Back when I had my Big Hal’s Big Dogs carts around Winnipeg, I was known as The DogFather. So you don’t have to convince me of the importance of the hot dog. In my opinion, it should be its own food group.
I’m happy to see they feel as strongly about this as I do over at St. Louis Bar & Grill at 749 Sterling Lyon Parkway. I don’t know how they’re doing it, but they’re serving up all-you-can-eat hot dogs right now for just $14.99. And it’s truly all-you-can-eat.
The special promotion will become permanent on the menu June 2nd when Kraft Dinner joins the party. And if you ask me, nothing goes better together than hot dogs and KD.
St. Louis is also looking for Brand AmbassaDOGs. Check out their social media for more details. You could win some very cool prizes.
When I heard this week about the unhoused man found dead in a storage area by the Manitoba Metis Federation, I had a thought. I’ll bet it happens more often than we realize.
So I called Al Wiebe, an advocate for the homeless who once lived on the street himself. And what he told me honestly stunned me. He says Winnipeg has seen between 20 and 25 homeless deaths in just the last three weeks. In one week alone, he says there were 10.
Al fears his annual homeless memorial service could reach 300 names this year.
Now, if you drive around the city at all, maybe part of you isn’t surprised by this. I see it myself all the time…somebody collapsed on a sidewalk and firefighters administering Narcan. What used to shock us is becoming routine. And that should scare us.
Al says this is no longer just a homelessness issue. It’s homelessness mixed with addiction, mental health and a lack of frontline supports. He also believes governments are making major decisions, like closing 190 Disraeli, without properly consulting the people working closest to the crisis.
I think people are frustrated. They want action. Politicians know that. But if the people on the ground are telling us the situation is getting worse, not better, then clearly something isn’t working.
This is just a few of the things I’ll be covering on the show.
Also coming up…
-All-You-Can-Eat Hot Dogs
-BBQ Belly Bloat
-6 Ingredient Meatloaf Recipe
-Farm To School Food
-Food Waste
I really hope you tune in.
Ep. 5 of asking Winnipeggers where their favourite place to eat is 🍽️ #wpgeats
On today’s episode we’re honoured to be joined by legendary radio host and foodie, @halanderson34 ! Hal has been a staple in Winnipeg’s food scene and always has the scoop on what’s going on, like where to find the tastiest chicken parm sandwich , which you can try right now at @pasqualesrest 🤌🏼
Thank you Hal and Joe for your time! Who should we interview next? 👀
Our new favourite cake! White Chocolate Raspberry from De Luca’s. We had it at Christmas and loved it. My mother-in-law requested it again for Mother’s Day. We highly recommend it…
Seeing as how I now have my Hal’s Kitchen show on CJOB, as well as a column of the same name in the Sun, I thought I’d give @UberEats a try. Actually, I gave it two shots and both failed. The other night, my food was on the way and my order was cancelled. Then today, I tried getting Chinese food delivered for Mother’s Day and the order wouldn’t even go through. I ended up phoning the restaurant and I’ll pick up our dinner. Anyone else having problems like this with Uber Eats? We use both Skip and DoorDash occasionally with no issues. #Winnipeg
Running from war is hard enough. Starting over in a new country? Even harder. Starting a new business while raising a baby? That’s next level.
But that’s exactly what Oleksii Samokhval and Iryna Mehedyn have done with the opening of Crusty Craft Pizza in Transcona.
The couple arrived in Canada separately from Ukraine in 2022, escaping the Russian invasion of their homeland.
They met at a Winnipeg hotel housing Ukrainian newcomers, fell in love and plan to marry soon. They’re also raising a 15 month old daughter named Maia.
And somewhere between all that life-changing chaos, they started making pizza.
First on their backyard BBQ for friends…now at their own pizza joint at 1311 Day St. in Old Transcona.
And it’s not just any pizza either.
Thin, hand-rolled, European-style pies with fresh mozzarella and toppings straight out of Italy.
They even travelled to Naples for a month to visit family and learn pizza secrets from locals.
That passion now shows up at Crusty Craft.
And with your support, Oleksii and Iryna are building a new life together in Winnipeg…one pizza at a time.
That might just be the best ingredient of all.
Happy Mother’s Day! On today’s show, two men who make their moms very proud.
Arian Poushangi, one of the local inventors of NoPane. It’s a handle that makes carrying propane tanks easy.
And Assiniboia Downs CEO Darren Dunn. He’s ready for another great season of horse racing which gets going with opening night on Tuesday.
I hope you tune in to 680 CJOB today at noon. And don’t forget, if you know a guy or gal who I need to know about, please message me.
Tipping fatigue has reached a tipping point.
According to a recent survey, two-thirds of Canadians say they should scrap it altogether.
A massive 93% are annoyed by tip prompts, and 89% resent businesses that ask.
That’s a full-blown backlash.
People aren’t just tired of tipping…they’re questioning the whole thing.
Some businesses are starting to take action.
In the Morden-Winkler area, Chris Unrau at Waypoint Coffee ditched tipping entirely after hearing the same thing from customers and even staff, “tipping culture has gotten away from us.”
The fix wasn’t just removing the prompt; it was replacing it.
Higher wages, plus a points-based system so employees aren’t, as he puts it, “just hoping” a customer rewards them.
Same idea in Winnipeg at Barc BBQ, where David Neinstein has long argued tipping is “an unfair system.”
His model trades the highs and lows of tip income for something steadier and more predictable.
And then there’s Vince Morley at The Bonfire.
He’s taking it a step further.
No tips, a minimum of $20 an hour, and 50% profit sharing with staff.
Different approaches, but the signal is the same: customers are over it and businesses are finally reacting.
