While my parents were up in Edmonton recently moving my sister back to residence, we partook in 3 meals at some of my go-to Edmonton restaurants.
First, we went to Dadeo on a Sunday night. My dad had the Combo Dadeo of meat jambalaya, barbecue beans, and blackened chicken that he enjoyed last time. He nearly finished it, which is quite impressive. My mom and sister went with po'boy sandwiches and sweet potato fries. I partook in some of the fries, which were as good as ever. They seemed to enjoy the sandwiches they chose: blackened catfish for mom and Andouille sausage for my sister. I have yet to try either but I think I'll have the catfish on my next visit, with fries of course. I had the shrimps creole. It will satisfy any shrimp craving with a generous blend of larger and smaller shrimp on rice in a sweet and slightly spicy tomato-based sauce. I enjoyed it, being in a shrimpy mood. It's definitely better than the seafood jambalaya.
The next day, I took my parents to Chinatown for lunch at Pagolac, my go-to Vietnamese restaurant in Edmonton. It was as good or better than I remembered and quite busy on the holiday Monday. We started with the Vietnamese spring rolls. They were meaty and tasty in that lovely fried way and served with the usual sweet and sour Vietnamese sauce and sambal oelek chili paste. I ordered the special beef pho with all those lovely bits of cow again. It was really good again. But other things look so good I might have to order something else next time. My parents had noodle soups with sate sauce and beef. They really liked them and our visit to Chinatown. We left absolutely stuffed with delicious food for quite little money.
For dinner that night, we went to the Sugarbowl near 109th Street. I hadn't eaten lunch or dinner there in a while. I wanted to try the bison chili that some of my classmates had when we were celebrating after a lab exam. It looked good. It still does look good. Unfortunately, it was bland with a level of spice well below what I expect from anything called chili. My mom's bowl of chicken curry suffered from the same problem. The pita bread on the side was pretty good, though. The chili also wasn't quite hot enough temperature-wise. The one entree that didn't disappoint was my dad's lamb burger with Gouda cheese. He really liked it, I think. I know I liked it when I had it.
There was redemption for the disappointing chili, though. It came in the form of a very, very stupendous dessert. It was the Sugarbowl souffle made with Callebaut chocolate. It takes 15-20 minutes to be made but is, unsurprisingly worth every moment of waiting. The souffle is very rich in deep, dark chocolate flavour while being fairly light in texture. It was very warm on arrival and I nearly burned my mouth. The texture ranges from a little crusty (in a good way) on the outside to oozing with molten chocolate goodness on the inside. Everyone tried a bit, while I finished it off and all were impressed. It is perhaps the best thing at the Sugarbowl and one of the best desserts ever.
Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Tapas in M.H.? Seriously Twist-ed
My parents took my sister and I to a new restaurant in Medicine Hat. It was a new Spanish Tapas place downtown called Twist. The space used to be my beloved Vietnamese Submarine*, but is now virtually unrecognizable with its classy makeover. We sat at a tall table for four with a banquette on one side and tall chairs on the other. We ordered a number of tapas dishes including mushrooms with sherry, rosemary-yogurt flatbread, lamb meatballs, patatas bravas, a special salad, and two orders of chorizo sausages. It was too much sausage, but that didn't stop us from sharing a Spanish orange cake for dessert.
The meal began with a small dish of various delicious olives and bread. The olives were very good and my dad is now very into olives. The bread was okay, but pretty ordinary white baguette. It continued to come with pretty much every dish including the potatoes, talk about starch on starch.
The meat balls, mushrooms, and flatbread arrived first. The meatballs were deliciously moist lamby tasting and came with a garlicky dip. The mushrooms had a delicious taste of sherry and were also very enjoyable. The flatbread was warm and beautifully charred in places with flecks of rosemary. It was really good, much better than the complementary baguette and worth the extra couple dollars in my mind.
Next we got the patatas bravas and the salad. The patatas were well browned with a golden crust and soft, starchy innards. Served with the same garlic dip as the meatballs, they were close to potato heaven. I really wanted to order the potatoes, because I think they are one of the tapas I liked in Barcelona about seven years ago. The salad included greens, creamy morsels of blue cheese, sliced pear, and large pieces of pecan. It was nicely dressed and perfect for the pungent blue cheese lover in me.
Finally, we got our two dishes of chorizo at a time when we really only needed one dish. They were garlicky and rich with oils, really tasty in general although the meatballs may have been my favourite meat dish.
By this time we were fairly full but debating getting a slice of their rich, flourless chocolate cake to share. My family had tried it on a previous visit. But, when we inquired after a slice, we were told it was unavailable. However, we easily agreed to try the Spanish orange cake. Personally, I'm glad we did because it was a unique cake in my cake eating experience and quite enjoyable. My sister, newly in love with citrus zest flavours did too. The cake was richly orange flavoured, moist and not too heavy, unlike what I heard about the chocolate cake. The neat thing about it was its granular texture, which I hypothesize is due to the use of either cornmeal or semolina. Either way its was excellent and we devoured it along with the smooth, creamy counterpoint of vanilla ice cream. I think it's worth saving room for dessert at Twist.
Twist seems like an excellent addition to downtown Medicine Hat, which was really wanting for restaurants until a few recent openings. It's certainly unlike what's available elsewhere in town. You'll probably meet the friendly owners if you go.
*If anyone can point me in the direction of a good banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) in Edmonton, I would be super happy with you.
The meal began with a small dish of various delicious olives and bread. The olives were very good and my dad is now very into olives. The bread was okay, but pretty ordinary white baguette. It continued to come with pretty much every dish including the potatoes, talk about starch on starch.
The meat balls, mushrooms, and flatbread arrived first. The meatballs were deliciously moist lamby tasting and came with a garlicky dip. The mushrooms had a delicious taste of sherry and were also very enjoyable. The flatbread was warm and beautifully charred in places with flecks of rosemary. It was really good, much better than the complementary baguette and worth the extra couple dollars in my mind.
Next we got the patatas bravas and the salad. The patatas were well browned with a golden crust and soft, starchy innards. Served with the same garlic dip as the meatballs, they were close to potato heaven. I really wanted to order the potatoes, because I think they are one of the tapas I liked in Barcelona about seven years ago. The salad included greens, creamy morsels of blue cheese, sliced pear, and large pieces of pecan. It was nicely dressed and perfect for the pungent blue cheese lover in me.
Finally, we got our two dishes of chorizo at a time when we really only needed one dish. They were garlicky and rich with oils, really tasty in general although the meatballs may have been my favourite meat dish.
By this time we were fairly full but debating getting a slice of their rich, flourless chocolate cake to share. My family had tried it on a previous visit. But, when we inquired after a slice, we were told it was unavailable. However, we easily agreed to try the Spanish orange cake. Personally, I'm glad we did because it was a unique cake in my cake eating experience and quite enjoyable. My sister, newly in love with citrus zest flavours did too. The cake was richly orange flavoured, moist and not too heavy, unlike what I heard about the chocolate cake. The neat thing about it was its granular texture, which I hypothesize is due to the use of either cornmeal or semolina. Either way its was excellent and we devoured it along with the smooth, creamy counterpoint of vanilla ice cream. I think it's worth saving room for dessert at Twist.
Twist seems like an excellent addition to downtown Medicine Hat, which was really wanting for restaurants until a few recent openings. It's certainly unlike what's available elsewhere in town. You'll probably meet the friendly owners if you go.
*If anyone can point me in the direction of a good banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) in Edmonton, I would be super happy with you.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Rice and Not So Rice
I've been meaning to write for a while about one of my favourite quick dinner fixes. It has seriously become a fixture on my menu, so much so that I've stopped photographing its every incarnation. I've been making "fried rice" as I think of it. By no means do I claim that it's "authentic." It's not even always rice. That's a sacrilege if ever there was one. Basically, I've taken to tossing cold, cooked grains in with my stir fries at the end and mixing it with soy sauce, seasoned rice wine vinegar, sambal oelek, and/or oyster sauce. The other ingredients are pretty much what's on hand although onion, garlic, and ginger make and appearance pretty much every time.
I often cook grains the night before. It's important that they be cooked and cooled or it can get. . . soggy, I'd say.
I'm going to describe, to the best of my recollection what's in each photo:
This may be my original not-rice "fried rice." It's pot barley with tofu, green onions, celery, carrot, onion, and Anaheim chili pepper.
I often cook grains the night before. It's important that they be cooked and cooled or it can get. . . soggy, I'd say.
I'm going to describe, to the best of my recollection what's in each photo:
This may be my original not-rice "fried rice." It's pot barley with tofu, green onions, celery, carrot, onion, and Anaheim chili pepper.
This one is millet, which Heidi Swanson recommends for making "fried rice" in her cookbook Super Natural Cooking. I don't pay attention to that recipe though, aside from using millet in this way. It also has chard, onion, parsnip, and some white meat that's either chicken or pork. I really like parsnip for it's unique flavour. I think stir frying it made it taste sweet too. It was good.
This is the first rice "fried rice." It also contains some beautiful summer squash from the garden, onion, and pork I believe. This one was really good because of the rice, which makes for a stickier and more richly carbalicious creation. It reminded me that I really like rice, it might be love.
This is some fried millet that I used as a bed for some salmon marinated in soy sauce. There's chard, summer squash, and onion in the millet. I remember I used to much sambal oelek chili sauce in this one. I could eat it, but it was a bit much with the salmon.
This was an excellent fried rice creation. I used lost of stuff from the garden like green and yellow beans, snow peas, and half of a green chili pepper. There's also onion, garlic, and ginger of course. The pepper was very hot, luckily I tasted it and discovered that after Travis told me it was sweet. Actually, it was super fiery. So, I used half of it and didn't add any chili sauce. Thus, it provided the perfect level of spice. This fried rice was mixed with a raw egg near the end of cooking, which is what we did when Albert and me made fried rice at his parents' house. There's nothing quite like egg as sauce, and don't worry the egg got cooked. If you've never tried mixing an egg with something to enrich the "sauce" try it with noodles or rice or anything. I also quite like eggs in case you can't tell.
And now. . .
One final dish incidentally with rice and eggs. But, I didn't make it. I had my first (hot stone) bowl of bibimbap at Ga Ya Korean Restaurant, which is a tiny restaurant near the university on 87th Avenue. It was a black stone bowl of rice topped with sections of fine strips of carrot, cucumber, ground meat, and a fried egg in the centre. There might have been other veggies I didn't identify. The egg was topped with the loveliest strips of dried seaweed waving in the convection currents off the hot food. It was beautiful and I wished I had a camera. Mixed with copious amounts of gochujang Korean hot sauce, it was a meal quite to my taste as I love a good hot sauce and I may be falling for rice especially sticky Korean rice. I also enjoyed the salty, mild bean sprouts and spicy, pungent kimchi that came with my meal.
The ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal had some good descriptions of bibimbap, if you're curious what it's all about. I guess I had the dolsot bibimbap, although the egg didn't begin raw. That would be cool to me, better than a fried egg with an essentially solid yolk, which is what I got. But, maybe a raw egg on hot food would violate some kind of health rules. I'm intrigued by Korean food. I may go back and try some other dishes. The ones I saw were all appealingly red with hot sauce.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Weekend With the Sister
Fully one week ago I played host to my sister for a weekend. It was lots of fun and we ate some good stuff, so I'm going to tell you about it.
On Friday night my sister and I had dinner at Dadeo and commenced a drinking tour de Hudson's. I wasn't blown away by my seafood jambalaya at dinner. I guess it was just too much rice and not enough other stuff or. . . intense flavour. Leslie really enjoyed the pulled pork po'boy and sweet potato fries, but I had that the week before.
At first we thought we might drink at Julio's Barrio 'cause Leslie was interested in margaritas. . . of the fishbowl variety. But there would have been a wait. So we headed to the Hudsons Canadian Taphouse on Whyte. I had a pint of Rickard's White. It was a bit fruitier and less bitter than I usually have my beer. It was also strangely opaque. I think it seemed summery. It didn't come with an orange wedge like the server said it would though. Later at another Hudsons location, I had a pint of Big Rock Grasshopper. I came with a lemon wedge and tasted more like I'm used to my beer tasting. A little more bitter and less sweet but still light for summer. Anyways. . . two pints was a lot for me.
The next day the main food action was the Taste of Edmonton Festival. My sister and I met up with my friends Ryan and Joel for an afternoon of eating from the tents set up in Churchill Square. Leslie and I split a sheet of 30 food tickets for $30, although I used more of them than she did. Here's a rundown of what I remember eating myself or other people eating:
-Fairmont Hotel Macdonald's Mac Scones w/Saskatoon Berry Compote (4 tickets): My sister got this for dessert, but it was huge and we all dug in. The scone was soft and buttery with a load of whipped cream and tasty saskatoon berry sauce. It was an excellent selection.
-Firestone's Butter Chicken w/ rice (5 tickets): My sister had this but I got a taste. It tasted good with tender chicken in a rich, spiced Indian sauce. She freaked out at the richness of this although she loved every bit.
-Firestone's Fresh Fruit Kabobs w/Chocolate Dip (3 tickets): I was full and looking to use up 3 remaining tickets on a light dessert. The fruit wasn't very good, mainly cantaloupe that hardly goes with chocolate and on token strawberry. The chocolate sauce had a sort of grainy texture and my sister said she tasted wine and did not like it. I should have gotten something else.
-Hoang Long Restaurant's Beef Lemongrass Skewer (4 tickets): Ryan and I got these skewers fresh and hot off the grill. They were hot, juicy and had a tasty, spicy marinade. They were not to be missed and possibly the best thing I ate.
-Hong Kong Bakery's Green Onion Cakes Chocolate Passion Fantasy: I didn't try either of these, but I think Ryan put raspberry sauce on Joel's green onion cake. The sauce was for the chocolate dessert. It was kind of funny. I don't like green onion cakes myself, they're too greasy.
-Hudson’s Canadian Taphouse's Alberta Beef Mini Cheddar Burger (3 tickets): I had to try this after observing a delicious looking but enormous burger at Hudsons the night before. The burger was good with crisp lettuce, ripe tomato, real cheddar cheese, and a tasty beef patty. The cheese however was completely unmelted, which I guess is okay. The bun was cold but tasty. Perhaps there was a touch too much bun, though. Overall it was good and satisfied my (mini)-burger craving.
-Korean Village's Vegetable Tempura: Ryan seemed to enjoy it.
-Old Spaghetti Factory's Cajun Chicken Alfredo: I think Ryan and Joel found this boring and perhaps bland.
-That's Aroma's Garlic Chicken Satay: Ryan and Joel had this. I think the sauce was garlic and peanut flavoured. It looked like lots of sauce.
-That's Aroma 's Garlic Tomato Salad (3 tickets): This was like very garlicky bruschetta tomato mixture on iceberg lettuce. There was so much garlic, which tastes so good. Plus, it was well suited to the heat of the day.
-The Creperie's Beef Tenderloin w/ Peppercorn Chocolate Sauce (5 tickets): I quite liked this although the filling for the crepe could have been warmer. The sauce contained pink peppercorns, which had a milder and delicious pepper flavour. It was quite good although Ryan couldn't get past the idea there was chocolate in it. I found the chocolate virtually undetectable, though. It was like a good pepper sauce.
The Taste of Edmonton Festival was and interesting and tasty afternoon. It's a little hit or miss and not ideal conditions for serving food, but it's fun. Next weekend I look forward to the food tents of Heritage Festival in Hawrelack Park.
On Sunday morning, I made french toast served with real maple syrup and blueberries, which we all enjoyed. Around noon we went to Leva for gelato. I had a tasty Chocolate Banana Nut single. It mainly tasted of chocolate and nut, though. The banana didn't cut though, but it was really good. Leslie raved about her peanut butter cookie gelato and her boyfriend enjoyed an unusual double of mint gelato and pina colada sorbet. He seemed to like the combo, though.
My sister and I had an excellent lunch on Sunday at Flavours Modern Bistro on Whyte Ave. The lunch menu is quite reasonably priced with salads, sandwiches, and other dishes from $8-14. The setting was classy and we got a two-top with comfy high backed chairs. We each ordered a sandwich and traded halves. I got the smoked salmon bagel while she ordered the smoked turkey baguette.
We both got the creamy tomato and herb soup for a side. It was heavenly and super-tasty. There was lots of tomato flavour. I hadn't had soup in a while and this was a very good, obviously house-made one.
The smoked salmon bagel was a multi-grain bagel with cream cheese, baby greens, smoked salmon, raw onions, and enormous capers. I had never seen capers so big before and enjoyed them. I was impressed with the generous serving of smoked salmon, but Leslie thought it was too much. That's crazy though, right? The smoked turkey baguette had tomato, tasty roasted bell pepper, and a generous pile of tasty turkey on a good baguette bread. Flavours Modern Bistro provided a delicious lunch for two for about $20 before tip. The food quality and surroundings were excellent. I know I'll be back.
On Friday night my sister and I had dinner at Dadeo and commenced a drinking tour de Hudson's. I wasn't blown away by my seafood jambalaya at dinner. I guess it was just too much rice and not enough other stuff or. . . intense flavour. Leslie really enjoyed the pulled pork po'boy and sweet potato fries, but I had that the week before.
At first we thought we might drink at Julio's Barrio 'cause Leslie was interested in margaritas. . . of the fishbowl variety. But there would have been a wait. So we headed to the Hudsons Canadian Taphouse on Whyte. I had a pint of Rickard's White. It was a bit fruitier and less bitter than I usually have my beer. It was also strangely opaque. I think it seemed summery. It didn't come with an orange wedge like the server said it would though. Later at another Hudsons location, I had a pint of Big Rock Grasshopper. I came with a lemon wedge and tasted more like I'm used to my beer tasting. A little more bitter and less sweet but still light for summer. Anyways. . . two pints was a lot for me.
The next day the main food action was the Taste of Edmonton Festival. My sister and I met up with my friends Ryan and Joel for an afternoon of eating from the tents set up in Churchill Square. Leslie and I split a sheet of 30 food tickets for $30, although I used more of them than she did. Here's a rundown of what I remember eating myself or other people eating:
-Fairmont Hotel Macdonald's Mac Scones w/Saskatoon Berry Compote (4 tickets): My sister got this for dessert, but it was huge and we all dug in. The scone was soft and buttery with a load of whipped cream and tasty saskatoon berry sauce. It was an excellent selection.
-Firestone's Butter Chicken w/ rice (5 tickets): My sister had this but I got a taste. It tasted good with tender chicken in a rich, spiced Indian sauce. She freaked out at the richness of this although she loved every bit.
-Firestone's Fresh Fruit Kabobs w/Chocolate Dip (3 tickets): I was full and looking to use up 3 remaining tickets on a light dessert. The fruit wasn't very good, mainly cantaloupe that hardly goes with chocolate and on token strawberry. The chocolate sauce had a sort of grainy texture and my sister said she tasted wine and did not like it. I should have gotten something else.
-Hoang Long Restaurant's Beef Lemongrass Skewer (4 tickets): Ryan and I got these skewers fresh and hot off the grill. They were hot, juicy and had a tasty, spicy marinade. They were not to be missed and possibly the best thing I ate.
-Hong Kong Bakery's Green Onion Cakes Chocolate Passion Fantasy: I didn't try either of these, but I think Ryan put raspberry sauce on Joel's green onion cake. The sauce was for the chocolate dessert. It was kind of funny. I don't like green onion cakes myself, they're too greasy.
-Hudson’s Canadian Taphouse's Alberta Beef Mini Cheddar Burger (3 tickets): I had to try this after observing a delicious looking but enormous burger at Hudsons the night before. The burger was good with crisp lettuce, ripe tomato, real cheddar cheese, and a tasty beef patty. The cheese however was completely unmelted, which I guess is okay. The bun was cold but tasty. Perhaps there was a touch too much bun, though. Overall it was good and satisfied my (mini)-burger craving.
-Korean Village's Vegetable Tempura: Ryan seemed to enjoy it.
-Old Spaghetti Factory's Cajun Chicken Alfredo: I think Ryan and Joel found this boring and perhaps bland.
-That's Aroma's Garlic Chicken Satay: Ryan and Joel had this. I think the sauce was garlic and peanut flavoured. It looked like lots of sauce.
-That's Aroma 's Garlic Tomato Salad (3 tickets): This was like very garlicky bruschetta tomato mixture on iceberg lettuce. There was so much garlic, which tastes so good. Plus, it was well suited to the heat of the day.
-The Creperie's Beef Tenderloin w/ Peppercorn Chocolate Sauce (5 tickets): I quite liked this although the filling for the crepe could have been warmer. The sauce contained pink peppercorns, which had a milder and delicious pepper flavour. It was quite good although Ryan couldn't get past the idea there was chocolate in it. I found the chocolate virtually undetectable, though. It was like a good pepper sauce.
The Taste of Edmonton Festival was and interesting and tasty afternoon. It's a little hit or miss and not ideal conditions for serving food, but it's fun. Next weekend I look forward to the food tents of Heritage Festival in Hawrelack Park.
