The Month End

We've nearly reached the end of the month whose rhyme starts with "April Showers..."
So we've got lots to be glad about. You know, like, May finally being around the proverbial corner.
And April Showers coming to the end (which I normally liken to November Showers. Both of which I am not keen on).

To warm your hearts and sharpen your mind we have today...
Vegetarian-Friendly Mushroom Soup &
Beer Braised Beef Stew.

I'm looking forward to seeing all your lovely faces,
Max

Dragging Feet

I have a problem getting to bed on time.
I can't say that I'm getting anything extra accomplished in the three hours or more I stay up each night past what I would designate as my "bed time." This troubles me. It troubles me most as I yawn and yawn and yawn past two cups of coffee and two shots of espresso. Quitting coffee wasn't on the horizon anyhow but as I reflect now on it... coffee is a habit I am not going to be kicking anytime ever.

I think I'm going to have vegetables for lunch to help me pick up my feet.
We've got a pot of Sweet & Delicious Roasted Vegetable Stew on the go. Yum.
Also, a new twist on a Hank's favourite: Dan D's pot o' Cabbage and Bacon Soup.

How's your Monday going? Dragging feet? See you for coffee.

Best o' Mondays,
Max

Risk vs. Chance

You know what I especially love about the weather? The weather forecast.
I've been enjoying watching the looming high pressure meeting the low pressure systems and the fun words it makes meteorologists use.
This afternoon there is a risk (POP 30%/someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard) of thunderstorms. Later this evening there is a chance (POP 60%/something that happens unpredictably without discernible human intention or observable cause).
I know words mean different things in different contexts - but how could it be that risking something is less of a possibility than chancing something?
That's my weather brouhaha for the day.

Also, things are shaping up at ol' Hanks.
Dan D has a big ol' pot of Carrot & Ginger Soup on.
He is also stirrin' up a stew I am calling Curry Chunk o' Beef & Veg Stew.
You know, big chunks of beef & veggies in a curry like stew-liquid.
(Also, this is why I am not a scientist. I would have too much fun naming compounds.)

On another note, I am looking forward to a beautiful day.

See you soon,
Max

The Tuesdays of our lives. I mean, Wednesday.

Howdy. I just gathered myself together and arrived for lunch time. By title alone you should be able to tell that I haven't hunted and gathered any caffine yet. I'm working on that next.

There's a pot of Vegetable Goulash on the stove. I'm sampling some. Not very traditional (Goulash comes from the Hungarian word for cattle stockman or herdsman). No beef here, but something your Nagy-mama (Hungarian Grandmother) could be proud of.

So, for the beef-eating-Hungarian-Grandma's we put the beef into Beef Stew (A Hank's Classic).

Lots of fun stuff at Hank's to talk about on the blog once I get my pictures onto a computer. Last night we hosted a Barista Jam for our fellow peoples in the espresso-pulling community. Great times, good coffees and fun competition.

I'm off to the races (to hunt a coffee, I mean.)

See you soon,
Max

The dignity of sunshine

Man it's beautiful outside! Put on your light dignified jacket and hussle on over to Hank's. We've got a hearty little beef and wild rice stew, or if you're feelin a little more veggie a lovely little bean stew will get you through the rest of your afternoon. You can now walk with your head held high. Nature will let you.

See you soon.

Live from New York!

Our dearest little Max is off to the Big Apple for the next couple of days. We will console ourselves on this promising spring day..(yep 13 degrees they say!) with a bowl of Curry Chicken Stew...or maybe we'll go with the Veggie Borcht....tough call. Both will warm your cockles and lift your soul. Debbie is crafting some of her best before heading off to Peru next week. Man we've got a worldly group here at Hank's.
Get out of that office and treat yourself to something that loves you.

See you soon.

Kitty Cats and Cupcakes

A hardy hello from the Hank's team this morning.
Today is shaping up to be a two cups before 9 am kind-o-morning.
It aches. It pains - we'll get through it with an extra cup of coffee together.

Debbie and Paula are pulling up their socks and loading up pots to put some hot stuff in our bellies.
Let's see here...

We've got a Cabbage and Bacon Soup.
A great hardy one for a Tuesday.







Our stew is looking to be a goodie I'm calling Sweet Potato Som-Thim Stew. (I asked what was in the stew and got told - Sweet Potato and Som-Thim.)
Vegan Friendly!

That's all from me. Lots to do and 11am is creeping up.
See you very soon,
Max

p.s. check out the quote board today, another goodie.

And we're back!

Hey you-all!
Hank is back in action with a new fun-packed adventure...
Well, we are back from an Easter Sunday anyhow.

The adventure today is all the tasty stuffs we are brewing up.
I've walked past Debbie three times because she is preparing some great smelling mushrooms for her Creamy Mushroom Stew (Vegetarian Friendly).
She also has a vegan-friendly pot of Spicy Black Bean Soup on the go.

These are some bowls of delicious you do not want to miss.

Come to Hank's today. Like every day we are the home of the specials your belly wants.
(I've clearly had too much Easter Sugar.)

See you soon!
Max

Saturdays and Holidays

You may know, you may not - it's Easter.
Many people celebrate for many different reasons - regardless of which one you choose I hope you are together with people you enjoy, taking in the fine weather and feeling all-around pretty good.

Hank's has already surrendered to the crowds of happy families getting their coffees.
We eagerly are waiting for those of you coming to join us for lunch today.

