When spring arrives I love going for long drives with the sun roof open. Typically, an unvisited restaurant is my destination. Such was the case when I recently stopped in at Jonsey’s Restaurant & Lounge in Bird’s Hill. The restaurant was another of the locally owned places that Canstar readers suggested I visit. Even though I arrived for lunch rather late, the establishment was brimming with guests. The server was cheerful and helpful when I couldn’t decide what to order from the huge menu. She suggested the daily special and I was all set.

I am guessing that the Mediterranean shrimp wrap was so named because of the unusual inclusion of artichokes and a bruschetta mix of tomatoes. The shrimp had likely been poached and were large and tasty enough to hold their own with the other intense flavours. When all wrapped together in a fresh flour tortilla the result was very satisfying, and might I add -filling. I had to package up half of the sandwich and take it home with me.

Perhaps I couldn’t finish the portion because of Jonsey’s addictive hand-cut shoe string French fries. The special came with a choice of fries, salad or soup. I couldn’t resist those fries, telling myself that I would just sample them and push the rest aside. So much for good intentions.

I am typically leery of a restaurant with such an extensive menu and the obvious goal of being all things to all people. For example on Jonsey’s menu you can find Butter Chicken, four kinds of poutine, Firecracker Shrimp Tacos, six burgers, Thai Lettuce Wraps, Pickerel, Chicken Parmigiana, six steaks and the menu indicates that they are famous for their ribs. Are they an East Indian, Thai, Mexican or an Italian restaurant? Are they a steak and seafood house or the place for ribs? Based on the packed restaurant and the delectable wrap that I sampled they are pulling it off, and more so.

The restaurant is easy to spot, just across the street from the Sobey’s in Bird’s Hill. There was plenty of parking in the adjacent lot.

Kath’s quote: “These things are just plain annoying. After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual “food” out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps. Have the shrimp cocktail instead.”-Miss Piggy

Love never fails

I recently enjoyed dining with the Canstar reader and contest winner Michele Costen and her guest at The Keg Steakhouse + Bar original location on Garry St.

As soon as we could stop talking about our favourite Winnipeg restaurants, Michele selected an appetizer of Baked Garlic Shrimp where shrimp had been baked in Café de Paris butter and topped with cheese. The butter is the same one used for Keg Escargot for persons who are interested in the decadent taste but are squeamish about tasting snails. Michele and her guest were determined to try something that might have typically been outside of their comfort zones. Michele apparently loved the piping hot and crunchy shrimp enhanced by the savoury flavours of the herbed butter.

Her guest enjoyed the Shrimp Bisque that was on special that evening. She had recently supped on the seafood soup in San Francisco and was eager to compare. Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth of crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, crab, shrimp or crayfish. It is thought the name is derived from cooking the crustaceans twice like a biscuit for the shrimp are first sautéed lightly in their shells, then simmered in wine and aromatic ingredients, before being strained, followed by the addition of cream. In authentic bisque, the shells are ground to a fine paste and added to thicken the soup. Julia Child has been said to have remarked, “Do not wash anything off until the soup is done because you will be using the same utensils repeatedly and you don’t want any marvelous tidbits of flavor losing them down the drain”.

Our fabulous waiter suggested that I might like to try a Blackened Steak where the steak was first coated with select herbs and spices and then finished with a dollop of herb butter.

For her entrée Michele’s guest chose the Bleu Cheese Filet which came wrapped in applewood smoked bacon, smothered in a bleu cheese crust, then finished with roasted garlic cloves.

Michele said that she was going to “go for it” and was happy to indulge in a Surf + Turf-a tender mini filet medallion and a petite Atlantic lobster tail.

Crème brûlée (literally: burnt cream) was selected by Michele’s guest.

Michele considered and then concluded that the famous Keg Billy Miner pie would be her choice. When dinner was over our conversations continued and could of extended long into the evening.

Kath’s quote: “We don’t make friends by accident, they were meant to cross our paths for a reason.” -Unknown

Love never fails.

When spring has truly arrived (meaning it is not 30 degrees above or below, but a lovely 18 degrees), Winnipeggers like my family and me make the most of it. This weekend I worked in the garden and read in a comfy lounge chair. But the very first event that officially kicks off the season is our first patio dinner.

Boo and the Wee One

Our baby, known as Boo in this space is now 25 years old! Last night we went around the table (as is our tradition) to tell the birthday celebrant what we love and appreciate about them. Boo’s list is especially long as she has a tender heart for the entire world! What better place to celebrate her birthday and spring but on the Garry St. patio where her Daddy and I first met.

We commenced with spring beverages-beers for the guys and sangria for the girls. (Not stereo typing here because all of the girls love their beer but the sangria was just too good to resist.)

In fact once I finished my glass, I ordered a pitcher.

We started with Baked Brie and a couple of orders of Tuna Tartar-both fabulous. I like my tuna with a big squeeze of lime as it reminds me of our time in Mexico. We requested a second batch of crostini for the brie as we all are crazy about the dish. Even the Wee One scooped up her fair share but not with a cracker, with her finger!

Casual Meals and some sharing happened next.