On Sunday morning, I made french toast served with real maple syrup and blueberries, which we all enjoyed. Around noon we went to Leva for gelato. I had a tasty Chocolate Banana Nut single. It mainly tasted of chocolate and nut, though. The banana didn't cut though, but it was really good. Leslie raved about her peanut butter cookie gelato and her boyfriend enjoyed an unusual double of mint gelato and pina colada sorbet. He seemed to like the combo, though.
My sister and I had an excellent lunch on Sunday at Flavours Modern Bistro on Whyte Ave. The lunch menu is quite reasonably priced with salads, sandwiches, and other dishes from $8-14. The setting was classy and we got a two-top with comfy high backed chairs. We each ordered a sandwich and traded halves. I got the smoked salmon bagel while she ordered the smoked turkey baguette.
We both got the creamy tomato and herb soup for a side. It was heavenly and super-tasty. There was lots of tomato flavour. I hadn't had soup in a while and this was a very good, obviously house-made one.
The smoked salmon bagel was a multi-grain bagel with cream cheese, baby greens, smoked salmon, raw onions, and enormous capers. I had never seen capers so big before and enjoyed them. I was impressed with the generous serving of smoked salmon, but Leslie thought it was too much. That's crazy though, right? The smoked turkey baguette had tomato, tasty roasted bell pepper, and a generous pile of tasty turkey on a good baguette bread. Flavours Modern Bistro provided a delicious lunch for two for about $20 before tip. The food quality and surroundings were excellent. I know I'll be back.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
And More Eating. . . Same Weekend
On Saturday night we had dinner at Wild Tangerine Cucina Domestica, which is kind of an Asian fusion restaurant that I wanted to try for a while. We couldn't make a reservation because they wanted to keep tables for walk-ins. So, we decided to try our luck and walk in. We found that it was no problem to be seated around 6:30. They weren't very busy. I think there were only a couple of tables occupied although it is quite a small restaurant.
I was immediately impressed with the modern, slightly funky, slightly Asian decor. But don't ask me to recall details. One thing that was immediately nice on such a hot day was that they leave coloured glass bottles of water on the table. It's very convenient for thirsty people, like me.
Before going, I had of course examined the on-line menu. I must note that it's not current as to prices. Anyways, I was intrigued by the "Grilled Five-Spice Octopus Salad with Spicy Tangerine Vinaigrette." So, that is what I had to start. My mother also ordered it. It was really good. The octopus was very tender unlike any other I'd ever eaten. It was more like pulled pork than say tako from a Japanese restaurant. The flavour of the octopus just said "Chinese food," which I guess is what you get from five spice. It reminded me a bit of the Chinese barbecue I had in Calgary. Besides the pieces of octopus, the salad also had some crispy pieces or fried. . . root vegetable. . . I think for a tantalizing contrast in texture. The salad component was julienned bell pepper, celery, apple, and other vegetables in a sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy dressing. My mother also enjoyed the salad. My dad started with the Caesar Salad with Ginger and Oven-dried Tomato. I think he thought it was good, but I also think that the octopus outshone it. He might have wished he'd been more adventurous, it looked pretty ordinary for a Caesar salad. I didn't taste it though so it could have been really good.
For a main course I had the red curry mussels with linguine. It came in a big bowl with plenty of mussels on top, although I think four were closed and of course not eaten. There was a fair but not excessive amount of linguine underneath. The red curry sauce was delicious. It created a mild burn at the back of the palate and was sweet with onions, bell pepper, and tomato. Unlike some curries that have a lot of coconut milk or cream, the sauce was very light and pleasing on the hot day. I ate the entire dish and enjoyed it immensely. I was tempted to eat the remaining sauce with a spoon. It was that good.
My dad had the Thai green curry with prawns and tortiglioni. It contained large prawns, a light curry sauce, an assortment of vegetables, and large tubular pasta. He said it was good. My mom had the "Lemon Chicken" breast stuffed with red dates, ricotta, and spinach. It was served with so much seasonal green vegetable mixture that she didn't finish her veggies. The chicken breast was very lightly breaded and then stuffed. I think she enjoyed it and found the preparation refreshingly light.
All in all, it was an excellent meal at Wild Tangerine. On our way out we met the owner who was very friendly and chatty. He had once taken chemistry at the U of A and had also lived in Medicine Hat, where I'm from. That was pretty cool. I'd love to go back, although the downtown location isn't really close to the LRT and so isn't super convenient.
My final meal with my parents was lunch on Sunday. We decided to go to our favorite standby Murrieta's, which I think is a good restaurant. When we walked in I immediately saw Beth, a girl I lived in residence with who serves there. She immediately volunteered to serve my family and said we were VIP. She provided excellent service.
I was going to rely on the on-line menu for verbatim descriptions of what we ordered but they aren't current. Anyways, I have a good memory for food. My dad and I both went for the bison short ribs with bacon cassoulet. My mom had a prawn tempura sandwich. Before the mains, we were served warm and delicious multigrain bread and butter. My mom's sandwich arrived on a huge platter with lots of fries and salad. The sandwich itself was large, too. Some of it wasn't eaten, there was so much. I can only comment on the fries since I tried one and it was good and crisp on the outside.
The bison short ribs dish consisted of four pieces of bison on the bone and four thin pieces of lightly cooked asparagus atop a generous serving of the cassoulet. Both of us finished the serving. I'd say the sandwiches are for the really, really hungry. The short rib meal was excellent. The bison was tender and meaty tasting with a bit of subtle barbecue sauce. The cassoulet was a feast for bean lovers as it was mainly beans, some veggies like carrot, and a bit of bacon. The smokey taste of bacon infused all the beans. It was a joy to eat and felt like really good cowboy food. If you like to eat meat off the bone and beans go for it. Just don't expect too much greenery.
Once again Murrieta's did not disappoint.
Incidentally, there is also a bison short rib dish on the menu at Wild Tangerine that intrigues me. But, it seemed to heavy for that hot day. It was still hot on Sunday, but somehow bison seemed appropriate. Go figure.
I was immediately impressed with the modern, slightly funky, slightly Asian decor. But don't ask me to recall details. One thing that was immediately nice on such a hot day was that they leave coloured glass bottles of water on the table. It's very convenient for thirsty people, like me.
Before going, I had of course examined the on-line menu. I must note that it's not current as to prices. Anyways, I was intrigued by the "Grilled Five-Spice Octopus Salad with Spicy Tangerine Vinaigrette." So, that is what I had to start. My mother also ordered it. It was really good. The octopus was very tender unlike any other I'd ever eaten. It was more like pulled pork than say tako from a Japanese restaurant. The flavour of the octopus just said "Chinese food," which I guess is what you get from five spice. It reminded me a bit of the Chinese barbecue I had in Calgary. Besides the pieces of octopus, the salad also had some crispy pieces or fried. . . root vegetable. . . I think for a tantalizing contrast in texture. The salad component was julienned bell pepper, celery, apple, and other vegetables in a sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy dressing. My mother also enjoyed the salad. My dad started with the Caesar Salad with Ginger and Oven-dried Tomato. I think he thought it was good, but I also think that the octopus outshone it. He might have wished he'd been more adventurous, it looked pretty ordinary for a Caesar salad. I didn't taste it though so it could have been really good.
For a main course I had the red curry mussels with linguine. It came in a big bowl with plenty of mussels on top, although I think four were closed and of course not eaten. There was a fair but not excessive amount of linguine underneath. The red curry sauce was delicious. It created a mild burn at the back of the palate and was sweet with onions, bell pepper, and tomato. Unlike some curries that have a lot of coconut milk or cream, the sauce was very light and pleasing on the hot day. I ate the entire dish and enjoyed it immensely. I was tempted to eat the remaining sauce with a spoon. It was that good.
My dad had the Thai green curry with prawns and tortiglioni. It contained large prawns, a light curry sauce, an assortment of vegetables, and large tubular pasta. He said it was good. My mom had the "Lemon Chicken" breast stuffed with red dates, ricotta, and spinach. It was served with so much seasonal green vegetable mixture that she didn't finish her veggies. The chicken breast was very lightly breaded and then stuffed. I think she enjoyed it and found the preparation refreshingly light.
All in all, it was an excellent meal at Wild Tangerine. On our way out we met the owner who was very friendly and chatty. He had once taken chemistry at the U of A and had also lived in Medicine Hat, where I'm from. That was pretty cool. I'd love to go back, although the downtown location isn't really close to the LRT and so isn't super convenient.
My final meal with my parents was lunch on Sunday. We decided to go to our favorite standby Murrieta's, which I think is a good restaurant. When we walked in I immediately saw Beth, a girl I lived in residence with who serves there. She immediately volunteered to serve my family and said we were VIP. She provided excellent service.
I was going to rely on the on-line menu for verbatim descriptions of what we ordered but they aren't current. Anyways, I have a good memory for food. My dad and I both went for the bison short ribs with bacon cassoulet. My mom had a prawn tempura sandwich. Before the mains, we were served warm and delicious multigrain bread and butter. My mom's sandwich arrived on a huge platter with lots of fries and salad. The sandwich itself was large, too. Some of it wasn't eaten, there was so much. I can only comment on the fries since I tried one and it was good and crisp on the outside.
The bison short ribs dish consisted of four pieces of bison on the bone and four thin pieces of lightly cooked asparagus atop a generous serving of the cassoulet. Both of us finished the serving. I'd say the sandwiches are for the really, really hungry. The short rib meal was excellent. The bison was tender and meaty tasting with a bit of subtle barbecue sauce. The cassoulet was a feast for bean lovers as it was mainly beans, some veggies like carrot, and a bit of bacon. The smokey taste of bacon infused all the beans. It was a joy to eat and felt like really good cowboy food. If you like to eat meat off the bone and beans go for it. Just don't expect too much greenery.
Once again Murrieta's did not disappoint.
Incidentally, there is also a bison short rib dish on the menu at Wild Tangerine that intrigues me. But, it seemed to heavy for that hot day. It was still hot on Sunday, but somehow bison seemed appropriate. Go figure.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
A Weekend of Eating
I haven't got any pictures to go with this, but my parents were here last weekend. That meant lots of eating out.
It started with dinner at Dadeo on Friday. It's one of my favourite restaurants in Edmonton, conveniently on Whyte Ave. The decor is diner style and they serve Louisiana-style Cajun and creole food. To be honest I can't speak to its authenticity, only its tastiness. I'm no expert. My mother had been there once before along with Albert and I. She enjoyed it then. It was my father's first time at the restaurant despite numerous recommendations. I think he had something against its small size and interesting decor.
Instead of the usual bread, they serve small biscuits with pepper jelly. It's always a tasty start to the meal.
