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,

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!

Food Review: Market Burger

Market Burger

645 Corydon Ave

 
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,

Food Review: The Blue Fox Cafe

The Blue Fox Cafe

919 Fort St. Victoria BC

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

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,

Food Review: Shawarma Time

Shawarma Time

616 Ellice Ave

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

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,