Have an idea for a story?
Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

Seven oclock noise hour

» The latest in
quarantine fun

Morgan Hannah
Life & Style Editor

 

he sun is just starting to set when

British Columbians from all across
the province get outside and onto their
balconies, front steps, porches, and
backyards to bang pots and pans, howl
like wolves, sing loud and proud, and play
musical instruments. This is your local
seven o'clock noise hour, brought to you
by Italy—the first country to get press
coverage of citizens breaking the silence
to cheer up residents in quarantine. And
a special thank you to all medical workers
and those on the front lines of this battle
against an invisible enemy.

Thanks to the contagious COVID-19
that everyone is getting to know quite
intimately, most events and outings have
been cancelled or postponed—but making
some noise can't be cancelled. A virus
cannot take that away from the cooped
up and intrepid. Each province in Canada
has its own time of day and its own way
of taking part in this new-found wave of
fun and entertainment during quarantine.
Even the iconic Vancouver g o'clock gun
fires at 7 now! This trend is spreading fast!

In Italy, former emerging artist
from the Calgary Opera Nofar Yacobi
uses her beautiful voice to liven up her
neighbourhood—doing what she can
to keep the positive vibes going while in
isolation. This singer encourages other
vocal artists and musicians to collectively

Interesting food finds during the

» Taco Bell's new wrap and Dairy Queen’s new burger

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

Baz social distancing is currently
in place, many restaurants and fast-
food places are still open—but only for
takeout, drive-thru, and delivery. Some
of the major fast food places are entirely
closed for carryout and only available at
the drive-thru. Even though it will still be
a few months (maybe more) before I can

 

life & style // no. 9

e Battling boredom during COVID-19
¢ Goat cheese recipes

¢ Taco Bell’s new wrap and Dairy Queen’s
new burger

..and more

 

 

TO THOSE ON THE
FRONTLINE KEEPING
US SAFE & HEALTHY

create something wonderful during a time
when it feels like everything is being taken
away from us. “I thought why dont we [...]
do something really beautiful together
because all this crisis is about distancing and
isolating from each other, but we actually
need to be [...] connected.” said Yacobi ina
Skype interview with CTV News Calgary.
We're still gathering members for this
long-distance band, but every day I hear

get back to eating in a restaurant, there
were a few interesting new food products
that I wanted to eat when I was watching
commercials in between coverage of the
coronavirus pandemic.

Asa disclaimer, I want to mention that
I made sure that I got the food products
safely. I did not use public transit; I was
instead was driven to the fast-food place
or I would walk to it if it was nearby. And
I made sure to practice social distancing

  

Photos by Jerrison Oracion

more and more participants playing with

what they got. There are multiple meanings

behind this memorable movement;

the previously mentioned thank you to

medical workers; a form of entertainment;

and a resounding fuck you to the virus that

has taken away our freedom to go out.
Many have chosen to use this time

to come together—fighting for fun ina

safe way that still helps flatten the curve

when inside the fast-food place. After that,
I quickly got back to my house to eat the
delicious food. These are my thoughts on
what I bought:

Taco Bell is currently offering a new
wrap called the Grande Stacker; it’s filled
with a lot of seasoned beef, cheese, rice,
and optional chipotle sauce. The item is all
folded up neatly and shows off its stacks
of ingredients and grilled tortilla well. I
ate the Chipotle Grande Stacker version of
the wrap and it is very filling. The beef is
quite flavourful as well as the cheese, while
the chipotle sauce is not very spicy but still
has a kick. The wrap is very big and easy to
eat—as long as youre holding it properly
and making sure that the beef does not fall
out.

I like steak and I also like to eat it
in a burger. There are a few steakhouse
burgers that I have eaten in the past couple
of years—I especially enjoy the ones from
Burger King. When I saw a commercial for
Dairy Queen’s Loaded Steakhouse Burger,
I had to have one. It is like a steak dinner in

 

Photo by Billy Bui

and keeps everyone safe. We are thinking
outside the box rather than sealing
ourselves inside the box. Though we can’t
be close in our connections right now, we
can still connect through the power of
making a little noise. And besides, it’s fun
to have an excuse to bang some pots and
pans together.

pandemic

a burger and has delicious toppings that I,
conveniently, like to have on a steakhouse
burger. This meal has two beef patties
with crispy onion rings and bacon on top.
It additionally features cheese, and two
steakhouse sauces—including an HP-style
sauce and peppercorn sauce. The beef
patties are a bit dry but still have the taste
that you would expect from a steak ina
classic steakhouse. The onion rings do

add a bit of crunch to the burger and the
steakhouse sauces make the beef patties
more flavourful. I especially appreciate the
HP-style sauce. The peppercorn sauce is
strong but does not overpower the taste of
the burger.

If you would like the burger to be just
as filling as an actual steak dinner, you can
add another beef patty to the burger—
which also comes with more steakhouse
sauces to make it juicier.

While some of your favourite food
products are currently not available during
the pandemic, these interesting new food
products can still wow your taste buds.