I knew exactly what I wanted to order: pulled-pork po'boy with sweet potato fries. It's probably my favourite, although I do enjoy other options. But it had been a while, and the sandwich called to me. A hearty portion of juicy, falling apart pork, in a lightly spiced pork juicy sauce is sandwiched in a soft white roll with mayo and lettuce. The roll is a delicious sponge for the meat juices. It's pretty much the perfect meat sandwich. The fries are a masterpiece on their own. I knew I had to get them despite how rich and huge they would make my meal, just so my parents could try them off my plate. Enjoy them they did. Lightly battered and seasoned, topped with chopped green onion and served with a mayo based dip, they're the ultimate in fries. Between the three of us, we ate all that was on my plate. It also had a bit of coleslaw but wasn't really a fiesta of vegetables.
My mother decided to order the shrimps creole served on white rice. It was perhaps a slightly lighter option. I didn't taste it, but she seemed to enjoy it and cleared her plate.
My father wanted jambalaya. I convinced him to get the Combo Dadeo so he would get the meaty bayou jambalaya along with blackened chicken and beans. The jambalaya was chock full of assorted meats like Andouille sausage, shrimp, and ham. But, what he couldn't stop talking about was how good the beans were. I knew he'd like them since he's a bean-aholic along with me. They're the reason I knew he should have the combo and not straight jambalaya. The beans are red kidney beans in a spicy sauce with onion. They're really good.
The next meal out was lunch on Saturday, which we had at Cafe Select. I've mentioned it before, so I just have a couple of comments. My father again had the bistro burger, which he says he likes because it tastes like real meat like the burgers he makes. It's served with their shoestring fries. My mother and I had grilled vegetable sandwiches also served with the fries. I found them a bit limp and oily, but I still ate quite a few. The sandwiches also came with spinach salad, which was nice but not really remarkable. The sandwiches though were really good. They had a heap of hot, grilled vegetables--zucchini, mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers--along with good white cheddar cheese and a red spread that was tasty. They had to be held together with a toothpick containing a huge green olive, which was a nice touch. It was a really good sandwich on a nice whole wheat kaiser. A tad messy though, with so many delicious veggies some fell out. All in all it was a good lunch.
Later that afternoon, we went to Leva for gelato/sorbet. I discovered that my Peach-Apricot treat was actually a dairy free sorbet. My mom enjoyed a single pina colada sorbet--she's extremely lactose intolerant. I think she really liked being able to eat something that looked like ice cream and didn't have a weird soy taste. My father and I had double gelatos. His was pistachio and hazelnut. Mine was pistachio and maple walnut. The gelato was excellent, the two flavours were a nice contrast and nothing was an unnatural colour. It has a lighter texture than the sorbet but is unsurprisingly creamier. Either gelato or sorbet is a good choice. But, only sorbet is a good choice for my mom.
We actually had two other meals out, but I think I'll post about them later to give them my full attention. You can look forward to hearing about Wild Tangerine and another meal at Murrieta's. Both were really good.
It started with dinner at Dadeo on Friday. It's one of my favourite restaurants in Edmonton, conveniently on Whyte Ave. The decor is diner style and they serve Louisiana-style Cajun and creole food. To be honest I can't speak to its authenticity, only its tastiness. I'm no expert. My mother had been there once before along with Albert and I. She enjoyed it then. It was my father's first time at the restaurant despite numerous recommendations. I think he had something against its small size and interesting decor.
Instead of the usual bread, they serve small biscuits with pepper jelly. It's always a tasty start to the meal.
I knew exactly what I wanted to order: pulled-pork po'boy with sweet potato fries. It's probably my favourite, although I do enjoy other options. But it had been a while, and the sandwich called to me. A hearty portion of juicy, falling apart pork, in a lightly spiced pork juicy sauce is sandwiched in a soft white roll with mayo and lettuce. The roll is a delicious sponge for the meat juices. It's pretty much the perfect meat sandwich. The fries are a masterpiece on their own. I knew I had to get them despite how rich and huge they would make my meal, just so my parents could try them off my plate. Enjoy them they did. Lightly battered and seasoned, topped with chopped green onion and served with a mayo based dip, they're the ultimate in fries. Between the three of us, we ate all that was on my plate. It also had a bit of coleslaw but wasn't really a fiesta of vegetables.
My mother decided to order the shrimps creole served on white rice. It was perhaps a slightly lighter option. I didn't taste it, but she seemed to enjoy it and cleared her plate.
My father wanted jambalaya. I convinced him to get the Combo Dadeo so he would get the meaty bayou jambalaya along with blackened chicken and beans. The jambalaya was chock full of assorted meats like Andouille sausage, shrimp, and ham. But, what he couldn't stop talking about was how good the beans were. I knew he'd like them since he's a bean-aholic along with me. They're the reason I knew he should have the combo and not straight jambalaya. The beans are red kidney beans in a spicy sauce with onion. They're really good.
The next meal out was lunch on Saturday, which we had at Cafe Select. I've mentioned it before, so I just have a couple of comments. My father again had the bistro burger, which he says he likes because it tastes like real meat like the burgers he makes. It's served with their shoestring fries. My mother and I had grilled vegetable sandwiches also served with the fries. I found them a bit limp and oily, but I still ate quite a few. The sandwiches also came with spinach salad, which was nice but not really remarkable. The sandwiches though were really good. They had a heap of hot, grilled vegetables--zucchini, mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers--along with good white cheddar cheese and a red spread that was tasty. They had to be held together with a toothpick containing a huge green olive, which was a nice touch. It was a really good sandwich on a nice whole wheat kaiser. A tad messy though, with so many delicious veggies some fell out. All in all it was a good lunch.
Later that afternoon, we went to Leva for gelato/sorbet. I discovered that my Peach-Apricot treat was actually a dairy free sorbet. My mom enjoyed a single pina colada sorbet--she's extremely lactose intolerant. I think she really liked being able to eat something that looked like ice cream and didn't have a weird soy taste. My father and I had double gelatos. His was pistachio and hazelnut. Mine was pistachio and maple walnut. The gelato was excellent, the two flavours were a nice contrast and nothing was an unnatural colour. It has a lighter texture than the sorbet but is unsurprisingly creamier. Either gelato or sorbet is a good choice. But, only sorbet is a good choice for my mom.
We actually had two other meals out, but I think I'll post about them later to give them my full attention. You can look forward to hearing about Wild Tangerine and another meal at Murrieta's. Both were really good.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Finale of the Calgary Eats
As I alluded in my breakfast post, we didn't really have lunch on Saturday in Calgary. Instead we had:
Gelato! I read a little on the Internet about Fiasco Gelato and how it was supposedly the best gelato in Calgary and made fresh every day. I didn't do a thorough survey myself, but my small cup of Strawberry Cheesecake gelato at the 17th Ave location pictured above was quite good. It was a generous portion. . . the mediums looked absolutely enormous. Plus, it was really smooth and creamy with the fruity flavour I was craving. Albert went with a medium passion fruit in a waffle cone, which he found refreshingly fruity and really big. It comes in peace.
Gelato! I read a little on the Internet about Fiasco Gelato and how it was supposedly the best gelato in Calgary and made fresh every day. I didn't do a thorough survey myself, but my small cup of Strawberry Cheesecake gelato at the 17th Ave location pictured above was quite good. It was a generous portion. . . the mediums looked absolutely enormous. Plus, it was really smooth and creamy with the fruity flavour I was craving. Albert went with a medium passion fruit in a waffle cone, which he found refreshingly fruity and really big. It comes in peace.
By supper time we were quite hungry and ventured into Chinatown. We decided to go to a place specializing in Chinese barbecue meats called Happy Valley (I think) that was pretty busy. It was a very casual place that strangely served hot tea in plastic cups. We ordered 10 pork dumplings, a platter of barbecue duck and pork, Chinese broccoli in garlic sauce, and steamed rice. The whole meal really hit the spot with me as I was craving a good mix of meat, vegetables, and carbs. The dumplings were tasty if a little oily and I ate three. Albert played the hero and ate seven.
The meats were pure deliciousness, fatty in a good way atop a tasty sauce and peanuts. The outsides of the meat were seasoned in ways both new and delicious to me. It was my first Chinese barbecue. The dipping sauce with the meat was too sweet and added nothing, so I didn't really eat it. I think I preferred the pork to the duck partly because it was boneless and therefore easier to eat. Sometimes I'm lazy. Chinese broccoli was crisp and garlicky, perhaps a bit oily but overall very good. It's great when you're all enjoying the deliciousness of garlic, then nobody needs to feel stinky. Steamed rice was needed to fill out the meal and was also tasty to me as I have a bit of thing for rice now. Service was not great, but I didn't expect much and overall it was acceptable.
For our final meal in Calgary before the horrors of the bus to Edmonton, Albert and I had an early dinner at Murrieta's in the lounge area. The restaurant was pretty much dead as far as the number of customers, even when we left around six. Our server was attentive though and I found the meal well paced. To start with we shared the Courtyard salad of greens, small tomatoes, and fennel. The greens, tomatoes and fennel were top notch. However, the dressing a "Citrus Fennel Vinaigrette" was rather oily however with very little acidity. This was my only problem with the meal.
After the salad we were brought a small plate of fresh, warm!!! multi-grain bread and butter. I limited myself to one piece, not wanting to gorge myself on the bread, and it was delicious. For the main course we both opted for pasta dishes. Albert had the lamb meatball spaghetti. He really enjoyed it oddly preferring the spaghetti to the meatballs although he said both were good. I decided to try something new, the "Roasted Squash & Chevre Ravioli Brown Butter Verjus Sage Sauce." It was a really enjoyable dish, perhaps my favourite of the trip. The ravioli were topped with fried sage leaves, shavings of a hard and salty cheese, and sauteed bits of squash and zucchini. The sauce was buttery with that distinctive brown butter flavour. The ravioli themselves were large; filled with creamy, smooth squash filling, and perfectly al dente. I relished every rich, buttery bite. We emerged from our excellent meal ready to face the trials of travel by bus to Edmonton and more food.
Let's Talk Good Breakfasts
During our weekend in Calgary, Albert and I essentially skipped lunch opting instead for gargantuan breakfasts at Avenue Diner, which a waitress at Milestone's (closed at the time) recommended. This turned out to be an excellent breakfast spot.
On Sunday morning, there was a short wait to get in around 10. Interestingly, there were about a dozen firefighters eating at the counter. They must have known it was good. I took their presence as a good sign. On this morning we went with traditional, hearty breakfasts of two eggs, maple bison sausage, hash browns and toast. My poached eggs were perfectly cooked with delightful runny yolks in which I dipped some of the multi-grain toast. The rest of the toast was slathered with an in-house berry jam that was absolutely delicious. Hash browns were very good, well seasoned and of the pan fried variety. The bison sausage was also excellent as it was no overly greasy and quite tasty. Maybe that's not a very good description, but I'd eat it again. Albert ate the same thing with eggs over easy.
