Thursday 28 November 2013

Food Review: Pizzeria Gusto

Pizzeria Gusto
404 Academy Rd

Pizzeria Gusto on Urbanspoon

UPDATED: OCTOBER 2014

Pizzeria Gusto is a cozy restaurant with a very nice patio. I will betray the fact that I ate here several months ago by saying that we ate outside. The patio has tables as well as couch for a more casual dining experience. Since we didn’t have a reservation and it was busy we were relegated to the couch. I say relegated, but I actually enjoyed sitting there a lot.

I have eaten here several times and the food is consistently good.  

We ordered two pizzas:
-          Quatro Fromaggi (with a cracked egg on it)
-          Ryall

Both of these pizzas satisfied our craving. The Quatro Fromaggi was especially good with the egg on top. There is a wide range of options and flavors with the meat pizzas, and for once there is also a respectable range of vegetarian options. It is true that most are the same as the ones you get everywhere. Here they do them well, but sometimes I wish restaurants would have a bit more derring-do in creating their veggie pizza options.

All in all it is a wonderful place to bring a date, have a nice evening, and eat at the nicest upscale pizza in Winnipeg.

Until Next Time,

Sunday 17 November 2013

Food Review: Bard & Banker Pub

Bard & Banker Pub

1022 Government St
Victoria, BC

Bard and Banker on Urbanspoon

This is one of the prettiest pubs I’ve ever been to. It is located in a historic bank building. Stepping in, I felt transported into an imaginary UK where everyone drinks in grand halls adorned with brass and built of dark wood. The illusion was maintained when I saw the beer menu, which was impressive and included a great selection on tap.  I was seated promptly and the service was good.

I ordered the house made veggie burger

I thought that the veggie burger was entirely forgettable.  I asked my friends how they thought the food was and they agreed with me. This place is a pub first and a restaurant second and it would do you well to keep that in mind. Overall, it was a great place to have visited because of the beer selection and the beautiful architecture but you should come here to drink not to eat.


Until Next Time,

Food Review: Sam’s Deli & Bistro

Sam’s Deli & Bistro
805 Government St
Victoria, BC

Sam's Deli & Bistro on Urbanspoon


I had finally checked into my hotel and I spent a few confused hours without food wondering around downtown Victoria. My ultimate goal was to sit by the beach in Beacon Hill Park (which is fabulous) and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet for a few hours before my friends’ flights arrived and I would have to deal with the hustle and bustle of the conference I was attending. This meant that I went to the first place that looked like I could get food fast. Sam’s Deli & Bistro was where I ended up.
It is a neat idea: it had the fast-food-sandwich-joint-style of serving and choices (bread, meat etc, veggies, sauces). The twist was that instead of having tons of bread and veggies, it was pretty much a regular homemade sandwich. The bread was plain old grocery store bread and it came packed in a little plastic container. Unfortunately, everything cost extra (avocados, pickles, even some of the bread options) and it was very unclear what was on the veggie sandwich.
Ultimately, it cost more than I wanted to spend and it tasted like a sandwich I could have made at home. At first this upset me because I should have just gone home and made the darn thing for cheaper. If you are a Victoria resident you should feel the same way; but this is the tourist zone. People who go here are probably far from home and don’t want to buy bread, pickles, tomato, mayo, avocado etc.. for a home-style sandwich because they would have to figure out what to do with them later. They just want that piece of home away from home and it can definitely be found in the sandwiches here. In that sense it is a decent place and I did enjoy it. I just wish it was cheaper.

Until next time,

Food Review: Li’L Viking Lounge & Harbour Dock Café

Li’L Viking Lounge & Harbour Dock Café
Gull Harbour Marina 
Hecla Island, MB 


Harbour Dock Café on Urbanspoon

I was going through my 'posts not posted' folder and found a few reviews from the summer that I never got around to posting. This place is probably closed for the season, but it will be open next spring.

This is pretty much your choice of dining out in Hecla Island Manitoba. The restaurant is located inside the main floor of the old fishery and oozes with the old Manitoba tradition of screened in patios. The place is clean and the view of the harbour is quite scenic as the sun goes down. The task of trying to keep a restaurant open seasonally in a less frequented part of the province means that the food is more expensive than in the city.

The restaurant attracts a variety of clientèle from sports fishermen to elderly vacationers to families, and as a result they have a standard beer menu and a fabulous array or locally made deserts. They make cinnamon buns in-house, and I am told that they disappear within hours of their creation. They also make brownies and some other lighter squares. However, the big selling point is the pickerel. It is obvious that their other menu items play a secondary role to their locally caught fish. I don’t usually order it, but my family always does.

I have ordered:
-          Nachos
-          Coconut Cream pie
-          Greek Salad
-          Caesar Salad   
-          Pizza
-          French Fries

Most of the food is made well and will appeal to your fast-food/pub food cravings. The coconut cream pie is very good. It is really nice the French fries are not greasy. The fish and chips (I am told) are moist, flavourful, and well battered. If you are staying at the lighthouse inn or the resort and you want to spend the evening looking at the sunset over the lake, this is the place to be.

Until next time,

Monday 28 October 2013

It's been a while...

As it turns out, it has been over a month since my last post. There have been a few reasons for this:

1) I am very busy at work so instead of writing blog posts I have been working.
2) I have been eating out less because my wife and I are trying to save money so that we can travel for a few months next year, or buy a house, or both.
3) I have been re-eating at places and updating those posts
4) I keep wanting to post about other things related to food but running out of time to do so.

