Restaurant/food thread

[iHeart]

2 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Last local Panago franchises to shutter.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/last-local-panago-franchises-to-shutter-490425461.html

I didn't know Panago was in the crapper. Well I guess it was bound to happen, you know how many pizza franchises there are in my neighbourhood? we have  Boston, we have a Papa John's we have a Pizza Pizza, Little Cesars, 'Za opened near Dairy Queen last year, and later this fall a Carbones is going into the back of Qdoba.  And YET we don't have a pizza hut....we used to, now it's a furniture rental center, been like that since the early 2000s

Edited August 9, 2018 by iHeart

[iHeart]

Speaking of places set to open, it may not have been confirmed but a Ben and Florentine will be moving into the building being build near Dairy Queen on Regent. it kind of sounds like it'll be like Cora's

[Brandon]

3 hours ago, iHeart said:

Speaking of places set to open, it may not have been confirmed but a Ben and Florentine will be moving into the building being build near Dairy Queen on Regent. it kind of sounds like it'll be like Cora's

I assume the old Asoyama?  My co workers rave about the other Ben and Florentine and have said nothing but good stuff.

[Brandon]

3 hours ago, iHeart said:

I didn't know Panago was in the crapper. Well I guess it was bound to happen, you know how many pizza franchises there are in my neighbourhood? we have  Boston, we have a Papa John's we have a Pizza Pizza, Little Cesars, 'Za opened near Dairy Queen last year, and later this fall a Carbones is going into the back of Qdoba.  And YET we don't have a pizza hut....we used to, now it's a furniture rental center, been like that since the early 2000s

I assume T-Cona?   Pizza Hut is way over priced and still very greasy.... you're not missing anything...

[iHeart]

oh I wasn't referring to the space between Dairy Queen and Wild Wing (only worth going in if you want the deep fried Oreos or deep fried mars bar) I was referring to the new building being built near Diary Queen

[iHeart]

4 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I assume T-Cona?   Pizza Hut is way over priced and still very greasy.... you're not missing anything...

yeah near there

 

you think it's over priced compared to Boston Pizza?

Edited August 9, 2018 by iHeart

[rebusrankin]

There are still Pizza Huts? I honestly don't know anybody who goes to them.

[FrostyWinnipeg]

54 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

There are still Pizza Huts? I honestly don't know anybody who goes to them.

Still hit it for Thursday special but no atmosphere compared to Boston.

[bigg jay]

59 minutes ago, iHeart said:

yeah near there

 

you think it's over priced compared to Boston Pizza?

There's rumors that Pizza Hut will be in the new Park City Common development at Kildare and Plessis.  Only restaurants actually confirmed so far are A&W and KFC though.

[iHeart]

1 hour ago, bigg jay said:

There's rumors that Pizza Hut will be in the new Park City Common development at Kildare and Plessis.  Only restaurants actually confirmed so far are A&W and KFC though.

yeah I do know they're expanding an area down there, even building a new Transcona library (I will miss the old one though, I actually did work experience there ten years ago) but hey that's good that there's and A&W and KFC going there now they won't have to go all the way to regent

Edited August 10, 2018 by iHeart

[iHeart]

1 hour ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Still hit it for Thursday special but no atmosphere compared to Boston.

good point, Boston Pizza was meant to be more of a sports bar Pizza hut isn't really anything, the one on Henderson has a flat screen but it's barely on (but then again I haven't eaten there in eons)

[Brandon]

Boston Pizza is criminally overpriced for the Pizza...  the last time I ordered from Pizza Hut on Springfield I ordered 2 pizzas one with stuffed cheese crust with two toppings and the other a Hawaiian and it ended up being 50 dollars.   In comparison at Dominos I can get 2 xls and a 2litre for 25 dollars and the pizza taste better..... 

[The Unknown Poster]

In my neck of the woods (South Wpg), Pizza Hut closed their sit down restaurant (which was always empty).  I dont know if the sit down north Pembina is still open but when it was, it was always empty.  One of the employees said they were almost entirely delivery and take out.  So they closed the Fort Richmond one and put a small deliver/take out only location in the Shapes strip mall on Pembina.

A few years ago Santa Lucia on South pembina did the same thing, closing their sit down restaurant and moving to a take out/delivery store front near Bison.

I agree with Brandon that Boston Pizza is very expensive for their pizza and I never think to order it.  I actually thought it tasted terrible but tried it a few weeks ago for the first time in ages and it was pretty good (did they change their recipe?)

