The Stinking Rose

Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Address: 325 Columbus Ave
Date: Feb 2014
Website:  www.thestinkingrose.com

  One of us is very fond of garlic.  So when we discovered a restaurant totally devoted to garlic based recipes we just had to pay it a visit.  The Stinking Rose in San Francisco stands out as you drive down Columbus Avenue.  It has been turning heads with its unusual name and filling noses with its overpowering smell for over 25 years.

   The idea for the restaurant came after a visit to the Gilroy Garlic Festival.  The town of Gilroy is about an hour and a half south of San Francisco and is known for its garlic.  We stopped in Gilroy to gas up the car during our California driving trip.  As soon as we exited the vehicle we could smell the garlic, even over the fumes from the gas station.  We also paid a visit to Garlic World which is a grocery / souvenir shop selling local products.

  Back at The Stinking Rose we enjoyed an appetizer of garlic spinach fondue and followed it up with a couple of garlic based entrees.  Everything was delicious and after our meal we advertised for the restaurant with our breath.

  The restaurant also boasts one of the world's longest garlic braids.  It has close to 2,600 blubs on it and wraps all around the interior of the restaurant.  If you are looking for a unique dining experience we highly recommend The Stinking Rose.  It was one of the culinary highlights of our California trip.

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Map of Our World
The Stinking Rose , Garlic World

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Post # 132

White Castle

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: 89-03 57th Ave
Date: Jan 2009
Website:  www.whitecastle.com

  We went to White Castle and we got thrown out!  Oh no, that wasn't us, that was the Beastie Boys.  We went to White Castle because we had a craving.  It wasn't quite like the craving Harold and Kumar experience in the movie Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, but we were hungry.  Harold & Kumar have a series of misadventures before finally getting their long awaited burgers.  We just hopped in the car with some friends and drove to the nearest location to pick up a Crave Case.

  A Crave Case is a cardboard suitcase filled with 30 of White Castle's signature burgers.  Their tiny steamed burgers made with onions and a pickle are the original slider.  White Castle was formed in 1921 and was the first fast food hamburger chain in the world.  After spending a cold, January day in New York, we polished off our whole case of burgers.  They really hit the spot. 

  The movie Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle was set in New Jersey, but in reality the building where Harold & Kumar lived is in Toronto, Canada. It is located just a few blocks south of St. Clair West and Avenue Road. There have never been any White Castle restaurants in Canada so for the full experience you would have to cross the border into the United States. The good news is that some grocery and convenience stores in Canada sell frozen White Castle burgers. That means you could pick up some burgers at the Longo's near Avenue and St. Clair and walk down to Edmund Ave. You could then enjoy your burger in front of the fictional apartment from the movie. That is if you can also find a microwave first.

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This location is near Summerhill subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

Map of Our World
Mayfair Mansions
White Castle (Elmhurst, NY)

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Post # 131

Toronto Prop Party

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 100 Princes' Blvd.
Date: Aug 2014
Website:  www.torontopropexpo.com

  One year at the Canadian National Exhibition we walked through the Direct Energy Centre and were soon surrounded by some familar movie faces.  That particular year there was an exhibit by Toronto Prop Party which is a group of movie fans dedicated to building replicas of props and costumes from their favourite films.

  The amount of detail and time put into these recreations would have fooled us into believing that they were the real deal.  Masks and props from the Star Wars films appear to be one of the most popular fan recreations.

  There were even some Star Wars replica lightsabers.  Our research shows that in the original film the lightsaber was quite a simple prop and was actually the handle that held the flash bulb of an old Graflex camera.  If you could locate one of those you would be 90% of the way to your own replica.

  Harrison Ford has been lucky enough to have been a big part of both the Star Wars films and the Indiana Jones movies.  Above he is frozen in carbonite as Han Solo and below is his famous Indiana Jones fedora.  Again these are replicas made by fans.  We expect that more time was spent creating Han's carbonite prison.

  There were a couple of Transformers.  A huge Optimus Prime towered over anyone who stopped for a photo opportunity.  He stands nearly 23 feet tall and weighs about 2 tonnes. 

  There was also Bumblebee who is one of the Autobots and transforms into a Volkswagen Beetle.  We could tell that this robot was a replica as the real Bumblebee does not have "Please Do Not Touch" signs on his knees. 

  We never determined if these robot replicas actually had the ability to transform.

  Another movie from the 80s that has fans honouring it with replica props is Back To The Future.  There was a gravestone from Back To The Future Part III as well as the licence plate from the DeLorean time travelling car.  We were impressed with the dedication that went into recreating these movie props from these beloved films.

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Map of Our World
Direct Energy Centre

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Post # 130