When I was ten years old part of my weekly adventure was accompanying my mother to the food store. In 1984, on Long Island, the major supermarket was Pathmark. At the time, I had no idea I wanted to be a designer. I had no idea I would come to love great advertising and marketing because of the emotional reach it could have. I had no idea great design could subconciously change peoples behavior. What I did know is that I loved the NO FRILLS aisle. The NO FRILLS aisle amalgamated all supermarket items from canned spaghetti to laundry detergent into one simplistic, typographically genius, less-is-more designed, perfectly merchandised  row. At a time of “new and improved”, “extra-strength” and “free prize inside” package design the NO FRILLS aisle was way ahead of it’s time in both aesthetics as well as convenience. Think Apple Store and Muji. Years later, I now realize what I felt and my behavior in the NO FRILLS aisle were the catalyst for my entire career. In particular, my focus on the power of behavioral science in my designs, marketing and communication with consumers stems from this aha moment.

Sadly, the NO FRILLS aisle no longer exists. On a recent trip to Canada my Mother-in-Law took me to Loblaws, one of Canada’s largest supermarkets, for a special surprise. Although my treat was not the stark white packaging and bold black type synonymous of NO FRILLS branding, it was a very close second. The white was replaced with a bold, solid yellow and as an added bonus the reverse of each item I grabbed was in French. (Or English depending on the side I looked at first). Below is a visual review of my favorite items spanning a myriad of categories and a plethora of container shapes. In many ways I wish we could level set the human shopping experience to be as optionless as these standard items. It would help us focus on the things that matter most and not spend 15 minutes in the toothpaste aisle debating over the benefits of fluoride vs baking soda vs whitening.

I bet yesterday was a rough day back. I hope you all had as amazing and as restful a Thanksgiving weekend as I did. I clocked in with an average of 8.5 hours of sleep per night. That’s unheard of in this family. Well rested and well fed I share with you a few of the delicious, authentic, fresh and traditional goodie’s my amazing mother-in-law whipped up for our London, Ontario Thanksgiving weekend starting with the above channa masala.

To set the tone here’s a little video of her making Pulka, an Indian wheat flatbread that puffs when cooked.

Tomato Raita

Rogan Gosh (Lamb Curry)

Saffron Rice

Palek Paneer with nuts and raisins stuffed in the center (Spinach and cheese balls)

 Bhangan Bharta (eggplant)

Peas Pulao

 Gobi Masala (Cauliflower)

Murgh Makhni (Butter Chicken)

Masala Dosa

One of the things that is great when you’re a crew member on a ship is when you stay at a port overnight. This will allow some of the crew to go out to dinner, which is rare on cruises. We had an overnight in Quebec City, which has a lot of restaurants. I walked around town a little early that day, around 3pm, to scout out and ask some local shop owners about there favorite restaurants in town and the most authentic restaurants. I had a few places that were mentioned a couple of times and they were not to far from the ship. I rounded up a couple people and off we went.

We made it out around 9pm and headed to the closest restaurant to the ship that was recommended. They were packed and the only thing they could offer us was the bar but there was only 2 seats for the 4 of us. They didn’t even say it will be an hour or even a 2 hour wait, they just said they were booked. Off to the next restaurant ….. booked again! We were getting a bit hungry and frustrated at this point and passed an Italian restaurant called il Matto. It was really nice inside and they had a 1 hour wait, not just booked. We put our name down and went off to a pub for and hour and came back. They sat us right away.

Il Matto has a great décor and has been open less than a year. Huge giant pictures covered the walls and really cool chandeliers hung from the ceiling. One of the things I love that more and more restaurants are doing nowadays is having an exposed kitchen and we sat right next to it. Porteger!, as they would say in French.

We started with an very large Antipasto and a bottle of wine as seen above. And for dinner we got the Gnocchi Gorgonzola, Speghetti le keb, Spaghetti aux palourdes en sauce tomate piguante.

I was stuck between the Osso Bucco and the risotto seafood special. After a quick chat with the waitress I went with the special.
It was all delicious.

