If you travel to major cities in Canada you may have noticed the new urban practice of creating spaces with multiple purposes. Winnipeg restaurants are catching on too as you may have noticed at Fools & Horses on Broadway, Thom Bargen on Sherbrook and now Bouchee Boucher (101-300 Tache Ave.). In the case of the latter a butcher shop and a full service restaurant share the space on the corner of Marion and Tache Ave. in St. Boniface.

I have had the pleasure of visiting for brunch and then lunch later that same week. With all the new and established places on my long list to check out, why did I do so? Bouchee Boucher is that good!

The kitchen kindly split our salad onto two plates.

The day I met a work companion, we arrived early to ensure that we got a seat. We started by sharing a cucumber salad enhanced with green beans, edamame beans, radish, polenta chips and ricotta. The combination was both clean and crunchy with the ricotta adding a creamy texture.

For mains my lunch date chose the Creole shrimp rice bowl. We traded tastes and I agreed with her exclamations of oohs and awws. There were layers of flavours and textures with Creole spice providing the smoky heat, cucumber and peppers adding crunch and fresh tastes, avocado contributing silkiness and arugula, basil and parsley supplying complexity.

Even though I was very tempted to order the crispy fried eggplant, tomato and mozzarella sandwich, I veered towards the butcher’s salad because it gave me the opportunity to sample some butcher shop offerings. I especially loved the ham. I can’t stand when ham is overly salty and wet. Their ham was anything but. The bowl was chocked full of other offerings and with plenty of freshly made green goddess dressing, it was all delectable.

Chef Alexander Svenne & Danielle Carignan Svenne formerly of Bistro 7 1/4 are the butcher shop and café owners. Bouchee Boucher is open Monday to Thursday from 11 am-10 pm, Friday & Saturday from 11 am-11 pm and Sunday from 10 am-2 pm. Their Dinner & Lunch Menus change weekly and their Brunch menu changes monthly. They are wheelchair accessible.

Watch for Food Musings every second Wednesday in your copy of The Headliner, The Herald, The Lance, The Metro, The Sou’wester and The Times.

Kath’s quote: “After I won the Oscar, my salary doubled, my friends tripled, my children became more popular at school, my butcher made a pass at me, and my maid hit me up for a raise”. -Shirley Jones

Love never fails.

La Lomita is the very first restaurant that I ate at when I first arrived with my sisters in 2005. From that first day, the quirky place with the authentic Mexican food wins our heart over and over again.

So much so, that when we had one evening for our immediate family to have dinner together, we chose La Lomita. Please excuse the camera hog in the forefront of the photo.

We have so many favourites on their menu but especially the Chilies Relleno.

We have even found an authentic recipe for the rellenos so we can enjoy the chillies at home.

We love the authentic earthenware that all their fare is served upon. Being a beer loving family (J1 has studied to be a Brew Master) we really appreciate the clay tumblers like the one pictured are kept in the freezer to serve their beer in. The beer arrives at a lovely frosty temperature. We have even commissioned a potter at home in Winnipeg to replica the experience for us.

The sopa de lima with chicken has always satisfied and now we have turned a whole new generation onto the tastes, namely our granddaughters.

La Lomita’s shrimp ceviche tastes sparkling fresh and stands up to other ceviches on the island at double the price.

The garlic fish is another favourite. The portion was plentiful and perfectly cooked.

Kath’s quote: “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”. – Benjamin Franklin

Love never fails.

Café Cito has long been on our restaurant “must visit” list.

From its cheerful corner exterior and the lovely beach touches within, we love everything about it.

This was where we first met Ziggy and we were delighted to have him as our server again this year.

We were a group of four and D and Daughter #1 had the same Mexican breakfast in mind.

Another friend loved her omelet.

I turned out to be the “radical” one choosing a torta instead.

We appreciated our mini fruit cups to start and Daughter #1 also enjoyed her strawberry slushy.

But let’s face it…we were all there for one thing: the banana coconut jam on toast!

Kath’s quote: “The cyclone ends. The sun returns; the lofty coconut trees lift up their plumes again; man does likewise. The great anguish is over; joy has returned; the sea smiles like a child”.-Paul Gauguin

Love never fails.

