A trifecta has been completed with a recent visit to Brazen Hall at 800 Pembina Hwy. The Kitchen & Brewery takes its place with One Great City and Peg Beer Company as Winnipeg’s newly instituted Brew Pubs. Under this special license Brazen Hall brews their own beer as well as concocting some interesting culinary fare.

The visit was a belated birthday gift from my son who also works in Winnipeg’s burgeoning craft brewing scene. He wanted to order a flight so he could walk me through the various styles of Brazen Hall beers available. Alas, we were told by one server that two of their beer were not available and we overheard another server say that they had been too busy to serve flights. Indeed they were very busy, especially considering that it was the first day back to school.

In anticipation of our visit during Burger Week, I asked my son what burger Brazen Hall was serving. When he replied “Farmer Jon” I thought he said “parmesan” and I was looking forward to tasting a Italian burger. Turns out the Farmer Jon celebrated our local farmers and producers with trappist cheese, blueberry maple ketchup, arugula and bacon (of course). I could not detect that the mushrooms had be enhanced with Crown Royal or the onions had been braised with stout but it was a very, very good burger.

I think the winning ingredient was the combination of ground beef and Winkler farmer sausage. The fries too were delectable and I expect they had been cooked in Manitoba canola oil. They were so good, they were even tasty cold.

My son had a couple of great menu suggestions since he had visited on a number of occasions. I went with his recommendation of a Vietnamese Noodle Bowl. He said that the ingredients in the dish were conducive to beer drinking. That was all the encouragement I needed. I anticipated an authentic rice noodle but was pleased with the silky hand-made pasta. Typically I choose pork in my noodle bowls but Brazen Hall’s selection comes with beef. I prefer the former. But the additional ingredients of cucumber, mint, lime juice and almonds provided the perfect blend of acidity, crunch and freshness. I was impressed that a brewery kitchen could pull off one of my favourite ethnic dishes.

Brazen Hall is owned by Kristjan Kristjansson and Kris Kopansky. There is an all day menu available and they are open daily at 11:30 am. They close on Sunday at 11 pm. Monday and Tuesday they close at 12 midnight and Wednesday through Saturday they clos at 1:00 am. The restaurant is wheelchair accessible.

Kath’s quote: “Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.” –Kinky Friedman

Love never fails.

We were up with the sun.

Who wouldn’t want to rise early and spend time with this little cherub?

Breakfast was of yoghurt at the hotel.

Sister #3 took Lori (not pictured here) SIL Susan & Judi on a golf cart tour as the ladies had never before visited the island.

We visited with J1 & J2, the Wee Ones, Donna, Carol and Rudy at Ruebens. The eldest of the Wee Ones had pancakes. Here is Miss Independence (at 3 years old) helping herself to the maple syrup.

Daughter #1, D and I spent some time on the malecon. When the time came, D was off to buy us tortas for lunch from Q Brava.

As the day went on, the sea wall proved to be too hot for us, so we went to Hildalgo to sit in the shade.

We enjoyed our first happy hour at Xbuhla

and then another with the kids at Bally Hoo (see link here)

for a beer while J1 & J2 ate their supper.

Poppa and Glamma took them for a walk on the pier while they waited for their food. Our dinner was yet to come at Sardinia Smiles (see link here).  After dinner, D and I didn’t want the evening to end so we took our wine glasses down to the malecon for a night cap.

Kath’s quote: “I wish some nights lasted forever”. –Me

Love never fails.

Even though the Poutine Cup has been enjoyed by many over the past couple of years, it was our first visit. We arrived at Fort Gilbraltar later than we had anticipated and it had started cooling off, so D in his shirt sleeves was a wee bit chilly. We made a quick lap around to visit as many vendors as we could and then took some time to warm up in the fort itself. The room holds a special spot for us as our daughter’s wedding reception was in the cozy room.

But to the food…

We were impressed by the addition of cucumbers and carrots to the Promenade’s duck poutine. The veggies layered Vietnamese tastes onto rich French ones.

Chew topped their poutine with fermented pepper sauced chicken and then fennel/celery slaw and seaweed. The tastes were so exotic.

I am crazy for figs so we included The Grove Pub & Restaurant on our rounds. Besides fig jam, braised lamb shank, pickled cauliflower, crispy quinoa and cashew cream topped their poutine.

Loving bold Mexican flavours, we appreciated Underdogs’ chorizo gravy, grilled mango salsa tequila lime guacamole and crispy black beans. It was the sparkling cilantro that made their entry most surprizing. I understood that Underdogs took top prize.

In our humble opinion One Great City was the winner with Chicken yakitori (skewered chicken), togarashi (chili pepper), wasabi aioli, green onions, tobiko (similar to caviar) & nori (seaweed). You would think that the creator was a Japanese Chef-an indication of his varied skill.

Mark your calendars now for the 2018 Poutine Cup. It is one of Winnipeg’s culinary events that should not be missed.

Kath’s quote: “When I am in Canada, I feel that this is what the world should be like”.-Jane Fonda

Love never fails.

If you enjoy variety and lots of food options, you will love the revamped food area at The Forks. Called The Commons it features menu items from around the world.

We were also able to treat ourselves to various beer tasters (4)

and a selection of mini wine portions (3); called ”flights” these are a great way to expand your beer or wine circle.

The reputation of the KYU Grill proceeded itself. I had seen their food truck at events like the Food Truck Warz at Manyfest in years’ past. In fact, they took home the People’s Choice Award a couple of years in a row.

Even though I knew that their reputation had been made with sandwiches like the Hiroshima where grilled meat and all the trimmings are stuffed into a fresh submarine style bun, we decided to try a couple of other dishes.

Their Japanese Curry was pretty good but we couldn’t figure out what the Japanese twist to it was. The chicken in it was sparse but the potatoes and veggies were lovely in the light curry sauce.

When I saw photos of fire grilled corn on their website, I was looking forward to the treat that we often enjoy at the Merchant Kitchen here in Winnipeg. The side was served up after the corn had been removed from the cob, likely earlier in the day. It was tasty enough but has to be served just cut from the cob in order to elevate it to stellar.

Panko crusted chicken was the highlight of the experience. The morsels were crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside and enhanced by an Asian sauce for sweetness and a little punch. I would be tempted to order this again next time, except that I must try one of their signature sandwiches.

KYU Grill is owned by Calvin Truong & Peter Truong. Make sure you check their hours. The Forks website states the following: “The Forks Market Building is open all day from 7 am- 11 pm but select tenants may choose to open earlier or stay open later at their discretion.” The Forks is wheelchair accessible.

Kath’s quote:“I’m going to scream this from the mountain top, there’s no such thing as ‘a curry.’ There’s six kazillion different kinds of curry. When someone asks how to make chicken curry, I have to ask ‘Which one?’”-Aarti Sequeira

Love never fails.

We all let ourselves sleep in a little bit, the day after the family wedding. We made a quick trip to Hortenzia’s

and then met for breakfast at Café Cito  (click this link to read all about it).

I spent the afternoon at the seawall to walk and reflect on the previous day’s festivities.

We went out for an early dinner with the family at La Lomita’s. (click this link to read all about it).

It was the day of the weekly Artist’s Market. 

So we had a wander around and then at 9:15 pm we were ready for an early sleep.

Kath’s quote: “I look best when I’m totally free, on holiday, walking on the beach.”- Rosamund Pike

Love never fails.