I have been faithful to my new regime of eating, low fat, no deep-fried items, no processed foods.  I decided a month ago that it would have to be a really extraordinary dish to get me to veer off my clean eating track.  This week I received an email announcing that Smoke’s Poutinerie was opening a second location and would I like to drop by for a VIP preview of the restaurant?  We have visited their Albert St. location a number of times since they opened in 2011.  They have enjoyed such success.  Well if anything was going to make me break my vows to myself, poutine would be it.  I love poutine, but it has to be absolutely authentic.  That means a savoury gravy and real cheese curds-the squeakier the better.  Smoke’s Poutinerie fills the bill.

Add to it, Daughter #2’s recommendation to try their “Country Style” poutine with grilled chicken, bacon, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms and baby peas and oh la, la.  I ordered it, I ate it, I loved it!  The toppings should be dubbed something else because they don’t merely sit on top but are found threaded all through the hand-cut, yellow-fleshed fries.

So every forkful contained the winning combination of tastes.  I especially enjoyed how the sweetness of the peas, offset the saltiness of the gravy and sautéed veggies.

D followed the lead of The Frenchman and selected the “Montreal”.  Get this: shaved Montreal smoked meat, kosher dill pickle slices and a squeeze of yellow mustard.  I thought that it sounded yucky but D absolutely loved it.

He described it as very unique and said that all the flavours together tasted like a smoked meat sandwich, the likes of which we’ve savoured at the world-famous Schwartz’s Deli in Montreal.

I predict that Smoke’s will do very well in Transcona with their meal in a box.  D’s family once lived in Tcon and they are a hard-working community who love their meat and potatoes.  Thanks for the invite Smoke’s.

Kath’s quote: “Vive La Poutine Libre!”-unknown

Love-that is all.

Like many of you, I love the Christmas season and especially the excuse to get together for special parties, lunches and dinners.  For me there is sometimes a little bit of a let down when the season is over, especially if I am working hard at keeping my New Year’s resolutions.  One of my suppliers must feel this way too because she invited me out for a Christmas lunch that we celebrated just yesterday-perfect timing.

529 is often heralded as being one of the more exclusive restaurants in the city.  Indeed, it does feel as if you are dining on someone’s estate or at their private club.  The lunch time menu is very accessible, offering everything that you might imagine from burgers and sandwiches to steaks and seafood.  What the public often chatters about is that 529’s menu is entirely a la carte but at a time of year when I am turning away anything deep fried or carb heavy, this is very much appreciated.  Why pay for fries when they are only going to tempt me and make me feel as if I am wasting food (I scorn food being needlessly wasted).

As it were, one of the guests at our table never has to worry about over indulging.  He indicates the he has a very high metabolism, eats whatever he wishes and remains perfectly slim.  He went for the burger special which on this day was adorned with brie and apple jam.  I watched as he took his first bite (perhaps a bit too longingly), with meat juices bursting forth and luckily landing on the plate below.  I know that 529’s fries are exceptional as I have taste them before, and I was tempted to reach across the table and nab a couple of his.  Somehow I restrained myself.

Our host is a careful eater each an every day and a real inspiration to me.  She selected the salmon and spinach salad.  At first glance she was concerned that the fillet was on the small side but it was a very thick wedge which ensured that it could be perfectly cooked.  She managed to portion the salmon so she that she could have a piece with every taste of spinach and was well pleased.

I order mussels every chance I get.  Our helpful server relayed a message to the kitchen to go heavy on the white wine and easy on the butter.  The result was light but satisfying.  The huge mussels assembled at the bottom of the bowl had benefitted from extra marinating and were exploding with perfumed flavors from the wine and briny ones from the sea.  I was able to enjoy each dollop of sauce with the toast triangles which gilded the plate. We all glanced at the dessert menu and determined what we “would” have had, were we to be ordering and then happily departed ways without experiencing any regrets.

Kath’s quotes: “I’m strong to the finach, ‘cuz I eats me spinach”-Popeye

Love-that is all.

I believe that Winnipeg is a wonderful place to raise a family an was not surprised when I heard the story of Chew Restaurant owners Kristen Chemerika an Kyle Lew and their desire to select an alternate lifestyle for their family than the one that Toronto provides.  I was also not astonished by the quality of their offerings once I read of their culinary pedigrees.  Chew is an excellent addition to Winnipeg’s vibrant culinary scene.

