Established in 1930, Easterbrook’s is a family owned diner famous for their foot-long hotdogs and impressive variety of ice cream flavours. Located on Spring Gardens Road in Burlington, Ontario (across the street from Royal Botanical Gardens), Easterbrook’s has served the Hamilton, Halton and surrounding areas, as well as helped to create and keep memories alive within its walls.

As you walk up the steps to the diner, there is a patio with red picnic tables where you can sit and enjoy your meal. As you enter the doors, a pinball machine greets you to your right, and the staff is busy placing orders and calling food numbers. It does not matter what time of day you visit, there always seems to be a crowd.
Continue Reading

Popularity: 11% [?]

Knowing that barbecue is my forte, Daniel asked me to rank the best barbecue dinners in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. The weekend following Thanksgiving, you might be so turkeyed out that you're looking for something else. Look no further. I've got your top 5 BBQ list right here. So here they are, and feel free to add your agreements or disagreements in the comment box. We're starting at #5 and working our way to the top:

5. Shady Creek BBQ - This is more of an upscale (if that’s even possible), corporate place to eat. The restaurant's ambiance is nice. The BBQ sauce is ok. Major downfall is that the meat doesn’t have that smoked flavor that I like.  Their side dishes make up for what the meat lacks. Not the most affordable place, either. Plan to spend about $15 a person.

4. Cokers BBQ - This is a mom and pop BBQ joint located in South Arlington. Pretty good choices. The meat definitely has the smokey taste I like and they give you free beer! Charming place. Affordable.

3. Colters - This is probably the most consistent BBQ joint in town. You always know what you're going to get: the best smoked meat, great baked potatoes, affordable, fast service, and no waiters/waitresses.

2. Red Hot & Blue - Memphis style BBQ. The sauces make this place rock! You gotta try the hootchie cootchie (if your brave), the dry rub ribs, the ambiance, and the great sides like the hush puppies.

1. The Feed Store - The feed store is located in Southlake. Apparently, they started off selling feed and the owner made such good BBQ for his workers that he just started selling it. You'll still find the owner in the store, so stop and say hi. It definitely has the cozy at home feel. The BBQ is great, the sides are great, and its very affordable. Did I mention you get free ice cream with a small donation for a local charity? This joint is #1 in my book.

Popularity: 14% [?]

The 21st annual Taste of Dallas is now open. Visitors can enjoy samples from 40 different restaurants and live music. Samples cost anywhere from $2-$5, with $5 beers and $3 sodas and bottled water. Taste of Dallas runs until midnight tonight, 11am - 1am Saturday, and 12pm - 8pm Sunday. Taste of Dallas is located in Dallas' West End. 

Popularity: 3% [?]

While it’s true that the commute to the Las Colinas office has pretty much absorbed the time previously spoken for by my personal life (yes, I’m aiming for pity here), there are a few bright sides to working from one of the three nicest areas in the DFW metroplex (yes, I threw in Frisco as #3 though I am forever opposed to said soccer mom capital of the world). One of those bright sides is the great Lard-free Baja Fresh, a Tex-Mex franchise one can only compare to Chipotle (though why, no one can really say).

We’ve been hittin’ the Baja pretty hard these days. I’d estimate four out of five lunches are spent at said oasis of burrito and nacho delight. That’s twice in one post I’ve used “said” in an unusual way… hmmm…. how self-aware of me.

What is the point of this strange plug for TexMex food… hmm…. nothing. I just thought I’d point out the delectable wonders you Yanks in Boston, DC, and Falls Church are missing out on. Of course, after having said that, I double-checked the Baja Fresh website and guess what? That’s right - Baja Fresh has locations in Falls Church, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland… So feel free to stop in and order yourself a Chicken Baja Burrito or some awesome nachos and you can join in on the all-too-cool VIZION workday lunch via satellite.
Yeah…. that was random…. just wanted to point out to you folks way out yonder that I appreciate you visiting the site and let you know that it’s always comforting to know you have visited. We wouldn’t want to isolate the majority of the country, just because this is a Dallas blog, right?

(scratching my head)

I stayed up late to write this? By the way, stay tuned for a list of foods Heather craves during pregnancy… I’m pullin’ for something bizarre so I can run up to the store late at night and join the gopher-husband club!

Popularity: 4% [?]

Oh…you thought I meant “babes”, as in “hot ladies”! Well, no. Actually, I meant to say that Babe’s at Panera Bread today. I just walked past Babe Laufenberg. He’s up here, just eating lunch. Nothing sensational or especially newsworthy, unless you have an insatiable crush on the Channel 11 sports reporter. This former Dallas Cowboy quarterback is one of the most respected voices in DFW sports. He’s regularly interviewed on ESPN radio 103.3fm by Randy Galloway and the infamous Little Ball of Hate (Jennifer Engle). Babe also has a television sports segment called “The Score with Babe Laufenberg.” I guess you’re pretty big when you have a television segment.
So there is no story here, except that Babe Laufenberg eats lunch, and he happened to do so in my near vicinity today. That’s Panera Bread in Hurst, for those of you who want to know. I’m here for the free wifi and some lunch. A transformer blew in our neighborhood, so I had to come up here for the working wifi.

Oh, and if you’re wondering whether or not I talked to him, the answer is no. I have too much respect for myself and for him to waste the time on a meaningless conversation. He’s a good sports personality, but he doesn’t need to be approached in public. I believe in giving celebrities their privacy. Somebody should.

As for the title of this post, I just wanted to see how many of you would click on a title about women… you are desperate people, I tell you!

As for my wife, I’m sorry if I made you freak for a second, there! You were the only babe I saw at Panera today besides Babe.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I’m sitting here doing my work, and I can’t help but hear the conversation of the two middle-aged women sitting next to me. You’d think #1 was the smartest woman in the world, the way she doled out advice to #2. She did make a few interesting comments about the brilliance of some adolescents and young adults who are having a difficult time getting past their analytical natures when it comes to faith.

Then comes the obligatory husband complaint (he isn’t the same since the accident, you know). He’s thoughtless and rude when he plops down, changes the channel, and cranks up the volume while you answer the phone. How could he be so thoughtless?

Then there’s the crowd of pretty people by the front door. Fashionable, in their late 20s or early 30s. I’m not sitting close enough to hear what they’re saying. But all the men are riveted by the pretty girl’s story. Go figure. She must be an orator.

Back to #1 and #2. Now we’re discussing how men find their sense of identity in what they do more so than women. What’s funny is how serious the discussion is. Like we’re discussion top secret government information (which anyone could overhear).

I should be working. Darn. I really wanted to learn what makes men tick. I can hear the ticking sound echo through countless internal chambers, but I was hoping they would help me find the source.

“When the going gets tough, where do you go?” God, apparently. But their husbands apparently don’t. Can’t tell if they married non-believers or if they’re just casual believers. It really is difficult to measure a man by his wife’s running commentary.

More later, if it gets juicy…. or if I just get bored.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Panera Bread is my new server tech support. When my server could not be found this morning, I fled in a mad daze to Panera Bread, my new sanctuary. As strange as that may sound, Panera Bread really did save the work day. Panera Bread offers free Wi-Fi service to all customers, which means me, my laptop, and an iced chai latte were able to get back online and “git’r dun.” Not bad for a non-hick, huh? I love Panera Bread. I’m sitting in a comfy, faux leather chair in front of a fire place, sipping on an iced chai and watching the world pass by in pursuit of dining pleasure. Life is good. Of course, in 30 minutes this place will be crawling with people and I won’t be able to hear myself think. Mental note: next time bring the headphones.

Popularity: 4% [?]