Winnipeg Dining

[Pam R]

Recently had dinner at Tavern in the Park and it was excellent.

The table shared a couple of starters:

A soup (wild mushroom and wild rice - very nice), a salad (arugula, sour cherries, walnuts, blue cheese - dressing was lacking a little something), and crab cakes with glass noodles and a vegetable salad (dressed in a sunomono-like dressing) - this one was the table favorite.

My main was the 'tavern mixed grill'. Lamb sausage, lamb chop, bison and venison (tenderloin?). Served with garlicky mashed potatoes and some crisp shoe-stings, veg and red wine reduction. The meat was cooked perfectly - the sausage had lots of seasoning but you could still tell that it was lamb. But the venison was by far my favorite item.

Other mains at the table included 'Moroccan Lamb Shank', bee fillet and some seriously good duck. A duck breast and leg confit with a Grand Marnier sauce. The duck was .

We were all full and had birthday cake waiting at home - but they brought out a piece of famous chocolate/poppyseed cake for us. This cake seems unremarkable at first glance, but there is something perfect about ending the meal with it. Very lightly sweetened and served warm with whipped cream and berries- it's reminiscent of a fresh-out-of-the-oven-home-baked dessert.

The room was, as always, beautiful. Now that spring is here it was bright when we first arrived and lovely to sit back with views of the park. I love the room - the only complaint is that when the restaurant fills up it can be a little on the noisy side.

The service was attentive and accommodating and we had a wonderful evening.

I'd love to hear some reports on other restaurants.

[prasantrin]

Does lunching count?

In the last 3 1/2 weeks, I've lunched at several restaurants in Winnipeg.

Highlights:

Bistro Dansk--We had chicken schnitzel, chicken soup with dumplings, and my favourite hazelnut pie. The service was friendly (before our dessert, our server even brought me a small bowl of the mushroom soup I had orginally wanted to order, but couldn't because it wasn't ready), the food was good, and the hazelnut pie was fresh fresh fresh! It's good to know some things don't change--Bistro Dansk is always a reliable bet.

The lowlights--everything else..

Just kidding...sort of...

InFerno's Bistro--We sat for more than 5 minutes without any kind of service at all (aside from being seated and being given menus--btw, to servers, don't give the customer a menu that's upside down. It shows a certain sloppiness and lack of care that's a bit off-putting), then finally received some water and the specials (we had already selected our orders by then), but still couldn't order because the person giving us our water and specials wasn't our server. Another 5 minutes or so later, we were able to give our order.

I wanted the "tartine de poulet et roquefort" (that could be wrong), but I asked about the bread. According to the menu, it's served on "chapati". Strange, I thought, since it's supposed to be a bistro (although judging by the menu, I think they're not using the word "bistro" in a classical French sense). I asked if it was really chapati, or if perhaps they used a wrap. I was assured it was chapati, so I went ahead with my order with a side of frites. My mother had the pate sandwich with a side of manhattan clam chowder.

Our food arrived. My frites were lukewarm and, I thought, refried. I don't mean double cooked i.e. poached then fried in oil, but were probably cooked along with a previous order, then reheated in the fryer for my order. They were shoestring fries, so this treatment did not serve them well. They had a sheen of grease on them, and a funky flavour. They either needed to change their fryer oil, or choose their fried foods more judiciously, so none are overwhelmed with the flavours of others. The sandwich was tasty, but also greasy. They toasted the bread on the grill, which I quite liked, but they use too much butter/margarine on it. Oh, the "chapati", by the way, turned out to be "ciabatta". Someone over there needs to get their breads straight, at least on the menu.

My mother's sandwich was fine, she said, but I did not taste it. The soup was not a manhattan clam chowder, but more a tomato soup with the promise of clams (she found none). It was also sloppily served, having spilled over the small bowl onto the plate. This wouldn't have been so bad had the sandwich not been served on the same plate.

I would go back to try dinner to see if it's a different experience, but I would probably not go again for lunch. I liked the design of the space, but the tables were a bit crowded together, and the music was too loud (they later turned down the music a bit, so we and the other guests no longer had to shout). Also, the service just plain sucked. They were far too busy for the number of servers they had, and because they seem to work in section, the servers don't willingly help each other out. For some reason, around the time we arrived, all new arrivals were being placed in one server's section. She was overwhelmed and couldn't handle the volume by herself, but the other server was reluctant to help (though her section was almost cleared out).

Tre Visi--what the hell happened to this place? But I'll leave the rest of that review for later.

[Pam R]

Does lunching count?

of course!

InFerno's Bistro--<snip> I think they're not using the word "bistro" in a classical French sense). 

Where called it "French-Canadian meets Mediterranean fare"

Tre Visi--what the hell happened to this place?  But I'll leave the rest of that review for later.

Looking forward to your next instalment. I love when you're home.

