Another ladies night, this time prior to a wedding social we decided on Bonfire Bistro for supper and drinks. They don't accept reservations (thumbs down) so make sure you're not on a particular schedule when going as it's usually busy.
http://www.cafecarlo.com/Bonfire%20Bistro.html
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4
Music ........................N/A
Food............................4.5
Service........................4
Menu Selection..........4.5
Wine Selection ..........4.5
Price...........................4.5*
*price is based on quality of food
Three of us basically met at the door around 7pm and were advised it could be about a 40 min wait for a table, however we could sit at the bar (order and eat) until a lower table was available. We thought about it and since we were already there awaiting our fourth guest, we'd go with it.
My initial reaction to the service was a cool one. No warmth, more of a matter of fact, take it or leave it type attitude. I kept an open mind.
Atmosphere is small, but not crowded, and very bistro like with small tables and blackboards for the specials. It's very clean and well kept and I liked the (wood burning?) oven in the corner used for cooking pizza - nice touch!
Wine selection is quite good, they offer specials and seem to be fairly knowledgeable and quick to offer suggestions. A mistake was made with my wine selection, however quickly fixed without hesitation.
A few specials for the night included Atlantic Salmon, AAA steak and a pasta dish, each with very reasonable prices. We had heard so much about the pizza, we just had to try them.
I chose a side caesar salad as a starter with a friend having the mixed greens. Both were quite tasty! In time for a our main course to be served we were quickly moved to a lower table where we could visit much easier.
About a dozen choices for pizza, however a tough call as they all sound delicious. We each chose one so we could share. The Wild Mushroom, in my opinion, was the best of our 4 choices. Next would have to be the Italian sausage, with the spicy pepperoni coming in a close third. I had selected the seafood, which was good, but I likely wouldn't order it again.
The service had picked up by this time and I was content with our server and eager to leave a tip. We likely would have stayed and sampled the array of desserts, but we knew the social we were attendign would provide more than enough sweet stuff.
My overall rating = 4.25. The lack of reservation has me rating this slightly lower than it might deserve, but as an organized punctual person, I like reservations.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Bistro 7 1/4 - April '08
To celebrate a birthday we decided to try Bistro 7 1/4 on Osbourne. We've tried to go here a couple times without reservation, so the times available were rather limited. This time we were smart and booked a few days in advance.
http://www.alexanderskitchen.com/
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4.5
Music .........................4 (we only noticed the music last minute, so this may not be a fair rating)
Food............................4.5
Service........................4.25 (see below)
Menu Selection..........5
Wine Selection ..........4.5
Price...........................5*
*price is based on quality of food
Upon arrival we were promptly seated not far from the open kitchen - which I loved to watch the chef cook in! Our server was very friendly and made some suggestions for wine, which we gladly accepted and enjoyed!
We started with the Pita Bread served with a trio of dips as an appetizer (white bean dip, red pepper and a spinach type dip); And were also given a crusty roll with butter, salt and a relish by another server - not sure this was meant for our table, but it was good.
I chose the Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin with mushroom cream sauce - mmm!!! Very tasty! My husband selected the Wild Salmon with some sort of potato pancake type thing. His was tasty as well, a touch on the dry side, but only noticeable and not enough to complain about.
For wine we had an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon - Black Swan. Quite tasty, we'd have it again.
Something we noticed was all the tables ordering mussels, me not being a mussel lover wasn't keen to have them, but they did look good along side the homemade frites!
For dessert we had the dark chocolate espresso cake, it was soooo good! One thing I really liked is you can order 1/2 portions of dessert, and that is plenty to share.
The menu had plenty of options and the prices are very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food ($20-25 on average for main course).
My only comment on the service was one server, I think the bartender, didn't seem to have much for customer service skills and I didn't think her attire was appropriate for the restaurant. Our primary server was very friendly and accommodating and also very gracious and thankful when we pointed out something was missed on our bill.
We will surely return here as I need to try those delicious looking frites and may even venture to try the mussels (eek).
Overall rating = 4.5. Highly recommend Bistro 7 1/4 to all - but make sure you call ahead to reserve!!
http://www.alexanderskitchen.com/
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4.5
Music .........................4 (we only noticed the music last minute, so this may not be a fair rating)
Food............................4.5
Service........................4.25 (see below)
Menu Selection..........5
Wine Selection ..........4.5
Price...........................5*
*price is based on quality of food
Upon arrival we were promptly seated not far from the open kitchen - which I loved to watch the chef cook in! Our server was very friendly and made some suggestions for wine, which we gladly accepted and enjoyed!