Thirty years ago, prior to my marriage, I lived downtown in the Holiday Towers. Often times on a warm evening while I sat out on my balcony, I would get a beautiful waft of mellow spices. The East India Company (349 York Ave.) was responsible for the exotic aromas. Recently I stayed next door to my old apartment for a conference/retreat and followed my nose back to the East India Company.

The restaurant is narrow but deep and I was surprised when I went to the buffet just how many people were there for lunch. I would imagine the convenience of grabbing a quick and easy meal was what attracted them as well. I had a small window for lunch and so not having to wait to have my order taken or the food prepared meant that I was eating within five minutes of arrival.

I do not profess to have an expansive knowledge of Indian food so I made very sure of noting the name of every dish that I was tempted to sample. But, by the time I had eaten, walked back to the hotel and wrote everything down, I had a few memory gaps.

I do know that I selected a Pakora (a cauliflower & potato packet) and enjoyed the unusual taste more than the vegetable Samosa. I also loved the bright green Palak Paneer: a creamed spinach made gooey with homemade cheese; so too, the Bhurta of smashed eggplant and peas. I appreciated their roasted chicken which had a pink flesh from the permeation of spices. My favourite of this and most Indian dinners was the butter chicken (Murgh Makhan), wondering how they manage to retain the tenderness without the dish tasting stewed.

The East India Company makes eating vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free very easy indeed and is likely another reason why the restaurant is so popular. The operation was overseen by a handsome gentlemen in a white suit, whom I suspected was the owner. He was too busy that day for me to inquire.

East India Company has dine in, take out and catering menus available. They are open on weekdays from 11am -3:30 pm and 4:30-10 pm. On Saturday they are open from 5-10 pm and on Sundays from 12-3 pm and 5-9 pm. They are wheelchair accessible via the north door of the restaurant.

Watch for Food Musings every second Wednesday in your copy of The Headliner, The Herald, The Lance, The Metro, The Sou’wester and The Times.

Kath’s quote: “Don’t go and cook Indian food if you never cooked Indian food, you know?”-Wolfgang Puck

Love never fails.

For decades Ami Hassan has been a permanent fixture at the River Heights restaurant that he owns and operates. He is typically visible in the open kitchen putting his special flair onto Middle Eastern dishes. I have know him to leave his station and come into the dining room to admonish patrons for lingering too long over coffee, declaring that he needed the space for hungry customers. On this day my dining companion and I met for an early lunch and I was surprised to find the Falafel Place (1101 Corydon Ave.) already busy. Perhaps they were still there from breakfast as the restaurant does have an all day menu.

My lunch date was drawn to the breakfast section and ordered a Falafel Breakfast complete with two eggs, 8 falafel balls (essentially a spiced chickpea fritter) , tahini (sesame seed sauce), hummus and pita wedges. For good measure and to share her fare, she ordered a side of potato pancakes (latkes) topped with garlic, onions and peppers. She oohed and awed while savouring every taste but made specific remarks about the perfectly cooked over easy eggs and that the potato pancakes were delightfully crispy on the outside and silky in the middle. I tasted the falafel balls and those pancakes and would whole heartedly agree with her assessment. I have travelled to Israel and my favourite cook book is one entitled “Jerusalem” so I consider myself acquainted with the tabbouleh salad making technique.

Essentially the salad is a parsley/bulgur one, with different ratios of the two ingredients depending on which regional variant of the salad you’re making, or your personal preference. There is a warning in my cookbook that “other elements need to be handled carefully”. I made a judgement error with my order, because I was craving a traditional tabbouleh salad with fresh tastes of parsley and mint. Ami’s emphasizes slices of vegetables.

Originally I had been torn when I saw spanakopita on the menu, so we ordered it to share. As you likely know, the spinach dish wrapped in a crunchy phyllo is a Greek specialty and it is not intended as a criticism when I say that Winnipeg Greek restaurant’s spanakopita recipes are much better. Enjoy Ami’s specialties and you will be more than impressed. The Falafel Place is open seven days a week from 6:30 am-9 pm. There is an all day menu available. They are wheelchair accessible. Watch for Food Musings every second Wednesday in your copy of The Headliner, The Herald, The Lance, The Metro, The Sou’wester and The Times.

Kath’s quote: “Parsley – the jewel of herbs, both in the pot and on the plate.”-Albert Stockli

Love never fails.