Category: food

Dessert is Always the Best Part: Red Ox Inn

On the occasion of a celebration dinner, May, Andrea, Shermie and myself were able to strike another Original Fare restaurant off of our “to try” list.

Red Ox Inn sign

We met at the Red Ox Inn (9420 91 Street NW) on Thursday, a tiny boutique restaurant with a capacity to hold around 26 patrons. The sleek banquets and simple furnishings reminded me of the Blue Pear, but the somewhat crammed design, which allowed for those extra few seats, in my opinion took away any potential streamlined elegance. Because of the size of the room as well, I kept harking back to the “Sound Level” category present at the end of each New York Times restaurant review – while levels weren’t unbearable, the close quarters definitely made an intimate meal an impossibility, save for the one lonely booth in the corner.

The menu and price points are similar to Madison’s Grill, and in effect also made deciding on just a single entrée difficult. I eventually settled on the Arctic Char (hoping it would emulate just some of the glory of Mack’s Blink entrée), while Shermie stuck with her benchmarking steak (Alberta tenderloin medallions, in this case) and Andrea and May began their reflective dining exercise with Duck.

Service was a bit slow throughout due to the fact that there were just two servers on hand (compared to the five at the Blue Pear), but the meandering attention seemed to match with the overall cool, leisurely vibe of the Red Ox – a place where diners are expected to relax and enjoy the food over wine and good conversation.

Eventually, our entrees arrived, each plate artfully arranged with a generous pool of sauce underneath each pile. Shermie thoroughly enjoyed her steak, and though Andrea had dish envy looking over at my char, I had to admit her duck looked pretty good – perfectly cooked, accompanied by a tart raspberry vinaigrette. My sherry vinaigrette, however, was much too sour for my liking. As someone who prefers to eat fish without a citrus adornment, it was probably the wrong dish to order. Thus, though I was hoping to be able to experience the distinct flavour of the fish, I couldn’t through the overpowering and ever-present sauce.

Pancetta wrapped char fillet, roast garlic stuffing, mashed potatoes, warm sherry vinaigrette

Grilled duck breast, mixed berry chutney, ricotta-spinach gnudi, balsamic-thyme demi glace

Alberta tenderloin medallion with cognac wild mushroom cream, roast root vegetables, mashed potatoes

Dessert for the dining twins was the lemon tart with a scoop of house-made raspberry sorbet, while Shermie and I opted instead for the warm chocolate cake accompanied with vanilla bean ice cream. Lovingly rich, but not cloyingly sweet, the oozing chocolate cake was extremely satisfying. Andrea and May also enjoyed their tart and in particular the fresh sorbet.

Warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream

Lemon tart with pinenut crust and raspberry sorbet

I will definitely consider the Red Ox Inn for a future special occasion dinner, but admit that it wouldn’t be high on my list if I was looking for an intimate, quiet space.

Red Ox Inn
9420 91 Street NW
(780) 465-5727
Tuesday to Sunday, 5-10pm

Indian Chalet: Khazana

In order to satisfy Mack’s midweek craving for butter chicken, we headed to Khazana (10177 107 Street NW) for their dinner buffet, offered only on Wednesday and Saturday nights. At $18.95 per person, it was a steep fee for Indian food in Edmonton, but with a willingness to see if it was worth it (and a 10% off coupon), we brought our empty stomachs and hoped for the best.

Interior

I was floored with the interior – it looked like no Indian restaurant I had ever visited. Instead of simple decor (in small family-run joints such as Maurya Palace) or lavish, bold tapestries and decorative artifacts (like New Asian Village), the wood paneling, overhead beams, and numerous open hearths suggested the inner sanctuary of a chalet retreat in the mountains. The faintly (and somewhat annoyingly repetitive) background music also made me imagine that an in-house piano soloist wasn’t too far out of this realm. The far right of the restaurant also included a chef viewing platform, with an elevated chef on display as he prepared various meats and dishes. While I am always happy to have my expectations for eateries defied, the decor didn’t seem congruent or complimentary to the cuisine.