We started with the Pita Bread served with a trio of dips as an appetizer (white bean dip, red pepper and a spinach type dip); And were also given a crusty roll with butter, salt and a relish by another server - not sure this was meant for our table, but it was good.
I chose the Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin with mushroom cream sauce - mmm!!! Very tasty! My husband selected the Wild Salmon with some sort of potato pancake type thing. His was tasty as well, a touch on the dry side, but only noticeable and not enough to complain about.
For wine we had an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon - Black Swan. Quite tasty, we'd have it again.
Something we noticed was all the tables ordering mussels, me not being a mussel lover wasn't keen to have them, but they did look good along side the homemade frites!
For dessert we had the dark chocolate espresso cake, it was soooo good! One thing I really liked is you can order 1/2 portions of dessert, and that is plenty to share.
The menu had plenty of options and the prices are very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food ($20-25 on average for main course).
My only comment on the service was one server, I think the bartender, didn't seem to have much for customer service skills and I didn't think her attire was appropriate for the restaurant. Our primary server was very friendly and accommodating and also very gracious and thankful when we pointed out something was missed on our bill.
We will surely return here as I need to try those delicious looking frites and may even venture to try the mussels (eek).
Overall rating = 4.5. Highly recommend Bistro 7 1/4 to all - but make sure you call ahead to reserve!!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Thida's Thai Restaurant - March '08
Last night we thought we'd try Thida's before the theatre, pretty good.
http://pixelnumber.com/thida.html
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................3
Music .......................N/A
Food............................4
Service........................4
Menu Selection..........3.5
Wine Selection ........N/A
Price...........................4.5*
*price is based on quality of food
Thida's is on Donald, sort of hidden on the ground floor of an apartment building, we've driven past this place numerous times and usually say "we should go there" and we finally did.
Nothing fancy about the place, but it's clean and the service was really good. I do have to mention the waitress was wearing Lulu Lemon stretch pants which aren't exactly my idea of work pants, but who am I to judge.
We started with rice paper rolls served with peanut sauce, yummy! Then ordered Panang Curry - of course, and some sort of stir fry, can't recall the name, #47 on the menu. Pretty good, not a whole punch of flavour, but good. The Panang Curry was good, we could have handled it a little spicier.
I'll return here, the prices can't be beat, appetizers around $5-8 and entrees from $7 and up, depending on if you want veg, chicken, shrimp etc. I noticed they had some desserts that looked tasty, but being so full I opted for ice cream later on at the theatre. Thank god they had ice cream because the play was terrible.
Overall rating is 4. Not your fine dining establishment, but perfect for a quick, tasty Thai meal!
http://pixelnumber.com/thida.html
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................3
Music .......................N/A
Food............................4
Service........................4
Menu Selection..........3.5
Wine Selection ........N/A
Price...........................4.5*
*price is based on quality of food
Thida's is on Donald, sort of hidden on the ground floor of an apartment building, we've driven past this place numerous times and usually say "we should go there" and we finally did.
Nothing fancy about the place, but it's clean and the service was really good. I do have to mention the waitress was wearing Lulu Lemon stretch pants which aren't exactly my idea of work pants, but who am I to judge.
We started with rice paper rolls served with peanut sauce, yummy! Then ordered Panang Curry - of course, and some sort of stir fry, can't recall the name, #47 on the menu. Pretty good, not a whole punch of flavour, but good. The Panang Curry was good, we could have handled it a little spicier.
I'll return here, the prices can't be beat, appetizers around $5-8 and entrees from $7 and up, depending on if you want veg, chicken, shrimp etc. I noticed they had some desserts that looked tasty, but being so full I opted for ice cream later on at the theatre. Thank god they had ice cream because the play was terrible.
Overall rating is 4. Not your fine dining establishment, but perfect for a quick, tasty Thai meal!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bamboo - Feb 11, '08
Another Ciao Winnipeg "Dine About" experience with a couple friends, this time a fairly new restaurant on Corydon (at Wilton) called Bamboo. Fantastic!