On Monday morning, our breakfast was quite late but I think breakfast is served well into the afternoon. I went with a super-sugary breakfast this time, the banana split waffle. No ice cream was involved but the four pieces of waffle were between the halves of a banana and covered in lots of whipped cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries, and some chopped walnuts. There's nothing like chocolate at breakfast and I really enjoyed the strawberries and banana. The waffles were good, so good I sort of wished there was less chocolate and whipped cream on them so I could taste the waffle for itself. I felt a little guilty about this breakfast though, too much sugar and not enough substance. Albert ordered the Avenue French Toast stuffed with brie and bacon and served with sauteed granny smith apples. This dish had been mentioned by the server who recommended the diner. It seemed not as generous as other breakfasts, although perhaps very rich, as it was only two halves of one stuffed thick slice of bread. I tried a bit and thought it was good. Albert however commented that it might have been a little over cooked to his taste. Overall, breakfast at the Avenue Diner was very good, even if the chairs were slightly uncomfortable. Service was good and we were recognized on our second visit.
Before Albert left Edmonton on Thursday morning, we had some breakfast the the Sugarbowl. I've mentioned it many times and I need only say that the half cinnamon bun and fruit salad did not disappoint. The bun was a delicious blend of textures--soft and crisp-- with caramelized bits once again.
On Sunday morning, there was a short wait to get in around 10. Interestingly, there were about a dozen firefighters eating at the counter. They must have known it was good. I took their presence as a good sign. On this morning we went with traditional, hearty breakfasts of two eggs, maple bison sausage, hash browns and toast. My poached eggs were perfectly cooked with delightful runny yolks in which I dipped some of the multi-grain toast. The rest of the toast was slathered with an in-house berry jam that was absolutely delicious. Hash browns were very good, well seasoned and of the pan fried variety. The bison sausage was also excellent as it was no overly greasy and quite tasty. Maybe that's not a very good description, but I'd eat it again. Albert ate the same thing with eggs over easy.
On Monday morning, our breakfast was quite late but I think breakfast is served well into the afternoon. I went with a super-sugary breakfast this time, the banana split waffle. No ice cream was involved but the four pieces of waffle were between the halves of a banana and covered in lots of whipped cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries, and some chopped walnuts. There's nothing like chocolate at breakfast and I really enjoyed the strawberries and banana. The waffles were good, so good I sort of wished there was less chocolate and whipped cream on them so I could taste the waffle for itself. I felt a little guilty about this breakfast though, too much sugar and not enough substance. Albert ordered the Avenue French Toast stuffed with brie and bacon and served with sauteed granny smith apples. This dish had been mentioned by the server who recommended the diner. It seemed not as generous as other breakfasts, although perhaps very rich, as it was only two halves of one stuffed thick slice of bread. I tried a bit and thought it was good. Albert however commented that it might have been a little over cooked to his taste. Overall, breakfast at the Avenue Diner was very good, even if the chairs were slightly uncomfortable. Service was good and we were recognized on our second visit.
Before Albert left Edmonton on Thursday morning, we had some breakfast the the Sugarbowl. I've mentioned it many times and I need only say that the half cinnamon bun and fruit salad did not disappoint. The bun was a delicious blend of textures--soft and crisp-- with caramelized bits once again.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Long Time No See, Sorry It Was a Food Adventure
I haven't written in a while because I went to Calgary with Albert last weekend and his visit continued until Thursday. Then, I was busy preparing for a bit of a dinner party tonight. First, I'll talk about Calgary. (I actually forgot to take photos at the party, so I will take some of the leftovers. . . I'm a bad blogger).
I was really hungry (and crabby) when I got to Calgary. I'd read some good things about the Cafe in the McNally Robinson Bookstore on Chowhound. It was nearby, so I decided to go there. . . at about 5 o'clock. I ordered the pear and blue cheese salad for about $10. It came with a slice of multi grain bread, which I ate along with the entire salad. A large, late snack don't you think? Anyways, the bread was good, blue cheese is always good, the greens were fresh, and the berry vinaigrette was tasty (but I had to ask for it). The pears, well, they seemed like canned pears. That was a bit disappointing. . . of course I could be wrong. Albert had some sort of chocolaty, boozy dessert coffee while we were there. He found it too sickly sweet to finish, but should have known better perhaps.
That night, we ate at PiqNiq Bistro above the BeatNiq jazz bar. It was the fanciest meal we had. It started off with a couple of tasty little rolls with butter. They had an intriguing flavour that we argued over the source of. I was reminded slightly of winter squash. Caraway was brought up as a possibility. We moved straight to mains after that. I had the catch of the day, which was seared Ahi tuna. It came with really tasty baby potatoes, julienned vegetables, and fennel that may have been pickled. The fish though was underwhelming for the price. I heard the waitress describing it as blue rare. That would have been great. What I got was a shade under well-done in my books and many bites tasted dry. I was too timid to complain since I've never actually had seared tuna before. . . maybe I should have. Albert had
"Truffled Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli, Fresh Tomato Coulis." It included some asparagus spears as well. He said it was a playful dish and seemed to enjoy it. The best part of our meal came last with a chocolate cheesecake that we split for dessert. It was rich and creamy, chocolaty, and not too sweet. It was very, very good. Down in the jazz bar afterward, I enjoyed a most excellent Caesar in honour of Canada Day and Albert had a pint of the local brew on tap.
There's still more to talk about (and it gets better) . . . but that's all I'm going to say for now.
I was really hungry (and crabby) when I got to Calgary. I'd read some good things about the Cafe in the McNally Robinson Bookstore on Chowhound. It was nearby, so I decided to go there. . . at about 5 o'clock. I ordered the pear and blue cheese salad for about $10. It came with a slice of multi grain bread, which I ate along with the entire salad. A large, late snack don't you think? Anyways, the bread was good, blue cheese is always good, the greens were fresh, and the berry vinaigrette was tasty (but I had to ask for it). The pears, well, they seemed like canned pears. That was a bit disappointing. . . of course I could be wrong. Albert had some sort of chocolaty, boozy dessert coffee while we were there. He found it too sickly sweet to finish, but should have known better perhaps.
That night, we ate at PiqNiq Bistro above the BeatNiq jazz bar. It was the fanciest meal we had. It started off with a couple of tasty little rolls with butter. They had an intriguing flavour that we argued over the source of. I was reminded slightly of winter squash. Caraway was brought up as a possibility. We moved straight to mains after that. I had the catch of the day, which was seared Ahi tuna. It came with really tasty baby potatoes, julienned vegetables, and fennel that may have been pickled. The fish though was underwhelming for the price. I heard the waitress describing it as blue rare. That would have been great. What I got was a shade under well-done in my books and many bites tasted dry. I was too timid to complain since I've never actually had seared tuna before. . . maybe I should have. Albert had
"Truffled Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli, Fresh Tomato Coulis." It included some asparagus spears as well. He said it was a playful dish and seemed to enjoy it. The best part of our meal came last with a chocolate cheesecake that we split for dessert. It was rich and creamy, chocolaty, and not too sweet. It was very, very good. Down in the jazz bar afterward, I enjoyed a most excellent Caesar in honour of Canada Day and Albert had a pint of the local brew on tap.
There's still more to talk about (and it gets better) . . . but that's all I'm going to say for now.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Final Comments on the Canmore Trip
I want to mention a few things about the breakfasts on the Canmore trip. Come to think of it, I really don't talk about breakfast as much as you'd think. That's probably because I usually eat cereal, which I enjoy more than I should and fruit. There's not too much to say, although Shreddies are awesome. That's not very gourmet of me is it?
Anyways, the first two mornings in Canmore, we ate breakfast in the rented condo. It was pretty ordinary with a strong raisin theme. I ate Raisin Bran and some sort of raisin bread product both mornings. I also had an egg, some banana, and an orange. All of this seemed too ordinary, and like I was eating too much. It was accompanied by a guilty pleasure. What could that be? Perhaps processed creamy peanut butter my parents brought. I tell myself I love natural peanut butter, and it is good. But I couldn't get enough of the salted, sweetened taste of the processed stuff, especially that first morning.
By Monday morning, I was tired of eating in like I was at home every morning. So, I asked for and received a promise of breakfast out. We chose a place that my parents had eaten at for dinner before and thought was good. I'm going to omit the name. We were seated fairly quickly, our orders were taken, coffee brought (not for me), and then we waited. And waited. For an hour. Yes, an hour for breakfast. I think it was crazy. At breakfast people haven't eaten in perhaps twelve hours. I was very hungry. We got excuses from the server that seemed to suggest the kitchen was understaffed or something and couldn't keep up.
Eventually, I did get my cheddar and apple crepes from the extensive breakfast menu, they were pretty good. I ate way more than I should have. It was tasty but perhaps too syrupy inside with the apples and the cheddar could have been better. The hash browns were deep fried and I prefer pan fried ones. But, for the price it was quite a good breakfast, if only it could have appeared in a shorter time frame.
How long do you think is reasonable to wait for breakfast?
Anyways, the first two mornings in Canmore, we ate breakfast in the rented condo. It was pretty ordinary with a strong raisin theme. I ate Raisin Bran and some sort of raisin bread product both mornings. I also had an egg, some banana, and an orange. All of this seemed too ordinary, and like I was eating too much. It was accompanied by a guilty pleasure. What could that be? Perhaps processed creamy peanut butter my parents brought. I tell myself I love natural peanut butter, and it is good. But I couldn't get enough of the salted, sweetened taste of the processed stuff, especially that first morning.
By Monday morning, I was tired of eating in like I was at home every morning. So, I asked for and received a promise of breakfast out. We chose a place that my parents had eaten at for dinner before and thought was good. I'm going to omit the name. We were seated fairly quickly, our orders were taken, coffee brought (not for me), and then we waited. And waited. For an hour. Yes, an hour for breakfast. I think it was crazy. At breakfast people haven't eaten in perhaps twelve hours. I was very hungry. We got excuses from the server that seemed to suggest the kitchen was understaffed or something and couldn't keep up.
Eventually, I did get my cheddar and apple crepes from the extensive breakfast menu, they were pretty good. I ate way more than I should have. It was tasty but perhaps too syrupy inside with the apples and the cheddar could have been better. The hash browns were deep fried and I prefer pan fried ones. But, for the price it was quite a good breakfast, if only it could have appeared in a shorter time frame.
How long do you think is reasonable to wait for breakfast?