On that fine note:
Soup is Celery Root (I'm sipping a cup as I type).
Stew is Root Vegetable and Beef.

We are closed tomorrow and open again on Monday.

Also, Jodie put a pretty funny quote on the quote board.
Come by to read it for yourself.

Happy Easter to all!

See you soon,
Max

Zamboni Rides & Hot Chocolate

My mother told me if I didn't have anything nice to say not to say anything at all.
So, all I can say about this fine April day we are having is that I wish we still had the Nathan Phillips Square ice rink open.
*Sigh*

There are lots of warm bowls of delicious stuff at Hank's today to stop this April cold.
Today we have a Split Pea & Jambon Blanc Soup.









As well as a Mushroom Stew in Gumbo-Style.
Today it is certainly vegetarian friendly.











See you soon,
Max

Snow Cones and Daffodils

I think my title says it all.
If you had a snow cone you could have your spring and eat it too!
Slush falling from the sky aside, I think we are in good digs and well on our way
to another humid, sticky summer. (Please, Spring, Stay awhile!)
Let us count our days, realize we all wanted to stay in bed and move forward through the week with as much grace as anyone with no sunshine can muster.
Rally, troops! You've got Hank's!

Today's Soup is Cabbage and Bacon (pronounced bay-COH).
Ye ol' stew is Dupuy Lentil Curry.
See also:
Lentils proclaiming the vegetarian friendliness of this delicious lunch item.

That's all folks. We've got work to do and I've got to try to get my hands into that pot of fun.

See you soon,
Max

Sticky Buns and Other Stuffs of Goodness

The smell of bake goods has me salivating while I try to dig up events that I think are check out worthy.

What about the Spring One of a Kind Show at the Ex?
I've had my hand in more that a few things in this show
(Wigle Designs, D-41) and I think it's worth the check out.

Or this fun afternoon at the Dakota Tavern?

Lots of outdoor activities picking up as the days get warmer and less damp.

Soup and Stew for the Weekend are as follows!
Parsnip (Vegan Friendly) Soup
and Beef Stew.

Come stop by for a coffee and stay a while.

See you soon, Max

April Showers

Everyone this morning looks thoroughly doused in rain.
So, to celebrate the crocuses and the tulips we are having an
all day soup celebration at Hank's.

Soups du jour today are

Parsnip Soup
(Vegetarian Friendly)

and

Spicy Mushroom Soup
(Beef Brothy)

Smiles, Rain Boots and Soaking Wet Alley Cats,
Max

The Buicks of the Past

Good April Foo's to ye all.
The rain definitely heralds the beginning of April.
Did you enjoy wearing a lighter jacket to work this morning?
We started at a plum-ripe 5 degrees today.

In the mean whiles,
Set break down began at 8am this morning and the people reclaimed the streets of Toronto back from the faux-muggers of New York.
Samuel made a round of his signature bacony drink this morning and boy was it tasty. I'll have to bring in some spice and make my curry macchiato for some folks.
I had the opportunity to dig up this April Fool's story for you. I think it has some gems in it from FastCompany.com

- On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell announced that it had purchased the Liberty Bell, which would accordingly become the "Taco Liberty Bell" (left). When asked about the sale, then-White House press secretary Mike McCurry joked that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold, and would henceforth be called the “Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.”


- On April 1, 1998, Burger King started promoting a Left-Handed Whopper, whose condiments were “designed” to drip out the right side. According to reports, several eager lefties tried ordering the burger--presumably before checking their calendars.

- On April 1, 1998, Guinness announced that it would be the official beer sponsor of the Old Royal Observatory’s millennium celebration. As part of the deal, “Greenwich Mean Time” would become “Guinness Mean Time” until the end of 1999. Obviously missing the joke, The Financial Times scolded Guinness for setting a "brash tone for the millennium." (It later printed a retraction.)


- On April 1, 2000, Google revealed its new MentalPlex technology, which could read a user’s mind to determine his search query – before he even touched the keyboard. Alas, all results were April Fools’-related.

- On April 1, 2002, the British supermarket chain Tesco advertised a new, genetically modified “whistling carrot.” The veggie had apparently been “specially engineered” to grow with “tapered airholes,” which made it whistle while it cooked.


- On April 1, 2004, National Public Radio's “All Things Considered” reported on the Post Office’s new portable “Portable Zip Codes” program, which would allow people to keep their zip codes no matter where they moved. In the fictional report, an “official” source said the effort would “serve as an umbilical cord to the places [people] love best.”

- On April 1, 2005, the NASA Web site featured a news story touting pictures of water on Mars. Revelation? Not quite: The actual photo showed a glass of water resting on a Mars candy bar.


- On April 1, 2008, Google started promoting Gmail Custom Time, which allowed users to adjust email time stamps. The science behind it apparently involved an “e-flux capacitor.”

- On April 1, 2008, YouTube linked every video on its homepage to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” And yes, there’s a verb for that: “RickRolling.”


- On April 1, 2008, an executive at Microsoft Research said his team had determined the true value of pi to be “a definitive 3.141999, or as expressed in company literature, ‘Three easy payments of 1.047333.’”

Soup today is Bacony Borscht.
Stew is Peanut, Coconut & Sweet Potato Stew.

I hope no one pulls the wool over yer eyes today!

See you soon,
Max