Restaurant Lets Patrons ‘Dine’ Through Their Noses

by Jessica Festa on

While usually smelling delicious food is free of charge, the Juniper Kitchen & Wine Bar in Ottawa, Canada, is charging their guests for the pleasure. If you order from their “Le Whaf” menu, you’ll be served a tantalizing meal that you enjoy through your sense of smell.

According to Digital Trends, these dishes contain the ingredients you would find in the normal meal; however, they’re boiled and strained to extract the flavor. This is then poured into a unusual glass carafe that resembles a mini-Hoover vacuum, allowing the steam to concentrate and come out in a smoky cloud. Patrons sample these dishes by inhaling the steam through a straw, never putting a single bite into their mouth. Juniper claims it’s a gastronomic experience that helps diners curb cravings and consume fewer calories.

Apparently, the Le Whaf trend is already popular in Europe. Now, Chef Norman Aitken is bringing it to North America.

“When you’re smelling wine, same premise. Instead you’re going to smell it. You’re going to, essentially, inhale it leaving you with flavour on your sinus and palate,” Aitken told CBC Canada.

Don’t worry, the experience isn’t meant to replace actual eating, but to enhance the meal and help diners cut down on portion sizes. Le Whaf dishes come served on the side of your actual meal.

Would you order a Le Whaf meal?

[Image via kuwashima]

Victoria International Chalk Festival Debuts In British Columbia

by Jessica Festa on

We can now add another quirky festival to the already long list of creative events. Visitors and locals can go back in time to their childhoods, when playing with chalk was an everyday occasion. These sidewalk drawings, however, contain a bit more talent than your average 5-year-old-drawn stick figure and house.

The Victoria Chalk Festival will debut from September 12 to September 16, 2012, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and will continue on in years to come. The event is being led by famous international 3D chalk artist, Tracy Lee Stum, who will create a 20ft x 20ft 3D chalk art drawing at The Bay Centre’s lower level. Then on the 15th and 16th, local and international artists will join in by creating chalk masterpieces on Government Street, which will close to traffic.

“It’s a beautiful City with amazing people, architecture, culture and potential. Still, if we don’t keep working to create excitement and vibrancy, Victoria’s downtown can, and almost certainly will, fall into the sort of decline that other major cities have experienced,” says John Vickers, creator of the festival. “We need to keep downtown relevant.”

This event is free to the public.

For a more visual ideal of Tracy Less Stum’s chalk art, check out the gallery below.

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[All images via Tracy Lee Stum]

$7 Bottles of Water: Refreshing Or In Bad Taste?

by Dave Seminara on

Have you ever been desperate enough to pay $7 for a bottle of water in a hotel room? I drink tap water in any country where it’s safe and stockpile store-bought water in countries like Mexico, where it isn’t, so I never really get caught needing to pay extortionate prices for bottled water or anything else from hotel minibars.

Last week, I stayed at the Marriott Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and, although I enjoyed my stay, I couldn’t help but wonder – who pays the $6.95 they charge for the bottles of Aquafina water they place in the room?

It wouldn’t be priced as such if no one were buying it, right?
Someone at Marriott who sits in a nice office with plush furniture must have decided that $6.95 – not $4.95 or $5.95 – was the optimal price for this item at this location.

Clearly people on expense accounts or the ultra rich might not balk at the price. And I’m not a “skip lunch because there are children starving in Africa” kind of guy, but with 40% of the world’s population living on less than $2 per day, I don’t think I could bring myself to engage in this sort of little extravagance – definitely not in a city where millions of gallons of water are literally gushing over Niagara Falls.

Liftopia Has Hot Deals On Lift Tickets For The Upcoming Ski Season

by Kraig Becker on

As the last few weeks of summer drag out to their inevitable conclusion it is time to start thinking about the seasons ahead. The crisp air and cooler temperatures of autumn will be a welcome change of pace for many of us who have endured unusually warm temperatures the past few months. But for many travelers and outdoor enthusiasts it is the coming of winter that gets them the most excited. That’s because winter brings fresh powder and the promise of a great ski season ahead.

To help skiers and snowboarders prepare for their winter adventures, Liftopia, the largest online site for purchasing lift tickets, has launched their Red Hot End of Summer Sale. This limited-time event features more than 32,000 deals on discounted passes from over 60 ski resorts across North America. Some of these tickets are being offered at prices that are as much as 86% below their normal price, which makes buying a ski pass in September seem like a really smart idea.

Thinking of heading to Colorado to hit the slopes this year? Liftopia has passes for Aspen/Snowmass at 34% off and Arapahoe Basin for as much as 39% off. Utah’s Snowbird is currently selling at a 45% discount while Idaho’s Tamarack Resort passes are 54% below normal price. Similar discounts are offered for ski destinations in New England, the Pacific Northwest, Canada and beyond.

Liftopia also happens to be the exclusive provider of the Mountain Collective Pass, which is an unbelievable deal for skiers. For just $349, the pass provides two free days at each of the following resorts: Aspen/Snowmass, Alta, Jackson Hole and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows. It also provides 50% off unlimited lift tickets after that, as well as 25% off accommodations. That is an incredibly affordable way to enjoy some of the best ski resorts in North America, if not the world.

If you’re one of those people who just can’t wait for winter to arrive then you’ll definitely want to check out the deals being offered by Liftopia right now. I know it may seem like winter is still a long way off but it’ll be here before you know it. When it does arrive you’ll be glad you saved some cash in the waning days of summer.

Photo Of The Day: Lake Louise

by Chris Owen on

This Photo of the Day comes from Gadling Flickr pool member James Wheeler who captured this image taken at Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada, with a Nikon D-5000.

James captions the image:

“This must be one of the most photographed places in Canada. I didn’t get great weather for photos because it was cloudy when I was there but still an impressive place.”

Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as Photos of the Day.

Tips for getting featured: in your Flickr account, check “Privacy and Permissions,” and check “yes” on “Allow others to share your stuff.” Adding information about your image does not hurt your chances either.