At any rate, we were shown to a table, and provided with just about the only attention we received from the servers that night – initial drink service and a quick exchange that we were planning to utilize the buffet. Given that the majority of the diners in the restaurant that night were patronizing the self-serve buffet, I didn’t think it unreasonable to think that our water glasses would be refilled without request.

There were over a dozen hot entree items to choose from, but their dessert selection would be easily dwarfed by Punjab Sweets. We heaped our first plates full to get a good idea of their range of dishes, but of course, concentrated our efforts on their butter chicken. Unfortunately, the chicken wasn’t as tasty as the sample we had tried at Taste of Edmonton just a few weeks back – the sauce was all right, but the chicken itself was tough and dry in parts. Thankfully, the mutter paneer (a curry made with peas and cheese cubes) was delicious and made up somewhat for the first disappointment, just mildly spiced and interesting with a variety of textures.

Mack loads up

Mack’s plate

My plate

Not related to the food, but telling somewhat of the general neglect towards the experience of the customer was the comedy of errors patrons had with the metal lid of the naan bread container. Broken and thus without a handle, I couldn’t count the number of times a loud clang ran out through the restaurant because someone had accidentally flipped the lid completely off, or stood there for a confused half a minute trying to figure out how the opening was controlled. One would think the operators would bear the relatively small expense of replacing, or at least fixing, the lid.

While I won’t rule out future a la carte visits to Khazana, or perhaps a trial run of their lunch buffet, I won’t again be swallowing the dinner buffet expense again.

Khazana
10177 107 Street NW
(780) 702-0330
Lunch Monday to Friday 11:30am-2pm; Dinner Sunday to Thursday 5-9:30pm, Friday and Saturday 5-10:30pm

Ginger Beef Gluttony: Beijing Beijing

I’m not sure how we got onto the topic of ginger beef at Heritage Days on Saturday, but something propelled us to meet at Beijing Beijing ( 700, 3803 Calgary Trail) to satisfy a craving for the salty-sweet, deep-fried "meat".

Mack, Dickson and I went there last year after Heritage Days, so it could very much become an annual post-festival tradition. In any case, the dinner buffet was the draw, priced at $15.95 on Friday to Sundays (and $12.95 Monday to Thursdays). With around thirty items to choose from (including the salad and dessert bars), quality wasn’t the order of the day. But for picky eaters, or those who love variety, Beijing Beijing does a decent job at mass-producing Western Chinese food.

How can anyone pass up heat lamp-warmed goodness?

Loading up

Jane & Yi-Li (notice the different compositions of their plates)

My colourful (first) plate

I will admit to being partial to the crispy deep fried won tons and the saccharine sweet and sour chicken, so there was some enjoyment gleaned from my mass consumption of cheaply-prepared grub. Of course, as some meals go, it is the company and not the food that makes the meal.

Funny instances also help make meals memorable, and Beijing Beijing provided one of the best photo opportunities of late – Mack’s epic fail:

Is that ginger beef on your plate?

Greg, on the other hand, was able to chow down on a full plate of dessert, cream pie and all.

 

"I’d like a Blender Blaster with this."

As Megan would say, "Good times."

