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.

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.

Across the Board Game Café at 211 Bannatyne Ave. (at Main St.) is a unique style of restaurant in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. This is their second location and an absolutely beautiful room with soaring ceilings, chandeliers and two walls of windows. Cheerfully adorning a number of walls are bookshelves full of games, old and new from all over the world.

On the evening we visited, one of the concept’s owners’ Olaf Pytllik was our Game Master. He spoke about how the cafe came to be and that the over 1,000 games on display were once housed in his basement. He also told us about the current board game business and how the game that we were playing was an award winner the previous year.

But to the food!

My husband and I both selected noodle bowls and think that we ordered mistakenly. The noodle bowls were actually soup but were on the entree section not the soup section of the menu. We do often have a hearty soup for our dinner. This one was quite light and indeed we still had the munchies shortly after finishing it.

Others in our party ordered more successfully with two siblings selecting Italian Sausage Alfredo which I salivated over when it arrived at the table. It was composed of a crumbled Italian sausage tossed with spinach, sundried tomatoes and sautéed mushrooms in a creamy alfredo sauce.

Another pair selected the generous Summer Salad

and a German Bratwurst Platter. The hit were the pretzels and a couple more of them were requested for dessert.

The good news about eating light at dinner was being able to order from their specialty snack items. I make nuts and bolts at home on a regular basis as they provide our nutritional quota of oats.

Across the Board’s version had less garlic and Worcestershire sauce than mine but still were very enjoyable by the handful as we played the night away.

Across the Board Game Café is co-owned by Olaf Pytllik and Clinton Skibitzky. They are open Thursday-Sunday 11 am – 10 pm and Friday and Saturday 11 am – 12 midnight. They are closed Mondays. There is an all day menu including a kids section available. They are wheelchair accessible.

Kath’s quote: “It is impossible to win gracefully at chess. No man has yet said “Mate!” in a voice which failed to sound to his opponent bitter, boastful and malicious.” A.A. Milne

Love never fails.

The Winnipeg dining scene has recently changed with government permission granted for “brew pubs” in the city. A brew pub can brew beer on site as well as offer up lunch and dinner for a full chef-directed kitchen. Winnipeg now boasts three such establishments and recently we visited “One Great City” at 1596 Ness Ave.

We live just across the Assiniboine River from the Polo Park area and we decided to walk on a beautiful summer evening. Upon arrival we were both hungry and thirsty and looking forward to the visit. The first order of business was our thirst and we chose a beer “flight” so we could taste 4 of the 6 beers which were premise-brewed.

One Great City has an extensive “Sammy” (sandwich) section and we both ordered from there.

My husband chose a Falafel wrapped in a pita with a side of roasted Brussel sprouts. The latter were stellar with extra crunch from toasted walnuts and apples, creaminess from the queso fresco and extra flavour from bacon. Doesn’t bacon make everything taste better?

First I spied chicken and waffles-a selection which is spreading like a wild fire on local menus. I decided instead for the chicken but requested that the bread be skipped which I guess means it was no longer a sammy. The lightly fried chicken thighs were accompanied by lettuce and buttermilk ranch dressing, as well as bread & butter pickles and a fiery jalapeno relish.

The chicken was served with a petite beet salad. I appreciated the creamy ricotta, spritely spring mix but was especially delighted by toasted pistachios and apple fennel vinaigrette. In fact was so tasty that I could easily have eaten a second one.

The facility is bright and spacious and you can walk past both the beer tanks and the open kitchen en route to your table. The service was attentive and prompt and it looked as if there were loads of staff members to take care of us. One Great City had us feeling patriotic about our urban location because as their name reminds us, we live in one great city!

One Great City is owned by Jon Burge and Tim Hudek. Lunch and Dinner Menus are available. They are open daily from 11:30 am until 12 pm and are wheelchair accessible.

Kath’s quote:  “Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!”- Martin Luther.

Love never fails.

When you think about tacos, do you imagine a crunchy shell loaded with grated cheese, sour cream, shredded lettuce, etc? Your preference may be exactly that. But, if you travel to Mexico where tacos originate, you would never find a version like the one mentioned above. In Mexico (and I don’t mean at an all inclusive buffet but an authentic Mexican tienda), we order tacos for snacks and light meals when we are on vacation. The tortilla is always made with a corn flour which gives the wrapping a distinctive taste. Typically tortillas are eaten like flat bread to mop up what is on your plate but are also stuffed with a variety of fillings.

Our family prefers shrimp or fish tacos but we also enjoy fillings like shredded chicken, el pastor (pork and pineapple sliced off a spit) and even chorizo sausage. If you are lucky, you may find a convenient spot that will serve three tacos for $5 (US). We consider the discovery of these places a significant one. There is a singular restaurant in Winnipeg where you can find this style of fare. They are called BMC Market and Taqueria at 722 South Osborne St.

The façade of their building is an electric blue, similar to the vibrant building colours you will find in Mexico.

Upon entering the restaurant, you go directly to the kitchen window where you make your selection and pay for your snack or lunch. They have a taco trio for $5 and another for $7. I ordered the $5 trio itemized above. This is a significant bargain, as we pay the same amount but in US funds in Mexico. Mind you, some little places will also through in a Mexican beer for that price.

There is cheerful table aroud the corner from the kitchen.

At BMC Market and Taqueria the only garnishes you will find will be cilantro and some chopped white onion and this too is genuine fare. There will also be a bit of lime for you to squeeze fresh juice over the tacos and a salsa which can be ordered, mild, medium or hot! Unless you eat spicy Mexican fare on an ongoing basis, I would warn you against the hot as it is very picante! All the fillings I sampled were carefully prepared, void of fat and absolutely delicious.

The BMC Market – Taqueria is open Monday to Saturday 11:30 am -8 pm and Sundays 12-6 pm when they have an all day menu available. They are wheelchair accessible.

Kath’s quote: “Don’t tell me you miss me. Tell me you are outside my door with tacos.”-

Love never fails.