food

This story was originally written for my sometimes-column space in The Windsor Star (on The Scene page).

However, it was seen as passe, because the Star has done a lot of stories about this restaurant…and for good reason.

Here’s my piece on it. If anyone else out there would like to publish this, online or offline, let me know

“If you grill them, they will come.”

This had to be what went through the heads of Jay and Gino.

A leap of faith had to enter into it somewhere.

How else could they have married cows and cars?

They used to own a posh Italian eatery on Erie Street. Now, within the same walls, they own a trendy and cozy burger Mecca.

Eight years ago, Noi was a huge success in its own right prior to the financial woes of Windsor/Detroit. Transformed into Motor Burger in November of 2009, the feel, food, and future of 888 Erie Street East has been irrevocably changed.

Thinking about it in hindsight, I don’t know how they had the gumption or belief in their abilities to go from a stereotyped Italian restaurant on Erie Street to an affordable, automobile-themed, burger-based leap-of-faith.

I’m genuinely amazed. And I’m not the only one.

The National Film Board of Canada recently produced an online series called GDP. It looked at the financial woes being weathered by all kinds of folks around Canada. Gino Gesuale and Jay Souilliere’s story became a serial feature on the site as an example of a business forced to think way out of the box to be sustainable in their community.

The pair did a refurbishing of the space to accommodate for some flat screen TVs and cut-outs of cows and cars. Chalk drawings of old vehicles adorn the west wall, and beautiful burgers made of beef, pork, shrimp, lamb, turkey, and tuna decorate tabletops. A veggie burger makes the list to round out the category.

Keeping with the theme, their drinks are called lubricants, which include massively decadent milkshakes that come in the tall metal malt-shop cup. Personally, I “supercharge” the nachos every time I visit, which doubles the portion, and I regularly ask for a spoon to finish the sauces that pool at the bottom of the bowl.

One of the stand-out features, aside from the multitude of burger options, is the camaraderie. Every single time I’ve gone to Motor Burger it’s a who’s-who of local musicians, artists, writers, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, and local business supporters. I have yet to go in without recognizing 20% of the clientele.

This kind of customer-base early on in their new incarnation spoke volumes about the hunger for something new in Windsor. The taste for “extraordinary” has accelerated.

Opening a automotive-themed burger joint on a street praised for Italian fine dining, with economic-recession-friendly prices, deserves the attention and full support from a city that prides itself as the Motor City of Canada.

With a green option for the vegetarians, every stomach in the city should pull over at Motor Burger and fill their tank on burgers, salads, milkshakes, and entrepreneurial drive.

They built it.
It’s time for us to dine.

Their website, with complete menu, is at http://www.motorburger.ca/

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All I will give you is what I know.
That’s all I ever try to do on this blog.

But word has gotten out (about a week ago) that one of the bright spots of the Downtown Farmer’s Market – Thibert Farm – is DELIVERING!

This means that he’s coming from Tilbury, once a month (from what I heard upon first reports), to deliver most of what he has to offer, including beef, bread, stone-milled flours, and cookies!

Again, this is bread made from wheat that he’s grown on premises, and THEN milled, and THEN baked.

Here’s a blurb from the Thibert Farm site: “The Thibert Farm is a mixed farm that raises traditional farm livestock such as Beef, Pork, Chicken, and field crops in the traditional way free from growth hormones, Genetically Modified Organisms “GMOs”, and other unnecessary chemical inputs.”

The idea that this man is taking it upon himself, not only to make this food available, but to deliver it (currently at no extra cost!) to whoever orders it is unfathomable to me. It’s a blessing of food. It’s practically Manna falling from heaven.

I will update you when I find out more.
My understanding is that he delivers in a three-hour window…and all you have to do is BE THERE to pay for it.

For more information contact:
Richard Thibert
20300 Lakeshore rd. 308
RR #1, Comber, Ontario,
N0P 1J0
Phone: (519) 682-0204
Cell: (519) 365-1254
E-Mail: richard@thethibertfarm.com

We’re lucky to have someone devoted to our food safety, and willing to do WAY MORE than his share of the ork to get it into our bellies. If you ask really nice, he seems like the kind of guy who might even cut your meet on your plate for you too, if his current commitment to food awesomeness isn’t enough already.

Check him out. I will be ordering something for sure.

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Monday – Beef
Tuesday – Pork
Wednesday – Chicken
Thursday – Vegetarian option
Friday – Fish
Saturday – BBQ

Traditional breakfast served daily.

This is the menu for Namaste, the newest favourite place I have in Windsor.

You don’t choose what to eat, you simply choose TO eat, and the cooks take care of the rest.

Namaste is a non-profit restaurant (Yes, a NON-PROFIT RESTAURANT) that just opened up to five-star health ratings, and is somewhere you need to know about…because a meal with a bottomless cup of coffee or tea or a can of pop costs you $5.40 with tax. Breakfast is the same.

$5.40

Every time.
Unless you get a dessert (which is unbelievably delectable because it’s baked on premises) you won’t pay more than $6 to eat a meal that you WATCHED being cooked on a stove that is likely in your mom’s kitchen.

And that’s the interesting part. It’s as if you’re eating at your friend’s mother’s house…a friend who’s mom can cook better than your own.

My dear friend Kimba is a selfless and caring dude who is behind this effort with help from his family and friends. Kimba and his sister do the cooking from 7am until 7pm.

You walk in, sit down, and decide whether or not you’re eating. Simple.

The meal of the day, which will consist of the meat for that particular day of the week, will be prepared and delivered.
My first visit was yesterday with Jhoan. The meal was fried chicken, with string beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Lots of gravy. A slice of bread and butter, and a ginger ale to top it off. I thought I was going to need seconds, but when I was done, I was stuffed with goodness far-reaching from the plate. I had to finish Jhoan’s. The soul of these people and the effort and LOVE that goes into what they’re doing is what you leave with.

Kimba is remiss to tell people that he will also be running a soup kitchen and clothing donation space out of the basement of this amazing place. You see, he has been caring for the less-fortunate for a while now. A veteran of knowing what people need is right up Kimba’s alley, and this new place, Namaste, is his way of delivering affordable, heart-warming, magnificently delicious food to Windsorites in a pinch. When you add that he’s trying to take care of those who’ve fallen on hard times, you have one of the most honourable undertakings at the moment in this city. And grass roots to boot.

I don’t recommend, I compel you to go to Namaste. It is at 188 Erie St. E. (I think) near Hotel Dieu hospital.
The sign actually reads “The Coffee Corner”, and in tiny letters, “namaste” is somewhere on that canvas.
It has four tiny tables. A few seats per table. It is the epitome of personal, and community.

Tell people you know.
They are going to need to do a volume business in this space, and at $5 per meal, with a drink included, they will eventually do it, but they’ll need you to be curious about their offering first.

The idea is that when people realize that they are getting home-cooking for such a low cost, they will return again and again with friends, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They will need to sell a LOT of meals. They know that, and they are more than willing to do the work.

Go there.
You can bet you’ll be seeing me at one of the four tables.

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