Breedy
Busted
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
- Messages
- 2,123
Before leaving for a weekend bachelor party I did a little research on the topic here on CP. I've PMed with others about it, but deleted them so I can't remember who specifically you/they were. Here is a short list of what I found
1. NO SMOKING At least indoors. Not just the bars and restaurants, but even the Brick and Mortars. In the warmer months this really shouldn't present a huge problem. There are plenty of outdoor patios and for the most part the people are friendly.
2. Places to Buy cigars. There are various "shops" that sell "Cuban cigars". But as everything, it is buyer beware. Some of these convenience stores had nice looking cabinet displays that amazingly seemed to be lacking of any sort of humidification control. Also, to my untrained eye, some of the shops were selling what appear to obvious fakes.
3. Prices. I've always heard that our brothers to the North pay a much higher tax rate, I am not sure how much more, but expect to pay 2x more than you might be used too. Further, being a "destination" I am sure there is a slight increase of price. The exchange rate at the time was 1.00 USD = 1.12 Canadian, it was approximately 10 cents more a few months ago.
4. La Casa Del Habano. LCdH came recommend as a trusted place to go. I was cautioned that they have had mold issues in the past. Unfortunately, I have to report they still have the issues. The walk-in did not seem excessively humid, and the mold seemed to mostly be contained at the far end. It might be a circulation problem, but there was obvious mold growth on a couple of boxes of Monte's, Partagas and *gasp* Trinidad Fundadores.
The shop is attached to, and I believe ran by, Ray and Kim's market next door. The guy who came over was polite and seemed somewhat knowledgeable. I skipped the mold issue, no point in having him lie to me. The shop itself is nice, its a shame that you aren't allowed to use it as a lounge.
5. Nightlife. Lots of bars, lots of late teens and early twenty-ish types. Last call is 2:00am, as far as I can tell/remember, at all bars and the Casino. Popped Collars and dock shoes were out in force. People in vans come around and offer you passes and free rides to various gentleman's clubs; be warned the "free passes" only wave the cover on week nights, week ends are still 5 dollars.
6. Shawarma (link) WTF is it? Delicious. Why are there three on every street? Walking around drunk at 3:00am is a lot of work.
7. Dining. Seems like there was an inordinate amount of Sushi places, Detroit Roll anyone? We did find a place to settle in and catch the Cav's game. It used to be called the Chatham Street Grill, that may or may not be current name. They were more than willing to accommodate our large, semi-coherent party and allowed us to move tables to make viewing easier. The food was very good and for fine dining was reasonable priced. The service really shined, Heidi (manager) and Amanda (bartender) were a lot of fun and easy to look at. I would highly recommend stopping in.
All and all Windsor is *meh*, much funner places to go if everyone is 21. If your going to go, stop at the duty free pick up a couple of bottles of liquor to "pre-game". Also swing by a drug store and go to the back, where the actually "pharmacy" counter is and pick up some Tylenol with Codeine. You have to ask for it, but its worth it.
If someone on a bike, carrying a backpack rides up to you and asks "Do you smoke cigarettes"..... well if you can't figure that one out on your own, just say "NO"
1. NO SMOKING At least indoors. Not just the bars and restaurants, but even the Brick and Mortars. In the warmer months this really shouldn't present a huge problem. There are plenty of outdoor patios and for the most part the people are friendly.
2. Places to Buy cigars. There are various "shops" that sell "Cuban cigars". But as everything, it is buyer beware. Some of these convenience stores had nice looking cabinet displays that amazingly seemed to be lacking of any sort of humidification control. Also, to my untrained eye, some of the shops were selling what appear to obvious fakes.
3. Prices. I've always heard that our brothers to the North pay a much higher tax rate, I am not sure how much more, but expect to pay 2x more than you might be used too. Further, being a "destination" I am sure there is a slight increase of price. The exchange rate at the time was 1.00 USD = 1.12 Canadian, it was approximately 10 cents more a few months ago.
4. La Casa Del Habano. LCdH came recommend as a trusted place to go. I was cautioned that they have had mold issues in the past. Unfortunately, I have to report they still have the issues. The walk-in did not seem excessively humid, and the mold seemed to mostly be contained at the far end. It might be a circulation problem, but there was obvious mold growth on a couple of boxes of Monte's, Partagas and *gasp* Trinidad Fundadores.
The shop is attached to, and I believe ran by, Ray and Kim's market next door. The guy who came over was polite and seemed somewhat knowledgeable. I skipped the mold issue, no point in having him lie to me. The shop itself is nice, its a shame that you aren't allowed to use it as a lounge.
5. Nightlife. Lots of bars, lots of late teens and early twenty-ish types. Last call is 2:00am, as far as I can tell/remember, at all bars and the Casino. Popped Collars and dock shoes were out in force. People in vans come around and offer you passes and free rides to various gentleman's clubs; be warned the "free passes" only wave the cover on week nights, week ends are still 5 dollars.
6. Shawarma (link) WTF is it? Delicious. Why are there three on every street? Walking around drunk at 3:00am is a lot of work.
7. Dining. Seems like there was an inordinate amount of Sushi places, Detroit Roll anyone? We did find a place to settle in and catch the Cav's game. It used to be called the Chatham Street Grill, that may or may not be current name. They were more than willing to accommodate our large, semi-coherent party and allowed us to move tables to make viewing easier. The food was very good and for fine dining was reasonable priced. The service really shined, Heidi (manager) and Amanda (bartender) were a lot of fun and easy to look at. I would highly recommend stopping in.
All and all Windsor is *meh*, much funner places to go if everyone is 21. If your going to go, stop at the duty free pick up a couple of bottles of liquor to "pre-game". Also swing by a drug store and go to the back, where the actually "pharmacy" counter is and pick up some Tylenol with Codeine. You have to ask for it, but its worth it.
If someone on a bike, carrying a backpack rides up to you and asks "Do you smoke cigarettes"..... well if you can't figure that one out on your own, just say "NO"
You are allowed 50 per person by law I belive when crossing the boarder. (I could be wrong this is the amount we are allowed to bring back after a 72 hour stay in the USA.)