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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Stanley Cup Final 2012

Going into game one of tonight's Stanley Cup Final, I can't recall off the top of my head, a Cup Final that seemed to hold as small a perceived interest here in Canada. Certainly we were spoiled last year with Vancouver challenging for the cup in 2011, and even the Ottawa Senators making a return to the cup final  in 2007 for the first time since the Senators Era of the 1920's. The series in 2007 was preceded with two more appearances by Canadian clubs, in 2004 (Calgary Flames, pre-lockout) and 2006 (Edmonton Oliers, post-lockout).

The unfortunate similarity between these appearances by Canadian teams? All losses. The last year a Canadian team hoisted the Cup was the 1993 Montreal Canadians.

One might say that of all the teams I mentioned, only Vancouver was expected to win the Cup, but I'm sure we were all caught up in the hype in 2006 when the Oilers went on their cinderella run to the cup from the 8th seed position.

This series in 2012 may not have the intrigue of the Canadian team, fighting to bring back the Cup to Canada. It certainly doesn't have the allure of Sidney Crosby, challenging for back-to-back cups in 2008-2009. That said, as the series prepares to kick off tonight in New Jersey, the Devils and the Los Angeles Kings are not without their fair share of interesting story lines.


First off is Martin Brodeur. The veteran goaltender and future hall-of-famer turned 40 during the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Philadelphia Flyers and has been making jaw-dropping saves on almost every night of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He already leads all goalies in history in every conceivable statistic on which a goaltender is judged. Would a fourth Stanley Cup ring in an unprecedented third decade be the crowning achievement in an already legendary career?


Since settling in New Jersey in 1982, the Devils have won three Stanley Cups (1995, 2000, and 2003), all with Martin Brodeur in the nets. The Devils came into the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's 6th seed. NJ has advanced through the 3rd place Florida Panthers (7 games), the 5th place Philadelphia Flyers (7 games) and the 1st place New York Rangers (6 games), playing 20 games, 6 games more than the Kings, enroute to the Cup Finals.

Though the Kings have had a more than ample opportunity to rest up coming to tonight's game 1, the Puck will drop with New Jersey enjoying home-ice advantage, the first such occurrence for either of these teams throughout this postseason.


For the LA Kings, a young team loaded with talent and grit, it is a surprising statistic to hear that they were 29th of 30 teams this year in goal scoring with a 2.29 goals per game average. They went through three different coaches this year, two before acquiring their current coach Darryl Sutter from the Calgary Flames. LA came into the playoffs as the 8th seed in the highly competitive Western Conference, and as little as one week before the playoffs started, the Kings found themselves out of a playoff spot.

The Kings are backstopped by Jonathan Quick who had nothing less than a Vezina trophy-worthy season in 2011-2012. 2nd in GAA with 1.95 and first in the league with an astonishing 10 shutouts. Quick's acrobatic saves in the 2012 playoffs have opened the eyes of those who may not have noticed his dominant stretches throughout the season.

In their 44 year history, the LA Kings have only made it to one Stanley Cup Final (1993) and have yet to win a cup. LA has advanced through the 1st place Vancouver Canucks (5 games), the 2nd place St. Louis Blues (4 games) and the 3rd place Phoenix Coyotes (5 games), playing 14 games enroute to this years Cup Finals.

For the first time ever, both teams have Americans as their captains in Dustin Brown (LAK) and Zach Parise (NJD). Parise is scheduled to become an unrestricted free-agent this summer if New Jersey can't lock him up to a contact after this lengthy playoffs wraps up. How the finals play out could play a huge part in weather we see Parise suit up again next season for the Devils, or exercise his right to choose any NHL team to continue his career with. As for the Kings captain, Brown's name was floated in many trade rumours as the 2012 trade deadline approached and some speculate that without a cup win in 2012, Brown might too valuable an asset to keep and may also find himself playing for another club next year.

Plenty of great hockey stories heading into tonight's game. While we can expect a chess match of a series with these two strong defensive teams backed by spectacular goaltending, this series promises to showcase two teams that may not have been favourites heading into the playoffs, but each have earned their right to challenge for the Cup. I, for one, can't wait to see how this series unfolds.

All games in this series start at 8:00pm, so choose who to root for, and come by Jawny Bakers with your friends to watch some great hockey.

Neither a 6th place seed, nor an 8th place seed has ever won the Stanley Cup. All that will change, starting tonight.


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Jawny Bakers Video Podcast #8

In Search of a Great Beer... How far does a man have to go?