[Sherry B]

You guys are killing me. I miss Winnipeg restaurants so much!

Of course what I miss is Salisbury House....pizza and mojos at Shakeys out on Portage Ave....the bread at the Paradise....Junior's Chiliburgers and Chili Fries...well, you get the idea. I'm kind of a lowbrow food chick. (Although I love Dubrovnik!) And I miss the Paddock, which had the best onion soup in creation, even if it was loaded down with a kilo of melty cheese....mmmm.

Now I'm stuck in the wasteland of Vancouver, where I think the restaurants suck, Lumiere notwithstanding.

Sigh.

Sherry

[Fat Guy]

I haven't been to Winnipeg in about five years but I ate very well there:

Terrific pirogies and sausages at a Ukrainian restaurant called Alycia's.

First-rate dim sum at Kum Koon Garden.

Indian at East India Company, both the buffet and the menu, were strong.

Edohei's sushi far exceeded expectations.

De Luca's Italian Grocery has a lot of good prepared foods.

La Vieille Gare was a wonderful old-school French place, and cheap.

Also had an impressive meal at Scot McTaggart's Fusion Grill.

(All on the same day, by the way . . .)

[eatbc]

I was there last week and had:

A very good lunch at Bistro 7 1/4. would love to go back for dinner. What a great and very-open kitchen! My food (Salade Nicoise, Lemon Tart) was fresh, well-prepared and tasty, and the service was professional and friendly. Great Cappuccino too.

Late night traditional visit to Sals. Prices are up, but the satisfaction is good, and appropriate for the mood, time and crowd. Long live the Cheese Nip.

I was on my way to heavenly cottage country and picked up some fresh fruit and vegetables at Soby's. All the produce was from the U.S. or Mexico. With the abundance of fruit and veg in season right now in BC (and I'm presuming other Canadian areas) is it more difficult to cross provincial borders than international?

What gives Winnipeg?

Believe me, I love my home town, but how very prairie for the local Joeys to list seafood as "Ocean Meat"!

[Pam R]

First-rate dim sum at Kum Koon Garden.

Out of your list, this is the only place I've been to recently - last weekend. I hadn't been in about two years - favoring Victoria Seafood for my dim sum fix. I also had a terrible experience at Kum Koon the last time I was there - when I couldn't get a cart to stop at my table to save my life.

Last week was a completely different experience. The food came so fast - we kept saying no thank you, hoping that they would return when there was room for more. They did. It was really, very good, but almost everything was cold. If it had only been hotter, it would have been outstanding.

I was on my way to heavenly cottage country and picked up some fresh fruit and vegetables at Soby's.  All the produce was from the U.S. or Mexico.  With the abundance of fruit and veg in season right now in BC (and I'm presuming other Canadian areas) is it more difficult to cross provincial borders than international?

What gives Winnipeg?

I have to be honest with you - while I appreciate local (or Canadian) produce, I'm just happy to have good produce wherever it's from. I have recently bought BC cherries at Sobeys, and noticed that Superstore had 'local' signs by the cucumbers, but if you're looking for more local produce, I'd recommend visiting Vic's or Crampton's Market. I picked up some amazing local berries a couple of weeks ago at both places and get a weekly email from Campton's letting me know what's coming in for the week. Crampton's deals with the farmers and I think they do a great job. There's also the farmer's market in St. Norbert on the weekend.

[prasantrin]

OK, on to Tre Visi.

I've always been a fan of Tre Visi and have recommended it to many. After this last visit, I would be a little more reluctant to do so.

Service--it was much like the service at Inferno Bistro, without the excuse of being too busy. We arrived for our reservation at 1:15, just after a very amusing Fringe Festival show, and just after the lunch rush. The remaining tables were either waiting for their food, their coffee, or their cheques. So why did we have to wait so long for someone to take our order? We did get our menus and water shortly after we sat down, so Tre Visi was one point ahead of Inferno. But although the waitstaff here, like at Inferno, seemed to be working in stations, it was difficult to say who our server was supposed to be. The servers spent much time rushing around, but going nowhere, it seemed, and one place they definitely were not going was to our table to take our order. I finally managed to flag someone down (nicely, not in a snap-my-fingers-I'm-annoyed kind of way, despite being very annoyed).

I ordered carpaccio. Tre Visi's carpaccio is one of the highlights of their menu. It's rare to find it in Winnipeg, so I always order it. But every single time I order it, I'm questioned, "Have you ever had it before?" always with the same look on their faces that says, "This rube can't possibly know what carpaccio is, so I'd better explain before she complains that it's raw." I understand why they ask, but it pisses me off when they do. Nevertheless, the carpaccio was very good. The last time I ordered it, the olive oil tasted a wee bit rancid, but this time it was perfect.