Here is a teaser trailer of a few blog topics I have been thinking about:

- Borscht Burger Recipe
- Food story interviews
- Talk about a major food choice my wife and I made that we are just starting this week.
- Type up a few more food reviews that I have lurking around
- Edit a few of my older posts more carefully because some of them need it.

I hope to write again soon,

Saturday 14 September 2013

The Best (Veggie) Burgers in Winnipeg

Updated: March 2014

Burger week was a ton of fun for me. During the week I subjected my patient wife to five restaurants that had competing burgers and one place that has a good veggie burger but wasn't a part of the festivities. Of these five, only two (Underground Café and Boon Burger) had entered vegetarian burgers in the competition. This led me to create my list of top veggie burgers in Winnipeg. However, I realize that I have not ordered burgers from several places which might hold their own in the competition, so I am also posting my veggie burger bucket list as well.

Last winter I started cooking through Joni Marie Newman’s “The Best Veggie Burgers on The Planet”. It has given me a good idea of what can be done with a patty. From this book it is clear that veggie burgers have made a lot of progress in the last few years. They have been transformed from pale imitations of meat to a self-confident food that doesn't even pretend to be beef. Based on experience, there are two camps of veggie burgers. The first camp is the good-ol-fashioned-burger. The distinguishing feature of this group is that most of the flavor comes from the patty. They tend to be simpler and have the traditional burger toppings: pickle, lettuce, tomato, cheese (sometimes), ketchup, mustard (sometimes), and relish (sometimes).  The second group is the topping burgers. In this group the flavor is dominated with sauces, veggies, condiments; the patty’s role is secondary.

What do I like in a burger?  I like a bun that is slightly crusty and a bit chewy. I want every bite to taste the same (an even spread of flavors). I want it to be small enough so that I can taste the whole thing in a bite. 

So, what does Winnipeg have to offer? A lot!

Top 5 Veggie Burgers in Winnipeg:

1) Dessert Sinsations - Yes, that's right! Dessert sinsations has a knock-your-socks-off delicious veggie burger. The housemade patty is bursting with flavour, the fixings are top notch too, and they give you a steak knife to cut it into manageable pieces because otherwise it will be all over you.
2) Boon Burger – The bacon cheese burger – this is a classic burger prepared with extraordinary zeal. It is smoky, it is ‘cheesy’, the bun was pleasant too, and it wasn't overwhelmed with sauce.
3)  Unburger – The Bella – This burger is a classic portabella-style veggie burger. If you don’t like blue cheese don’t order this. If you like it, you’ll find paradise on a square bun.  
4)  Osborne Village Café – The Curried Chickpea and Wild Rice Burger is the best of the curried burgers. It is everything I wish the one at Cousins was. The sauces are lovely, the burger is flavourful without overwhelming.
5)  Elements – Their veggie burger is fabulous as well. It has all the classic toppings with a patty that deserves the attention it gets. UPDATE: I had put this in second place this summer but when I tried it a second time in winter it wasn't nearly as good. I will try it again to see if I had it on a bad day.

Other ones I've tried:

The Underground Café – The Fabulous Sun-Burger is one of the best in the city because of its unbeatable lime-dill sauce. If I liked the patty a bit more, it would easily have made the top 10.
Mondragon – Usurped from 5th place by the burger at the Osborne Village Cafe! This veggie burger has been around for a long time. It was the first veggie burger I ever tried, and as far as gool-ol-fashioned burgers go, this is one of the best. The patty has a hint of curry. The whole thing is very well done. UPDATE: Unfortunately Mondragon is no longer open. We have lost a pretty great burger and a much greater part of Winnipeg's culture.
Market Burger – I have tried both their veggie burgers and I think they are tasty but nothing special. They are probably in the top 10 burgers in the city because of the options for customization.
The Grove - UPDATE: After returning to The Grove to try the burger I found that it was still a good burger but not as good as I remembered it to be. It is the good-ol-fashioned burger style. It is a really good patty, but not the best. Probably sitting in 6th place right now for the best burger in the city. I had placed it in the top 3 before.
Cousins Deli & Lounge – Cousin’s is often considered the best veggie burger in the city by my peers. I am not as big a fan. The patty is dense and a bit dry. It is another example of a top 5 burger with a top 10 patty.
Billabong Gastropub - The Village burger. This one is a middle of the road. It has good toppings, but the patty is not my favorite.
Stella's Café - This burger is presented well and comes with plenty of potatoes and coleslaw on the side. But in a competition of flavor this curry burger doesn't stand out from the crowd.
The Nook  - This is a classic diner burger gone vegetarian. Add some ketchup to make it a bit saucier and enjoy this solid burger.

My Bucket List:

Prairie Ink – Suggested in an article by The Manitoban, this one looked interesting.
Cornerstone Bar and Restaurant - I like the one at The Grove. Why not try this one as well?
Daly Burger – I hear great things from my carnivore friends. At 4.95, why not try their veggie burger?

I will keep this list up-to-date.

Until next time!


