Food Musings

A Winnipeg blog about the joy of preparing food for loved ones and the shared joy that travel & dining brings to life.

An Evening at Fools and Horses

April8

I cannot overstate what it means to a Mom of grown up children, when they ask you to join them for a impromptu girls night out.

Beep lives in a downtown neighbourhood which she loves. She is close to all of the essentials and plenty of green space. She has made a special effort to make a couple of places an extension of her home.

Boo is also an urban neighbourhood lover and they have the cutest little apartment in an old home in West Broadway. She joined us after work before going to fetch the Frenchman from his workplace-Siloam Mission.

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Our meeting place was Fools and Horses, a lovely light-filled space where I had previously enjoyed coffee and toast on the sidewalk patio. Beep is a regular here, as are the numerous people her age perched in front of their laptops and tablets or snuggled up with a coffee sitting shoulder to shoulder.

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The food offerings are simple yet excellent. Toast is the star of the show. I ordered a sharing platter which came laden with a smoky Bothwell cheese, another artisan cheese, a couple of sliced sausage meats, roasted nuts, homemade pickles (loved the beans and ginger), espresso Dijon mustard and luscious fig jam. Pieces of just grilled bread accompanied. YUM!

Beep was drinking Half Pints, Boo a London Fog and I was sipping an Argentinian Malbec. With the pervasive clouds breaking up and a late evening sun shining through, the date completely pulled me out of a funk.

I stayed long enough to hear how’s everyone day and week was and chat about time spent with The Wee One. I knew that they needed some sister time though- an urge that is always there for me too.

Fools & Horses Coffee Company Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Kath’s quote: “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. If turnips were watches, I’d wear one by my side. If “if’s” and “and’s” were pots and pans, There’d be no work for tinkers’ hands.”

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Love never fails.

 

Winnipeg Restaurant Suggestions

April5

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Winnipeg is known for ethnic neighbourhood restaurants, chef-focused award winning dining rooms and the best little spots for a burger, pizza or breakfast. There are so many places to choose from, it is hard to pick. Sometimes we need suggestions from our friends. This is why Canstar came up with our readers’ contest, in its second year. Once again, the entries came pouring in. Many of them, I had already written about in this space, including: Boulevard Pub and Bistro, Café ce Soir, Capital Grill, Garwood Grill, Roxie’s, Santa Anna Pizzeria Bistro and the White Rock Cafe. Places not yet visited, far outnumbered those already covered.

Here are the top selections: Begonia Grill, Common Sense Deli & Bakery, The Diner’s Grill, Jonesy’s Restaurant & Bar, Massawa Restaurant, Mercadito Latino, Miss Brown’s, Olympia Diner, The Pint Public House, Purple Hibiscus, Ripe Bistro, Rossmere Country Club and the White Star Diner.

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Without further adieu, drum roll please…..the winner of dinner with Kathryne Grisim at The Keg Steakhouse +Bar location of her choosing is-Michelle Costen! We recently met at The Garry St. Keg for photos and to discuss the best time for our meet up.

In the mean time I am interested in tasting the offerings from Chef Kevin Yu at the Begonia Grill, the Deli Rose at Common Sense Deli & Bakery, the Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburger at The Diner’s Grill, the Monster Stacker at Jonsey’s Restaurant & Bar, Wat at Massawa restaurant, Salvadorian fare at Mercadito Latino, moussaka at the Olympia Diner, Burnt Sugar Stew Oxtail at Purple Hibiscus, Shaksuka at Ripe Bistro, pickerel at Rossmere Country Club and the Screeching Chihuahua at the White Star Diner.

Kath’s quote: “There are times when we are confused because we have too many choices, and there are others when we are confused because we don’t have any choice“. -anonymous

woodenheartsLove never fails.

Smith at Inn at the Forks, Winnipeg

March31

The perfect Winnipeg “staycation” (living like a tourist in your own city)  is time spent at Inn at the Forks. I had had a rather stressful teaching day and then got stuck in traffic for extended periods of time. I was certainly ready for some down time. I could feel the stress melting off of me as soon as I checked in at the front desk of Riverstone Spa. There was soothing music playing and a delightful aroma being projected into the air.

Two of my lovely friends were already in the treatment room, so I visited with a third friend while we snuggled into our bath robes and nibbled on candied fruit, nuts and chocolate biscotti. We four were reunited when the first treatments were complete and we were just about to be hailed for our turn.

In the treatment room the estheticians kept complimenting my friend on her lovely feet and their good maintenance. Mine on the other hand did not say a thing as she kept her head down and continued to scrape away my many layers. I was non-pulsed and enjoyed every sweet moment of the treatment.

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When our treatment was done and it was time to meet again with our other girlfriends, we were hard-pressed to move a muscle and sat with our feet up, luxuriating in our fuzzy robes. Eventually we made ourselves get changed as it was time for our dinner reservation. I took a moment to have a good look around the dining room dubbed Smith as it had been renovated since my previous visit.