Friday, May 25, 2007
Fine Dining: Quarry Bistro and Wine Bar
In Canmore with my family this weekend I was looking to indulge in what makes for a good vacation in our family: physical activity followed by a lot of delicious food, because we work up an appetite. It rained on Saturday, so my "physical activity" was wandering around Canmore and through some shops before the previously mentioned pizza.
But on Sunday, we got lucky and there was some sunshine and plenty of "not raining" to go around. We hiked about 15 km at Lake Minnewanka (or Lake Willy Wonka if you're eating chocolate, which I was). Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich, an orange, and some chocolate along the trail. I took some pictures of the scenery, so here's one since I didn't take pictures of restaurant food:
But on Sunday, we got lucky and there was some sunshine and plenty of "not raining" to go around. We hiked about 15 km at Lake Minnewanka (or Lake Willy Wonka if you're eating chocolate, which I was). Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich, an orange, and some chocolate along the trail. I took some pictures of the scenery, so here's one since I didn't take pictures of restaurant food:
Okay, so I saw some pretty mountains and worked up a monster appetite for dinner. As a result, I was the only member of my family to complete three courses.
We went to a really nice local restaurant called Quarry Bistro. It features local and organic ingredients much like the pizza place, except more formal and upscale. Of course, it never gets too formal in the mountains. Anyways, they say they specialize in French and Italian cooking, which I'd agree with.
To start with, we all shared PEI Mussels and Frites. The mussels were huge and tasty in their white wine, butter and capers. The frites were cut thin and featured some sweet potato fries, which I thought was a nice touch. I've never really discussed my love of sweet potatoes, but I really like them. The fries were topped with aioli, I'm pretty sure. That was rich and tasty and perfect for my very hungry stomach. My sister started with the soup of the day, which I think was tomato and bread. She loved the tomatoes and thought the bread was good. She also claimed the soup filled her up so she could barely eat her pasta entree. The soup did appear very thick to me.
After the mussels, we were brought some foccacia bread. I only ate a little, wanting to save room for other things, but it was really tasty with plenty of olive oil and salt on top. Anyways, they have good bread, which really I would expect.
Next up were the entrees. Before they arrived, I noticed the spectacular red Mohawk of one of the cooks through the pass. It was pretty sweet. My mom had the special which was lobster, duck confit, and (white?) beans. She ate it all I think, so it must have been good. My father and sister had Penne all'Amatriciana. It was penne with a spicy tomato sauce and bacon. My sister once again loved the tomatoes. I tried a piece of pasta and a bit of bacon and it was indeed quite tasty. Neither of them could finish the pasta, I would have expected more from my dad.
My entree gets its own paragraph, because I'm important, kidding. I had the Sooke Hills Rainbow Trout served with almond risotto and green beans. I was trying to branch out and I believe it was my first risotto and my first trout. The green beans were lightly cooked so they were still crisp and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. The vinegar was a nice touch and I would have been sorely disappointed if the beans were overcooked. The trout, was served with the skin and was seasoned with plenty of pepper and some butter. It was really tender and tasty. I wouldn't hesitate to have rainbow trout again. The best part of my entree was the risotto. It was really soft and creamy. . . I thought it was supposed to have a bit, but like I said I've never had it before. Anyways, it was really delicious and creamy and had plenty of delicious almonds mixed in. It will not be my last risotto.
I had a glass of Italian red wine that my parents ordered with my food. It was drinkable and good and apparently from grapes grown of vineyards sloping towards the sea in Abruzzo. Anyways, as a result I was slightly drunk by the end of the meal, lightweight that I am.
So, after devouring my entire entree, I wanted a sweet treat. I knew that there was a single scoop of homemade semifreddo (ice cream) available. So I ordered that in chocolate, for a little something. This is the course I was alone in eating. Anyways, texture-wise it wasn't too spectacular. It was good but nothing like the smooth creaminess of gelato. Where it really shone was in the flavour, which was given a twist with some cinnamon. Of course I ate the whole scoop, loving it all. They're really smart to have such a small dessert on offer. I wouldn't have gone for anything larger.
Anyways, the Quarry Bistro has good food and a nice atmosphere right on Main Street in Canmore. Incidentally, I found this video on You Tube of Chef David Wyse from Quarry telling Kelly Hrudey how to make carbonara. It's kind of fun, maybe you should watch it.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Pizza!!! From a Wood Burning Oven
I'm a fan of pizza, and last Satuday I hadn't eaten it for a while. My parents suggested that we go to Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company for pizza. I was psyched, even more so when I saw the big woodburning oven in the corner of the restaurant. It was a crowded place and I figured the wait would be worth it. I'd say we waited half an hour or 45 minutes for a table with me staring at the oven hungrily. The restaurant is pretty casual, as you'd expect a pizza place to be. There is a big emphasis on organic food and revealing the source of ingredients. Although, the special pizza that night featured Atlantic salmon, which to my knowledge is almost exclusively farmed and contains an order of magnitude more contaminants than wild Pacific salmon. Anyways, it was a pretty cool place.
I should get to the food. I was with just my mom and dad since my sister foolishly opted out of this meal and ate Quizno's instead. For the 3 of us we ordered 2 regular pizzas, the Nemo and the Naturally Meaty (I think, it's not listed on the website). I started out drinking just water, but my dad said his beer--a local pilsner--was really good and "European" in style. So, I ordered a half pint, because I'm a lightweight, and enjoyed it with my pizza. It was not sweet and not heavy; it's too late to describe it now but it's worth a try if you like beer. The Nemo came first, you might guess that it featured seafood, and you'd be right. The website describes it as "Brushed with pesto and tomato sauce and topped with king prawns, artichokes, red onion, cilantro and asiago cheese." This is not quite right as the shrimp weren't that big, there were crayfish (or something like that), and I don't think there was cilantro or asiago. Anyways, it was as described on the menu in the restaurant. The crayfish things were especially tasty as was the very strongly tomatoey sauce. I also quite like artichoke. Anyways, it was freaking tasty. The crust was thin as expected, but less crisp and more limp than I might have guessed coming from that oven. I ate some pizza with a knife and fork, which is a sacrilege for me. But I repeat it tasted really good.
Next up was the "Naturally Meaty" featuring the same crust and delicious sauce. It also had green peppers, fresh tomato, ground beef, and sweet Italian sausage. It was also really tasty, with a particular emphasis on that spectacular pizza sauce. That sauce was really important to me as a big tomato fan.
As a final comment, the pizza is not inexpensive at up to $20 for a regular. But it is really tasty and the larges might be more economical. All I can say about the pizza is that it's tasty because there was so much good flavour going on. And it goes with beer. My mom almost didn't want to wait for this pizza experience, but I insisted and it was sooooo worth it!
I should get to the food. I was with just my mom and dad since my sister foolishly opted out of this meal and ate Quizno's instead. For the 3 of us we ordered 2 regular pizzas, the Nemo and the Naturally Meaty (I think, it's not listed on the website). I started out drinking just water, but my dad said his beer--a local pilsner--was really good and "European" in style. So, I ordered a half pint, because I'm a lightweight, and enjoyed it with my pizza. It was not sweet and not heavy; it's too late to describe it now but it's worth a try if you like beer. The Nemo came first, you might guess that it featured seafood, and you'd be right. The website describes it as "Brushed with pesto and tomato sauce and topped with king prawns, artichokes, red onion, cilantro and asiago cheese." This is not quite right as the shrimp weren't that big, there were crayfish (or something like that), and I don't think there was cilantro or asiago. Anyways, it was as described on the menu in the restaurant. The crayfish things were especially tasty as was the very strongly tomatoey sauce. I also quite like artichoke. Anyways, it was freaking tasty. The crust was thin as expected, but less crisp and more limp than I might have guessed coming from that oven. I ate some pizza with a knife and fork, which is a sacrilege for me. But I repeat it tasted really good.
Next up was the "Naturally Meaty" featuring the same crust and delicious sauce. It also had green peppers, fresh tomato, ground beef, and sweet Italian sausage. It was also really tasty, with a particular emphasis on that spectacular pizza sauce. That sauce was really important to me as a big tomato fan.
As a final comment, the pizza is not inexpensive at up to $20 for a regular. But it is really tasty and the larges might be more economical. All I can say about the pizza is that it's tasty because there was so much good flavour going on. And it goes with beer. My mom almost didn't want to wait for this pizza experience, but I insisted and it was sooooo worth it!
Edmonton Stuff
I'll start with Wednesday and the remains of Ryan's ANTM Finale Party. He got an "ANTM" Dairy Queen log cake and served Diet Coke. I don't drink Diet Coke. . . or regular Coke for that matter. I don't really like sweet drinks and I can't stand the aspartame after taste . . . or Splenda aftertaste for that matter. But Dairy Queen cakes, those are good. I enjoy my Dairy Queen, although Blizzards make me sick from too much ice cream. I hadn't had an ice cream cake in ages, although I used to have them for every birthday. So, I guess there's a lot of pleasant memories attached. The cake was much appreciated!On Friday before I caught my bus to Calgary, I ate at Kabsa downtown, based on reviews like this in the local media. I went alone and ordered the lamb, which cost about $13. It came with what I think was the vegetable Kabsa. There were potatoes, carrots, and some other veggies in a really tasty sauce. The lamb had a lot of bone and fat. . . real lamb and it was tender. . . but disappointingly weak lamb flavour. Although, I might have overpowered any of that by dipping it in the homemade hot sauce. That sauce was good, cool tomato and cilantro, but spicy. Actually, quite spicy. I really liked it. There was also a salad of finely chopped marinated vegetables that I also enjoyed for its tartness and vegetableness. Finally, there was (a mountain of) rice, probably some of the oiliest rice I've ever eaten but so tasty with onions and peas, and delicious fat. The portion was huge and I didn't eat it all. I'm thinking the fish or chicken might be better. Anyways, it was an interesting experience. I don't know if I'll go back, but I might if I were hungry and downtown. I don't think I'd get lamb though. It wasn't that great and other meats are cheaper.
After that meal, I got on a bus to Calgary then drove with my family to Canmore. I'll talk about some food there next.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Too Much Sushi
I've been to Japan, but Japanese food is not an obsession of mine, although I like it once in a while. I find it a bit. . . lacking in spice and strong flavours compared to other Asian cuisines. Anyways, I've eaten Japanese food probably 3 times in the last six weeks, thanks to my new favourite sushi restaurant.
Kyoto Japanese Cuisine on 109th Street near the University was recommended by an old friend who evidently loves sushi. My first visit was with my sister, for sushi. I had sake . . . big mistake as it was nasty stuff. To me, it was floral plus alcohol equals nail polish remover. . . or maybe hairspray. I was really impressed with the diverse dinner menu of sushi and other Japanese things. I had toro, spicy tuna, unagi, and scallop sushi. I enjoyed all of them. I especially liked the scallop, which I could not remember having before. It was very tender and I really liked the texture. The flavour was characteristically mild. I also tried the jellyfish salad, which was very tasty with a lot of sesame flavour. My sister and I split some fried squid to start with. It seemed okay.