Monday 2 September 2013

Food Review: Market Burger


Market Burger
645 Corydon Ave

Market Burger on Urbanspoon
 
One of the huge advantages of market burger is their rooftop patio, it affords good views of the vibrant part of Corydon ave. The décor is hip and the food is as local as possible. The staff were friendly, and our server visited us regularly. But like most restaurants that have just opened there were a few glitches; the most interesting ones involved their menu. They advertise a gluten free burger but the menu has it on a whole wheat bagel.  The server was nice enough to clarify: they have gluten free buns – the issue was a misprint on the menu. The second menu issue we noticed was also caused by a misprint. the Menno poutine did not list meat in it despite containing sausage. Sadly, the dish was prepared and on our table before we found out. We had a long debate about whether to eat it or not, but ultimately we sent it back. They were very apologetic about it and gave us frings as a replacement (which was more than enough solace).  We also noticed that they boasted serving local beer but didn't have Half Pints listed (which seemed like a pretty big slight). I asked the server and it turns out that they do have serve Half Pints, Farmery, and Fort Garry brews but, once again, they didn't get it on the menu.

I won’t dwell on this; I have made errors that were equally as silly but somehow found their way into print. Staring at something for too long almost guarantees that important discrepancies will be missed.  I went there to eat, not to copyedit. I say let bygones be bygones and hope they reprint their Manitoba-shaped menus with those corrections. They may have already since this post has sat in my 'posts not posted' folder for several weeks already.

On to the burgers!

They have 2 vegetarian patties, as well as a make your own option, which amounts to good variety of burgers for veggie folks. The French fries have an amazing array of delicious sauces (honey, mint, and jalapeno!) which are sure to be a foodie pleaser. They also serve Cornell Creme Ice cream, which is locally produced on a small scale. We tried the vanilla ice cream and it was great to see that it had the little black flecks suggesting that it was made with vanilla beans. It’s definitely worth trying!

The patio gives it a serious advantage over most (all?) of the fancy burger places in Winnipeg. Overall it is a great place to hang out on a sunny day, have a few beer, and eat a decent burger.
               
                Until next time,

Friday 30 August 2013

Food Review: The Blue Fox Cafe


The Blue Fox Cafe
919 Fort St. Victoria BC

Blue Fox on Urbanspoon

Three words describe the Blue Fox Cafe: wow, Wow, WOW! The atmosphere is cozy, bright, and fun. The artwork on the walls is interesting and local. The serving staff and the host were impossible to beat (I really really mean this). One of the people I was travelling with is anaphylactic to eggs and nuts and this was the only place (of the 6 places we ate) that didn’t serve him something with eggs or nuts in it – and they are a breakfast joint with a mostly eggy menu! On top of this, we waited in line for breakfast for 40 minutes in the rain and even that misery didn’t get my spirits down after we tried the food.

I ordered the Jalapeno veggie burger and the lulu lemon mimosa.

The veggie burger came with a salad that was the size of my plate when I spread it out and the white wine vinaigrette was stunning. The burger itself was huge and delicious and is probably the best veggie burger I have ever eaten. The lulu lemon mimosa blew my mind and I am going to have to try to make it at home sometime. I spent a lot of time ogling other people’s food and by the look of things the french toast, the omelettes, the colossal vegetable side, and  the fruit sides, as well as the quesadilla, were probably equally stunning.  

I would include Victoria in a road trip around Vancouver Island simply to eat here again.  

Until next time,


Food Review: The Sticky Wicket


The Sticky Wicket (The Strathcona Hotel)
919 Douglas Street, Victoria BC

The Sticky Wicket on Urbanspoon

I had the opportunity to spend four days in Victoria BC this week for a conference. As a result I found myself in downtown Victoria without a vehicle. This meant I had a reasonable amount of time on my hands to try the local cuisine but a limited area that I could get to. One of the first places I went was the sticky wicket, and I had trouble motivating myself to go anywhere else. The service was great and the atmosphere was even better. Winnipeg doesn’t really have the same dark wood pubs in historic buildings (with the exception of The Regal Beagle, perhaps). However, I would like to mention that it got quite loud later in the evening, so it isn't the place for quiet conversation.

 I ordered:
-          Yam Fries
-          Wild mushroom ravioli
-          Pacific cod fish & chips (I actually just sampled a bit of someone else’s)
-          Coleslaw (From someone else’s fish and chips)
All three dishes were exceptional and were perfectly priced for the portion size. The yam fries ranked among the best I've ever eaten. The coleslaw was well dressed and had baby lettuce in it, which helped prevent the slaw from being a chewing workout routine. The beer menu was also impressive, stocking a large proportion of the local brews.

If you are in the area you should go!

Until next time,

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Food Review: Shawarma Time

Shawarma Time
616 Ellice Ave

Shawarma Time on Urbanspoon

This is my mom's favourite restaurant (although India Palace is probably a close second). When we have lunch together it is always here. When we order in food, it is always here. The food is reliably tasty and it comes in good time. For a while I was worried that it had closed, but I guess those rumours were wrong because it looks just like it always has: the same posters, the same staff, and the same wall of photos that replace a menu.

I usually order meal #29 – the Falafel Plate, but I have also ordered:
-Meal #26: Taboli Salad
-Meal#27: Fatoush Salad
-Meal#36: Falafel Sandwich
-Meal#42: Tomato Pie
-Combo#19: Grape Leaf Rolls, Taboli Salad, Hummos, and Pita Bread
-Combo#20: Falafel, Taboli Salad, Hummos, and Pita Bread
French fries

They are all very good. I don’t know if the earthy flavours are standard with Lebanese food, but they are a pleasant addition to the meal as a whole. The main contributors to this flavour are sesame seeds and turnip pickles. I can’t say turnip pickles are my favourite, but it is nice that they haven’t totally conformed to western tastes. Flavours you aren't familiar with can be one of the great things about eating food from a different culture.

