After reading a few positive reviews about Violino (10133 125 Street), a new-ish restaurant in the High Street area, I suggested that Annie and I give it a try on Friday night.

Located in what appears to be a renovated house, we were greeted upon arrival by a host who took our coats (after New York, I am terrified by coat checks). He led us to the second floor dining area, and at that time, we were only the second party in the restaurant (while it was never full, more patrons arrived over the course of the evening).

Annie and I both loved the decor – red tapestries, cream seat covers, and the nicest bathroom either of us had seen in a long time (I’m a sucker for those bowl-shaped sinks that sit atop counters). My only nitpick was the prevalence of music-themed art throughout the restaurant; two or three pieces would have been subtle, but we seemed to encounter another sculpture every time we turned around.

Wanting to leave room for dessert, we bypassed the appetizers and denser entrees, opting instead for the Risotto con Funghi (risotto and wild mushroom melange, parmesan cheese, mixed herbs and laced with truffle oil). I am pleased to say that our server was great under the circumstances; she was assigned the entire second level, and was swamped, but did her best to provide attentive and timely service.

Our food arrived in a positively aromatic cloud and our server confirmed that we were noticing the truffle oil. In short, the risotto was divine. Rich and savoury, but not overly salty, the rice was a creamy bit of heaven.

To end our meal, we each ordered the Espresso Tiramisu and an accompanying cup of tea. Beautifully presented, with an artfully placed wafer and a single raspberry, the cake did not taste heavy, unlike versions at other Italian restaurants. The marscapone cheese blended wonderfully with the espresso-soaked biscuits, and I found the chocolate syrup garnish a nice sweet touch.

While not inexpensive, our indulgence at Violino was well worth it.

Restaurant Exterior

Annie and her Risotto

Espresso Tiramisu

After discovering that a chain like Milestone’s could serve a pretty mean brunch, I went hunting for similar restaurants competing for diners on weekend afternoons. While Earls and Joey’s didn’t offer separate brunch menus, I found that Moxie’s did. So after a brief shopping trip this morning, Annie and I headed to Moxie’s on the south side (4790 Calgary Trail NW), hoping their non-reservation policy wouldn’t result in a lengthy wait.

Turns out we didn’t need to worry, as there were more than enough seats to accommodate us in the dining room. The menu was not extensive, with just nine breakfast selections (and their regular lunch features), but I actually preferred it this way – it usually meant faster kitchen prep. I was momentarily swayed by the French Toast, but ultimately decided on the Bacon & Cheddar Omelette ($10.99) – smoky bacon, sauteed onion, aged white and Canadian cheddars in a three egg omelette served with rosti potatoes and twelve-grain toast. Annie chose the more interesting Crab Cake Benedict ($12.99) – Moxie’s classic crab cakes, two poached eggs and hollandaise, with rosti potatoes and fresh fruit.

Plied with coffee, we would have waited patiently for our dishes, but in no time, our plates arrived. My omelette was huge, and I am happy to report that they did not scrimp on the cheese. They could have included more bacon (what meat that was folded in was overpowered by cheesy goodness), but that was a minor nitpick. Between the toast and crab cakes, Annie found her dish unfortunately dry, and would have liked more hollandaise sauce.

With great service throughout (our waitress constantly offered to top up our coffees) and a decent brunch menu, I would consider coming back.

Armed with an Entertainment Book coupon and low expectations, May and I headed to Four Rooms Restaurant (137 Edmonton City Centre) on Friday night.

After an overly negative experience in my high school days (involving rock-hard bread and food not remotely memorable), I was hesitant to return. But with a sweetened incentive of a 2-for-1 meal, and proximity to our second destination that evening, I was willing to give it another try. Lately as well, I had been reading about their popular Cosmopolitan Supper Club, a monthly concept event that offers dishes based around one ingredient or theme. Thus, I was hoping Four Rooms had improved since our last visit.

At around 6:15pm, May and I walked into the restaurant, greeted by four staff members who were standing around in the lobby casually chatting. Not a crime, but certainly not a good sign from a restaurant that, based purely upon location, should have been doing brisk business from the after-work and holiday shopping crowds alone. It turned out we were the third party in the dining room, though I did notice that the back room lounge contained other patrons as well. We were efficiently seated at a table along the wall, a thoughtful choice from the host who noted that the banquet would allow for ample space for our shopping bag.

The menu was more extensive and interesting than I could remember, though again, May and I were hard pressed to recall what we ordered the last time (keeping in mind that the selections had more than likely been overhauled since 2001 anyway). Though there were a few tempting selections, I ended up with the Marsala Bison Kafta ($13.50) – Bison Kaftas & mushrooms in a Marsala cream sauce tossed with linguine pasta – while May ordered the Banana Curry Chicken ($16) – grilled free range chicken in a Madras curry sauce with onions, bell peppers, yams and sweet potatoes.

When our server delivered our two dinner rolls, I couldn’t tell whether or not they were fresh or not. I could, however, nitpick that they were of the 25 cent variety available at your neighbourhood Sobey’s. Slicing into it, they were thankfully fairly soft, albeit a little cool to the touch.

