The Grass is Always Greener...

The Ultracut's ordeal continues to plague me. The latest event in the odyssey is below this recap:

I go to Ultracuts because it’s close to my house, and it’s cheap. Now haircutting salons are a very complex ecosystem.

Two years ago there was a lady who cut my hair and she did an ‘okay’ job. It wasn’t terrible, but I thought about switching. But because Ultracuts is so close to my house and cheap, I didn’t want to go anywhere else.

So dare I switch hairdressers in the same studio? I did dare. And I’m still dealing with the guilt today.

I moved on to hairdresser number 2 who did a better job. It kind of felt wrong, especially when number 1 would look over at me, and we would make eye contact all weird through like 4 mirrors. But nevertheless I had moved on, and she has to deal with that.

The news hit me like a ton of bricks when I heard number 2 had moved! She was gone from Winnipeg just like that.

But I had a backup plan. There was this other hairdresser who looked pretty young and hip, and I noticed people leaving her all the time with good-looking hair. But we’re talking about salon suicide – switching three times inside the same building!

But I went for it – I was mad with power! And she was even BETTER! Suddenly it was okay that number 2 moved away.

But number 3’s belly started to get bigger, and I started to get worried. And then BOOM.

Mat-leave takes another one.

This is not looking good, there are only four hairdressers, and I’ve already been through three of them, pretty quickly.

So out of desperation, I schedule a haircut with none other than, NUMBER 1. Boy was that awkward. All those 

looks across the salon, all that nervous small talk. And now I was back.

And then it’s the whole thing where we both pretend nothing ever happened…right. And she asks me what I want, like she hasn’t been looking over for two years…right.

So I’m back with number 1, and the universe is balanced out again. I guess she does an ‘okay’ job…

It was a confusing roller coaster of emotions for two years, but eventually I learned a very important lesson: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

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The Grass is Always Greener on The Other Side

So after all this - I decided to try ANOTHER SALON. I just drove further down Pembina to the next Ultracuts... I know what your thinking - didn't you learn your lesson?? Well, in all fairness, no. 

They're so cheap, and I thought at a new salon things would be different. Things would be better.

So about 5 minutes into the haircut, I realize she doesn't like listening to me. 

This is bad news. Everything is going her way. It's not supposed to be like that. It's your hair, they are supposed to cut it the way you want. She did not support this idea.

After losing pretty much every argument from length to evenness, we came to an old fashioned stand off. 

I simply said to her, "Don't cut the back, I want to leave it long."

She stopped, put the scissors down, looked at me sternly in the mirror and said, "I haven't seen that since 1984 - you don't want to do that."

This was it, I had to stand up for myself! I'm a man! I have a backbone. So I replied, "I'm bringing it back baby!"

The rest of the haircut was quieter to say the least. I had won the battle. She left the back long.

So after all that, I shall return to the original Ultracuts - and to the legend of, NUMBER 1.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side...

Thank you Ultracuts for making my life interesting. No Hairdressers were injured in the aforementioned events.

Picture Copyright Ultracuts 2010.

Review: Daly Burger on Pembina

The life lesson here is always listen to people in giant hotdog costumes in the median!

The biggest moment at Daly Burger happened before I even got there – days before. I had to try a burger because DHB, what Curve 94.3 calls him, Dancing Hotdog Boy, caught my attention while dancing in the median at 1151 Pembina Highway outside the store. He’s in a giant hotdog outfit, and he increases business 35 to 40 per cent ever since he started at the beginning of October, says the manager.

The smell of deep-frying and chili fill the store as mostly adults, 25 and over, eat. Marilyn Monroe and old Coca-Cola posters are fixed on the wall. The atmosphere is fun and bright with the neon signs in the window of this non-licensed restaurant. The cook calls out order numbers over the oldies music, and this Saturday night suddenly feels like the 1950s.

The most popular burger, the deluxe cheeseburger ($5.25), is folded up so the wrapper makes a little pyramid over the burger. It takes under five minutes to make and comes with mayo,mustard, pickle spears, tomato, onion, 100 per cent real Canadian cheese, lettuce, and medium-spicy chili on a fresh bun. If you’re fine with making a small mess, it’s the best burger in the city because of its freshness and good portions of ingredients. It has a good sauce to burger balance – one that isn’t swimming but that’s far from dry. It was a far better quality burger thanMcDonald’s and a little better than Junior’s because it was fresher and less processed. Burgers ranged $2.59 to $6.65 from a little hamburger to a double deluxe cheeseburger.

Have no fear if you’re a vegetarian either because Daly Burger’s veggie burger ($4.95) was so juicy it tasted like a real beef burger. And it was almost the same size as a deluxe cheeseburger.

After the friendly manager, Michael Paterson, joked around with some customers, I ordered fries ($3.55 to $6.30) that were medium thickness with soft insides, cut New York style – the potato skins left on.They come regular, with chili, with gravy, in poutine, or with chili and cheese. You will love the fries if you like any type of homestyle fry. And if you upgrade to the onion rings ($5.65) you are in for a treat. The onion rings were very good, and I don’t even like onions. They were deep-fried the right amount, and the onions weren’t slimy inside.Don’t tell anyone, but the manager said the onion rings are from McCain’s, and the secret is in how much and how long they are deep-fried.

To end off the meal, they have vanilla ice cream cones and Flavour Burst cones ($2.49 to $2.99). The Flavour Burst cones are vanilla ice cream with flavouring swirled around the outside in either chocolate, strawberry, blue goo, or bubble gum. They also have Twisters that are basically a standard type of Blizzard or McFlurry ($3.99 to $4.99). It wasn’t as creamy as Dairy Queen, but it did the job.

Feel free to take your date because the bathroom is one of the cleanest restaurant bathrooms I’ve ever been in. They’re open everyday from 11am to 10pm.

Dancing Hotdog Boy brings you in, but the burgers will bring you back.

Check out their full menu and locations at http://www.dalyburgers.com/