The taboli and fatoush salads are very good. There is a lot of lemon and a lot of parsley, which is everything that I want from those dishes.  The falafels are also very well made: they are slightly crumbly but they stay together, they are cooked so that they don’t have a lot of hard bits, and they aren’t tough.  The French fries are tasty but there is way way way too much seasoning salt on them for my salt-phobic taste buds. Other winners on this menu include the tomato pie, which is basically as good as any pizza I have ever ordered! The grape leaf rolls are also fabulous. 

I really like eating here. It is a great place to go before a show at the West End Cultural Centre, especially now that the Ellice Cafe is closed. I would eat here with friends before a show at the WEC, meet friends and family here for lunch or dinner.

Until next time,


Food Review: Buffalo Stone Café


Buffalo Stone Café
1961 McCreary Rd - FortWhyte

Buffalo Stone Cafe on Urbanspoon

My love of the outdoors is a part of me that doesn’t come through in these food reviews, but I assure you, it is there.  I was very fortunate to be able to combine the love of eating and the love of the outdoors on a recent outing to FortWhyte. The buffalo stone cafe specialized in all things bison, and it puts an emphasis on sustainability.
The restaurant is located in the Alloway Reception Centre (the main building). It overlooks Lake Devonian and has a good view of many bird feeders. If the weather is nice they have a patio which adds to the rural feel of the place. The opportunity to scan the lake for birds and the shore for mammals makes it an activity in and of itself. The place is cafeteria style so you will have to collect your own cutlery, ketchup, and whatever else you might want.
We ordered:
-          French onion soup
-          Grilled cheese and asparagus
-          French fries
-          Veggie Wrap
The food was made promptly, and it was tasty, but not exceptional. The French fries were crispy and they weren’t soaked in grease (my guess is they were baked). The soup was above average. The veggie wrap and the Grilled cheese and asparagus were tasty, but they were nothing special.  Maybe I am a traditionalist with grilled cheese, but I would have been happier if it were just melted cheese. My notes on the meal say that “the asparagus diluted the cheese flavor and ended up making the sandwich taste healthier but not better than the traditional grilled cheese.” You can argue with me on that one if you like.
Overall, it was a good experience and it is a pleasant addition to the FortWhyte centre. I’m not sure if it would be worth the trip in and of itself, but if you are planning to be at FortWhyte for breakfast or lunch it is certainly worth eating at.


Until next time,

Saturday 27 July 2013

Food Review: Kawaii Crepe


Kawaii Crepe
201-99 Osborne St

Kawaii Crepe on Urbanspoon

UPDATED: February 9th, 2014

This hip little place nestled in the best part of Osborne village was a really great surprise for my wife and I. We have eaten at a lot of restaurants in the last year and we sort of agree that the places we like all have a similar ‘taste’ to them. Maybe it has to do with the limited options as a vegetarian, but there is something about restaurant food regardless of whether it is Indian, Thai, fast food, or Italian. They all have a similar ‘feel’ (for lack of a better term). As a result we haven’t been eating out as much as we did in winter. Part of this is also because we have had time to cook for ourselves. In any case, chance, hunger, and maybe the winds of fate blew us to this place. Like Gulliver in Lilliput, we had found a different world.

This is a small, clean, and definitely hip creperie with a great store front for people watching. One of the best parts of eating here is that there are so many options. There were enough vegetarian options that I think we made the people behind the counter worried we would never make a choice. The range of flavours was extraordinary.

On top of this we had a really pleasant conversation with the people making the food about how tofu is underrated by meat eaters. It was a really interesting conversation and made me realize that the staff who we talked to care a lot about the food they are making. That's a lot to say for a fast(ish) food restaurant.

In the end we ordered:

  •           Uptown
  •           Pump up the Yam
      The second time we ate here we ordered:

  •       The Czar (with tofu)
  •       Chickplease
  •       Uptown


They were all extraordinary and very different from each other. The Uptown was good enough to order again but I accidentally ordered it with chicken once and it was not nearly as good - order it with tofu. The Czar is really tasty too. The chickplease is heavier than some of the others but that doesn't mean it was any less tasty. Pump up the yam is also a favourite. Some people I know don't like this place because they use the same batter for their sweet and savoury crepes. I don't mind because I have a sweet tooth. 

So, would I invite friends here? Yes, with the following caveat: it isn’t a place hang out for hours; it is primarily a fast food restaurant. 

Until next time,

Monday 15 July 2013

Food Review: The Nook


The Nook
43 Sherbrook St

The Nook Diner on Urbanspoon

UPDATED: OCTOBER 2014

Call me crazy, call me old, call me whatever you like, but I feel like cheap diners are getting more expensive. Maybe my memory serves me wrong but I feel that the food at greasy spoons is now only a dollar or two cheaper than the food at much fancier places.  In any case, breakfast at The Nook at 6:30 am makes me feel nostalgic about eating at roadside diners somewhere in the middle of Saskatchewan (even though I’ve only done that a few times in my life). 

The nook has copies of the Sun sitting around to read over breakfast. I read one while I waited for my friend to arrive and have a pre-work breakfast with me. In the meantime I had a cup of earl grey tea and some time to sit and survey the place. It is a well-preserved example of the diners which can be found throughout the city. The seats are bench-style and the entire range of people who live in West Broadway and Wolseley might stop in at any time. I once walked by the patio and observed a man sitting opposite to a giant teddy bear. They both had a beer sitting in front of them.

