May 4, 2011
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Queen of the Rails

The train song of the day today is Queen of the Rails, performed here by Dan Schatz. This song was written by the late U. Utah Phillips, the Golden Voice of the Great Southwest. Who else could have written about Boomer Bill and his dog Queen of the Rails this beautifully? It’s a dog song and you know they always turn out bad. And, it’s a hobo song and it’s a train song.

The first time I heard it, many years ago, it stopped me in my tracks. “The black smoke choo-choo’s gone away, bummin’ it’s just not the same, dreams are few and far between but memories seldom fail. There’s a place for some old friend who sits and waits ’til journey’s end and Boomer Bill will be glad to see old Queen of the Rails.”

I confess I’ve been saving this one up. I didn’t want to post all the very best train songs right away.

May 4, 2011
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Woody’s Burgers in Long Branch

After a dental cleaning appointment and an oil change on Monday, I decided to treat myself to lunch in the neighbourhood and opted to try Woody’s Burgers, located on Lakeshore and 40th, at the west end of Long Branch (in the South West corner of the amalgamated Toronto). This location used to host a place called Wood Fire Grill for a while, but I guess they couldn’t make a go of it. I’m not sure exactly when Woody’s opened, but I’ve been meaning to try it for some time. They have some competition in the immediate area. Just down the block is Burrito Boyz and just behind them is the Empanada Company. When I went in for a Monday lunch, I was happy to see they had a few customers.

Woody’s website touts them as having the Best Toronto Burgers. I don’t know if that is true, but I can say that I enjoyed a very tasty burger with a side of excellent fries. I enjoyed the smell of the wood grill, and I appreciated being able to get a cold Keiths to enjoy with my meal.

They use a pager system at this place and I have to say that I’m not a fan of these devices. You give your order at the cash and the cashier gives you a pager, and when your meal is ready, the pager makes an annoying racket and you go up to pick your condiments. The guy paging me was 15 feet away. I’d rather give my name and have him say, hey Mister Anchovy, your burger is ready, bud. But really, I’d prefer table service. A burger, fries and a beer at Woody’s is about the same price as you would pay at a pub, but in a pub you get much better service.

The other criticism I had was too many choices. Some people like that, but if I’m going in for a burger, I’m going in for a burger. I don’t need to choose from many different specialty burgers. Not only were there a lot of burger choices (plus they also serve pulled pork sandwiches) but also a lot of condiment choices. When I asked for hot sauce on my burger, the guy pointed to a row of a dozen different hot sauces and told me to choose one and put my own on. I don’t need to choose my hot sauce. I would much much much rather the restaurant choose one that would be their signature hot sauce and when you ask for it, you get it.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal and I think it’s a pretty good neighbourhood burger joint with fair prices for good quality well prepared food. I do think the place could be improved by working on service and by simply reducing the choices, but these are not deal-breakers. I’m sure I’ll be back and next time I’d like to try the pulled pork.

May 1, 2011
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Exploring the hidden urban landscape

I’ve driven by this spot many times without ever venturing in. There is more forest than you would expect, including some very large trees. Maybe I’ll find mushrooms here sometime during the season.