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Our waiter was very accommodating and gave us lots of time to place our orders. We commenced with a bottle of 14 Hands Merlot. As a result, my relaxation was complete and I could have been anywhere in the world supping with good friends.

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The four of us were on the same page when it came time to place our orders so we had a platter made up of their classic buttermilk fried chicken and the special of salmon with a seared pineapple salsa and a number of sides- the truffle oil & asiago French fries, the brussel sprouts with maple syrup & pecans and the root vegetable & yam gratin. Being good friends, no one was concerned about each of us helping ourselves from the communal plate.

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Conversation comfortably flowed as we kept nibbling on little tastes for an extended length of time. Eventually we decided that it was time that the birthday girl get to enjoy dessert so pairs of us shared lemon tarts to cap off the evening.

As we gathered our things and made our way in different directions, we savoured what it means to have best friends and such wonderful places to celebrate special birthdays.

Smith Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Kath’s quote: “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” ― Elbert Hubbard

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Love never fails.

The Silver Heights Restaurant-Winnipeg

March29

If you ever drive west on Portage Ave. you have no doubt taken notice of the retro signage marking the location of the Silver Heights Restaurant. Or perhaps you have taken this route so many times that the familiar has disappeared. The Silver Heights restaurant opened in 1957 just about the same time that the neighbourhood was born and has been a St. James landmark ever since.

On this evening we were debating about dinner out before we watched the Jets game on TV. When we ran out of time we decided to order in. Owner Tony Siwicki answered the phone at his families’ restaurant himself and we had a great chat about…food of course! He recommended a couple of their most unique and popular items.

We decided to order a Caesar salad which was crisp and delicious along with a combo platter so that we could sample as many of Tony’s suggestions as possible. The chicken fingers and shrimp were pretty good but it was the wings and the ribs that really tickled our fancy.

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Their legendary baby back ribs were as good as it gets. Fall-off-the-bone ribs can be achieved by adding steam to the cooking process but the best way is to slow roast them which was what I suspect the Silver Heights did. The result is a flavourful rib that is tender and yet still firm to the tooth. Both the barbeque and the Greek ribs are worth tasting, we were divided about which tasted best.

Their perogy wings were a fun rendition with sour cream, bacon and chives. The clever “Elvis” wings with peanut butter and strawberry jam sounded strange but really worked. Lovers of a sweet and salty combination will enjoy this unique recipe. If you enjoy Thai food, you’ve likely eaten chicken in a peanut sauce before. Jams and jellies are often the basis for glazes and dips; think red pepper jelly or sweet chili sauce. Now put those two taste sensations together and you have the “Elvis” wing.

Silver Heights Restaurant & Lounge Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Kath’s quote: Until we meet again, may God bless you as he has blessed me. -Elvis Presley

aluminumheart

Love never fails.

Cauliflower Three Ways

March23

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Veg -centric dishes are often my choice when we dine at Winnipeg’s trendiest restaurants-Pizzeria Gusto, The Merchant Kitchen, Deer + Almond, Segovia and Enoteca.  These are dishes that focus on flavour. Being meatless is secondary. Proteins are still included, but they’re more of a flavour enhancer. We spotted many such dishes on Scott Bagshaw’s Enoteca menu and finally decided upon the Roasted Cauliflower utilizing “cave aged” gruyere to intensify the taste. Panade added moisture, rough cut almonds provided crunch, orange segments the acidity and capers the saltiness.

We’ve included more veg-centric dishes in our own repertoire at home so recently when Carly Peters the editor of Local Fare Magazine (published on behalf of the Manitoba Restaurant Association) contacted me to see if I had any cauliflower recipes in my repertoire, the answer was an immediate “yes”.

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Our son and his wife (known as J1 and J2 in this space), were the first to introduce us to Buffalo Florets. We were all up at the beach house and they were on dinner duty. They served roasted cauliflower that had been tossed in Frank’s Hot Sauce and then roasted again, as an appetizer course. Loving Buffalo wings but not the calories and fat, we got a kick out of this alternate. When Carly and her photographer arrived to photograph this dish, I had prepared carrots and celery sticks to dip into blue cheese dressing to offset the fieriness of the hot sauce.

Curried Cauliflower is a take off on one of our families’ favourite casseroles-The Best of Bridge’s Classy Chicken. A mixture of mayonnaise, lemon juice, cheese and curry powder smothers a crown of cauliflower and then buttered panko flakes add some crunch.

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Cauliflower Steaks were reminiscent of a classic Sicilian dish that we enjoyed while visiting friends in Castellammare del Golfo, near Palermo.

These recipes will be published in an upcoming edition, but if you would like a sneak peak at them, leave  a comment here.

Kath’s quote: “Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.”-Mark Twain

purplecookiesheart

Love never fails.

 

 

 

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