Today it was mostly quiet, the patrons were retirees, 20 something’s, construction workers, and one of my high school teachers who I hadn’t seen in years. Winnipeg is a small city.

I ordered:

  • Spanish Omelet, which comes with toast and hash browns.
  • Veggie Burger


The omelet was well prepared, the toast was buttery, the hash browns were made with real potatoes. Overall it was a good place to eat, but not an exceptional one. The veggie burger is pretty good, a little bit dry, but with a bit of ketchup it was a 7/10 veggie burger.

What makes it a winner is the atmosphere, the feeling that there is a strong community built around it, and very friendly staff.  I would like to come back for lunch and dinner sometime and see what the rest of their menu is like. But based on breakfast alone I felt that it was worth the money I paid for it.


Until next time,

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Food Review: Boon Burger Café

Boon Burger Café
79 Sherbrook Street

Boon Burger Café on Urbanspoon

          This place is dedicated to the art of vegan burger making, and they also have good ‘milk’ shakes. Boon burger has been around for a few years and it is well situated both in the developing Sherbrook street strip and on Bannatyne, which is also developing a pretty interesting food scene. I have been to all the locations, and I have also ordered their food as take-out from mobile maitre’d. The Sherbrook location is pretty but small: there are two long tables and two private ones. This pretty much means you will be sitting beside a stranger while you eat. I imagine you could make new friends this way, but I decided not to try. Interestingly, it is also the only place I have eaten that is painted black and still feels well lit. The windows make it a nice place to be on a sunny day.
                One of the most magical things about the burgers at boon is the cheese the cheese they put on them. I wouldn't be surprised if the owner pulled a Robert Johnson and sold his soul in exchange for vegan cheese that actually acts like real cheese. The stuff is crazy! 
                Here is a sample of the food I have ordered:
-          Boon shake
-          Boon tangy lemonade
-          Wolseley burger
-          Vegan cowboy burger
-          Boon oven-baked fries
-          Boon burger
The thing about Boon Burgers’ burgers is that they all follow a similar theme:  Lots of veggies, very soft patties, soft bread, and tonnes of sauce. If you really like this than you will like every burger they make. But, it is a bit like eating an ice cream on a 30 degree day: you spend your whole time managing drips and preventing it from falling on the side-walk.  The result is that I have eaten the whole burger in about 10 minutes to prevent it from exploding all over my plate. I should really just eat them with a fork and knife. A second curious attribute of the burger is that the bun doesn't really have any power to resist my munching. It is like biting into something that should be solid and finding that it gives away perfectly. It sounds unappetizing but I actually like that about the burger. It means I can try to stop my toppings from making a run for the border without negotiating with the bun.
Overall I really like their burgers. They are really tasty and the sauces are always flavourful. They switch in new burgers from time-to-time so you get variety. There is a daily burger special and a soup of the day, which are great additions to the menu. They are in the running for the best veggie/vegan burger in the city, but I think The Grove still takes the 1st prize.
So: should you bring a party of friends or guests from out of town there? If they are vegan you absolutely must bring them there. They will probably consider moving to Winnipeg because of the availability of vegan options. If you are bringing a group of people, you should go to the Bannatyne location because it is a lot larger. On the other hand, their food is so summery that a better idea would be to enjoy a boon burger in a park or the comfort of your own back deck.

Until next time,

                    


Friday 28 June 2013

Food Review: Peasant Cookery

Peasant Cookery

Peasant Cookery on Urbanspoon

283 Bannatyne Ave

                I have been eyeing this place for a while. But I knew I had to go when I heard from my in-laws that it was a very nice place to eat. They were right. The bar at the peasant cookery is across the hall from the dining area and I would recommend it over the regular eating space. It is much cosier and the fireplace in the corner makes the place feel very comfortable. It is also a pleasure to watch the bartenders mixing drinks and chatting to people.
                I am always a sucker for specials and when I heard the special was Panzanella (a favourite salad of mine) we had to order it. We ordered:
-French onion soup
-gnocchi
-panzanella
-2 drinks (old fashioned, ginger pear)

The French onion soup was great and the gnocchi was fabulous. We found the panzanella was nothing special, but the drinks made up for that. We also have good service and the bartender was patient while we tried to figure out what cocktails we wanted.
                We expected that to portions would be small and more costly than the places we usually eat. This was true, but we both agreed that the food was worth the price we paid for it. However, I was unusually hungry that day and so I was peckish again before we got home. I call this type of portioning the just right portion. It is the size of helping that we should all be eating to prevent us from getting overweight. At the end of the meal you don’t feel full but you also aren’t stuffed. When I find that I have the self-restraint to limit myself to a just right portion it feels rewarding. But my love of eating is a hard thing to combat.
                Anyway, I would definitely go here again. I would also invite friends to come, especially if there was a concert in the area. It is the perfect place to eat out if you are in the exchange, and it would be a nice place to bring someone on a date. In other words: good food and good drinks.