I missed photos of Tuna Tacos and Prime Rib Sliders. Patio season just screams burgers so I indulged in this enormous one.

One of our favourites-Pistachio Crusted Salmon was one of the shares. It was ordered with asparagus instead of the brussel sprouts for J2 who is nursing our newest granddaughter.

This blue cheese topped sirloin was also a hit especially when accompanied by a warm quinoa salad.

The Keg’s traditional treat of serving complimentary Billy Miner Pie (with a whole bunch of spoons) was much appreciated except that the birthday girl’s favourite is cheesecake.

So we had to share a piece of that too.

We think that The Keg is the perfect place for a family celebration as it takes care of the littlest ones with a kid’s plate to tie them over and then a children’s meal of chicken fingers and fries complete with the Wee One’s favourite of chocolate milk.

We loved celebrating spring, family and especially the 1/4 century of our baby girl!

Kath’s quote: “Our family-the people you live for, laugh with and love; those who continually show up, stay up and make up, who make you glad you never gave up.” -Unknown

Love never fails.

An anonymous reader of my Canstar column recently recommended that I visit Ripe Bistro. We have been long time fans of restaurants at this location beginning with Gluttons and then Mise. We were more than happy to have an excuse to visit, but it was a Saturday night and we did not have a reservation. Every dining seat was spoken for, so we happily perched ourselves at the bar top. When head chef/owner Tom Pitt made an appearance behind the bar, I recognized him from his days as a Culinary Instructor at RRC and my husband remembered him from an even earlier time when they both worked at the St. Charles under the tutelage of Chef Takashi “Tony” Murakami.

Ripe’s extensive menu is divided into sections titled: “the beginnings”, “the middles”, “the in-betweens” and “the final decision”. We obediently started at the beginning and ordered a Seafood Trio of Sliders. We enjoyed nibbles of scallops, salmon and shrimp and couldn’t help but compare thoughts on each taste. The scallops were smothered with lime mayo and had the mildest taste. The salmon with a charred green onion aioli was the boldest flavour but our favourite was the shrimp with a sweet chili sauce. All three were placed into sliced mini bannock buns. They tasted to us like tiny baking powder biscuits and we loved them.

Forging on, we next chose Chicken & Waffles from “the middles” list. Typically this recipe utilizes an enormous piece of fried chicken so we were pleased that Ripe’s version was with lightly dusted chicken tenders atop a savoury waffle. We got a kick (literally) out of the wheels of jalapeño and the siracha maple syrup that accompanied the dish.

This dish was accompanied by latke fries which were fabulous!

We were bound and determined to move to “the in-betweens” section of the menu to order something else to share but we just didn’t have enough space in our tummies. So we have vowed to finish our tour of the menu sometime soon.

Meagan our server indicated that she was new to the restaurant but we could not tell that she was a rookie. With her easy manner and personable service we would never have guessed.

Kath’s quote: “The best comfort food will always be greens, cornbread, and fried chicken”. -Maya Angelou

Love never fails.

We had visited Food Evolution only once and had been delighted by the setting and the food. The newest manifestation of the Kildonan Park restaurant as been dubbed Prairie’s Edge and it feature’s locally inspired cuisine by one of my favourite Winnipeg Chefs-Michael Daquisto. We had been regulars at Pasta la Vista, a downtown restaurant that we really miss. I still dream about two of my favourite menu items- Felicitous & Sympatico and That Old Black Magic. While I reminisced with the creator of the dishes recently, I shared that we had never been successful in recreating the former, even though we thought we had done a pretty good job of duplicating the latter. Chef Michael suggested that he run downstairs where he archived his recipes and grab it for me. It is now safely in my possession for an upcoming celebration.

We loved when Daquisto’s (the restaurant that bore his name) was in our neck of the woods and even though Prairie’s Edge was a significant trek for a lunch date, I vowed to take D back there soon so we could enjoy Chef’s Italian specialties again. On this day though, my friend Kathy and I had agree to be tasters for a couple of items that needed photographing.

Kathy suggested the beet fritters and even though I typically prefer items that have not been deep-fried, these morsels were worth the indulgence. The juice from the vegetable must bleed into the batter as each bite exposed the beet’s unique colour. Served up on a slaw of orange and fennel, the contrasts were very appealing.

A second indulgence were the Pickerel Cheek Pops. The cheeks had been dusted and skewered making for a fun presentation. The peas and garlic confit ensured the dishes’ tastiness.

Chef Michael suggested the crispy pork belly served with braised cabbage, a parsnip puree and toasted wild rice.

We opted for some healthy greens with the Farrow salad.

We had spied Michael’s cinnamon buns when we had first arrived and when we couldn’t resist them any longer, we shared them for dessert. The chef is said to use a beignet dough for his cinnamon buns but I thought that it tasted more like a brioche. Regardless, when split, butters and lightly grilled, they were sensational and could tempt me to drive across town again in the very near future.

The menu revamp allows Michael Daquisto’s talent to continue to shine with local ingredients from the Canadian prairies. Prairie’s Edge was very much worth the trip.

Kath’s quote: “Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”-Francois Minot

Love never fails.