I dont have a favorite.  When I feel like Pizza, I often have a craving for different places.  Probably Santa Lucia or Papa Johns are the ones I have the most.  Then Pizza Hut.  Panago is actually really good and has vegan pizza for the gf so when she wants, we order from there.

[iHeart]

15 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

In my neck of the woods (South Wpg), Pizza Hut closed their sit down restaurant (which was always empty).  I dont know if the sit down north Pembina is still open but when it was, it was always empty.  One of the employees said they were almost entirely delivery and take out.  So they closed the Fort Richmond one and put a small deliver/take out only location in the Shapes strip mall on Pembina.

A few years ago Santa Lucia on South pembina did the same thing, closing their sit down restaurant and moving to a take out/delivery store front near Bison.

I agree with Brandon that Boston Pizza is very expensive for their pizza and I never think to order it.  I actually thought it tasted terrible but tried it a few weeks ago for the first time in ages and it was pretty good (did they change their recipe?)

I dont have a favorite.  When I feel like Pizza, I often have a craving for different places.  Probably Santa Lucia or Papa Johns are the ones I have the most.  Then Pizza Hut.  Panago is actually really good and has vegan pizza for the gf so when she wants, we order from there.

probably their crusts taste awesome, the cheese is to die for and man that is damn good bacon they use

[Brandon]

From my blurry memory I thought that the franchisee who owned most if not all of the Pizza Huts in Winnipeg was behind on his franchise fee payments and all of his locations were taken away from him by the mothership?   That was when they decided to close down a few of them.  

The Pizza Hut on Springfield road does do decent business but I think most of the inside customers are the nearby seniors going for the senior special.   I found with Pizza Hut that they have really salty and greasy meats and the cheese is super fatty which is why it always seemed like the tops of the pizza were swimming with pockets of grease.    I remember as a kid Pizza Hut used to be the go to place for families complete with those hard plastic dark red cups, lots of pasta,  usually table top pacman or boxing arcade machine and the place was always jam packed.  They just never moved on from being stuck in the 80's....

[The Unknown Poster]

5 minutes ago, Brandon said:

From my blurry memory I thought that the franchisee who owned most if not all of the Pizza Huts in Winnipeg was behind on his franchise fee payments and all of his locations were taken away from him by the mothership?   That was when they decided to close down a few of them.  

The Pizza Hut on Springfield road does do decent business but I think most of the inside customers are the nearby seniors going for the senior special.   I found with Pizza Hut that they have really salty and greasy meats and the cheese is super fatty which is why it always seemed like the tops of the pizza were swimming with pockets of grease.    I remember as a kid Pizza Hut used to be the go to place for families complete with those hard plastic dark red cups, lots of pasta,  usually table top pacman or boxing arcade machine and the place was always jam packed.  They just never moved on from being stuck in the 80's....

I remember going to Pizza Hut in the US with my parents when we were kids and it always felt special because we didnt have it here.

Tony's on Pembina is another good pizza place.  I find it greasy but delicious.  My buddy hates it (though he generally hates everything I like, the jerk).

Shakey's Pizza was our go-to place as kinds and had the table top arcade games.

Edited August 10, 2018 by The Unknown Poster

[FrostyWinnipeg]

10 hours ago, Brandon said:

Boston Pizza is criminally overpriced for the Pizza...  the last time I ordered from Pizza Hut on Springfield I ordered 2 pizzas one with stuffed cheese crust with two toppings and the other a Hawaiian and it ended up being 50 dollars.   In comparison at Dominos I can get 2 xls and a 2litre for 25 dollars and the pizza taste better..... 

See u gotta order the Hawaiian Monday night when its 10 for a medium or 13 for a large.

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

One of the employees said they were almost entirely delivery and take out.

It's becoming a take-out world.

[The Unknown Poster]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-ghost-kitchens-1.4774471

 

Quote

Winnipeg is about to get a new kind of restaurant — but don't plan on making a visit. Instead, they'll be coming to you.

"Ghost kitchens," also known as "virtual kitchens," have been cropping up across the country and this fall, they'll be coming to Winnipeg.

Strolling down the street, you won't pass any storefront for these restaurants, because they don't have one.

Ghost kitchens are just that — kitchens and nothing more. They have no take-out counter and no dining area. 

The only way to get their food? Third-party delivery companies like Skip the Dishes, Uber Eats and Just Eat.

