Bonspiels & Bon Bons
Chinese food and curling seem like a combination unique to Thunder Bay. Not to say I’ve been to every curling club in Canada, but is it a coincidence that all three curling clubs here have a Chinese restaurant? I think not. The only other club in Canada that I’ve been to with an Asian restaurant was in Yellowknife. It was a Thai restaurant and sadly they closed last December for a variety of reasons. So I think Thunder Bay has been doing something right that the rest of the country hasn’t caught onto… yet.
As part of our cover story we profile Kakabeka Falls Curling Club, Fort William Curling Club, and the Port Arthur Curling Club. We provide some history on these clubs and review a signature dish from each Chinese restaurant. We also provide some information about the history of curling in Thunder Bay, profile local ice technician legend Lloyd “Schneider” Stansell, and get invited to the Drunkinental Cup, a backyard bonspiel that’s a Westfort tradition. Speaking of things exclusive to Thunder Bay, Kim Latimer traces the origins of the bon bon spare rib, and Chef Rachel Globensky dishes out a tasty recipe.
Also, February brings Valentine’s Day, and to mark the occasion, music columnist Gord Ellis shares five of his favourite love ballads, our menswear curator Lyle Morissette provides some advice for date night, our sommelier Jeannie Dubois presents wine pairing for some “romance-inducing dishes meals,” and Michael Sobota gives “some sublime and some ridiculous” examples of the use of “I love you” in film.
So back to curling and Chinese food—why and how does this combination work? Consider the Chinese philosophy yin and yang, how opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary to each other—well, I think curling and Chinese food are just that.
-Adrian Lysenko
READ THE FEBRUARY ISSUE HERE OR BY CLICKING THE COVER BELOW:
