Category: restaurants

Service No Man’s Land: Sutton Place Hotel

I’ve written positively before about the Christmas buffet offered at the Sutton Place Hotel (10235 101 Street), so count me as surprised when a recent visit to their twice-weekly Chocoholics Buffet turned out to be a less-than-stellar experience.

Janice wanted to check out the dessert event as part of her birthday night out, and May, Annie and myself were more than happy to oblige. $16 per person seemed a small amount to pay for the right to gorge out on a variety of chocolate sweets, especially when the price included an alcoholic beverage.

We knew from the website that the buffet was open from 5-10pm, so we had a relatively large window to make it down there. After a bite to eat at Lazia, we walked over to Sutton Place and headed straight for the main floor lounge, where the buffet was supposed to be set up.

There is apparently live jazz to accompany the buffet on the last Thursday of every month. That really would seem to be the best time to visit, as the ambiance was lacking that night – the only music we could hear drifted down from the restaurant proper a floor above us, just barely overshadowing the natural buzz of a hotel lobby. The lounge itself was also extremely dim – there were a few peripheral lamps that did their best to make up for a lack of overhead lights, but we found ourselves wishing for a tabletop candle or two.

We hoped the food would make up for the aesthetics of the lounge, and the spread looked quite promising. There were over ten varieties of desserts, including cheesecake, creme puffs, chocolate shooters, a brownie pizza, and a mousse cake. A silver vessel also contained warm chocolate to drizzle over fruit, but best of all, they had a staff member available to make crepes. And like vegetarian entrees on steakhouse menus, they did have a few non-chocolate desserts, including a plain vanilla cake.

Chocoholics Buffet spread

We found a table and waited a few minutes for one of the two waitresses to acknowledge our presence, but our patience waned. At some point, we decided to be proactive and simply load up our table with plates, hoping that might alert the staff that we needed some assistance.

Crepes were up first for all of us. Kim, the chef on hand, provided a nice personal touch to the experience. We asked her about how busy the buffet was on a typical evening, as there was only one other customer dining alongside our group, and she said that during a busy period (such as CFR week), around 7-10 patrons would frequent the buffet. That seemed to me like an awfully low number (particularly if such busy swings were few and far between) for the Sutton Place to continue to offer such a spread twice weekly. She assured me that the food didn’t go to waste, and as employees were given a three-course meal after every shift, that all of the leftovers would be consumed by staff.

Kim busy behind her station

Back to the crepes – once she folded over the crepe, we were able to choose from a variety of sweet and savoury toppings. I decided to add strawberries, chocolate, and sliced almonds to my chewy crepe. It was quite good, and knowing we could go back for seconds and thirds was a reassuring thought.

My personalized crepe

We tackled the main dessert table next, and I attempted to taste a little piece of everything. After careful deliberation (and three plates), I decided I liked the flourless chocolate cake the best. It was moist, the texture was just right, and though it was fairly rich, I appreciated the dense chocolate flavour. The chocolate-dipped strawberries came in a close second.

Plate #2

After we had returned to our table with our first “courses”, the waitress did come to take our drink order. When asked if they had any dessert wine, she told us that we should be drinking a less sweet wine so as to not take away from the desserts. I would be the first to admit that I am by no means a wine snob, but all of us at the table knew that she was wrong. She poured us all a white wine, which ended up being quite nice, but we were off-put by her initial error.

The service didn’t improve over the evening, as by the end of our stay, just one waitress was left in the area. We actually felt really bad for her – I’m sure the short staffing was a product of the boom – but it made our experience less noteworthy on a positive level.

While the buffet is a good deal, and those who like chocolate should definitely look into it, don’t expect to get more out of it than a meal to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Us, ten pounds heavier

Sutton Place Hotel
10235 – 101 Street
(780) 428-7111 
Chocoholics Buffet every Thursday and Friday, 5-10pm

Food Notes

  • I’m sure most of my blog readers have seen the Journal article that was published in part about this website on Wednesday. I was asked on Twitter about how I felt being on the other side of the interview card, and I have to say, not having control over what will be printed has made me more aware of what I write after conducting an interview. For the most part though, I’m happy with the article. And for those who are curious – my stats shot up the three days following the article (doubling my usual traffic), and has since slipped back into the same rhythm it has held over the past few months.
  • Kimmi tipped me off that Kai Asian Grill (which I had mentioned as Tao a while back), at 100, 10909 Jasper Avenue, just opened. They have a pretty decent website.
  • A second Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria will open in Terwilligar in January (142 St & 23 Ave). It seems to me the South West is the place to be these days, at least for new places to chow.
  • They really are many-fingered, via Mack – a Caffe Sorrentino is going into West Edmonton Mall.
  • A new tea shop opened in Southgate Mall (11100 51 Avenue) recently, called Tea Desire. There really is a growing demand for “gourmet” tea in the city.
  • I met the Studio Manager of D’Lish over the weekend – he said the grand opening will be in early December, but they are already open for lunch. Check out the menu on the website.
  • With Vancouver’s very successful Salt, and now Farm in Calgary, will a charcuterie-serving wine bar be the next big thing in Edmonton?
  • The Edmonton Journal gave a disappointed review of Hundred over the weekend, while See Magazine offered a thumbs up for The Hat.
  • Foodie Suz very bravely wrote about her $2000/month grocery bill on her blog. Brave to me in particular because I don’t really keep track how much I spend on food…
  • Open Table teamed up with over 1300 restaurants in the U.S. to come up with an “Appetite Stimulus Plan”, offering discounted lunch and dinner deals. How long until these kinds of discounts come to Canada?
  • Starbucks unveiled their 2008 Red Cup on November 13. I couldn’t resist popping by for my favourite drink – the newly-renamed Gingersnap Latte. Yum!

 

Gingersnap Latte

Mixed Makeover: Lazia

In the past on this blog, I have mentioned  my disdain for Lazia (10200 102 Avenue). However, after being wowed earlier this year at their newest outpost, the Wildflower Grill, I was in the right frame of mind to give Lazia another try, especially after seeing that their downtown location had been completely remodelled, from the interior to the menu. I had trust that Chef Yoshi Chubachi could spread some of that Wildflower magic to the rest of Lazia’s holdings.

Prior to a show at the nearby Citadel Theatre, Mack and I headed to the restaurant with with expectations in check. We were greeted by a hostess, and immediately taken past the lounge, into the dining room, and offered a choice seat in a rounded banquet. Plush and large enough to easily accommodate a party of five, we enjoyed the semblance of privacy our table provided us.

The decor in the dining area hadn’t changed as much as in the lounge. I was happy to see that the blown-glass sculpture had been saved through the renovation, but besides some minor furniture adjustments, the core of the dining room seemed to have remained the same (granted, my image of the restaurant is several years old). The lounge, however, was now sleek and sophisticated, with the back wall a popping orange shade, a bar with ample seating situated in the centre, and a small glass area in the front lined with couches – perfect for a girls night out.

Dining area

I was most excited about the potential of the new menu. While it did look a lot better on the outset than what I remembered, it was a bit scattered (though to be fair, most mid-range restaurants Lazia is trying to compete with have the same problem). I did really like the fact that there were two streams of desserts to choose from – a range of $8 regular desserts and a set of $5 plates to satisfy those just looking for something small.

I ended up ordering the roasted butternut squash Ravioli ($23) in a white truffle rosé sauce, while Mack opted for the Colossal Prawns ($25), served with a laundry list of accompaniments, including a panko crusted crab cake, cooked shrimp ceviche, miso soya sugar snap peas, basmati rice, sweet
pineapple curry and tomato & corn confit.

Service was great throughout, much improving my outlook on Lazia. Our food was also delivered quite promptly, with a flare for plate presentation – our dishes were treated like pieces of art, the white plates an empty canvas for visual design. The portion sizes, however, left much to be desired – though Mack enjoyed his meal, he could have easily consumed two of the same. My pasta was too sweet all around, between the filling, the sauce, and the accent vegetables – I found no delicate interplay between flavours (as with Rob Feenie’s masterful interpretation at Cactus Club Bentall 5).

Colossal Prawns

Ravioli

Overall, we found the Lazia dining room to be a local, but pricier version of the upscale casual brand purported by the Earls and Joeys of the world. We’d be back to try the desserts, but probably after a cheaper meal elsewhere.

I was back at Lazia sooner than I had expected – a two days after my meal with Mack, a few girlfriends and met up for a bite to eat in the lounge. I now have a better appreciation for the reason why food reviewers at major newspapers visit restaurants multiple times to sample dishes off all parts of the menu – I was ready to give Lazia a thumbs up after our dinner, but following our lounge experience, I’d include a small asterisk on that recommendation.

While the lounge was busy, it wasn’t as packed as we thought it would be on a Friday evening. Though it was clear that our party was still waiting for one more, none of the waitresses thought to check on us to see if we wanted to order anyway – a clear twenty minutes passed before we were acknowledged by any of the staff members after sitting down.

Eventually, we were asked to order. The small plates ranged from $6-12, the dishes influenced by the same haphazard “world cuisine” philosophy that dominated the entree side of the menu. I ended up choosing the Ginger Beef ($9), Janice and May the Garlic Prawns ($12), and Annie the Patatas Bravas ($6), or Spanish home fries, because the kitchen had run out of sweet potato fries.

The kitchen was thankfully more together than their floor counterparts, and our dishes were delivered in good time. Based on our sampling, we weren’t too impressed with the appetizers – my ginger beef was barely above the standard served at Beijing Beijing, while Janice couldn’t taste any garlic in her prawns. Annie’s dish sounded great on the outset, but really, the home fries were really a fancy name for potato wedges.

Ginger Beef

Garlic Prawns (served with smoked tomato bruchetta)

Patatas Bravas (served with a really well-executed red onion watermelon salad)

Also worth mentioning was an out-of-place employee who, while well-intentioned, put us off. She came by our table twice, leaned her elbows on the table, and almost seemed like she was going to pull up a chair to join our group. She asked about the occasion of our get-together, and about how we felt about our food thus far. We didn’t hesitate to answer her questions, but the way in which she asked seemed awkward and forced – an attempt at connecting with customers that failed.

And so, the asterisk – the lounge, with a vibe for those to see and be seen (similar to Hundred), is chic for an after-work drink, but for food, choose the mains over the appetizers.

Lazia
10200 102 Avenue (one other location)
(780) 990-0188
Sunday, Monday and holidays 11am-10pm, Tuesday to Saturday 11am-midnight
Appetizers $6-12, Entrees $9-43, Desserts $5-8

Food Notes

  • Turns out D’Lish on 124th Street is another meal-assembly business, along the lines of the south side’s Passionate Plate. It opens some time this month.
  • City Palate reports that the upcoming Sabzy Cafe (which will occupy the old Sapphire Lounge space on Whyte) will be a Mediterranean/Turkish spot, and also mentioned the new Sabor Divino (109-10220 103 Street NW, 780-757-1114) to watch for on the Boardwalk.
  • Also from City Palate – Kerstin’s new Chocophilia flavour is Cardamom Mint. I’ll need to get out to the store some time soon to give it a try.
  • Hanne Lynch wrote about her experience at a NAIT Culinary Skills course that I’ve been considering for a while – Kitchen Skills I – The Art of Garde Manger & Knife Skills. Her husband blogged about their experience here.
  • It’s funny how excited I get about potato chips, but it’s undeniable: President’s Choice has added two new flavours to their premium line of chips – Spicy Piri Piri and Tandoori Chicken. I have no doubt the former will be too hot for my palate, but I was happy with my initial sampling of the latter.
  • Instead of the 100 Mile Diet, how about the $1 a day diet? A New York Times article about the subject in an economic downturn.
  • Also from the Times, a great primer article on Yelp, a rising star in the food subset of social media. I’ve been spending more time on Chowhound as of late, but I started browsing Yelp, and it looks like an interesting community. I’ll be poking around a bit more.
  • I normally purchase the cheapest cupcake liners I can find, but should a special occasion arise, I wouldn’t mind considering these absolutely gorgeous paper Filigree Cupcake Wrappers.
  • Employees at my organization were treated to a fundraising “Ethnic Lunch” this past week. For just $10, we were treated to a buffet of Indian and African dishes, including Daal and Curried Cabbage. Delish!

 

My plate

  • Megan bought me Foodie Fight, a trivia game that asks questions on everything food-related. We’ve already played it twice, and I’m happy to say I’ve been on the winning side each time. Thanks Megan!

 

Foodie Fight (the board on the left belongs to Gord and Andrea, while the one on the right belongs to Mack and I)

Better Luck Next Time: Marco’s Famous

For a quick food stop prior to a Revolutionary Speakers’ Series lecture by Sue Johanson (of Sunday Night Sex Show fame), we opted to try Marco’s Famous in the Students’ Union Building on campus (8900 114 Street). We always walk by the “flagship” Whyte location with intentions to stop, but timing has never worked out.

On this day, the line at SUB merchants was clearly favouring the new Taco Time (which replaced Funky Pickle), but there were still a few customers hovered around the Marco’s order counter. It didn’t take me long to decide on a Cheeseburger ($5.50), while Mack decided to taste the Donair ($6.50). We topped off our dinner with an order of large fries ($4.00).

Our order was complete in just a few minutes, and we quickly found a seat to chow down as we watched the line to the Myer Horowitz grow. My 6oz. burger looked pretty standard – the patty topped with condiments, onions and a pickle. But when I bit into it, it started oozing ketchup – so much so that the ketchup began leaking from the top of the bun. And at $5.50, I would have preferred a chargrilled Harvey’s burger. Mack found his donair under a similar sauce-siege – it was messy and thus difficult to eat. The fries were also a disappointment – bland and under-seasoned, we would have welcomed salt or adornment of any kind.

Cheeseburger

Remnants of Mack’s donair

Fries

Though we are willing to give Marco’s another try (and not judge all outlets by our experience at this one), they will definitely have to step up to the plate next time.

Marco’s Famous
8900 114 Street
(780) 437-8644

Hearty and Unpretentious Fare: Spago

To mark the sad occasion of my 2008 Entertainment Book expiring, we had dinner at Spago (12433 97 Street NW) to utilize one last coupon.

I have been quite curious about the Portuguese restaurant – from what I could gather on the web, it has been around for a while, and is frequented by a series of regulars.

While the restaurant wasn’t at capacity on the Saturday evening that we visited, we were told by the hostess that business was picking up as the holiday season approached. The open room was conducive to the feeling of being in a large, welcoming kitchen accented with rustic wooden beams and large curtains that could be utilized as privacy denominators. The space looked like it hadn’t been touched since the eighties, with the telling stained-glass lamps above the bar and the buffet reminding me of Bonanza and many meals of my childhood, but at the same time, I felt at home in the room.

We were seated at a back corner booth, which, while tucked away for a sense of privacy, may have made it difficult for our server to know we were there. Thankfully for Mack, our wait was made easier with the open-access wifi he was able to connect to (like Oodle Noodle, the unintended benefit of being situated in a residential area). When our waitress finally greeted us for the first time, she apologized, and after that, steadily made up for our initial misgivings.

Admitting my own ignorance for Portuguese fare, I wouldn’t have been able to discern the authenticity of any dish, but the Pan-Seared Halibut ($23) grabbed my attention. Mack opted for the Paella ($23), hoping it would duplicate some of the flavours of Spain, where he first had the dish. I appreciated the upfront nature of the menu, which specified which dishes were not eligible for the coupon discount.

The kitchen was on the ball, as we didn’t have to wait long at all for our food. Steaming plates of were delivered to us, with Mack’s dish being a little more visually appealing than mine. The Mediterranean rub used on my 8oz. halibut was great – just enough kick to flavour but not overwhelm the fish, while the roasted garlic and tomato confit was a sweet accompaniment. Mack thoroughly enjoyed his paella, and the balanced amount of seafood and then some included (mussels, clams, prawns, shrimp, calamari, scallops, chicken chourico and pork), though he wished it didn’t cool down so fast – the rice didn’t quite taste the same cool as it did piping hot.

Pan-Seared Halibut

Paella

I’m really glad Spago decided to advertise in the Entertainment Book; we likely would have never wandered in on our own accord to find a venue great for families offering hearty and unpretentious fare.

Spago
12433 97 Street NW
(780) 479-9328
Monday – Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday 11am-midnight, Saturday, 4pm-midnight, Sunday, 11am-9pm
Appetizers $6-12, Entrees $16-50, Desserts $4.25-8

Lunch with Liane Faulder

When Liane Faulder contacted me for an interview about my blog, I jumped at the chance to meet her. New to the Journal’s Bistro section as of May (and stepping into the arguably mammoth shoes of her predecessor, Judy Schultz), I have been intrigued by her seemingly haphazard direction and how she felt about the continued presence of Schultz, whose pieces during the summer season on the farmer’s market beat dwarfed any of her own contributions.

We scheduled to meet for lunch at Leva Cappucino Bar (11053 – 86 Avenue) on the weekend, my choice to align with Liane’s expressed geographic preference, and our joint penchant to satisfy  foodie pangs.

It was absolutely hopping in Leva around noon on a gorgeous fall day. Families, couples, and groups of friends packed the place, and the line-up stretched all the way down the counter towards the washrooms. Since I’d been there last, the proprietors had put up an “Eat Local First” sign, and included a list of the area suppliers they tap for ingredients. I think this Keep Edmonton Original and Original Fare campaign is great, as it makes eating local more prominent but not overbearing to the average consumer.

Eat Local signage

When Liane arrived, we scooted in line and chatted while we waited patiently for our chance to order. It turned out Liane hadn’t been to Leva for about four years. As my acquaintance with the charming café has been more recent than that, I couldn’t comment on the changes that she noticed in the décor.

Though the Journal was covering the cost of our lunch, I didn’t feel right going “all out”. I ordered a Mushroom Pizza, while she stuck with a more healthy Spinach Salad with blue cheese and pecans.

Mushroom Pizza (cambozola & porcini cream sauce, mushrooms, potatoes, mozzarella)

Throughout our meeting, I never felt (besides her occasional note taking) that I was being interviewed. It was very much a two-way dialogue, and Liane never hesitated to answer any of my questions (and gave me the freedom to write about what we talked about). She is extremely down-to-earth, humble and frank. I’m not sure what of our conversation  she will translate into the Bistro piece, but I hope it will touch on some of the threads of Edmonton’s social media community that we discussed, particularly because Liane will be starting a blog of her own some time in the new year (the awful Journal website is also supposedly getting an overhaul in the not-to-distant future).

I found out that Liane has written for nearly every section of the Journal, with the exception of Sports. She covered the news beat for a while, wrote film reviews for a time, and most recently, contributed features to Sunday Reader. When she returned from an eight-month internship at Ryerson University in Toronto, she was offered the lead in Bistro because at that point, she had proven that she could “pretty much write anything.”

Her love of food begins with the “democratic” nature of it – meaning that everyone, with some effort and instruction, can learn to make a meal. She juggles about four stories at a time, and is reveling in the intrinsic flexibility of a weekly section, as compared with news reporting.

I asked her about the potential sabotage that she may be facing at the paper, as there are weeks when a story from another Canwest affiliate takes up the space above the fold, or a story from Judy Schultz seems to crowd out her articles. Having been with the paper for seventeen years, she said, she has “no ego left.”

We agreed on the potential minefields in the restaurant review world, and she understood my staunch position of not having my meals paid for by a third party, and not reviewing the food once I have met the chef behind it. Liane told me about a recent excursion to a new restaurant, and how the owner fawned all over her, bringing to her table coupons and extra napkins in an effort to extract a good Journal-backed word from her. She also shared her opinion that one of her fellow colleagues should not have published a review about a restaurant he had a personal connection to.

On the topic of favourites, Liane leans toward restaurants that provide “value for money”. In that vein, the Sugar Bowl is her best bet, though she also enjoys the more pricey fare at Culina Millcreek and Hardware Grill. In her opinion, local restaurants don’t do enough to promote themselves, though she acknowledged how busy most independents are simply cooking good food day in and day out.

I can’t recall what our end note was, but I remember feeling elated – a natural feeling after throwing around ideas on a subject I’m passionate about. It was great to meet another local foodie, and I hope once the article is published, other bloggers come out of the woodwork as well.

Culinary Q & A with Bruce Clarke

bruceclarke Occupation: Photographer/Owner of Moments in Digital Ltd.  and Product Manager at Britec Computer Systems

What did you eat today?

Breaded chicken cutlets stuffed with turkey breast and mozzarella cheese, rice, & corn

What do you never eat?

Pickles, Olives and raw Tomatoes. Not sure if it’s a texture thing or just the taste I don’t like.

What is your personal specialty?

I love cooking with garlic but I’m known for my Spinach Dip

What is your favorite kitchen item?

While technically not found in the kitchen, I do consider the BBQ my favorite cooking item.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Bacon wrapped filet mignon with sautéed mushrooms, garlic mashed potatoes, and fresh corn on the cob. Carmel cheesecake for desert.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

For a quick lunch on the go I prefer Subway – it feels somehow like I’m eating healthier. For a night out, we go to the Mikado a lot for Japanese.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

That is a toss up between Bua Thai downtown, The Mikado downtown, New Asian Village, and OPM on the southside. We have several favourites depending upon what we are in the mood for.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

Green curry chicken in Thailand or Hakata style ramen in Fukuoka Japan.

More Than Just Cocktails: Devlin’s

This guest post was written by Mack, an Edmonton-based geek who fancies himself a part-time foodie. You can find him online at his blog, and on Twitter.

Edmonton’s third tweetup, an event for local Twitter users to get together in person, was held on Thursday evening. The tweetups aren’t terribly hard to organize, all I need to do is pick a date, time and location. I asked Sharon to help me choose the venue this time, and she suggested Devlin’s Cocktail Lounge (10507 82 Avenue). I had enjoyed our visit in August, and agreed that it would be a good choice. I was keen to try the new fall menu that Sharon had written about in her Vue Weekly article. I called a couple of weeks in advance to ensure they could accommodate a group of 15 to 30 people, and they assured me that wouldn’t be a problem. A few days before the event, they called me back to confirm, which I thought was a nice touch.

When I arrived at the restaurant just before 6pm, I found it locked. After a moment of panic, I peered through the window and caught the attention of Executive Chef Sebastian Lysz who came to unlock the door for me. Fortunately, that was the only hiccup of the evening! My fellow Twitterers started streaming in, and soon we filled up the entire right side of the restaurant. We had around 25 people come and go by the time the evening was finished, and although not everyone ordered food, Sebastian was kept sufficiently busy in the kitchen.

Mack & Sharon
Mack & Sharon, photo courtesy Bruce Clarke

I was occupied chatting with people, so I was more than happy to let Sharon order for me. The first dish that arrived was the Wild Mushroom & Chicken flatbread ($9). Though it didn’t look incredibly appetizing being almost completely devoid of color, it tasted very good. The chicken (from a local producer in Ardrossan) was moist and the bread itself was nicely warm and chewy. I found the mushrooms flavorful, but not overpowering.

Flat bread

The second dish we ordered was also the one I was most looking forward to: the Surf & Turf ($15). Reminiscent of the sliders in its presentation, the dish was definitely easy on the eyes. Unfortunately the portion size was also similar to the sliders, and I found myself wanting more when the plate was empty. The tri-tip steak from Spring Creek Ranch was absolutely delicious, and I enjoyed the roasted potatoes too (though Sharon didn’t). We both agreed that the prawns were fairly average.

Surf and Turf

Usually we’re too full after dinner to have dessert, but that wasn’t a problem thanks to the small size of the dishes at Devlin’s. We decided to give the Dessert Sampler ($15) a try, as it sounded more interesting than the Creme Brulee. Though I couldn’t have the Peanut Butter Bombe (due to my mild peanut allergy), I was able to try the other items. I liked the warm Fruit Crumble in an over-sized shot glass, but my favorite was easily the Bacardi Rum Pumpkin Pie. I love both rum and pumpkin pie, so it was a match made in heaven for me! The Chai Voyant Nitro Ice Cream (with “nutella” powder) was interesting, but it didn’t evoke the familiar flavor of chai.

Dessert Platter

We received great service all night, and everyone seemed to enjoy the food and ambience. A number of people remarked that they were pleasantly surprised with the lounge, and said they’d probably be back. Devlin’s is not the place to go if you’re starving (or feeling the pinch in your wallet), but if all you’re looking for is something tasty to go along with conversation, I can safely say it’s a great choice for small and large groups alike.

The key thing to know about Twitter is that entries are restricted to 140 characters. With that in mind, here’s my mini-review of Devlin’s:

More than just a cocktail lounge, Devlin’s has unique, tasty food and adds something special to Whyte Avenue. Just don’t arrive too hungry!

Devlin’s Cocktail Lounge
10507 82 Avenue
(780) 437-7489

Polished but Pricey: Origin India

After visiting the new Old Strathcona office of Lift Interactive (where we won the cutest his and hers t-shirts), Mack and I walked over to Origin India (10511 82 Avenue), the new upscale Maurya Palace outpost. I originally reported about the “coming soon” status of Origin India back in April, and seven months later, it finally opened, apparently because they had to get up to code.

At any rate, we walked past the taped-up paper menu outside, through the doors, and were immediately transported into a world away from the hustle and bustle of Whyte. To the right of the entrance was what looked like a take-out counter, but for the moment was sparkling new and unused. We walked down a few stairs into a dimly lit room and joined the three other parties already seated.

Dominated by brown and reds, the space was warm but chic. Dark leather banquets lined both walls, and above the seats was a wooden, compartmentalized wine shelf that spanned the same length. The buffet section and bar was situated at the back of the room, and without a divide of any kind, the room felt open and welcoming. Knowing that the former occupant of this space was a dollar store, I really have to commend the owners for the absolute transformation they have overseen – I can see how additional construction time would have been necessary.

Interior

At the beginning of our visit, the music veered towards the annoying tinkering favoured at Khazana, but thankfully by the end of the night, had switched to an upbeat, Bollywood techno that in my opinion suited the space and the location better.

We were told the buffet was available, but were also provided with menus in case we decided to go the a la carte route. At $19.95 per person, the buffet wasn’t cheap, but we figured it was the best way to sample this new establishment’s fare.

The diamond-shaped plates were an interesting choice, and to some extent, the fact that there was a wide border around it made it easier to grip while we travelled the buffet line. I was disappointed to find, however, that there were only eight hot entrees (plus rice, salad and dessert) to choose from. Along with quality, I figured $20 should also buy variety.

Buffet line-up

We piled our plates high with a sample of everything, and returned to our table where a basket of fresh naan was waiting. The naan was more crisp and not as “doughy” as others I have tried, but the made-to-order factor was a real plus. My favourite dish was the lamb curry – tender, flavourful  and just spicy enough, it was a departure from my usual butter chicken preference. Mack, however, enjoyed his serving of butter chicken, though his only complaint was his need to cut the chicken into more manageable, one-bite sizes (he should have also asked for a shovel in place of a fork, heh).


Our plates (they were almost identical)

The service was fabulous throughout – our waiter checked in with us just often enough to make us feel taken care of without intruding. While I am not sure I will be back (at least not for the pricey buffet), along with Devlin’s next door, I really am starting to see the shift in Old Strathcona businesses from those who target the partying set to those that primarily serve working professionals.

Origin India
10511 82 Avenue
(780) 436-0558
Sunday to Thursday 11:30am-11pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30am-2am