Review - George's Burgers and Subs - OPA!

There it is. The Double Fat Boy.  It has been a while since I have had one of these.  I'm generally good for about two of these burgers within one 12 month period.  I had one at VJ's back in May or June, and I decided to try one from Georges on this day in August.
I was out shopping and had some time too kill just after noon.  And having missed breakfast, I was feeling rather hungry.  I was about to head home when I decided to try a place I had never been, but oft considered.
I arrived at the right time.  I was lucky to get a table right away as shortly after I sat down I noticed a lineup build that was still evident when I left 30 mins later.  There is no possible way for this establishment to fit any more patrons into this restaurant.  The challenge of a roundish dining room was met by the finest Greek engineers and I am certain that aside from messing with the fabric of space-time, there is no way another seat could be added.  And it seemed oddly out of scale.  It reminded me of those Fisher Price play houses that had rooms that were just big enough for the furniture, but that was it.  No walking about allowed.  Which I suppose is fine, as Fisher Price people only have that roundish base so you can stuff them into their various vehicles.  No feet.
I was completely surrounded by the all too discernable coversations around me.  The people next to me were new acquaintances. They met the night before at the bar and spent the night together.  She was still wearing her bar clothes and what remained of her up-do.  He was wearing fresh clothes, and a pretty obvious hickey. 
The booth behind me was crammed full of at least 6 guys, one of which had brought his five year old daughter because "the wife was out shopping".  These guys belonged here.  Fixtures.  They were talking about horsepower, hunting, drywall compound, and the waitresses ass.  These were men.  All of them divorced, save for the latecomer with the 5 year old.  But, honestly, any guy that refers to his life partner, and the mother of his child as "the wife" is standing on the sidelines of the painful game of divorce.  But I digress.
The menu here is no surprise.  You will find the same fare at a dozen different places in the city.  Notably Steve's on Ness, the Olympia on Portage, and Johnny's on Marion.  I decide I will try the Double Fat Boy platter.  It was awesome.  I have always thought that even though shredded lettuce is a bit messier lettuce-wise, it prevents a more stain inducing condiment based mishap that can be caused by full leaves of lettuce.  I couldn't finish the whole thing.  I ended up leaving half of the fries, and a couple of bites of the burger.  The whole thing came to 12 dollars including tip and an iced tea.
So there it is.  You have just read an entire page only to find out that Greeks know how to make a decent Fat Boy Platter.  Which is a fact you already knew.  I'm sorry.  Please direct all complaints to the comments link below.

Well, hello.

This greeted me in the washroom this morning.  I stared at it entirely too long.  I just wanted to remember the stolen moment we shared.  So I took a picture.  And I put it on the internet.  For all of you to judge me.

Review - Princess Grill

I just got another response to my less than glowing (and far from official) review of the Lovey's BBQ restaurant. This has prompted me to consider that people are actually reading these musings so perhaps I should juxtapose my dissatisfaction with Lovey's with a thought stream about a restaurant I DO like.

Enter: the Princess Grill.

I don't know the history of this place, but I bet it's interesting. I saw a writeup in the Sun earlier this year, and thought I would try to make an effort to visit. Last week, I had some time, so I found myself a parking spot among the construction and went for breakfast.

The decor is clean and very basic. I like that in a breakfast place. I get nervous when there are hanging plants and doilies on the tables. You can count on your breakfast costing you a good dollar more just so you can have a plant near your table.

I was immediately greeted by a pretty, smiling face and given a menu and a coffee. I'm guessing Folgers. Hot and good. And served in one of those thick, white porcelain cups. Clear glass mugs are for the doily restaurant and giveaways at Domo.

I opted for the breakfast special: Sausage, Over Easy, and Brown toast. As I waited, I read the newspaper I brought. This proved to be a bit of a challenge. Note to future visitors, if you wish to read the paper, bring a headlamp, or sit closer to one of the many windows. I only had to wait about 10 minutes. Although I wish my eggs had shown up a couple minutes earlier. By the time the whole ensemble had made it to me, the eggs looked delicious, but they were rather cold.

The rest of the cast was excellent. The real potato hash browns were done nicely, and the sausages were split, but not overcooked. And the toast (hard to screw up toast) was hot and lightly buttered. I'd also like to note that the sausages were served on top of the potatoes. This is a nice presentation method.

One criticism I have about many breakfast joints, this one included, is the toast toppings and how they are offered. I dislike when the selection is decided for me and there is one jam packet placed on the plate with the toast. This was the case here. I would rather be given nothing and had to have asked for my preference than to have to appear to be dissatisfied with the selection given and ask for another. Some places have that top loading, bottom serving jam-a-rama deal that gives you ready access to 8 packets each of at least 6 flavors. This is the other side of the spectrum, and although appreciated, not necessarily required. A good middle road is the small bowl at the table with, say, a half dozen random packets in it. And as long as there is at least one peanut butter, and another non-marmalade choice, we're good.

Breakfast special including coffee came to slightly north of $7.00. Another 1.50 for the tip. I would have felt a bit better had the eggs been warm. But I will be back. I enjoyed it very much overall.