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In Honor and Memory of Donna Tkacz

In Honor and Memory of Donna Tkacz

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers in memory of Donna, that donations be made in her name to the John Theurer Cancer Center at the Hackensack University Medical Center.

Please send your donation with a short note indicating that it is in honor and memory of Donna Tkacz to:

HUMC Foundation
In Honor of Mrs. Donna Tkacz
360 Essex Street; Suite 301
Hackensack, NJ 07601

Checks may be made payable to the HUMC Foundation, indicating in the notes section that the donation is in support of the John Theurer Cancer Center.

Donations may also be made online at http://www.humcfoundation.com. If you chose to donate online, please also indicate that the donation is in memory and honor of Donna Tkacz.

The entire family thanks you for your support and love during this time.

SDRNews.com HP Magic Giveaway

Here's my video entry for the SDRNews.com HP Magic Giveaway.

Click here to watch, and please excuse the way I look, it's been a long few days. LOL

Edited - I won! Thank you so much SDRNews.com!

Poutine, or How I Learned to Stop My Heart and Love the Cheese Curd

I had heard a lot about this delicacy known only to Quebec. Some said it was a treasure, others warned me to avoid it at all costs. So what exactly is poutine? We strove to find out.

Wikipedia defines poutine as "is a dish consisting of French fries topped with fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy and sometimes additional ingredients."

While that is an accurate representation, it doesn't give the full story. Poutine, simply put, is comfort food. Every country has it and it is absolutely nothing of which to be ashamed. Everyone needs a food that offers warmth on a cold day or brightens our mood after a bad one. Poutine is simply the Canadian answer to this sociological staple.

We had poutine twice while in Montreal. Truth be told, that's all we could take physically. We tried it at two vastly different establishments. The first being a fancier restaurant, who deconstructed the poutine slightly and offered a unique twist to it. The second was a classic chain restaurant that served up the classic poutine with neither style nor panache.

So which was better? Well, neither really. Both offered a yummy dish on a cold day and both put smiles on our faces.

Regardless, do not be embarrassed to go for what is kitsch or easy when travelling. Sometimes they offer the most accurate insight into the heart of a nation.

Montreal - Day One: Land of the Evil Cow

Two weeks ago, we went on a 3-day trip to Montreal. It had been a long planned trip, and we were really looking forward to a brief escape from real life.

We had a direct flight from Dulles to Montreal, which was easy as pie, and immediately made our way to the Montreal Marriott Chateau Champlain. What a great hotel. I love Marriott, as you will soon come to learn, and this one was perfect. Was it the best hotel in which we've ever stayed? No. BUT, it was nice and located right next to the metro, which was perfect! As our custom, we relaxed for a few and then headed out to eat dinner. On the advice of the concierge, we went to a restaurant in the Old Town area called the Mechant Boeuf, or Evil Cow. For meatlovers, such as ourselves, this was perfect. We started off with poutine, which will be a separate post later on, followed by a super fancy burger for me a beer can chicken for Scott. It was a lot of food and we couldn't finish it all, but it was a great evening. It had been a long day so we strolled around for a bit afterwards and then went back to the hotel for a nice nights sleep.

This was our brief first day. More to come!