11/10/2014

Until October of this year, I lived just off 124th Street, so I visited this location of Remedy, say, 2-3 times per week. Now that I live 20 blocks away, I, um....still visit this location 2-3 times per week.

I really like cooking, but there are some things in life that are not worth cooking, and always worth ordering from your favourite cafe or restaurant. Vegan butter chicken is not something I will ever be able to make as well as the Remedy kitchen does, so...I usually end up ordering it at least once or twice a week. It is so, so, sooooo good. Tip? Order extra naan bread. It's only $1, and that way you get to scoop up every last bite. (By the way, the other thing in life that's not worth cooking yourself is arancini, in case you were wondering. Just order it at SPK.)

Chai lattes, kashmir chai lattes, pour over coffee, vegan chocolate cake, vegan butter chicken, Bloom cookies...oh, man. I should go to the gym. And you should definitely come to Remedy.

11/10/2014 Updated review

Sigh. Another trip back to Parlour, in hopes that it had improved.

I had heard good things about the pizza, which we hadn't ordered on our first time here, so I had high hopes.

One thing I will say is that we had a much better server than the last time we ate here. (Although that wouldn't be hard to accomplish.) Even good service (not great, just good) wasn't enough to make it a worthwhile experience.

I ate average pizza, but my boyfriend's pasta was cold. When a restaurant isn't busy, I don't think there's an excuse for cold (or lukewarm) food. I noticed that the chef won some big award this year for best pizza, which was shocking to me. Famoso is better.

Here's another thing I just don't "get" about this place. The decor inside is great. It's big and lofty with lots of exposed brick and a great woodfire pizza oven. And then....there's giant TVs everywhere showing sports. Are you an upscale Italian place, or a sports bar? Pick one, because you can't be both.

I doubt we'll be back. Next time we're craving Italian, we'll visit Cafe Amore, SPK, or frankly, even Old Spaghetti Factory.

11/10/2014

The following is a meat-less review for MEAT. As a vegetarian, I think it's hilarious that I even had dinner here, but it was deeeeeelish.

MEAT helpfully divides its menu into Meat and Non-Meat sections. I really dove into the Non-Meat section, ordering the garlic fries, brussel sprouts, coleslaw, and mac & cheese.

Best: Mac & cheese. *heavy breathing* Mac & cheese is baaaasically my #1 favourite food in the whole world, so to discover that I maybe have a new favourite was earth shattering. My boyfriend didn't think I could finish the entire bowl, LOL. Proved him wrong.

2nd Best: Brussel sprouts. Even if you think you don't like brussel sprouts, these are worth trying. Shredded and juicy and flavourful.

3rd Best: Garlic fries. Don't get me wrong.  These are yummy. I know everybody raves about them. The flavour is there, I just found them to be a bit...soggy. Not all of the fries, but some of them.

4th Best: Coleslaw. It's not bad, it's just nothing special.

MEAT doesn't take reservations, but we had no problem scoring a table at around 8 PM on a Thursday. Get here either early in the evening or later at night for the best experience.

I'll be back soon. And in the meantime, visions of mac & cheese will be dancing in my head.

11/10/2014

Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious. (That originally read as "Oh. My. Goodness. Gracias." which is the greatest typo I've ever made.)

It was my first time here on the weekend. I know, I know. It took me waaaay too long. But it was worth the wait.

A few drinks and some delicious roasted chickpeas (My fav snack! How did they know?) as we waited on the couch for the rest of our party to arrive. I just need to warn y'all that the Mezcal Mule is STRONG. Delicious, but strong.

When our friends arrived, we were seated at the communal table right near the back, which was a delightful little area. Can I just shout out our super cute, super friendly, and super knowledgeable waiter right here? Triple threat.

The chips and salsas were an excellent, excellent way to start our meal. We went with the pumpkin seed salsa and the Salsa de rabanitos (I think!), which were both tasty. A nice kick to the pumpkin seed salsa.

I was kind of silly and neglected to tell our server that I'm a vegetarian, blindly assuming that the cauliflower and pinto bean items I ordered were veggie. Good thing he explained the dishes as he placed them on our table, mentioning the pork fat they were cooked in. Whoops! He was super great about finding me replacement dishes right away - the vegetarian version of the cauliflower (LIFE CHANGING) and the Roasti Papas (AKA potatoes - ALSO LIFE CHANGING).

But I need to let you all in on a secret. Yes, the veggie dishes here are great. Sure, the wallpaper in the bathroom is so cool that I went back in a second time with my phone so I could Instagram it.

But it's all about the flan. Aaaaaaaaaall about the flan. I don't care what else you order here. I'm sure it'll be great. There's nothing bad on the menu. (Boyfriend and his friend ordered the rotisserie dinner for two, which they raved about.) But it is ALL. ABOUT. THE FLAN.

This place is not your typical taco joint, but it's a total step up. It's Mexican food done in a way that Edmonton hasn't tasted before, which I love. These guys are doing innovative dishes in a very hip little space. It was the perfect place for a Saturday night double date, and we'll definitely be making our way back.

4/29/2014

After experiencing a slew of dining disappointments, we were very, very pleased with our recent night out at Tavern 1903.