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4.5
Music .......................N/A
Food............................5
Service........................5
Menu Selection..........5 (see note)
Wine Selection ..........4.5 (see note)
Price............................5
*price is based on quality of food
note - Menu was limited given the Ciao Winnipeg promotion
This restaurant used to be a casual ma & pa type place, so when the owners of Bamboo started renovating, I got curious. I was greeted and seated promptly to await my fellow diners, who I'm pretty sure appreciate great food and wine as much as myself.
The decor has certainly changed, and for the better. Warm chocolate brown walls with touches of green and sketches of bamboo here and there - I really liked it. I don't recall music, but the ambience was still very good, even though you were close to other diners the mood was still relaxed and voices were kept low.
Due to the promotion currently available, the menu is a limited $25/person (plus wine) choice of one of three appetizers, one of three entrees and one of two desserts. Generally a meat, seafood and vegetarian dish are the offerings.
The wine menu was paired with the individual menu selections and we went with a trusty Wolf Blass yellow label. Our server was very knowledgable and professional. Went through the menu describing each dish before ordering, then quickly returned with our wine choice.
My first course was a warm beet noodle salad with sunchokes, goat cheese and mint - very tasty, the mint leaves really added a great punch to the dish.
All three of us went for the Bison rib-eye steak. Delicious! Served with asparagus, cooked to perfection, and some amazingly prepared yams, we couldn't stop talking about the yams. I'm pretty sure we all cleared the plates with ease it was so good.
Dessert was a tough choice: raspberry infused nanaimo bar or Shiraz poached pears. I went with the nanaimo bar, it too was very good, very rich, but good. One of my friends who had the pears was equally impressed.
Throughout the night one thing that really stood out and impressed me, and you're starting to not see this much anymore, was when I lifted the wine bottle to pour my friend a touch more wine, our server was quick to appear and request that we allow her to serve us. Call me a snob, but that is service I look for and appreciate! Bravo Bamboo!
I can't wait to take my husband here, so delicious!
Overall rating has to be an easy 4.75 - can anyone really be perfect?
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4.5
Music .......................N/A
Food............................5
Service........................5
Menu Selection..........5 (see note)
Wine Selection ..........4.5 (see note)
Price............................5
*price is based on quality of food
note - Menu was limited given the Ciao Winnipeg promotion
This restaurant used to be a casual ma & pa type place, so when the owners of Bamboo started renovating, I got curious. I was greeted and seated promptly to await my fellow diners, who I'm pretty sure appreciate great food and wine as much as myself.
The decor has certainly changed, and for the better. Warm chocolate brown walls with touches of green and sketches of bamboo here and there - I really liked it. I don't recall music, but the ambience was still very good, even though you were close to other diners the mood was still relaxed and voices were kept low.
Due to the promotion currently available, the menu is a limited $25/person (plus wine) choice of one of three appetizers, one of three entrees and one of two desserts. Generally a meat, seafood and vegetarian dish are the offerings.
The wine menu was paired with the individual menu selections and we went with a trusty Wolf Blass yellow label. Our server was very knowledgable and professional. Went through the menu describing each dish before ordering, then quickly returned with our wine choice.
My first course was a warm beet noodle salad with sunchokes, goat cheese and mint - very tasty, the mint leaves really added a great punch to the dish.
All three of us went for the Bison rib-eye steak. Delicious! Served with asparagus, cooked to perfection, and some amazingly prepared yams, we couldn't stop talking about the yams. I'm pretty sure we all cleared the plates with ease it was so good.
Dessert was a tough choice: raspberry infused nanaimo bar or Shiraz poached pears. I went with the nanaimo bar, it too was very good, very rich, but good. One of my friends who had the pears was equally impressed.
Throughout the night one thing that really stood out and impressed me, and you're starting to not see this much anymore, was when I lifted the wine bottle to pour my friend a touch more wine, our server was quick to appear and request that we allow her to serve us. Call me a snob, but that is service I look for and appreciate! Bravo Bamboo!
I can't wait to take my husband here, so delicious!
Overall rating has to be an easy 4.75 - can anyone really be perfect?
