Merry Christmas from Urban Informed!

Eating at Taverne Gaspar for #MTLaTABLE

Last Sunday the Montreal restaurant event called MTLaTable was being observed by over 40 restaurants around the city. I managed to make a decision along with my partner in crime MBT and we decided to go to Taverne Gaspar in Old Montreal, a place where we had never been. 

The great thing about these events is that there are so many restaurants participating you always have the chance to eat at a place that you have never tried before. So on to Gaspar it was.

THE FOOD

Going with the MTLaTable menu I started out with the Caesar Prosciutto salad with parmesan shavings. If you are a fan of having salads before your meals then this salad is one you will enjoy. The prosciutto bits with the dressing and the parmesan cheese shavings makes for a great mix and you will not want to put the fork down. The salad was also great because it was not so big that it would fill me up before the main or dessert. I have had times when the actual appetizer was so much I could barely get through the main meal and by then I had no interest in dessert but this was different. It was just enough to get me ready for the main meal. 

Caesar salad with prosciutto and parmesan shavings

My main meal was a delicious hamburger but not any burger. A bacon cheeseburger with Jim Bean BBQ sauce, a deep fried onion ring and coleslaw all inside the burger. I should add it came with fries on the side. I am a burger fan and so even though I could get a burger at any time I just had to try this one out and it was wonderful. Another mix of tastes almost canceled out the onion ring. I think I could have eaten two of those things. As for MBT, she had the risotto and as she said, "it was great. Probably the best risotto I have had". 

Bacon cheeseburger with Jim Bean BBQ sauce, deep fried onion ring and coleslaw.

Lastly for dessert, I had the brownie with ice cream. A great dessert to finish off the evening. Who says no to chocolate anyway? 

ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere inside the restaurant was great. It was not too dark so you could actually see where you were walking. Some restaurants have a tendency to place their music loud, so loud that you can hardly carry a conversation. The best places play their music at a level where you can still talk to your dinner partner and at the end of the evening forget that there was music even playing. All that to say that I can't say if there was music playing. Now that's pretty good Gaspar! 

RATING

The entire evening out was rated a 4 out of 5. A definite must try restaurant especially with its great location in Old Montreal on De La Commune.  

For Taverne Gaspar's website, click here. 

#mtlatable

MTL a Table is back

The culinary event known as "Restaurant Week" (#MTLaTable) is set to return from October 29th to November 8th with a long list of restaurants offering $21, $31 and $41 set meals for Montreal die hard foodies. In addition this year some of the restaurants will also be offering $21 brunch menus.

Montreal restaurant week is a great way to get to know different restaurants in the city that you might not get a chance to experience on a regular basis. Several restaurants that I've discovered through MTLaTable include Vieux Port Steakhouse, Suite 701 and Mechant Boeuf. Every year is a new opportunity to discover another restaurant and take advantage of the different events such as culinary tours and wine tastings.

For more information on MTLaTable, check out the Tourism Montreal website.

Wall Street Journal Interview with Ice Cube and O'Shea Jackson Jr.

An interview with O'Shea Jackson (Ice Cube) and his son O'Shea Jackson Jr. who played him in the movie Straight Outta Compton from the Wall Street Journal.

Montreal Burger Week

Le Burger Week starts tomorrow in Montreal and other cities across Canada. The week long celebration for burger lovers will involve over 30 Montreal establishments who will be dishing out their best burgers for the public to enjoy. Everything from Peking Duck Burgers to Veggie burgers to burgers with eggs in them and burgers with smoked pulled pork. There is a burger for everyone with all the establishments that are participating.

To find all of the participating establishments across Montreal and in other cities, check out the website for Le burger week or better yet get the Le Burger Week app that will display all the burgers from all the restaurants in each city that is participating. The app has several features which allow you to see the top burger eaters and the top rated burgers during the week. I hope you all have a gym near you, it will be a greasy week.


Check out the website Le Burger Week.

Enjoy!

U.S. Flag raised in Cuba

An historic moment indeed and a reminder that we all need to work together to affect real change. We all know more work needs to be done but the foundation has been laid.

