FOOD FORWARD

Winnipeg next stop on Martinook's Meals with Marty series

Carolina forward Jordan Martinook discusses something other than dinner plans with Montreal defenceman Lane Hutson recently. (Christinne Muschi / The Canadian Press files)

A weekly lap around the NHL by Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe

JORDAN Martinook is hungry for more.

And who can blame the Brandon-born product? He got the ultimate taste of success last year in the form of a Stanley Cup championship, and he's now seeking a second serving this season. His Carolina Hurricanes are off to a stellar start, carrying a 6-1-1 record into Canada Life Centre on Saturday afternoon to face the 4-1-2 Winnipeg Jets.

However, in this week's column, we're actually talking about food. Martinook has decided to add a little more to his plate by creating a TikTok series called Meals With Marty in which he takes folks along for the ride as he and his teammates dine around the NHL.

"For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge foodie," Martinook said in his introductory video last week.

"One of the perks to playing in the NHL is we get to travel to all the major cities in the U.S. and Canada and we get to try new restaurants. I hope you guys follow along and give us some recommendations."

We're invested here at Dump & Chase, considering we hit up all the same NHL markets while covering the Jets through the season and are always looking to expand our palates.

First up was Montreal, where Martinook broke bread at Garde Manger. His video begins with the camera panning around the table to introduce his company for the evening: Taylor Hall, Sean Walker, Jordan Staal, Eric Robinson and Shayne Gostisbehere.

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe

On the menu that night: beef tartare, octopus, tuna, snow crab, scallops, duck, steak, carrots, cream corn and "some guilty french fries."

Martinook then wraps things up by handing out some scores: Food quality received a 9.1 — "very delicious. Everything was so good." And service was a 9.5. — "incredible restaurant, would recommend."

The only thing missing was the bill, which we suspect was rather sizable (and something our sports editor would flatly say "no" to ever covering in our own travel budget). But it's clearly resonating with viewers, with more than 189,000 clicks so far.

And arguably the fine dining paid off, since the Hurricanes filled their bellies the following night by beating the Canadiens 6-4.

Next up was Chicago, where Naia was the choice. Martinook revealed Hall — who previously played in the Windy City — picked the location. They were greeted with a personalized menu that included the Hurricanes logo.

Hall, Staal, Gostisbehere, Walker and Robinson were back for more with Martinook, while former Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers joined the party.

Their plates included tuna crispy rice, crab crispy rice, wagyu crispy rice, yellowtail crudo, tuna carpaccio, crispy potatoes, fried calamari, chicken schnitzel, branzino, crab pasta, steak, spaghetti alla mona, and for dessert, donut holes and banana pudding.

It's a good thing these guys have incredible metabolism.

"The vibes were immaculate," said Martinook as the video panned the nearby Chicago skyline and river view.

St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer takes an interference penalty for laying out Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov behind the net. (Abbie Parr / The Associated Press)

The food was given an 8.6 while the service came in at 8.9.

"Great dinner and great company," Martinook concluded. And the second in his series is the most popular so far, coming in at 207,000 views.

The team feasted on the Blackhawks 24 hours later, beating them 5-2.

We're still waiting on the next video, which will hit close to home. It's going to feature tonight's pre-game feast in Winnipeg and should be up in the next few days.

Any guesses at where they end up?

Don't worry, folks, we've got you covered, and will report back in this space next week with all the dining details.