Our mains, on the other hand, were both disappointing. My mother ordered Puttanesca. I think they didn't drain the olives well enough, which would explain the wateriness and the overly briney flavour. Plus the spaghetti was overcooked, and there was no other flavour but the brine. With puttanesca, a little brine is fine, but I don't think the brine should be the only flavour...

My pasta was some kind of penne with a sauce similar to a bolognese but with the addition of cheese (I think it had 4 different cheeses in it, but I could be wrong). Again, the pasta was overcooked. The sauce was much better than the puttanesca. It was a little salty and greasy, but I suppose that's what happens when one adds all that cheese to a meat sauce. At least it had flavour, and was even better the next day (and the day after that--it took me three meals to finish it).

The focaccia was as good as always. We didn't have salad or dessert, so I can't comment on the quality of those, but judging from our mains, Tre Visi is getting sloppy. I know the owner/chef was in house that day (we saw him when he came out of the kitchen), so that just makes my meal doubly disappointing.

More to come, but tonight we're going to a celebration put on by the Thai community. And I hope there's going to be food!

[prasantrin]

Cafe Dario is relatively new (though not really new) and has been getting very good reviews. The day my mother and I dropped by, they were undergoing a change in menu, so we had very limited options.

Service was, again, lacking. Not very attentive at all, but when we managed to get our server's attention, he was very friendly and helpful. We talked to him about the decor, the menu, the chef/owner, etc. The chef/owner is Colombian, but much of the decor is Mexican (as was our server). Not that that matters...

My mother had chicken breast stuffed with goose liver pate with a light chocolate sauce (which was, in facet, mole). I really enjoyed this. I normally hate chicken breast (dry and flavourless, I say), but this was cooked perfectly. It was served with a side of pan-fried potatoes (heavily peppered), and some vegetables.

I had pan-fried fish (halibut? sole?) served with a passion fruit sauce. I liked the fish--it was moist and flavourful. Wasn't crazy about the passion fruit sauce, but I think it may have been because I don't like passion fruit, not because the sauce wasn't good. I had the same pan-fried potatoes that my mother had, and also some very simply cooked carrots.

The portions of both our dishes were quite large, and reasonably-priced (I think they were each about $15) for what they were, though for Winnipeg, a bit expensive for lunch. The food was good, but I wasn't blown away by it. I would probably return, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to do so.

[prasantrin]

Tavern in the Park--my mother was there for lunch yesterday, and she wrote

[q]The food at Tavern on the Park is not that great! I had seafood crepe which was filled with 2 large scallops, 2 shrimps and 2 cubes of farmed salmon. Not even the sauce can hold a candle to the one we ate in chicago-what was the name of the place?...That cost me 20+with service charge and taxes. [/q]

I know the original owners left (again?) sometime ago, but has the food changed that much? Or is it just that the restaurant spends less effort on their lunches than dinners?

[prasantrin]

Lovey's BBQ

1-208 Marion St.

233-7427

Hours: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., Tue. - Thu.; noon - 8 p.m., Sat.; noon - 7 p.m., Sun.

Lunched here shortly before leaving Winnipeg. It's a cute place--barbeque-related memorabilia on the walls, including pictures of the owner with some barbeque legends (I don't know if they're really legends, but I recognized the names) in the US, red and white checked tableclothes (plastic, I think), etc.

The food, though, is just OK. I had an a la carte half slab of pork ribs, dry (but asked for sauce on the side) and onion rings. Although I ordered a la carte, they gave me cornbread, baked beans, and coleslaw. The sides weren't very good--the cornbread was sweet, and had that same weird aftertaste boxed cornbread (and cake) mixes have. The baked beans had at least three types of beans in them, which was a nice touch, but they were also very sweet, and my mother said they tasted like doctored-up canned beans (they may have, in fact, been made from scratch--we don't really know). And the coleslaw was runny. The onion rings, which I had heard were very good, were very much like McCain's onion rings. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because I like McCain's onion rings, but I expect more for $4.25. Even A&W onion rings are more special than these.

The ribs were tender, but they were served pre-cut. It looked like they had been cut some time before serving, because the sides were a bit brown (so if there was a smoke ring, it was obscured), not fresh looking like ribs you've just cut into. The sauce is very vinegary, which I don't care for, but I think that's just a personal preference. I still had to use the sauce, however, if I wanted the meat to have flavour.

My mother had a pulled pork sandwich with no sides. I can't remember much about it, but the bun was a heck of a lot more plentiful than the pork, and the sauce (I think the same as the sauce for the ribs) was, again, the only thing giving it flavour. Too bad the sauce was just sort of squirted on like ketchup. The pork, itself, didn't have any flavour, but at least it wasn't dry.

The above and a Boylan's root beer cost $28 plus tax. At those prices, given the lack of flavour in our meal, I doubt we'll be going back, at least not very often. They were relatively busy, though, but they're in a pretty good location (very close to St. Boniface Hospital).