Monday 6 October 2014

TSN 690 chooses Dan Robertson as new voice of the Habs

The suspense is finally over and Maritimer Dan Roberston is the new play by play man for Montreal Canadiens radio broadcasts on TSN 690, succeeding John Bartlett who left the post to join Rogers Sportsnet. He will begin his new job when the Habs face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday evening.

TSN 690 Program Director Chris Bury would not talk about other candidates, so we do not know whether Rick Moffat actually applied for the job or not. The team was impressed with Robertson's audition for a Habs pre-season game.

"During the first 24 to 48 hours after we heard from John that he was leaving, we got a ton of applications from across the country and even the United States," Bury said. "The demo that really blew us away was Dan's. We went through a pretty transparent process internally and what I got was an across the board endorsement of Dan. I must say as a program director I really enjoyed the process."

Robertston, who is married with kids,  is getting a tour of the city today from assistant program director Matthew Wood. Once he gets his feet wet, Bury hopes to give him a lot of on air exposure outside of Habs games.

Robertson is already a polished  play caller from the Maritimes who has been behind the mic for countless university basketball, hockey and football events. He will join game analyst and Stanley Cup champion Sergio Momesso in the broadcast booth. Robertson brings more than a decade of experience calling QMJHL games, while Momesso contributes his perspective as a 13-year NHL veteran and former Habs player. TSN 690 delivers complete radio coverage of every Montreal Canadiens regular season and playoff game, with contributions from a team of reporters and analysts including Mitch Melnick, Tony Marinaro, Chris Nilan, Conor McKenna, Pat Hickey, and more.

On game days, TSN 690 also provides extensive Habs coverage with the Irish Embassy Pre-Game Show and the Delmar Post Game Show. Throughout the week, TSN 690 delivers comprehensive news and analysis of the team from the following programs:
 
Habs Breakfast on The Morning Show with Elliott Price, Shaun Starr, and Rick Moffat, weekdays from 6-10 a.m. ET.
 
Habs Lunch with Marinaro and Nilan, weekdays from 12 noon-1 p.m. ET.
 
Habs This Week with Simon Tsalikis and Bobby Dollas, Saturdays from 2-5 p.m. ET.



 

Sunday 5 October 2014

Room Service gives new meaning to home delivery of your meal


There is an entire new meaning to the words  “Room Service” in Montreal thanks to the work of  Concorda University John Molson School of Business grads Moustafa El Naggar and Mazen Nadim, Room Service  is the name of their downtown restaurant, which specializes in the home delivery of piping hot meals right to your door.

El Naggar and Nadim

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month they have launched a new strawberry milkshake called Rose Vif., with proceeds being donated to the Cure Foundation. There are also pink pumpkins in the house for Halloween.


El Naggar recently reopened Room-Service, which he launched one year ago, taking over Buns Hamburger House  (Best Burger in Montreal  by CULTMontreal 2010-2014) at 3673 St. Laurent Boulevard with the signature $5 burger buns available for delivery.  ‘‘We deliver culinary sensations to your door, just like a hotel,’’ he explains, noting that ‘‘We are now also getting calls from working people, who are stuck late at the office.’’


Matthew McKean,  now executive chef at Rosewood, Jonas’ new restaurant, developed the menu with Moustafa.


Business is growing quickly. Moustafa has already provided employment for 10 people, as well as four free-lancers. From his international business studies, El Naggar understands the need not only to be first to market, but to ‘own’ that position.  He is building the brand with comprehensive social media and tightly-targeted promotional campaigns.

Bilal arrives with my order.

‘‘I am my market,’’ El Naggar adds. ‘‘Dishes are designed with my peers in mind. We offer fusion pizza with Indian spices for example, and chicken tandoori quesadillas, as well as full meals such as Pacific salmon. I know from experience that sweets are needed, so we have developed both healthy – rice pudding – and super sinful – double chocolate cupcakes. There is a choice of soft drinks as well as comforting milkshakes.’’


Delivery to the Greater Montreal and West Island areas  is as ‘‘chic’’ as a hotel service, with  drivers like ours named Bilal arriving in branded uniforms. Food is easy to eat, delivered in micro-waveable containers with cutlery.  The most popular dishes are philly cheese steak sandwich.  

I decided to give it a try today at my office. A colleague and I each ordered a strawberry milkshake. I opted for the chicken pesto pizza while Brigida  sampled the California Cobb Salad. She gave it a big thumbs up, especially the dressing and the soft breaded slices of chicken. Regarding the milkshake, I have never actually tried the strawberry variety before, but this one was great.



Besides the  Room-Service.ca  delivery option, the funky sit-down resto on very cool Saint-Laurent is open until 4 a.m. (on Fridays and Saturdays due to the huge influx of beautiful young things dancing  - and eating - the night away Other nights it is  open until 2 a.m.



For more information call 514-709-7666