Day One Hundred and Seventy Three - A and W

Dear all,

Collingwood is exploding with restaurants and eateries but there were many very excited a couple of weeks ago when an old warehouse, previously barricaded up and desolate, suddenly became adorned with orange and brown labels featuring those hallowed letters that shine deep into many North American hearts: A and W.

A and W is something that something that is totally alien to the majority of Brits and the only reason I had even heard of it is due to my teenage love of Jelly Belly's who boasted an original 'A and W' flavored bean. Me and my sister thought it was most odd.

Anyway, in less than two weeks the shining lights of the new A and W restaurant in Collingwood had opened. Upon asking D about A and W, he suddenly had a funny, glazed look in his eye and sighed... 'ahh... A and W'.

So... after Darren got back from work this evening (even thou I was knee deep in oil paint and had some random classical music blaring out from the spare bedroom), he exclaimed that we must absolutely immediately head to A and W for a wonderful dose of quality fast food at the new restaurant.

A and W is a hugely successful chain of fast food restaurants, famous for its root beer, floats and frosted glasses. The burgers are also top notch, all named after members of the family and have fabulous flavour - I even thought they had the BBQ on when I had run past the restaurant previously that evening.

I had also never tried root beer which almost made Darren choke in bewilderment. It was an evening of many firsts. As with MacDonalds, I felt like a rabbit in the head lights when faced with the bill board-style menu. I followed D's lead and ordered a 'Mozza burger' and we shared onion rings and fries and off course the amber nectar: Root Beer.

Root beer is one of the most unique flavors to have passed my lips. I had no idea what to expect but, as anticipated, it tasted like nothing else [at a push: Dandelion and Burdock root soda]. I have never been a fasdt food junkie and although it was delicious, I was totally stuffed just after the burger let alone the sides.. but [as with junk food] I got second wind and waffled it all down. I am glad I didn't look at the nutritional information for the meal at the time.. its a very sinister 'full days worth of calories' in one foul swoop!

It was a wonderful evening and fabulous to watch all the new 'A and W' staff finding their groove behind the counter as the work dynamics unravel themselves. The manager was also extremely cordial and came to our table especially to ask how our meal was. All very joyous ad I am sure will be a roaring success in CWood!