Saddlery on Market (114 Market Ave. to be precise) is located on the main floor of the Great West Saddlery Warehouse building, erected in 1898. A little bit of Winnipeg Trivia: the saddlery company became the world’s largest manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer of harnesses and saddles. The restobar has been inspired by Winnipeg’s past and serves homey, comfort food.

I was excited to meet up with an old friend. Her arrival was delayed as she could not find a parking spot in the area, either in a lot or on the street. This must be a real challenge for the restaurant.

Anticipating my winter vacation, I chose from the salad section of the menu. The Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad was a hearty serving of red onion, candied pecans and roasted shallot vinaigrette. Once all the good stuff vanished from the top of the salad, I tried very hard to finish my vegetables by consuming all of the spinach leaves on the plate. Perhaps I was distracted by the hand-cut French fries that arrived with my companion’s burger. Being a good friend, she gave my permission to enjoy some of them off of her plate. They were the highlight of the visit.

The house burger which was her selection was a half pound of ground chuck topped with lettuce, tomato, provolone cheese, pancetta, caramelized onions and premise-made barbeque sauce. She remarked that the pretzel bun was delicious but not sturdy enough to offset all of those fixings. The burger was tasty and juicing but eating it without making an enormous mess, took a lot of skill.

The space has supported a number of restaurant concepts in the past but I do not recall one that let the beautiful brick walls speak for themselves. Perched at a window with a view to the Exchange District, I anticipated that the restaurant would get busier over the lunch hour with so many persons who work in the area.

The Saddlery has an all day menu available. They are open weekdays from 11 am (Saturdays at 4 pm). Until 10 pm Mon-Wed and Late Thursday-Saturday and are closed Sundays. Wheelchair access is through the space at 112 Market Ave.

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: “my salad days, When I was green in judgement, cold in blood.”-William Shakespeare

Love never fails.

Halong Bay in Vietnam is said to be one of the most beautiful bays on earth and a “New 7 Wonders of the World”.  Perhaps the area was once home to the owners of the Halong Bay Restaurant here in Winnipeg-Tuyen and Hoa Nguyen. Having been a long time fan of Vietnamese cuisine, I must admit that I am pretty hard to impress but impress they did!

We started with Spicy Beef Noodle Soup which sounds pretty ordinary but was anything but. The beef was succulent and tender and the noodles abundant and “slurp-worthy”. The broth was nothing short of sensational! When the other dishes arrived I ignored them in favour of the soup. Wondering with each spoonful how they made the broth, for it was bursting with savoury flavours. The stock was so satisfying that one could easily imagine that it had medicinal qualities. Perhaps that is why the restaurant was full of medical personnel from the Health Science Centre across the street.

Noted as a House Specialty, their rice vermicelli combo came along next. I passed over the spring rolls and enjoyed the rest of the lettuce, sprouts, meat and peanuts.

I was very, very impressed. I hadn’t had such a fine noodle bowl since I visited Jackson Heights in NYC’s borough of Queens, renowned for their ethnic restaurants. The harmony and balance of noodles and lettuce ribbons made perfect sense, a taste I crave on an ongoing basis.

We also sampled one of the restaurant’s Daily Specials: a Singapore noodle dish chock full of egg, bean sprouts, carrot, green pepper, onion and curried shrimp. The curry seasoning was an exotic combination of spices and had a little heat (from the addition of chilies), without searing taste buds and removing appreciation for the other tastes.

We arrived after the noon rush and had a chance to appreciate the décor and sun streaming in from the wall of windows. Service was more than efficient with dishes arriving almost instantly.

The Halong Bay Restaurant is located at 772 Notre Dame Ave. Make note of the address as we found the signage deceptive. They are open Monday-Saturday from 11:00 am -9:30 pm. Dine In and Take Out menus are available. The dining room is wheelchair accessible but we did not check on the washroom.

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: “I lived across the street from Noodle Bar. I could barely stand it, because you’re there all the time; you can’t get away”.- David Chang

Love never fails.

When Mercadito Latino was on Henderson Hwy I would drive by and wonder about its offerings inside. Unfortunately I never had an excuse to go in. Three years ago the Mercadito relocated to 570 C Sargent Ave. and was able to add more dining space. I am guessing that is when it became a full blown restaurant.

The structure of the business is very much like the places that we love to visit in Mexico with the wife in the kitchen lovingly recreating her family recipes and her husband up front serving the tables and manning the cash register. We were introduced to Sonia Lemus when she finally had an opportunity to sit down at the end of her evening. She was as good-natured and pleasant as her husband Julian. Together they own and operate the market and restaurant.

In keeping with our other Latin restaurant experiences, the food came out quickly and steaming hot. You could taste that all the concoctions had been freshly made.

We were delighted by the tortilla soup that we shared. Dotted with pieces of silky avocado, goey cheese, pulled chicken, crispy tortilla strips and sour cream, it warmed us up nicely. I would have loved a lime wedge to squeeze into the broth like we do when travelling.