My boyfriend and I came here with my parents for bf's birthday dinner. It was actually one day post-birthday because it was tough to get a reservation! This place is busy, so book ahead.

To start, we had KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower), which is my new favourite food in the whole world. My carnivorous dining companions also tried some kind of stuffed meatball dish, which they all agreed was delicious.

My "Nice Big Salad" entree was nice and big and tasty. A light dressing and lots of different flavours. The best part of the meal, though, was the truffle mac & cheese. Don't leave Tavern 1903 without trying this. Even if you have to roll yourself home, it's worth it. (The parmesan truffle fries are also delish, btw! But they're no mac & cheese.)

Utterly incredible food at a reasonable price; attentive and friendly service; and a great little wine list.

My only, only, ONLY little complain would be that the decor in the dining room is a bit lacking. No art up on the walls - it's a little bland! But it doesn't take away from a fabulous five-star experience. EAT HERE!

3/10/2014

I like Earls restaurants, but I did have a very bizzare dining experience last night.

It was pretty quiet, around 8 PM on a Sunday night, and  we were seated right away but it took a long time to get drinks ordered.

My pizza came out cold so I sent it back, and my boyfriend's appetizer came out but he had to ask where his entree was when it didn't arrive (long after he was done his appie).

The manager came over and apologized and said the meal was free, which we very much appreciated. (We thought perhaps we'd get a 10% discount, but we weren't expecting anything more than an apology.)

The manager encouraged us to order dessert so we did...and then the waitress came over and gave us a bill that charged us for everything except the dessert. We paid because we didn't know what to else to do....OK food but a strange night overall.

8/15/2012

I have high hopes for Mercer Tavern, and it's clear that they're figuring a few things out along the way.

I've been twice so far - once at around 10 PM on a Thursday night for a birthday, and once at around 5 PM on a Monday evening for drinks and food with friends.

Thoughts on my 10 PM visit:
- A very, very cool space mixing a vintage aesthetic with a trendy crowd. I loved the nods to the tavern's warehouse history in the bathrooms and on the menus.
- The clientele is cooler than Hudsons but not as hipster as The Common
- It was surprisingly loud for only being about 75% full
- The waitresses in little black dresses feels too much like Earl's or Moxies
- The Mercer Iced Tea is fantastic!

Thoughts on my 5 PM visit:
- Why are the waitresses still wearing little black dresses? This is a casual tavern/pub, not an upscale date-type restaurant or nightclub
- The food is seriously lacking. The pretzels are way better at The Pourhouse
- Our server didn't know that Yukon Gold is a type of beer. I know this place is new, but still.

The space is awesome enough and the soundtrack is cool enough that I'll still keep visiting Mercer, but I hope that a few things change.

8/7/2012

I really like "The Grizz Paw" as I'm fond of calling it. My husband and I try to make a Canmore trip at least once or twice a year, and we always swing by The Grizzly Paw for a massive burger and a pint of their beer. I especially like their Grumpy Bear, and bonus points for having the brews available in smaller-than-pint portions for those of us driving home later.

Husband and I swung by The GP for lunch with our friend Sarah this past weekend as part of a day trip to Canmore. Michael and Sarah ordered steak sandwiches, and I got a burger. The food was a little slow, but eventually a waitress (not the one who had been serving us up until then) came by with the steak sandwiches. I thought another server would be by with my burger right away, but no such luck.

It was a good five minutes before our main server came by to ask how the food was. She didn't even notice that mine hadn't arrived yet - we had to ask her where it was. Turns out, she had forgotten to put the order in for mine. I know we all make mistakes, but  I'm not sure how that happens when you write down the orders, which she did.

My burger took an incredibly long time, and I was not thrilled with it when it finally arrived. To her credit, the waitress apologized a few times and didn't charge us for the burger. Still, lunch took far too long for mediocre food. Stick to the beer.

7/30/2012

I have a couple of annual treat traditions for myself. One is the largest size of movie theatre popcorn all to myself, with extra butter. Another is the Earl's fettucine alfredo with chicken and a side of pan bread. It's one of the few meals around worth every last calorie.

Obviously there are some cooler places to drink along 109th or Whyte, but when it's -30 degrees and you really need to catch up with your best girlfriend over a round of Bellini's and you live on campus and those others bars are too far to walk to in the cold, Earl's is by far your best bet. I mean that in a nice way - the Earl's peach bellinis are fantastic.

It's a fairly solid dinner option as far as chain restaurants go, and I've had a couple of first dates at Earl's restaurants that weren't horrible. (Although I've had better luck at Moxie's, for some reason.) Swing by for seasonal menu features or to watch the game over a pint and tasty appies.

7/26/2012

This market is one of the main reasons I wish that I lived closer to Old Strathcona and Whyte Ave.

Housed in the big market building each Saturday, don't expect to have a smooth drive down Gateway Boulevard - it's full of pedestrians going back and forth between market and parking lot.

I don't think it's as big as the downtown market, but the fresh fruit, veggies and produce are plentiful. Big thumbs up for the ATM at the back of the market in case you don't bring enough cash.

Eat fresh - get your food from a market! The bustle of people and smell of fresh eats are one of my favouritest ways to start a Saturday morning. Add a Block 1912 latte from down the street and you've just about got my favourite kind of morning.