All About Food

A lot of people know that I am passionate about food. And when it comes to being a food critic my credibility among family and friends is dangerously close to zero. Because they think nothing tastes bad for me. The truth is, when I like what I eat I would gush about it, otherwise, I would stay quiet - not even complain. Right now I would like to write about my experience with food here so far in Iqaluit because somehow I've been thinking a lot about it. Again, this is something that doesn't come as a surprise to those who know me well.

First of all, the price of commodity (including food)here is definitely much more expensive than elsewhere in Canada. But I think it's just crazy to rant about that fact day in and day out because like the constant presence of snow, it is something one has to live with. So yes... First thing, I won't complain about the price.

I admit that I have always been a little too adventurous when it comes to food. I know for sure that I lack the DNA for queasy stomach. I am willing to try anything exotic even extreme. Eating exotic northern delicacies, however, is still a part of my wish list here. And this definitely needs an altogether different post. This post is actually about my day to day subsistence.

Hospital Food

I know the word yummy and hospital food can hardly be found together in the same sentence but here in Iqaluit I have found an unexpected exception. First day of orientation I was with another new hire and we had quite a late lunch at the cafeteria. I ordered a small poutine and coffee and she had the same. We were famished from all the information overload so we were eating silently for a few minutes. Then almost at the same time, although, neither one of us wanted to say it at first..we both asked ourselves, "are we just really starving or isn't this one of the best poutine ever"? Followed by, "wow this coffee is not just 'not bad', it's actually quite good!". Now if I try to rewind that scene a bit further, we were at first a little put off when we entered the cafeteria because it looked just a bit sketchy to the point of being scary but since we were hungry, we decided to look past appearances and got ourselves a pleasant surprise. Ok, so granted we were just really really hungry, for our second break that day we decided to go back to the cafeteria for another cup of coffee. Same verdict. It was good-atypical-for-hospital-cafeteria coffee. And during one of my shifts I got a large poutine and same thing- one of the best poutine I've ever tasted. Back in Calgary, I tried one of the haute cuisine poutine at one of the high end restaurants there and I wasn't really that thrilled. And I just said to myself how high end can you really go with a poutine when it's really more of a winter comfort food than cuisine. But I love the cafeteria poutine. The fries are done just right..not greasy, crunchy on the outside warm and soft on the inside..the gravy's perfect, not too salty with enough peppery taste that I like and the curds of cheese are just so good.

One of my co nurses' just crazy about the breakfast sandwich so one time I thought of giving it a try and again I was delightfully surprised about so unhospital cafeteria like the taste was! Then they had this dinner special one time where you get roast beef, mashed potato, veggies and choice of soup or salad ( I had the barley soup). It was arranged square meal/ barracks like so it wasn't aesthetically enticing but again the taste just surprised me! It was really, unexpectedly good! One perk we get when working the night shift is that we are provided with our night shift "lunch". And last night we had this yummy steak sandwich, with chunky and creamy mushroom soup, pasta, cookie, crackers and juice! Not a bad deal for working nights, eh? I was one happy nurse!

Grind and Brew

As I've said I am hanging out in this cafe at the hotel lobby called Grind and Brew. Mostly to avail of the free wifi but as a courtesy to the kind Filipina cashier who lets me stay here for as long as I want, I also buy myself something to eat and drink. Which is really not a supreme form of sacrifice for me because they serve good food and great local coffee. I first tried their veggie wrap and it was one of the best wraps I've ever had...overloaded with cheese, mushroom, eggs and pepper. Right now I am finishing my Thai noodle salad which is another delightful discovery for me. Yesterday, the cashier recommended their personal size pizza so I got one for take out. I thought I'd save some for dinner but I finished everything at lunch time!

Storehouse Bar and Grill

Right now as I am finishing this post, I am looking at the line up at storehouse bar and grill..the cafe where I am at is just outside the grill. It's Wednesday and it is wing night here at the grill... Where a ten piece chicken wings cost $5. Last night I asked one of the nurses, is wing nights so popular because the wings are cheap or because they taste good? She said, "both". Well, that's good enough for me. When I am done with this I will join the queue and get myself some wings for dinner.


I am planning to try the Northern Sunday brunch they have here at the inn when I get to have a Sunday off, I heard it's a must try too.. I am adding a lot of things in my gustatory wish list right now because so far I have not been disappointed.

Now for those wings....