Until Next Time,

Friday 14 June 2013

Food Review: Taco Del Mar (Portage Ave)

Taco Del Mar (West end)
1132 Portage Ave

Taco Del Mar on Urbanspoon

                I had almost no time to eat dinner and I was in the Wolseley area. Fairly clueless about where to eat in the central part of Wolseley I consulted my handy-dandy urbanspoon app. It told me (Bless its heart) that Taco Del Mar was close by.  I had no idea what that was so I came to the place with no preconceptions. When I discovered it was attached to the subway I was wary. When I saw that the place had institutional-feeling beach decor I was even more hesitant. I had stepped into places that looked like this when I was travelling in Hawaii and was rarely impressed.
                As it turns out Taco Del Mar is owned by subway (explaining why they can share a common bathroom at this location). I know subway pretty well and I am familiar with navigating their endless list of options. Here I had no such luck. I ended up having no idea what I could order or how much it would cost. So I asked the person (the burrito artist?) who was serving me and he politely listed the toppings and stuff and told me I would get extra beans and rice as well as complimentary sour cream and guacamole because I am vegetarian. While I was pleased with the gesture I am also sad that guacamole and sour cream wouldn’t automatically come with the meal. However, no automatic guacamole and sour cream is common practice so I have resigned myself to it.
                I ordered:
  •   1 vegetarian mondo burrito with: Guacamole, Rice, Black Beans, Sour Cream, Cheese, something whose name I couldn’t make out but looked like antipasto, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, medium salsa.

It was a good burrito, but not special. You can get a similar one at pretty much any place that makes burritos. It was about the amount of money I would expect to pay for the amount of food I got. Overall it was fine but nothing special. The thing that did awe me was the device they used to moisten the tortilla shell when the first started the burrito crafting process. It was a sort of steam heated press which they could put the shell in and it heated it, moistened it, and grilled it all at the same time. It was a really cool thing! I also like the aluminium foil that they used to wrap the burrito in. It made it very easy to eat it while holding in the juices.
Would I go there with friends? Probably not. Would I go there for lunch in-between meetings with clients? Definitely. 

Until next time,

Thursday 6 June 2013

Food Review: La Fiesta Cafecito



La Fiesta Cafecito
Unit M 730 St.Anne’s Rd

La Fiesta Cafecito on Urbanspoon


Updated November 2013

The first time I tried to go here I was told that there would be a 45 minute wait. That time I decided to eat at Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria instead. The time I resolved wait and try the food. A relative of mine had recommended this place to me. She said that it was the best South American food in Winnipeg, if not in all of Manitoba. Even after eating here I am not qualified to decide, but I will say that it is the best South American food I've ever tried (having never been to South America).

The restaurant did a really good job of making a strip mall unit feel comfortable, which is no small achievement. The place is designed to feel like you are sitting on the street ordering drinks from an indoor bar. They also have a bathroom that feels like it belongs in someone’s home rather than a restaurant.
The same relative who told me to come here also warned me that if the host/server tells you that it will be a 45 minute wait you should expect it to take closer to an hour. The place is ALWAYS full. However, you can (and should) make a reservation. We were also warned that the service is incredibly slow. Therefore my Wife and I were not surprised when our food came a full two hours after we first arrived (an hour waiting, and an hour between ordering and getting the food).  In any other restaurant this would have ruined everything and I certainly wouldn't have left a generous tip.  But our server was amazingly friendly and kept us entertained whenever he walked by our table. I have never had a better server! The second time we went (a Tuesday evening) it was quiet and we had no problem getting a seat. The amazing server was not there but the staff were relaxed and the food was equally as good.

The food is unbeatable.
We ordered:
- Sangaria
- Chipotle Jalapeno Cheese Pupusa
- 2 Mojitos
- 2 Vegetarian Combination Platter #2 (salad, burrito, 2 pupusas, 1 enchilada)
- Vegetarian Combination Platter # 3 (salad, burrito, 1 pupusa, 2 tamal, 1 enchilada)

In my opinion the thing that makes the food exceptional is the care the people take in making it. They also make plain (unseasoned) beans taste wonderful. The pupusas and the tamal's are extraordinary and the enchilada’s made every other enchilada look pathetic. In contrast, the burrito and the salad seemed fairly standard. The mojitos were very good. The sangaria is not very sweet, which is a requirement for me.
All in all it was a wonderful time, the food was a good price, and I would recommend the place to anyone. However, I would also tell them that they need to make a reservation or they will spend the whole evening waiting for food.

Until next time,

Monday 27 May 2013

Food Review: Garbonzo's Pizza Pub

Garbonzo’s Pizza Pub
 University of Winnipeg AnX Building,
471 Balmoral St, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E3

UPDATED: March 2014

Garbonzo's Pizza Pub on Urbanspoon


Someone once told me “you go to Garbonzo’s for the company and you end up staying for the food.” This pretty much sums up my experience with the place. It's well set up for groups: there are large tables. There are board games on hand, as well as giant Jenga and a fussball table. It doesn't get very loud, even when it is full. On the other hand, the service is consistently poor and the food is mediocre. It doesn't seem to matter how many people are there; your order is taken quickly, you can get a beer in minutes, but food comes slowly and I have resorted to hunting down my server to ask for the bill more than once. Then you wait for a long time to get the debit/credit machine. This happens when there are five people there and when there are a hundred. I don’t really understand it.


I have ordered:
            
-       Pizza: Vegetarian, Perogy Pizza (minus bacon bits),  The True Italian (minus the sausage) Greek, and Spinach, Ricotta & tomato pizza
-       I’ve had the pizzas as calzones
-       Greek Salad
-       Fiesta Taco Salad (minus beef or chicken)
-       Bonzo Bones
-       Basket of Fries
-       Awesome Blossom
-       Extreme Nachos
-       Various drinks

The pizzas taste pretty much the same. The only one worth getting is the Spinach, Ricotta & Tomato (which they have renamed as the Five cheese & "Fresh" Tomato (the quotes are my addition)), which is quite good. The other reason to go is for the deals that they regularly have on food. Monday is half prize pizza and 4$ margaritas [This has changed since I last went here]. Tuesday is all you can eat pasta and 3.75 Pabst Blue Ribbon, Wednesday and Thursday are deals on wings and Saturday is a half price deal on burgers. On these days, the food becomes a good price for what you are getting. They also have a trivia league, which would probably be a lot of fun. There is live music later in the evening, but I have never stayed late enough to tell you if it's any good.