Over the last few years, the rise in these companies has created a market for the virtual kitchens.

George Kottas, CEO of the Toronto-based Dekotas Group, operates dozens of these kitchens across the country. Now, he has his sights set on Winnipeg and says he plans to be operating in the city by September. 

"My goal is to have a store every four kilometres across the major population in Winnipeg," says Kottas.

But it's not just Winnipeg. Kottas says the four-kilometre goal is for all of North America. He already has operations in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and in four U.S. states.

The restaurants will follow regulations for each individual province or state around licensing and inspections, he said.

1 kitchen, several restaurants

As a franchise consultant and business owner, this type of food service is desirable for Kottas. All he has to do is staff a kitchen. The customer service and delivery are handled by the third-party company.

And those delivery companies exist in abundance. Kottas has partnerships with Skip the Dishes, Uber Eats, Door Dash, Foodora and Just Eat. 

Since there are no physical customers coming to the kitchen's location, Kottas has even set up multiple restaurants working out of the same space.

While one customer may select a burrito place on an app and another orders from a pizza place — advertised as different businesses — both may get their food from the same kitchen. 

That's another benefit of partnering with a company like Skip the Dishes, Kottas says — he gets insight into the market and can decide which of his concepts each kitchen should be making.

"[The companies] give me the demographics for the area — what they're looking for and the search engine results," he said.

"Like if in one area, people are searching for vegan or Indian food, I'll take whatever concepts I have and put them in that area."

"We've created over 30 menus — 30 different brands with different concepts and different names."

Kottas doesn't just operate kitchens using this model. He also runs virtual retail stores — many of which sell groceries.

He says it's similar to sites like Amazon, but the main difference is that you can have the goods delivered to you within the hour — just like you would with take-out food.

It's more than a fad, he believes.

"It's the future," says Kottas. "Every company out there is trying to get into the online business."

He's expecting the growth to be fast, and thinks he'll have area developers in every major city in North America by Christmas, with over 1,000 operating stores by the end of next year.

 

[Brandon]

I have to say his idea is pretty good... I can see it working if that market doesn't get saturated.    

 

[Brandon]

Le Burger week is coming up and here is a list with photos of all the burgers!

 

https://weheartwinnipeg.ca/blog/a-complete-look-at-winnipegs-2018-le-burger-week-lineup-with-pics/

[The Unknown Poster]

27 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Le Burger week is coming up and here is a list with photos of all the burgers!

 

https://weheartwinnipeg.ca/blog/a-complete-look-at-winnipegs-2018-le-burger-week-lineup-with-pics/

Love it. I havent even heard of some of those resturants.  

I highly recommend Four Points by Sheraton Winnipeg South as a "not a place you usually think of".  They have a comfy lounge and restaurant and the Chef is awesome.  They also have great pizza.

But should out to Underdogs from that list for this:

Quote

Randy Savage: A fresh Manitoba beef patty, local blueberry bacon beer jam, creamy brie cheese, bacon strips, onion rings, fresh greens, lemon chipotle aioli on a mango habanero buttered brioche bun.

 

[JCon]

Looks good. I'm looking forward to trying a few. 

 

I know they all take and send in their own pics but the "knife through the burger" pic is a bit overdone. Every third pic has a big old steak knife driven through the burger. 

Edited August 22, 2018 by JCon

[Brandon]

I've heard really good things about Four Points and their lunch menu... I still have not checked them out.

[Jimmy Pop]

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

But should out to Underdogs from that list for this:

 

LOVE Underdogs.

Big fan of Monday's deal; beer, burger & fries for $10.  Not a standard burger, it's a weekly special, fully loaded. 

...maybe that site isn't cursed after all. 

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

Le Burger week is coming up and here is a list with photos of all the burgers!

 

https://weheartwinnipeg.ca/blog/a-complete-look-at-winnipegs-2018-le-burger-week-lineup-with-pics/

Has it actually been 1 year since the last one?!?!  Don't get me wrong, NOT complaining.  I swear it's been < 12 months since the last Burger  week.

Or is this like that Sinbad genie movie from the '90s? 

[The Unknown Poster]

I was at Garbonzo's Polo this past weekend and it was pretty good.  Good place to watch sports as there are a million TV's.  Had the Mac & Cheese pizza and their special which has Pulled Pork and Old Dutch Chips on a pizza.  Good stuff.

Also visited Shark Club and the appies were good.

Happened to be at Lipstix too and its quite comfy for a strip club.