It's Fabulous Underground

Last week, I went underground. As in, to the Underground Cafe on 70 Arthur Street.

The restaurant is tucked away in the building's basement, featuring some colourful murals and some delicious lunchtime dining eats.

I tried the Fabulous Sun Burger for the first time (which is apparently a famous Winnipeg staple, accordingly to everyone I've raved to). Their burger is a masterpiece made of toasted sesame and sunflower seeds, vegetable protein, mozza and cheddar cheeses, rice, eggs and assorted spices. The patty is served with lime-dill sauce, romaine lettuce, green peppers, onions and tomato, served on a perfectly toasted bagel.

It was definitely one of the best vegetarian sandwiches I've had in a while, on par with the White Star Diner and Boon Burger Cafe. The restaurant features a delicious selection of other menu items, featured on their website.

The Underground Cafe is also excellent at updating their Facebook page with their specials of the day. Check them out!

The Exchange in flames

This morning, I watched out my bedroom window as my neighbourhood was engulfed in thick grey smoke.

My boyfriend left for work at around 9:30.  As I was getting ready to leave for school, I read a text message from him telling me to take a look outside.  From the top floor of the Lindsay Building, I watched as a grey cloud hovered beside the Royal Albert Hotel.

One fire truck was on the scene.  It looked to me like the fire was sustained, but I realized shortly afterward this was not the case.  Sirens were soon blaring in all directions, and within the hour, over a dozen service vehicles arrived and yellow tape lined the streets.

At some points, the smoke got so thick I could barely see anything from my 10th floor window.  The smell of burning was slowly seeping into my building - even more so as I entered the hallway.

A few bystanders lined Notre Dame with their phones out, snapping away.  The media was beginning to arrive, and Twitter was blowing up with photos of the incident.

The smoke was dense and I could hardly make out which building was on fire.  I later found out War on Music and Ken Hong's took the majority of the damage.  Needless to say, it was a sad day for two notable businesses in the Exchange District community.

Revisiting the scene after a few hours, the fire was almost completely doused and local businesses around the area were reopening their doors.  The streets are flooded, and it will take some effort to finish cleaning up the area.

 Let's hope this is the last time the Exchange will face a fiery fate.

Paint it orange

Everyone knows that nothing rhymes with orange.  It's the same joke the storefront Rhymes With Orange has probably heard a number of times, although it's still in its early infancy.

The new vintage shop opened last December, merging two local businesses - one being Doug Shand's Vintage Glory, the other Erin Thiessen and Stefanie Hiebert's Oh So Lovely camper-trailer.  Some of you may recognize the stylish wagon from The Fringe Festival last year, featuring one-of-a-kind pieces from the 40's to the 70's.

My good friend Josh Alao and I went to visit Doug at their shop in the Exchange District a couple weeks ago to hear more about the merger of the two local gems.  The interview is soon to follow, but here's a sneak peak of what we saw in store!

You can visit the Erin and Stefanie's very successful blog here.  I also recommend following them on Instagram, an extension of their timeless vintage style in photograph.

Now simulating Winnipeg's first hackerspace

On November 5th, Winnipeg's first hackerspace opened its doors to the public.

Hold on a second.

.. A hacker-wha?

What is a hackerspace, exactly?

Captured from http://www.tony5m17h.net/Matrix.html

Also referred to as a hackspace, hacklab, makerspace or creative space, a hackerspace is a physical hub where people with common interests gather to meet, share, learn and create.  The subject of these meetings generally fall under the categories of technology, science or digital art, but there are many other lesser known themes that they can be focused upon.
The cool thing about these centres is that their members often collaborate to develop software, hardware and various technological tools.  Hackerspaces also provide a venue for different presentations, workshops and lectures led by local techie wizards.
To learn more about Hackerspaces, click here.

Captured from http://www.skullspace.ca/

Located on the 3rd floor of 125 Adelaide Street in the Exchange District, SkullSpace offers a place for hackers, builders, programmers and artists to intellectually and creatively collide.  They aim to provide the space, tools, education and freedom to make their ideas come to life.