Our dishes arrived fairly quickly, and on first glance, appeared quite small. By the end, however, between the meat and the pasta, I felt like the quantity was just about right. Perhaps due to my underdeveloped palette, the kafta, crafted from ground bison meat, tasted like a pan-fried Ikea meatball. The pasta, on the other hand, was superb. The sauce was creamy and sweet, with the only downside being that there wasn’t more of it to go around. May said her dish was all right, though she would have preferred a more generous serving of chicken, and could have done without the out-of-place bananas.

As meals go, this wasn’t half bad – service was good, and the food was reasonably priced. Of course, it was difficult to be objective given that we had set the bar so incredibly low. I may be back, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for Four Rooms.

Thwarted by the long line at Tim Hortons, Dickson and I had to find an alternative breakfast/brunch place this morning. Wanting very much to satisfy my craving for eggs, I suggested we give White Spot (3921 Calgary Trail) a try.

The only thing I had heard about White Spot was that a friend who dined here once saw Steve Staios and his family at the restaurant. Other than that, my impressions were assumptions – that the White Spot was another generic establishment billing itself as family-friendly but also sophisticated enough for adult-only dining (cf. Boston Pizza, Ricky’s All Day Grill, Applebee’s, etc.). I wasn’t wrong.

It was nearly noon by the time we pulled up to the restaurant, and we found that the wait was between fifteen to twenty minutes. That was enough time to visually explore the decor – including a prominently placed fake fireplace out front and “welcome” in a variety of languages imprinted above the waiting area. White Spot really did remind me of Kelsey’s – a sports bar just off the main thoroughfare, cozy booths, friendly, girl-next-door waitresses, and a nearly identical menu.

We were seated in the back near the kitchen, in an area adjacent to a skylight, an unexpected but much appreciated design feature. It didn’t take us long to decide on our meals, as there were only five brunch options available at this location (a far cry from the twelve listed on the website – there was not a pancake, waffle, or omelet in sight). We both chose Nat’s Country Style Breakfast ($8.95) – toast, hash browns and 2 each of eggs, bacon and sausage.

Our orders arrived in record time – after about five minutes – though as Dickson commented, it wasn’t a difficult plate to put together, nor was the serving size particularly impressive. While it was a filling first meal of the day for me, it still wasn’t wholly satisfying. Perhaps it was my mistake in ordering something that I could have made myself without too much effort.

For brunch at least, there are a lot more interesting options than White Spot to choose from.

My family and I had dinner at Blue Willow (11107 103 Avenue) tonight. It’s a restaurant whose reputation precedes it – known to me (and many others) as a favorite of Wayne Gretzky, I wanted to see if the food would live up to the hype.

Entering a non-descript brown building that looked more like it belonged in a business park, we were immediately greeted by a narrow entrance way lined with photo memorabilia. If anything, Blue Willow is worth a visit just to take a gander at the pictures. Most of the photographs were shots of the owner, Vic Mah, with well-known hockey players, including the Great One, Vladislav Tretiak, Grant Fuhr, and even a dreadlocked Jerome Iginla!

Most of the seated patrons were of the older set, and appeared very much to be regulars. We were the only non-Caucasian customers at that time, leading us to believe the Blue Willow was very much a westernized Chinese eatery. When we noticed the lack of chopsticks at the place settings, the distribution of plates versus bowls to use, and the offering of plain steamed rice by the bowl (at $3 a pop) as opposed to by the container, our suspicions were substantiated. The Chinese tea we ordered was also not of the loose leaf variety – instead, they used two very weak tea bags. When we received the bill, we found out they charged us $9 for the tea – $2.25 each for the four of us. Had we known that in advance, I would have seriously considered bringing in a thermos.

As for the menu itself – it was very well put together – hard plastic pages bound nicely. The fare was, no surprise, quite westernized – in both selection and price point. After some perusal, we settled on the Mixed Chinese Vegetables ($9.25), Mongolian Beef ($12.25), Tofu Hot Pot ($11.75) and the Blue Willow Special Fried Rice ($10.50). It was unfortunate that it took over five minutes for our table to be acknowledged by anyone (our water glasses were eventually filled…by a boy that looked about ten years old. It is indeed a “family-run” establishment).

The dining room seemed to be quieting down, so our dishes didn’t take long to arrive. I must admit I was quite impressed by their innovative plating idea: fondue-style, candlelit stainless steel contraptions complete with lids to keep the food within warm. The candle was so effective that the sauce in the vegetable and beef dishes were literally bubbling! This aside, the verdict on the food itself was mixed. The portions were very small (likely about half the size of a plate at a typical Chinese restaurant), and besides the fried rice, which was quite aromatic and flavourful, the rest of the dishes were forgettable.

After our meal, and just before receiving the bill, we were treated to a bit of a Singapore Airlines service – hot towels. Our waitress even did a spin move (similar to how one would balance a basketball on one finger) to unravel the towel. It was something you’d have to see to believe.

While I can appreciate the history behind a place like the Blue Willow, the food just isn’t as good – or authentic – as I would prefer in a Chinese restaurant.