Monday, February 11, 2008
Dessert Sinsations - Feb '08
Me and my girlfriends ventured to Dessert Sinsations for a little get together last week. We wanted to try the Ciao Winnipeg "Dine About" menu and of course try a new to us restaurant. Fairly pleased with this choice.
http://www.dessertsinsations.com/
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4.5
Music .......................N/A
Food............................3 (Dessert....5)
Service........................2.5
Menu Selection..........4
Wine Selection ........N/A
Price...........................3*
*price is based on quality of food
Finally, I was the not first to show up and arrived on time, not my usual 10 minutes too early (something I'm working on). The atmosphere I really liked. Very modern and warm. High ceilings, bright colours and the smells of cakes and pastries in the air - what's not to love about that??
The 'Dine About' menu looked fantastic and we each opted for the chicken, salmon was the other offering. Soup was some sort of chowder and apparently good, I opted for the salad but was rather disappointed with it. It was supposed to be mixed greens with potato, bacon and sundried tomato. I did not see any tomatos and searched high and low for a dressing.
Our next course was the chicken with mixed veg, rice pilaf and a creamy dijon sauce. Basically it was chicken cordon bleu. Not much flavour here, aside from the lump of pepper the server dumped on my plate without me requesting it - and no apology for doing so.
Finally dessert came. mmmm! This place is called Dessert Sinsations for a reason. Three of us chose the cheesecake with warm apple compote, and our 4th guest decided on the chocolate parfait. Both equally delicious, although mine was better the next day, a little less frozen.
I can't/won't comment on the wine as I just had coffee and didn't even look at the list.
I wasn't overly impressed with our server. She appeared to be either pre-occupied or really not excited about her job. And this reflected on the service.
I will return to try a different dish, will definately return for the desserts and will give them another shot on the service.
I think my overall rating would have to be 3.5.
http://www.dessertsinsations.com/
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4.5
Music .......................N/A
Food............................3 (Dessert....5)
Service........................2.5
Menu Selection..........4
Wine Selection ........N/A
Price...........................3*
*price is based on quality of food
Finally, I was the not first to show up and arrived on time, not my usual 10 minutes too early (something I'm working on). The atmosphere I really liked. Very modern and warm. High ceilings, bright colours and the smells of cakes and pastries in the air - what's not to love about that??
The 'Dine About' menu looked fantastic and we each opted for the chicken, salmon was the other offering. Soup was some sort of chowder and apparently good, I opted for the salad but was rather disappointed with it. It was supposed to be mixed greens with potato, bacon and sundried tomato. I did not see any tomatos and searched high and low for a dressing.
Our next course was the chicken with mixed veg, rice pilaf and a creamy dijon sauce. Basically it was chicken cordon bleu. Not much flavour here, aside from the lump of pepper the server dumped on my plate without me requesting it - and no apology for doing so.
Finally dessert came. mmmm! This place is called Dessert Sinsations for a reason. Three of us chose the cheesecake with warm apple compote, and our 4th guest decided on the chocolate parfait. Both equally delicious, although mine was better the next day, a little less frozen.
I can't/won't comment on the wine as I just had coffee and didn't even look at the list.
I wasn't overly impressed with our server. She appeared to be either pre-occupied or really not excited about her job. And this reflected on the service.
I will return to try a different dish, will definately return for the desserts and will give them another shot on the service.
I think my overall rating would have to be 3.5.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Dalat - Chinese/Vietnamese
Saturday night we felt as though some Asian food was needed. We were planning on skating on the river later on and weren't really in the mood to make a mess of our kitchen. So we headed to Dalat, on Taylor...meh.
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................3
Music .......................N/A
Food............................3
Service........................1
Menu Selection..........3
Wine Selection ..........1
Price...........................3*
*price is based on quality of food
I'll start with the atmosphere. It's quite modern looking, basic and for the most part clean. We didn't enjoy starring at the multiple dirty, empty tables. We were there for over an hour and not one table was cleaned during this time, despite the numerous staff who appeared to be working.
The service...hmm, what service. We were promptly seated then for about 15 minutes sat with our menus closed as the servers huddled at the till or walked passed us.
We ordered the house wine which was okay, weren't expecting spectacular wine, and the price was decent. Server didn't know the name of it and failed to pour us glasses - we don't like that.
Dishes came quickly and were plentyful. Shrimp in black bean sauce was good. Chow Mein didn't have much flavour, but the vegetables were fresh and lots of them. We also ordered a spicy chicken/lemon grass dish - we don't think we got it. It tasted more like a sweet ginger sauce, but alright.