So, you can probably already guess what my verdict is on the place: is it worth going to with friends? If you want a place to play board games, have a few pints, and maybe order a pizza. Definitely! If you want to experience an amazing pizza pub and a large beer selection, go somewhere else.

UPDATE: My most recent experience was consistent with my previous visits.

Until next time,

Friday 24 May 2013

Food Review: Casa Burrito

Casa Burrito
520 Portage Ave

Casa Burrito on Urbanspoon




UPDATED: OCTOBER 2014

At Casa Burrito you are among friends. Indeed, one would have trouble finding a friendlier owner anywhere. Vinay is always happy to talk to customers about anything from downtown events to the challenges of owning a restaurant that is so influenced by the U of W student’s seasonal comings and goings. Sometimes you’ll find him in a van at the folk fest or at the fringe and those events are all the better for it.

I have gone there a few times. One of the advantages of the place is that you can order a beer alongside your food, which is uncommon for a "fast food" restaurant. They have a respectable selection of local beer and a few Mexican imports. The restaurant itself is in a clean but fairly unexceptional place with a counter and a few chairs. They are always playing an eclectic mix of music and the posters of Mexico round out the décor. If it’s empty, you get to chat. If it’s not, you can pick up a copy of The Uniter and read the U of W’s paper.

The place is set up to give you a few choices: taco/burrito/quesadilla? Large or small? and your choice of salsa. They also have sour cream an occasionally sour cream with mango bits in it, which is great.
           
I have ordered:

  • The Cocoa Yam (discontinued)
  • The Bean & Cheese
  • The Curried Lentil
I prefer the quesadillas because there seems to be more cheese and less filling. None of the salsa's are very hot, but the salsa verde will certainly warm your mouth. The mango salsa is a good choice for a sweeter burrito. I tend to order the bean and cheese, because I like lots of beans, sour cream. The curried lentil is also a good choice if you are feeling like a mexican-indian fusion.

This is a good place to grab dinner in a hurry. It is perfect if you are going to a show, a play, a hockey game, maybe even a club, but it doesn’t really feel like a social destination. 

Until next time,





Saturday 18 May 2013

Food Review: Elements

Elements
599 Portage Ave
UPDATED: March 2nd 2014

Elements on Urbanspoon 
              
Elements is located right by the front entrance in Richardson College for the Environment at the University of Winnipeg. It occupies a smallish but airy feeling corner of the building with windows facing Portage and Langside. Due to its location, many of the seats offer a good vantage to people watch as students bustle in and out of the building between classes. However, it also means that they do a bit of watching you too as they walk by. The clientele appear to be mostly the corporate lunch crowd, professors, the well-to-do, and the semi-retired. I have been here several times and I have never seen more than a few students, usually during 4:00 happy hour (when the beer is probably the cheapest you can find on campus). The staff are reliable and more often than not friendly. You also might get a chance to rate them, because they sometimes give you a “how was your experience” sheet.  Elements sources their ingredients locally wherever they can, serve sustainable seafood, and even feature a few of their suppliers on the back of the menu.

Its great that there is an extensive list of vegetarian options. Most of the other food is tasty, good to eat, enjoyable even, but not any more so than other places of a similar price. I guess I would call it safe food, and that goes a long way to explain the clientele.       

My wife and I ordered:
Mushroom Almond Burger (With a fried egg)
Quinoa Salad
Beer and Cheese Soup (soup of the day)
Ginger Sodas with shots of Gin.

We both agreed that the veggie burger has been better in the past. This might be because some ingredient or other is out of season and so the flavor is not as flavorful as it has been at other times of the year. They might have changed their recipe. What stood out was the quinoa salad, which is fantastic. The beer and cheese soup was also very good.

In the past I have also ordered:
Grilled Bread with Baba Ganoush
Sharable Size Nachos
Warm Goat Cheese Dip with corn chips - tasty
House Made Ginger Ale
St. James Pale Ale
Blueberry Cheese Cake
Tea
Banana bread toasted with butter - wonderful
Chai Latte
Baked Mac and Cheese (hold the bacon) - exactly how you would imagine this to be (hot and cheesy)
Mushroom Almond Burger - the better of the two veggie patties
2014 Burger week burger (veggie patty local greens, slow roasted tomato relish, housemade feta)
Pad Peanut
Veggie Sandwich

The Pad Peanut is probably a 3/5 on the Pad Thai scale. What is really worth ordering is the Mushroom Almond Burger, which might be in the running for top 5 veggie burgers in Winnipeg. The House Made Ginger Ale is also fabulous, especially with a shot of gin. Why not round off a solid meal by ordering the blueberry cheesecake?

If I could suggest the ultimate time to go, I would recommend 4:30 on a muggy 25-30 degree summer afternoon. They have a very nice patio and you are well taken care of there. Order a veggie burger, a beer, and a piece of cheese cake. Sit for a while and watch the warm world pass you by. Stay about an hour so you can watch traffic swell and begin to calm. Order a ginger ale and drink it while the day is still hot, maybe bring a book or the newspaper. You won’t regret it. UPDATE: this suggestion would be even better if elements didn't close for the summer. Alas. 