What Is In a Name? Quebec and the N-word

Once again in Quebec there seems to be a controversy regarding the use and meaning of the N-word. Whether it be the French term Negre or the English version Nigger, some people in Quebec seem to downplay the harm that this word does simply by saying "There is no negative connotation like it has in the U.S." etc. Now yes, I've heard people use that excuse and a lot more then turn and blame the English media in Quebec for making them look like racists. I'd like to point out that not all Francophones and not all Anglophones are ignorant to the word Nigger but some simply are ignorant.

The latest case has actually been around for decades but has recently come to light. It has recently become public knowledge (beyond the local municipality) that there are public areas in the province of Quebec that have the word Nigger or Negre as names for public places, for example part of the Gatineau River named Nigger Rapids reportedly in memory of a black couple that drowned there in the early 1900's. The rapids are in the area of the town of Bouchette Quebec and it is surprising that the local public there seem to have no issue with those rapids being called Nigger Rapids. It is almost as if the population has no awareness of the issues of the word and the backlash against that word across much of North America. And well, maybe it's not a controversy for the locals because they are not around many black people who can effectively say why there is an issue with the N-word. Maybe the history and use of this word is just not communicated much in Quebec. Whatever it is, the recent revelations has not even moved the mayor of this town (Rejean Major) to want to have the name changed. If you can image anywhere else in Canada or the United States where there was a lake or rapids with the word Nigger in the name and the mayor of the neighbouring town says that there is nothing wrong and would not demand a name change? Could you imagine that?

The excuse that nobody talks about this may point to the issue of how many black people live in the town. There seems to be no significant pocket of black people in that town to have made noise about this sosaying no one talks about the name seems useless to say since it seems that most are ignorant to the meaning. I can say that sometimes ignorance is not the fault of the person or this case the town, the true test is when you explain to the people why having the name Nigger Rapids is offensive and the mayor and other people still are steadfast in not wanting to change the name. Now we have a problem Houston!

When reading up on this, I was amazed to read how some local people believed that the name Nigger Rapids "showed the history of black people in Quebec and how it was at that time" and how some believe that there was no other name they could replace Nigger Rapids with. I will let that marinate with you a bit but its infuriating and frustrating that once again the word Nigger in English or Negre in French is in the public discourse in Quebec because most Quebecers seem to be ignorant to the word yet still try to defend the use of it. It is amazingly frustrating. However, the reason why this has become public is because the Quebec Toponymy Commission which studies name changes says that they will look into whether the name should be changed. Although this is a good thing I have an issue with the some of the things they have been saying about this situation.

It is almost obvious that local officials knew of this name and said nothing because they are ignorant to the word. The commission says that name has not been changed because there was no public pressure to do so yet we understand a bit why right? Another thing that bothered me was the this same Toponymy Commission approved the name of Nigger Rapids back in 1983! The commission should definitely right this wrong and they probably will. According to the commission spokesperson Pierre Leblanc this process could take time which I guess as long as the process will happen we should let it run its course but I'm puzzled how changing this name (a racial slur) from a public place cannot be fast tracked.

The kicker to this is that within the province of Quebec there are other places named simular to Nigger Rapids. I have heard of this one place called Nigger Rock, near the U.S. border where black slaves are said to have been buried between 1794 and 1833. I've heard the stories personally but I'm not sure anyone knows for sure and its something you would not learn in school because black history is as scarce in Quebec schools as sex education.... wait, they are bringing that back. However, other sites in Quebec include Niger River, Lac du Negre, Riviere du Negre among others. Nobody in Quebec wants to hear this but listen closely, Quebec has a problem and its being tossed under a rug. I'm not saying people are racist but I am saying people are very ignorant. Ignorant to the point we may soon be calling people racist especially if we correct them and they reject it.

Let's correct these names and let's fast track that change. Quebec is better than this!

Urban Informed at the Movies - Straight Outta Compton

Any movie with a historical context will always be of interest to me. In particular if it involves the lives of the black community and their rarely heard voices. In my time growing up in the 1980's and early 90's, N.W.A was the biggest and most influential thing in gangsta rap coming out of the west coast. The N.W.A influence expanded from music to movies depicting the struggles of the black community with the police, public institutions etc.