When the pupusas arrived at our table, Julian asked us if we were familiar with them. We responded yes based only on the one other opportunity to eat Salvadorian food in Winnipeg at La Fiesta Cafecito. We requested “Revueltas” which means we enjoyed cheese, beans and pork in all three corn flour pockets. I pressed for more detail about the cheese used. Julian replied that it was a blend of a Salvadorian cheese, feta and mozzarella.

We were full by this time and still had chicken tacos coming to the table. If you think that tacos are always the Old El Paso style, you would be mistaken. Soft corn tortillas are eaten at almost every meal as a way of scooping up the fare. We had to at least have a bite and appreciated the subtle spiciness of the chicken and peppers inside the soft corn taco. My bite resulted in juices bursting out of the wrap and onto my plate (the sign of a very delicious taco).

The restaurant has an all day menu available. They are open Tuesday-Saturdays from 12 noon until 8:30 pm and 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: “Humour keeps us alive. Humour and food. Don’t forget food. You can go a week without laughing.” ― Joss Whedon

Love never fails.

2016 has been a wonderful year of noshing for Food Musings.

The year started with munching on salads at The Nook, The Peaks Restaurant and the Capital Grill, then progressed through the delectable offerings of beef tartar at Sous Sol and Segovia. The peanut butter & jam chicken wings were a hit at the Silver Heights as well as the peanut butter and jam buster at Bronuts.

Midyear brought the Sunday brunch buffet at Gausthouse Gutenberg and out of town treks to Jonsey’s and Hillside Beach.

Noodles were the selected fare at Dancing Noodle, Nicolino’s and Tom’s Pho and fish and chips were sampled at both Sei Sushi and the Captain’s Table.

The biggest surprises were the bacon and egg pizza at Peg Beer Co. and the calamari on the seafood pizza at Amici (now closed) followed closely by quail eggs at both Bisita and Fusion Experience. Everything was a surprise Saperavi, the first Georgian restaurant on the prairies.

The year concluded with exceptional tastes of the Vietnamese pork sandwich at King + Bannatyne,

fried chicken toast at Clementine and paella at Simon’s Cuisine.

What does 2017 hold for Food Musings? Well I am still trying to work my way through the reader’s suggestions of Begonia Grill, Common Sense Deli & Bakery, Diner’s Grill, Ethiopian food at Massawa, Latin American fare at Mercado Latino Restaurant & Market, a theme night at Rossmere Country Club and the White Star Diner once they make their move to Kennedy St. On my personal list are Saddlery on Market, Feast Café Bistro, Blind Tiger Kitchen and Crème de L’Essence. So it looks like 2017 will be another busy one with trying to keep up with Winnipeg’s vibrant restaurant scene (and going to the gym to offset the fruits of my labour).

Kath’s quote: “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”-Mae West

Love never fails.

Simon’s Cuisine is part of the snazzy new Food Hall at The Forks Market. Winnipeggers were out in droves on this particular balmy winter day and so finding a parking spot took a bit of patience. Simon’s delectable offerings made one forget about the extra effort. The new Hall had a grand open feel, even though the seating is still food-court style.

Simon’s has been on my radar for a long time. I had intended to visit their original location on St. Mary’s Road and never got the opportunity.

Jose Sturym, the Owner/Chef moved to Winnipeg in 2003 from Argentina with his family. He opened the original Simon’s in 2004 and this manifestation earlier this year. Along with a huge variety of Argentinean empanadas the kiosk offers Chicken Deshuesado (a boneless chicken breast marinated in lemon, garlic and wine), a Milanesa Sandwich and Fritatadas. I couldn’t decide between the Lorca or Paella so I ordered both.

Lorco is an Argentinean stew made from sausage, squash, lima beans and hominy (corn grits). I detected a smoky paprika taste and enjoyed the white beans and mild sausage. The hearty portion came with a wedge of bread to mop up the stew’s sauce.

I was particularly impressed with the Paella. Containing a spicy chorizo sausage and a variety of seafood, namely mussels, squid and shrimp, the dish could easily pass as a dinner entrée. The famous Spanish casserole is rice-based but has distinctive onion, garlic and spicy pepper notes. The juices from the seafood permeate the rice and create a hearty and deeply satisfying dish.

I can imagine dining there one evening with a flight of craft beer or a wine flight from The Common also located in the Food Hall.

I forgot to ask who Simon was!

Simon’s Cuisine official address is 132-1 Forks Market Road. They are open daily from 11 am until 8 pm. They have an all day menu available and 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: “ESTELLE: What am I supposed to do with all this Paella?!
GEORGE: They said tomorrow, maybe.
FRANK: Maybe?
ESTELLE: Maybe they don’t like us.
FRANK: Why wouldn’t they like us? (tastes the Paella) Again with the pepper? What do you gotta use all the pepper for?!!
ESTELLE: Ah keep quiet.
FRANK: What are you trying to set my mouth on fire?!!
GEORGE: I don’t know what the reason could be”. – Daily Seinfeld

Love neve fails.

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