Dinner Parties featuring meals prepared by restaurants in the area.

But — and here’s the twist — these parties not only allow you to enjoy great food at your own dining room or kitchen table, but you also get to virtually experience it with others while being entertained.

That’s because, after reserving your spot for $21 apiece, instead of going to the selected restaurant in the city’s West End, you’ll get your dinner delivered right to your door. That’s when you will also be able to join a video conference where, along with your fellow patrons scattered in their residences across the city, a tour guide will not only tell you some of the interesting facts and history of the West End, but you’ll also play a game of trivia.

And, yes, the trivia game has a prize — you could win two vouchers for the West End Biz’s popular mural tour.

The restaurants include Viena Do Castelo on April 22, Mooshira Japanese Cuisine on April 24, and Sultan’s Shawarma on April 28.

But these dinners are very popular so get your reservation in early. The one scheduled for this Friday, Gojo Ethiopian, was supposed to accept reservations until April 16 at 10 a.m., but it was already sold out earlier this week.

Is it any wonder? The menu for Gojo Ethiopian features beef cooked with spiced butter and peppers, onion, garlic, tomato, and a touch of rosemary and other spices – yum!

Viena Do Castelo’s menu for its evening has Bolinho de bacathau (cod cakes), piri-piri chicken, saffron rice, roasted potatoes, and mixed vegetables.

There are veggie options available each evening.

For more information you can contact Aurora at aurora@westendbiz.ca or call 431-388-5213, but if you’re ready to book visit here.

Future dinners will be announced in the days ahead. That’s great because we all know there are still a number of wonderful restaurants in that area because the boundaries of the West End are so large. They’re roughly Notre Dame Avenue to the north, Portage Avenue to the south, the north-south rail line before the Polo Park area to the west, and a couple of blocks past Central Park to the east.

Until then — bon appétit from a distance!

— Kevin Rollason

Shelley Cook, Columnist

If you enjoy my newsletter, please consider forwarding it to others. They can sign up for free here.

We have a more than a dozen other free newsletters, including Jill Wilson’s Applause newsletter, which comes out every Thursday, and covers Winnipeg’s local entertainment scene, as well as Jen Zoratti’s newsletter Next, a weekly look towards a post pandemic future.

You can browse all of our newsletters here.

Pothole patches don’t stop

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESAs of April 3, city crews have already filled about 13,560 potholes this year.

Funny how a story about filling potholes can be uplifting because it is the normal thing to do at this time and we all need some normal.

The city says while it has cut back on many services citizens normally see, filling the large holes in Winnipeg’s streets is not one of those.

The reason, says St. Boniface Councillor Matt Allard, is because “We need to keep our roads open and safe for emergency vehicles and other uses.”

Canada Goose takes flight again to make gowns

Jackets hang at the factory of Canada Goose Inc. in Toronto on November 28, 2013. Canada Goose Holdings Inc. announced plans to open a new factory in Quebec, its second in the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim

Local coat manufacturer Canada Goose normally makes some of the warmest coats on the planet — now it is sewing to help stop a virus.

The outerwear brand – which had earlier closed its three manufacturing plants in Winnipeg and others across the country to comply with social distancing recommendations – announced it is ramping up again and bringing its employees back to make medical gowns and scrubs.

The company says when it gets up to speed it will be able to produce at least 60,000 gowns per week.

“Now is the time for Canada to invest in made-in-Canada solutions,” Dani Reiss, Canada Goose president and CEO, said in a statement.

Grad graduating with radio show

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSJordan Rogodzinski, a Winnipegger living with cerebral palsy, has been hosting his own YouTube sports show, Jordan's 411 Sports Show, since 2015. This is the last year Jordan will be filming at his high school.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSJordan Rogodzinski, a Winnipegger living with cerebral palsy, has been hosting his own YouTube sports show, Jordan’s 411 Sports Show, since 2015. This is the last year Jordan will be filming at his high school.

Jordan Rogodzinski is graduating from high school this year, but he’s hoping to take more with him than his diploma.

The 20-year-old Rogodzinski, who lives with cerebral palsy and a cognitive disability, has been creating an online sports interview show since 2015 at Miles Macdonell Collegiate. Now, while he like other students are home because of the coronavirus, he is working with Michael Geri, who also lives with Cerebral palsy and operates online radio station MIKE-FM, to keep Jordan’s 411 Sports Show going post high school.

“A mutual friend put the two of us together,” Geri said. “It sounded like the perfect fit. I’m excited for this COVID stuff to be over so we can get back to work.”

Big glories for Small Glories

Cara Luft and JD Edwards kept circling back to the idea of home and what it means in a larger context. (Aaron Ives)

Winnipeg duo Small Glories won not just one Canadian Folk Music Award last weekend, not two, but three.

The duo, Cara Luft and JD Edwards, won the top award for vocal group of the year, ensemble of the year, and – for their album Assiniboine & The Red, contemporary album of the year.

“We know that when the time is right we’ll be back out there sharing our music and celebrating these wins with friends in person,” said Luft.

Cinematheque comes home to your living room

If cinephiles can’t go to the local cinema these days they can bring the movies to their homes.

Cinematheque, the local art house cinema, has recently launched Cinematheque at Home so fans can watch approved titles at home on Vimeo on Demand. Last Friday, it began showing a triple feature of the Brazilian thriller Bacurau, classic Canadian drama The Grey Fox, and the Oscar-nominated documentary short Nails. It plans to screen three programs a week for around $8 top $12.

“We have had fantastic support from our members and the public donating to our organization through our website since we closed down,” senior programmer Dave Barber says. “The Cinematheque needs viewers and revenue support to keep us going.”

Nurse cared for in place she cared

SuppliedMichèle Christine Anderson at the front desk of her nursing ward at Voyer Falade.

Michèle Christine Anderson was a registered nurse who helped people with Parkinson’s disease and dementia at the former Foyer Valade and who — two decades after her own Parkinson’s diagnosis caused her to leave her job – passed away in the same unit she worked in.

But Anderson’s family, who recounted her life in the Free Press’ A Life’s Story feature, said they’re glad she was in the caring place she needed to be.

“It was just one of those twists of fate,” said her husband of 40 years, Tom. “She worked in the specialized unit there and she spent most of her nursing career there. And, with her Parkinson’s, she needed to be looked after there at the end.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Squee!

Melissa Verge / Brandon Sun files

Sweet Farm, a Silicon Valley animal sanctuary, has launched a service called Goat 2 Meetings in which people can pay for llamas, goats and other farm animals to join in their video conference calls. READ MORE