Until next time,  

Food Review: Cafe 22



Café 22
823 Corydon Ave 

Cafe 22 on Urbanspoon

      
Update (August 2012): Cafe 22 has changed its menu sometime this spring. They decreased the size of the pizzas (to 10 inch), increased price, and didn't change the pizza quality. At this point I don't really think the price is worth what you get. You'd be better off ordering the pizza as delivery. There are some intriguing new dishes: the fig, caramelized onion and Gorgonzola was especially tasty sounding, but it isn't the same home-town pizza cafe it once was. 


     I have gone to Café 22 more times than I can remember in the last five years. That’s not to say I am a regular, but if I do not want to spend a lot of money and I want a quieter place to eat, this is my number one choice.  The reason for this is threefold: 1) they do not charge you extra money for toppings on custom pizzas, 2) there is a patio which is wonderful for people watching 3) the pizza is reliable.
                The atmosphere is wonderful. Two large artificial trees reach the roof and spread their branches around the middle of the room which effectively muffles the sound. The lights are dim. The music is never too loud. The only thing that retracts from the mood of the place are the paintings in the booths, which look at you with very vibrant eyes. I find them unnerving.
                The servers might be a mixed bag, but when I go there I am not expecting someone professionally paring tastes, or catering to my whim. I am there for pizza that is cheesy, and satisfying. Having ordered out pizza hotline’s garden veggie, I can tell you that it is pretty much the Greek pizza with pineapple. It is an honest attempt to be better than most pizza place’s veggie pizza, only, it doesn’t really succeed. The Greek is tasty, but you can make one that is better using your own pizza making genius in the comfort of their restaurant.
                Here are some favourite custom pizzas:
-          Flat crust with jalapenos, roasted red pepper, green pepper, garlic, and mozzarella cheese.
-          Simple Mediterranean: Regular crust with sundried tomatoes, spinach, garlic (never forget the garlic), and roasted eggplant
-          Mushrooms, eggplant and basil.
-     Mushrooms, eggplant, garlic, feta, mozzarella
-          Feta cheese, black olives and artichoke hearts          
And so many more!

I have also tried the calzones and they are fine. The pasta is also not too bad. The tomato salad is unexpectedly spicy. The Greek and Caesar salad is pretty much what you would expect from a pizza place, reliable but nothing special.
The truth is I come to pizza hotline because it is the best middle-of-the-road pizza in the city (based on a limited sample). The crust is nice too! If you need a place to go with friends for pizza that doesn’t cost tonnes, this would probably be a place I would suggest. There is also a fairly good drink menu and a reasonable selection of beer.  I like it.


Until next time! 

Saturday 27 April 2013

Food Review: The Grove

The Grove
164 Stafford St.

The Grove Pub and Restaurant on Urbanspoon

UPDATED: October 2014

Situated at the corner of Stafford and Lilac, The grove is almost everything I dreamed of in a pub. I have been trying to get there for a few months, but whenever I go there is a long wait time and I am starving. This time I was able to handle 45 minutes sitting in their somewhat narrow entrance and I don’t regret a minute of that time.

We ordered:

  • Veggie Burger
  • Danielle Pizza
  • fries
  • Sticky Toffee Pudding
  • Pimms
During other visits I have ordered:
  • Pequillo pepper croquettes
  • Blue cheese pear salad
  • the Scarlette pizza

Unlike everywhere else I've gone in the last few months, the cocktails are 7$ not 10$; that in and of itself is worth noting. Domestics are 4.25, which is a decent price. They also do a sampler for 7.00 and imports for 6.50. They have a good range of beers and cocktails, including the Stafford Street Lager, which I stupidly didn't order. On my second visit I did try it. It is a very light lager which was crisp and gentle on flavor without having an unpleasant aftertaste that some of the less expensive lagers have. Another highlight of their drink menu is that on certain fridays (I don't know which ones) half pints make a special rendition of their classic beers. I have had a double hopped lil' scrapper, a strawberry st.james, and st.james made with cascade hops added. All of them were incredible.

Their veggie burger might be the best in the city! It is extremely tasty, slightly crisp and the bun is everything I hope for in a bun: tasty and capable of holding everything inside it. It blew my mind. UPDATE: The second time I had the veggie burger it was not as good. It is still a pretty good burger, but it has dropped a few points on my citywide ranking.

The Danielle pizza was really good. It is the perfect point between a fancy pizza and a takeaway greasy pizza. It has some of the fat but also the really good ingredients and lower salt of the more expensive pizzas. The crust was good, the toppings were perfect, and despite having a fair amount of oil it didn't taste greasy. The Scarlette is a tasty cheese pizza.

In my opinion the best thing on the menu is the pequillo pepper croquettes. Man oh man are they good! In fact I could live off of them for a week and still not be tired of them (But I would be 100lbs heavier).

The sticky toffee pudding was good, it is sort of like a hot bran muffin. My bother has an unbeatable recipe, which meant that it isn't my favorite pudding. The fries were nothing special, but still tasty.

Pretty much everyone I know loves this place and I see why. If it was just a little bit cheaper, or just a little bit less crowded, I would never go anywhere else to eat, drink, and be merry. I look forward to eating at the cornerstone bar & restaurant sometime soon to see if it holds up.

Until next time,