On my second visit, I was pretty disappointed with the tempura in my tempura udon. I ordered it because my throat was sore. The broth and noodles hit the spot, but the tempura were too greasy. . . I know they're fried but still. They weren't fried well.
So, on my third visit with my mom, we avoided fried foods. We also ordered way too much. The yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), were unremarkable as the sauce lacked flavour. We both agreed that this was the element that should have been left out of the order. We also had meat gyoza (dumplings). To me, they were a bit bland. But my mom liked them as she's a dumpling fan and I still ate three even though I was stuffed. We tried some special salads. I had the Kyoto one and she had the seafood one. I enjoyed the presence of salad greens in an otherwise nearly vegetable matter free meal. My salad had four large pieces of barely seared (ie nearly raw) fish and some black fish roe. For sushi, I had scallop, salmon, and baby tako (baby octopus). Scallop and salmon were good as expected. The baby tako was quite striking in appearance with two reddish purple baby tako on each roll. They were difficult to eat delicately due to their size. However, the tako was very tender and not too chewy. All in all, it was a very good meal. My mom seemed to enjoy her spicy tuna rolls and unagi. I challenge anyone not to like unagi. Seriously, barbecued eel is good. Now I definitely know where to go for sushi, if not for Japanese fried food.
In Japan, I went to one sushi restaurant of the rotating-sushi-track variety. I don't remember what I ate except for some rolls topped with clear, colourless worm-like things with black eyes that I was told were baby eels. I ate them even though it was a roll that my Japanese host family wouldn't touch. I was a crazy eater even at 15.
Kyoto Japanese Cuisine on 109th Street near the University was recommended by an old friend who evidently loves sushi. My first visit was with my sister, for sushi. I had sake . . . big mistake as it was nasty stuff. To me, it was floral plus alcohol equals nail polish remover. . . or maybe hairspray. I was really impressed with the diverse dinner menu of sushi and other Japanese things. I had toro, spicy tuna, unagi, and scallop sushi. I enjoyed all of them. I especially liked the scallop, which I could not remember having before. It was very tender and I really liked the texture. The flavour was characteristically mild. I also tried the jellyfish salad, which was very tasty with a lot of sesame flavour. My sister and I split some fried squid to start with. It seemed okay.
On my second visit, I was pretty disappointed with the tempura in my tempura udon. I ordered it because my throat was sore. The broth and noodles hit the spot, but the tempura were too greasy. . . I know they're fried but still. They weren't fried well.
So, on my third visit with my mom, we avoided fried foods. We also ordered way too much. The yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), were unremarkable as the sauce lacked flavour. We both agreed that this was the element that should have been left out of the order. We also had meat gyoza (dumplings). To me, they were a bit bland. But my mom liked them as she's a dumpling fan and I still ate three even though I was stuffed. We tried some special salads. I had the Kyoto one and she had the seafood one. I enjoyed the presence of salad greens in an otherwise nearly vegetable matter free meal. My salad had four large pieces of barely seared (ie nearly raw) fish and some black fish roe. For sushi, I had scallop, salmon, and baby tako (baby octopus). Scallop and salmon were good as expected. The baby tako was quite striking in appearance with two reddish purple baby tako on each roll. They were difficult to eat delicately due to their size. However, the tako was very tender and not too chewy. All in all, it was a very good meal. My mom seemed to enjoy her spicy tuna rolls and unagi. I challenge anyone not to like unagi. Seriously, barbecued eel is good. Now I definitely know where to go for sushi, if not for Japanese fried food.
In Japan, I went to one sushi restaurant of the rotating-sushi-track variety. I don't remember what I ate except for some rolls topped with clear, colourless worm-like things with black eyes that I was told were baby eels. I ate them even though it was a roll that my Japanese host family wouldn't touch. I was a crazy eater even at 15.
Friday, May 4, 2007
What's for Dinner?
I thought I'd talk about one surprisingly good think i whipped up for dinner this week and what I mad tonight, which was also pretty good (and got photographed). The point of this is that cooking for one is an everyday activity, for me at least.
On Monday, I decided that I would whip up some fried rice with sticky rice left over from the Bul Go Gi House. No, the rice wasn't fresh. I fried up some onion, tofu, mushrooms, garlic, and a small zucchini in olive oil (very Asian I know). Then I added a bunch of rice and some hoisin sauce and garlic chili sauce. No, there wasn't egg. Does that make it not fried rice? I don't know. Anyways, it was good mainly because of the taste of the rice. I didn't know rice could taste that good. Is that taste telling me that sticky rice is bad for me?
Tonight, as I was walking home from work I composed a pasta in my head using broccoli and pork. At home, I sauteed a quarter onion in olive oil and added broccoli and a clove of garlic (minced of course). I sauteed that a bit and added some finely sliced pork chop, seasoned with black pepper and cooked the pork, added a splash of pasta water, and stirred in some al dente tortiglioni. Then I put it all in a big ass bowl and sprinkled it with grated Romano cheese. Later, I decided it needed a touch of salt as well. This is what it looked like:
On Monday, I decided that I would whip up some fried rice with sticky rice left over from the Bul Go Gi House. No, the rice wasn't fresh. I fried up some onion, tofu, mushrooms, garlic, and a small zucchini in olive oil (very Asian I know). Then I added a bunch of rice and some hoisin sauce and garlic chili sauce. No, there wasn't egg. Does that make it not fried rice? I don't know. Anyways, it was good mainly because of the taste of the rice. I didn't know rice could taste that good. Is that taste telling me that sticky rice is bad for me?
Tonight, as I was walking home from work I composed a pasta in my head using broccoli and pork. At home, I sauteed a quarter onion in olive oil and added broccoli and a clove of garlic (minced of course). I sauteed that a bit and added some finely sliced pork chop, seasoned with black pepper and cooked the pork, added a splash of pasta water, and stirred in some al dente tortiglioni. Then I put it all in a big ass bowl and sprinkled it with grated Romano cheese. Later, I decided it needed a touch of salt as well. This is what it looked like:
I noticed several good things about this dish. The onions got nicely caramelized and were quite sweet and delicious. The cheese got fairly well distributed and contributed saltiness and creaminess, a bite with cheese was a good bite. The pork was also moist and tasty. It's actually been a while since I cooked meat, so there was a bit of novelty there. The broccoli remained crisp and it did not have a nasty broccoli pasta flavour, perhaps because it wasn't cooked to death. Finally, that pasta. Pasta tastes good to a carb lover like me. Plus, isn't that shape fun. Trust me, it's fun to eat. Don't you like stuff that's fun to eat? Overall, this was a pretty decent quick dinner for after work.
And now, couple of other food notes from this week:
You know when you think somebody will bring donuts to a meeting? And then they bring strudels and turnovers instead. And then you choose some giant strudel sprinkled with peanuts and covered in vanilla and butterscotch icing, probably the richest, sugariest one. And you eat it all even though you're not that hungry. And then you feel a little sick from sugar overload. But you had to eat it all because it was there, a gift to you. That's about what happened to me on Wednesday.
Then tonight, I went to the Sugarbowl and ate most of a bowl of Elk and Mushroom soup. I'm not sure how smart it is to order soup at 10:30 at night, it's been sitting it that pot a long time. Anyways, the mushrooms were plentiful and not your ordinary mushrooms so that was good. There was a lot of rice in the mild but tasty broth. Then there was the elk. It was ground and I can't say I tasted anything distinctive about it. Oh well, at least I can add it to the list of animals I know I've eaten. . . cow, pig, chicken, duck, alligator, lamb, baby cow (I know I'm evil), ostrich, bison, deer (I think), boar (I think), . . . maybe more I can't think of. This list excludes any animal of the sea, because that's a whole other issue. Plus, I was only vaguely aware of what I was eating in Japan, especially seafood, which may have included baby eels and a sushi of my creation featuring two generations of salmon. What animals won't I eat? Endangered species, bear, and shark. Didn't anyone ever tell you bears and sharks are our friends?
Monday, April 30, 2007
Restaurant Notes
I'm going to summarize the three other meals I had with my parents during their visit.
First off, lunch at Cafe Select on 109th. I have some ambivalence toward Cafe Select. This stems mainly from having dinner there before the Phantom of the Opera. My duck breast entree was completely inadequate for my appetite and I ended up being hungry during the show. My friend Mark was also hungry after his beef fillet entree. I'm pretty sure there wasn't even a bread basket. My other previous meals at Cafe Select included a mind bogglingly fluffy omelet and a too cheesy duck pizza.
Anyways, on Saturday I ordered the "shrimp and blue salad" featuring blue cheese, shrimp, and lettuce. This was obviously another light selection with the potential for a still empty stomach afterwards. Not that it was really "light" being heavy on the blue cheese and creamy dressing. I'm a fan of blue cheese and this salad was generous with the stuff so I was happy. The shrimp were tasty as well and the greens were fresh. Afterwards, my mother and sister were examining desserts after their hot squid salads. So, I of course got in on the action ordering a creme brulee all for myself. It was good, although I haven't eaten any other ones recently. The sugar was nicely caramelized on top and the custard part was very rich and not too sweet. Overall, I was quite a satisfying lunch.
For dinner that night, we went to Murrieta's on Whyte Ave. I like this restaurant, the food is really good. The service is good too and we were moved from the lounge area to the dining room due to a draft that I couldn't stand. To start with we had an order of steamed PEI mussels. We've ordered the mussels numerous times and it is always a generous serving with a delicious sauce around it. This time, the sauce was updated to feature a citrus tomato sauce and bacon. With the mussels, we got the complementary bread. It was a delectable mulitgrain, perfect for dipping in the mussel sauce.
Now for our mains, my mom had the duck breast, my sister had seared scallop linguine, my dad had lamb meatball spaghetti, and I had the Westcoast paella. The duck was not too large a portion and my mother appreciated this and ate it all. The seared scallop linguine featured really good scallops but my sister didn't eat it all because it was heavy on the olive oil. The spaghetti is good, I know because I've had it before, but not nearly as many times as my dad. He loves it, and it's good if you like lamb and spaghetti, which I do but I was looking to branch out. The serving seems to be slightly smaller before with six meatballs instead of eight. But really that's okay, because I always made two meals out of it before. The paella was delicious and I ate all of the rice in sweet tomato sauce. It contains a variety and seafood and chorizo sausage. I really liked being able to eat large shrimp, a little salmon, succulent scallops, and mussels in one dish with the perfect pork chorizo.