Straight Outta Compton has become a style and a saying now in pop culture. This movement changed how society looked at the inner cities of America and for better or worse exposed millions of kids around America and the world to what was happening in their neighbourhoods.

Drogba to the Impact

The Montreal Impact have just awakened the sleeping soccer heads in the city with the arrival of new star import and legend Didier Drogba. We have seen some big name players come to the Impact before. Players like Alessandro Nesta and Marco Di Viao to name just two but with the addition of Didier Drogba the Impact have instantly become a name read around the world. But then again, Didier Drogba is a global player having played internationally for Ivory Coast, played club level for teams in France, China, Turkey and most famously in England for Chelsea FC.

With over 100 goals to his name at Chelsea and 65 goals for his country, Drogba will now try to make an impact in North America in a city which he picked to play in. If there was any doubt about Drogba's global presence then you probably should have been at the Montreal airport or seen the video of the welcome Drogba received upon stepping foot on Canadian soil. 

As they say, the legend grows! 

Montreal International Jazz Fest 2015

This Friday June 26th will be the start of the 36th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival in the heart of downtown Montreal. Over the years this event has become a must for locals and now is a must for jazz enthusiasts from around the world.  

As usual, expect thousands of people to pass through the festival especially for the free outdoor shows which on these hot summer nights are always a treat and on July 5th there will be a tribute to one of the greatest jazzmen of all-time, BB King. 

Checl out the website for more details for this years festival.

Montreal Jazz Festival

Switch Pitching

So what do you do when you are hitting and the pitcher throws from both sides? The Boston Red Sox hitters found that out earlier this month when they faced Oakland A's switch pitcher Pat Venditte.

Four Brown Girls Web Launch

On Friday, I was invited to the website launch for Montreal's newest outlet for women of colour to share and encourage and tell their stories called Four Brown Girls. 

FBG as the name would entail is headed by four women who have created this network of professionals to address the needs of black women but also inspire entrepreneurship and well-being within that community through events such as networking and through their new website that launched with this event on Friday. 

I'm happy to say I know two of the four founders and I know how extremely hard they have prepared their company to reach this point where the word is now getting out about the good things they have to offer the community that is not readily available in our city. The ladies at FBG are always looking for other women of colour willing to tell their story and contribute to the growing movement they have started now through their website blog. 

And of yes, Friday's event was held at Kyozon Bar & Cuisine on Crescent Street in downtown Montreal. One of the newer spots on Crescent in the heart of the entertainment district. A great place for a professional opening. 

Check out FBG on these social media outlets.

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

FIFA Women's World Cup 2015

The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup has started here in Canada and after a couple days the games have been very exciting to watch. Obviously, watching the home team Canadians is the priority but the Americans will also be ones to watch as will defending Champions Japan and young up and coming teams like Nigeria.

The Nigerian Super Falcons played Monday against the Swedish team which is a veteran team and one of the top European sides in the World Cup. Nigeria after dropping 2 goals down managed to tie the game at 2 before giving up another Swedish goal to fall behind 3-2 until the 87' when the Nigerians tied the game in dramatic fashion to earn the tie. The result is huge for Nigeria with 2 more group games to go including a game against the Americans that might determine if they go through to the Round of 16. 

The Nigerians owned much of Monday's match against Sweden. Only more clinical finishing and a better defensive structure stopped them from really upsetting the Europeans. 

The Americans for their part got by Australia 3-1.

As for the host Canadians, they looked a bit shaky for much of the game but a late penalty goal by All-World player Christine Sinclair gave Canada a shoulder shrugging 1-0 victory. 

Food Truck Friday

This Friday food trucks will congregate for the 2nd time this year at the Esplanade at Olympic Stadium for what I call Food Truck Friday. This event has quickly become a better reason to say TGIF on the first Fridays of each month as that is when this event happens. Over 35 food trucks plus entertainment and hopefully some warm weather as well should make this a great way to start the summer season. 

If you cannot make the Friday event you can find out where your favourite food trucks will be during the month by clicking here.

Food Truck Friday on the Olympic Stadium esplanade is from 4pm to 10pm. 

