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Tropical (coconut & pineapple) or Carribean (hot & spicy) dipping sauce from Flying Wedge. Dipping sauce for pizza? Evil genius. The extra calories from either of these dips were 100% worth it. Most pizza places offer dipping sauces but Flying Wedge is the only place I’ve ever noticed that makes theirs in-house. Mmmm.
Hummus from European Delicatessen (Davie). Former WoMHer Aaron once worked just down the street from European Delicatessen and introduced me to The Best Hummus in the World. I still dream of it. Insanely creamy, no overpowering flavours… would someone please bring me some?
Tuna melt at Benny’s Bagels (West Broadway). Who knew such a simple dish could be sublime? At Benny’s, you’d choose your bagel (I liked jalapeno) and they turned it into something stellar. I think they put a layer of cream cheese under the tuna salad, then topped it with more cheese. And probably sprinkled it with unicorn dust. Not too many places you can get an out-of-this-world tuna melt, and a pint of beer, and listen to the Be Good Tanyas at 1am. Benny’s was that place for me.
Jalapeno Bottle Caps from Vera’s Burger Shack. Okay, almost forgot about this one – I don’t know how. The premise is simple: take jalapeno rings, batter ‘em, deep fry ‘em. Like onion rings only even more awesome. They’re served with a garlic mayo sauce. Grab an order, walk a couple blocks to English Bay and enjoy the ocean view – I only did it a couple times, but man. So good.
Okay, that was quite the trip down memory lane. If you’re still with me, I’d love to hear your suggestions for where I can some of these dishes locally. And which restaurants and dishes colour your memories of a particular stage of life – favourite ice cream shop as a child? Best value for dollar as a broke student? Go-to fast food place for late-night post-bar debauchery? I want to hear them all – Winnipeg or otherwise.
One of the things that drew me to Winnipeg was its reputation as a musical mecca. I don’t know where I first heard this, but my interest was probably piqued in high school, when a friend of mine passed through Winnipeg and brought me back a poster for Hayden in concert at the West End Cultural Centre (I was a hardcore Hayden fan, but there was no way he’d ever do a show in little old Lethbridge). I laminated it, and it lived on my wall for the next five or six years. Of course, Hayden’s not from Winnipeg, but somehow the association in my mind was that if the West End Cultural Centre was smart enough to bring him in for a gig, then Winnipeg was the kind of town that knew a good musical act when they heard one.
Fast forward a couple of years, and my then-boyfriend and I drove out to Manitoba for the 2000 Winnipeg Folk Fest – something that had been a dream of mine for years. It was at that year’s festival that I discovered Hawksley Workman and Martin Sexton, who became two of my favourite singers, and got to meet Dan Bern – what a thrill! I also heard Greg MacPherson for the first time, and we bought his Balanced on a Pin album and listened to it the whole way home. I loved the way he worked the province into stories told by song.
“I wore the sweater my father wore… the one he got from his girlfriend before he quit his job and met my mother. There’s a train that runs from here to Churchill. I never knew Churchill was really that far away.”
Something about these lyrics totally captivated me. I’ve always been a sucker for geographical references – especially Canadian ones – in songs (Martina Sorbara’s Bonnie & Clyde stands out: “And we’ll drive like bandits on the Queensway, we’ll hold hands like in the movies”), but to hear mentions of a place I’d always been drawn to felt like special insider knowledge. Like a siren’s sweet voice beckoning me.
Anyway, here are 10 of my favourite songs by Manitoba artists. Some of them have references to local places, and some of them are just plain great songs. Because musicians in Manitoba are insanely interconnected, there’s a bunch of overlap between singers and bands. Big props to CBC Manitoba for exposing me to many of them!
The first time I heard this song, I was driving and listening to the radio, and I actually cried. Something about it just really hit me. The song’s about petitioning to get Reggie “the Riverton Rifle” Leach into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Whereas Reggie, on a playoff run, could make a dad go buy the new TV and put his youngest by the window, place the split antenna in her tiny hands.”
I don’t know. Just listen to it, and see if it doesn’t hit you hard, too. (Then go sign the petition!)
Speaking of John K. Samson… I know, this one’s sort of obvious. But I had never heard it until I moved here. I remember exactly where I was: on Main Street driving towards St. Mary’s, just in front of the Commodity Exchange tower. Or maybe that’s a memory I invented to accompany the references to this lyric:
“A thousand sharpened elbows in the underground
That hollow hurried sound, feet on polished floor”
I’m really not sure, to be honest. And for a song to work its way into your consciousness like that is a remarkable thing, I think. I pretty much love every single verse, and it gives me goosebumps each time I hear it.
