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Category - Food

Tipping 2025

Lexi has been asking for steak so last night I gathered up the gift cards and we went to the Keg for dinner. Ashlyn, not so interested so it was just the three of us. I should also add that heading over to the Keg on a typical Wednesday for dinner is not how we roll, but I had some gift cards burning a hole.

We all had a nice steak and the bill was $220 and I left a tip of $20, which I thought was fair considering we saw our waitress 4-5 times over the hour we were there for a total of about 10 minutes total time on our table, if that. She was on the refills and even gave Lexi a refill on her fancy drink which I think prompted Shan to ask how much I left. Feeling guilty I gave her another $10 cash money, bringing my tip from 9.5% tip to 13.5%. But it really got me thinking on the way home…what if we all just ordered a burger ($25) instead of the steak ($45) and said no to the appetizer ($16)? That would have knocked $96 off our bill bringing the total to $124 and I would have tipped the exact same amount ($20). That’s a 16% tip and all of a sudden I am back in the societal good books? Because I ordered less expensive menu items? “Girl, I know we all just ate like we have a big house in Bridgewater but see what you can squeeze out of these gift cards wouldja?”

Society – “Well these poor staff only make minimum wage.”

Let’s try to figure the math on that. I would assume a typical shift is 4-5 hours and a server might have 4-5 tables in their section. Number of guests and duration of stay is hard but if you average it out based on our visit that is about 4 tables every hour spending about what we did ($220). If each of those tables tipped the 15% societal norm that is $33 x 16 tables over a 4 hour shift. That’s $528 non-taxable income. I am told that each server needs to share about 7% of that to the kitchen and the bar. So $528 – $36 leaves that poor server with only $492 on the night in un-taxed tips. They also made $15.80/hour minimum wage so add another $63 to that total and you have $555 on the night, or $138.75 /per hour worked and most of it is tax exempt.

Society – “Well not all servers work at the Keg.” – EXACTLY, so why would 15% of the bill even be a thing?

Tipping 15% at Subway or McDonalds is not the norm and the kid making minimum wage there is working way harder, and taking more shit from customers, than any server I ever had at the Keg. When the prices go up at Subway to balance the cost of providing that sandwich people get pissed. No tip.

I also don’t like tipping people who are already getting paid for what I am getting. When did we start tipping for haircuts? I pay over $40 these days at Tommy Gun’s for shave on the sides. In and out in 15 mins, do I need to make it $50? A massage? You rubbed my back for an hour and it cost me $120, now I need to pay another 15% on that? Is my insurance going to pay 80% of the extra 15% because I can only afford to go for a massage because it’s covered. None of it makes sense to me. I’ll give a bouncer at the club a tip for letting me bypass the lineup. The hairdresser who stayed a little late to fit me in…tip. The mechanic who gave my car a wash before giving it back. Those above and beyond type things. Half of the time I go to a restaurant these days and the food is shit and we pay for it anyway, and leave a tip.

When I go for wings at Tapps I make sure the wings are on special and my bill with an iced tea is usually around $20. Usually I tip $10 but sometimes $8 if my drink is empty for a considerable time, or I get charged for ranch dip. 50% in this situation because I am not going to leave $3 on the table to someone who has been serving me food for the last hour. Is it still the same 15% expectation on a bill for $20?

I am not saying don’t tip, I am not an animal. I just think $8-$10 dollars per person at the table is LOTS at a restaurant where you are being served. It should be the new norm regardless of the bill total. These 15% tarrifs will not stand.

Busters BBQ

Address: 177 Highway 17 VERMILION BAY, ON
Phone: 1-807-227-5256
Menu: bustersbbq.com

We were camping at Blue Lake again this year and it’s hard not to notice Busters BBQ on the way in. Years ago Paul bought me some of their Blueberry BBQ Sauce and I remember it being a commodity back then and I also saw it on “You Gotta Eat Here” so we decided to make a reservation one night to go and try it out.

We went on a Wednesday night and this place was packed. Nothing happened fast here but the staff was extra nice so it hardly even mattered. Al and I decided on splitting some wings to start because they were $14 and I had to see what that was about. 1LB of wings for $14 is robbery if you ask me. Wing night at “Upstairs in the Village” I usually take down 3LBS and an iced tea for under $13 so paying $14 for a pound is a stretch. To top it off I asked if we could split the flavours up and try a couple and she said “no it’s too busy”. Anyway, it turns out the wings were just wings. No gold dust, no special crisp, just regular wings with the Blueberry Chipotle sauce. Plus we got one of those “defect” wings that is a cross between a wing and a drum – I hate that.