Alaska Food Highlights from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Alaska was fun but now I am in Mexico. However, before I move on and start blogging about taco’s, enchiladas, and cerveza I put together a little video of the best of the best from Alaska. Enjoy!

Ferris Oyster Bar – Victoria B.C. from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

I have not been to Victoria British Columbia a lot yet. I just started my next contract on the ship and was recommended by two friends to head to Ferris’ Upstairs Oysterbar. I only have a couple of weeks left on these Alaska runs and I can’t wait to go back. Victoria is a fun little city with lots of restaurants and bars. Hope I get a chance to try as many places as I can.

Vera’s Burger Shack, Vancouver from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 108 | Post-meal (1 hour): 176 | Insulin: 5 Units

The Burgers I have experienced in Vancouver have horrible but after talking to a few locals they confirmed my choices of burgers. My friend from the ship that lives in Vancouver directed me to Vera’s Burger Shack. It just happens to be in a short walking distance from the ship. To my surprise it was located in the heart of Vancouver’s Jazz Feast. Check out the video on how it all went down.

Aladdin Cafe – Vancouver from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

I was walking around Vancouver and was looking for something good and cheap to eat. I passed by the Aladdin Café and they had Shawerma, and I love Shawerma. I got the works and it really hit the spot. I met the owners and they come from Iraq and decorated the inside of the restaurant with items that represent their culture. The owners are very nice people and the food was good. I just wish I could have smoked the hooka but they were only for display.

Aladdins Shawerma Cafe

(778) 881-7916
Downtown
720 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z

Cafe Crepe, Vancouver from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

I will tell you this, that is the last time I go into a crepe restaurant and get a hotdog and a burger. Seriously, what was I thinking in the first place? I’ll have to go back and get their crepes for breakfast. Cafe Crepe has to do better.

Kelsey and I wanted to check out a Museum while in Quebec and got out early. The museum had an exhibit were you stand in a box that looks like a room in your house and it shakes to show you what an earthquake would feel like. Both of us live on the east coast so we have never felt a quake before. They let you feel the shake of a category 4, 5 and then 7. All were crazy but a 7 is really scary. I can’t imagine a house shaking like that. It was nuts! The categories could go up to 12, which would be massive destruction. Another exhibits were tornados, Egypt and Aliens. It was a cool little museum. So after spending the morning there it was time for lunch before I had to go catch a plane to head back to New York.

We picked a cafe close to my hotel. I ordered a hot chicken sandwich and Kelsey got a vegetable pesto opened faced sandwich. Both hit the spot. My sandwich was just plain white meat with gravy and peas on it. Anytime you add gravy it makes things better.

Quebec City was fun and it is always great to be with Kelsey. This was my second time there and I really got to explore it much better. It helps when you have a great exploring partner.

The night before, we passed by a rare sighting of a restaurant that was not Italian or a crepe place. We made sure we took advantage of it the next night for dinner and went to Cotes a Cotes. What was intriguing is one of Kesley’s favorite apps spinach artichoke dip was on the outside menu.

We were really hungry and or stomachs took advantage of us. We both over ordered. The first thing we got was 2 apps, the spinach artichoke dip and a creamy chicken bread bowel soup. Like wolves we dived right in and probably ate way to fast, not to mention the white beer we were having with our cream filled apps. Needless to say we were both full by the time we were done with the apps. The spinach artichoke dip was average. I’ve had a lot better. The bread bowel soup was awesome. The bread was really fresh and the soup itself was really hardy with chicken and veggies. When we were done we both gave a big exhale and looked at each other with the same expression. Oh shit, there is more food coming after this…

Kelsey had another app coming, 2 mini burgers, that were a little bigger than sliders. I think she has a half of one of them. They didn’t look that good anyway. I didn’t even try a bit of one because I was already full and I had a meat combo coming, ribs and a meat sandwich. I wish I wasn’t so full; I would have enjoyed this dish a lot more. The Ribs were fall off the bone delicious, a little fatty but super tender. Was not sure what the meat sandwich was going to be until it came. It was a super stacked corn beef sandwich on rye bread. That was really good as well. If it weren’t for those creamy appetizers I probably would have devoured the entire dish. You have to watch out for those creamy apps they can through your entire meal off.