Bébé Rouge is a sweet little ballad, penned by Johnny Cajun singer Daniel Roy, about going for a date night at the Bébé Rouge restaurant in St. Pierre-Jolys. The lyrics don’t translate super well into English, so I won’t bother. My husband manages this band, and we actually got engaged during this song at a gig they did in Langenburg, Saskatchewan.
“Emmène moi au Bébé Rouge
J’ai juste assez d’argent
Pour un milkshake, à vanille
Deux pailles dedans”
Daniel Roy’s solo act is Daniel ROA and he’s a killer singer/songwriter/performer. I’m biased of course (he’s another of my husband’s clients) but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Des mots d’amour as soon as they hear it. It’s another love song:
“Si je ne te chante pas des mots d’amour
c’est parce qu’on se les dit a tous les jours”
Fun fact: Stuart McLean played this song on an episode of The Vinyl Cafe!
I already went into the reasons I’m a fan of this album, but I’d say Invisible is my favourite track. Windy and Churchill are great, too. Greg’s distinctive voice and thoughtful lyrics are a pleasure to listen to.
Doc Walker’s been around for a long time, but they were riding a particular high when I arrived in Winnipeg in 2008. This song is 10 years old, but was getting a lot of play around the time I moved here, and this verse really caught my attention:
“She said, have you ever been to Alberta
Wheat fields as far as you can see
Have you ever seen the prairies
Someday I’ll take you there with me”
As a newcomer to Manitoba, I especially appreciated that lyric, because after years of nomadic living, it just reminded me of my original home.
Gomie is the solo project of Dave Wasyliw of Doc Walker (Gomie is his nickname). His debut album You Are Here is only 31 minutes long, but those 31 minutes are packed with infectious, memorable, happy songs. It’s the sort of album you can just put on repeat, and before you know it, you’ve listened to it three or four three times in a row. All the songs are great, but Marjorie is probably my favourite. Bonus points: according to the Gomie website, the song Barber Shop is about growing up in Portage la Prairie.
Everything about this song is catchy and raw in the best possible way. The band’s trademark harmonies are gorgeous and lush. Just listen, if you haven’t already!
Alexa Dirks’ (also of Chic Gamine) distinctive voice made me take note of this song initially, but it’s the memorable melody that keep them playing over and over in my head. Bonus points for this lyric:
“I could walk
Down to the red, red river
I know you’d be there waiting
But I can’t deliver what you need”
So Hard to be Together is also on high rotation chez moi.
My sister-in-law saw Red Moon Road at Festival last year and couldn’t stop raving about them… for good reason. With some seriously awesome mandolin and delicate, pure vocals, this track is my favourite off their EP.
On Saturday mornings, I usually listen to the CBC Weekend Morning show, and it was this song that prompted me to try, for the first time in my life, to win concert tickets by calling in! I didn’t win tickets that morning, but the Sturgeons are definitely on my list of bands to try to see live. (These guys are only 23 years old. Crazy!)
So, there you have it. 10 (11) of my current and all-time Manitoba musical favourites. I’d love to hear all about yours!
Psst! Did you know that Manitoban musicians are invading the legendary South by Southwest music festival starting today? The Manitoban did a big write-up on all the bands who are attending, and you can check out videos from some of them thanks to Manitoba Music’s roundup here.
At our big family supper last night, someone looked at the loaf of rye bread on the table and wondered what made it “Winnipeg-style”? Nobody at the table knew – and excluding me, everyone present was a born and raised Manitoban. In my experience, Winnipeg rye bread is very light and fluffy, comes in a long, oval loaf, and is impossible to stop eating once you’ve started. I’m not wild about caraway, and mercifully, most of the Winnipeg rye breads I’ve tried are very mild in the caraway department. (Come to think of it, most are quite mild in general, and not particularly rye-y!)
It reminded me that I’ve also heard of Winnipeg-style cream cheese – but again, what makes it so? A quick search reveals something called “Co-op” style cream cheese, but again, I’m not sure what that is – a brand? A variety?
So, culinarily-inclined Winnipeggers, please fill me in! What makes rye bread or cream cheese “Winnipeg-style”? And for that matter, are there other food items specifically called “Winnipeg-style?”
I’m late to this one, but better late than never.
Oh Ace Burpee Show, why you gotta be so funny?