The next morning, at way too late for breakfast (about 11), we went for brunch at The Sugarbowl. I also like this restaurant both as a good place to drink beer and eat chili lime popcorn, and for breakfast and dinners like their lamb burger. On this particular morning I went with the spinach and feta omelet. It came with pan potatoes and a piece of whole-wheat toast. The potatoes were good, with some kind of red seasoning/sauce, which left them devoid of the need for ketchup. The Sugarbowl also serves pan fried potatoes with sandwiches. The toast did not come heavily buttered, unlike at most places and I enjoyed it with raspberry jam. The omelet was laden with green spinach and salty feta. I quite liked it. As if eating all that wasn't enough, my dad ordered a cinnamon bun in addition to his breakfast for us to share. I had been wondering about these big buns. They looked goooood, but I'm not usually up for that much sugar. And here's my conclusion: they are good. The cinnamon sugar on the outside is crispy and caramelized in places and the bread is deliciously soft. Go ahead and order one of those bad-boys, if you can eat it all without a sugar induced stomach ache, I'll be impressed.
First off, lunch at Cafe Select on 109th. I have some ambivalence toward Cafe Select. This stems mainly from having dinner there before the Phantom of the Opera. My duck breast entree was completely inadequate for my appetite and I ended up being hungry during the show. My friend Mark was also hungry after his beef fillet entree. I'm pretty sure there wasn't even a bread basket. My other previous meals at Cafe Select included a mind bogglingly fluffy omelet and a too cheesy duck pizza.
Anyways, on Saturday I ordered the "shrimp and blue salad" featuring blue cheese, shrimp, and lettuce. This was obviously another light selection with the potential for a still empty stomach afterwards. Not that it was really "light" being heavy on the blue cheese and creamy dressing. I'm a fan of blue cheese and this salad was generous with the stuff so I was happy. The shrimp were tasty as well and the greens were fresh. Afterwards, my mother and sister were examining desserts after their hot squid salads. So, I of course got in on the action ordering a creme brulee all for myself. It was good, although I haven't eaten any other ones recently. The sugar was nicely caramelized on top and the custard part was very rich and not too sweet. Overall, I was quite a satisfying lunch.
For dinner that night, we went to Murrieta's on Whyte Ave. I like this restaurant, the food is really good. The service is good too and we were moved from the lounge area to the dining room due to a draft that I couldn't stand. To start with we had an order of steamed PEI mussels. We've ordered the mussels numerous times and it is always a generous serving with a delicious sauce around it. This time, the sauce was updated to feature a citrus tomato sauce and bacon. With the mussels, we got the complementary bread. It was a delectable mulitgrain, perfect for dipping in the mussel sauce.
Now for our mains, my mom had the duck breast, my sister had seared scallop linguine, my dad had lamb meatball spaghetti, and I had the Westcoast paella. The duck was not too large a portion and my mother appreciated this and ate it all. The seared scallop linguine featured really good scallops but my sister didn't eat it all because it was heavy on the olive oil. The spaghetti is good, I know because I've had it before, but not nearly as many times as my dad. He loves it, and it's good if you like lamb and spaghetti, which I do but I was looking to branch out. The serving seems to be slightly smaller before with six meatballs instead of eight. But really that's okay, because I always made two meals out of it before. The paella was delicious and I ate all of the rice in sweet tomato sauce. It contains a variety and seafood and chorizo sausage. I really liked being able to eat large shrimp, a little salmon, succulent scallops, and mussels in one dish with the perfect pork chorizo.
The next morning, at way too late for breakfast (about 11), we went for brunch at The Sugarbowl. I also like this restaurant both as a good place to drink beer and eat chili lime popcorn, and for breakfast and dinners like their lamb burger. On this particular morning I went with the spinach and feta omelet. It came with pan potatoes and a piece of whole-wheat toast. The potatoes were good, with some kind of red seasoning/sauce, which left them devoid of the need for ketchup. The Sugarbowl also serves pan fried potatoes with sandwiches. The toast did not come heavily buttered, unlike at most places and I enjoyed it with raspberry jam. The omelet was laden with green spinach and salty feta. I quite liked it. As if eating all that wasn't enough, my dad ordered a cinnamon bun in addition to his breakfast for us to share. I had been wondering about these big buns. They looked goooood, but I'm not usually up for that much sugar. And here's my conclusion: they are good. The cinnamon sugar on the outside is crispy and caramelized in places and the bread is deliciously soft. Go ahead and order one of those bad-boys, if you can eat it all without a sugar induced stomach ache, I'll be impressed.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Mmmm. . . Korean. . . Good Times at The Bul Go Gi House
My parents are here and everyone knows what that means. . . free restaurant meals. It's been about a year since my last visit to the Bul Go Gi House and I've been craving some more Korean food. Why? Probably because I get to wanting a little bit of all foods, plus there was the memory of a delicious spicy pork dish. A delicious spicy pork dish that led me to a massive pig out on pig last summer. Bul Go Gi House serves more or less family-style platters of meat dishes of the sort that would be expected to be shared by several people. Somehow, I ended up eating the vast majority of a platter of their Doah-Ji-Bul-Go-Gi last summer, which the menu translates as marinated spicy pork with vegetables. Now, why would I eat a whole platter of one meat? I discovered the answer today. It's not surprising. It's because that stuff is amazing. The pork is extremely tender and the sauce is a masterful blend of spicy, sweet, and tart. My parents agreed that it was really tasty and it was the only dish we finished. So try it, even if you doe enjoy it too much and need a long wander down Whyte Ave. to digest it.
Maybe I should backtrack to the beginning of the meal, but that pork was so good it snuck to the start of my post. The meal began with a round of Hite Korean beer followed closely by sticky rice, kimchi*, and bean sprout salad. The Hite was not my favourite kind of beer, it was a little too light and "American." My father noted that even the bottle seems American since it is shaped like a Miller bottle. Nevertheless, after two weeks without a beer for finals, I enjoyed it and thought it went alright with the food. I like the way the side dishes of kimchi and bean sprout salad come out early with the rice. These things make tasty appetizers and give you a little something to eat before the tasty dishes to come. I guess the big mistake you could make is to really fill up one rice. I think it would be tough to eat too much of the other two.
I've noticed that the order they bring out dishes is pretty random, but that's okay when everyone is sharing. Possibly it is the order in which the dishes are ready. First out in our order was Jap-Chae, which the menu describes as "fried, soft clear noodles with black mushrooms and vegetables." This is pretty accurate, if fried is interpreted as stir fried. This was by far our mildest dish, which I expected. In the sauce, the dominant flavour was soy sauce, I think. The vegetables included broccoli, carrots, black mushrooms, and possibly some others I don't recall (alcohol was served). The noodles were good. I sometimes cook Korean sweet potato starch noodles at home in ways that Albert thinks are inappropriate. The texture and character of my creations is similar to what we were served. The difference was mainly the sauce and the fact that I rarely if ever stir fry broccoli and usually include some meat or tofu. My mom was pretty impressed by the black mushrooms, which are tasty and chewy and mushroomy. I think my dad thought they were just okay.
The final dish to appear at our table was O-Jing-Uh-Bock-Kum, fried squid and vegetables. It was stir-fried in a tasty spicy sauce and the vegetables included broccoli, zucchini and cabbage. The squid was present in copious amounts as large pieces. We enjoyed this. There were many comments about the sheer volume of squid. I seriously wonder how many squid it takes to make an order of this dish. My family likes squid and we liked this dish, which featured plenty of reasonably tender squid.
At the Bul-Go-Gi House, although the service was friendly and the food delicious, the decor is pretty bad. I think it's been updated though because before the art on the walls was mountain paintings and this time it was flowers. Anyways, on a Friday night it was quite busy because good food brings people in.
Bul-Go-Gi House
8813-92 Street, Edmonton, AB
* Note: Kimchi is spicy, pickled cabbage and a quintessential Korean food. I heard a guy at a table next to ours describe it as "sauerkraut with a Korean accent" although I don't find it much like sauerkraut at all since it's not as sour. I didn't find the kimchi all that spicy. If you're curious about kimchi, ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal summarizes its history here.
Maybe I should backtrack to the beginning of the meal, but that pork was so good it snuck to the start of my post. The meal began with a round of Hite Korean beer followed closely by sticky rice, kimchi*, and bean sprout salad. The Hite was not my favourite kind of beer, it was a little too light and "American." My father noted that even the bottle seems American since it is shaped like a Miller bottle. Nevertheless, after two weeks without a beer for finals, I enjoyed it and thought it went alright with the food. I like the way the side dishes of kimchi and bean sprout salad come out early with the rice. These things make tasty appetizers and give you a little something to eat before the tasty dishes to come. I guess the big mistake you could make is to really fill up one rice. I think it would be tough to eat too much of the other two.
I've noticed that the order they bring out dishes is pretty random, but that's okay when everyone is sharing. Possibly it is the order in which the dishes are ready. First out in our order was Jap-Chae, which the menu describes as "fried, soft clear noodles with black mushrooms and vegetables." This is pretty accurate, if fried is interpreted as stir fried. This was by far our mildest dish, which I expected. In the sauce, the dominant flavour was soy sauce, I think. The vegetables included broccoli, carrots, black mushrooms, and possibly some others I don't recall (alcohol was served). The noodles were good. I sometimes cook Korean sweet potato starch noodles at home in ways that Albert thinks are inappropriate. The texture and character of my creations is similar to what we were served. The difference was mainly the sauce and the fact that I rarely if ever stir fry broccoli and usually include some meat or tofu. My mom was pretty impressed by the black mushrooms, which are tasty and chewy and mushroomy. I think my dad thought they were just okay.
The final dish to appear at our table was O-Jing-Uh-Bock-Kum, fried squid and vegetables. It was stir-fried in a tasty spicy sauce and the vegetables included broccoli, zucchini and cabbage. The squid was present in copious amounts as large pieces. We enjoyed this. There were many comments about the sheer volume of squid. I seriously wonder how many squid it takes to make an order of this dish. My family likes squid and we liked this dish, which featured plenty of reasonably tender squid.
At the Bul-Go-Gi House, although the service was friendly and the food delicious, the decor is pretty bad. I think it's been updated though because before the art on the walls was mountain paintings and this time it was flowers. Anyways, on a Friday night it was quite busy because good food brings people in.
Bul-Go-Gi House
8813-92 Street, Edmonton, AB
* Note: Kimchi is spicy, pickled cabbage and a quintessential Korean food. I heard a guy at a table next to ours describe it as "sauerkraut with a Korean accent" although I don't find it much like sauerkraut at all since it's not as sour. I didn't find the kimchi all that spicy. If you're curious about kimchi, ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal summarizes its history here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