Food Truck Friday @ Olympic Stadium Esplanade

Sepp Blatter Resigns as FIFA Boss

By The Canadian Press

FIFA president Sepp Blatter will resign from soccer's governing body amid a widening corruption scandal and has promised to call for fresh elections to choose a successor.

Blatter, 79 was re-elected to a fifth term Friday, two days after a corruption crisis erupted and seven soccer officials were arrested in Zurich ahead of the FIFA congress.

"This mandate does not seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football," Blatter said Tuesday at a hastily arranged news conference. "FIFA needs a profound restructuring."

Elections are expected to take place sometime between December and March.

"I will continue to exercise my function (until the new election)," said Blatter, who looked strained and serious.

Three days earlier, Blatter was defiant and feisty in the same room when fending off questions about FIFA's battered reputation and the chance U.S. federal agencies could seek his arrest.

Blatter said he reached the decision after he had "thoroughly considered my presidency and ... the last 40 years in my life."

Photo by BBC Sports

Canadian men's coach Benito Floro had little to say about Blatter's resignation.

"I do not have any opinion because this is not my matter," the Spanish native said on a conference call to announce Canada's roster for its upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Dominica. "I don't understand the situation.

"My only desire is that FIFA work correctly and nothing more. But I don't control this situation."

Canadian Soccer Association president Victor Montagliani was not immediately available. Canada did not vote for Blatter at last week's FIFA Congress, saying change was needed in the way the game of soccer was governed.

Blatter joined FIFA in 1975 as technical director for development projects, was promoted to general secretary in 1981 and spent 17 years as right-hand man to Joao Havelange of Brazil before being elected to lead world soccer.

The new election will be overseen by Domenico Scala, chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee.

Scala gave a statement immediately after Blatter in which he praised a decision that was "difficult and courageous in the current circumstances."

"This is the most responsible way to ensure an orderly transition," Scala said.

Julio Franco: 5 decade baseball player

Here's a look at former Major League star Julio Franco by Vice Sports.

Urban Informed at the Movies - San Andreas

I have always loved a good movie, a night out on the town sitting in a theatre with some popcorn or nachos and just watching a good movie. Now we each have our own opinion on what constitutes a good movie for us and I in no way would tell you what is a good movie or not but I will post movies I think will be interesting to me.

With that said, the first movie that I will post is actually coming out today. San Andreas hits theatres today and from the trailer it gives you that feel of other movies that have dealt with major earthquakes and disasters that hit big cities. The popularity with the "big one" is a fascinating one, it may happen soon or it may not but Hollywood cannot stop making movies about what the "big one" would look like.

This movie stars WWE star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a rescue pilot and whether you love, hate or are indifferent to who he is one thing is sure, he will make this movie a popular one at the box
office.

Michael Sam to play in Montreal

The Michael Sam saga is going to take another turn as the 25 yr old football player is headed to Montreal to continue his playing career. Sam who is more famous for being the first openly gay player to make an NFL training camp now has the same distinction in the Canadian Football League. After unsuccessful stints with the St. Louis Rams who drafted Sam and then the Dallas Cowboys, Sam will come to the CFL not unlike other American players who come north not just to continue to play and earn a paycheque doing it but also maybe just maybe catch an NFL's scouts eye over the next 2 years. 

Michael Sam may not be the only gay athlete in pro sports in North America but the fact he was able to come out and endure the lauding and criticism that comes with the announcement has built his celebrity since he has yet to play a down as a professional football player. The Montreal Alouettes have always given NFL hopefuls and vets a chance to play as we have since with Chad Ochocinco, Tommy Frazier and Lawrence Philips to name a couple players so it was probably no surprise that once the Alouettes had Sam on their negotiation list it was inevitable Sam would end up signing if the NFL did not provide him a chance to play.

Hopefully when Sam arrives and starts training camp, the attention will go to his ability on the field and not his sexual orientation. Looking at his past at the University of Missouri, Sam is a talented defensive player who just help a Montreal defense that needs to redefine itself and become as dominant as they once were. I'm sure that this spring camp for the Alouettes will be watched closely by many people.