$14 Wings

$14 Wings

For dinner the menu specified a few items that were featured on “You Gotta Eat Here”, so I tried the Beef Bacon Cheddar sandwich and it was pretty dry. Ratte had the ribs and he said they were “pretty good” but he also ended up asking for a side of sauce. Dry seemed to be a common theme which is odd for a place known for it’s BBQ sauce. I think we all wanted the sauce to really stand out. What did stand out for me was the sweet potato fries with a side of cajun mayo. The fries were so good that I called back the morning we were leaving so that I could pick some up for the road home.

The next time we are at Blue Lake I will go back just for the sweet potato fries and end up trying something else with that hard to come by sauce.

Fruits and Veggies

strawberry-ashcakeWe went strawberry picking at Boonstra Farms this afternoon and got to taste what strawberries taste like when they move across plants and not trucks. We filled 2 baskets while Ashlyn filled her face. It was a great day just to be hanging outside really. We did the petting zoo before we left and then stopped for ice cream on the way home. We tried to hit up the “Spotted Cow” on North Main but was surprised to find out it isn’t even there anymore? So we hit “Scoops” on Main where Ashlyn discovered “Tiger, Tiger” for the first time!

OK, everybody knows I am not a huge fan of the fruits and vegetables food groups. Sometimes I will set a good example for the kiddies at dinner time but it’s not uncommon for me to skip the greens when making my plate. The kids have called me on it before asking mommy “why doesn’t daddy have to eat the vegetables?”. That’s when I tell them a little story about when I was their age…

Well you see children, when I was just a little boy growing up I ate soooooooooo many vegetables that when I got older I didn’t need to eat them as much. If you eat all your vegetables now you can be the same as daddy.

I truly believe that. But I also know that my body needs that green rodent food to function so this year we planted a garden! There is something wonderful about eating food you grew yourself. It tastes so much better. So I built these garden boxes, shoveled a bunch of soil, and Shan planted us some seeds. We went to Mandy’s Greenhouse for our seeds and plants because she is one of my favorite people, and because I made her website many years ago. She gave us so much awesome info while we were there too.

BEFORE

BEFORE


AFTER

AFTER

Now I have been fussing over these plants for months now and tonight we got our first taste of the lettuce we planted. We made this awesome garden salad and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed watching the girls eat it too, seeing as they don’t usually touch leafy greens. I think they wanted to try it too, mainly because we grew it ourselves. I can hardly wait to try the rest of what we planted. What have I become?

You don't make friends with salad.

You don’t make friends with salad.

Bisita

Address: 637 Corydon Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3M 0W3
Phone: (204) 615-7423
Menu: bisita.ca/

Managed to pop in to Bisita this weekend to see my buddy Rod. He owns the “Pimp my Rice” food truck you have likely seen around the city has parlayed that into a restaurant. It’s called Bisita meaning: guest, visitor.

It’s a great little spot on Corydon with a nice little patio (for the freaks who like to eat outside) and the food is amazing. Roddy started us off with a little “Lumpia Shanghai” which I highly recommend. Basically a Filipino-style spring rolls filled with minced pork and mixed vegetables, drizzled with sweet soy. We also had another version of this with a sriracha mayo that was also delicious with a bit more heat (shown above).

Shan ordered “Okoy” which is Deep-fried shrimp, kamote (sweet potato), and bean sprout fritters, served on a bed of leafy greens. It was really good too and another person at our table commented that she “doesn’t usually like this type of thing, but this one is good”. I tried a little and it was yummy but I usually stay away from shrimp. Of course I had to try the “Adobo chicken wings” and found them to be a nice change from the usual. So good.

Bisita  Adobo Chicken Wings

Bisita Adobo Chicken Wings

We finished with the “Lechon Kawali” – A 24-hour brined pork belly is braised then fried. This was my attempt at something adventurous. It was good I’m the guy who peels all the fat from a slice of prime rib. The others liked it, but again not my taste.

I am not an expert on authentic Filipino cuisine but it was damn good. A solid 9/10 for me and we will certainly be back. Also it was great to see one of the original Gwoods so happy and doing so well for himself. Nice to see you old friend you cook something fierce.

Cibo Waterfront Cafe

Address: 339 Waterfront Dr, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0G8
Phone: (204) 594-0339
Menu: cibowaterfrontcafe.com

Had a really good meal at Cibo on Waterfront Dr. Yes, I know parking sucks down there and the nice man in the suit pants made that clear when he told us we couldn’t park in the nice little parking lot next to the restaurant; “it’s for hotel guests only!”. I’m sure he gets sick of telling people that and my response “hotel? What hotel” I am sure aged him a little.