Upon entering the inauspicious storefront, contained in a little retail strip at 532 Waterloo St. (at Corydon), I was immediately struck by the warm but simple décor.  Our servers were equally warm and accommodated us for a quick dinner even though they were chock full with reservations.

Immediately, a basket of just plucked from the oven bread was placed in front of us with a ramekin of marrow butter alongside. The bread was yeasty and delicious on its own, perfection when smeared with the butter.

Two enormous seared sea scallops subsequently arrived with a saffron infused cauliflower puree and crispy beet chips for crunch.  The scallop was crusty on the outside and just barely cooked in the middle, which is just the way I like them.  Sister #3 would have appreciated them more had they been left in the searing pan for slightly longer.

Moving from tastes of the sea, to deep an earthy flavours from the land, next up were roasted mushrooms.  The wild mushrooms were made rich and creamy when the poached egg yolk that was perched on top seeped through the bounty from the forest.

Total unnecessary, but a delight just the same, were the truffle fries that we indulged in as well.  The hint of precious truffle oil elevated the already memorable fries to a whole new level.  When we return and I am somewhat braver, I may try the other fries on the compact menu, made from slivers of pig’s ear.

Sister #3 returned for lunch the very next day and shared three items with her lunch companion.  Here’s what she had to say: “Our salad was amazing.  Fresh purple beets along with pickeled yellow beets. The fig vinaigrette off-set the sweetness of the beets and stood up to the saltiness of the halloumi cheese.

Our sandwich was guanciale, baby greens, marinated tomato and herb aioli but our waitress described it well as an Italian version of a BLT.  The tomatoes looked like hierlooms to me and were bright with flavor and very juicy. Guanciale is an italian bacon which was delicate but delicious.

I was glad that we ordered a side of pecan smoked bacon as it added even more yummy bacon flavor to our lunch.  I had thought there might be a sweetness to the bacon but there wasn’t.  It was thick cut and obviously cooked a long time over pecan flames, making it crispy and full of flavour.  K said it reminded her of farm bacon. ”

Chew places a banana muffin alongside your bill instead of the typical after dinner mints.  I think that the little treat is so thoughtful, kind of like receiving a goodie bag when you were little and left a birthday party.

Kath’s quote: “But I will place this carefully fed pig Within the crackling oven; and, I pray, What nicer dish can e’er be given to man.” –Aeschylus, ancient Greek poet

Love-that is all.

Café Savour at 956 St. Mary’s Rd. is pretty much what I imagine our little restaurant would look like, if D and  I ever stopped talking about it and actually did it.  From the hand-painted tables, toss cushions, twinkle-lights and turquoise wine glasses to the photos adorning the walls from the places they have traveled together, this place reflects our personal taste and eclectic style.

We could never duplicate the skill level coming out of the kitchen though.  Chef Louise Briskie de Beer’s menu is imaginative and her creations, oh so delectable.  Her partner Faiz de Beer personally takes care of every table himself and his service is attentive, warm and comfortable. They are the only staff in the restaurant so they only open the limited hours of Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening.  We imagined them sharing a bottle of wine when the evening was through as they were tackling all of the dirty dishes.

Their prix fixe menu, offers three courses for $35 or five for $45.  If you are concerned about quantity but want to sample as much as possible, you could follow our lead and order one three course and another five course and share it ll.  As a result, we started with an amuse bouche of house baked breads and dukkah which is a Middle Eastern spice and nut mixture to enhance the tasty breads.  Even though the recipe is a middle-eastern one, they discovered it while travelling in Australia.

Next up were bowls of piping hot soup, in fact the hottest food I have ever had while dining,  Many soups are “held” for the kitchen’s convenience but Louise must heat small portions up when she receives an order.  I could not decide between my savoury bowl of sausage, mushroom and wild rice and my husband’s of cauliflower, potato and curry.  Bother were perfectly balanced and appealing in their own distinct ways.

We shared a South African appetizer trio of “Dhaltjie”-spinach and chick pea fritter, “Frikkadel”-masala flavoured tuna patty and Cape Malay spiced samosa.  All were enjoyable and we concluded that we like the fritter the very best.  We also shared a deconstructed and reconstructed Greek salad where the wheels of tomato and cucumber were presented in a tower accompanied by rings of purple onion, green peppers, olives and feta.