Click here to download the video file: JB Podcast 008
Subscribe to us on iTunes and get this directly on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Your Friends, Your Neighbourhood


Jawny Bakers has been an integral part of the East York community for the past 20 years and   I am very proud to be operating my own business here.  This is the community where I was born, raised and now reside in with my own family.  What’s not to love about East York: the  residents that truly give this area its sense of unity, the entrepreneurs that operate businesses with high levels of integrity, the hospitals, schools, Industrial and Not for Profit Organizations, the wonderous  valley, skating arenas, etc.……all that make this a wonderful place to work and live!
East York is a community that has supported Jawny Bakers from the start.  “Your Friends, Your Neighbourhood” is a tag line used in our logo and serves to reinforce our strong sense of community partnership.  From the outset, we have made a commitment to give back to the people and community that have been the anchor for our success in any way we can.  
As a small business operator, you often wonder how much of a contribution you can make for the betterment of people and life in your community.  I would say that being a independent operator has one of the greatest advantages of all: we have the ability to know our Guests, employees and community on a level that most big businesses never can, which makes it easier for us to complement them.  Unlike larger businesses, we have the freedom and the knowledge to shape our product, service and business to fit the people and community we serve.  
The following are some of the ways we have become actively involved in our community:
  • Jawny Bakers places a high level of importance on giving back to the community with not only money, but time and commitment from owners/employees working towards improving the area in which we work and live.
  • We partner with social and community groups to participate in  events taking place in the neighbourhood through fundraisers and sponsorship.
  • We are a proud supporter of Providence Healthcare, a leader in providing rehabilitation and palliative care centre.  Both owners are passionately involved with the fundraising efforts of the hospital.
  • We are committed to the health and well being of our guests and staff  by providing healthy choices.  We choose the finest quality products the industry has to offer.
  • We consider ourselves a good community partner because we operate an attractive, clean and safe restaurant.  We further this goal by providing career opportunities and hiring from within the neighbourhood.
Jawny Bakers will continue in its efforts to be the best community partner it can be! Follow our blog for details on upcoming events that we are involved with in support of our community.
  • May 7th, 2012 - Did you catch us us on City Line TV, “Around the Home” episode?
  • May 30th , 2012 - Cusine & Cuvee - Jawny Bakers is a food donor at this spectacular event held at the Brick Works in support of Providence Healthcare.  Goal is to raise $200,000 net dollars.
  • July 26th, 2012 - Providence Golf Classic - Proud supporter and committee planning member.  To be held at Bayview Glen Golf& Country Club in support of Providence Healthcare. 

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Blog Contributor -
Gavin Thomson



Gavin has been working at Jawny Bakers for the past 7 years, first as an integral member of our Bar Team and for the last 4 years as the General/Operations Manager. Having worked in the industry for over 20 years, he has a wealth of knowledge both in the UK and Canada as a bartender, manager and owner/operator (of his own lounge bar). He has an excellent understanding of what Hospitality and Guest service is all about. He beings a passion to the job along with a “Gentleman’s Sophistication”! With a love of food and drink and attention to detail he makes it his priority to ensure that Jawny Bakers stays at the cutting edge of Hospitality and Premium Guest service.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Jawny Bakers Video Podcast #7


Join us as we create the Shannon's Stew Recipe from the Jawny Bakers Feature Menu 2012 with Russell Pratt, our Manager of Kitchen Operations. Russell has been with Jawny Bakers since 1999 and always strives for excellence in the kitchen. Those who have tried his steaks will agree wholeheartedly with that statement!





Click here to download the video file: JB Podcast 007
Subscribe to us on iTunes and get this directly on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Blog Contributor - Russell Pratt


Russell began his career with Jawny Bakers in 1999 and now holds the position of Kitchen Operations Manager.  It has been his personal goal and passion to create an amazing culinary experience for our Guests.  Russell has extensive industry experience and a strong commitment to serve food and drink of the highest standards.  He is at the helm of product selection and menu development for the restaurant, and together with his team, he continues to raise the bar for food and drink excellence at Jawny Bakers.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Blog Contributor - Tom Zoras


Tom Zoras is Chief Food and Drink Operator at Jawny Bakers Restaurant, the successful restaurant he started in Toronto in 1992. Tom leverages his Great Eating and drinking skills to the organization, by introducing, creating and sampling all the wonderful food and thirst quenching drinks created by the culinary and mixology team.  With a strong passion for Food and Drink, Tom brings the development Team together in deciding which menu items are best suited for Jawny Bakers Guests.