Beijing Beijing
700, 3803 Calgary Trail
(780) 430-7720

Food Notes

  • My third FoodTV post went live on Friday, about a recent excursion to the Arbour Restaurant in the historic Rutherford House for their High Tea.
  • What appears to be a City of Edmonton-funded initiative, The Edmonton Food Security Network (EFSN), is hiring a Community Coordinator. I couldn’t locate any information on the web, but from the posting the EFSN "is a network of individuals representing various organizations and interests with the following mandate: to help organizations in the Capital Region increase food security by acting as a central resource network; facilitating connections & collaboration; encouraging partnerships/initiatives; and increasing public awareness of hunger and malnutrition." Interesting; I hope to hear more about this in the fall.
  • Sherwood Park is hosting their own Beer & Wine Festival on August 22-23; tickets $15 in advance.
  • A second Edible Arrangements is in the works in the Duggan neighbourhood (4026 106 Street, 780-462-6767).
  • The Edmonton Journal had a profile on the family behind EnSante Wines, the organic fruit winery, as well as the most negative review I’ve seen in the Style section to date – Mike McCall’s pan of La Ronde.
  • I never noticed it before, but quite a few restaurants go on hiatus for weeks at a time in the summer (Thanh Thanh, It’s All Greek to Me, among others). Or, in the case of Kerstin’s Chocolates and downtown’s L’Azia, take advantage of the warmer months to renovate. I hope the latter takes into account the menu and the service, and not just the decor.
  • The Globe wrote a story last week about the self-serve City Cafe Bakery in Kitchener, Ontario where money is collected via the honor system. The best quote in the piece comes from co-owner Rudolph Dorner: "Payment is not optional…We price the bagel for you, but we trust you to pay it. Just like you trust us not to poison you."

Heritage Days 2008

Despite the draw of a world of food, our visit to the Heritage Festival this year was much like those in years past – a nice mix of visual and aural performances, scanning for cheap trinkets, and seeing where our next sample plate would come from.

In Hawrelak Park

Mack is a nesting doll!

The skies did threaten rain, but with the exception of a few rain drops, the clouds held up. This may have been one of the reasons the crowds were unusually small on Saturday; there was virtually no line at the ticket booths or at the food vendors themselves.

Getting my Hungarian Langos (fried bread) iced – the best deal of the day for only 3 tickets!

Mack with his plate of (very oily) perogies

Injera with mild chicken sauce from the Ethiopia booth – I’ve tried injera a few times now, and I can’t get used to the sour taste of the bread

Empanada (we should have brought our own plates/cutlery like we did for Taste of Edmonton, but it totally slipped our minds)

We made sure to get to the grounds on time to watch Dickson’s Mum’s dance troop perform in front of the Chinese pavilion. The group of 3-4 year olds were especially cute! Of course, the most notable outcome of watching the performance was a priceless photo op.

"Playing in the Rain" dance

Andrew, Mabel and Mack

We met up with Jane, Yi-Li, Megan and Greg to wander around further.

All smiles with Jane

Clogs!

Yi-Li doing his best to win Jane her plastic bubbles in the Taiwan tent

 

"English" garden

Enjoying mango-on-a-stick

Me & Mack

Thanks for a fun afternoon, guys! Pictures here.

The Cooking Chronicles: Breakfast Banana Split

Inspired by a photo of one of Annie’s meals taken on her recent mountain getaway, I made a so-called Breakfast Banana Split for Mack.

Annie’s café version was plated in a size-appropriate bowl, topped with plain yogurt, granola, and a multitude of fresh blackberries, blueberries and raspberries for bold splashes of colour. The fruit in our version was limited to the latter, picked up the day before at the City Centre Market, and the strawberry yogurt we had in the fridge. Mack had made granola the night prior, using a modified version of Alton Brown’s recipe (we omitted all of the nuts), which made my job easy – assembly only.

Mack claims the banana made the dish, though I think it was the sweet and crunchy granola that elevated a very basic fruit and yogurt starter. Layered in glasses, a fruit, yogurt and granola parfait would make a great brunch selection that can be made the evening before and refrigerated until the start of the meal.

Mack’s Breakfast Banana Split

My Banana-less Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

Greek Redemption: It’s All Greek to Me

I would be remiss if I didn’t disclose that Greek cuisine is not high on my list of ethnic favourites. I think I’ve had too many experiences like lunch at Koutouki where the meat is dry, bland, and in that particular instance, overpowered by parsley. Still, I’m always up to try new places, and with a coupon in hand, Mack and I wandered over to It’s All Greek to Me (10127 100A Street) after the Taste of Edmonton last weekend.