Not sure I'd go to this restaurant again, might order take out if they deliver and try a few different things to better judge. Most dishes seemed to be in the $8-12 range depending on meat choice.
Overall rating = 2.5
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................3
Music .......................N/A
Food............................3
Service........................1
Menu Selection..........3
Wine Selection ..........1
Price...........................3*
*price is based on quality of food
I'll start with the atmosphere. It's quite modern looking, basic and for the most part clean. We didn't enjoy starring at the multiple dirty, empty tables. We were there for over an hour and not one table was cleaned during this time, despite the numerous staff who appeared to be working.
The service...hmm, what service. We were promptly seated then for about 15 minutes sat with our menus closed as the servers huddled at the till or walked passed us.
We ordered the house wine which was okay, weren't expecting spectacular wine, and the price was decent. Server didn't know the name of it and failed to pour us glasses - we don't like that.
Dishes came quickly and were plentyful. Shrimp in black bean sauce was good. Chow Mein didn't have much flavour, but the vegetables were fresh and lots of them. We also ordered a spicy chicken/lemon grass dish - we don't think we got it. It tasted more like a sweet ginger sauce, but alright.
Not sure I'd go to this restaurant again, might order take out if they deliver and try a few different things to better judge. Most dishes seemed to be in the $8-12 range depending on meat choice.
Overall rating = 2.5
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Tomato Pie Co. January 16, 2008
My husband and I enjoyed a quick bite to eat at Winnipeg's Tomato Pie Co. before attending the theater last night - Fiddler on the Roof, very good!
http://www.tomatopie.ca/
We heard some good things about this restaurant and decided to give it a shot. I liked it. We made a reservation which is recommended, even on a Wednesday they were filling up and at one point I overheard the Hostess indicate they had only one table left available.
It's a decent size restaurant, the atmosphere is somewhat casual, you certainly feel comfortable wearing jeans, but wouldn't feel out of place in a suit either. Location is great - Osborne Village, and I love the sense I got of being at home when you walk in.
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4
Music .......................N/A
Food..........................4
Service........................5
Menu Selection..........3
Wine Selection ........3.5
Price............................4.5*
*price is based on quality of food
We ordered a Messina pizza (Italian sausage & meatball) and a pasta dish (Penne w/Tomato Basil & Spicy Chicken) to share which came with a tossed salad. Salad was fragrant and simple but tasty. Pasta dish was decent, cooked to perfection but the sauce failed to WOW me. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but just wasn't calling me back for more. The pizza was great. Reminded me of the simple pizza's we had while in Italy. Thin crust with just enough toppings!
Wine list wasn't extensive, but seemed to have some nice offerings. We thought perhaps having the option for a 1/2 litre would be beneficial (??).
All in all I would return and look forward to trying other pasta dishes available. The service was very good, couldn't ask for much more there. Overall rating = 4.
http://www.tomatopie.ca/
We heard some good things about this restaurant and decided to give it a shot. I liked it. We made a reservation which is recommended, even on a Wednesday they were filling up and at one point I overheard the Hostess indicate they had only one table left available.
It's a decent size restaurant, the atmosphere is somewhat casual, you certainly feel comfortable wearing jeans, but wouldn't feel out of place in a suit either. Location is great - Osborne Village, and I love the sense I got of being at home when you walk in.
Rating: 1 Poor - 5 Great
Atmosphere................4
Music .......................N/A
Food..........................4
Service........................5
Menu Selection..........3
Wine Selection ........3.5
Price............................4.5*
*price is based on quality of food
We ordered a Messina pizza (Italian sausage & meatball) and a pasta dish (Penne w/Tomato Basil & Spicy Chicken) to share which came with a tossed salad. Salad was fragrant and simple but tasty. Pasta dish was decent, cooked to perfection but the sauce failed to WOW me. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but just wasn't calling me back for more. The pizza was great. Reminded me of the simple pizza's we had while in Italy. Thin crust with just enough toppings!
Wine list wasn't extensive, but seemed to have some nice offerings. We thought perhaps having the option for a 1/2 litre would be beneficial (??).
All in all I would return and look forward to trying other pasta dishes available. The service was very good, couldn't ask for much more there. Overall rating = 4.
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