They also have a pretty sweet blog that you can check out.  It gives you a better taste of what's hidden inside of their space - pinball machines, vintage games feeding through a projector and apparently there was some sort of remix of Nyan Cat going on at their after party.  Sounds like a good time to me!

For anyone that's interested in signing up to be a member of SkullSpace, they host their weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 6:00PM.  There is paperwork on their website, http://www.skullspace.ca/, that you must fill out for the meeting.

Members that decide to make the commitment pay $40 a month.  This membership grants you 24/7 access to the space, ridiculously fast bandwidth speeds and various tools, amongst other things listed on their Member Benefits page.

Just another hidden gem in the Exchange definitely worth checking out.

A morning in the Exchange

Each and every morning, I begin my day with a breathtaking walk through the Exchange District.

Originally built in 1913, here we see the remnants of the St. Charles Hotel in front of my apartment.  It has been declared a heritage site and work is being done to the building in order to gut out the ceilings and floors to reveal its foundations.  Ken Zaifman was planning earlier this year to make a six to nine storey addition to what already exists of the building.

For more information on the facelift project, check it out here.

An old factory building.

A shot looking towards Main St.

The nationally recognized Winnipeg Free Press Cafe.  Their sandwiches and brownies are scrumptious.

One of the various poster fixtures, riddled with events for local talent.

Poster for Dead Air art exhibit.

An architectural masterpiece, best known as Red River College.  The $35 million that was spent on the redevelopment of this campus helped restored some of the District's oldest properties, dating as far back as 1882.  It merged six different buildings into one eclectic piece of work.

Winter morning walks suddenly don't seem so bad.

Drumroll please!

Hello there, stranger.  Fancy seeing you here!

WHO:  I suppose that introductions are in order.  I'd like to start by offering my name, Jackie Doming, and I am the blogmaster of this domain.  Some of you may know me as your fellow Creative Communications colleague, and for those of you that don't, I'm a student at the Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  I live in the heart of Downtown Winnipeg, conveniently located in The Exchange District.  And that's precisely what I'm going to be posting about - exactly how phenomenal it is to be living, eating and breathing in the most exciting part of this city!

WHAT:  During these upcoming weeks, months and beyond, you'll have the opportunity to follow me as I intimately explore The District and all of its hidden gems.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with what The Exchange District (a.k.a. The District, The Exchange) actually is, it's a national historic site which was originally associated with the Winnipeg Grain Exchange.  Since its inception in the late 1800s, it has undergone a dramatic facelift and is now known as one of the most happening cultural hotspots of Winnipeg.  It houses a plethora of speciality retailers, trendy restaurants, popular night clubs and so, so much more.

WHERE:  I am making a personal commitment to try to explore every nook and cranny that The Exchange has to offer (and hide!).  To be completely honest, I haven't taken full advantage of being so geographically close to this outstanding community.  There is so much culture, history and deliciousness (both artistically and food-wise) everywhere you go.  From now on, you'll be hearing about a wide variety of stories from all ends of the spectrum: interviews with the locals, restaurant reviews, fabulous fashion finds, events in Old Market Square, art exhibitions and whatever else is going on.  And there is always something happening in The Exchange.

WHEN:  You will be hearing from me on a weekly basis, if not more often.  This is preemptively telling you to stay tuned for future episodes of my Shenanigans in The District (this blog's official title, if you haven't noticed).  I would love for you to actively participate and share commentary on my findings.  Or better yet, you can certainly join me on these future escapades.  Now now, not all at once!

WHY:  Obligations aside, I think that exposure for this part of our city is so important in not only shaping peoples' perception of Winnipeg, but also building a sense of community and local pride.  So many great things are happening down in this niche of our great big town and the more people that know about it, the better!  The Exchange's tight-knit community is expanding at an exceptional rate, but every effort counts towards contributing to its growth.

I truly believe that it is my social responsibility, as an Exchange District resident and enthusiast, to share with you what it's all about.  I think that this'll be an interesting experience for both you and I.  So here goes nothing!