Exterior

He had been to the restaurant before with colleagues, citing a positive experience, while this was my first time there. It looked charming enough from the outside, with a string of twinkle lights dangling from the blue awning. Inside, the usual blue and white colour scheme (is there really any other décor palette for Greek eateries?) dominated, with an entire wall of photo displays accented by the requisite smattering of artifacts, memorabilia and ceiling vinery. The casual nature of the dining area, in combination with the dim lighting and quiet corners made me think that It’s All Greek to Me would make a great date spot.

Interior

“You know you’re Greek if…”

The restaurant was moderately busy, with several dining pairs and one group already seated. We were provided with menus, glasses of water, and plenty of time to peruse our options. I wasn’t that hungry to begin with (it was our second dinner, after all), so we opted to share two entrees, and planned on taking the leftovers home for the next day’s meal. Mack and I were both immediately drawn to the Gyros with Pita, donair meat served on pita ($13.50), and for our second plate, settled on the Dolmades ($13.50), grape leaves stuffed with ground beef and rice.

Our food came in reasonable time. Both plates were dominated by the house salad – iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and a tiny amount of feta tossed with a light vinaigrette. The gyros was fantastic – tender slices of meat, well-seasoned and flavourful – we probably should have just ordered two of this dish. The dolmades were new to me, and I resorted to asking our waitress how to eat it. Being used to banana-leaf wrapped rice, I just wanted to make sure I could consume the outer layer. She assured me that the tender leaves were safe to eat. Tucked inside was a mixture of spiced ground beef and rice, and though it wasn’t bad, there was nothing exceptional about the combination either.

Gyros with Pita

Dolmades

Our waitress was wonderful. While she had a backup who would assist her now and then, the dining area was mostly her domain, and she was able to juggle a number of tables with care. Thus, because of the service, laid back atmosphere, and tasty gyros, I finally have a positive memory to override all of the negative experiences I have had in Greek restaurants. Hurrah for It’s All Greek to Me!

It’s All Greek to Me
10127 100A Street
(780) 425-2073
Lunch: Monday to Friday 11am-2pm; Dinner: Monday to Thursday 5-9pm and Saturday 5-10pm

Taste of Edmonton 2008

After the Taste of Summer in St. Albert, and experiencing firsthand how an ideal Taste of Edmonton could be with less people, excellent food, and a picturesque, green setting, I knew Saturday’s visit to Churchill Square would be lacklustre at best. Perhaps because of this approach with low expectations, I escaped the event with a better impression than I had thought possible.

Entertainment in Churchill Square (thankfully, the grey skies held up)

Mack and I didn’t plan on filling up at Taste of Edmonton – we figured the 30 tickets I pre-purchased at the discount rate would allow us to whet our appetite, and we intended on filling up on a full sit-down meal elsewhere.

I found that the vendors would better spread out this year, with the exception of one congested row pressed up right along the glass display on the east side of the square. It was so well fanned, in fact, that I ended up completely missing the set of vendors directly in front of the City Hall pool!

 

Crowds

If it has happened in past years I haven’t noticed it, but the verbal and quite competitive hawking of dishes was entertaining, as vendors tried to entice the finicky crowd by promoting their fare as a sideshow attendant would. In terms of promotion though, I do think the event should provide a contact sheet like the organizers at the Taste of Summer did, with a full list of names, addresses, phone numbers, and descriptions of participating restaurants – the tasting should be a means to something instead of an end in itself.

Amy’s famous! (the Chicken for Lunch lady)

While I did make a peripheral glance at the menu prior to Saturday, most of our food choices were made after strolling through to see what was being offered. Although organizers trumped this as the year of more participants and better variety, neither Mack or I were that impressed by any one dish.

At the El Rancho booth

The portion of ginger beef from Beijing Beijing was quite large, but as expected, a large proportion of the serving was batter and not meat. Mack enjoyed the bacon wrapped scallops (I enjoyed the bacon) from Firestone, though they were nothing special. Hudson’s Mini Cheddar Burger was a perfectly formed slider, and would be a great party hors douvres. The pad thai from Krua Wilai was a welcome concentrate of carbs coated in a sweet sauce, and my only complaint was for a slightly spicier version. El Rancho’s pupusa, served with cabbage and tomato salsa, was a bit on the soggy side, and sadly enough, the corn-flake rolled-then-fried Mexican deep fried ice cream was as well. Our favourite ended up being butter chicken from Khazana – tender morsels coated in a rich and creamy sauce, with enough kick to make us both happy.