My husband opted for a slow roasted lamb shank smothered in au jus and sweet onions, while I tucked into an unusual eggplant parmigiana that we guessed had been made to order rather than the typical casserole style.

But wait; there was still dessert to come: a chewy cherry crisp and a decadent chocolate apricot pate.  You might suggest that we would have been exhausted by eating such a quantity but the owners provide the perfect sized tastes of the starters and you are more than satiated with the portion of the entrée.  Every taste from start to finish was divine, made even more so by their reasonably priced wines by the glass.

Kath’s quote: “Savour: enjoy something unhurriedly, to enjoy something with unhurried appreciation“

Love-that is all.

The roads in Winnipeg are a nightmare-no other way to describe them.  Being close to the restaurant business we know that this made for cancelled reservations and a spike in no shows for businesses on New Year’s Eve.  There was a corresponding peak in people ordering in and picking up, so it is not that Winnipeggers did not want to celebrate with food.  D suggested that because we had spent so much time at home over the holidays, that we dine out but choose a location in our neighbourhood.  It would have been a long walk, but one that we sometimes do in fairer weather.  With reports of Winnipeg being colder than Mars, this was a non-decision, we took a car.  Both of our vehicles have remote starters, an absolute must if you live here and do not own a garage. D’s also has heated seats so we were quite comfortable as far as the temperature was concerned.  Tre Visi, our destination on that evening is on Grosvenor Ave. and is the street which runs perpendicular to ours, a half a block away.  But with both of our vehicles trying to fit into a parking pad edged with ever-growing snow banks, we had to head into the opposite direction to get out of our spot.  This meant that we had a single city block to travel in order to get back to Grosvenor Ave.   D had not even touched the brake when we started to slide and spin.  Thank heavens there were no parked cars and it must have looked as if we were simply pulling a “U” in the middle of the block to park on the opposite side of the street.

Vivid thoughts of amazing food was our focus and our motivation to make the trek that evening and Tre Visi did not disappoint.  We spotted that there were marinated vegetables on their antipasto platter and so we eagerly ordered the board remembering the ones that we loved while traveling in Italy.

This was our favourite from Cumpa Cosimo, high up on the mountainside in Ravello, Amalfi Coast.  A couple of these were marinated and all served cold.  In Italy, antipasto plates highlight the best of what the region has to offer, sometimes all seafood, others all cheeses, etc.

Tre Visi’s included paper-thin slices of cured meat, shards of cheese, pickled onions and peppers.  Every taste was a lovely surprize and  when coupled up on fork tines, produced other delectable taste combinations.  We would have appreciated some crostini or baguette to stretch the morsels further, but perhaps that is passé with so many diners avoiding gluten.

D’s choice was the gnocchi with the pesto cream sauce which he remembered from an earlier visit.  I could see that he was trying to exercise restraint as he speared each fluffy pillow.  Near the end of the time with our plates though, he might have decided that the portion was too generous and that perhaps we should have shared the plate and mixed tastes up with another item.  Next time….

D could tell that I was torn between my original choice and the special of a rib eye with parmesan French fries.  This is one of the many reasons why I love him: when it was time to order, he asked our delightful server if the chef would provide the fries to accompany our appetizer.  What a guy-he knew that it I was on the cusp of New Year’s resolution time and wanted me to savour one last indulgence.

In the end I selected the Frutti de Mare which is often my choice.  Tre Visi’s version was as delicious as I have eaten anywhere with plump scallops, fresh shrimp and mussels and easy on the pasta.  The secret was in the sauce which was light with tomatoes but luxurious with what I imagined to be butter.  I supped up the last spots of sauce with my spoon, not wanting to let a dribble go unconsumed.

We enjoyed the festive ambience of the open room and imagined that some diners would carry on to a New Year’s party while others lived close by and would carefully make their way home.  There was one table of six just over my shoulder who were all Italian and spoke the romantic language throughout our meal which of course really swept us away to meals of times gone by.

Kath’s quote: “Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people.
So overweight people are now average. Which means you’ve met your New Year’s resolution.”-Jay Leno

Love-that is all.