I dropped off the girls and went to find parking. On my way in I saw our party on the patio and my first response was “nice patio” and “I don’t eat outside”. Big thanks to Mike for making the reservation though because this place was packed and it was all they had. I sucked it up.

Menu was reasonably priced. We ordered some wine and our meals right away because Mike and the ladies needed to make the Garth Brooks concert. I ordered “The Strip” (shown above), basically a steak sandwich with a mushroom sauce on top. I also ordered the side Caesar salad because the menu made me think it would be really good.

Right after ordering the wind picked up and things were flying all over the place. People food as it was coming out the door was being blown off the plates and water glasses spilling on tables (another reason besides bugs, sun, heat, and smokers why I don’t eat outside). We tried moving to another location outside but it wasn’t before long our waitress offered us a table inside with the smart people.

The restaurant is a really cool old pump station on the Red. If I knew I was going to write about it I would have took more pictures. It would be a really cool place to have an event like a wedding reception or something like that. The food was really good. The steak was surprisingly nice. The red wine mushroom sauce on top seemed really overpowering at first but combined with the bread and the steak really went nice. Not impressed with the Caesar though. I like a nice creamy homemade dressing and this one was very vinegar based. Tara seemed to like it though so I will chalk it up to taste.

No time for dessert on this night out, maybe next time.

Granny’s Buns

Granny Phillips used to make these for me on request. I love her, and I love them.

  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 tsp or 20 ml baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp or 2.5 ml salt
  • 1/3 cup of lard or butter
  • 2/3 cup milk
  1. Sift flour.
  2. Cut lard or butter into flour.
  3. Add salt and baking powder.
  4. Stir in milk and mix.
  5. Knead that dough – 4 more times than you think.
  6. Flour surface and rolling pin and roll out on clean flat surface.
  7. Once your dough is rolled out butter that sucker up like butter is on sale.
  8. Coat with brown sugar and cinnamon and smooth out with your palm.
  9. Roll into a nice toit log and cut into individual buns.
  10. Place on a parchment covered cookie sheet and bake for approx 15 mins at 350.

Sometimes I make some icing to drizzle on top while they are still warm so it’s more like a glaze when it cools. Just icing sugar, milk, butter, corn syrop, and some color if desired. A little vanilla or almond extract is a bonus.

Pumpkin Soup

Got this one from the kitchen of Mrs. McCann at School!

  • 1/2 cup or 125 ml diced onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/3 cup or 75 ml butter
  • 1 1/2 cups or 375 ml cooked pumpkin puree
  • 2 tbsp or 30 ml of sugar
  • 1 tsp or 5 ml salt
  • 1 tsp or 5 ml pepper
  • 1 tsp or 5 ml curry
  • 1 tsp or 5 ml nutmeg
  • 1125 ml (almost 5 cups) chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup or 125 ml heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp or 25 ml chopped parsley
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  1. Chop onions and garlic. Gently brown in butter in the soup pot.
  2. Once onion is browned add cooked pumpkin.
  3. Add sugar, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and curry.
  4. Slowly add chicken broth and heat thoroughly.

  5. Just before serving, turn off the heat and add the cream. Do not boil.
  6. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

Sometimes I leave out the nutmeg and add a little more curry to taste.

Boone Ribs

This recipe was given to me by the great and powerful Brandon Boone. The result is fall-off-the-boone ribs with a nice crunchy top.

  • 2 racks of sweet ass ribs (side or back)
  • salt and pepper
  • optional liquid (pineapple juice, JD, rootbeer, coke)
  • optional seasoning (dry mustard, garlic powder, chipotle powder)
  • BBQ sauce (we like Sweet Baby Rays and Rufus Teague)
  • aluminum foil

The key to moist, fall-off-the-boone, ribs is to let the fat slowly melt away while it acts as a self baster during the cooking process.

  1. First make sure you remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. Leaving this on will make them chewy.
  2. Preheat oven to 250 F
  3. Season with salt and pepper and place on a sheet of aluminum foil meat side down.
  4. Occasionally I add a shot or 2 of JD, rootbeer, or pineapple juice at this stage for added flavor while basting.
  5. Place ribs on a baking sheet and place in oven for 3 hours.
  6. When done remove ribs from foil and discard any juices.
  7. Add optional additional seasoning here (chipotle, mustard rub, garlic powder). Sometimes I just add more salt and pepper.
  8. Slather with your favorite BBQ sauce and broil them in the oven until the sugar in the sauce starts to brown.

The result is fall-off-the-boone ribs with a nice crunchy top.