Mack enjoys ginger beef

 

Firestone’s Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Mini Cheddar Burger from Hudson’s

Pad Thai from Krua Wilai

El Rancho’s Pupusa

El Rancho’s Mexican Deep Fried Ice Cream

Last but not least – Butter Chicken from Khazana

Our container experiment, gleaned from Jane, was our effort to minimize the waste produced from an evening of small plates. While it wasn’t enough to bring just one container (we ended up using a plate for the ginger beef, dried burger and dessert ice cream), it was a learning experience – perhaps we’ll bring two reusable vessels with us next year? Props go to attendants of the Krua Wilai and Khazana booths for not blinking an eye when presented with the plastic dish.

Food aside, the relaxed atmosphere, music, and the general ease which comes from being outdoors made for a nice summer evening. My full set of photos are here.

Picnic in the Industrial Heartland: Tandoori Express & Montreal Deli

Besides the usual trinkets one might find in a woman’s purse, I have two other things that can consistently be found in mine. One is “the list,” which I have written about before (a paper square with names and address of restaurants I would like to, but have yet to, try) and a small wallet filled with coupons for restaurants that I probably wouldn’t try without a discount incentive. Tandoori Express & Montreal Deli (6508 75 Street) fell into this latter category.

Tandoori Express & Montreal Deli

Before our coffee tasting at the nearby Transcend, I thought the Deli would make a convenient stopover for dinner. We drove up to the restaurant, a building rather out of place amongst the supply stores and warehouses along 75th Street, and entered. It was empty, but we were quickly greeted by a man at the counter. He patiently waited while we perused the menu. Besides a variety of East Indian favourites, there were also some items that seemed out of place, including Spanakopita and donairs. Though I had to fight the urge to order the butter chicken, I ultimately decided a good Montreal smoked meat sandwich would be harder to come by in Edmonton, and thus thought it deserved the more pressing taste test.

After we both ordered the Smoke Meat Sandwich ($5.66, $1 extra for Swiss cheese), we took a seat outside at one of the plastic patio tables to escape the blistering heat inside the restaurant. Surveying our surroundings, amongst the wafting aroma of paint thinner, we couldn’t help but be reminded of the industrial setting of our dinner.

The sandwich itself looked promising, with what appeared to be the 160g of meat the clerk promised. The bread, however, was cold to the touch (I saw the rye loaf being taken out of the fridge) – a quick warm through in a panini press in this case wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Thankfully, the meat itself was quite nice, spiced with something I couldn’t quite place. The Swiss was also a nice addition.

Smoke Meat Sandwich

Inexpensive and relatively fast, the Tandoori Express & Montreal Deli wouldn’t be a bad option should one be passing by in need of sustenance, but in my opinion, it’s not a dining destination in and of itself.

Tandoori Express & Montreal Deli
6508 75 Street
(780) 465-7088
Monday-Wednesday 11am-9pm, Thursday-Saturday 11am-10pm

The Cooking Chronicles: Pantry Pasta

I have never been an improviser in the kitchen, and have always had to rely on recipes at least as a guide to make anything edible. Last week, after several days of eating out, I was so desperate for the semblance of a home-cooked meal that I resorted to anything that could be culled from Mack’s pantry and fridge.

We ended up with my “pantry pasta” – penne, tossed with a can of tomato, basil and oregano soup, half a can of water, two cups of frozen peas, a diced chicken breast that had been panned fried, and two handfuls of cheddar cheese. The result wasn’t all that bad. Mack isn’t a huge fan of peas, but I thought the added texture (and the “illusion of health”) made the pasta a tad more interesting.

Turns out it’s not that scary cooking without a recipe. But really, what I think I enjoyed most was the challenge of being able to make a meal from what was on hand and nothing else.

Pantry Pasta